Alexis Monroe swung her empty, tan backpack back and forth as she walked down the street with a slight skip in her step toward home. By her appearance, it didnt look like she had much. She wore a pair of well-worn jeans with several holes along the legs, and her white sneakers were pretty beat up and covered with dirt streaks and grease spots from when she made her rounds through the City. She wore a black T-Shirt with the sleeves torn off; she preferred wearing dark colored tops, because they could hide the grim for a bit longer than lighter tints could.
She preferred the name Alex, and the preference matched her tomboyish appearance. She kept her light blonde hair short and shaggy; long hair was difficult to care for, and it would only get in her way and bring unwanted attention from the undesirables of the city. As such, she also avoided any make-up or painting her nails, and she was grateful that she had brown eyes, a very common trait among most people.
However, to say she was filthy was a bit unfair. She kept good care of her personal hygiene, and her clothing, albeit dirty, didnt smell of body odor. Rather the smell of the city clung to her clothing: smoky from the cars, sometimes tempting from the smells of the plentiful street side food vendors, and occasionally earthy from the few times she did go searching for treasures most people throw away.
Her stroll along the street was interrupted by the cracked, but warm, greeting from a homeless panhandler sitting between an alley and a local drug store. His appearance was severely unkempt, a journal to catalogue the many years hes been out here. But when he had caught sight of Alex, his heart warmed as she crossed the street.
GDay Miss Monroe, he called out to Alex, Another beautiful day for a walk, eh?
Heya Henry, She smiled brightly at the older weather-worn man, Every day is a perfect for a walk, even the rainy ones. Hows business? She joked.
Henry looked inside his open can, Im doing alright, Ill have enough to rent an apartment soon enough. It was the same phrase he used every day. Alexis came closer and dug into her side pocket.
Well maybe this will help you out, She pulled out a handful of quarters, nickels, and dimes, Found about $5.40 along Madison Avenue. The change sang as it fell into the can, the music of the streets of Paragon City, You have a good day, yhear Henry.
Best day of my life, Henry responded with his normal farewell.
Alex knew he wasnt quite right all the time in his head, but she was fond of the older man and knew the Citys system had never been kind to him. Henry was usually her last stop before returning home to a normally empty apartment. Her mom worked double shifts six days of the week, and her dad, well her dad hadnt been around for quite some time.
She was about fifteen feet from the stoop of the apartment building when a tall clean-shaven man in a dark suit and hat exited through the door. She never saw the likes of him before around this area.
Heya mister! She called out to him, Are ya a visitor or new resident?
Ramon walked out of his apartment on the second floor his room was 210. He was wearing a black trench coat a black cowboy style hat and some blue jeans. The trench coat was close and had long sleeves. As he walked by he saw Miss Monroe in the hallway "Well i guess i should pay my rent" he said to him self as he walked pass Miss Monroe he handed her and envelope. "Thank you for the rent. Are you off to work?" she said with a smile "Yes I am Miss." he reply as he lowered his head "You know you should show your face sometime i bet its very handsome."
Only if she knew. In truth he was basically a walking grey tabby fur, tail complete with yellow eyes. so he hides his look while he is around the apartment or working as private eye he was free to walk the town with the coat or when the time called for it his costume. but only his teammates which he trust or around people he truely knows does the coat come off.
He continued on his way out and saw the new guy at the apartment.
Hunter stopped and looked at the girl that had just shouted at him. He wondered if she lived there as well. He walked down the steps toward her before answering.
"I'm the new resident in 207," he replied quietly. "Is this your building as well?"
Alex sized the man up as he approached her and tried to get a feel for who he was; she got the impression that he was the mysterious, brooding type of guy, someone who liked to keep to themselves if they have a choice. The key word was if; since he was a new resident, she would do what she could to make him feel welcome.
Yeah, she began to answer his question, The movers were making all sorts of racket trying to move you in. Im in number 107, right below you, the names Alex Monroe. She extended her hand in greeting.
You must be important. Some of the movers wore suits and sunglasses; obviously agents
the biggest cliché in the book. They performed an inspection of all the apartments before your arrival too. That nosy bat, Mabel, made such a big fuss over it; I figure Hey, as long as you dont ruffle through my underwear drawer feel free to tour my apartment, I aint got nothin to hide
Alex consciously stopped talking; she didnt mean to go on and on like that.
Hunter smirked slightly.
"Hunter Black," he told her, shaking her hand with a gloved hand of his own. "Nice woman, Mabel. Lovely dog she has there." He wondered if Alex would pick up on his sarcasm. Not many people did.
Alex caught on to what he meant; she didn't believe anyone was foolish enough to truly think Mabel was a nice woman, and not a two-faced devil-woman. Ok, maybe that was a bit harsh, but that woman has pushed her bounds in Alexs space way too often.
Oh, she sure is, Alex played along, If youre lucky shell invite you over for 5 oclock tea. She has a killer tea kettle. Heh, so are ya new to the City or have you just moved from a different district?
At that moment, she noticed the man from 210 leaving the building and it appeared as though he caught sight of the new guy. She gave a wide wave to Ramon, who always seemed to be hidden in his coat, though she remained attentive for Hunter's response.
"I'm new," Hunter told her. "First day, actually. I was told I ought to look around a bit. To be honest, I'd be happy just to find a good library." He wondered in the back of his mind why he was still talking to the girl. But Jones had told him to meet people and have fun. He doubted his handler's idea of fun meant burying himself in some dusty old book no one's read in decades.
Nyte sat on a ledge a few stories up watching the building across the road with some trepidation, it was always somewhat nerve wracking to move into a new area which begged the question why exactly did she do it so often? mentally shrugging to herself Nyte pushed the self asked question from her mind, no point in worrying over it, she moved because she felt the need to and while some therapist might be able to come up with a long winded explaination for this quirk Nyte found it easier to simply accept it as part of herself.
Grifter - her typical partner in well..the opposite in crime thought she was batty, her constant change of address drove him crazy - but since she was both adept as keeping him alive and one of the few willing to put up with his ill temper he shrugged it off with only a few comments here and there.
She'd asked him to help her move...he'd hired a moving company. It wasn't exactly the help she'd wanted but she didn't turn it down. The rest of her supergroup? Well they probably just shook thier heads and called her restless.
Sighing slightly as she spotted the approaching truck - the name of the moving company emblazoned on the side along with some tacky symbol and thier phone number Nyte jumped off the ledge to wing her way down to the sidewalk.
Unlike most so called supers...Nyte didn't bother with a false image or secret identity...lets face it when you have wings sprouting out of your back its rather difficult to hide - you could either walk around with a lump on your back from trying to hide them under clothes (and no matter how flat you tried to tie them there was always a bump) - or purchase some expensive technological device to 'cloak' them from view...which didn't help much if someone brushed up against them. Neither option was worth the hassle to Nyte..and anyways why should she hide who she was? In any case in a city with this many superheroes she was hardly a known figure...her team were not flashy in the spotlight type of heroes. That was fine with Nyte.
Brushing a strand hair from her face Nyte briefly recalled the need to dye it again, though typically blonde she often dyed coloured streaks into it, matching whatever flavor of the month colour she favored wearing. This month is was lilac purple, and the thin purple streaks were begining to fade away.
Her wings like her hair were often considered an acsessory to Nyte, she was able to change thier color on a whim simply by thinking it - well...mostly for some reason the top halves could only fluctuate between grey,black and white...right now they were silver..the lower portion of her wings reflected the colour of her hair the flight feather's radiating a pale lilac, the two colours followed through the rest of her clothing, a long tailed jacket, short skirt and lacy top...Nyte was rarely seen in simple jeans and tee-shirts. She was eccentric..but who wasn't in this city?
Wings fluttering slightly she greeted the movers cheerfully as they unlocked the truck, following them inside to help unload despite thier protests.
"What do you want me to do just sit and watch?"
She exclaimed, rolling her eyes when they said yes..thats exactly what she was supposed to do. Propping a box on her hip she shook her head and started off towards the building.
"Whatever"
((If I may ask, what zone of Paragon City are we in?))
Alex smiled that Hunter seemed to be a bookworm and was happy to offer him advice, Well, the closest public library is the McVain Memorial Library on Brooks Street. Alister McVain was an old money aristocrat of sorts, but rather than let his children inherit all the family wealth when he passed away, most of it was donated to the construction of a library. Im going to guesstimate at least twenty million went into the project; its three stories high and filled with countless books from floor to ceiling
and some tasteful art in between. Library cards are free there. There are also two nearby bookstores: Hand-Me-Down Texts, a small cornerstore down the street that has a good stock of books that have been recycled, and The Great Library, a more exclusive bookstore that specializes in world mythology and the arcane but that one is a good hour or so walk from here and in a back alley.
((Let's say Galaxy City, heavily populated and lots of official offices and stuff))
"Thank you, I'll have to...check it out..." Hunter's voice trailed away as he watched the approaching movers and the strange person with wings sprouting from her back. He backed up slightly as they entered the building.
Alex followed his gaze and moved out of the way with him as the movers approached. Her eyes widened a bit upon seeing the woman with wings. She whispered to Hunter, "Wow, another new resident...and a hero at that! I think she'll be the first one in this apartment..."
Obviously, Alex was unaware that this winged woman was joining the ranks with Hunter and Ramon as hero tenants.
"Yes..." Hunter said, rather distracted by the wings. He had very seldom met anyone with extra-human powers. And when he had, it was never friendly. But that was all in the past now. Now he would be working with such people on a regular basis.
having been somewhat pre-occupied with the fussy movers Nyte had nearly failed to notice the two people chatting outside the buildings door's, being startled by people was a strange feeling for an empath who tended to pick up if not peoples feelings then at least thier presences long before she nearly trod upon them..but hey no one could focus on everythign now could they.
"Sorry! so sorry!"
She apologized to them both as they back up a bit, it seems she'd inturrupted thier conversation, and she hesitated slightly..was it best to just keep on going and let them get back to thier business or stop and introduce herself? Her hesitation made her nearly miss the steps and to cover her near mishap she made as if she'd ment to set the box on the step above. Right well..I guess it was introduce yourself, the movers continued on thier way while Nyte flashed the man and women a bright smile and offered her hand.
"I'm Nyte, sorry for you know..."
She trailed of and motioned towards them
"Inturrupting you"
Hunter hesitated slightly before shaking her hand with a gloved hand of his own.
"Hunter Black," he told her. "I'm a new resident here as well. Miss Monroe here was just telling me about the local book sellers. Do you need a hand with your things, Miss?" He felt a bit embarrassed by the deeply ingrained prejudice he still sometimes felt toward those with powers. As always, he buried them away in the back of his mind.
Alex quickly accepted Nytes hand in greeting; the young teenager couldnt help but let her eagerness go unchecked, after all, how often do you actually meet a hero? Sure, you can catch a glimpse of a half dozen if you spin around fast enough, but theyre normally too busy to stop.
Heya, Nyte. Alex Monroe, room 107. The fourteen-year old quickly followed Hunter with her own offer to help the hero move in.
Nyte's smile didn't falter as Hunter took his time deciding weather or not to shake her hand - it wasn't like his hesitation was glaring or anything but she was aware of it...it wasn't the worse greeting she'd gotten she recalled with a wry smile at an old memory.
Despite the hesitation the man seemed friendly enough - on the surface at least she didn't know him well enough to get a true reading on him though it was clear he had some reservations...and in anycase it wasn't polite to pry into others feelings she reminded herself sternly.
"Oh good! At least I won't be the only new person bumbling about to get my bearings"
she remarked as one of the movers returned and with a somewhat stern look took the box she'd set on the step before dissapearing again while the other went back tothe truck, nyte shrugged slightly and turned her attention to the younger girl..Alex it seemed whose enthusiastic greeting made Nyte chuckle somewhat.
"Good to meet you ALex and while your both kind...apparantly"
and here she cast a glance at the returning mover with his next load of boxes.
"We're not supposed to help"
"Mr.Storm would be very upset" protested the mover as he slipped past and Nyte rolled her eyes at her two companions before shouting after him.
"Grifter won't really care...he only hired you people so he wouldn't have to help himself!"
Turning her attention back to her companions she explained.
"Grif is an accomplish of mine, he's cranky...and thinks I'm batty for moving again but"
She shrugs.
Hunter found himself smiling slightly. He had seldom been around such light-hearted people. It almost made him feel normal.
"Ah, moving's not so bad," he commented. "Lived in a lot of places, have you, Miss?"
Nyte nodded slightly at Hunter's question.
"No..moving itself is a pain, but going to a new place is never boring - on the contrary I find it rather refreshing. How about yourself? moved around alot? or just as often as necessary?"
Almost as an afterthought she tacked on another statement.
"And please call me Nyte..or Shaide, thats my last name but I'll answer to both"
"I've never lived in one place for long," Hunter replied. "Although..." He hesitated. He wondered if he was giving up too much information about his past.
"Moving was always necessary," he stated and left it at that. A lot of people move from necessity, he decided. It was a safe thing to admit.
Nyte tipped her head slightly as Hunter answered - he seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the current track of thier conversation - her mind whirled with maddingly imaginitive reasons for this, was he a spy working undercover to destabalize the neighborhood to facilitate a corporate take-over due to the subsequent loss of property value? Or maybe a murderous ex-boyfriend on the run after feeding his girlfriend to the local wildlife? Highly doubtful..most likely he was just a man who didn't wish to tell a stranger his life story...perfectly understandable...but it was still amusing to spin the wild stories in her own mind, it was an old habit - something to amuse yourself with on boring stake-outs.
Pushing such ridiculous thoughts from her mind Nyte decided to change the course of thier discussion - wouldn't do to be pushy and alienate the neighbors right off the bat.
"Most people only move when they have too"
She agreed glancing at Alex for a moment before turning her blue-grey eyes back to Hunter.
'So you two were talkiong about bookstores before I nearly ran you over? I take it you like to read then? what genre...I myself am always a sucker for a well written fantasy or science fiction."
"Old things, mostly," Hunter answered. "Histories, philosophy, old fiction. I think the most recently written thing I've read of late was probably The Hobbit."
Ramon saw Alex wave at him. so he quickly tips his hat to her as quickly as he could hopeing that she wouldnt see his furry cat like hands. "So it looks like we got a new guy." he said in a cheerful voice. "welcome to the city and watch out for the rikti" he said with a laugh as he walked closer to the Alex and Hunter as the tip of his tail slipped out of his trench coat he quickly turned in back in. man i need to stop doing that he thought to himself. the last time i got caught i ended up in a fight with the Crey and the Family.
Blake walked down the street with a bop in his step due to the headphones in his ear, the white cord going down and disappearing inside his pocket. He had a red shirt with a yellow symbol on the front that looked like flames inside a circle with runic symbols where the four main directions would be. The sleeves were torn off at the shoulders, exposing muscular although somewhat skinny arms. He had jeans that were faded and cut at the knees, and white and black sneakers.
He had black hair that almost reached his shoulders and that was kind of shaggy. His eyes were a dull blue, and despite the music being blasted, he still seemed focused. His hands were dug in his pockets, on his left wrist was a black wristband, and on his right shoulder was a small black line that you could barely see because of the shirt.
As he turned the corner he saw the building he and his sister lived in. Although he was only sixteen he lived by himself with his sister, who was only twelve. No one had noticed, however, although Blake was wary when the old hag with the puppy was around.
As he was approaching the building, he saw a group of three people, the only one he noticed was Alex. Blake raised an eyebrow to himself as he kept coming. As he was a couple feet away from the little group, his hands came out of his pockets and he took the headphones out, letting them hang by his side. He nodded his head as he came within earshot, saying "Hey Alex, how's it going?"
Blake nodded towards the two other people, his eyebrow again slightly raised "These your relatives or something?" He looked at them but didn't offer his hand yet, wary of the man because he looked so gloomy, and wary of the one with wings because...Well, because she had wings.
((Hope you don't mind Blake already knowing Alex, do you? Since Blake would live there and so does she, I thought it would be OK, but I'll edit if you want))
"That's really..."
Nyte paused for a few moments trying to come up with a suitable response before giving up and laughing lightly to Hunter.
"...Not really current at all, can't say I read many old writings, though I've always wanted to try Paradise Lost"
She continued with a smile before noticing the approach of another whose quick movements and secretive clothing made her slightly wary, though she showed this only with a slight ruffle of her wings..something most if they noticed wouldn't really connect with unease, he seemed to know Alex however and she nodded to him politely before yet another person walked up - this one a younger male - busy place she thought absently to herself as she regarded this new arrival with a smile.
He seemed somewhat unsettled by her - though Nyte was used to such reactions, going through life with wings ment you got used to a few wary looks and stares now and again, to flashed him a reassuring smile.
"Oh no...I just met Alex actually I'm moving in"
She answered his question to Alex with a slight motion towards the buildings door, the motion coincided with the reapperence of the two mover who after stating they were finished proceeded to close up the truck. Nyte didn't register they were leaving however until they started to climb into the cab.
"Hey!"
she shouted at the one nearest to her.
"What about your bill?"
"Already taken care of ma'am" The mover stated before tipping his hat slightly and slamming the door closed at the truck started up, pursing her lips Nyte turned back to the group decidely displeased with that new's, though she covered it with a warm smile.
Hunter stood in the hall of the apartment building with a long duffel bag in one hand and backpack in the other. Everything he owned fit easily in the two bags. He set one down and pulled a keyring from a pocket. Apartment 207. He scanned the hall and saw the door down on the left-hand side. As he picked the bag and moved to the door, a neighbor came out into the hall. She was an middle-aged woman holding a yappy little dog in her arms. The dog squirmed and barked and broke free of her.
"Precious!" the woman exclaimed. "Get back here!" The dog bolted for Hunter, its owner bustling after it. It stopped just shy of his foot, barking and growling. Hunter ignored it.
"Bad dog!" the woman scooped up her pet. "I am so sorry. She's normally a good dog. I can't think of what could've come over her." Hunter smirked slightly. He had heard the dog barking as soon as he had entered the hall.
"Quite alright, ma'am," he said politely. He turned to look at the woman. She had the look of a busybody; frumpy hair, a housecoat, and an eager look on her face. He knew she was about to start casually grilling him for information about himself.
"I'm Mabel VanGrus of 204," she smiled. "You must be the new tenant. Lesley told me the Feds were putting someone in our building. He said it was the witness protection program." Her voice dropped to a whisper and she looked at him expectantly. When he didn't respond she continued.
"Well, I figured it must be you," she said with a fake look of symapthy. "There were officers and movers all over 207 the other day, and now here you are with just two bags and looking a bit lost. I can tell you all about everyone in the building. There's no one here you need to worry about. We're all pretty quiet, keep to ourselves." She looked expectant again.
"I'm Hunter Black," he told her with a small smile that she likely wouldn't catch. "I assure you, ma'am, I'm not in witness protection. I am currently working with the police and the Bureau of Super-powered Affairs. As I am new to this city, they were kind enough to find me housing."
"Oh, you're one of them," she said, now looking rather excited. "A super in our very building. What can you do? Can you fly? Do you have some secret powers?" Hunter had to supress a laugh.
"No, ma'am," he said. "I have no powers to speak of. I'm just very good at what I do."
"What do you do?" she pestered.
"I kill people," he said with a smile she couldn't miss. Mabel stared at him. Hunter knew she was trying to determine if he was being serious or joking. He saved her the effort and laughed aloud.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I've been told I have a wicked sense of humor. No, I'm just good in a fight and they need people, so here I am. We're all just doing our part, after all, to make the world a better place." Mabel smiled, looking a bit relieved.
"Well, welcome to Paragon City, young man," she said. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I'm sort of the unofficial mother of the building. I just like taking care of people. It's my nature I suppose." She looked very pleased with herself. Hunter determined that his initial impression of Mabel was correct. She was very likely the most dangerous person to him in the building.
"Thank you, ma'am," he smiled again. "I will keep that in mind." He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. Mabel was now talking to her dog, but hanging around to see the inside of his apartment.
"Bye now," Hunter smiled at her as he closed the door. He sighed and let the smile fade away as he surveyed his new place of residence.
It was rather spartan, which he liked. The carpet was a drab tan color. Facing one wall was a blue sofa. A television sat against the wall, its remote control on the arm of the couch. There was one small book shelf next to the tv, and a little end table beside the couch. Behind the sofa, a counter and two black bar stools divided the living room from the kitchen which was big enough for a small square table, one chair, a fridge, and a stove. On the counter sat a microwave.
Hunter tossed the bags on the sofa and went to the kitchen to inspect his food supply. The cabinets and fridge were well-stocked with all the essentials. There was no junk food, which Hunter wouldn't eat. It seemed they had a pretty good understanding of his diet. This disturbed him slightly. How long had they been watching him? He closed the cabinets and investigated the rest of the small apartment. There was one bedroom with a brown and blue color scheme, just as drab as the living room. The bathroom and a linen closet were the only two other doors in the place.
Hunter got to unpacking. He was sure they had placed surveillance equipment around the apartment to keep an eye on him. He set his tanto and katana on their stand and set it on the counter. Then he hung out his clothes and arranged his books on the shelf provided. He dug his laptop from the backpack and plugged it in before stashing the bags and a few things he didn't want to reveal to the suveillance equipment in the linen closet. He sat down on the sofa and turned on the computer. He found the wireless network they told him would be there and set up his computer to access it. As soon as he was online, a face appeared on his screen.
"Agent Black," the face of an older gentleman in a suit not dissimilar to Hunters stated. "Good to see you're settled in. I hope you find everything to your liking."
"It's fine, sir," Hunter said quietly. "Although I would've left out the television."
"Gotta stay current," the man told him. "Watch the news, see what's going on. You should try watching some regular programs, too. You might find you like them."
"I prefer reading," Hunter said blandly. "You know, books. Words. Literacy seems to be something forgotten in this country."
"Well now you're in this country, maybe you can try to blend in a little," the man stated. "Don't be so grim. It's not healthy, especially for someone your age. You're, what, twelve?" Hunter smirked slightly.
"Close," he stated. "Twenty-seven. Which you know, as you seem to know everything else about me."
"Just about," the man sat back in his chair and his face receded slightly on the computer screen. "Don't worry. I'm the only one with access to your file. Your identity is safe. Work with us and you won't have to worry about being found."
Hunter scowled slightly. The threat was there but veiled. He knew if he went against the Bureau they would leak his whereabouts to the people hunting him. Oh it would an accident of course. They would apologize and investigate how it could have happened but only after he'd been roughed up...or worse. He doubted they would let it go too far, they were supposed to be the good guys after all, but still he didn't trust them. And apparently they didn't trust him much either.
"People without choices only cooperate for so long, sir," he stated in almost a whisper.
"You have another choice, son, which you are perfectly aware of," the man said unsympathetically. "I could always send you back to prison. But that's such a waste of your talent. I would prefer it if you work with us. The question is, do you prefer freedom or your cell?"
"This is hardly freedom," Hunter whispered. He sighed. "But, I have given my word. And this cell is much more comfortable." The man smiled.
"Relax," he told him. "Try to live a little. Who knows, you might actually enjoy yourself."
"I'll try, sir," Hunter stated.
"I'm not your enemy, Hunter," the man said. "I'm looking out for you. Try to remember we're on the same side, alright?"
"Alright," he replied quietly. "I'll check in tonight at 2100 hours as agreed."
"In the meantime, go do a little siteseeing before meeting your contact," the man stated. "Familiarize yourself with the city, and...I don't know catch a movie. Do something fun."
"Goodday, sir," Hunter said with a small smile. He terminated the conversation and closed the computer.
He picked up the remote for the tv and stared at it for a moment. Then he put put it down as he shook his head. He went to the counter and grabbed the tanto off the rack. After hiding it in a sheath beneath his jacket, he went to the door. He listened for a moment before stepping out into the hall and locking the door behind him. He walked out into the city, not quite knowing what to expect.