Lesson to be learnt ((closed RP))

((This is a small forum RP, to develope characters and a plot. It is based around the New Vigilants. So if you are part of the NV, UV or assosiated in anyway and want to get your character involved please drop me a pm for some info. It will be starting slowly ))

Leo walked slowly toward the station. He was feeling rather low, he had returned to Galaxy City and ran into Zortel. She had throughly told him off but Leo felt she had still let him off lightly. To top it all off he had found out Gemini was back in Paragon City, in Zortel's care. The trains being as efficent as ever Leo was stood outside Vigilant Tower in no time. The stepped inside the lobby and felt the tension in his shoulder ease for the first time and weeks. He approached the reception desk.

"Welcome back Mr Wright." Smiled the Gynoid behind the desk. "Your room is ready for you and the fire and water damage has been repaired."
"Thank you." Leo headed slowly toward the elevator. All of Leo's things had been put tidily away. His commslink had been placed on the desk next to his computor. Leo did not think he would be able to sleep. He was snoring before his head hit the pillow.

He woke up the next day feeling refreshed. He showered off the grime of the last few weeks and got ready for the day. He picked up the commslink from the desk and activated it.

"Good morning BODICIA." Leo spoke into the comms.
"Good Morning Leo. Would you like me to let Ryan know you will be along shortly?" She replied as efficently as ever.
"Yes, thank you BODICIA" Leo looked in the mirror checking his appearance again and then stepped out into the corridor.

As he made his way through the corridors to Ryan office he was greeted with a few hello's, but mostly he heard silenced conversations or muttered comments. Leo just wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole when he caught a whispered conversation.

"You know he knocked out Ryan!"
"Never! He has some nerve to comeback here then!"

He paused outside Ryan's door, took a deep breath, braced himself and knocked lightly.

((edited the title as it was a bit rubbish and deceptive))

"Come in." Ryan's voice came from behind the door.

Cindersnap was sat at his desk, somewhat idly flicking over various reports on his desktop computer. Attendance, reports, injuries and all the other issues that occured in such groups were displayed in an easy to view format, and he'd taken to pouring over them in moments of boredness, or in this case, anxiety.

It was fairly easy to get lost in a spreadsheet, after all.

Glancing as Leo came in, the young leader of the group stoof up and motioned him to sit down. "Leo... firstly, welcome back. We were all worried about you, y'know?" He smiled sadly. "And secondly... I'm sorry about Helen. Believe me... I know what it's like to lose loved ones, and if you ever need to talk, or just to maybe smack a punching bag around or something, the New Vigilants are here to do what we can."

Leo closed the door behind him and slowly approached the chair.

"I'm sorry Ryan. It wasn't a punching bag I wanted to hit. After what they did to her..." Tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Leo blinked them back, determined not to break now. "I realise my actions were taken in anger. I'm sorry for any worry I have caused. I just wasn't thinking straight." Shaking his head Leo slumped into the chair. "How's your jaw? Sorry about that too."

Ryan grinned. "Well, I hope it wasn't my chin you wanted to hit either." The young man laughed, getting a bottle of orange juice from his minifridge before taking a sip. "It's alright, though it made my weekend with my boyfriend a little annoying. You ever tried eating pizza with your jaw throbbing? Not fun. But eh, I've had worse happen. It's alright."

Thumbing to the fridge with a questioning look at Leo, the young man soon started to pace around the room. "Question is, not what I want you to do or anything... but what do -you- want to do?"

"I didn't want to punch you, but knocking you out was the easiest way to get to the hotel alone. You would never have let me go, would you?" Leo smiled knowing he would have stopped Ryan if the positions were reversed.

Leo declined the offer of a drink with a wave if his hand.

"Until Gemini was kidnapped I tried to deny who I am. If it wasn't for you and the new Vigilants, I would probably be the next Crey experiment or a Crey Agent, maybe something even worse. The training you have given me stopped me becoming the monster they wanted me to be." Leo looked at the ground while he remembered the events of the last few weeks. "I went to the Rogue Isles and it was temping Ryan. I thought I went to find Gemini, I was wrong. I went to…. Lets just say I found a side of myself I didn’t like much."

Leo stood up and looked Ryan in the eyes.

"I want to be someone who can be counted on. I want to stop anyone else from feeling the pain that fills me. I want to make the world a safer place. I can’t change the past, but I can make a better future." Leo's face showed the grim determination of someone who had finally made up their mind.

"Nope, not in the state you were in, Leo." Ryan said in response to letting him go, before pausing to listen to the young (If older than him) man speak.

"What was tempting was the easy way, Leo. Where you do what you want, what you feel, where you're the one that matters, not anyone else. Hell, with our powers, if all of the New Vigilants thought like that, well... the world would be a pretty grim place." Cindersnap smiled, his eyes glowing behind his shades.

"We take the hard route, make the tough choices, put ourselves on the line to make others happy and safe. And that kind of attitude that you've got, to pick yourself up and resist temptation and to want to make a difference? That's the kind of thing that the Metahuman Youth Reforment Scheme was based on. That's the scheme that got me out of Juvvie, that taught me to be a hero, to join the Unity Vigil, and took me to this path today."

Getting up from where he was leaning on the desk, Ryan offered Leo a hand. "So I'm more than happy to keep training you. Two good looking blond guys like us? Evil's gonna burn with us on the scene."

Leo took Ryan's hand and being stonger, he easily pulled Ryan into a hug. Then laughed and let him go.

"At least I have someone who can understand where I'm coming from at the moment. That means a lot to me."

"Evil's going down." Leo crouched and mock punched the air playfully. "No-one will see my good looks standing next to you!" Leo's smile dropped a little as he stood up straight again.

"Can I see Gemini now?"

Ryan hugged back in the manly, brotherly sort of way of male bonding before grinning. "Wish I did when I was younger, but y'know, us American teens are good for more than just being mallrats, we get the right path given the chance. And you flatterer you." The young man laughed, nudging Leo's shoulder with his fist, before looking a little more serious.

"Of course you can. She's over on the Medical ward at Unity Tower, second floor. Just ask at the reception and a Vigilant will like, take you up." He explained, before smiling. "If you want me to head over there with you, just give me a shout, 'kay?"

Uncertainty flashed across Leo's face. He ran his hands through his spiky hair

"I don't think I can go alone. I don't know what they did to her and if I get upset.... Well I'm not sure what would happen!" Leo felt a little relieved to finally be honest, not just with himself, but with someone else too. "How did she end up here anyway?"

Ryan looked at his friend for a long moment before motioning him to sit down.

"While we were at the hotel, a van pulled up outside the plaza, and a pair of unidentified people chucked something from their van. It slid across the plaza and through the doors. BODICIA thought it was a bomb, but... turns out it was Gemini. She was in quite a bad way, Leo... we sedated her and took her over to the medical ward at the tower."

He smiled gently at Leo though. "Though she's on the mend physically, I mean, if they were able to put my ribcage back together, they can do anything."

Leo started to pace the room, concern etched on his face.

"And mentally?" Leo left the question open. "Has she said anything? I watched the DVD she sent me. It looked like her, but she wasn't herself. She spoke almost like a fanatic. I don't understand what they have done to her, but they have done something."

"We're... not entirely sure, y'know?" Ryan sighed. "She asked for you by name soon after, but... we haven't gotten a word out of her since, and any psychics we used to try and communicate mentally with her came away with either nothing or one hell of a migraine..."

"We'll find out what got done to her though, and we'll undo it. These companies are like, fanatics about taking notes and making reports, so there's bound to be documentation somewhere, right?"

"This entire situation was designed to trap me and it nearly did. When they returned Gemini the chances are they destroyed everything." Leo thought aloud. "Almost like throwing out the trash after a failed experiment."

"Perhaps..." Something clicked in Leo's mind. "Perhaps they only returned Gemini because they knew we would keep looking for her. That the search would not end until she was found. Who knows what illegal activities we would have uncovered."

"I'm sure I can get some answers out of her. At the very least make sure she is ok. Shall we go?" Leo was unsure of what to expect when he saw Gemini. At least the search was over.

"Maybe... all we can do is guess really." Ryan said, before nodding and getting up. "Let's take the long way. If people see us walking about and chatting, well.... BODICIA likes to send me the digest of important chatter happening in the corridors and all." The young man smiled, finishing his drink before heading over to the office door.

"It is true, you know Leo." BODICIA commented. "Listening to and translating teenage chatter helps keep me occupied, and you learn all sorts of interesting things. Such as what an 'Ollie' is. And that a bunny hop is something other than what rabbits do. And most importantly, I will teach people to fear my leet pwnsome skillz. Et cetera et cetera."

"I wonder how much the truth has changed as it passed down the grapevine?" Leo chuckled. "I get the point about being seen together, thanks Ryan. The next few weeks, possibly months, are going to be hard enough as it is."

Ryan opened the door as Leo walked over. Leo was about to say something when he stepped out into the corridor. Not paying any attention, he collided with young, red haired girl. Leo being over 6 foot tall and well built, the girl just bounced off him. Books flew up in the air as she fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry!" Leo exclaimed as he rushed forward and caught her before she hit the floor. "At least my reactions are getting better." He beamed a big smile at her.

Tracey blinked and half-cried out as her path converged with Leo's. Before she'd a chance to think about the sudden change in direction, namely towards the ground, she was caught by the young man.

"Oh, uh, n-no problem. Sh-shoulda been looking where I w-was, uh, going 'n all..." Tracey stuttered in the way she always does when put off balance, figuratively and literally in this instance, a faint blush growing on her cheeks.

As she maneuvered out of Leo's arms and collected her scattered books, Tracey managed to finally click on who'd she walked in to. "Um, a-aren't you Leo?" she asked, a book hovering halfway to the few in the crook of her arm as she payed a bit more attention to what was going on.

Leo steadied the girl as she removed herself from his arms.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't looking either." He picked up on of the dropped books and held it out to her. "Yeah I'm Leo, I'm sure you've heard a rumour or two." He smiled as he poked fun at himself. "You're Tracey right? I heard Zortel say your name."

Ryan stood back to watch with a smile, arms folded across his chest. While being seen with Leo might help quell some of the rumours, the young man also realised that Leo getting his own point across to someone would help.

And he always enjoyed seeing Tracey maybe make friends or talk to others.

Tracey smiled shyly as she took the last book from Leo and stood up, holding the books to her chest as you would expect of a young teenager when they're nervous. "Um, y-yeah thats me, and a-as for rumours, I d-don't really pay attention to them. Way t-too many turn out to be just mean gossip of people who don't know any better, y'know?"

The blush on her cheeks grew as she spotted Ryan. "Oh, I-I'm interrupting something aren't I? I-I'll just let you get back to it..." She stammered as she started to move away from the pair.

Ryan grinned to Tracey. "Not at all, hun. And 'sides, you're right to say that. I mean, a lot of rumours are just that, no substance to them at all." With a blur of orange light, he appeared behind Tracey with a hand on her shoulder.

"Really, it's up to Leo if you want to tag along with us for a bit. We're heading downstairs. 'sides, some pretty girl company is something I always like!" He grinned, peering over the top of his sunglasses to give her a wink.

"I don't mind at all. The more the merrier." Taking his shades out of his pocket. "Ryan appreciates the fine eye a girl has for spotting the good looking guys." He said with a cheeky grin. "Present company excluded of course." He slipped on his shades.

"Besides I don't really know many people here, due to certain issues. It would be nice to get to know you Tracey. Shall we?" Leo motioned for Tracey to proceed. "Ladies first." Leo relaxed even more, there was that feeling again. It felt like home.

"Hey, I'm a taken man, Leo." Ryan laughed as they headed to the elevators. "Good thing my guy knows I love having female friends. And I can spot my own good looking guys."

Stepping into the elevator after Tracey, Ryan glanced upwards. "Speaking of female friends, BODICIA? Ground Floor please."

"I have to admit sunglasses are useful for more than just blocking out the sun." Leo's laughter was cut short with a swift pang of guilt over Helen. His smile disappeared as he mentally kicked himself.

Tracey smiled, the blush growing a little more again. "I dunno about that 'pretty girl company' you're talking about, or that 'fine eye'. Josh is all the good looks I could ever want, anyway."

Shuffling her books about into a more comfortable position, she gives a small and timid giggle "S-same, Leo. I-I just find it hard to talk to new people, really, so I d-don't know that many of the other students either..."

"I'm glad you both have someone special. Life sorta feels empty with out it. Anyway... " Leo changed the subject. "You just need a little confidence Tracey. A friendly, open smile is normally my trick. I find people are generally more open to casually chatting."

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. "Into the lion's den once more." joked Leo as he stepped out of the lift.