Man, what a beeee-EUTIFUL day it is, Kent thought on waking up. Stretching as he looked out the window, his old heart was warmed merely by what a gorgeous day it looked to be. Another day on my corner like this, he mused, and I might be able to skip playin' on Saturday. Not that he would, really. Playing guitar on a corner near the Atlas Memorial in front of City Hall wasn't his job, it was his love: love what you do, and you never work a day in yer life, Pop had said. Not surprisingly, Pop was right.
About an hour later, Kent was out working his favorite corner. He kind of shared it with Sunstorm these days, but for a human-alien hybrid he was a great conversationalist - and a music lover, to boot! So of course, alright in my book, Kent had said after meeting him. It'd taken a while to get it through to the town crier that he wasn't there to compete in decibel levels. Heathen non-music-lover, methinks, but oh well. He must be doin' somethin' right, though, he's been there a while whether he's had any brochures to hand out or not. Maybe he'll come around...
Passerbies of all kinds looked in wonder at the duo of guitarist and the monkey who play-acted at conducting that seemed almost as playful in spirit and body as the music that came from the guitar. Some regulars that worked in the area greeted them as they passed by, others were new faces - tourists. But all were happy to see the guitarist and his monkey playing in front of Atlas, and only the regulars knew that - rain, snow, or shine - the tunes were always here, and they were always uplifting.
Kent was enjoying himself immensely, as usual. There weren't too many Hellions around, which was nice. Some of them tried for his case on occasion, and neither Sunstorm or Miss Liberty's presence could be counted on, but someone usually was on hand to step in. Even though he'd never lost a dollar or a case, or guitar, it still wasn't easy on the nerves. Smiling to himself, well, let 'em try, not even Hellions couldn't spoil a day like this for him. The only thing was that Kent couldn't help but wonder if there was a catch. A whole week of weather this good? Somethin's gotta give, but he tried not to concern himself with that. It wasn't until he was in the middle of the Beatles' "I'll Follow the Sun" that anything happened, though, and at first, it was nothing more than a broken string. No big, he laughed to himself. Kent had the guitar on the ground and was busying himself with replacing it, when a shadow flitted overhead. A big one.
Pausing, he looked around, but didn't see anything. That, and the money was still there. Shrugging, he bent over his guitar again. Probably someone just figured out how to fly - or jump. He recalled that, any shadow you see go past is nothing to worry about, it's the ones that land on you that you need to be concerned about.
Then he caught a whiff of... something. He paused, and wrinkled his nose as he tried to think what it was. Something alarming about it, but he didn't know why. Then he froze.
Tiger scent. Uh oh. Then he recalled the shadow. Slowly, Kent looked up.
On the ledge above him sat a woman, or so it seemed. If, you know, tiger fur was normal for women who were into wearing casual business suits. Which, considering this being Paragon City, it kinda was... still, her toothy smile was a little sharp for his instincts to be completely at ease here.
"Hi Kent. Long time no see," she said, smiling. Perplexed, Kent was at a loss. He knew he should know her, but he couldn't recall her. Gettin' old, man, if you forget a babe like this, he thought. She reached up, pulled her shades down -
"Bengal! Babe, how ya been?" Kent was thrilled, he could live for another eighty years and there would still be no forgetting those eyes!
"Good, Kent! Been good. Listen, you ever miss the old days?"
"Babe, at my age, they're all old days. I - wait, hold on, tourist." Kent was quiet for a bit, and Bengal waited patiently.
After the tourist passed by heading up to the statue, Kent sighed, and went on. "Though, now that you mention it, there are some days I miss more than others." Bengal laughed.
"You mean, like, before your 'accident'?" That catty grin got even bigger.
Kent chuckled. "That, too. No, I was thinking, it's fun keepin' on keepin' on, ya know what I mean?" Bengal nodded. "But there's times when I miss bein' in a band." Looking around to see who was around, he spotted a regular, waved, and continued. "You ever miss that? Or, were those the old days you meant, babe?"
Bengal, without saying anything or losing that smile of hers, reached around behind her, and pulled out a guitar as an answer. As she began to tune, Kent laughed, "Thought so." He restrung his guitar, retuned it, looked around, and got it back into position when he saw there weren't any tourists watching. Looking up at Bengal, he asked "So what'll it be, babe?" She tapped her chin with her finger, thought a bit, and then began to strum. Chuckling, he joined in. It was a good day for Bob Seger, but then, when wasn't it?
As they were wrapping it up, Kent heard a scraping sound above him. Looking up again, he saw a couple of drums being shoved around. Catching Bengal's wide-eyed innocent look, she shrugged at him. "Uh huh. Riiiiiight, babe." She started laughing so hard she had to hug her stomach. About then, Kent saw a head poke out over the drums. "Hey Kent, how you been, man?"
"Been good. Watch Wolf, why do I smell a conspiracy, here?" Kent smiled. This was shaping up to be some serious fun. He hadn't seen this crew for months by now, and they hadn't played together in at least twice as long. Watch Wolf, he noticed, was in the same boat, stuck in one sort-of animal form. Dude was huge, at least 10 feet tall, and could grip a shield and sword nearly as tall, but today, it was gonna be drumsticks. Now the only thing missing was -
"Hi Kent."
Right.
Turning around, Kent looked up at the new arrival. He hadn't changed, still the same long grey hair and the same long black coat. In fact, he was the only one in the band still fully human, though here in Paragon, that didn't mean too terrible much. Especially considering he was quasi-mortal and older than Kent by a few orders of magnitude.
"Hi Raven. Guys, do we at least have a permit to perform here as a band?" Raven reached into his coat and produced a peice of paper, and held it out to him. Kent forgot to look around for tourists this time, and without realizing it, he was checking the permit when -
"Huh? What the.. can that monkey read?" Kent froze. The most intelligent thing he could think right then was "oops?"
He turned around to face the tourist. Regulars were used to the ruse, but tourists, no matter what they'd heard about this fair city, never seemed to believe it possible. So in order to avoid the stares, he took a Nemesis automaton and reprogrammed it to be able to hold the guitar so Kent could use his natural telekinetic talent to play it. He couldn't recall who'd given him the Telekinetic Kent look-alike automaton (that had been one WILD fifty-fifth birthday party) especially since the magic gift from Azuria had been swapped out by some villian or another to turn Kent from music-loving do-gooder to music-loving monkey. So in reality, the act of the monkey looking like he was conducting for the guitarist was really no act at all.
Bowing to the tourist and his wife, Kent simply said, "Welcome to Paragon City, folks!" They left, a little ill-at-ease, but hey, this was Paragon, after all, where anything that could happen usually did, as well as things that couldn't, or shouldn't. Even talking monkeys who play guitar through telekinesis! But it was too fine a day for musing on that. He turned back to the group, by now Raven had produced a keyboard from who-knows-where and Watch Wolf had his drums set up and ready to go. Kent realized he hadn't smiled this big in quite some time, and sighed in absolute pleasure. "We're back," was all he could say.
"Bad Moon Rising, on three?" Everyone nodded at Kent. Well, we're all smilin' like a pack of absolute fools, Kent thought, but so what, it's too good a day to care!
It's just another day in Paragon City, and it is GOOD to be back!
"Three!"
* * *
Miss Liberty liked the music, but - that crew... back? Oh brother, she thought. There goes the neighborhood. But then, the peace and quiet wasn't bound to last anyways, considering that Hero Licenses were set to be made free soon, albiet with restricted support services. That, and the news of an approaching asteroid had her on edge, too. Shaking that thought off as the band started into Peter Gabriel's "Slegehammer", she smiled. Might as well enjoy it, and at least they had good taste in tunes!
End.
* * *
By now, I'm already causing havoc in Paragon and performing good deeds in the Isles - and yes, in that order, too. So, see you guys in-game, and as Telekinetic Kent said, it is Good to Be Back!
@Raven Lord
Even against certain death, it matters not how or if we fight, only that we do.
Most amusing complement I've ever been paid on an outfit, from @Ukase regarding my Blue Eyed She-Devil Anson Maddocs "Fallen Angel" homage:
"She gives my ex-wife a run for the money."
Just Another Day in Paragon...
Man, what a beeee-EUTIFUL day it is, Kent thought on waking up. Stretching as he looked out the window, his old heart was warmed merely by what a gorgeous day it looked to be. Another day on my corner like this, he mused, and I might be able to skip playin' on Saturday. Not that he would, really. Playing guitar on a corner near the Atlas Memorial in front of City Hall wasn't his job, it was his love: love what you do, and you never work a day in yer life, Pop had said. Not surprisingly, Pop was right.
About an hour later, Kent was out working his favorite corner. He kind of shared it with Sunstorm these days, but for a human-alien hybrid he was a great conversationalist - and a music lover, to boot! So of course, alright in my book, Kent had said after meeting him. It'd taken a while to get it through to the town crier that he wasn't there to compete in decibel levels. Heathen non-music-lover, methinks, but oh well. He must be doin' somethin' right, though, he's been there a while whether he's had any brochures to hand out or not. Maybe he'll come around...
Passerbies of all kinds looked in wonder at the duo of guitarist and the monkey who play-acted at conducting that seemed almost as playful in spirit and body as the music that came from the guitar. Some regulars that worked in the area greeted them as they passed by, others were new faces - tourists. But all were happy to see the guitarist and his monkey playing in front of Atlas, and only the regulars knew that - rain, snow, or shine - the tunes were always here, and they were always uplifting.
Kent was enjoying himself immensely, as usual. There weren't too many Hellions around, which was nice. Some of them tried for his case on occasion, and neither Sunstorm or Miss Liberty's presence could be counted on, but someone usually was on hand to step in. Even though he'd never lost a dollar or a case, or guitar, it still wasn't easy on the nerves. Smiling to himself, well, let 'em try, not even Hellions couldn't spoil a day like this for him. The only thing was that Kent couldn't help but wonder if there was a catch. A whole week of weather this good? Somethin's gotta give, but he tried not to concern himself with that. It wasn't until he was in the middle of the Beatles' "I'll Follow the Sun" that anything happened, though, and at first, it was nothing more than a broken string. No big, he laughed to himself. Kent had the guitar on the ground and was busying himself with replacing it, when a shadow flitted overhead. A big one.
Pausing, he looked around, but didn't see anything. That, and the money was still there. Shrugging, he bent over his guitar again. Probably someone just figured out how to fly - or jump. He recalled that, any shadow you see go past is nothing to worry about, it's the ones that land on you that you need to be concerned about.
Then he caught a whiff of... something. He paused, and wrinkled his nose as he tried to think what it was. Something alarming about it, but he didn't know why. Then he froze.
Tiger scent. Uh oh. Then he recalled the shadow. Slowly, Kent looked up.
On the ledge above him sat a woman, or so it seemed. If, you know, tiger fur was normal for women who were into wearing casual business suits. Which, considering this being Paragon City, it kinda was... still, her toothy smile was a little sharp for his instincts to be completely at ease here.
"Hi Kent. Long time no see," she said, smiling. Perplexed, Kent was at a loss. He knew he should know her, but he couldn't recall her. Gettin' old, man, if you forget a babe like this, he thought. She reached up, pulled her shades down -
"Bengal! Babe, how ya been?" Kent was thrilled, he could live for another eighty years and there would still be no forgetting those eyes!
"Good, Kent! Been good. Listen, you ever miss the old days?"
"Babe, at my age, they're all old days. I - wait, hold on, tourist." Kent was quiet for a bit, and Bengal waited patiently.
After the tourist passed by heading up to the statue, Kent sighed, and went on. "Though, now that you mention it, there are some days I miss more than others." Bengal laughed.
"You mean, like, before your 'accident'?" That catty grin got even bigger.
Kent chuckled. "That, too. No, I was thinking, it's fun keepin' on keepin' on, ya know what I mean?" Bengal nodded. "But there's times when I miss bein' in a band." Looking around to see who was around, he spotted a regular, waved, and continued. "You ever miss that? Or, were those the old days you meant, babe?"
Bengal, without saying anything or losing that smile of hers, reached around behind her, and pulled out a guitar as an answer. As she began to tune, Kent laughed, "Thought so." He restrung his guitar, retuned it, looked around, and got it back into position when he saw there weren't any tourists watching. Looking up at Bengal, he asked "So what'll it be, babe?" She tapped her chin with her finger, thought a bit, and then began to strum. Chuckling, he joined in. It was a good day for Bob Seger, but then, when wasn't it?
As they were wrapping it up, Kent heard a scraping sound above him. Looking up again, he saw a couple of drums being shoved around. Catching Bengal's wide-eyed innocent look, she shrugged at him. "Uh huh. Riiiiiight, babe." She started laughing so hard she had to hug her stomach. About then, Kent saw a head poke out over the drums. "Hey Kent, how you been, man?"
"Been good. Watch Wolf, why do I smell a conspiracy, here?" Kent smiled. This was shaping up to be some serious fun. He hadn't seen this crew for months by now, and they hadn't played together in at least twice as long. Watch Wolf, he noticed, was in the same boat, stuck in one sort-of animal form. Dude was huge, at least 10 feet tall, and could grip a shield and sword nearly as tall, but today, it was gonna be drumsticks. Now the only thing missing was -
"Hi Kent."
Right.
Turning around, Kent looked up at the new arrival. He hadn't changed, still the same long grey hair and the same long black coat. In fact, he was the only one in the band still fully human, though here in Paragon, that didn't mean too terrible much. Especially considering he was quasi-mortal and older than Kent by a few orders of magnitude.
"Hi Raven. Guys, do we at least have a permit to perform here as a band?" Raven reached into his coat and produced a peice of paper, and held it out to him. Kent forgot to look around for tourists this time, and without realizing it, he was checking the permit when -
"Huh? What the.. can that monkey read?" Kent froze. The most intelligent thing he could think right then was "oops?"
He turned around to face the tourist. Regulars were used to the ruse, but tourists, no matter what they'd heard about this fair city, never seemed to believe it possible. So in order to avoid the stares, he took a Nemesis automaton and reprogrammed it to be able to hold the guitar so Kent could use his natural telekinetic talent to play it. He couldn't recall who'd given him the Telekinetic Kent look-alike automaton (that had been one WILD fifty-fifth birthday party) especially since the magic gift from Azuria had been swapped out by some villian or another to turn Kent from music-loving do-gooder to music-loving monkey. So in reality, the act of the monkey looking like he was conducting for the guitarist was really no act at all.
Bowing to the tourist and his wife, Kent simply said, "Welcome to Paragon City, folks!" They left, a little ill-at-ease, but hey, this was Paragon, after all, where anything that could happen usually did, as well as things that couldn't, or shouldn't. Even talking monkeys who play guitar through telekinesis! But it was too fine a day for musing on that. He turned back to the group, by now Raven had produced a keyboard from who-knows-where and Watch Wolf had his drums set up and ready to go. Kent realized he hadn't smiled this big in quite some time, and sighed in absolute pleasure. "We're back," was all he could say.
"Bad Moon Rising, on three?" Everyone nodded at Kent. Well, we're all smilin' like a pack of absolute fools, Kent thought, but so what, it's too good a day to care!
It's just another day in Paragon City, and it is GOOD to be back!
"Three!"
* * *
Miss Liberty liked the music, but - that crew... back? Oh brother, she thought. There goes the neighborhood. But then, the peace and quiet wasn't bound to last anyways, considering that Hero Licenses were set to be made free soon, albiet with restricted support services. That, and the news of an approaching asteroid had her on edge, too. Shaking that thought off as the band started into Peter Gabriel's "Slegehammer", she smiled. Might as well enjoy it, and at least they had good taste in tunes!
End.
* * *
By now, I'm already causing havoc in Paragon and performing good deeds in the Isles - and yes, in that order, too. So, see you guys in-game, and as Telekinetic Kent said, it is Good to Be Back!
@Raven Lord
"She gives my ex-wife a run for the money."