OOC: ashes-laughter-t35104.html
Profiles: ashes-laughter-t35187.html

Part I: Ignition

Sora was sitting on his bed, tinkering with his wrist guard on his arm. He just graduated from high school two days ago. Since he is a power user, he always had the opportunity to drop high school and work for the Runners; Sora did some work for the Runners here and there when he had the free time, but it was never a full-time job for him. Primarily, he wanted to attend high school since it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It is a place where one could mold lasting friendships, have fun, and fall in love.

Well, time to go. No time to drown in nostalgia.

As much as he wanted to sit there and question if he ever had any lasting friendships or fun, today was the day where he had an appointment with the Director. He reluctantly got up from his bed. A moment later, he was outside of his house. He locked the front door with his house key, pocketed said key, and looked up at the sky. It was a clear, cloudless sky. The air felt a bit warm, but the wind was blowing softly; for Sora, it was a nice day to run. So, he started running towards the Los Angeles Haven. He did not know he was being watched.

---

A few feet away, a man wearing a dog mask and a woman wearing a Noh mask silently watched Sora run, having a discussion while watching.

"...And don't forget that we have to ask him that question. That question is key," said the woman.

"Don't tell me things I already know. I'm not a fool... I just hate how we're relying on John's info; it's not totally certain that he's gonna do that specific mission today," replied the man.

"Do you not trust John that much? He said that the Director is on a mission of his own today, so now he's in charge. He already has everything planned out."
"I find that hard to believe. The Director being conveniently absent when it's the boy's turn to officially be a full-time Runne-"

The man's sentence was cut off by the woman's stare. Well, not really her stare, but her massive killing intent. After a pause, he continued.

"Alright, alright. Let's clean up that ship now before he comes."

The woman opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. With a flick of her wrist, the winds enveloped her, and she was gone.

"Hey, don't leave me behind now!" the man yelled.

---

Sora arrived at the Los Angeles Haven. It was a pretty big place, since it was the Staples Center. The U.S. government bought it and refurnished it for use as a Haven after the events of "Hell on Earth". Two C-Class Runners guarded Sora's usual entrance to the Haven. When they saw him, they asked him for his Runner's Card. He showed it to them and proceeded to head inside the Haven, heading to the Director's office.

"A class killer, I was made for this business. Took out the target then erased the damn witness. Stripped them of their lives, I enjoyed every minute. Vicious." Victoria mused a poem from the top of her head, as she sat in wait atop the building's exterior. Her feet dangled lifelessly over the ledge while she leaned back to look into the empty skies. Beneath her was a rather large cushion of darkness that seemed to writhe with life. Eyes same color as the sky she was watching, lulled as boredom began to force her into a nap. "Mission after mission and not a single bit of competition. I need to release some frustration..."

Forcing her body to stay awake, Victoria pushed her body off the edge of the roof and spread out her body. The sudden rush gave her the adrenaline she needed. Focusing hard on the quickly approaching ground, Victoria's hair would soon flare out into the form of a parachute. As the opposing wind was caught beneath her hair, Victoria's body jerked upward before slowly descending through the air. Her vision caught sight of a familiar face. "Hm, that boy is back." She growled as her feet finally came in contact with concrete. Instantaneously her hair would revert back to its original style, though still long and obviously weird to those around her.

Victoria gave a devilish smirk to the guards as she walked by. Her facial expression seemed to intimidate them slightly, but her interest was not in them for the moment. Instead, Victoria eyed the boy from afar as he headed in the direction of the Director's room. "Another puppet? Another pet? That man and his little boys." Victoria snickered. While her interest had been piqued, she chose not to pursue, and instead posted up against a wall in the main lobby. " They should really think about lowering the number of people they admit... Speaking of which, where the hell is that partner they gave me anyway?"

Maynard Clay was lying in his bunk staring at the ceiling. He was trying to remember a character from the movie he watched three days ago. He had dark tan skin and a good athletic build, but other than that he was a stranger. Clay decided that the information he knew was enough and held out his arm. After a fair bit of flexing his arm was tinted darker and grew more fit. He used this to his advantage by punching the air in front of him. His strength felt better and his reflexes improved greatly. "Like a dang prize fighter," Clay mused.

Once his attachment was tested, Clay decided to fight the invisible ninjas in his bedroom. With the enhancements he punched and chopped and smacked the air around him just like a Bruce Lee movie. Then he augmented his arm further, adding bone spikes and turning the image more grotesque. The ninjas turned into knights and he was the demon they tried to slay in vain. The only thing that made Clay want to stop was the telephone ringing. He stopped in his tracks, reverted his arm to normal in about three seconds and picked up the phone. "Yello, Maynard Clay residence."

"We've found your partner. Victoria--"

Clay hung up the phone. He knew what the deal was before it started because he was informed of it days in advance. He left the room and stalked his way to the Director's room, giving a gentle-but-quick glance at the young woman in the lobby. Her hair seemed less than flattering but she was overall nice-looking girl. Clay adjusted his swagger to one more confident and continued on up until he figured it out. He had seen the girl before. Clay turned and went back to the lobby where she was still leaning on the wall. He stepped forward with a more formal facial structure and presented his right hand for a shake. "Hello there, my name's Maynard Clay. You wouldn't happen to know a girl by the name of Victoria, do you?"

The sun reflected brightly off of the tall white marble walls which towered in the dead center of Los Angeles. It was like this every day, making it seem as if the Haven glowed, a shining light of hope in the middle of the city, or a beacon of dread. Most people didn't know what to think. Despite it though, it was accepted, begrudgingly or not, that the tall skyscrapers and lush gardens within were now a part of daily life. Los Angeles was not the city it once was.

Inside the towering walls, which stretched miles around, were the now government owned facilities for the Runners on the West Coast of America. Surrounding, both inside and outside the Haven, were clinics, training schools, offices, cafeterias, some dorms, and even areas where one could relax and have fun. Despite the backlash since the events of "Hell on Earth", the Government had still managed to put together one of the top Havens in the world, an elitist facility which handled most of the needs and wants of it's employ in a single vicinity.

So in Los Angeles, sat this glowing Haven. For those born with powers. Inside the Director's office building, idly pushing a mop across a sleek marble tiled floor, on the 7th floor, was Chris. And he wondered what the Hell he was doing in a place like this. Shuffling his feet, he quickly cleaned the remaining tiles and stood at the elevator.

Chris was young, and not particularly tall. He scratched his scraggly brown hair absentmindedly as he watched the lights on the elevator slowly, oh so slowly, make their way towards his floor number. He still wondered, as he did everyday, why he was still at the Haven. He had lived in the C-Class dorms of the Los Angeles Haven for almost 5 years now. He had watched others get chosen and accepted as B-Class Runners, or moved into newly opened Invisible positions, or even transferred to other Havens located throughout the world. Some had even been decommissioned and sent home, with the rest of their lives most assuredly paid for. Yet here he was, still a C-Class Runner, if you could even call him that, with no idea what power it was he had. The most action he had seen in the 5 years since he had been in the Haven, was how dirty the toilets could get after a bean and rice burrito dinner in the cafeteria.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened and Chris only shook his head before dragging his mop and mop bucket inside. There were others inside the elevator, but then again there always were. People saw the Director on a daily basis, and as often as they could. Chris had learned to memorize faces and keep track of those who came again and again. There were some new faces he hadn't seen before, but there were also a few familiar ones, most of which would spend their day waiting to see the director. The fresh faces were the ones with appointments usually. He glanced up at Mr. Krieger. One of the financial accountants for the Haven. It seemed he was always trying to get some funding for a cockamamy scheme. There was also Marcy, one of the cooks from the cafeteria. She winked a wrinkled beady eye at Chris. He had worked in the caf a lot. The other familiar faces, and fresh ones, didn't interest him too much.

Chris didn't need to push the button which would take him to his next destination. It was already lit. Floor 10. The director's floor. With an inward sigh he contented himself on another day of cleaning. Maybe later he could go to one of the practice grounds, like he did most nights, and work towards figuring himself out.

Victoria lifted her gaze to the boy standing in front of her. Aqua tinted hues gave an analytical glare as she scaled his physique. "Not too bad..." She thought to herself as she outstretched a hand to meet his. Her grip was firm, but not enough to draw a reaction. "I'd prefer if you called me Vicious. But, yes, I am Victoria." Her posture changed as she pushed her body away from the wall. Victoria's gaze continued to set upon Clay's disposition, but for the most part he visually seemed harmless.

"I'm assuming you're my new partner, so I guess I'll let you know a few things about me. I'm an A-Class runner, but rank means nothing to me. If you're good enough to be accepted, you're good enough for me. I carry out my missions thoroughly, so don't get squeamish if I kill a man or six in the process. I like poetry, dancing, and corrupting the minds of young boys. We're partners by force, not by choice, but if you need me I'll be there." Victoria noticed herself rambling, but persisted nonetheless. "The only rule I have for you is to never touch my hair." No sooner than it had been acknowledged, her ebony locks began to ripple like a burning flame. "It's not too friendly towards new people."

Maynard took a smug look at the hair as it flared up. He also leaned back a bit in surprise. "Say no more, 'Vicious'." Clay's hair was getting darker and longer as he spoke. " I'm a B-Class myself, only 'cause I can't morph my clothing." His skin became paler and his eyes were tinted blue. "The guys that accepted me were really picky about that. Still, it's a great trick I got." By the time Clay finished this, Vicious was looking at a mirror image of herself in a yellow shirt and white pants.

Clay tugged his slacks up a little and adjusted the waistband. He felt rather unappealing from the transformation, but liked the new hair. He wrapped the false hair around his right arm (the one with the black tattoo) to imitate the cloth on her wrist. In Vicious' own voice, Clay told her, "Man, this power is neat too. It's almost as convenient as mine." Within a minute of the time he spent in her body, Clay had returned to his original shape and form. He remembered how high his pants were and unbuttoned his pants to let it loosen. When he realized his company probably wouldn't approve of it he re-snapped it when the waistband was right where he likes it to be. "Sorry 'bout that. I just wanted a new person for the good ol' database," Clay admitted to his partner while tapping his temple. "By the way, gore's just fine by me. Gives me a reason to take the guy's place, y'know?"

Victoria noticed his quick learning, as she was addressed by her alias in Clay's following words, but he was learning a little too quick for her tastes. The subtle changes that took place in his appearance were obvious to her, but she didn't notice he was become what she saw in the mirror daily until his hair rippled out. A slight look of disgust wrote itself plainly across her face. "Doppelganger." Victoria thought, as she shifted her weight to push off of the wall. Victoria wasn't known for having too much patience, nor was she the one you'd want to tick off as a first impression. Clay's transformation was only a clear display of his abilities, and Victoria dismissed it as such until her spoke words that sparked a mild flame in her.

"Almost as convenient?" She mused rhetorically. Before she could chew him out, he had already changed back and had begun to speak once more. Apparently she wasn't the only person he could morph into. Veronica simply sighed as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "For future reference, I'm a loose cannon. Try not to weird me out by changing into me as a first impression." With that said, she walked past him and to the middle of the lobby floor. "Well, show me how effective you can be on the battlefield. We'll take a low ranking mission, complete it of course, and I'll assess what good you'll be." The former disgust written on her face had converted into a more devilish grin. The excitement of doing missions was Victoria's only solace within her life. The thrill of the chase, couple with the adrenaline of the kill, made Veronica drift into a euphoric state. "Give me a name, so I don't have to refer to you as Doppelganger." Victoria walked off in the direction of the large blackboard with the mission listings. A tendril of her hair motioned for Clay to follow.

Maynard felt somewhat shot down, although it's understandable for his trick to be misinterpreted. He stuck his hands in his pockets and followed at a conservative distance behind his new partner (conservative being seven feet). While she moved to the mission board he told her, "You can call my Clay. That's my last name, but since I got this power it's a pretty fitting nickname too. Y'know, 'cause I can sculpt myself like clay to make me look like things. I don't just do people, y'know. I can make myself look wicked, and I mean WICKED. Like, big frickin' arms, tentacles right outta nowhere, all sorts o' messed up. Frickin' awesome."

Clay made his way over the girl's shoulder but a foot behind her. He began scanning the missions for something in northern California, but from what he saw there wasn't anything yet. He admitted to Vicious, "I really wanna mission up north. That way I can maybe get out of this heat. My family lives in Montana right now and the snow is on the ground for the longest time. I swear last time I went there was middle o' June and the snow was still on the frickin' ground. I don't mind it much. Just goes to show what kinda enviro'ment they live in, 'n' what kinda enviro'ment I like anymore. I still don't like the heat down here, but still, much better than livin' up in Alaska, that's for sure!" Clay burst out laughing, obviously getting attention from the surrounding students. Clay digressed, "Well, I didn't live in Alaska at all, but you get my point, right Vicious?"

"Your name was the only question I remember asking, but I do appreciate your necessity to ramble." Subtle sarcasm was something Victoria enjoyed using, but she meant no harm with her words. Instead, her interest had piqued at his varying usefulness. "So you could turn into something like, maybe a pen, and I could stuff you in my pocket until you were needed?" Her question was more of a joke, but the underlying seriousness could definitely be noted in her voice. After arriving at the blackboard, Victoria carefully scanned through the numerous slips of paper.

Before Victoria could decide on a mission, Clay began to ramble on once more. "For the love of..." Victoria turned her body to shoot an annoyed glare at Clay mid-sentence, but it was as if he paid it no mind. "... Right, Clay." She growled, and then reverted her gaze back to the board. Clay's openness was very weird, and his excitement to distribute information was new to Victoria. She couldn't help but crack a slight smile. "It'll take some time, but I guess his personality is manageable."

A single strand of Victoria's hair would shoot up at the board like a bullet, piercing one of the slips of paper and bringing it back down. Instead of returning to Victoria, the strand loomed over her and hung in front of Clay. "I heard the Director was on a short hiatus, so I just grabbed a random mission. What are we doing?"

Tap....tap....tap...

"Would you please cut that out!?" Lana snapped coldly at her partner. "Can you sit still for even five minutes?" She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face and focused back on her files.

Eric's finger stopped mid-air at the sound of her voice. He'd been absent mindedly tapping the table. He heaved a sigh and leaned forward to read the papers in front of Lana. "Aw, come on Blink...I know you're antsy too, but you don't have to take it out on me." She slid the papers away from him, and he leaned back in his chair, defeated. Eric let his head fall back against the wall behind him and he closed his eyes. "There has to be some mission to go on...I mean, crime doesn't just stop all of a sudden li-"

"If you're going to keep rambling, then why don't you go check with the Director?" She never looked up from the files. There was something off about the case they had just closed (to Lana's protest) and she was determined to figure out what. "I'm trying to get some work done, and that's really hard to do with you jabbering away in my ear."

Eric ignored the tone in her voice. "Alright, Blink, but you know that case is closed. Reopening it is gonna be harder than just letting it go." He pushed the chair back and stood up, heading for the door.

Lana grit her teeth. Let it go...easier said than done. This was her job; it was what she was born to do. She could not just let this nagging feeling slide in good conscience. There were so many holes in the case when it was closed, and Lana wasn't sure about the outcome. There was something missing...

Eric let the door shut behind him, leaving his partner to her thoughts. He rolled his eyes. She was such a good runner, but sometimes he felt she needed to cut loose every now and then. As partners, they knew more about each other than just about anyone else, and Eric was sure he'd never seen Lana smile, or heard her laugh. She was too serious. All the time. The exact opposite of him. Maybe that's what made them such a good team. Her stringent rule-following had saved his butt on more than one occasion, and his willingness to improvise in high-pressure situations had saved hers. He shrugged as he entered the elevator. One thing was certain; she was the brains.

Eric nodded to the other runner in the elevator. C-class from the looks of him, on cleaning duty no doubt. He'd seen the boy around, but they weren't really on a first-name basis. "Nice day out, huh?" Eric hated the awkwardness of standing silently, fidgeting, on an elevator, so he tried to make conversation whenever possible.

Chris rubbed his eyes tiredly, leaving his hand on his face. He stared at the palm of his hand, allowing the dim light to relax his eyes. He had been staring at the all too bright fluorescent lighting inside the building all day. Sometimes it gave him a headache. He knew it would be lunch soon, though he was considering skipping out on it, just to grab an hour nap back at his dorm, despite the fact he had already skipped breakfast and was hungry.

The large glass elevator lurched to a stop, and Chris, with his eyes still covered, could hear numerous people exiting on what had to be the eighth floor. Behind him, he could hear Mr. Krieger talking irritably on his cell phone, the other elevator riders just as ominously quiet as when he had got on. Only one set of footsteps made their way onto the elevator after the others had left.

"Nice day out, huh?"

Chris took his hand away from his eyes and looked up. It was a boy, roughly his age, leaning nonchalantly against the wall. Chris frowned slightly, trying to recall who he was. He was a Runner, B-Class, he had seen him before... but where? Then it hit him. Mason, was his name. At least, he was sure it was. Chris only knew him because of his partner, Blink. She was one of the few A-Class Runners in the Haven. Chris had never talked to her, or Mason for that matter, but then again, he was also just a C-Class, and without a power named to him yet. He managed a grin at the higher ranked Runner.

"Maybe... all this snow is killing me though." Chris smiled a bit sarcastically and in a slightly antagonizing way. He almost laughed at the thought of snow in Los Angeles. He hadn't seen a drop of it since he moved here. Even with the Central AC on in the building, Chris still was a bit sweaty from the heat of the day. "Actually, to be brutally honest, I haven't been out since this morning. I imagine it's hot though. Like it always is, no? By the way, your name is Mason right?"

Chris almost bit back his tongue. He knew, part of protocol, was to show those of higher rank a bit respect, especially for their position, but even though he acknowledged it, Chris had a bit trouble with bowing down to others. Whenever he knew he was supposed to do something, he always felt compelled to challenge things more. Usually this complicated things, but Chris had seen this Mason guy around. Even though his partner, Blink, seemed a bit uptight, he didn't in the least bit. One way or another, Chris didn't really care much. He just wanted to finish mopping the director's floor so that he could get the rest of the day off.

"So you heading to see the Director?" Chris frowned a bit at the mop bucket. "I heard he's a pretty busy today, his secretary might make you wait if you don't have an appointment.", he stated, gesturing towards some of the others in the elevator, ignoring their glares. "They usually don't, and end up wasting their time waiting, and then coming back the next day, only to repeat it."

Maynard picked the paper from Vicious' hair and read the summary of it aloud. "Says here we're gonna... be collecting a stolen disk from some sorta company 'n' giving in back. Says it's for an insurance place that got robbed. The disk's contents are apparently some client records and it's 'ampere-native' that we get the records back so they don't commit fraud with all the people in the disk, 'cause apparently the thieves deleted the data in the main computers before running off with the disk. You'd think the back-up disk was made, but nope, says that disk is the only one of its kind. Frickin' insurance company deserves it for being idiots about it."

Clay showed the paper to Vicious so she can get the information. "Just a standard sneak in, sneak out kinda mission. That's the kind I enjoy. Hopefully there won't be too many people in the building we're infiltratin'. Sounds more like a personal situation with some close friends rather than a whole frickin' corporation. Lucky for us, I guess."

Victoria listened intently as Clay read the mission aloud, but her interests in said mission were drastically lowered due to it being one of infiltration. She wasn't exactly sure what "amper-native" was, but she assumed it meant important. Victoria grabbed the paper and scanned over it once more for any details that may have been left out, but apparently her partner could at least read. More pluses, I guess. "Ugh, spy missions aren't my cup of tea, but I'm sure it'd be something you're good at. With your doppelganger tendencies." Victoria turned to look Clay up and down once more to see if he had changed any since she last saw him. "I'm not good at telling who's who in the heat of battle, so try to make yourself noticeable if you decide to change into one of these 'robbers'. I wouldn't want to impale you by mistake." A Cheshire grin crept along her face, before looking towards the exit of the Haven.

"If you need to grab anything before we go, make it quick. Otherwise, I say we get this mission over with." Victoria was not your special ops ninja when it came to doing missions. She was more of an untamed beast that simply ripped through masses of people for the hell of it. In all honesty she believes that she was inducted out of fear of what she may do if kept unmonitored, but for now skepticism would be set aside. Her true goals and intentions lay elsewhere. Victoria strolled off towards the exit. "Now how the hell are we getting to our destination? While I don't mind running the entire way, can you transform into a jet or something?" Once again she threw a joke in his direction, but the sarcasm was accompanied by seriousness yet again.

Clay knew she was joking, so he laughed for a spell before answering her in all honesty. "Well, I tried practicing a motorbike transformation but I gotta take off my clothes to do that, 'cause I can't change them, like I told you. I also can't drive myself yet. I can't really tell the specifics of the bike, but I can tell you that my head turned into handlebars and my back was the seat as far as I remembered. It's really weird when someone twists my ear for throttle but it's not as much of a pain in my back as it should be." He chuckled a little, although not as much or as strong as before. "Here, c'mon." He began walking into a hallway, hoping he can get to his room.

As he walked (and he assumed Vicious followed him) Clay spoke without turning his head. "I'm just gonna go ahead and change for you. I really wanna get it done in my room, so I hope you don't mind waiting in the hallway for a little bit. I'd rather do it in the bathroom but you, being a lady, won't be able to retrieve me. So, I'm going up to my room. And here we are!" After climbing up a flight of stairs and taking a few turns, Clay found his room. He unlocked the door and went inside, making sure to keep Vicious out. He shut the door and kept it unlocked. "Now, when I say so, I want you to come in, but not until I say so. Got it?"

Much to her surprise, Victoria was amazed at his ability Not only could he become other people, but inanimate objects as well. The possibilities were endless, but instead of bombarding Clay with questions she followed him to his room. It was an unfortunate stroll, being that she wanted to leave immediately, but she had to see what this kid could do. As they arrived at the door, she paused for a moment as he unlocked the door and went in, leaving no room for her to follow if she did persist. "We aren't shy now, are we?" She thought to herself. Her eyes connected with his as he gave her orders to wait outside until he was done. "Sure, sure. Just don't make me wait forever." Victoria snapped.

Victoria tapped her foot patiently as the door closed behind him. Her hair writhed in sync with her emotions and slowly began to creep up against the doorknob. Her skill as an A-Class runner meant she was good at controlling her power, but to be honest her hair often had a mind of its own. "I wonder what he'd do..." Victoria pondered as the doorknob slowly began to turn. Whether or not he was finished seemed almost irrelevant, as the door cracked itself slightly.

Once the door closed Clay slipped off his yellow shirt and unbuckled his fanny pack. Afterward he sat on his bed, which is against a side wall, and took off his shoes and socks, leaving them on the floor. As he undid his pants, he glanced at the door which was opening up. "Wow, hey now!" Clay galloped to the door with his pants at his ankles and firmly planted his palms against it. "I didn't think a girl like you would be so quick to the point." Clay leaned his back on the door and slipped down his underwear. As soon as he stepped out he changed his lower half into a unicycle. Finally he was decent.

Maynard scooped up the lower clothes in one hand and dragged himself back to the bed with the other hand. After he bounced himself unto the bed, he stuffed the pants and underpants into his pack, then did this with his shirt. After some thought, he removed his underpants and set them aside to be put in last. "Alright now, I made myself decent so you wouldn't be peeking at nothing. If you have to, you can come in now." Clay took off his undershirt and put this is the pack, followed by his underwear. After pushing himself off the bed to collect his shoes he fell backward with a thud, his bag still in his hand. "Ow-how...," Clay groaned as he dragged his shoes closer to him with both arms. One after the other he packed the shoes into his pack and finally zipped it up.

Now that he was done, he set the fanny pack aside. One leg folded out of the tire and pushed Clay to the side toward the door, with his pack behind him. While on his shoulder, Clay morphed his arms into a motorcycle tire and did the same with his lower half. Very soon, his whole body was a fancy yellow Ducatti except his head, which he needed in order to tell Vicious, "Alright, I'm ready. When my head morphs I should make a key in the ignition. I just can't make it turn, which is where you come in. Just wheel me where you want and turn the key. Away we'll go--Oh, wait, don't forget my fanny pack. I still need to change back, after all. Heh, heh. Alright, here I go!" Clay's head disappeared as the bike took over. A metallic key jingled in the ignition, on a keychain with a small photo of Maynard's silly smiling face.

Victoria's hair seemed enthralled at the fact the door was suddenly closed back. It frilled momentarily before returning to a lifeless state. "Quite the party crasher, eh?" Victoria murmured to her hair as if it were listening. The sound of his body, or something else, pressing against the door caused Victoria to raise an eyebrow with interest. Instead of simply barging in, she decided to let him slide just this once, and instead tapped her foot impatiently.

Before long, Clay's voice could be heard. To Victoria it was more like a broken record. "Again with the delivering of orders." She thought to herself, before turning the knob and pushing open the door. Her eyes became wide as the first thing she saw upon entering was a rather fashionable bike. Victoria carefully scanned the room to make sure it wasn't his, and that he wasn't just hiding anywhere, but everything seemed legit. She approached the bike and took a seat on the back of it. Once again she took a moment to examine the ride, and that was when she noticed the key chain. A slight chuckle was given before she turned the ignition. "I'm not exactly sure how you were expecting to get out of here. Ya' know, because we did go up a flight a stairs and around a few bends. But that's not a problem. Lets just hope the Haven has some insurance on their windows, cause we're jumping." Her words were nothing but serious this time. Victoria's hair would extend to push the door open as wide as it could go, and before a response could be given, the duo was out into the hallway.

Sunlight draped the floor from a rather large window on the side of the building. Victoria twisted his ear, or throttle, or whatever you want to call it, to rev him up. Despite the naughty thoughts that may have been running through her mind as she poetically thought out the scenario in her mind, she was more than ready to test his durability, or at least see how crazy he was. If he were any bit as much crazy as 'Vicious', then this partnership would surely work to both their benefit. "Ready to fly bike boy?"

Upon revving him up, Clay felt a cough coming through his body. He channeled his influence into the key chain by stiffening his neck, as he felt it. The face on the key chain shouted to Vicious, "Hell yeah, Vicious. Just don't push me too fast, 'cause the engine and stuff is my breathing and organs. It really hurts when you go above 100. Anyways, are we driving down the stairs or taking the elevator or...?" Clay thought this out: Vicious was obviously in a hurry. Through his head lights he saw the window. Yep, just like he had thought...

"Uh, you wanna go through the window? Alright, just as long as we have something to slow me down. I don't think my arms and legs can last very long when they're withstanding an impact and then spinning for a couple miles. I hope you understand that." Clay cleared his throat, which inadvertently revved the engine once more. Clay said one more thing through the key chain: "Ready." With that, Clay looked straight ahead, mentally bracing for impact...

The word 'ready' couldn't have come sooner. Victoria mentally noted all of his drawbacks, but deemed them as such only because he was partially human at the moment. She revved his engine once more, but this time with the hand on the brake. The back tires would burnout for a split second, until she released the break. She wasn't how anyone else would react to tread marks on the hallway carpet, but to be honest she didn't care. Like a dart the two would shoot down the hall in a perfectly straight line. "I'll try to keep you in one piece." She growled as the adrenaline pushed her to pop a wheelie. The ear splitting sound of shattering glass could be heard by the guards below. They looked up and readied their powers while fearing for the worst, but then cowered their heads in terror as Victoria's hair violently flared out and expanded to form a very large pair of demonic shaped wings.

Clay's weight prevented her from actually flying, but their descent was more of a gradual gliding downward to the street below. "Hope you aren't afraid of heights. I actually have an urge to drop you, but then I wouldn't be a good partner." Victoria cackled. Because of the speed at which they fell, they overshot the lot in front of the Haven and instead hit a busy street. Once again she revved Clay up, while reverting her hair back to its normal state. The Haven would surely be sued for damages if this were to get any worse, but that didn't alter her decision to land on the roof of someone's car. Just long enough to do a burnout off the top of it and zip down the freeway, keeping it at a mere 70 mph. "You still alive?"