Krys

Krys sat at the edge of the roof, her legs dangling down towards the ground three stories below. It was almost nightfall, the sun just managing to touch the tips of the skyline of the city as it made its way down the path it made every day. The sky behind her began to darken and the temperature of the air fell along with the sun. Her deft fingers reached down around her waist, and tugged on the knot that the sleeves of a dark green jacket were tied into. Once the knot came free she dawned the jacket, the well worn fabric slipping easily over her shoulders, and her arms sliding into the familiar piece of clothing. Almost immediately her body heat no longer left and dissipated into the air, leaving her cold in the dark, instead, the jacket held the heat she naturally gave off, ensuring her that she would be warm for the night no matter where she decided to spend the night this time.

She reached up and pulled her hair out of the collar of the jacket, the long deep dark auburn locks flowing down past her waist and almost brushing against the rough concrete of the rooftop. With practiced hands she pulled out a rubber band from one of the several pockets inside the jacket and reached back to her hair, running her hands through it first then pulling it up to the top f her head. By the time she was done tying up her hair, the pony tail only reached to her shoulder blades, allowing her to bring out a more masculine look to her instead of the feminine looks she should have.

As the last rays of the sun went down, lighting up the edges of the buildings beautifully, she stood from her perch. Brushing her pants for dirt, slapping the loose dark green fabric and buttons that kept her wears secure. A soft clang could be heard from one of the pockets next to her knee, reminding her again why she had chosen this specific roof to watch the sunset on. She gave out a momentary sigh, looking down with her bright blue eyes down to her shirt, and feeling softly to make sure that her bandages were pulled tightly, masking her feminine curves and further allowing her to pull off the look of a boy.

Finally the time came for her to go down to the street, the buyer was specific on the time and didn’t seem like he would want to be kept waiting. She started walking to the edge of the roof, giving one last look at the disappearing tendrils of light then ran towards the other side. Her strong legs carried her fast, obviously experienced at running across the roofs of the city. She came close to the edge, looking as if she would run right off, instead, her leg muscles clenched, bunched and with a shove, she leaped across the gap and landed on the other roof, her worn sneakers skidding, the small amount of traction left allowing her to come almost to a stop instead of tumbling like she used to. She went over to the ladder that was attached to the side wall of the building and quickly climbed down to the alley bellow.

In a few minutes she walked back to the first alley she had been watching and waited in the shadows for the buyer to come and claim what she stolen for him. After a few minutes she saw a figure head down the alley, almost a little too purposefully, she knew he wasn’t the one to steal, he was too well dressed, no obvious signs to a mutation, making him one of the higher class, or a leader of this Underworld that she called home. He must have a sufficient amount of money to be paying her to get this small gadget. She didn’t know what the trinket did, or why this man had wanted it, but somehow he had heard from others around that she, or rather, he, since most just knew her as Krys, was one of the best at getting secured items.

The man stepped closer, looking around, obviously not finding her in the dark as he continued looking and seemed to be agitated. She stepped forward, best not to make him think she was late. ”Looking for me?” The man faced her, the lighting in the alley hiding both of their faces. ”I was wondering when you were going to show up, Krys. Do you have what I sent you for?” She nodded and patted her pocket, pulling out a small metal contraption that had a few buttons on it. ”Right here, I need my payment though, or I can put it right back where I found it.” Granted that part was a lie, she would have found another buyer somewhere, she had to eat somehow. The man gave a fake hurt look, ”You think I don’t pay people for their services to me? You brought the piece to me intact, and much more quickly than anyone else I would have asked to do it. Here, all that I promised you.” He tossed over a small bag which she caught and looked inside, the wad of cash made her stomach clench in anticipation. Did she even eat today? It didn’t matter, she would be able to have enough food for the next week at least with this amount, if she didn’t get caught by someone and the money stolen. She took the cash and put it in one of the inside pockets of the jacket and pulling the zipper up half way. She put the small gadget inside the bag and tossed it back to the man. With a nod of thanks, she stepped back into the shadows and climbed back onto the roof, running and jumping to the next, to find another job to do, or maybe go and get actual food…

Ramon

Carefully pulling on one of his nice suits Ramon looked around the tiny apartment once more, it was stupid but he was hoping Jayliynn would appear. She had taken off before he woke and even though he knew she could take care of herself she was just so tiny and he needed her again tonight, sighing she wrote a quick note and stuck it on the little kitchen table after grabbing the little luch she had made him; Pb and J sandwich with an apple. How she got a fresh fruit so far in the Underworld, but even Ray knew better then to question some of the things she did. Walking out of the house he kept his back straight and his eyes low, as if he was watching everyone he passed, because he was. Many shuddered at his look, wanting to get away from it, others to dead inside to care. A few were strong willed enough to stare, well, until he narrowed his eyes just slightly.

He was not cruel, but he didn't particularly like the underworld people, many didn't try to better themselves just bought the drugs he sold and slept in trash cans. Because he was part of the reason many were stuck though, he tried to help a few; like the red haired girl who sold wilted flowers to the Upperclass men. She tried so desperately to keep her brothers feed that when she came for help Ray gave it without a second thought, "Ray!" Came a strong voice and he noticed one of his guards walking toward him, he was a good guy and smiled at him.

"What can I do for you?" He asked, his voice slightly sleazy but that was just how he talked during working hours to keep up appearances. The man he was speaking to was about 6'3 but still looked rather short next to Ray. "Hows the kids? Find a better place to live yet?" He asked when both men walked into the warehouse that the worked from, it was a safe place for them and he could show true concern before his customers came. Bubba, the guard, explained everything was fine just figured they could walk the last few feet together. "Good good" Ray said and sent him off to work.

A quick sigh left his lips, he could already tell this would be a long day.

Jayliynn

Combat booted feet barley made a noise on the ground as she walked, she had begged and pickpockted people while Ray was a sleep. Jayliynn was to cute for people to think she lifted the wallet that they had just given her a dollar from, people never thought it was her. Before going home to change and help Ray, Linny slipped inside the convenience store. She shoved many items in her backpack without being caught, mostly because the man behind the counted was unsuccessfully trying to hide that he was looking at a Porno. Shaking her head she dropped apples in her back pack, a few sodas, and then PB and J sandwiches.

Ray didn't like her stealing, Linny didn't like stealing but when it was so easy and they needed the food, she did. Pushing some of her black and blue hair from her face she walked out, looking around she saw that she was late, the sun was already down. Taking to the roofs, like many other street rats, she ran fast before jumping to other buildings and making it home faster then if she had been on the sidewalk. Slipping inside the house she put away the food and changed, apparently she was only to help with Ray's business whenever he had to have something delivered to the upper class. She pulled on a black dress and her flats with the black over the shoulder bag she had and skipped to the warehouse, watching people.

No one touched her because she was Ray's but their was lust and anger many a pair of eyes she looked in. Linny didn't flinch though, they couldn't hurt her even if they trued. She was faster and probably better skilled.

Faustino

Faustino was halfway asleep on the fire exit of a building wrapped up in his oversize hoodie. The sounds of running on the rooftops of other street rats awoke him from his light slumber. He looked up from the large hoodie the sun was setting slowly making a brilliant streaks of pink and gold. Yawning a bit he shuddered away the cold that was setting in tonight. As he looked down the already dark slums he saw more people moving a fight broke out a few yards away. Not the best of time to be down there slowly he got up and headed up the roof tops. For the moment they were empty and quiet that made him feel a little calm.

An all to familiar feeling came over Faustino as he felt his empty stomach growl in protest in the lack of food. It had been at least two days since he had eaten something and the little cash he had was running thin. He had a few dollars not nearly enough to get food to fill his very empty belly. Faustino sighed thinking of ways to get money and for him there was only two way. It was either do some fights or get another mutation he figured he would try to go and fight a few people. Before getting into another dangerous mutation that may effect him in a negative way. Running on the roof tops he headed to the alley way where most of the fights happened.

Faustino made his way to the fighting alley way he slid down the fire exit all the way to the bottom. The smell of blood filled the air as many guys and the occasional girl went to the circle to fight for some money, food, or clothing. He walked up to the main guy who gave out these things and places bets on to put whatever anyone had to win something back. "Ah Faustino!" The older man with a thick black beard smiled up at him. "Back to fight some more." He nodded slightly. "Yes" he grumbled "Money this time." Faustino says as he hands him the last of his money. "Alrighty then a bet on yourself as always. Good luck kid." The man says as puts it in a black box.

He walks up to the circle where a fight was happening an older man was beating up this younger guy who was bleeding a lot from his face, nose, and mouth. Faustino watched the older man punched the smaller stancher guy in the face knocking him out. The crowd roared as the man fell to the ground knocked out. A few other guys grabbed the unconscious man and dragged him out of the ring and into the slums. "Who's next!?" The man roared out. Faustino walked up to the ring he didn't remove his hoodie and didn't say a word. The man spotted him and smiled at Faustino. "HAHAHA! Kid you don't stand a chance!" Faustino didn't say a thing once more instead he lifted his fist up ready to fight. The crowd cheered as another fight was on its way.

Ikarus

Ikarus sighed, sitting on the railing to the upper level of his club. The kids were cleaning up the dance floor, while his older ones--the kids who had decided to remain even after they had learned they felt they needed to survive---were working the bar. A couple girls he hired he knew were back stage, not that he really cared about them. Everything was about getting his kids fed, nothing more. He brushed long blue locks from his face, smiling at the street rats below as they made a game of cleaning. He missed being that age; where even the darkest, muckiest day was something to cheer for. Muck meant puddles, puddles meant splashing and making mothers mad. He chuckled, and with a single movement landed standing on the floor. "Place looks great guys...." He smiled brightly at the dirt streaked faces beaming at him.
"Hey you! What do you think you're doing back there?!" One of the older boys snarled. There was a loud, wet crash from behind the bar, and the boy rushed over, dragging a small urchin from out of the glass. As young as the kid was, it was hard for Ikarus to be angry with the kid; he took him from the bartender, holdin the kid by his ankle and glowering at him. "Why were you stealing from me?" He shook the kid roughly, making him jabber for a moment before answering. "I...I was cold.... mama says stuff's good for cold...." The boy squeaked, trembling and trying to keep his shredded shirt up, holding the rope tie around his pants. Ikarus dunked the kid, bopping the top of his head hard against the floor before setting him upright. "Do it again and you'll look like a lizard, got that kid?!" He growled, throwing him a couple ratty looking jackets. "You want somethng, you come and ask for it. Stealing from me will get you killed." The boy nodded, squeaking a series of apollogies and running off.

Addie sat in a small restaurant, happily eating a slice of chocolate cake in a corner booth by the large, streaked window. The restaurant was far past its prime, with discolored tile floors, worn wood tables, and a cash register that had to be from the 22nd century at least. The lights were dim, some flickering or dark altogether, making the restaurant seem seedier than it already was. There were several customers in the restaurant, but it was too late in the evening for the usual dinner crowd.

Addie was altogether content. Her job that night had gone smoothly and there were few complications. One of which was a man sitting at the bar, discreetly watching her as she ate. He had been following her since she had eliminated her target and now seemed to be impatiently waiting for her to go home. Perhaps he was just there to find out where she lived, or he could be sent to eliminate her. Just one of the reasons she made it a habit to go out for a treat before going home, though eating cake was a good enough reason on its own.

She ate slowly, hoping he would get impatient and make a move. Unfortunately he was better trained than that, and she paid for her treat and left. She wasn’t surprised when she heard the man’s steps behind her once again, her ears flicking back momentarily before she put her hood up again. Her tail swayed side to side as she calmly walked. Rounding a corner, she used the opportunity to determine how far away her stalker was. Determining it was far enough, she climbed to a low eve of the roof and waited, almost invisible in the shadows.

The man rounded the corner, a bewildered look on his face, and she pounced onto his shoulders, knocking him to the ground. He squirmed for a moment, but soon realized he was pinned. Bringing her mouth close to his ear, she spoke in a harsh, low tone, “Who are you working for and what is your assignment?” He merely laughed until she roughly pulled his head up by his hair and he felt cold steel on his neck.

Nervously breathing heavily, he said, “Martio. I was sent to find where you live. That is all I know, I swear.” He sighed in relief as her blade left, and she hit him, knocking him out instantly. She then dragged him to a nearby doorway, grunting with the effort, and sat him down so he looked like a passed out drunk. “Martio, hmm. I haven’t seen much of him,” she murmured, heading to the small, rundown apartment she called home.

Krys

Krys headed down the street; thumbing the small wade of cash she had in her pocket. By the feel of it, the amount could keep her going for maybe a week. She needed new shoes which would probably take more than half, then possibly a good meal every other day. She could make it last that long…she hoped. There was always the off chance she could get mugged, though since most knew her as a guy, they didn’t tend to cross paths with her. It was for the best, keeping up the façade so she wasn’t taken advantage of, all of her belongings, how many little they were, weren’t taken from her, and she had some street cred as one of the best thieves.

She glanced around her, the night time being her domain so she was able to see fairly well, much better than the ‘normal upper dwellers’ as she dubbed them. Her hair brushed her shoulder as she walked and it crossed her mind that she would have to either cut it soon or find another way to tie it up. It wasn’t uncommon to see guys with longer hair so no one bothered to really find out if she was a girl. She never dressed like one, easily got out of fights, mainly waiting for them to tire themselves out, and throwing good punches here and there, and by her attitude, no one even considered she may be a girl.

She walked up to the old fashioned restaurant; the place was in a rundown part of town, though it seemed well kept. It was near a few bars, clubs here and there and there were many other underworld people around. She walked in, the door opening on its own and the soft bell in the background sounded to let one of the chefs in the back know that she was here and the equipment was to be heated up. Apparently the others were used to costumers like her, seeing as the location was where it was, and that none of the workers did a double take of her attire. She looked down at the table top, the hologram menu playing before her and she tapped in her order, and then almost immediately started smelling wonderful scents from the back. Her stomach growled, sending aches through her abdomen as she sat there patiently. Eventually the plate came to her, it wasn’t much but it would be enough to keep the hunger pains gone for a few days. She forced herself to eat the warm and mouth watering food slowly, resisting the urge to swallow it all and maybe the plate as well. When she was done she pulled out a few of the bills in her pocket and placed them in the slot in the table, her change coming out and dropping into her hand.

Faustino

Faustino put his fist up in front of his face as he got ready to fight. He eyed the man in front of him his sharp eyes darted at this guy physique. This man was better fed than him he had to be at least average weight. The guy was dark tan meaning he was a working guy and his arms were muscular so he had a good punch behind him. The man took a step closer to him his face in large evil smile. "I am going to mop the floor with you. While you hiding under that hood of yours." Faustino said nothing more than a grumble of inaudible words as he moved to the side. The man mimic him as he did so something caught his eye. The man's knee shook and bent in an odd way, evidently an old injury of some sort.

The lights flickered off and on it always did that it would flicker exactly ten times before it would shut off for about 3 minutes. Before once again flickering back on. The man took a punch at Faustino he moved out of the way and the man began to punch at him again. He once again moved out of a way and punched the guy in the nose. The guy went back a bit making it easier for Faustino to get out of his reach. The light flickered about four times by now he needed to hold off a bit more. The man came back and he was extremely pissed off. "You little shit!" He growled as he threw another quick punch catching Faustino in the arm causing him to fly back a little bit.

Faustino planted his feet back on the ground he was trying to gain his stance, but he couldn't do it fast enough as a blow hit his cheek. Knocking his head to the side the man then punched him on the other cheek causing him to fall and roll onto the ground. The man shouted in triumphant way as Faustino laid almost lifelessly on the ground. "Hahaha! I knew that kid would be easy pickings!" Faustino could here the guy shouting as the light flickered again. He got up to his feet slowly blood dripping from his mouth and head. The guy looked over as Faustino began to stand up. "You're going to die kid." Faustino smiled which could be clearly seen through the hood of his grey hoodie. "Nine. . ."

The man looked at him confusedly. "What the hell are you talking about kid?!" Faustino darted at the guy kicking at his hurt knee. The man screamed in pain as a sickening crack emitted from the guy's knee. He fell down and Faustino planted the heel of his foot on the guys hand. Twisting his heel and putting all his weight on it until another sickening crack could be heard. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" The man shouted in pain as he looked up in horror at Faustino face. The man looked at Faustino's blackened eyes and blood dripping down his face giving him a more demonic look. "What!? What are you?!"

Faustino grinned evilly. "Your worst nightmare." He whispered as the lights flickered out. For three whole minutes screams could be heard as bone cracked and finally silence. When the lights flickered back on the man laid on his side bleeding and unconscious. The crowd grew hush as Faustino breathed heavily over the man's body. "Who's next?" He mumbled, the crowd back up away from Faustino. The older man with the black beard came up in front of him. "Sorry Faustino. I think you're done here." The man handed him a wad of money. "Here that's what you earn from fighting that guy." Faustino nodded and took the money placing it in his pocket. "Thanks." Faustino walked out of the circle the people easily moving out of his way. He then headed into the alley ways.

Ezzie

Ezzie groaned, turning over in her pile of blankets as her phone rang. "Whasha want, Dean.....?" She grumbled as she answered. "Where are you youo should be getting ready!" Dean's voice sounded almost worried as he spoke--almost, meaning that there were people in the club. Shit, she thought, sitting up and flinging the heavy mink off her. "Why didn't you call me sooner, I overslept again!" She yelled as she put the cell on speaker, pulling on her usual black tights and the purple top that matched her highlights. Dean growled something about a would hve been thief, and she sighed. "I'll be down in a few minutes!" She said, the sound muffled as she rolled up her bandanna, tying it around her neck to hide the red mark from her newest upgrade to her mutation. She hummed through her warmups as she laced up her heavy combat boots, knotting every other cross so no one could undo them. She straightened out the shining pewter skirt, ran a brush through her hair as she stepped through one of her homemade inventions. Once on the other side, all of her makeup was done, and a fluffy torn bow was clipped into her violet-streaked hair. She leapt over the banister of her loft, landing lightly on the stage. "Good evening, Neraci Underground!" the small crowd gathered on the dancefloor looked up at her and cheered, giving her a round of applause that made it sound as though there were twice as many people in the tiny club.

Ikarus

Ikarus whipped around as Ezzie landed on her stage and proceded to make the crowd loud without being rowdy. They loved Ezzie almost as much as they loved having a safe place to dance without worrying about the money; Ikarus allowed people to pay how they could, be it in money, supplies or the occasional mutation. There were a few that even came in and did tattoos for the older club-goers to earn their drinks. It was what made this hole in the wall so popular, he guessed. The crowd went silent as Ezzie began to sing. The song was upbeat despite the sorrowful, soulful sound that erupted from her lips. People began to dance again, whooping and cheering and yelling to hear each other and make themselves heard. He knew already that more people would hear Ezzie's voice from a good three blocks away, drawing more people and mutants in.

Jaxon

Jaxon smiled, looking out the back of a taxi cab. He watched as the sun set over the silhouette of the city, bringing fond memories of back when he was a younger man running around the streets causing trouble. He spied out of the corner of his eyes, the cab driver looking at him warily through the rear view mirror. People tended to get a little uncomfortable around him, he gave off weird vibes that at times creeped people out. Or they drew them in, since they didn't know what to make of it. "So... Where're you coming from?" A simple question, he continued to look out the window absent mindedly speaking. "From the Ferguson Institute..." There was a pause, a lot of people had heard about the institute. It held the criminally insane, most were kept in their for life. Serial killers, psychopaths, deranged murderers the list went on and on. "I just got out, and I'm looking to go back to my home....." Jaxon to look the cab driver right in the eyes through the mirror and smiled kindly. The driver was paralyzed in shock, and narrowly avoided a car accident swerving out of the way. "Ahh..... Sorry! I'll dock a percentage of the pay." The man laughed nervously, focusing on the road. "It's fine... Just drop me off once we get down town, I'll walk from their. I have an old friend to see."

It was dark outside now, as Jaxon stepped out of the cab and paid the driver. He smiled, and walked down the dingy alleyway feeling alive and as free as ever putting his hands in his pockets. He fiddled with a knife, humming a soft tune when he heard a commotion and spotted a young woman tackling another man. He didn't really pay much attention, not being very surprised especially in this area and walked onward. Jaxon was primarily looking for a place to stay, probably somewhere in the Russian district but he had to make a stop first. See an old friend, he hadn't in a long while.... He broke from his thoughts when a group of kids ran past him. He felt small fingers reach into his pocket and he turned around in a flash grabbing the girl's arm and flinging her up against a wall next to a shop. Jaxon moved in front of the girl, knowing her friends were watching in horror behind him. "Now now... Young lady, it isn't polite to steal." The girl turned around, looking up terrified at the man and scrunched down to a sitting position against the mall. "Please!! Don't hurt me!!" The girl couldn't have been older than 8. Jaxon knelt down, resting on the balls of his feet and took his wallet back from the girl. He opened it up, and held out a 20 dollar bill. "If you wanted money why didn't you just ask." He closed his eyes, and smiled kindly as the young girl bewilderingly reached up and took the cash away from him. Jaxon stood up, placing his wallet back in his pocket. "Now run along.... It gets dangerous out here when it's dark." The girl nodded, and ran off nervously but looked back to Jaxon wondering why he was so kind to her.... If only she knew, the kind of man she was dealing with.

Jaxon went to a dive of a diner, and enjoyed his first meal as a free man. What did he get? Just a simple burger and fries, with a soda. "It's the little thing sin life I tell you..." He chuckled, a bit too much to himself getting some stares from the patrons inside the diner and even a few workers. He looked at the glass, and saw his reflection sitting there... It was still like him, then suddenly moved and picked up his glass and sipped it. "So... How are you gonna find him?" his reflection asked curiously, resting his palm on his chin. "Well... Someone around here has to know. Ikarus IS the father figure to most of the street rats in this town." "I don't know why you just didn't get Sergi to get the information for you." "This is something I want to do for myself.... I'll find him don't you worry." Jaxon smiled and leaned back, ending the conversation with his reflection almost every glancing at him like he was an alien. He stood up, and paid for his food leaving a generous tip then finally stepped out. Last he remembered, Ikarus was talking about owning a night club. So he had to look for one specifically that said 'Ikarus' on it.... Well, not that it had to have his name on the front. But subtle hints that mentioned to his being there.

Eventually, Ikarus heard a lovely voice singing and followed it to a nightclub. It seemed to be quite the excitable place, and he smirked looking around. It was a rather run down place, not somewhere you'd expect a popular club to be in. Security wasn't that tough.... On further assessment, he nodded. "This is probably the place.... Ikarus. It's been too long." Whipping up the charm, and straightening his so far meager clothes Jaxon moved through the line and stepped inside the club. His ears were immediately bombarded with the lovely pitches, and melodies of the young lady on stage. She looked a bit familiar... It could have very well been just a coincidence, but he had a strong feeling that he had met the girl before. People were dancing and drinking, he did notice kids that were obviously to young to be in such a place running around. This was Ikarus' kind of place. "Now to only find the man himself...." He decided to head for the bar, and got himself an apple martini.... He didn't think of it as a gay drink!

Ikarus

Ikarus sat watching the area from the top balcony of his club. He could see everything except Ezzie from his point, from the door to the bar to the dancefloor. He could even see the doors to the restrooms. When a man walked in, he recognized the face almost instantly. Jaxon. He sighed, Letting him lose himself in the music, the melodic tones of Ezzie's voice. She wouldn't remember him; she was twelve when the incident happened. He watched the area like a hawk, signaling the bartender to keep an eye on the man who had just walked in. It hurt to see that face, even from this distance. He rubbed his arm, where he had just recently added to the tattooed wing there. It bothered him that he was in his club; he had no idea what Jaxon wanted, but unless Ikarus or one of the Wing were attacked he would leave him alone. He whistled at a couple of the squirrelly kids trying to sneak behind the bar; they froze and stopped, staring at him for a moment before going back to their normal scurrying. With another sigh he went back to looking around, mechanical arm whirring...

If he does decide to attack, things will get interesting..... He thought glumly.

Krys

She walked out of the run down diner, and headed down the sidewalk, putting her hands in her jeans pockets. There was a slight breeze in the air which caused goosebumps to sprout on the back of her neck and send a shiver down her spine. She reached behind her head and pulled up her hood, expertly putting her hair inside to where her ears would stay warm in the dark locks. She turned her head slightly when she heard a voice, the melody was nice, and with a quick glance around she knew that she was near Ikarus’s club. She had gone in maybe once or twice, found a hidden corner among the other kids to sleep in the winter, not that she ever stayed, she could take care of herself.

She turned down an alley, a group of boys where near the back, trying to be discrete with their smoking but not making a good job of it by the plume of constant smoke coming from behind the stack of packing pallets. She smirked and grabbed a small piece of brick, the slums probably being the only place you would find brick nowadays. She chucked the rough stone right at the boys and was rewarded with a satisfying thud and a stream of cusses. ”Damn it!! What the heck!!” She started laughing as she turned the corner of their little ‘hide out’, one of the boys was rubbing his head which was already forming a sizable lump. Dude Krys!? What the hell was that? Do you always gotta injure someone when you come around??” She smirked, ”Of course I do, how do you knuckleheads expect to stay on guard if I don’t?”

A newbie to the group, the one sitting next to the one she got with the brick stood and tried to knock her down. She only tilted her head and stepped to the side, sticking her foot out to trip him and when he came back again, she grabbed his arm, twisting it roughly behind him. The boy gave out a yelp and she looked up at the older teenager who had been silent. ”Come on Danny; don’t you ever tell your newbies not to mess with me?” She let her hold go, sending the boy spinning back down into his spot and Danny chuckled. ”Don’t mess with him, unless you want his fist in your face and end up waking across town. I don’t recommend you even attempt to find out what it’s like either.” She laughed and clapped Danny on the back when he stood and went over to her. ”I told you that first time you snuck up on me that I would guarantee it would take you forever to get back you easily lost fool. Hey you got those shoes I wanted? Told you I would have the cash by today.”

Danny nodded and went over to his stash, pulling out a box and tossing it to her. ”Brand new, and supposed to last years of walking, though we both know how they can fall apart in a few weeks.” She nodded and looked at the shoes, dark grey with a black design on it. ”Don’t worry; I’ll be back if I need another pair, just make sure you have them for me.” Danny gave her an almost hurt look, ”You not have the confidence to trust your Street Rat brother? We’ve known each other for so long Krys, Street brothers and you still don’t think I would bring you shoes when you ask for them?” She rolled her eyes with a laugh, ”So insecure, of course I trust you getting my shoes, why do you think I keep coming back here?” By now she had the shoes on and wiggled her toes, testing out the traction by scuffing her foot across the floor.

She nodded to Danny that they were a good pair and headed back down to the front of the alley when she heard him speak behind her. ”If you’re looking for another job Krys, someone was asking and I told him I knew a guy that was one of the best thieves around.” She glanced back, ”I just finished with a job Danny, you know I like to rest for about a week.” He nodded, ” I know but this guy seemed urgent, and the cash could have you set for a few months, pretty sure he didn’t care who did it, I suggest you find him quickly before someone else gets the job.” She nodded a thanks to him and headed out, wondering if this guy would wait a few days, but for that kind of cash she could probably do the job tonight, maybe tomorrow.

Rina rolled out of the make shift bed she was sleeping in that day. Stretching she looked down at her watch "Shit....im late!" She grabbed her bag and looked around the old broken down building she has been staying in for the last couple weeks. It wasn't that cozy or home like but it was somewhere safe she could stay while she slept. She pulled on her boots and her gloves, running a brush through her hair, then grabbing her backpack she made her way down the stairs to the first floor and out of the building.

She looked around the area and slowly, making her way down the street. Seeing people in small groups, huddling as they talked. Rina mostly ignored just about everyone she ran into, she wasn't really a people person. She stopped at a small store and took out some of her cash, grabbing a drink, then paid it off. She had only a little bit of cash left from her last mutation, knowing she will have to go in again soon and get another mutation just so she can keep herself fed.

Making her way to the club she saw a couple guys harrassing a smaller kid, he looked to be about only 12. Before they could see her she took off her gloves and put her boots and socks in her bag. She climbed up the wall of the building closer to her and quietly made it to the top, jumping to the next building she climbed down the wall quickly but quietly she made her way down behind the two guys "Hey you two pick on someone your own size" she yelled and saw them jump and turn around but before they got a word in she jumped on one them, taking them down and grabbing her knife quickly "How about you two just leave now before there is any other issues." The guy nodded and the other one already ran off, she got off the guy and let him go. Everyone thats been a streetrat or live in the underworld know or heard of Rina, and mostly they know not to mess with her.

Rina looked to the boy "now run off and becareful who you mess with" the boy nodded and ran off. She looked down at her watch, oye Ikarus is going to rip her a new one. Though he should be used to her being late she thought to herself as she started walking back down the road. She could hear Ezzie singing from blocks away from the club and was already looking forward to tonight.

Finally making it to the club, pushing past people she got inside and looked around. Going to the bar "hey anyone know where Ikarus is?" she asked the bartender. The bartender pointed to the top balcony "thanks." She then made her way to the stairs and decided since she already had her shoes and gloves off she will climb, its easier and faster she though. Jumping onto the wall she quickly walked up to the wall to the top balcony and jumped off landing near Ikarus.

"Ikarus im here...sorry im late...slept too long then had to take care of a situation on my way here"

Faustino

Faustino headed up to the fire exits for him they were safe and you could feel anyone who came by. He took out the money and flip through it and by the looks of it he could live for a whole two weeks by skipping a meal every other day. Which was fine, but he looked at his tattered clothes under his hoodie he knew he needed more clothes and that would leave him with only a few days of money. Scratching his buzz cut scalp he began to think maybe it was time for another mutation. To get more money and some new clothes that would last him for a few months and of course a bit more food. Standing up once more and climbing down the fire exit he traveled down the alley ways.

Faustino headed to the police station naturally he was fairly well known to him. Mainly for severely beating guys up to bloody pulp most of the people were scared of him. "Faustino what are you doing here?" Asked one of the police officer. "Trying to lower my time I need to spend in jail Andrew." He grumbled out. The police officer, name Andrew, eyed him carefully. "You wanna get a waver for another mutation so lower your sentence again?" He asked. "Yes" Faustino nodded not looking at the police officer. Andrew sighed. "Alright I'll fill out the paper work and give it to you. Do you need a ride to the facility?" Faustino shook his head. "No thank you. I hate cars." Andrew sighed once more. "Alright I'll go fill out the paper work be back in a bit. Take a seat."

Andrew walked to the office leaving Faustino alone to sit on a plastic chair. He never removed his hood mainly cause he didn't want to scare half the people that work here. Faustino drifted into sleep a light sleep as always in the plastic chair which was more comfortable than the metal of fire exits he was use to sleeping on. An hour later he was woken up by Andrew's footsteps coming towards him. "Faustino. . ." Andrew says quietly. Faustino say nothing, but holds out his hand Andrew gives the papers to him. "Your sentence went from a six months to three months." He nods at Andrew as he stands up. "Thank you." Heading back to the slums.

Faustino takes the roof tops to the facility for him it was like a boarder between the slums and the up town. Naturally he use the entrance for the rest of the people who were from the slums. Which was the back door and walked to the front counter. He took his hood off this time mainly cause the people here had seen every mutation imaginable. A man sat in the front desk with his blue scrubs and burly arms. "Name?" The man asked. "Faustino Blaque" He replies and hands him the papers. The man types it into the computer and views the papers. "Alright. Have a seat you'll be called in shortly."

Faustino sit near the wall there was quite a few people in here many of them half way starved most wouldn't survive the operation due to there weakened state. He sits quietly falling asleep once more he had to sleep whenever he could to keep himself energized. An hour and half later the door opens. "Faustino Blaque!" A woman shout his name. He gets up and walks over to her and they walk down the halls where other mutations are going on. Then they take him to a room where he changes into a hospital gown and due a physical. They ask him a few questions about him and they lay him on a steel table. Faustino sees as they place a mask on him filled with sedative and soon the world goes dark.

Falling into a deep sedative sleep Faustino dreams were empty this was of course would be the most sleep he has had in ages. It seems all very brief for him cause soon he is awoken by a light being painful flashed in his eyes. "Faustino. . ." A voice calls to him. "Faustino. . . Faustino Blaque can you here me?" Faustino blinks and growls out "Yes I can here you so please get that damn light out of my face." The nurse who was doing so put the flash light away. "Can you sit up for me Mr. Blaque?" Slowly he got to his sitting position the world was wobbly and he felt sick to his stomach. "I feel sick." Faustino says as he leans on his knees. Another nurse hands him a little trash bag just in case if he threw up, not that he had anything in his stomach.

A small burning sensation brought him more aware as he looked at his knee where he felt the pain coming from. He looked down and saw what they mutated. Above his knee normal as could be, but below his knee his leg was completely different. His once normal legs where now covered in medium charcoal grey fur his heel know higher and his toes now claw like and black. "Can you move your legs?" They asked him as he attempted to move them. He wiggled his toes and flex them gently a slight burning sensation could be felt as he did so. "Good!" They said triumphantly. Faustino wasn't to please at all mainly cause now what was he going to do about his pants.

A large male nurse came in and looked at the newly mutated Faustino. "Here lets get you walking." He says as he helps Faustino up. As Faustino gets up from the cold table. He places his new legs on the ground which was wobbly at first and painful, but at the same time he notices that he doesn't feel the cold of the floor. Faustino flexes his four toes they seem to grip the floor well which puts him in a better mood. They walk out of the room slowly naturally its painful and strange at first, but soon it becomes easier and easier. Him and the male nurse walk up and down the hallway a few times.

"Any kind of numbness in your mutation?" Faustino shakes his head "No just some pain." The man pulls out two light pink pills and hands them to Faustino and stops by a drinking fountain. He only takes one of the pills with a long drink of water. They walk up and down the hallway for a few minutes before Faustino starts walking by himself occasionally holding onto the wall. It would take time to get use to his mutation, but soon he would be able to run and jump in a few days. The male nurse leads him into another room one to grab his clothes. The facility nice enough to provide him special pants for his new mutation.

Once dressed they hand him a wad of cash and escort him out of the facility and at the edge of there perimeter. Faustino says thanks and slowly walks into the slums knowing for the next few days his mutation would keep him from sleeping on the fire exit. It was a long walk for him not being able to use the roof top, but he knew it would be awhile before he could do a lot of things as he drew up his hood. Soon he hears the sounds of someone singing knowing that it was the club that many people came to when they wanted to get out of the cold for a bit. Slowly he made his way there occasionally leaning on to the wall of the slums for support. In a way he looked drunk so no one messed with him. Eventually he got to the club and walked in where people where entranced by the woman's singing. He took a seat at the bar still a little dizzy, but it was going away.

Carter sat on a roof top, couched on the edge like a car would. Slowly the sun was setting and it cast yellow beams everywhere, some hitting her and making her light brown hair look almost golden. A slight breeze swished her hair around and as the sun slowly set into darkness Carter took a deep breath, relaxing her limbs before she took her nightly...walk.
The young girl was dressed in all black, black skinny jeans to a black hoodie that was up and covering her face. She even wore leather gloves that were cut off at the fingers. Carter took another deep breath, and allowed her body to slowly slip over the edge of the building, and fall. The wind pushed against her back and her hair whipped all around. It would have been easy to just let herself fall to her death, but then again life had never been easy for her, so why should it start now?



Carter twisted her body around in mid air before spreading her finds our, in a almost claw looking fashion. Slowly her nails grew into claws and turned a sliver color.
Before she could even blink she collided with the side of a brick wall, and dug her claws into the side. Carter hung there gracefully, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Slowly Cat let out the breath she had been holding since she dropped and a smile lit up on her face. Her eyes had turned into cat like eyes, and their golden color seemed to glow in the dark, which was only because she could see in the dark as if it were mid day.

Very carefully she climbed down and started to walk down the dimly lit street, her hood covered her strange eyes and her claws were now gone. As Cater walked, she made sure to brush against everyone she passed, and as soon as she did she was flooded with their thoughts, she even manged to pick pocket a few as she did so. Finally she brushed against a local drug lord from the underworld.

A grin spread on her lips, and she slowly followed the man, a slightly skip in her steps. She would be getting dinner tonight. The man stepped into a ally and Cat swiftly followed, she was aware it was a trap, but the man and been able to block her so well she din't have time to doge when something hard collided with the back of her head. Cater stumbled forward and spun around just in time to catch the piece of wood the man was holding from knocking her down.

"That wasn't very nice.." she mumbled before her claws seemed to pop back out of no where, slowly digging into the wood until it snapped in her hand. The man's eyes narrowed and he made a move to punch her, but Cat easily dogged and danced around behind him, hitting him so hard in the back of the neck that he fell to his knees.

"W-Who are you?!" the man grunted out, but that only made her smirk before answer.

"Just a simple street..Cat." She said, before without warning hitting the man so hard in the back of the head that he fell unconscious. That was..easy. she thought before pulling out a small bag of money and all the drugs the man had stashed on him, Carter would be able to get some good money off of these drugs, since she had no use for them herself, but she didn't noramly sell stuff like this, most likely she'd be able to take it to The Merchant, He would take them, pay her and not say anything about it, Cat had done it before.

Nodding her head she spun around following the little voice in her head, she had brushed skin with him before, through he had strange skin she didn't mind really, all she had to do was find his thoughts and follow them to him, it was how she always found him, or the other sellers she had. Whoever she came across first, she would sell.

Jaxon

Jaxon finished his apple martini, and grinned to himself oddly bobbing his head back and forth to the music. He ordered another drink, this time a mojito and finally leaned in to ask the bartender if he knew a man named Ikarus. He was delighted to hear, that he actually owned the club!! "Oh Ikarus you entrepreneur you!! Do you know where I can find him?" "Aahhh.... He's around here somewhere." "Alright, thank you very much!! Also... Who is that girl singing up there?" "That's Ezzie... Why, you know her?" "Perhaps..... But oh well! Thanks again!" He winked at the bartender, and the guy gave him a weird look as he left. He had a wide grin, as he walked around the club looking for his dear old friend Ikarus. He just wanted to talk to him, catch up. Have a few beers, ya know... Guy stuff!! He saw a flight of stairs, and headed up that direction wondering where they went. "Now.... I know him better, to be cooped up in an office somewhere looking at paperwork.... Bahaa!! Paperwork, that's funny!!" Jaxon enjoyed a hardy laugh, almost spilling his drink as he walked up the stairs. Eventually he made it to some sort of foyer or something, where there was a short hallways that lead to... A balcony?

He walked in that direction, finding that there was indeed a second floor. Jaxon nodded interestingly, and looked about the crowd down there avidly searching for Ikarus. "Hmmm... Eeny.... Meeny.... Miny... Moe.... Catch the..... Street rat..... By the.... Toe..... If he......Hollers.... Let him..... Know..... If he..... Screams i'll..... Cut his....... throat." Jaxon slowly bounced his head back and forth, singing his twisted little nursery rhyme to himself. He walked along the cat walk his eyes constantly scanning the floor. He didn't notice, that anybody else was up here with him. Or that they may have heard him talking to himself. He sipped his mojito absently mindedly, humming softly. There was a reason why people thought of him as a strange man.... And they were right.

Ikarus

Ikarus turned with a bright smile at Rina. "That's alright, kiddo, but we are short handed tonight so I'll need you to pick up the slack. Low on the money right now but it does mean a few free drinks for ya and a good meal once everyone's gone." He did, however, toss her a sall wad of cash as he spoke. It wasn't very much, hardly enough to buy clothing down here unless you knew someone who owed you, but it was an okay paycheck for a clubrat. He kept one eye on the bar at all times, and tensed a little when Jaxon suddenly moved, disappearing from his line of sight. The bartender--a rather small, gangly looking kid with shaggy red hair-- waved him down in a signal as he cleaned a glass, stating that Jaxon was indeed coming up looking for him.

"Rina,go down to Ezzie and tell her I may need her help in a few minutes...." He said distractedly under his breath as the girl's singing stopped. "Thanks guys, I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves but I need a drink! See ya in a few!" Her signature breakline was followed by clammoring from the males to buy her said drink, and more cheers and applause as she strode from the stage to the bar. Once Rina had left and the Balcony was quiet again, he allowed his eyes to slip half closed, focusing all his energy on the sounds around him.

"Hey Bartender, nother round on me!" "Eenie....Meanie...." "Hey, gerroff pipsqueak!" "Watch it!" "If he hollers...." "Damn, need to retune....." "If he screams.....I'll Cut His Throat." He had pulled himself into the shadows, where his near black hair and attire made it difficult to spot him. Jaxon had gotten up to the balcony, and was headed toward him. But he knew his place better than the man did; He slipped behind the striped panels so he could move freely. "Been a long time since I heard you around, Jaxon. Sounds like you've had a few drinks in ya, and that's good and fine with me. But why are you here?" He made sure to throw his voice around; a simple trick he had learned in his years of theft to see to it he had no one on his trail.

Ashton

Ashton kicked his board along the dingy and dirty ground, through the narrow alleys and roads that criss-crossed through the underworld. He was just on a night cruise, and rounded a corner kick-flipping over some cardboard boxes. He bobbed his head to the music that was bumping from his head phones as he made his way along, waving a person who nodded at him as he skated by. Quite frankly, the kid was board and was looking for something to do. Sure, he would love to go to a club right now but he didn't want to waist the cash for the cover charge or to bribe the bouncer to let him come in. Not that he couldn't sneak in, but Ashton just wasn't in the mood to sneak around and stuff. He was feeling rather lazy this evening. He adjusted his cap, and turned another corner lazily not seeing the chick in the darkness until it was the last second. "Shit!!"

Ashton jumped off his board, and crashed into him trash cans but not without bumping into the woman (Carter) before. He grunted, and quickly got up yanking his headphones out and glaring at the chick. "You ever hear of watch where you're going!?" Ashton picked up his skateboard, and stood there seeing what she was going to say.

____________________________________________________________-

Jaxon

"Been a long time since I heard you around, Jaxon. Sounds like you've had a few drinks in ya, and that's good and fine with me. But why are you here?" Jaxon smiled, and instantly jumped around looking for his dear friend Ikarus. He frowned, hearing the voice drift from here to there. "Well.... I thought you'd be happier to see me Ikarus. Hiding in the shadows like that..... I'm a little hurt. Come here!! I wanna give you a hug!" He smiled widely, looking around still. He was thinking..... Ikarus did have a reason to be upset at him, what happened before he was locked up for the past 5 years. "I see.... Well, the offer still stands! But this isn't a bad place you've got here Ikarus. Still being the foster father to all these unfortunate kids here. That's something I admire about you, so charitable... So kind!" He chuckled, reflecting back on when they use to run together. "How are the others doing? Oh! do you have a girlfriend yet? A guy like you must get all the ladies eh?"

Jaxon laughed once more, and leaned against the railing not bothering to look around in the dark anymore. There was really no point, Ikarus was going to come out when he was good and ready. Other wise, he would just stand here and enjoy his mojito. "By the way.... That kid down there makes a damned good drink!"

Carter slowly made her way through a club, pick pocketing people as she went, really she didn't know half the people here, but she didn't care, she stole from them anyway. Cater grinned as she passed two men, they looked rich enough.

"By the way.... That kid down there makes a damned good drink!" she heard one of them say, but she ignored their talking and bumbed into on of them, her hand snaking into the mans pocket and back out before he could notice. " Oh I am So sorry!" Carter said before flashing both her best charming smile and walking away, a slight skip in her step. She loved doing that to people she didn't even know, it just made things so much funny, when she was younger she liked to stick around and watch the persons reaction when they found out they were now broke, but after being caught and jumped, she never did that again.

The plan was always get in, get the money, get the hell out. Ever since it had worked, and she seemed to always be getting better everyday. It was just..fun to her. It wasn't that she hadn't already made enough money today, she just wanted more for later. Could you blame her? She was a poor kid, she just wanted money so sue her.

In this life, one thing counts
In the bank, large amounts
I'm afraid these don't grow on trees,
You've got to pick-a-pocket or two

You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys,
You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.

Carter smiled ever so slightly, singing to old song under her breath. She had heard to song long ago, and it kind of stuck to her of course she never knew what it was from...

Why should we all break our backs?
Better pick-a-pocket or two.

Robin Hood, what a crook!
Gave away, what he took.
Charity's fine, subscribe to mine.
Get out and pick-a-pocket or two

You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys
You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.

Carter smirked grabbing someone else's change bag and slipping it into her own pocket, as far as she could tell she had at least fifty dollers right now, but what could a few more hurt?

When I see someone rich,
Both my thumbs start to itch
Only to find some peace of mind
I have to pick-a-pocket or two.

You've got to pick-a-pocket or two, boys
You've got to pick-a-pocket or two.

Carter sang a bit louder before she filed into a group in the club, grabbing a ten dollar bill out of two peoples pockets before she slipped back out. By now she had done a full circle around the Club, and was nearing the guy guys again. Wow..Her timing was getting a lot better. Carter chuckled to herself as she leaned on the railings, at least ten feet away from the man she had stole from. She was bored. Who wouldn't be when you had a whole city to yourself and yet nothing interesting to do? No one knew her, she was literary on her own right now, so why should she care if she stole from drub lords and all those idiots out there.

Some people said she had a death with, but to be honest it was no death with she had, just lack of fear of death. Why would anyone be scared of death anyway? It would just be another place to survive in. If that's what you'd say were all doing now. Carter scowled at the sight before her. people dancing, drinking, half the people in here had to have been in the labs by now, we were the poor people, the people that were just skidding by. Cater gripped the railing so hard her knuckles were turning white. Why couldn't she have been part of the rich side? All the people that were safe asleep in in their beds by now. No..She was left alone to die with all these losers.

Carter sighed and leaned forward, relaxing her grip, folding her arms and putting her chin down in her arms. Now why should she care how weird she looked? She was bored. Tired. Hungry. Angry.. at what? the world? "Story of my life..." she mumbled shaking her head ever so slightly and closed her eyes. she didn't want to have to watch everything in front of her. Anyone in their right mind would have walked out of the club by now, but really..who here is in their right mind?

Ikarus

Ikarus was behind Jaxon when he felt a hand in his pocket. "I am so sorry!" the girl said, walking off. He smirked, tapping Jaxon on the shoulder. "Seems we'll have to finish this another time. Some pup stole my kids' paychecks...." He leapt off the railing and took off after the girl, weaving easily through the crowd, and grabbed the kid by the arm. "You have something of mine dear," He hissed, a look combining kindness and rage obscuring his thin features. With a swift hand he took back his wallet, pulling the girl closer. "I don't care how you get your money, but you steal from me again and I will add to those agile mutations of yours. I opened this club to help me pay for the kids around here." Almost as if he had called them, a handful of them walked by, carrying boxes or helping someone too drunk to walk outside. Eachh one of them had a wing visible on them, most of them tattooed but one or two had a pair of feathered wings actually on them.

His eyes darkened sadly as he walked away, keeping his wallet in his hand. Everyone kept their distance from him as he made his way back up the stairs. "Ezzie!" He called, and the lovely singer looked up at him, "You're in charge, i need a breather...." She nodded once, waving him off before getting back onstage. He didn't need to see her to know she was watching everyone with eyes younger and more keen than his. If there was any trouble, he could trust her and the rest of his Wing to take care of everything. Despite that, he kept his room inside the club so he could hear everything that went on. With a sigh he sat at his desk, a corner item that he had set up surrounded by mirrors so no one could sneak up on him. Pulling a small drawer from its place and setting it on the desktop, he began slowly taking off his robotic arm. While fully functional, he hadn't figured out how to make it lighter, so he took it off when he needed a break. His entire body went rigid as he removed the limb, slowly disconnecting the nerves and setting the metal limb on the desk and plopping down on the ragged futon across the room, his still existing arm over his face.

Great, just great....He's back, almost got lifted, almost got booze stolen from me... He thought glumly at the empty room.

Jaxon

Jaxon quirked a brow as a girl stumbled past them both, now finally seeing where Ikarus. "Oh I am So sorry!" He looked at the girl (Carter), obviously in her teens and was about to speak when his old friend had to run off. "Seems we'll have to finish this another time. Some pup stole my kids' paychecks...." He laughed at that, and sucked on his beverage. "Oh... Big daddy Ikarus. Always looking out for the little ones, perhaps another time then. It was good seeing you while it lasted." He smiled kindly and waved, as the man got back his wallet from the pretty face who needed a reality check on who to mess with. His face darkened for a moment, but the taste of his delicious alcoholic beverage brought joy back. He was like a switch, emotions could be turned on and off instantaneously.

He watched her walk around, snatching this and thought. It was interesting to watch, but also painful.... There was an advantage to being a pretty young face. But there were always disadvantages as well. In a place like this, guys always looked at the pretty ones. Especially women. He smirked, and laughed as she even started to sing! The gall of the girl! Oh, what a marvelous show but all things must come to an end as her 2 minutes of fame was over and she sashayed around the club. <So confident.... Almost makes me want to watch her. Trip in front of a steam roller...> He laughed at the thought, and slapped his knee finding himself hilarious. "Really? When was the last time I even SAW one of those, outside of cartoons!!" Jaxon continued his fit, but settled down and took a sip of his drink. "No, but she needs to die...."

He tilted his head, and watched her as she made her way back pretty much right next to him. Odd... Seeing as how the girl managed to do what she did on a catwalk above the dance floor, but oh well. He stepped over, and knelt against the rail sipping his drink. "Hello there kitten..." He smiled, his lips never leaving the tiny black straw. His eyes scanned her figure, realizing she was one of those feline types. <Ugh... So stereotypical.... I wonder if the ball game will be on tonight? Who's playing... Boston?> Jaxon pondered that thought, and shrugged moving his nearly empty glass of drink over to the girl. "Drink for you thought?" Depending on whether she excepted, or not, or did something else he would remain casual and lean against the rail. "My friend is a little upset but don't worry, he's a big softy. Like a.... Like like a..... Like a big..... Marshmallow!!! Just.... White and.... Big'n gooey!! But they all burn the same!" He smiled, and reached a hand in his pocket touching his lighter. "Thought, I think the latter would be much more tasty..." He seeemed to stare off into space, then jumped turning to the girl with a cheesy grin extending his hand out. "Jaxon is the name! Charmed..." He was being genuine...... Mostly. He thought in images.... One in particular was her tied up on a railroad track with a guy, with a mustache laughing evilly as a train was speeding closer, with dramatic twenty's style piano music playing. <I love cartoons.....>

Addie calmly strolled through the streets. She had been planning to go home, but found herself wandering instead. The night was cool and the cool air felt good on her exposed face. She removed her hood, letting a small breeze wash over her as she walked. After a moment, she stopped suddenly, causing a couple of people to bump into her and curse at her, but she ignored them. Faintly, she heard a lovely singing. She found herself moving again toward the sound, drawn like a bee to a flower. The song was familiar, and Addie found herself humming along with the woman. After a few minutes of walking, she turned a corner to see the club where the song was coming from. It was somewhat rundown, but still seemed popular. Addie, not usually one to go clubbing, had never been there before.

She slipped into the club, just catching the end of the song. All too soon, the singer stepped down for a drink with several of the men near the front wanting to buy her a drink. Addie, somewhat disappointed, put her hands in her pocket, and sat on a barstool in the corner. She turned, leaning against the wall, and asked for a water from the kid behind the counter. She watched, amused at the amount of children scurrying around doing various jobs. 'What is this? Some kind of orphanage for street rats?' she thought, a smile on her face.

She watched with great interest as one of the young women who seemed to work there 'accidentaly' bumping into people. No doubt she was pickpocketing them. A moment later, one man confronted her and got his wallet back. Shortly after that, Addi raised her eyebrow as another man she had 'bumped' into came up and began flirting with her. Addie knew she shouldn't get involved, but she was curious nonetheless. Drinking the rest of her water, she pulled a nice tip out of a breast pocket on her shirt, moved closer to the pair, and leaned on the wall nearby. She nearly laughed as she realized the man was talking about marshmallows, and wondered if he was all there. She calmly let her gaze wander around the club as she listened to the conversation.

((Ooooppps! Sorry about that! Triple posting, that is a first. O.O))

"Blood... You got blood... on my boot..." Herald stepped slowly through the unfamiliar alley. His boots clomped and echoed down the small corridor, filled with trash and broken bricks. He walked slowly towards the man who has just attempted to mug him, he lifted his right foot, almost mockingly, showing the man the blood from the stab wound in Herald's leg. Fortunately for him, pain is lessened by his... Mutation. Herald held the knife in his hand, covered in his own blood. The man in front of him, an extremely thin, bone dry man, was cowering in a pile of trash, at the realization of the man he had just attempted to stab. Everyone knew The Merchant. Everyone. The man had often sold to him, and had now realized his fatal mistake. The Merchant knelt down to the small, now helpless man. "You... I know you... And I know what to do with you. This may have been an accident, or it may have been a misunderstanding... but none of that matters now." Herald took the knife, and plunged it into the soft, stinking trash pile next to the man. He flinched.

"W-what? Just... just finish... it quick..." Herald sighed.

"As you wish." The man's eyes shut hard. He waited. Five seconds. Ten. Finally, he opened his eyes. The Merchant was down the alley, walking away. On his lap, the man realized he had a small pack lying on him. He slowly opened it. Inside... Was a loaf of bread. An entire loaf! Not even opened! And next to it was three bottles of water. Fresh water. Not even sifted. Straight from the store. The man allowed tears to stream down his face, and he looked up at The Merchant as he was limping away. He looked over his shoulder, allowing his purple, glowing eyes to land on the man. "See you on Thursday, Dave..." With that, he continued to walk into the darkest corner of the alley... and was gone.

"God damn it..." Herald spat. He turned into another alleyway at an intersection, one equally filled with trash and homeless. Herald reached into his second left-hand knapsack for a smoke, but pulled his hand back, realizing that he had kicked the habit years ago. For the ninth time this day. He kicked the habit because it was too expensive to get new cigarettes... He only liked them new. Didn't have the same effect, the older ones. They seemed to only make him crave more. Make him almost willing to die for more. But he knew better. Life on the streets could get rough, and he didn't need some addiction kicking at his head. Not including mutes. He needed the Lab mutes just like any other did. Money was rolling in for him, and even though he looked strange physically, he hadn't felt better in years. He could climb this wall, if he wanted to. Could jump a story high, if he wanted to. Or at least, he felt that way. He had never tried.

Seventeen more alley walks later, he came to his shop, "The Merchant's One Stop Goods Shop." Most people just called it The Shop. It was his pride and joy. Locked up when he was gone, and under protection of well trusted men, Herald was never afraid of who might try to break in, except maybe the authorities. For one, people trusted him. Loved him, even. He paid them for their goods, even when they were stolen or useless. He gave food to those who were dying. Free of charge. Unless they were able-bodied, of course, then he asked for favors in return. Shipments, mostly, but sometimes dirty work, that he paid extra for. Work wasn't hard to come up with for The Merchant. He prided himself on that.

Herald used his remote to raise the rust-crusted steel window from it's spot over the counter, and he used his keys to open the door in the back, while whistling some ancient war tune. When the Saints Go, or something like that, some lame title that people somehow hadn't forgotten for years. One of his guards were sleeping, while the other greeted his boss. They had often times taken turns on shifts, so that they could keep an eye on the goods twenty-four seven. "Thanks James, Mikey. Here's your pay." Mikey woke up to a bag lying on his chest. Inside both of their bags were fifty dollars, two loaves of fresh bread, water, and canned meat. They thanked him, and left. Herald could take care of himself. He pressed a button on his counter top, and halogen lights lit up over his little stand, merely stating in different coloured and styled letters, "The Shop." Herald was ready for some business, as he already saw a few Rats approaching him, for a look at his wares.

Krys

As she walked down the sidewalk, looking for her next vantage point to the roofs, she was debating whether she should go find this guy Danny was telling her about or not. The cash he had just gotten was already over half gone, a portion gone for the meal she had, and a sizeable chunk for the shoes she just got from Danny. She may have known him for a long time, since he had taught her half her skills when she was younger, but he still expected her to pay the price as any other, it was the way of the streets, they all needed money. Now her stash was low, probably would only last her another day or two if she didn’t feel the need to get the food while she had the cash.

But enough to last her a month, two? Now that was a lot, too tempting to pass up the offer, the consequences of it was that she would get caught, maybe sent to jail, and if she failed she would go back and accept the beating she would most likely receive, she never went back on her word, that if she failed she wouldn’t skip out, she may be a thief but she was honorable to accept what was coming to her if she failed. But for that amount of cash, she at least had to try, there wasn’t much she could lose, and if she succeeded, there was so much for her to gain.

She finally found the fire escape and climbed it deftly to the roof; decision made that she would seek out this person and accept the job he was offering. And it wouldn’t take that long either, if they talked to Danny, they probably knew the other people the street rats came into contact with the most, and the closest nearby was only a few alleys away, basically a hop, skip, and leap from where she was. And so she braced her legs, and set them running towards the edge of the roof and leaped. A few minutes later she skidded to a stop, almost falling over from the new shoes and the amount of traction they gave her, and climbed down to the alley.

From her spot she could just make out two shapes in the dark, one tall and by the look of the stature and a glimpse of the clothing, it was the man she was looking for, talking with another street rat, one that could get the man in touch with the type of thief he was looking for. The street rat caught a glimpse of her and pointed, apparently knowing who she was and probably knowing she would be willing to do it. The man turned and looked her over, probably noting her clothes, the long hair which again she noted that she needed to retie, and most likely trying to discern if she had any mutations under her baggy clothes which she had the good fortune of having to resort to that type of thing.

The man was well dressed, obviously a rich person seeing as he had no mutations, and seemed slightly uncomfortable being in the alleys which let her know that he didn’t regularly deal with her sort of people. She stepped closer, and had to look up at the man because he was taller and tilted her head slightly. ”Heard you were looking for a thief. Depends what you need but I’m the guy you’re looking for.” The man chuckled, ”You must be the Krys the other boy was talking about.” She nodded once. ”The job shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish, there’s a bar near here, you’ve probably heard the music coming from it, gone in a time or two and saw kids running around in there? The owners name is-“ ”Ikarus.” She interrupted him. ”Yes, I know the place and have seen the owner, the one with the robotic arm.” The man grinned at the comment and nodded. ”Precisely, now boy, if you can bring me that arm, I can pay you well. Sources tell me he takes it off at night. That’s it, bring me the arm.” She tilted her head, she didn’t know why he wanted the arm, or what was so special about it since it was just an arm, but if it could get her set for months she would get it. ”Easy, I should be back here at dawn. If not, by tomorrow at sun down.” She shook the man’s hand to seal the deal and she turned, headed to the night club…