Gigatopia

Jake-son was on the highest rooftop of Gigatopia with his sniper and heat scope searching anything odd when he found an cold humanoid form "how odd" he said and follow the form "let's see if you are good or bad" jake-son said and loaded his sniper

"Crumbles, crumbles, crumbles!" Maria yelled as she ran down the road, dodging past padestrians and leaping over the bonts of moving cars as she raced towards the small highschool she called hell. "I'm so late! Why did anyone wake me up!!!" She cried as she skidded round the corner and arriving, huffing and panting, in front of the old school building, a trail of potholes in the wall where she had misjudged her angle and crashed spectacularly more than once.

"That evil crow of a teachers going to put me in detention if she Catchs me again! Okay Maria, time for sneaky sneaky skills!" She mumbled to herself as she made her way across the silent quad and towards the fill school, humming the James Bond theme tune and she ducked and dived until reaching the side door and entering, her back facing the inside as she watched to make sure she wouldn't be seen by any annoying teachers. Sadly this was her biggest flaw as she felt her back impact with someone's chest. Freezing up, she turned and laughed awkwardly while rubbing her head, her eyes closed so she wasn't able to see the person she had bumbed into.

Asher Damons walked through the crowd of Gigatopia as he hid himself among the sea of people. He looked like nothing was really happening if you studied how he moved and the expression on his face. In fact, one would just assume that he might be in a hurry. Now, look behind him. If you can see two other heads moving against the crowd, then you found his pursuers. If anyone were to ask, it would be answered with "complete strangers." However, if you ask Asher, it would be replied with "It's those guys again..."

Which is what he muttered as he continued to make his way through the busy sidewalk in Gigatopia. Asher turned his head back, making sure that they aren't in view before continuing to move through the crowd. In the midst of the crowd, he walked at an angle to his left, going to the middle of the street. The thing is, at the hour in which people are trying to get to their jobs or their school, they don't pay attention to things such as a man going into a manhole. Maybe some would just move away from the sight, however they normally don't speak.

Asher sighed, walking back into the base of the Infinity Teen Squad. Said manhole was one of many secret entrances back into this underground base, and, like every other member of the team, he knew where to look. All that was needed was the infinity symbol on the cover.

Now, why would someone as young as Asher not be in school? In all honesty, he didn't need it. Asher was taught during the time he was kept for experimentation, and he was taught well beyond what would be learned during his age. Besides, if he needed to make a living, all that would be needed is a stand and a few ice cream cones.... Don't ask how Asher knows this.

"Hello? Is anyone still here?" Asher called out into the base as he made his way through a door, inputting the correct password and walking to what would be regarded as the "living room" of the base.

Eve Watson observed the street below, or to be more specific, a few of the people in the street, with a contemplative expression. She wasn't particularly concerned with evading notice. She was, after all, on the fourth floor of a building that was currently under construction. Or reconstruction, if you prefer. Hey, superhero-ing, especially for heroes like her who relied on conventional weaponry, was bound to cause a little collateral damage sometimes. Another reason the chrono-mage wasn't especially worried, was that she was only able to observe the street through a pair of tactical binoculars, so to see her one would have had to have been looking for her, and even then it would have been difficult.

She wasn't just looking on randomly of course, she didn't have the time for that. She was watching Asher. Having seen Maria off to school, he just happened to be the person she found next.

Eve did have a habit of stalking following her teammates without telling them. Not for any sinister reason of course, she just wanted to present if something were to happen, and being too close would result in whatever enemy happened upon them to take her into account before striking, thus ruining the element of surprise, one of Eve's greatest assets. Paranoid? Perhaps, but it had helped in the past.

Plus it was interesting to see what they got up to.

Speaking of which, Eve was fairly certain that he was being pursued. She couldn't say for certain but it seemed suspicious that Asher would be in a hurry without apparent reason, and that two other people would be pushing through the crowd like that in the direction that he had just happened to be going. Again, it wasn't enough to draw any conclusions, and certainly not enough to act on, but it was worth remembering.

Then, when Asher slipped into a manhole that was one of the secret entrances to the Infinity Squad's headquarters, the two suddenly seemed to forget why they were in a hurry, and seemed to have the time to look around. From her vantage point in the half-rebuilt building, Eve frowned.

While the petite vigilante did consider tailing these two, she decided that it would probably be more beneficial to instead meet up with Asher. After all, depending on how long these guys had been stalking him, they might have another person inside the base itself.

With this thought, that simultaneously managed to be both slightly hypocritical and, perhaps justifiably, paranoid, Eve froze time and followed, stashing the binoculars with the rest of the things she had in this building. As she passed the two though, she made sure to get a good look at each of their faces. Once she was inside, and had made certain to settle the manhole in such a way as it wouldn't make any noise when time resumed, she slipped through a door that was in the middle of closing, and ended up just behind her fellow squadmate.

Eve released her hold on time's reins, after taking a small step back, and resumed partway into Asher's inquiry. "-o? Is anyone still here?" "Present." Eve replied blandly.

Jake-son noticed an heat signature disaprearing and rise from his riffle "how interesting" he said and focus back on the cold form "i will have to research that spot later" he said and snap a picture of where eve was standing just a second ago "now little cold blooded humanoid tell time to show where you are heading"

"Present." A voice answered Asher. The boy turned around, sighing. It's stressful when the people who are chasing you is now in the same city as you, let alone the same state. It's even more stressful that the Infinity Teen Squad isn't exactly famous nor infamous. rubbing his head, Asher walked to the sink and turned the faucet, grabbing a glass and filling it up.

"Alright, then...." Asher muttered. He took a sip from the cold water, grateful for the fact that he can now rest for even a little while. "I guess everyone's off on their own again or sleeping?" Asher asked Eve as he sat on a couch. As said before, Asher didn't go to school because of the fact that he was already taught the necessary things in an average school's curriculum. Besides, Asher already has the team to worry about, should they be discovered to be associated with him. A school full of normal people, however, is quite troublesome and, if he needed to, Asher can barely get anywhere when trapped in the confines of what is known as the school day. Poor Kinky. At least Asher's consolation to the fact that he had associated himself with this team is that they have their own abilities to protect themselves. Then again, even when I sent their people back in bags they are still persistent in catching me... Asher thought, annoyed because this is true.

"You really have to be more aware of your surrounding my dear sister". Maria glanced up at Eric who looked down at her with his usual stoic expression she had come to expect every time she ran into him, which was a shame seeing as he used to be so nice when they were little...

"Hi Eric, what you doing here?" She asked, sighing gently as she leaned back against the wall and tilted her head at her black haired, blue eyed brother who continued to observe her quietly.

"I simply wanted to check up on my little sister, is that such a crime?". He replied, taking on the same position as his sister across the small hallway they both stood in, shrouded by the shadows as every now and then the sound of footsteps passed their loaction. "Suit still holding up well?" He commented with a slightly sadistic smirk, though barely noticeable to any who didn't know him.

"Knowing you, yes it probably is a crime." She grumbled out before sending the older boy a seething glare. "And don't mention that goddamn contraption you created. I swear I'd it wasn't my ticket to the Royal guard I would of dumped it years ago! Have you heard what they call me because of that thing!" She growled back, throwing her hands up in despair.

Eric cracked a smile at his sisters antics and if anyone were to stop and see them , they might believe that the conversation between the two teens was that of brother and sister, not of arch enemies or whatever humans called that jazz now a days. "Don't complain. Didn't your mother ever teach you to be gracious?" He chuckled, the sound coming from deep in his throat and sounding low so it was almost inaudible.

"Shut up." She grumbled back, folding her arms and settling in to glare at Eric who just calmly looked back at her. They stayed like this for a small while before Maria saw the serious change in Eric's eyes.

"It's time for you to go home Maria. Something big is coming and I don't want you to be dragged into this planets troubles just because of some stupid school assignment." His voice came out in a serious tone. He was serious and Maria could see it. Eric knew something he wasn't going to tell her anytime soon and that could only spell trouble, it always did. "Well, I will see you later little sister. It was a pleasure." He said before drawing himself up and leaving through the side door Maria had entered only a few seconds pior.

"Goodbye... Brother..." She mumbled quietly to the empty hallway, remaining frozen for a few moments before a bell rung overhead and she was brought back to life once more. Swearing, she raced down the corridors towards second period, the incident a few seconds ago seemingly forgotten.

Alice lives at the Infinity Squad headquarters, but they didn’t consider her a full member yet. She’s only been in Gigatopia for a few weeks, so she’s still getting use to the city. She hasn’t done much crime fighting since she got here, as well. The Squad knew she could fight; she got their attention by stopping a few small crimes around the city. But now that she’s with the Infinity Squad, she doesn’t do much. She sleeps all day, she eats all the food in the base, and that’s pretty much all they see her do. She will go with them to fight crime when called for, but she always seems to be more interested in goofing off then actually fighting. She didn’t go to school; in fact, she rarely leaves the base. She doesn’t talk much to the other members; she bluntly answers any questions asked to her, and makes a goofy comment every once in a while. The Squad didn’t know much about her, do to how she answers questions. They knew she comes from out of town, but not where. They know she doesn’t have parents or family, but not what happened to them. They know she has some super human abilities, but not how she got them. Her behaviors are odd; it was almost like she was hiding from something but didn’t want anyone to know what. Hiding she was, and she assumed that the base of the Infinity Squad she heard about, would be the safest place to hide from that little devil. She plans to leave the base as little as possible and hope that the little devil won't be able to find her here.

Alice woke up late that morning, or maybe it was already evening. She walked out of her room, not even bothering to get dressed; she was still in her pajamas. She slumps her way into the main room where two of the others where having a conversation. Alice swiftly moved past them, trying not to gain their attention. She made her way into the kitchen and immediately opens the fridge. “Foooood…” she moans like a zombie before rummaging through the fridge looking for something to eat.

Eve considered Asher's question for a moment, sitting down on the couch, at a respectable distance from Asher of course, Eve was rather aware of personal space, her own taking up a bit more than most, and sliding a box of grenades out from underneath it. Placing the box on her lap, she began to check them one by one, turning them over in her hands, and occasionally feeling the pins to make sure that they were still firmly in place.

"Maria is at school." she finally settled on answering. "Alice, I believe, is still in the base, but I can't say for certain about the others yet." Yet being the key word. Eve did intend to find out.

As for why she herself was not in school, the temporal adept was a runaway after all, at least in the eyes of the law. Registering for school without a legal guardian would probably prove difficult in of itself. Besides, between books and experience Eve had learned a great deal more than the education she'd be receiving there.

As she considered what, if anything, social protocol dictated she say next, Eve noticed Alice quickly shuffle past, still in her pajamas... Wait a minute. Where had she gotten those? She didn't arrive with them, at least to Eve's knowledge, and she didn't think that any of the other girls on the team, particularly herself, had the same... er, build, as Alice, so it couldn't be a borrowed pair.

Before Eve could get too deep in thought about this, and the possible implications thereof, the secretive novice gave a rather disturbing groan. “Foooood…”

After she had finished shuddering at the resemblance the sound bore to that of an actual member of the undead, Eve set the box aside and walked over. "If I'm not mistaken, you've pretty much cleaned us out. If you like though, I can take you to the grocery store, so you can pick out what you like." Eve paused briefly. "Though, if we do, you may want to change into some clothes. Asher?" That last part was an inquiry as to whether or not he would want to accompany them, or her, depending on whether Alice wanted to go or not. It was not a question about whether he agreed that Alice might not want to go outside in her pajamas, though in retrospect Eve supposed she could have worded it better.

Two years ago...

Auratic grinned with a perverse pleasure as she stood on the roof of the Matsukoshi Skyscraper, where the Nemean Eye, a gem of incredible value, was being held for a scientific study on how light that traveled through it was affected in ways it shouldn't be. As she pulled her Zorro-esqe eyemask down, she jumped off the side of the building, her aura forming on her arm. As she passed the floors, she counted down in her head until the 37th floor, where her aura shot out and shattered the glass, anchoring itself in the concrete floor inside for her to climb up with. Alarms started ringing, but Auratic ignored this as she launched herself across the room and deeper into the building. As she ran, her aura molded itself over her entire body, giving the world a red hue as it covered her head. At the turn of a corner, she ducked into a room, where she found the safe holding the Nemean Eye. She dropped to one knee next to the safe and poked the keyhole, letting her aura slither onto her finger and form the key, unlocking the safe. As she stood up with her prize, she found herself face-to-face with the Matsukoshi security detail, that is, their own private army. As they leveled their guns at her, she dropped a single grenade on the ground. As it detonated, she was left the last one in the room by the men who saw the grenade drop. She let it detonate, the shrapnel bouncing off of her aura armor, and when the first guard looked in to see what had happened, she let her aura switch to her arm, piercing his shoulder and sending out three spikes, locking into place in his scapula.
"GET OVER HERE!" She screamed, yanking him towards her and knocking him out with an aura-enhanced punch. She then slipped back into fullbody and ran out the door, right past the still shocked security force, and jumped out the window, her aura forming a pair of translucent wings to escape from the building. She landed on another building ten blocks away, and then pulled the gem out of her pocket to look at her prize...

The night before the today of our "heroes"...

Deanna Rouge groaned with an intense desire to murder the bureaucrat who invented paperwork. As owner and Editor-in-Chief of The Last Word, tax time was coming up, and she was in no mood to have to deal with the inevitability of the IRS coming after her due to some unknown flub that one of the accountants missed, probably one extra zero in the wrong place. She was always willing to take on the entire city's police force if it boiled down to it, throw in the Infinity Squad too, but the IRS? She had so much to live for! She grumbled again in reluctance, then pressed a finger to the two-way intercom she'd installed in her desk and her secretary's.
"Shirley, how much longer until lunch?" Deanna asked, sounding like she was one pillow away from passing out from boredom.
"Ma'am... You just got in. At 7:00 at night, too." Her sec responded. Deanna had hired the elderly black lady for two reasons. One, Shirley was the only person capable of keeping Deanna in her office during the day, and two, she made the best damn chocolate brioche this side of the Atlantic ocean, and that's talent you keep a lock on. However, all the pastries on the planet couldn't save Deanna from the torture that was taxes. She DID perk up at Shirley's mention of it being nighttime, though.
"Perfect, so it's already time to start shutting things down!" She said, already grabbing her purple leather jacket and almost out the door before Shirley grabbed her by the scruff and dragged her back into her office.
"Two more forms, Deanna, and you ca-" They were already fully completed and in Shirley's hand as Deanna disappeared out the door, already having taken the 42 flights of stairs thanks to her aura catching the railings on the way down as usual. The grin on Auratic's face as she left The Last Word was enough to chill pudding for the required amount of time. Her big anniversary was coming up, and it was going to be a night to remember for ALL involved...

"Maria is at school. Alice, I believe, is still in the base, but I can't say for certain about the others yet." Eve replied. Asher nodded, drinking down the last few drops of liquid in his glass. She's been awake for a while, then... Asher thought. Last time I checked, Maria is forced to wake up early in order to get to even SECOND period on time in her school.... Alice isn't used to waking up early, either... Though maybe the others might be up and about. Asher stood up and walked to kitchen to refill his glass. Those men were tailing him for a good one-and-a-half hours nonstop. Of course he's thirsty.

However, when he turned around, Asher nearly ran into the rare Alice, the Half-Asleep Zombie trying to feed on anything she could get her hands on. “Foooood…” She groaned, raiding the entire fridge so her hunger could be satisfied. The sheer amount of food eaten- no, consum-, not even. INHALED.- caused Asher to raise an eyebrow. "... She wasn't kidding when she asked if 'Super Hunger' was a superpower when she applied." He scratched the back of his head, just watching the spectacle occur until it was finished.

"If I'm not mistaken, you've pretty much cleaned us out. If you like though, I can take you to the grocery store, so you can pick out what you like." Eve said, also watching Alice just go at the food. "Though, if we do, you may want to change into some clothes. Asher?"

"Er, yeah. I'll come with you guys as well." Asher said. "Let me just change my clothes as well." The boy walked away to his quarters in order to get himself a change of clothes, shaking his head at the thought of all that money going down his new teammate's throat and burn in stomach acid before going down the pipe a few hours later...

Alice looks over at Asher and Eve, who were claiming that she ate all the food. Maybe that was true; she always did have such a big appetite. It is suggested that she go to the store with Eve and pick out food. Oh no. That wasn’t such a good idea a great idea, especially when that Little Devil can already be in the city by now. But what was she going to do. Alice is hungry, if goes with Eve maybe she could convince her to get her some food now instead of having to wait for her to come back. But will also be at risk running into the devil.
Alice looks at her comrades thinking of what she should do. She caves in to hunger however. “OK! I’ll go get dressed!” Alice then ran back into her room to get dressed. They’ll just be gone of a short time, they’ll be fine. Right? Alice thought she better take her sword with her just in case they run into trouble.
Alice came back out of her room after getting dress. “OK! We can go now. Never know what we are going to run into out there, so I thought it would be best for me to take my weapon!” She held her sword out at Eve and Asher with pride.

Eve actually wasn't sure why Asher was changing, perhaps it had something to do with her unclearly worded query, but she shrugged and sat back down as the other two went to attend to that matter. In the meantime, she'd just re-sort these grenades by type and age.

She was just putting down the newest of the incendiary grenades, not especially new, just the newest one that she had, when Alice came back, dressed, but also carrying her sword. “OK! We can go now. Never know what we are going to run into out there, so I thought it would be best for me to take my weapon!” Eve was quiet for a moment before answering, "I suppose so."

This raised some suspicion from Eve. Not that she distrusted Alice in any way, though to be fair she hadn't really known her long enough to trust her implicitly either. It was just that what Alice had just said didn't match up with what she knew of her. From what Eve had observed, the new recruit wasn't really cautious at all. so bringing her sword 'just in case' seemed something that she was unlikely to do. This was all just from Eve's perspective of course, but it was still something for her to keep in mind at least. It was also possible that Alice, with her zeal for super-heroism, might just want to bring her weapon along to beat the living snot out of some lawbreaker that they might happen across, but she wouldn't need to make up some other reason if that were the case.

Neither Eve's voice nor her expression displayed any sign of these thoughts, but she did pocket a few of the grenades from the box she held. If Alice thought it was time to be cautious, Eve thought it was time to be extremely cautious.

Asher came back after the maid finished changing as well. He wore a button-up red shirt with a collar and an unzipped black jacket, different from the one before. He also wore matching black slacks and shoes. Normally, Asher doesn't create such a large difference in appearance. However, the events that occurred before he went into the Infinite Teen Squad Headquarters got him slightly paranoid. He really doesn't feel like starring another chase scene. Even his hair was done differently.

"Alice, are you really sure that you want to bring such a large weapon?" Asher asked as he heard the maid's declaration that she would be bringing the large weapon into public. I know that some heroes are a bit green, but... this might be a new level. Asher thought. ".... i mean, are you really sure to bring something so large and attention-grabbing...?" Asher asked, scratching the back of his head. The last thing he would need is unneeded attention... Then again, he just said he would be joining the two girls as they are shopping in the same public area where he was chased in. To counter THAT Asher could be protecting the two girls should his ex-girlfriends start pulling something that might actually work against him and maybe even them.

(someone still here!?)