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N a t X| | XA k u m a
I n t e r f a c e | | P h o b i a
#252980 | | #5C5C5C
XXXX It was a rare occasion for Akuma to be at Base. It was the anniversary of his guardian's passing and he didn't feel the need to be alone. Even if he was a solitary creature. Besides, Noah had to meet with a client at the base anyway so he decided he'd spend some time in the modernly decorated penthouse. Honestly, they were all in rare form. It was uncommon that so many of them would be in one place. Maybe they just felt the need to be together, an idea Akuma very much doubted. Or maybe there was something about the city that rewarded groups and punished individuals. Maybe it was safer to be together. Even if they were the most feared beings in Youngblood. Akuma especially considering he was fear itself.
He was sitting in one of the plush chairs outside the spare room Noah was supposed to be meeting the client in--if the latter designed to show up--listening to music as always. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, the hood pulled up over his dark head and almost completely obscuring his noise-canceling headphones from view. He had a few small pots of acrylic paint, a small travel bottle of water, brushes, and a multimedia sketchbook with him to pass the time. When the heroes burst into the penthouse lobby, bloody and filthy, he was finishing a painting of his rendition of the grim reaper. He didn't hear the initial crash due to his headphones.
Instead, he noticed Noah emerging from the room in a hurry and he looked up. Surprise lit the corners of his eyes but quickly faded into indifference. He quietly set down his artwork and moved to the back of the group of villains. Cinder's flames were already licking up her arms and Ferral had a knife drawn. Noah and Ghost were just watching them cautiously. No one moved for a few beats. It took a moment to realize that someone had spoken. In fact, it took a hero to step forward and speak, a glittering gold field forming around them.
He removed his headphones, the music still blaring through the tiny speakers, in time to hear her finish her statement. Akuma wasn't usually one to speak, but he could read the fear on their faces. He could feel his ability humming through him, waiting to be released. To shift him into gruesome images. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall behind him, his fingers covered in dry paint. "Who exactly is coming?" He asked, wondering if the base wasn't the safest place after all. If that was the case, he'd find a way to get Noah as far away from here as possible.
XXXXNat panted harshly as they climbed the stairs to the villain's supposed hideout. They had been running for blocks. Or at the very least it felt like blocks. Whether or not it was in fact blocks... she didn't actually care to find out. In fact, why didn't they just take the elevator? These stairs were turning the air entering her lungs into sandpaper and she felt her lunch threatening to rise. Of course, that might've been due to watching a couple dozen of her friends and allies get slaughtered, but that's neither here nor there.
Nat wasn't even supposed to be there. She's hardly ever at the scene considering her ability needs very specific environments in order for her to be any help at all. They apparently needed her expertise, however, because next thing she knew she was donning her uniform and heading out on mission with the rest of them. Boy, had she wished she had stayed in bed. Although, if she had, she wasn't sure how many of them would've gotten out without her help. Then again, if she hadn't gone... would they have even been ambushed at all?
Cori was somewhere at the front of their group leading the way. To which Nat's only thought was, Of course she is. Cori was the youngest of them. And yet, she walked around mothering everyone. It only made sense that she take the charge now. Her babies were hurt and she had words. Which isn't exactly what happened when they finally arrived to the penthouse, but her persistance made Nat smirk dispite their situation.
Once they made it into the room, Nat stood to the side. There were cuts covering her arms and probably a few on her face. She was sure she injured her shoulder somehow too considering she was having difficulty lifing her left arm. Her pain, fear, and lack of oxygen from running blocks and climbing up stairs was beginning to make her... woozy. The room went black around the edges and she braced herself against the wall.
At the contact, the lights dimmed and flashed a few times before Nat realized what she was doing and pushed herself away from the wall. "Sorry. Sorry. That was me. Must be wires close by." She rubbed at her temple with her good hand. "By the way, there's a bulb out somewhere in the penthouse. Might want to see to that. You never know what's hiding in the dark..."