Insanity leaned against a silver pole, watching everyone around. She fluttered her bat wings and trailed off slowly, her gaze shifting aimlessly to the side to look at a decapitated building. "Hm," she muttered.

Ace sat against a brick wall, the remnants of a skyscraper in L.A. He held his guitar in his hands, starting to piece together a new song for a campfire with his group of archers. He strummed thoughtfully, notes practically coming out of no where, missing a sweet lyrical lullaby. His left hand cramped and it took his entire being not to make a sound of pain, he grasped his hand biting his lip waiting for the spasm to cease. Something told him, it'd be his downfall. He only hoped it wouldn't be. He felt like crying but he held the wet tears in, for his mother, she always hated seeing him cry. He clenched his left fist, causing himself unbearable pain, but ordering the spasm to cease. He stood, holding the guitar by the neck, as he; foolishly enough, went for a walk. Alone.

Shijima walked down the streets, her arms loosely at her side and her head held evenly. He black zipper boots padded silently across the ground, her simple black dress and large blue cloak just barely waving in the wind. Her ice blue eyes caught every detail around her, even when a strand of her short black hair got into her face. Her eyes darted to an alleyway as she heard a small shriek that stopped midway. She walked over to the alleyway and found a man pushing a girl a little older than her against the wall with a smirk on his face. A blue and white gun fell from Jima's sleeve and she pointed right at the man's head, pulling the trigger and launching an icy bullet straight into his brain. He paused for half a second before falling to the ground, no blood coming from his head due to the hole freezing over. She looked to the shocked girl and nodded behind her. "Go." She spoke sharply and calmly before walking to the man and bending down by him. She placed a hand on his head and his whole body froze over before shattering with the glass, leaving no trace that he had even existed. She yawned calmly and leaned against a wall before closing her eyes and placing the gun back into her sleeve.

Insanity began speed-walking down the street, curiously gazing at everything around her before she found herself bumping into a tall man, her tipping backwards and landing on her behind. "Watch it, please," she hissed, lashing her devil's tail. The man's eyes widened as he stared down at the mutant. He seemed about in his mid-twenties, one of those arrogant idiots who think they're better than most. The girl rose up, brushing off her clothes and fixing the bandages on her leg. She fluttered her wings irritably as she punched the man to the side, who was standing there quivering like a child. Insanity flapped her small wings and rose up in the sky, to fall and land on the roof of a building.

Katherina Grey stood on the roof of the Justice building, staring out into the city. The bridge was collapsed, the apartment buildings trashed. She lived in one of those apartments. Katherina changed her line of sight to her right. Justice members were walking around, ready to fight if needed. Katherina wished there was another option. An option that let you have friends, but believe what you wanted to believe. That was Katherina's option. A life alone, or a life where she was told what to do. It wasn't easy. Katherina 'flashed', as she called it, to the main street. Mutants didn't mind other mutants. The main street had Mutants everywhere, each selling something different. Katherina looked down at her clothes. Baggy cotton pants, a thick belt holding three vials of bluish violet liquid, two daggers, two shurikens, a samurai sword and a simple top. She looked like a Rogue, which suited her perfectly; who was she to deny who she was?

Andrew sat atop the apartment building, Watching the mutants in the main street walk below. Andrew wasn't a Pure, though you couldn't tell just by looking at him. In fact, though he was a mutant, he was an oddity among oddities. His power changed his physical being. Andrew was a changeling, though even there, he was different. He could not make himself look like another. What he could change into was a multitude of unique creatures, each with a different set of skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Try though he might, however, he could not control when he mutated. All Andrew knew was that when he did mutate, another person died.

Andrew stood, then pulled his pistol out of the holster. The gun was a Colt M1911, and he had only recently acquired the gun, though he had used one like it when he was a member of the area's National Guard unit. Andrew still thought himself as part of the Guard, though he did not wear their uniform. What he did wear was the piecemeal collection of armor that distinguished him as a Rouge whenever he wore it. The armor consisted of a tattered bullet-proof vest, a bike helmet that he reinforced, and a pair of reinforced shin guards. It wasn't much, but he felt it was enough. He replaced the gun, then jumped from the third-story floor to the ground. His mutation had also affected him passively, making his physical attributes improved slightly. He also healed remarkably quick, and his skin was kinetically reactive to boot. Basically, when his skin was hit, it got harder, to a point.

The down side to Andrew's abilities was that he often thought his mutation could protect him from more than it actually could. He had plenty of scars to prove it. He walked up to one of the vendors, who was selling bottled water. Andrew pulled out a dollar and gave it to the man, who gave him a bottle in return. He twisted the cap off the bottle and gulped its contents swiftly. The bottle was reuseable, so he held onto it. Looking into the sky, he saw the sun beginning to rise. Today seems like its gonna be great.

Justice's ruin absolutely everything, Katherina grumbled as she watched a Justice break up a heated arguement between a Mutant merchant and a Purey. It was just getting good, as the Mutant had picked up a knife. Of course, it was against the Justice's stupid code to kill someone over being. Katherina pulled her hair out of its current style - two ponytails on either side of her head - and let it fall behind her shoulder blades. Katherina saw a Mutant sitting on the floor. He had 4 arms and was desperately trying to start a fire. Katherina smirked cruelly and sped past, the small flame vanishing in an instance. While the man had a look of failure on his face, Katherina smirked, walking along the market.

Katherina found a alcohol stall immediately, and she was sat down with a gin in her hand in an instant. Gin was her fvourite drink, because KatheRINa and Rin rhymes with gin. She understood the weird philosophy, which was good enough for her. As Katherina sat there, sipping her gin, she ignored everyone staring at her. She HAD just appeared out of seemingly no where, so she didn't mind.

Andrew walked over to a stall where alcohol was served and sat, listening to the conversation. Not long after he sat down, a puff of air rushed by, and he empty seat next to him was suddenly occupied. She was a rouge, that much he could tell from her armor. He also noticed that she was a power, and, judging by the puff of air and her sudden appearence, he guessed her power was speed. Andrew ordered a bottle of beer, placing a dollar on the table. A minute later, the dollar was gone, a beer in its place.

Andrew grabbed the beer, and was about to pull off the cap when he felt a tug on his wallet. His hand rushed down to his pocket, and grabbed the wrist of the would-be thief. In a slightly threatening tone, Andrew said "Ya know, I usually break the hand of the thief that would seek to make a quick buck offa me." He looked at the pickpocket, and was slightly surprised to see the face of a young girl. "In your case, however, I will make an exception." Andrew released her hand, and she gave him his wallet back. Thanking her, Andrew turned back to his drink and set his wallet into the chest pocket of his Kevlar vest, then went back to his beer.

Peris was having a bad day.

She had scratched her neck all night, leaving a plethora of welts across her skin over the previous ones which had just started to heal. The angry red marks itched and burned, but Peris knew she couldn't scratch or the cycle would continue. She hadn't slept much last night either, choosing instead to walk around the building and explore the buildings she knew all too well. She found some more bandages to put around her neck, but she needed to find something to get rid of the irritation. Distracting herself seemed like the best option now, and so she climbed up the stairs of an abandoned house in search of finding something interesting. This form of "treasure hunting" had become a daily activity for her, as each new hunt yielded something interesting. Yesterday, she found a new scarf to put on, as her old one had done its duty well and was ready to retire. She also found a pair of broken headphones to decorate and a packet of jellybeans to eat. Peris didn't care to check the expiration date, food was food.

Pulling out a sharpie from her worn messenger bag, Peris started drawing on the bandages she had on her hand. Those had come from her constant biting and chewing on her fingers. Ever since her new teeth started to grow in, she had been teething and gnawing on everything she could find. Peris had ripped off a piece of tree bark to gnaw on, but had lost it earlier that morning and couldn't be bothered to replace it. Black designs started finding themselves on the dull white of the cloth and Peris continued her trek.

She knew she wasn't supposed to wander away from the Justice group, but couldn't really find herself staying with them for long periods of time. It wasn't her thing, and they didn't really notice when she was gone anyway. Peris needed more sharpies too, so a small search couldn't hurt. Looking around her perimeter, she saw nothing of concern around her and quietly slipped into the building.

Niice, Katherina smirked as she was caught. "Justice?" She asked, trying not to sound like she loathed the word, unsuccessfully. She tied her hair back in a single ponytail and her side fringe leapt back, attacking her face. She swept it back behind her ear, and drank her gin. She looked at him, waiting for his reply.

Andrew took a sip of his beer. "I'd never want to be a Justice. Too many rules. Nah, I'm a Rouge." Andrew took another sip of the drink, then turned to the girl. "A lil' piece of advice. Just 'cause you have super speed doesn't mean you can get away with whatever you plan to do." Taking another sip of the beer, he said "Name's Andrew Newman. People who I've known for a while call me Andy. What's your name, Rouge?"

"Katherina. But call me Rina, never Kath. I can't stand that name." Katherina said. "I might not get away with everything, but I get away with most." Katherina drank the rest of the gin, which was topped up immediately.

Ace walked along a path worn by the mutants of Justice, he looked over to see Peris, a mutant of the Justice group scavenging a building. 'Sharpies' I thought remembering how she liked to draw. I approached the building carefully, remembering that he'd found some sharpies lying around. He called "Peris!" Hoping she wasn't too far into the ruins.

Alex was summoned into the office of the Justice to be briefed on his assignment.

"Lots of high profile assasinations have been taking place lately." Lieutenant James said as he flashed some photos across a projector from his laptop.

"This is Kelly Maldorian. She's the head of the state of California as well as a mutant rights activist. James Maxwell, one of the inner circle in the cult of Orian. Both of them were killed within the span of a month. If this keeps up, already volatile ties between humans and mutants will explode into a potential all out war. We have our suspect," Lieutenant continued as he flashed the picture of the possible assassin.

It was a petite girl, covered in a hood with black hair and piercing blue eyes. Her face seemed straight and it was impossible to read any expression from her as she kept her guns in plain view, as though to tell people that openly she was not one to be messed with.

"Her name is Shijima Mio. And your job is not to apprehend her at this point, but to simply shadow her and find out more. She is usually seen at..." Lieutenant James explained in detail about her usual hang outs.

"Yes Sir!" Alex said as he took his leave and began his investigation.

When he had arrived at the neighbourhood full of shady mutants and the wandering alleys of the shady suburb and after a few hours of waiting, his target finally showed up. Quietly, he began following his Shijima until he saw her suddenly turn into an alley. There he saw a man pushing a young girl against the wall with a smirk on his face as he shoved the girl's skirt up, exposing her buttock. It was then that Shijima put a bullet in the man's head before telling the girl to run. Behind the large trash disposal bin,Alex was concealed as the frightened girl ran pass him, not noticing him. After she had gone past, he looked over again to see the frozen body get shattered into a million pieces without a trace.

She then put the gun back into her holster before leaning against the wall. Unfortunately, Alex had exposed himself for a little too long, causing a trained assassin like Shijima to potentially have noticed his presence.

Shijima's eyes flashed open as she felt someone enter the radar of the cold she always had surrounding her while she slept. Her eyes looked from side to side before she sighed and closed her eyes again. "Listen, mouse, I know you're there. Unless you have business with me, leave and never come back." The pinky on her right hand twitched and one of her guns fell from the sleeve, allowing her to quickly grab it and point it in his direction.

Her eyes opened slowly and she took a step forward, away from the wall. She walked to where he was, the gun hanging loosely at her side. She looked looked straight at him with cold blue eyes. "If you saw what just happened, forget it. That man never existed at this point." She then looked down the alley and began walking. "I'm not one to be messed with."

She stopped at the exit of the alley. "Leave or talk. If not, I have some business to attend to."

Andrew gulped the rest of his beer, then refused a top-off. He didn't need to get himself drunk. He stood from his seat, then looked at Rina. "You ever need someone to look out for ya, come find me. I may not be a Justice, but that doesn't mean I'm a Slider either." Andrew turned and walked away. His days in the California division of the National Guard had stayed with him. He had never been a big fan of oppressive rules, though. He did what he could to help out, but he also had a mean streak. Walking by the water vendor again, he got his bottle refilled, then turned and began walking to the beach.

(Slight bunnying here)

"Listen, mouse, I know you're there. Unless you have business with me, leave and never come back."

His cover was blown. Alex first reaction was to decide to try to bolt and run, but it was not a good idea. Although his telekinetic powers could stop bullets. There was a limit to how many he could stop at once. It was not a good idea to start a fight with the assasin. He was just supposed to follow her. He decided instead to just act dumb instead and just stay in that position, but it did not work as she instead walked towards him and exposed the gun hanging by the side of her leg.

It was a little distracting though she was petite, but anything he might have been thinking about was cut short by the clear blue eyed stare she gave him

"If you saw what just happened, forget it. That man never existed at this point." She then looked down the alley and began walking. "I'm not one to be messed with."

"Leave or talk. If not, I have some business to attend to."

Alex stood up for the dustbin. He had been unsettled from being confronted with an armed assassin no doubt, but he kept his voice steady as he followed her to the end of the alley.

"I'm a journalist and I am investigating certain assassinations: Kelly Maldorian and James Maxwell," Alex said lying partly. At the mention of those names the gun was quickly drawn and pointed at him "I'm not here to kill you. I just want information. My paid lead led me to you. Were you behind it? If so, who hired you? I can make it worth your while."

Shijima sighed and turned around as he spoke to her. She had really hoped he'd take the leave option and leave her to herself. An alarm went up in her as he spoke the names of the two people she had recently assassinated and instinctively cocked her gun and pointed it at him. This reporter is gonna be next if he gets on my nerves anymore than he already is.

A flash went across her eyes when he said he would make it worth her while if she told him some info. She looked blankly at him before grabbing him arm and pulling him back into the middle of the alley. She let him go quickly and then jumped, sitting on the trash disposal unit. She looked down at him with plain eyes that held no emotion.

"You better make it worth my while, or you're next. I never kill anyone for anybody, but they were both self-righteous bastards that deserved to die. I killed them, mouse, with my own two hands." A small smile flashed across her lips. "It was great to see them as they begged for mercy as I slowly froze their bodies. Bastards are bastards, though, so I just finished them off quickly after that." She jumped down, holstering her gun.

"Now, what was it you said about making this worth my time?" She spoke with venom in her voice as her face returned to it's normal lifeless look.

Stepping over the rubble residue from the collapsed doorway, Peris meandered her way through the dust and grime of the house. Broken windows and multiple electrical wires laying on the ground gave evidence of robbery and theft. Someone had already been here, and by the barren looks of it, they had taken almost everything worth anything long before she had arrived. However, the thieves in this town didn't have their priorities arranged in an efficient manner because flat screens and stainless steel didn't get you very much anymore. Peris proceeded to the bathroom to search for supplies. She found half a bottle of peroxide, a couple of cotton swabs, and two rolls of toilet paper. She was disappointed in the fact that she had searched the entire house and found no remains of her precious sharpies. Fishing through the cabinets in the kitchen, she managed to unearth some lighter fluid and matches from underneath a mass of plastic bags and dirty water.

Turning to leave, she fumbled the matches which ended up underneath the kitchen table. Cursing, she went under the table to get them, pawing through the mild darkness in the room. Fingers grasping around the lost object, her extended arm made a move to pull back and get out of the house before anyone suspicious came by.

"Peris!"

Peris jumped up and cracked her head on the underside of the table. Cringing in pain, she hurriedly scrambled from underneath the table and slugged through the rubble in the house to the front door, still crumbling but sturdy enough to give her some support. She narrowed her eyes and saw the familiar white hair of a Justice member in her sights. What was his name again? Alexis? Andy? Arsenic?

She winced again, rubbing the back of her head as the name came back to her. "Ace..."

Alex found himself hauled back into the middle of the alley before roughly being released and the assassin had jumped up and had made herself comfortable on top a trash unit.

The confession was what surprised him. It didn't quite make sense to him. No one would kill two high profile figures going through all the hassle of just killing all their security and risking their lives to do it. Most of those who did it, at least had a cause. But these were two people from two opposing causes. Alex thought about it in his head. The only other motivation was money, alot of money, and some very rich and powerful people from both sides wanting them dead. Or perhaps this is a conspiracy , by some merchant of death group.

Alex could see not motivation for lying and confessing that she had killed them. This would invite her more trouble from both groups, or even the Justice since he was really investigating this. It was probably the truth, since most mercenaries would deny it, although they have done it.

She had probably her reasons for withholding the names of her employers. They were obviously very powerful or influential, and mentioning them would get her into trouble. He also didn't understand why she had saved the girl. There was obviously no monetary incentive involved, and she was a mercenary. Then Why?

Anyhow, there was no point in trying to get pry anymore information out of her. There was a certain finality in her voice as she jumped off the trash bin and she asked for her money. This meeting was over.

"Thank you for your information," Alex replied in a professional manner as he pulled out two one thousand dollar bills and handed it to her.

As he turned to leave however, a projectile flew into the alley and dropped on the floor rolling towards them. Instinctively, Alex's right hand made a pushing motion to the trash disposal unit as the top cover propped open, his other hand immediately waved up as the grenade on the floor flew in the trash bin as his right hand made a slamming motion downwards to cover the lid, he then quickly jumped at Shijima, knocking her onto the floor as they rolled a certain distance away.

The loud sound of an explosion was heard as a fire came forth from the dustbin, licking up and consuming everything in its radius as little pieces of debris like pieces of wood from crates in the alley began showering the area. Alex was in a slightly shocked state as he tried to stand up from what happened and the sound of loud running footsteps could be heard coming towards the alleyway.

The explosion shocked Katherina. "Gotta go," she blurted out, and flashed to the explosion's debris. Fire was catching, and she noticed two figures on thee floor behind the flame. Curiosity got the better of her, and she flashed forward and helped the two up "What exactly happened here?"

Shijima had quickly pocketed the money, not wanting it to left out in the open for a common thief to steal. She gave a small yawn, but it stopped short when she saw the journalist lift the lid and put an object into it without even touching it. This guy is a mutant? She went wide eyed as he jumped and knocked her to the floor. She was about to struggle and ask for a reason, but then an explosion came from the trash bin.

She stood right after he had gotten off of her, looking around the alley and then to where the grenade exploded. Her right eyelid twitched slightly from both annoyance and anger. Then she heard the sound of several people coming towards her. She narrowed her eyes. Then she heard another voice. She quickly turned, only to see a girl.

She relaxed a bit when the girl had asked what had happened. She looked to the now gone trash bin and then back to the girl. "What's it look like happened? Someone threw a grenade at us and this guy simply took care of it."

Shijima then walked to where the grenade had been thrown and sighed. She relaxed her muscles as she let out a wave of coldness. "Now to find the offender. He's sure to have left a heat imprint somewhere." She decided then to focus on the runners instead of the attacker. She sent out a wave in their direction. "Shit."

She quickly turned, retracting her cold radius. "Lots of people are coming. I gotta go. Now." She then took off at a run before quickly jumping and creating an ice pillar below her that rose. Once it got to the top, she jumped onto the roof and the pillar shattered into nothing. She looked back down, laying flat on the roof so she could see what would happen.

Katherina scowled at the girl. She seemed like a Justice. As the girl got to the roof, Katherina flashed up next to her. "And you are?" She asked the girl. Katherina, being Katherina, had brought her gin. She downed the whole glass and threw it as hard as she could towards the Justice building.

(Sorry the forum ate my post! Had to redo it. I can't tell how your char looks without a pic or description demon. So I'll do my best)

Alex was still dazed as the backdrop of the Alleyway was fading in and out.

There was a certain gust of wind came past him as he found some hands on his shoulders pulling him up before asking him what was going on. Before he could reply, the assassin issued an angry retort.

 "What's it look like happened? Someone threw a grenade at us and this guy simply took care of it."

“Lots of people are coming. I gotta go. Now ”

The assassin was gone.

All that was in front of him now, was a girl with brown hair tied into a ponytail, here to try and help with the situation. She seemed nervous as well, as she drank a whole glass of an amber liquid before throwing it as hard as she could towards up a building with a hate.

“And you are?”

“Alex. Thanks. But we gotta get out of here, They are after -”

Alex's last conversation was interruppted by a group of masked millitary men in kevlar charging down the alleyway. Readying their m16's, rapid bullet fire began to ring out. Alex closed his eyes before a look of intense concentration spread over his face as he put out his right hand. The bullets began to slow down as they got barely a feet from Katherina and himself. They continue to wobble and rotate like a drill trying to force their way into an invisible wall.

The assailants were still firing. They needed assistance or to escape. If not, the two of them would end up as a couple of bullet ridden corpses.

(Black hair, Black eyes. Good guess, it was pretty close)

Katherina grabbed Alex and flashed to the Liquor Stall. "Stay." She commanded, before vanishing and re-appearing with the girl. She vanished again, punching the assassin and reappearing. "Well that was fun." She said. She picked up a gin in normal speed and took a long sip.