Hillcrest

Percussion

It was always a cool sensation to show people his home. He loved seeing the place through new eyes because it showed him just how cool it was. Drake smiled widely when he heard Angelfire say how cool it was. He loved the place, and it felt awesome to hear other people say that they liked it too. Nightlander's response, however, was less than gratifying so Percussion turned to say something to him and caught sight of Angelfire shrinking.

He watched in amusement as the excitable giant took on a form that was much more to be expected. "Figures." Percussion said with a laugh before turning back to Nightlander.

"Quaint? You-" He was cut off from what he was saying by the wild movements of Tigress who went to hide behind his couch as thunder erupted around them.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He said, as lightning flashed through the floor to ceiling windows. "It's just thunder. It's not that scary."

---

Angelfire’s transformation from a hulking figure whose flames hurt his eyes to a small skinny boy similar to their host provoked a slight chuckle from the Nightlander who was saved a response to it by a slight cry of alarm from nearby. He looked over at Tigress as she dived for cover behind the couch, clearly disturbed by the rain, but mostly set off by the sound of thunder. He had to admit that the flashes of lightning were also unlikely to be helping matters. Pin-cushion seemed to be rather agitated at her reaction, clearly taking it as an affront given that she was reacting badly to the weather and doing so in his home.

”She is clearly unsettled by the weather Drake; it is a natural reaction when faced with such.”

For some reason the boys childish irritation had struck a nerve and bothered him more than it should, and that he was feeling more at ease with this group than he had been thus far; which was unsettling in itself. Shaking his head he looked over at the shadows behind the couch which helped hide Tigress from view.

Looking down at his hands for a moment, their flesh wreathed in shadows he carefully closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The darkness began to recede along his arms, revealing the pale smooth skin beneath, and continuing up and across his torso before working down to his waist and below. In moments he stood in a pair of hard-wearing jeans with a bare chest, his fingers stretching before clenching tightly as he walked towards the spot Tigress was hiding.

He knelt down beside her, his fingers weaving through the shadows and pulling them into more physical forms before spreading it around the couch in an attempt to dampen the noise of the storm outside. He only hoped it was able to ease her suffering here somewhat, and not make matters worse.

Angelfire

"Oh...Dude.... :("

Angelfire was in the moment enjoying life when the storm hit. Thunder, lightning, the whole nine yards. At first he ran to the window to see. He then spoke, "Sweet!" "Mother Nature's Light Show!" "It's always so cool to look at the lightning." Then came a flash, "Oh there goes one right now!" Angelfire spoke clearly amused. It was during this distraction Tigress went nuts. He didn't see it but he heard the ruckus. He turned to see what's up. "Hey you guys partying without me!?" He spoke worried at the prospect of missing some fun. He then saw Tigress just duck out behind the couch. She looked very scared. Then Angelfire looked saddened by this.

"Oh...poor...Tiger Chick." He said with a frown. "What's the matter the thunderstorm?" Angelfire turned to look out the window. "I don't blame ya, I use to be afraid to." He spoke as he walked right besides her. "I got over it but it wasn't easy." He spoke rather soothingly. Then came Nightlander, at least the guy he believed to be Nightlander. Angelfire would have commented on his looks, if Tigress wasn't a mess. He then put the shadows over her. He spoke, "Dude what if she is afraid of the dark!?" He spoke concerned. "I mean I guess she won't see the lightning but...er well...I don't know." He then peered into the darkness for Tigress. "Hey you okay down there?" He asked genuinely concerned. He then listened for an answer.

Astral

Astral continued making her way through the rain and thunder, the fierce wind pulling her umbrella away from her grip, and distorting it in a somewhat scary manner to say the least. She continued running without it, not wanting to be out due to the dangerous wind and lighting. She trudged through deep puddles and had trouble memorizing the exact route Percussion had took with all of it's short-cuts and turns.

However, she eventually managed to make it to the apartment. Letting out an exasperated sigh of relief she knocked on the door of Percussions suite, shivering due to the cold nature of the outside. She was completely drenched, the water managing to soak her from head to toe. She paced somewhat waiting by the door, wondering what was occurring within. She wondered what she had missed already and what was going on, shuddering, due to not only the anticipation but also how cold she was.

Eventually she managed to get herself to become more focused, giving a straight, slightly chattering if anything, face, and staring straight ahead, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear as she waited for someone to arrive at the door.

Everyone else had gone over to console the tiger girl whilst Percussion had just stood there, mocking her. Damnit Drake, you know better. This is now how you make friends. He stood there for a couple more seconds, watching the transformed Nightlander and Angelfire care for the scared girl. They were heroes. He, was just a jerk.

Drake sighed. He guessed that not everyone liked the cacophony of thunder, especially not as much as him. Then again, he likes the sound of pretty much anything. He walked over to the doorway and flipped some switches. Segmented metal shutters came down over the windows followed by several large tapestries, which helped to muffle the sound of the thunder and rain. Then Percussion clapped his hands twice and some soft jazz came over the surround sound speakers, muffling the sound of the storm outside even more. The lighting shifted to a softer glow to enhance the music being played.

"I hope that helps." He said with a little smug grin. Then he shook his head. Dude, try and actually make some friends here. Stop being such a dick. Apologize for your behavior. He shook his head again, what was he, his mom?

Look," He said, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't wanna get anyone riled up or nothin. I haven't had guests over in awhile and I know I was kinda being a jerk there. I guess I'm just trying to say...well, I'm so-"

He looked up as he was interrupted by a knock at his apartment door. "Hold that thought." He turned and pressed a small indent in the wall to the right of the door. Part of the wall slid down to reveal a monitor. The monitor lit up and showed a very wet girl standing outside his door. It was strange, she looked kind of familiar. He pressed a small red button on the bottom of the monitor.

"Can I help you?"

Astral

"Can I help you?"

She had been standing there for a few moments until she heard his voice, the sudden shock making her jump slightly. She recognized the voice though...Percussion's...she wondered if he still even remembered what happened within his subconscious, or if it was going to be lost in there; the latter made more sense due to the fact that it was his subconscious. She was unsure of how to respond...she had been watching these people for a while now but they knew nothing about her presence, or her for that matter.

She cleared her throat, deciding she'd have to make sure things made at least a slight bit of sense when she spoke. "I'm Juliet...But you can call me Astral..." She said, deciding that the name fit. "I saw what happened with the wolf earlier...I kind of helped I guess..." Soon her voice went to a whisper, she was unsure if anyone else would be able to hear her but she wanted to be on the safe side, even if it made her sound a bit paranoid, "...I have powers too."

The thunder continued roaring loudly, but she hoped he was able to hear her. "Mind if I come in...I'm absolutely freezing.

To put it simply, Gauntlet dawdled. Completely and totally absorbed he followed the group, always one for attention and yet he fell back to his own devices, at the edge of their party. His mind wandered from place to place most seriously with a darkness as he struggled to understand whether or not he could commit to the idea of being among a group so diverse, there was no doubt his social skills were the bomb.com. But.. Perhaps that was his weakness, his short coming. That no matter how much effort he applied, he wouldn't fit and all the others would just be intimidated by his rad moves and smooth talk. What if they can't take our witty banter! The voice intruded upon his thoughts.

Gauntlet furrowed his eyebrows in agitation, Badasses don't yield to conformity! What if they don't laugh at our witty banter!

There was a moment of silence before the saddened voice answered him, in little more than a whisper, friends would laugh at our witty banter.

That's where the melodrama ended, I want some nachos.

Me too.

It continued in a tug-of-war, the armored disgruntled teenager following along mumbling to himself. He'd huddled in the alleys enough to shrug off the rain, his clothes hanging upon his body became a burden of extra weight and it further depleted his mood as the glint in his eyes took it all in, as they approached Pencushion's house he was suddenly unaware if he had even been invited a long, this answered ofcourse with a small dismissive shrug.

The cat-girl shrieked and split off and they all went to attend to her, the flamer revealed himself, and looking at them now he became aware of the wounds he'd suffered earlier. The boy simply sunk away into a shadowed corner of the room and watched as the group went about their own affairs, gently prodding the burns and scratch marks.

---

He smiled despite himself as Tigress became more at ease; though as soon as he noticed this he forced his face to become more neutral again. Behind him he could hear Drake doing something, a sigh clearly audible not long before several clunks signalling shutters locking into place to block the storm from the room. Since it wasn't needed anymore he slowly withdrew his shadows from around Tigress.

”It would appear our host has invoked a more practical solution to your distress.”

Nightlander growled softly as his shadows dissipated slightly to the corners of the room and vanished, leaving the pale form naked from the waist up with his hands hooked into his pockets. Shrugging his shoulders he walked towards another shadowy part of the room, sitting nearby the where Guantlet had gone upon his arrival here. Reclining slightly in one of the chairs, Mal stretched out his joints and lightly massaged his neck with one hand before glancing at the injured man.

”You're rather quiet since we agreed to an impasse during the conflict before.”

He inclined his head towards Guantlet as he spoke, his other hand gesturing towards the mans wounds somewhat as well before awaiting a reply. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Drake at the door speaking to a girl which intrigued him.

Angelfire

"Cool Now?"

Angelfire looked at the shadows Tigress was enveloped. He could slightly hear her, enough to where Angelfire was comforted. He then gave a big exhale and spoke, "Nice!" "Glad to hear it!" He spoke with cheer. Thin Percussion transformed the room some what. Curtains and music began to play. To both drown out and hide the storm outside. Looking towards the tapestry Angelfire spoke, "Dude, those curtains are sick!" He spoke greatly impressed. He then noticed Drake leaving for a moment to answer the door.

While that happened Gauntlet returned and appeared to be tending to his wounds. He felt bad for the fight between him and them. He wished that didn't happen, considering how cool they can be. Then Nightlander spoke towards Gauntlet over the fact of his silence. Which was true, Angelfire barely noticed him because he was silent. But in all fairness having Tigress freak out is pretty distracting. He then spoke towards Gauntlet, "Yeah sorry about the burns dude." "I really hope they aren't bad, I try to make sure they aren't like flesh melting or something like that." "Not sure if I can handle permanently maiming a person." Angelfire spoke a bit forlorn. He then could see Tigress again after the shadows left.

"Hey, you cool now?" Angelfire spoke as he looked at her. "You really got to check out this apartment, it's sweet!" "C'mon, Drake set up these sick curtains and he's got music and...oh!" "I bet there's food!" Angelfire spoke excitedly, hoping to rouse excitement in her. His mind then drift back to Drake while thinking about him. He noticed another girl at the door. Angelfire spoke, "Who's that?" "A fan of yours?" He spoke then gave a snickering laugh. Famous rock star, girl at his door, yeah Drake must be a player.

Percussion

While Nightlander and Gauntlet had a make-out session in a dark corner, Drake tried to have a conversation with the girl at the door.

"I'm Juliet...But you can call me Astral...I saw what happened with the wolf earlier...I kind of helped I guess...I have powers too."

At first he couldn't recognize her. Drake could hardly believe that the tired and soaked looking girl here was really Juliet. And yes, he remembered Juliet. (Or at least he thought he did.) The girl he remembered had been taller and not as thin... Then again, he guessed that he'd been dreaming or something when they talked last. Besides this girl certainly seemed to know a lot about their battle.

"Um...Ok Astral. I-"

"Who's that?" "A fan of yours?" Angelfire said from across the room.

"What? No, dude this is Astral she's-" He stopped and turned to her image in the screen. "Are you a fan of mine?"

Then Tigress bounced over after complaining about food. “Hey, Percussion, I was wondering if you had any clothes I could borro- Hey, who’s this?”

Percussion simply threw his hands in the air in defeat. "Here why don't we all just talk in person." He said, unlocking the door and letting Astral in.

He nodded to her quickly and then turned to head upstairs. "I'll get you some clothes Tigress...You too Astral, If you need some." He said, trying to conceal his frustration. "Angelfire, the phones in the kitchen. Order some Pizza or somethin' man, my treat."

Astral

She waited silently for Percussion to respond, hoping he'd remember her or at least see that she knew enough about what was going on to let her in. Soon he began speaking but was cut off by a voice that she didn't think she quite remembered, asking Drake if she was a fan of his. He had been responding to whoever had asked him that, she believed he had been saying no until he returned to looking at her, asking if she was a fan of his.

She began getting a bit flustered, she wasn't sure exactly what she should say, she had listened to his band's music and maybe had a poster or two, but it wasn't like she was a super fan or anything...she didn't want to say no and offend him, but she didn't want to say yes and sound like a creep either. "Well...uh," she began, trying to think of something until Tigress randomly appeared, letting Astral let out a sigh of relief.

"Here why don't we all just talk in person."

When the door opened Astral made her way in, "Uh...hey everyone," she said, looking around the atmosphere, "I'm Juliet as you may have overheard, but again, feel free to call me Astral." Things were a lot easier when no one could see you, that was for sure. "Some clothes would be great, thank you," she said, she was completely soaked from head to toe so she'd take anything she could get. She remained where she stood, not wanting to get his place wet or anything.

The thought of Pizza was also a good one, but she was definitely confused...he had addressed Angelfire but she couldn't see him anywhere...it seemed like Percussion was looking in the direction of some guy she didn't recognize, making her tilt her head in confusion. "If I remember correctly, you're Tigress, Nightlander, and Gauntlet," she said, addressing each of them as she spoke, "I'm sorry but I don't seem to remember who you are," she said, looking at the boy. She was intrigued, he couldn't possibly be Angelfire...could he?

Gauntlet

”You're rather quiet since we agreed to an impasse during the conflict before.” Nightlander's voice was a bit of a grinding of nails upon chalkboard as he addressed Gauntlet, he looked up perking an eyebrow beneath the mask to assess the statement. His voice came with a withdrawn calm, alien among the room. Unlike the Flamer's mistaken innocence, or Pencushion's arrogant ignorance, Tigress's showy likening to something more than she was, or Nightlander's calm contempt. "I'm a bit out of my mind at the moment, you'll have to give me space to find my way back before confronting this one." This one, this battle he was fighting not to fight on impulse. For all the scum he'd killed, these four were the most unkempt and screwy character's he'd ever met, maybe it was the age.

"Yeah sorry about the burns dude, I really hope they aren't bad, I try to make sure they aren't like flesh melting or something like that. Not sure if I can handle permanently maiming a person." The little nerdy kid was quick and eager with an apology, it only served to add to the brooding storm overcoming Gauntlet. Sometimes it's better to let stupidity slide. He chewed on this for an entire moment. You're right, me, since when are you the smart one.

I've always been the smart one, you handsome devil, you.

The moment brought him back, and he briefly recalled the fight. Outnumbered he'd still managed quite well.. #winning. Heat was a process and it'd have taken much longer for the wounds to have been severe. Despite having struck many of them, they all seemed impervious to any lasting affects, for the first time since he wished he'd have continued to battle them all, for the sake of seeing them afflicted and harmed. Even the Kitten. That's demented, like-- really fucked up.

Don't you think I know that? Sheesh, get the hell out of my head.

The focus shifted to some girl, Astral. Making the turmoil all the worse, he wondered if she'd been part of the fight and just hid like a coward. He remembered one of Aesop's Fables, about a little boy atop a house screaming insults and threats at a wolf below. What was that moral-- Oh, 'It's easy to be brave from a safe distance.' Or something like that. Gauntlet afforded a small wave in her direction when she looked in his direction before resolving him back to silence, or the discussion with Nightlander, whichever came.

Angelfire

"Hey there! :D"

Angelfire watched as Drake allowed the chick to enter the room. She seemed nice despite the water off her clothes. Still Angelfire was no less thrilled. "Hey there!" "Nice to meet ya Juliet!" "Or Astral I guess." "Is that a nickname?" Angelfire asked. That was until she began to name their hero names off the bat. Angelfire was a bit taken by this. "You know our names!?" He spoke overly surprised. "Are you psychic or something?" "If so that's cool!" "Oh hey can you read minds?" Angelfire asked beginning to bombard her with questions. Then Percussion mentioned pizza and Angelfire perked up.

"OH HEY!" "That's an awesome idea!" "I'll do that right now!" Angelfire spoke even more pumped up. He ran for the phone. Where Drake mentioned it to be, is where he found it. He picked up the phone and began to dial. Thanks to his many nights baked out of his mind, his need for the munchies was always great. Luckily he remembered the place and number of a pizza joint that he always enjoyed. After he finished the dialing, a voice came over the phone. Quickly Angelfire spoke "Uh yeah I need like twelve extra large pizzas man!" He spoke. Then he was asked what he wanted on them, "Uh can I get four Pepperoni and uh," he then put the phone by his chest, "Hey what do you guys want on your pizza!?" Angelfire yelled. He then waited for their response.

---

"I'm a bit out of my mind at the moment, you'll have to give me space to find my way back before confronting this one."
He nodded slowly, understanding somewhat how the guy felt having been in similar situations himself over the years. Though it was still somewhat disconcerting seeing such traits in others, especially since he was beginning to wonder exactly how Gauntlet’s grasp on reality differed from his own and what coping mechanisms he must have developed for existing in the human world.

”Do not fret, take what time you need and gather yourself. I will postpone more in depth discussion till you’re in complete control of yourself.”

In the background the loud and boisterous voice of Angelfire was echoing throughout the penthouse; it would appear that was one thing he didn’t need to suits aid in boosting. Shame, it may have become dark enough for his sensibilities but the unnaturally joyful boy was as irritating as ever, perhaps more so in order to somehow compensate for his lack of powers at present.

Though just as Nightlander was preparing to withdraw into a private bubble of shadows he noticed that Angelfire and Tigress had gathered at the door with Drake, where a girl appeared from the pouring rain. Her eyes appeared to dart over each of them before she spoke, naming each as if she had been there during the fight earlier. Strange indeed, though he did remember Drake muttering something about a girl when none existed; perhaps this was that girl, somehow there and yet not. It was not the most unlikely thing to have happened, so quite plausible in all honesty. As soon as the door closed behind her someone brought up the topic of food which resulted in their excitable companion darting madly towards the phone and dialling for what appeared to be pizza.

"Hey what do you guys want on your pizza!?"

Nightlander cocked his head slightly and clicked his tongue for a moment before growling as response to the boy.

”I will have a Bolognese If at all possible, though I think you may be waiting a little while on our friend Gauntlet here. He is gathering his thoughts at present.”

Percussion

The disgruntled teenager rifled through a special dresser in his soundproof room upstairs, oblivious to the conversations below. While he was up there, he had a little time to thing to himself about the people that he'd brought into his house. He actually didn't mind having guests over, in fact, Angelfire and Tigress seemed pretty cool (if a little over-the-top.) He also thought that it'd be pretty great to get to know Astral better. But what he couldn't quite grasp was how he got stuck with Gauntlet and Nightlander.

One of them was rude, overconfident, and kinda grimdark. The other one was almost worse, being some emo/goth with weird shadow powers. It felt like they were both out to get him, in one way or another. Both of them would make him nervous if he had just passed by them in an alleyway. He was a littler more than nervous to have them in his house. He hoped that he'd be able to handle them if it came down to him having to use his powers.

Eventually he came downstairs to the sound of people ordering different types of Pizza. "Hit me up with some mushrooms man. The food kind dude."

"Anyways," He said, turning to the two ladies. "I hope these fit." He threw them girl's t-shirts and jeans in what he assumed was close to their sizes. He was pretty good at guessing that kind of stuff for the same reasons he had them on hand.

"Oh hey, Tigress." Drake said, looking at her for a second. "What happened to your mask? Did you get rid of it because you knew it sucked?"

Astral

Astral was at first slightly overwhelmed now that she could actually speak to and be seen by the others, but as time progressed she began to get more comfortable with everything. She began to smile faintly as Angelfire spoke to her, running on with questions for her. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the same Angelfire, although she was still somewhat confused on how he changed from his other form, she could put two and two together enough to discern that his flaming form was simply some kind of suit. "It's nice to meet you too, and I'm not really a psychic per se..." she began before getting cut off when the notion of pizza was brought up. She chuckled lightly as Angelfire moved exuberantly onto the next topic, asking everyone what kind of pizza they wanted, "I'll be fine," she began before a slight dizziness hit her, "...On second thought, I'll just have one plain pizza."

She then turned to Tigress once she began speaking to her, enjoying the nature of their feline comrade, she was friendly and seemed strong willed. "It's a pleasure meeting you too, and I know what you mean," she said laughing slightly at her remark, she understood where she was coming from, she'd feel awkward too if she were the only girl among all these guys. Speaking of these guys she looked around once more, beginning to asses the group before shaking her head...there wasn't much of a point in doing that...what did she want to extrapolate from them that was even that important?

Once Percussion came back with the clothes Astral let out a sigh of relief, catching what he tossed to them. In her mind she wondered why he had clothes for women but decided not to linger on it, determining that she wouldn't like the possibilities she came up with. "Thanks," she said, asking which room she could use to change and leaving for it. As she walked away from the group she heard Drake saying something about Tigress' mask, but decided not to pay much attention to it, noticing that she had taken it off earlier and guessing it had something to do with that.

Once she made it into the room she realized that she already felt exhausted, but brushed it aside, she could sit down later. She got dressed into the clothes that Percussion gave her folding her own clothes and putting them in a corner of the room, making a mental note to remember to retrieve them later. Once she was done she went back into the living room and moved to sit on the couch, looking around the group silently.

Angelfire

"Pizza Orders"

Angelfire took the time to listen what the people wanted. Tigress wanted nothing to do with anchovies, he doesn't blame her. He doesn't like them either. The Nightlander asked for...bologna? They have that for a pizza topping!? Awesome!!! He might have to get some too. Percussion wanted a mushroom pizza, hold the drugs. The new girl then asked for a plain, cheese pizza. Go with the tried and true. He didn't hear Gauntlet's request but he doesn't seem the type to really care anyway. Everyone will eat pepperoni or plain cheese. Unless he doesn't like pizza...ooh...that's bad. Perhaps Drake has a stocked fridge hopefully?

"Alright dude I need a cheese pizza, make it three." "Uh, I need one with mushrooms, and uh...do you guys have baloney?" Angelfire spoke unsure. After a moment of silence he spoke, "Oh you do?" "Yeah get me two of those." "Uh and the rest I'll leave as pepperoni, oh and no anchovies!" "Whatever you do, DO NOT put anchovies on any of these pizzas man!" Angelfire making it perfectly clear that no fish will be on these pizzas. After he got the order, the restauranteur asked if he wanted bread sticks. "Uh no thanks." He declined. With the amount of purchases he was offered free hot wings and two 2L Sodas. Angelfire agreed to take the free items. In case Gauntlet doesn't like pizza. "So yeah all that stuff dude and some ranch would be cool." He spoke.

After the man read off his order, Angelfire agreed to it. "Yeah the address," He then put the phone down, "Hey! Drake!" "What's the address!?" Angelfire didn't pay attention exactly he was, just the name of the place itself. He waited for an answer.

Percussion

Drake pointed out the bathroom to Astral. Thank God I have that cleaner come in every now and then. I can't imagine what she'd think if she had to change in a pigsty. That reminds me, I better not let her see my room. Not yet anyways. Then he sat down on the couch opposite from Tigress with a loud groan. "Damn, I'm pretty beat up." Now that he was out of the rain and the adrenaline had died down, all of his wounds were starting to ache. He leaned back slowly, trying to get relaxed now that everyone seemed to be settling in a bit. He heard Angelfire finishing the order and looked up when he asked for the address.

"Tell em to send it to Stone Towers Penthouse Suite. They'll know the one. They should, anyways."

He looked over towards Nightlander and Gauntlet. I might as well try to make them my friends...Or at least make it less likely for them to want to kill me... "You guys ok over there? Need anything? I got first aid stuff in the bathroom...Actually, I'll probably need that stuff too."

He cupped his hand to his mouth as if he were going to shout. Instead of screaming to Astral, he threw his voice into the bathroom before it could be heard. "Do you mind bringing out the first aid kit in the closet on your way back?" He'd learned that little trick trying to impress the ladies at some of the finer establishments he'd visited. Usually it just freaked them out though.