Survival at it's Finest (OPEN)

The night had brought with it chill. A promising cold morning loomed in the future as the young woman leaned against the darkened brick wall. Just outside of a street lamps glow. She was freezing. The clothes she had on her back was a pair of jeans more holes than cloth, and a hoodie that was several sizes too big for her tiny frame and stained with any manner of things. She could not name them all, for she had not caused them all.

Fun thing though, Mall lost and found's. They didn't really care who walked up and claimed things, so long as you were ambiguous. Saying 'blue hoodie' and then letting the mind of the attender do the rest of the work, could garner you something. When the girl had brought her three different blue hoodies, she had picked the smallest one.

Being slight, but tall, made it harder to dress.

The hoodie was better than just a shirt, but the nights cold fingers were able to seep their way through the fabric and find her skin anyway. A shudder wracked her body from head to toe before her muscles quieted again. It was nothing new, being frozen. Nothing new being uncomfortable, hungry, dirty, and wishing that she could find a place to stay. Well, better than the parking garage's storage closet on 9th and Chase. Still, that was at least better than a box in an alleyway, at least until the idiot janitor realized the place was broken into and fixed the lock. For now, she slept on top of a metal shelving unit.

Evyn scratched her head, the last time she'd had an actual shower, with soap and everything was two weeks, six days ago in a homeless shelter. They weren't the kind that stayed open at night though. Sometimes, they offered a shower, some food, and advice. Evy didn't need advice, she knew that a job was vital. But, no one would give a job to a girl that had no street address, nevermind came in smelling like the refridgerator died in the break room.

The bakery, she stood outside of, was closing down. The lights inside began to flicker off, and that was Evyn's cue. She slid down the alley, waiting, just in the darkness. As the young teenager, probably sixteen, talking to her boyfriend on the cell phone glued to her face. Her name was Britney, and she closed every other night. Evyn followed her, and the large garbage bag in her hand where the bread and baked goods they had baked yesterday but still not sold were.

Dinner.

Evyn's stomach growled so audibly that she was terrified for a moment the young girl would hear her. But no, apparently, Jason was much too interesting for her to be paying attention to the world around her. When Britney lugged the large white bag into the dumpster, Evyn waited until she was at least fifty feet down the sidewalk before Evyn jumped into the dumpster with grace befitting her race. Though her wings were easily hidden underneath her sweatshirt.

Foraging through the garbage bin, she grinned like she had won the lottery as she gutted the bag and spilled it's contents into the dumpster. Grabbing up every roll, cupcake, cookie, anything she could find and jamming them into the pockets of her hoodie. Not just for tonight, but for the next couple days until they were too moldy to eat around. Now it was Evyn's turn to not be paying attention to anyone around her. Food was top priority and she had to grab as much as she could.

If Blue had been following him tonight, she'd have a pretty good idea of what Jack meant when he said he gets into trouble. He wasn't going to be doing anything technically illegal. More just stupid and crazy.

The alchemist/inventor was testing out a new prototype: a sort of grappling gun. It was a small one handed crossbow with a modified stock. Inside the stock was a pulley system attached to a motor. The cable that wove its way throughout the contraption was a high tensile strength rope Jack had acquired from a sporting goods store on the other end of the city. This rope had been specially designed for mountain climbing without all the weight and bulk that typically went into it. In other words, just perfect for use in a grappling hook. Instead of a hook however, Jack had cured one of the rope into the length of the bolt that would typically be fired from the crossbow. The head had been tied into a monkey fist knot for more surface area. The entire rope had been enchanted with an Animate Rope spell which would anchor it to any surface.

Any normally enchanted rope could come up with the same result. The only problem was that snake charming the free end took too long for some people. The idea of using a crossbow in theory should cut that time to a mere fraction. Assuming one's aim was accurate. A length of rope is heavier than a bolt, so Jack was testing its range. He more than likely would have to come up with a better delivery system. However, this was just a test. It had the potential for a nice profit, so he wasn't about to rush the release date. In the event the prototype failed horribly, Jack had brought along his gloves of spiderclimbing and his boots of levitation to stop his fall.

The alchemist lowered his opaque black sunglasses towards the edge of his nose. The streets weren't dark enough yet to warrant their nightvision use. He rounded the corner and caught the residual wafts of the bakery before the door shut for the final time today. Jack knew the girl named Britney. She had been in his shop a few months ago wondering why he didn't have any love potions in his inventory. She wasn't very happy when he pulled out extracts of horny goat weed. Apparently she didn't need anything to get into the mood.

A rustling noise from the alley grabbed Jack's attention. He figured it was just some rodent knocking over a trash can, but he repositioned the glasses anyway. His vision shifted to black and white, but the figure binging over day-old goods slid into focus. It was clearly female and appeared young. That didn't mean anything as the Others had incredibly long lifespans.

"You're going to make yourself sick if you eat that fast!" Jack called out. He took a chance getting into other people's business, especially if she was an Other. But he had been raised too well to let o(O)thers suffer.

Oh cinnamon roll... where have you been?


Eyvn's pockets were filled with the tasty goods from the store. Obviously, they couldn't be sold, even to the poor at half price because now they were so stale she could probably use one as a projectile. It might take a bit of gnawing to get the bread-jerky down but she would do her best to have anything in her stomach that wasn't a left over Nugget from the local fast food restaurant. All that crap made her stomach churn, but when she was desperate and had a little bit of cash, usually a buck she found on the ground, spare change left behind, or perhaps.. from picking pockets.. she would hit up the fast food places for something hot, tasty, and salty.

Evyn's weakness. Salt.

Evyn didn't hear the dude coming up on her, she was currently perched on the side of the dumpster chowing hard on day old goods. Her head shot up though, at the sound of his advice. Silver and blue eyes narrowed while she stared at the man. With some sort of crossbow thing in his hands. She had been trained with them in Aurora, but that was all in the past now. It didn't matter though, her eyes shifted back up to the man's face. She could not make out a lot. Merely that, he was male, slightly tall, and... slender.

"Do you see a sign here?" she asked looking around as if there really was one. "One that says Opinions Appreciated? No? Oh, well, maybe they aren't then!"

She stuck the cinnamon roll between her lips and jumped easily down from the dumpster with grace. She tilted her head to the side. Taking the bun out of her mouth now chewing on a new mouth full. She almost looked pregnant with the amount of bread and pastries she had shoved inside the large pockets of her hoodie. But, she didn't care what she looked like, showers were rare enough it wasn't something you could really give care to.

Evyn kept her eyes on the guy though. Because, he was armed, with some sort of crossbow, and she wasn't sure why. Surely, he wasn't security. Afterall, this craptastic bakery wasn't that good. The asshole who ran it knew she took the bread. He could be nice and give her the bread, but no, he made sure that Britney threw it in the trash, as if some coffee grounds and what not would make her turn her nose up at it. Obviously, he'd never been desperate enough. It was jacked up that the world had come to that. He had something he could be charitable with, that no one was going to buy, or want. But instead of letting her have it, he wasted it further by tossing it in the garbage.

Asshole.

Evyn began to head back towards the street. No need to stick around and hang out with this guy. She had no idea what business he was into, but she was certain she didn't want part of it. At least, she didn't think so.

"Do you see a sign here?" she asked looking around as if there really was one. "One that says Opinions Appreciated? No? Oh, well, maybe they aren't then!"

Two can play this game. Jack put a hand to his brow as though he were trying to block the non-existent sunlight. "Gee, it must be hiding behind that ginormous We Accept Sarcasm billboard. I guess I'll just eat my extra granola bar by myself then."

The arrogant girl got up from the dumpster, but Jack figured it wasn't for reverse psychology attempt at being kind. She kind of waddled with all those baked bads in her pockets. It she tried anything funny, he could shoot her with a tennis ball sized rope knot.

And then tie her up because of the enchantment.

The Boy Scout came back. "Seriously though, how'd you like a real meal for once? I can spare a few credits. No catch."

There really wasn't one, but most people don't believe that.

Evyn's brows rose at his retort. Her feet hit the ground. No shoes. Despite how cold it was, she could not afford shoes, and shoes that were too big were too hard to walk in. Shoes that were too small would hurt her feet. She just made do with the bare feet. She could not help but look over at him, as he talked about her sarcasm, and then something about saving the granola bar for himself. She rolled her eyes.

"Granola bar? Are you one of those hippy dippy types? All free love, feel the grass, smell the flowers kind of dudes? Cuz, dude, wrong decade..."

She was totally ready to walk right past the asshole. Course, it wasn't like she was being nice. But, she had a huge chip on her shoulders anyway. She wasn't always bitchy but there were times that it just was easier. If she acted vulnerable, she got her ass beat on the street. But if she was tough, keeping people at arms length, then she didn't have to worry about getting close enough to anyone to get her ass beat. Not to mention, she knew that she didn't have anything anyone really wanted.

He spoke, as she began to leave about a hot meal. Something about no catch. She laughed, a cold humorless laugh, as she turned to face the guy again. Brushing a stray bang out of her face and behind her ear, a grin covered her face. Her hair was a hot mess, hell she was a hot mess.

"You know, I find it funny. Because when someone says 'no catch' there is always a catch. In my world, Creepy Dude, you can't trust anyone. Why in the hell would I trust you. It's dark, you're outside with a weapon, and inviting me to dinner. Sure. There's totally no catch."

Her cold blue and silver eyes watched him. Narrowing slightly. She didn't get this guy. He wasn't the normal guy that was out late night on the streets. He seemed a bit too put together. He confused her. Confusion scared her because she didn't know what to do with him, or what to think about him. So she rebuked his efforts to be kind.

"Granola bar? Are you one of those hippy dippy types? All free love, feel the grass, smell the flowers kind of dudes? Cuz, dude, wrong decade..."

"Hippy dippy never goes out of style," the alchemist said as he tugged on his tie-dye shirt under the solid blue button down.

"You know, I find it funny. Because when someone says 'no catch' there is always a catch. In my world, Creepy Dude, you can't trust anyone. Why in the hell would I trust you. It's dark, you're outside with a weapon, and inviting me to dinner. Sure. There's totally no catch."

"I didn't invite you to dinner, Street Rat. I was just going to give you the money. And it's not loaded." Jack let the carrying cord take the weight of the crossbow.

Footsteps echoed off the alley on the other side of the street. "In that case, why don't you just give me the credits," the new voice said. Someone else behind him chuckled. "Yeah, give us your lunch money Creepy Dude. A third human stepped out of the shadows but only added laughter to the mix.

Feeling duped, Jack shot a look at the girl. "Friends of yours?" He really hoped they were all drunk. That would make things go such much easier for him. Of course, they all had knives or bats in their hands. Jack redrew the crossbow and fished a thunderstone out of his pocket. "Evenin' fellas. Nice weather we're having, right?"

"Just shut up and give us your lunch money."

"Funny thing is," Jack tried to ease the tension. "I'm fasting this month and I took a vow of poverty." Ok. Really bad lie.

"The girl's kinda cute. Maybe she's into a good time."

Where was the beat cop when you needed him? Jack readied the alchemical flashbang. He wasn't going to launch it until he figured out just where Street Rat stood in all this. Fellow foe, or just someone to leave him alone......

Evyn's brow rose. Was he serious? Like seriously serious?

"Ummm, yeah, it does. Decades ago. Terra put her foot down on that crap long before she Enlightened everyone."

The girl shrugged, it was just true. She didn't have to explain it to anyone at all. She had her own opinions, not to mention that she felt this way. Plus she had never been into all that hippy crap. He then told her that he wasn't going to take her to dinner, he was going to give her money. She was even more suspicious of him now. Because money was something that hardly anyone ever gave a homeless girl money. Not for free. It seemed like because she was a girl, most guys, thought they were owed something for the help.

She'd rather starve.

Before she could really answer, his little offerance of information, their attention was diverted by the sound of footsteps and some asshole asking for the money. Evyn's arms crossed over her chest, in that 'tough girl' stance that tended to get most people to leave her alone. It didn't work this time. There were three of them, and it only pissed her off more when Hippy Dippy Man decided that they must be with her.

"Seriously? Three dudes come out of an alley and suddenly their my buddies? Why? Because, I was in a dumpster? Because it's night? Or because I'm a bitch and surely this was all a trap."

Evyn rolled her eyes. People were lame. That was one of the problems in life. She had to admit that she was not the first person to have faith in anyone, but she had her reasons. She wondered if this dude got jumped every day and therefore he was always wary? Or if he just was one of those amazingly stupid people that believed the worst in everyone. Evyn confirmed this suspicion when Amazingly Stupid Hippy Dippy Man opened his mouth again. Something about poverty and fasting. Seriously?

"Touch me, and you'll regret it, and so will your asshole friends. Nothing free here, boys. So why don't you go find somewhere else to take your wanna-be tough guy act and let us get on with our night."

One of them chuckled. Sweet heart, I would looooove to see you try.

She looked over at the man beside her, Jack, "You ready, HD? Because I'm going to kick some punk ass, and then I'm going to eat my pastries." she told him matter of factly.

"Ummm, yeah, it does. Decades ago. Terra put her foot down on that crap long before she Enlightened everyone."

"Don't knock it till you try it. The potion business is a-boomin'."

"Seriously? Three dudes come out of an alley and suddenly their my buddies? Why? Because, I was in a dumpster? Because it's night? Or because I'm a bitch and surely this was all a trap."

There were more options than knife wielders. "Can I pick two? Cause then I pick the last two."

"Touch me, and you'll regret it, she said to the bandits. "And so will your asshole friends. Nothing free here, boys. So why don't you go find somewhere else to take your wanna-be tough guy act and let us get on with our night."

One of them chuckled. Sweet heart, I would looooove to see you try.

She was a fiesty one. Jack would have taken some humor out of this, but she had been trash talking him too. "You ready, HD? Because I'm going to kick some punk ass, and then I'm going to eat my pastries." she told him matter of factly.

Jack answered by pulling the trigger of the crossbow. Chemistry nerds don't typically win in scraps. That's where his brain came into play. The man in front stared at the ball of rope stuck to his chest. It hadn't done anything to wind him or even stagger him.

You wanna play tug-o-war?

Again, Jack said nothing as the next part of his plan went into action - lobbing the thunderstone. The marble shooter sized piece of alchemical stone landed in the center of the trio. An incredibly loud crack was heard, causing the bandits to reflexively cover their ears.

"I think it's about time we wrapped this up," Jack stated. He had already mentally told the rope to begin coiling. Now that Front Man was doubled over, the alchemist had plenty of room to make sure the rope went around his body. One down. Two momentarily deafened. Jack snapped the fingers of his left hand.

A cylindrical object rose from the depths of his gloves. Jack pressed a button that caused the rest of the staff to slide out. He had a longer reach than the knife wielders, with a blade of his own tucked away into the one end. Clearing his throat, Jack yelled "Fire! before pressing the hidden compartment end of the staff against the stomach of one of the other two bandits.

"Now I suspect the cops will be here in a bit. I wouldn't recommend trying anything stupid. There's a switchblade against your gut and I didn't bring any healing potions. So, do you yield?"

==Have fun with the other one. Or you can make me get taken out by this one.==

The last two.

WHAT A PRICK!!!

She couldn't help but glare over at him. Because, that was bad business. Not that she was being nice or anything. In fact, she was being bitchy on purpose. Naive nice girls got taken advantage of on the streets. Thus, she had adopted the way she was, making it her own, because it was one of the best ways to survive out here.

Whatever, HD. Whatever.

They had other problems anyway. Three Idiots were thinking the two of them were an easy target. Now, while she might have an emaciated, underfed body, she was not just a girl that was homeless. She had been trained by military experts, she had been made to make sure that she could fight and win. The problem was, they didn't train 'this' body they trained a well fed, easily much stronger. But she would do her best.

HD did something, and rope actually came out of the crossbow. She had barely a second to raise one red brow in confusion for a moment. Afterall, that was strange. Didn't they usually shoot arrows? Not .. rope? Hey HD. Did you forget your bolts at home?

She rolled her eyes, and before she could say anymore, the guy that wasn't being taken care of by Jack rushed at her. Obviously, thinking her the weaker of the two, he probably figured that if they were together, then Jack would take pity on them if she was in danger. The whole damsel in distress thing. That was most definitely not her. As he came rushing at her, she waited, her eyes following his every moment with precision only capable to her race.

When he was in the perfect position, she kicked out, catching him in the chest and stopping him cold on her foot before the lack of momentum had him on the ground. She tilted her head to the side as she walked closer to him. He swung his leg out, and she jumped over it easily. Tsking in a little taunt as she looked down at the man. Her form was one of a highly trained individual. Hours, of weeks, of months, of years, spent training her growing body until the Project had shut down.

The man rolled over and got himself up pretty quick. He came at her again, feigned right, and clocked her with his left. Missed though, and got her in the cheekbone, instead of the eye. Worked better for her, but still painful. She reeled back from it, but used the momentum of her own hit to spin, drop to the ground and knock the sucker's legs out from underneath him. She wasted no time, reaching into her small pocket for the pocket knife that she always carried with her. With practiced ease she flicked the larger blade of the utility knife out. Moving quickly she pinned his arms down with her knees, straddling his chest and pressed the point of the knife into his throat.

The man didn't move.

What HD said. You feelin' lucky? Try your luck again? Or would you rather not test the nice sharp blade against your throat? Your choice, hun.

The distant sounds of sirens began to whirl through the air. It was not too much longer before the cops would be here, and then she would be able to go about her evening. Afterall, she had nothing to fear, except the knife in her hand. But she could put it away rather quickly if the guys decided to bolt and leave the two alone, or if the cops showed up since her back would be to them. Still, instead, she leaned over. Placing her hand where the knife had been, squeezing enough to make sure he knew she was serious and slid the knife back in her pocket. No sense in getting arrested incase they decided her weapon was illegal or something. Couldn't lose something so precious.

Hey HD. Did you forget your bolts at home?

"Nope, but some say I have a few screws loose."

Jack tended to have a cool head all the time. He also had a very odd sense of humor. Sometimes, he tried to talk people to death. No luck so far.

Street Rat had apparently done this before. The third guy was down pretty quickly even though he clocked her. She gave her own 'feeling lucky punk' speech. Jack actually smiled at that. Jack didn't know she was an Avian, so she looked like a freshman in college to him.

Since Jack had called fire, the firefighters rushed in first. "Over here," he said as he minimized the staff. "I actually need the police. They always say in those self defense classes to shout Fire because no one calls for help when you say Police. And you all come together anyway. But while you're here, can you help keep these guys restrained until the officers come in?"

The firefighters looked dumbstruck, so the thugs cursed him out in their stead. "No one asked you," Jack yelled back at them. He hooked a thumb towards the girl when the cops separated everyone. Officer Ryans knew Jack from before (when his shop blew up once before), so he took the statement. "She and I were just chatting when these three came out with knives and asked for my money."

So you lasso'd one with a crossbow? Do I even want to know?

"New rock climbing gear I'm tinkering with. Don't need pitons or anything. Also effective as riot gear in conjunction with thunderstones. I can set you up with one. And I'll throw in a few potions for the firefighters. Only fair they should get something for coming out."

Ryans just shook his head. This was a weird case. Do you have a permit for this?

"For once, I do. It's in my right hip pocket."

Ryans nodded, so the alchemist fished it out for him. Alright. I just have to ask her as well.

"Of course. Need to be thorough. Thank you for responding so quickly."

*

Officer Ryans strode over to Evyn. He introduced himself and then asked for her account of the night's events.

As the fire truck roared to a stop it was not just the men on the ground that were confused. She was totally lost as to why someone had called the fire department. When they really needed the police. She supposed it wasn't a big deal. But she could not figure out what they were going to do about the situation except tie them up in a really big hose. Which.. on second thought, would be fairly awesome to see.

Jack got the firefighters to watch the guys they had beaten up, which was good because Lucky underneath her was looking rather ready to run. Which meant he would be fighting in a few minutes and Evyn didn't want to have to subdue him once more. She was all ready exhausted. Her underfed body had used up majority of its energy to save her life and virtue. She had let adreneline take it's course, but, now, she was starting to feel the after effects.

The police arrived moments later, and Evyn leaned against one of the walls chewing on a stale donut. She could have snuck away, but she knew that would just make her suspicious and wanted. Neither was a thing she could afford. So she decided to wait so the cops could get their due.

While the bigwig was questioning Jack, the others were trussing up the men in cuffs and hauling them to the several different squad cars available. Evyn had thought about, occassionally, that getting arrested wouldn't be so bad. Free food for starters. Three square meals a day, a real bed, a roof over her head, and all of it was technically free. But the mere thought of being behind bars all the time, sent shivers down her spine. She needed sunlight to feel right, and would grow sickly without it. Though, of course, they would know that, but whether the warden cared.. was a different story.

She decided not to risk it.

Bigwig came over to her. Her blue and silver eyes took him in, her head tilted to the side.

So, I see that you went to the bakery here. They have the best cinnamon buns.

Evyn took another bite of the small donut. Waiting for the man to get to the point. She wasn't here to be buddy buddy with anyone. Much less, a cop. She waited.

Right, so. Can you tell me what happened here tonight?

Evyn nodded. Well, I was over there, getting the thrown away breads and crap from the bakery. They throw them away every night, I'm hungry, it works out well. Anyway, then Hippy Dippy over there shows up, and we start talking right? But, before we can even get into our conversation proper, these idiots show up. So Captain Idiot decides that he wants a little somethin' somethin', you know what I mean, Boss? So, the Other Idiots, are like, dude, I'll keep this guy busy. So they go after HD. I take out Captain Idiot, because he's getting a little handsy you know, and HD makes sure you guys come along. That basically sums it up.

She shrugged. Hoping that helped a bit.

Right.. Hippy Dippy and Captain Idiot... He stared at her like she was insane. She didn't care. She just wanted to head out, and figure out what the hell HD was up to. And what the hell was up with this fancy crossbow that shot rope. Pushing off the wall she walked over to HD where he was chatting with some of the cops. Well wasn't he just everyone's friend?

Boss follows her. If you need a place to stay, I can get you into a shelter.

Well wasn't he just so nice!!!! But shelters were crocks, and she didn't stay in them. Unless she was close to death.

Aww, thanks Boss. But I'm all right, I got a place to go, it does all right for now.

Bada bing. Bada boom. Everybody did their thing and the alley quickly went back to just Hippy Dippy and the Street Rat. They should go on tour with those stage names.

"Well that was an interesting night," Jack said before looking at Evyn. "But I guess you're pretty used to it." He slipped an eyedropper sized bottle out of a pocket and held it out to her. "Take it. It's a small healing potion. Good for a quick patch up."

There would probably a snippy comment. Jack wouldn't care.

"Call it a free sample. If you need a catch, I'm advertising. Sue me."

Oh, that might not be a good idea.

"Actually, please don't. I only just recovered from my last insurance claim. Wasn't my fault."

Used to it? Really?

So... again... stereotyping. All right, HD. Whatever. Sure. I see it alllll the time.

Evyn rolled her eyes. Crossing her arms over her chest. Seriously, the guy was an idiot, and if he thought she saw this kind of crap daily. She was actually remarkably good at keeping herself out of trouble. Only when she stopped to talk to someone for the first time in a while, did she end up getting in trouble.

Damn waste of time, that was for sure.

He handed her a vial, and she looked at it, wondering what the hell this was supposed to be. He explained that it was a healing drought, and it would take care of her minor wounds.

Gonna take more than that, to heal what's wrong with me. she murmured but she opened the vial and slung it back quickly. Letting it heal the wounds that she had just gotten. She looked over at him, and shrugged. It was all right. You might want to think about adding a flavor, that was nasty.

She bit her lower lip and shoved her hands into the pockets of her too loose jeans. They were a small size anyway, but with her being so malnourished, she was lucky they stayed up most of the time. Her eyes, blue, looked over at him.

So.. why are you still here? I mean, you gave me your Juju juice, and you got me into a fight with some assholes, I'm now on the books with the cops, and I have a pouch of stale buns. All of which I managed NOT to do before I met you, except the pouch of stale buns...

But she watched him, because she seriously didn't know what to make of him. She figured that he would take off again. Maybe he was still hoping to take her out for something to eat. But she was filthy, he would get terrible looks for taking her into places and she doubted that smelled too pretty at the moment. Her red hair was almost brown it was so dirty. But hot food was sounding more promising the longer she stood here.

So... again... stereotyping. All right, HD. Whatever. Sure. I see it alllll the time.

Evyn rolled her eyes. Crossing her arms over her chest. She still took the potion.

Gonna take more than that, to heal what's wrong with me, she murmured but she opened the vial and slung it back quickly. She looked over at him, and shrugged. It was all right. You might want to think about adding a flavor, that was nasty.

"Can't do that,I'm afraid." Jack shrugged. "Grapes and cherries make them less effective. I can brew a great mead though. Different kind of pain relief."

So.. why are you still here? I mean, you gave me your Juju juice, and you got me into a fight with some assholes, I'm now on the books with the cops, and I have a pouch of stale buns. All of which I managed NOT to do before I met you, except the pouch of stale buns...

"No good deed goes unpunished I guess." The alchemist/inventor coiled up the rope from his doodad. He was going for the passive aggressive approach now. But why? It wasn't like he was trying to get her to buy anything. "Try to be nice and look where it got me. Well Street Rat, I take my leave. Have a pleasant evening."

With that, Jack slung the crossbow and headed out for another alley. Broad Street had plenty of suitable targets for his contraption. It didn't matter if Evyn decided to go watch.

Evyn stood there and stared at him. Watching him coil up his rope. Watching him head away. She bit her lower lip. She didn't need his help. No, she didn't want his help. But, that didn't mean she didn't need it. Bread would only get her so far in life and he had offered to feed her. She would be all right without him. But, the thing was, even she craved things that every person craved. Companionship. Mattering. Being Noticed.

She waited. Until he was almost out of sight and then she followed. Keeping her distance. With her excellent eye sight she was able to keep tabs on him more than most normal people would have been. She walked behind him. Keeping herself as quiet as she could.

All ready she had been thinking. Thinking illegal things. People had no idea how it was to live without money. To live with not knowing if you were going to eat in a day, or if you were going to live through the night. These were things that Evyn thought of daily, nightly, and in between. She scratched her itchy scalp and her greasy dirty hair.

A hot shower would be a boon.

Not having to wait to use her stolen soap during a rain fall at night. It wasn't the easiest way to get clean, and there were a few times she had lathered up only for the rain to suddenly stop. Not fun. Then she had to go steal someone's hose and water. It wasn't fun, but it worked from time to time when she was in a pinch.

So she would follow. Because she was curious. She pulled a bun out of her pocket and began to pick at it. She didn't have the choice to be picky, but this one.. had dates in it. So she tossed it over her shoulder, to feed some rodent, or stray animal, and went on about her stalking.

{Hmm, no snide remarks. Didn't think she was ever quiet.}

Jack knew he had a shadow. Rather, he just strongly thought he did. Most people who blew him off said as much. The fact Evyn said nothing hinted she hadn't turned tail.

He pretended he didn't know. It didn't hurt his charade that the alchemist couldn't hear her stalking after him.

Winding his way through Librium, Jack decided to test his invention on the backside of a pay-by-the-hour motel. He considered activating the perception filter on his coat to hide his actions, but no one would think to look for him there. He hiked up the crossbow to his shoulder and reset the firing mechanism. Slipping his enchanted night vision sunglasses back on, Jack located a suitable anchor point: a gargoyle shaped rainspout over the third floor.

*FWOOSH*

Jack was no marksman, but the spout was pretty large. The rope was also awkward enough that he didn't over shoot his target by a whole lot. Kicking on the enchantment, the rope wiggled its way around the stone guardian's base and tied to itself.

"Now for the fun part."

The inventor turned the modified weapon over. He pressed a button on its underside. The motor reversed directions and started drawing in the slack. Hopefully, it had enough torque to reverse repel the side of the building. The prototype didn't have a speed function so it would be a slow climb. His arm bobbed up as the slack disappeared. Jack stepped closer and let himself get dragged upward.

"Hahahahahaha."

Jack still prepared to click his heels in case the device slipped. For now, he was seizing the day. Or the night.

Evyn followed.

HD was a strange little dude, and she wasn't sure what he was up to. Part of her wanted to follow him and see what he was doing. Another part told her to leave him be and to go on with her life. Problem was, curiosity. That and, the rumbling in her stomach that said carb overload wasn't going to cut it again.

Still, as she hugged the shadows, she crouched down and watched. Nibbling on an old chocolate donut. That wasn't going to cut it. She knew that the sunlight would feed her better than any food. She was an avian. That was what they needed. But, the Aurora Project had altered her genes to the fact that food was also a sustenance for her. With her high metabolism rate, it was even worse because, when her Aurora powers kicked in she used up a lot more of her meetabolism and stores than any other time. Causing her a need to binge later.

The crossbow fired the rope upwards. Her sharp eyes followed it easily as it wrapped around the gargoyle at the top. She watched as he killed the slack and she tilted her head to the side. She didn't think the device was up to his wait.

Now, HD wasn't fat. He wasn't even a little chunk. But, he was a bit heavier than some sort of animal or whatever. She wasn't sure how he expected to climb that wall. Besides that, he needed leverage. That was something he just didn't have.

He was trying to go all Batman, without the right propellant.

Ain't gonna work HD she said giving herself away. Firstly, you don't have any leverage. You need something besides a pistol grip to climb up that wall with. Secondly, your motor isn't fast enough for you to Batman the hell up the wall. And thirdly, while you aren't exactly a chunky monkey you weigh more than the high end plastic that crossbow is made out of. What you really need is a two rope system. So you can hold one rope with a hand for leverage and let the half assed motor do the rest of the work as you walk up the wall.

She shrugged and shoved her hands deep into her ill-fitted jean pockets.

Anyway, you got any real food on you. You mentioned some, and this bread isn't gonna cut my butter she grinned with a shrug.

Ain't gonna work HD, said Jack's shadow. Firstly, you don't have any leverage. You need something besides a pistol grip to climb up that wall with. Secondly, your motor isn't fast enough for you to Batman the hell up the wall. And thirdly, while you aren't exactly a chunky monkey you weigh more than the high end plastic that crossbow is made out of. What you really need is a two rope system. So you can hold one rope with a hand for leverage and let the half assed motor do the rest of the work as you walk up the wall.

"Oh ye of little faith," the inventor called back. Jack was now at the second floor railing. "The crossbow is Amish hardwood. While I appreciate the comment about my figure, I'm not trying to zip up the rope."

But the motor was losing its steam. He was now just dangling twelve feet off the ground. Jack growled at the contraption. Maybe it just needed a tad of slack. He jerked the crossbow to the side...which caused the motor to lose its grip on the rope. With no static friction, Gravity proved herself to be a heartless bitch. Jack reflexively kicked his feet together to activate the levitation enchantment. While it didn't immediately stop his descent, the spell did slow it down. Four feet separated his boots from the pavement.

"Well that sucks." Jack surveyed his situation. He was dismayed at the results, but at least the prototype wasn't a complete failure.

Anyway, you got any real food on you. You mentioned some, and this bread isn't gonna cut my butter.

"You don't cut butter with bread," he said distractedly. "But this could be my solution for hover boots."

Jack made sure the rope was still looped around the motor and tried it again. With the enchantment making him neutrally buoyant, the prototype had no problem taking him up to the top in a decent amount of time. Much faster than just commanding the enchanted boots to ascend. The descent was easily fixed by unattaching the end, giving up some slack and then swinging the monkey fist so that it tied off on the first floor support beam. Then the motor pulled him down.

A big grin was on his face. "Bet you Batman can't levitate. And no, I don't have real food on me. But there is a twenty-four hour diner down the street." He stowed everything in his backpack, which didn't seem large enough to fit it all. And yet somehow it did. "Amazing apple pie."

Amish hardwood?

Evyn leaned against the wall of a nearby building. Waiting. The smell of rotten garbage, refuse, and dirty water from a recent rain. She knew her business. However strong the wood was on the 'Amish hardwood crossbow' she knew that it gave no extra leverage. Just maybe, extra strength. But hey, if the dude wanted to fall on his ass in a puddle of gunk... he totally could.

It wasn't long. Before he stopped. About the second floor. Evyn fought to keep the triumphant grin off her face. Failed. The fact that HD thought it would work, meant he had no military training. Not that most did. She did. But that was another story for another day. Now she was nothing more than a homeless waif on the street.

Nothing better for the ol' self esteem.

Then he made the Captain Idiot's Mistake of Doom. Releasing the tension in the motor, sent him plummeting back down towards the street. Evyn moved, quite quickly too, hoping that she could at least help break his fall. She had hollow bones, but she was strong. Avians were made differently than others, but he didn't know that's what she was anyway.

Turns out the expediture of energy was unnecessary. Shame.

HD caught himself with .. something. Seemed that he had magic boots or something that kept him off the ground. Which was interesting, but it also meant she was right. His crappy device wasn't working. Rather, his crappy device wasn't being used properly. She watched as he descended and she stepped over to him as he ridiculed her words. She rolled her eyes. Expressions, were what you made of them.

Here HD, let me show you how to make your toy a success.

She held her hand out for the device that was now all wrapped up with the rope again. If he placed it in her hands, she would move forward if not she would just shrug. However, if she was trusted however temporarily with his device she would show him how to use it properly. Since the man obviously didn't make a habit of scaling walls. Like HD, she shot the rope up to the gargoyle, and waited for the slack to come out of the rope before she looked over at him.

Now, what you wanna do here, HD, is clip this sucker to your belt. Because, Dude, you can't Batman unless you have a lot of leverage and torque. You don't have either. So here's what we do to create it.. she clipped the Crossbow to her belt loop in her too big jeans, proving just how skinny she was since they were tiny jeans anyway and then she put both hands on the rope and one foot against the wall.

Now, with one hand, you're gonna wanna activate that motor you put in this. she did that, and then with both hands on the rope, crossbow clipped to her pants, she began to walk up the wall. So what this does, is allow the crossbow to take the place of a climbing partner. Keeping the slack out of the line so you can climb it. With both hands on the rope, you can keep yourself going, less strain on the motor and it's picking up the rope on the way.

When she had made it further than he did, she looked down at him from above and grinned. Hoping that she was at least helping out. He was offering her food afterall. Then she put the crossbow in reverse and rode the rope back down to HD before she handed him the crossbow still attatched to the gargoyle on the roof incase he wanted to try out the system she had told him about.

Jack cocked an eyebrow when the homeless teenager offered to show him how to properly work the crossbow. Ever the curious type, he handed Evyn the device. She went all street professor on him.

"Well I'll be," the inventor said. So it worked well after all. Jack just had the wrong technique. "Alright Little Miss Ninja, is it easier to Batman or Spiderman?"

Jack still had a couple minutes left in his boot discharge. Thinking out of the box, he might be able to launch himself between the top of the railing and the bottom of the next floor's foundation. He clapped his gloved hands together to activate the spiderclimb enchantment. The levitation one carried his upward momentum as he jumped. Jack wasn't exactly short, but nor was he tall. His fingers grazed the lip just enough for him to stick. He then crawled around the side of the building for a moment before scaling down the drain pipe.

"Alright, I cheated with the boots." Jack chewed on the corner of his lip. "I suppose I could always throw in a deal for my nerd customers.

What about you? Do you only know the name Batman, or are you a closest comic junkie?"

Evyn grinned at his question.

Batman of course. Spiderman could only climb the walls because of the minute hairs on the pads of his fingers. So, if you aren't part spider, it's not gonna happen.

Evyn shrugged and she shoved her hands deep in her pockets. Most of the time, she did this because it was a clever wait to make sure they stayed in place. Obviously, she didn't have a belt, and it would be ever so embarassing to loose her drawers in the streets. Since there was food coming, she shelled out a few of the buns from the pockets of her hoodie into the alleyway. A cat, mouse, or some sort of animal would enjoy them.

It was all about the sharing. Wouldn't HD be proud.

Suddenly, he clapped. Bringing her attention back to what the Ol' Hippy was doing. The dude, seriously jumped up to the second floor base and then stuck. Her eyes narrowed. Spiderman, then. At least for him.

So, perfect crime fighting team apparently. Spiderman-man and Batman-girl. she grinned with a bit of a shrug.

He crawled down the drain pipe and she was fairly certain that it wouldn't go as smoothely if he hadn't used his boots to help drive his momentum. A fact, that he later told her when he mentioned it. She didn't care though, it wasn't all that important. What was important was getting food. Not dying. Those were kinda at the top of the list. She shrugged a bit at his question.

That's all we had to read when we were growin' up. Comics. So I know a little. Not sure how much. I just read the paper stuff. Real rare apparently, no idea how they got ahold of them. But, oh well.

She brushed her hair back behind her ears and looked back over at HD. He was a strange little man. She couldn't actually tell if he was a good guy or a bad guy. Not the crime doing kind of bad guy. But the kind of guy that takes advantage of others and enjoys it. She doubted it, but people surprised you.

So... ready for that dinner you owe me for showing you how to use your device here? she grinned at him and gave a shrug. It just.. felt better if he owed it to her rather than it being charity. Like most, she didn't like taking charity. Didn't want to need it. It pissed her off to be so incapable of taking care of herself. But after Aurora shut down, turned all their people out. She had found herself incapable of anything. With no papers, no money, no place to live. It was a recipe for failure. But, Evyn had ideas. Ideas, in a mind as quick as Evyn's was probably not a good thing.

Batman of course. Spiderman could only climb the walls because of the minute hairs on the pads of his fingers. So, if you aren't part spider, it's not gonna happen.

Jack chuckled as Evyn shrugged. "You'd make a nerd a very happy man."

So, perfect crime fighting team apparently. Spiderman-man and Batman-girl.

"Ah yes," he returned the grin. "One's a third spider while the other is a hermaphroditic bat. Perfect combination." The inventor dusted his hands off when he returned to solid ground.

That's all we had to read when we were growin' up. Comics. So I know a little. Not sure how much. I just read the paper stuff. Real rare apparently, no idea how they got ahold of them. But, oh well.

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Rare indeed. I've only seen a handful of real comics over the years. Usually had to wait until the public library managed to acquire a few."

So... ready for that dinner you owe me for showing you how to use your device here?

He smirked and circled her face with a finger. "So there's a businesswoman under all that dirt." Jack shrugged. "Aight. You scratched my back, I'll scratch yours. There's a shwarma stand up the street. I think it stays open for all the drunktards that come out of the clubs after closing." He started to lead the way.

"You vegan? They got a few meatless things. Personally, I go for the lamb in the jerk mayo. Beware the jerk, got a hell of a kick."

She barked a laugh, when he said he would make a nerd a happy man. She doubted it. She might love comic books but she didn't have any thing on other geekly habits. No games, or books, or table top games.. or whatever else they played. She wasn't young, but she wasn't old. Still, she had been raised in a research and army facility. Obviously, fun wasn't around that much.

Still, she found herself knowing, more than all that. No man was ever going to want her. She was fine with that. She didn't expect them to want her. She had all ready figured that was the way her life would be. Fairly lonely, and yet, she had plans to make sure she had power.

The public library has comics?

She knew that libraries handed out free library cards. Problem was she didn't have a residence. Which suched because she was certain that she would need to have one. But she supposed she could lie. It wasn't like she had to prove it she was fairly certain. She might have to try that. How awesome would it be to actually be able to read a comic book again...

Evyn shrugged her shoulders, when he mentnioned a business woman under the dirt. She wasn't offended. She knew she was dirty. Hadn't had a shower since the last time it rained, and she didn't really care. It was pointless anyway. She could shower, get all purty, and then she'd be back on the streets getting dirty again. That was why she was going to have to take care of herself.

No one would hire her, she had no place to live. That was kind of important when you were trying to get a job. Then, on top of that, was the fact that she had no experience in any job and being that she was twenty five they expected that or some sort of education. Being the cast off of a Project that had been shut down.. wasn't exactly the best reccomendation.

Cool. I have no idea what a schwarma is. But I'll have some.

She shoved her hands deep in her pockets and walked with Jack. He seemed all right. Better when he wasn't getting the cops called on a situation that she was involved in and better still when he wasn't being all Hippy Dippy. Wow, that was the first time she had thought of him as Jack and not HD. She liked HD better.

Though she laughed at the thought of being vegan.

Dude, does it look like I'm choosey?

She could only shrug as they walked up to the stand. She was starving, and she read over their menu. Grateful that the project had at least taught her how to read. She ordered some sort of meaty, veggy, roll... thing. She had no idea what was actually in it but at least, it would fill her up if it didn't make her sick.

The public library has comics?

"Not a whole lot," Jack frowned. "It's one of those deals when people decide to donate them instead of sell them. Also means they're not in excellent condition."

The unspectacular duo moved towards the source of promised food. Cool. I have no idea what a schwarma is. But I'll have some.

"It's Greek or Arabic or something. They put a block of meat on this perpendicular spit," Jack's hands estimated the size to be about that of his torso, "and slow cook it in exotic seasonings. You can get it as a wrap or just the meat in a bowl."

Evyn started laughing at the vegan. Dude, does it look like I'm choosey?

"Ha," the inventor laughed back. "You should see some of the people that show up for my church's clothing drop offs. They only want the brand name stuff."

{Usually so they can go pawn it.}

"Here we are," he said as they rounded the corner. The place looked like a cross between a hot dog cart and a garden shed. They could see the spit basking the glow of the fire. Jack's nose sniffed out the seasonings, identifying each one in turn. He didn't reveal them out loud so the stand could maintain its secret recipe. "A larger menu is on the side. I usually have to look at it myself. Go take a gander and I'll hold a spot in line."

==This is the menu from my place of inspiration. For legal purposes, it's not called Al La Kebab.==

That's only because they don't really need it, HD. They just wanna sell the shit to a resale shop or to some lame ass on the street for 20 dolla so that they can get money. People suck.

It was true. Evyn knew this was the truth. She had seen too many people pull a broken purse out of a trash can. Empty it, fix it well enough with some needle and thread and sell it to some woman on the street that thought it wasn't old and used and would pay good money for something just because of the emblem on the front. That was the sadest thing. There was no reason for any of that. But, people were all about scaming those around them, not to mention getting one on someone that had no way to ever find them again. And, to take one out on 'the man' as it were often called.

Evyn walked with him, as he told her about the open spit and she was intrigued by this whole, new, food, thing. But, she was really just a hungry girl and was more looking forward to the fact that there would be food, in a bowl, and she could eat it. She didn't have to steal it or steal the money to pay for it. She could just eat it, and it would be tasty, and Hot HD... HD would be paying for it.

She honestly didn't care what she was eating. She just wanted some meat, in a freaking bowl. And hot food, ohhhh hot food it was going to be a pure heaven kind of evening. She took a gander at the menu. Most of it didnt' make sense, and she didn't know what most of the words meant so she found HD back in line and stood beside him.

I just want that whole, meat in a bowl option, so... you tell them the meat, and I'll.. eat it. I don't even care, you don't want to know some of the things I have eaten.

He probably really didn't. And, Evyn didn't want to share the menu of some of the things that she had eaten when hunger was too much. She was glad that she had never sold herself or anything, but there were times, that she might have thought about it just to put food on the table so to speak. She put her hands in her pockets, and she waited for their turn. The food smelled delicious and she hoped that HD couldn't hear how loud her stomach was rumbling at the moment because that would be embarassing.

So, what do you do, when you aren't moonlighting as Spiderman?