[Deleted]

It was amazing how quickly his whole life changed.  He didn't work as a dishwasher anymore and he had an apartment that wasn't infested with cockroaches.  Add in the fancy new suit, the rules and regulations that he now had to follow and the uncomfortable feeling like he was in over his head and you had a brand new life.  A brand new him!  And to think, all it took was for him to be shot to death.  Funny how life worked out sometimes. 

He tried not to dwell on that last part though. The whole dying bit.  He'd only done it once and he wasn't exactly keen on doing it a second time.  He supposed it made him lucky in a manner of speaking.  Certainly better off than pretty much anyone else that had been in his position.  And he certainly didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, he was thankful that he was still breathing, but it was uncomfortable.  This was all pretty much-uncharted territory for him.  For anyone that he'd heard of at least.  So it wasn't like he could read up on it or talk to someone about things, he could just push it down and focus on what was ahead of him.

And what was ahead of him was a doozy.  Everyone knew that you stayed away from the pier after eleven.  It was a poorly kept secret that the Russians ran guns out of the pier, on a good day.  There were whispers of human trafficking as well.  Authorities rarely dug too deep into it though.  Lack of manpower and the uncanny knack of the Russians to know when a raid was going to happen.  Even Jim wasn't dumb enough to think that was a coincidence, and he was going to do something about it.  The escrima sticks on his hip would hopefully be enough to carry him through and stop what was going down tonight.  

He was already in his outfit before he reached the scene, leaping from the rooftops of the warehouses that lined the area, being careful to keep to the shadows so he didn't tip anyone off.  The last thing he wanted was some guard to unload an automatic rifle at his direction and scare the rest away.  Or kill him again... not high on his list of experiences to repeat.

He made his way to the center of the action, or at least above it.  There was a shipping container, it was closed and impossible to see what was inside it.  But the banging from the inside sent his gut twisting and his jaw clenching.  He counted half a dozen men with guns around the container.  Closing his eyes he'd count to three as he reached for his Escrima sticks. 

"Nothing to be afraid of, for you at least."

He'd mumble to himself before leaping downward at the men.  His sticks coming down on the head of one of the armed men as he landed.  His body twisting to the left to kick the gun out of the next closest guy's arms.  The rest happened fast.  One of the men raised his gun toward him only to be met with a flying stick as he tossed the one from his left hand to knock him back, the bullets flying in the sky.

Russian number four came in with a knife, slashing at his back, and through a few layers of his suit, though not enough to reach his flesh by the time Jim was able to turn around and smash his remaining stick into his head.  There was yelling from the Men that were still up, or picking themselves up.  He didn't know what was being said since he didn't speak Russian but the pier began to shake with the steady footfalls of a rather large woman.  

"Don't bother.  The puny one is mine."  

She'd sneer at him through her thick accent as she cracked her neck and squatted down with arms outstretched like a wrestler on the high school team.  The men backed away giving them room which was enough reason to conclude that she was the one to take down.  Well, never let it be said that he wasn't equal opportunity.  He came in fast twisting his body as he took to the air, his right heel slamming into her face with a powerful crescent kick.  Only instead of flying off into the wall of one of the warehouses, she didn't budge an inch and the lack of give in her body caused him to hit the ground.  

She let out a deep laugh as she picked him up and threw him like a ragdoll through the wall he'd attempted to kick her into.  Dust clouded the newly created hole as he groaned under the rubble and slowly started to pick himself up.

"Looks like day one on the job might have a bit of overtime..." 

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @jim + wearing

Surprisingly there weren't that many Heroes on the West Coast, something about there not being enough coming forward with appropriate powers. Alice found that hard to believe, considering that they were happy enough to take her, a nineteen year old. On the other hand she was technically bulletproof, which probably did a lot for putting their minds at ease. Metahumans with super strength seemed to be fairly common at the minute, and she'd spent some time carefully developing her fighting style so that she appeared to simply be another brick. Her power was more complex than that, but right now she was just being held up as the strongest and toughest metahuman to yet come forward. It wasn't technically true, but it was a white lie she was OK with if it meant she could do more to help people. It wouldn't do for someone to work out exactly how her power worked and turn that against her. Her suit had since been upgraded as well. It was fully grounded now, rendering her resistant to anything electrical short of a direct lightning strike. It was fairly heat resistant as well, although she'd not had much chance to test that out. One person who was tougher than her, in a way, was the Hero she had come to LA to visit. Onyx had been tracked down by the Hero Program apparently, after he'd woken up in an operating room with three bullets in his chest. It was a good idea, to recruit someone who couldn't die. It should do wonders for the image of Heroes being invulnerable, but Alice wasn't sure if the Program's determination to push that was a good idea. She'd seen her friend die. They weren't all bullet proof… San Francisco could survive without her for one night, and it was time for her to properly meet one of the other Heroes in the program. She pulled up her mask as she stepped out into the night. It was a grey one. Her Program liaison had told her that a good place to look would be the docks, so that's where she headed, leaping into the air. It didn't take her long to reach the docks; each leap covered hundreds of metres at a time, the kinetic energy used to propel her into the air recycled for each new leap. She landed a little way back, seeing a number of men clustered around a container, all armed. A minute later a figure appeared in a dark suit, dropping into the cluster and proceeding to beat the shit out of them. Seated on a nearby rooftop, Paladin swung her legs, watching with appreciation as the Hero showed just why the Program had been formed. Unfortunately, although things had started off so swell, they didn't continue in that way. A huge woman had begun advancing towards him, evidently heavier than even her large frame would suggest. Her height would have hinted that she was a meta, but her reaction to his kick only clinched it. She didn't flinch, instead flinging him one handed through a wall. Paladin winced. She kicked off the side of the building, soaring through the air as if she could fly and landing silently behind the meta-criminal. She walked silently up the dock, her footfalls muffled by her ability. One of the men shouted something in Russian and opened fire at her. She raised a rather chagrined eyebrow, then a finger to the huge woman and the recovering Hero. "Sec." Paladin blasted towards him, throwing what should have been a rather average power right hook. The man cartwheeled from the force of the blow. His gun spinning off into the air. He didn't get back up. Two more opened fire at her and she spun around behind the van they'd evidently arrived in. Once out of sight, she put her shoulder to it and unloaded the kinetic energy she'd collected. The vehicle flipped, crashing onto its side and sliding at speed towards the two men. One of them was smart enough to get out of the way, into the water. The other cried out as it hit him, pushing him along until it ground to a slow halt. She turned back to the combat she had been watching. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. You guys do you."

© seadra of gs

[Deleted]

He heard rather than saw the commotion caused by the newcomer to the scene as he picked himself out of the rubble.  As he emerged from the dust the rest of the armed men seemed to be taken care of while the costumed woman motioned for him and the Russian woman to continue fighting.  He didn't know who she was, but that was a problem for future Jim.  One super-powered woman at a time.  After all, he wasn't the type to deal with a lady and only give her half his attention. 

"I gotta apologize.  I underestimated you."

He'd say as he started to bounce on his heels.  Clearly overpowering her wasn't going to be an option.  But that didn't mean he was out of the fight.  There were a lot of ways to fight, and martial arts had all kinds of ways for someone to fight against people both larger and stronger than themselves.  That was the basis of many arts.  His' gaze flickered over to the newcomer briefly, not wanting to ignore the Russian and take another trip through a wall.

"If you're here to help the girls are in the shipping container.  Get them out of here." 

Reaching behind his back he'd pull out his last Escrima stick and rush toward the Russian woman, ducking under her hook for his helmeted head and bringing the stick to her gut.  It didn't seem to do much as she'd bring both arms down to try and slam him.  But he was already twisting away from her and pivoting behind her to slam the stick behind her leg.  It caused a small buckle but hardly able to topple the would be giantess.  His attacks for all the obvious damage he was doing to her may as well be that of a gnat nipping at her.  But like a gnat, he was deftly avoiding being swatted.

For now at least. 

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @jim + wearing

Paladin nodded, moving to the shipping container to inspect the door. It had been padlocked and she didn’t have time to search the unconscious men for a key. It wasn’t as if she was concerned with property damage, what would they do? Complain a Hero had broken the padlock they had been using to imprison young women? Before she started on the lock, she put a hand to her ear, to the small earbud that put her in touch with her liaison. “Situation on the docks, meta-criminal, some sort of super-strength and toughness dealio. Onyx is handling her but I have civilians here. Looks like human trafficking.” There was a brief pause at the other end, then, “Police have been informed, there will be units there soon. Remove the civilians from the danger zone. Keep it contained.” This had been simultaneously patched through to Onyx’s headset, so that both of them knew what was going on. Paladin picked up one of the guns from the dock, standing well back and firing three bullets. She’d already dumped all of her energy into flipping the van, so she had to make do now. The third bullet broke the lock, and she dropped the gun heaving the bolt back and grunting as she pulled the heavy steel door open. Dim light penetrated into the container, revealing a huddle of dirty, pale faces. They were women, girls even. Most of them looked younger than she was, and all of them looked frightened. That obviously wasn’t relieved by the sight of a heavily costumed individual in the doorway of their prison. Paladin felt a spark of anger flare up in her chest. These were kids, and she was better placed than most to recognise this. She stepped back, holding her hands out, palms upwards in the universal sign of ‘look, I’m not carrying a big murderous gun’. They still looked afraid, but one, clearly more confident than the others took a few steps forward, saying something in what sounded like Russian. Paladin shook her head, “Sorry, but I don’t understand. It’s not safe for you here.” She glanced over at the combat taking place on the other side of the dock. He was handling himself, but it was a little like watching a mosquito bother an elephant. Paladin gestured again, standing well back so the girls could see she wasn’t trying to keep them in. “Come on, we’ll take you somewhere safe.” Her liaison muttered an ETA in her ear. She opened her eyes a little wider and did her best to look harmless, although if the girls had been able to hear anything of the previous events they would know she was anything but. Hopefully they would recognise that she was genuinely trying to help. At least there was still some semblance of spirit left in the girls as they came out. One of them paused to kick one of the prone men. Paladin carefully didn’t see it, though she glared when another moved to pick up an abandoned gun. She shepherded the girls out to the point where the docks met dry land, gathering them into a small group there. They huddled together, draping pathetic scraps of cloth over themselves as defence against the sea breeze. Paladin looked back towards the combat, wanting to go, wanting to have her turn at avenging these poor girls. She knew better, these girls were in no state to defend themselves. She was a Hero, not an avenging angel. Besides, Onyx couldn’t die right? She only hoped that was true, she dearly did not want the death of another Hero on her conscience.

© seadra of gs

[Deleted]

A duck to the left, and a shift to the right he'd continued to nimbly evade the super-powered strikes that were coming at him from the large woman, much to her every growing and obvious frustration.  The punches came at him faster, more weight behind them as she sneered at him in Russian.  Slipping back to her native tongue in her frustration.  His attacks had little trouble connecting, she wasn't trying to evade him like he was her.  Though his attacks did nearly nothing to slow her down.  And as the combat progressed it would appear like he was losing ground, being forced to continue backing further away from her as she advanced.  Neither of them long-range fighters it wasn't long until he found himself at the end of the pier, His footing in ever more precarious positions.  

He was doing a good job of keeping the woman distracted however and with the men taken down earlier, Paladin had no problems getting the women out of the container.  And the news of reinforcements coming through the speakers in his suit's helmet was welcome news.  The girls would get the help they needed and this would all be over soon.  

He was able to spare little more than a glance Paladin's way as the woman continued her barrage of attacks at him.  But from the glances, he managed to steal he was able to spot her looking back at the melee that he was engaged in.  Was in longing or something else that he spied?  Impossible to tell, the distance and lighting would hide it even if he wasn't trying to avoid having his brain scrambled.  Still, if it wasn't for the helmet covering his face he'd have shot her a wink.  Martial Arts had a long history of helping a smaller and weaker warrior overcome against one both larger and stronger.  This David and Goliath matchup was what his art was developed for.  And now they were in position.

Suddenly he'd drop his weapon, the metal Escrima sticks clattering in the chill night air as the Russian sent another powerful haymaker his way.  However this time his hands shot up to meet her, his right hand connecting with her wrist and clamping around it as his body twisted.  Using the woman's own strength against her and the momentum from her enraged strikes he'd flip her over his shoulder with a grunt of effort, sending her flying into the icy cold water of the harbor.

Despite himself, he let out a relieved and amused chuckle as the woman began to splash around in the water below.  Between that and having to climb out or swim to another pier he suspected she would be busy until the police came to help wrap things up.  He'd follow up by shooting a thumbs up at Paladin and the girls huddled around her.

"Everything's going to be alright now.  You have my word." 

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @jim + wearing

Onyx clearly couldn't quite go toe to toe with the huge metahuman, but he was obviously an experienced fighter, and it wasn't long until that training and experience showed itself, resulting in the large woman tumbling into the harbour where she splashed and spluttered in anger. She was less of a threat for now at least, though should she climb back out it was unlikely that she'd fall for the same trick twice. Paladin nodded at the other Hero's words, looking at the girls huddled about her. They didn't seem to take a lot of comfort from it. Small wonder. Every country dealt with metas differently, but it was entirely likely that whoever had taken them in their home country had metahuman muscle as well. He was at least trying to make them feel better, though there was little enough they could do other than make sure the unconscious men didn't recover and attempt to recapture them. It didn't take long for the Police to arrive, two patrol cars escorting a large bus. Two women and a man stepped down from the bus and began to distribute blankets and bottled water. It wasn't long until all of the women had been taken care of and were carefully escorted onto the bus. Paladin watched them go, nodding at one of the police officers who was staring at her in awe. He was young, in his early twenties, and that made it all the more strange. After all, under the mask she was only nineteen, although the Program had made sure to keep her age well and truly under wraps when they had gone public. It made her a little uncomfortable to be honest, she'd never thought about being famous, just about helping people, but apparently fame and celebrity was simply part of the package. She was, after all, the most recognisable Hero on the West coast. Apparently her youth made her an ideal poster child, according to Dominic anyway. She'd bristled at the word child but he'd assured her that it was only a figure of speech. One of the patrol cars stayed with them, the other leaving with the bus full of women and children at the same time two more vehicles pulled up. They were both standard LAPD vans, but when they were both opened up it became apparent that one of them had been retrofitted to deal with super strong metahumans. The officers busied themselves with the groaning men, while Paladin gestured to Onyx and began walking down the dock to the area where the metahuman was only now just beginning to pull herself out of the water. As they walked she spoke, "So you're Onyx right? I'm Paladin, down from San Francisco. I heard you were out here and thought I would come and see if you needed help. Looks like you had it handled though.

© seadra of gs

[Deleted]

Jim stood to the side not wanting to get in the way of the officers as they rounded up the criminals.  Both mundane and Metahuman.  His work seemed to be done and the women would be taken somewhere safely away from here and these people.  And that was that, what was left for him to do was simply gather his discarded weapons and ensure the handoff went peacefully.  Or at least that's how everything was presented.  It still didn't feel real to him, all of it.  That he was really standing here in a suit like this, that his job was now fighting crime and saving people.

It probably wouldn't always be like this, a clear win with a clear good, but moments like this he wanted to savor because of that.  Because he knew that there were going to be hard times ahead, people like him were popping up every day, and not everyone was a good person.  Hell, he just had a dance with a woman who was living proof of that.  She probably didn't know that his wounds healed quickly or that he came back from the dead, and it wasn't slowing her down any.  It sucked, but he'd come to terms with the fact that the world was full of shitty people a long time ago.  He could just try to balance the scales a little bit in favor of people that just wanted to live their lives.  Though he wasn't in a position to be proactive about that, his power was small in the grand scheme of things.  He can't enact real change, the kind of change that can take away the situations that allow crime to flourish, that make it the most attractive options to some young people.  In the end, all he could really do was throw a punch and promise himself that he'll always stop before it gets too far.  That he'd try to help as many lives as he could, on both sides of the street.

It was probably a good thing that his mask covered his whole face or he may have given off the wrong impression with a clenched jaw frowning as it was lost in thought.  The young hero, however, was able to snap him out of it easily enough, he'd smile at her reflexively, despite that too being hidden. 

"Yeah, I guess that's what they call me now huh?"

He'd say rubbing the back of his neck, was he supposed to tell her his real name?  He wasn't sure how this whole identity thing was supposed to work.  Probably not out in public like this though, that wouldn't be smart.

"I appreciate the concern.  I'm tougher than I look, but what matters is we did some real good today."

He held out a hand to her, she was young but she was his partner in this.  Requested or not, she was out here risking her life for others just like him, and that deserved respect.

As they approached the Metahuman pulling herself out of the water he'd glance back at the modified police vehicles and back to her.  His right hand casually moving down to his Escrima sticks. He didn't make a move to re-engage the fight, yet.  But he was making it known that he was ready for round two at the very least.  To say nothing about Paladin and whatever preparations she might have to make.

"Way I see it is you already lost, you're cornered and the cops are here.  The only question is do you want to be awake in the back of the cop car?  Cause if you couldn't take me down, then you have exactly zero chance of taking us all down."

He'd give her a small shrug, it was her move.  She seemed to take a moment to consider her options, eyeing and sizing up the police along with him and his partner.  But her own position was obviously not good, with her back to the water and surrounded it was clear how this was going to go down.  In the end, she slowly dropped to her knees and placed her hands behind her head allowing the police to bring her in without further incident.   She was smart enough to know when she was beaten.


"You hungry?"

He'd suddenly ask, turning back to face Paladin. 

"There's a nice little teriyaki place about a ten-minute walk from here.  If you wanted."  

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @jim + wearing

She smiled, her teeth white in the dim light of the docks. "Yeah, it's weird huh? Getting used to answering to another name. Especially one right out of a comic book. I like it though. Grew up with comics and cartoons, so it's just like playing dress up as a kid, except with real super powers... She paused momentarily, looking away "... And consequences…" Paladin let Onyx take the lead on the meta-criminal. She was more powerful than he, at least from what she could gather. The large woman wouldn't have even posed a threat, let alone a danger. Still. This was his case, and his collar, she wouldn't step in unless he wanted her to, it wouldn't have seemed right. She was here to actually talk to another Hero, not for glory. It wouldn't do well to start that off by insinuating that he couldn't do his job. Fortunately the woman wasn't stupid, or at least not stupid enough to try and fight off two licensed Heroes and half a dozen cops. The two Heroes watched for a moment as she was taken into custody, before turning away. She was moderately surprised at the sudden invitation to eat. Still, it was late, and she was always up for Japanese food. She quite enjoyed cooking it herself, but hadn't had it herself in a while. "Sure! I love Japanese food. And I don't know anywhere down here. I've only been here a couple of times before and I never really got the chance to have a proper look around." She watched as the truck started up and began to drive away, albeit a little slower than it had arrived, clearly the woman's mass was for more than just show. Turning back to Onyx, she gestured at her mouth. "Can you eat with that thing? Or do we need to change?"

© seadra of gs

[Deleted]

H"Yeah, if it was just me I wouldn't bother.  It's not like I have anything to worry about if you think about it.  But my folks...  Ya know?  I'd say not to stress over the consequences but well, if we were that kind of people we wouldn't be standing here right?  So best I can say is don't let it eat you up, and if you need an ear I can do more than just punch someone."

He gave a dry chuckle, gallow humor maybe.  But he knew about consequences, he'd died for his actions once already, and that was before he knew he could come back.  And some people might say that it takes away the sense of risk and the weight for him, but he'd tell them that they had no idea what it was like to die and come back.  The pain physical pain was worse than anything he'd ever felt, and that was to say nothing about the mental and emotional toll.  Or the risk to his loved ones, like his parents.  They were just as normal and mundane as he had always thought he was.  The chances of them coming back to life after a bullet to the brain, or worse, was effectively zero.  That's what kept him wearing a mask, their safety because if he hadn't made any enemies yet he sure as hell was planning to.  His Dad used to say when he was growing up that making enemies was the sign that you were doing something right.  The world was full of bullies or just people looking out for themselves.  It didn't take a supervillain to be willing to snatch the bread out of someone's mouth just so they can have a little more.  

He was pleased to that she accepted his invitation, he'd met a few other supers when he was getting fitted for his suit and oriented but he hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to anyone.  That Banana guy wasn't terribly chatty or receptive to his humor and everyone else seemed to be sticking to themselves.  He supposed it was a side effect of the program being so young still.  No one really knew how to act with it.  But the way he saw it they were all on the same side, they should try to make friends at the very least.  At the very least they were coworkers, and that had to mean something, right?

"That's the beauty of these types of cities.  They never sleep and you can find anything if you know where to look.  The place doesn't look like much, but the guy's been running that hole for the better part of a decade.  Just don't judge me on what I order, deal?" 

He'd chuckle again as he'd lead her away from the crime scene, opting to stick to alleys and back ways for the moment.  He wasn't quite ready to make his way to the main street just yet.  She'd hinted at the reason for his route however when she asked if he needed to change.  

"Yeah, I can take the helmet off, but I'd rather just go in with street clothes.  It'll only take me a few seconds to change out of this though."

Glancing around to make sure that they were private before outstretching his arms.

"Onyx Civilian Mode Activate." 

His suit began to twist and whirl the arms unclasping and lifting off of him by several inches as it began to collapse on itself.  His mask retracted in a spiral around his head like someone was peeling it like an apple before it vanished down his back.  The chest compartment lifted and opened with a hiss before it folded up with the arms and legs as they made their way into a compacted holder on his back under his shirt.  Less than a minute and the whole process was completed and Jim was in his street clothes before Paladin.

"You can call me Jim by the way.  If you want.  It's uh, my real name."

He didn't wanna tell her it was short for Jimothy though, he'd heard how that goes a half a million times already.  And he'd like to be taken seriously by his coworkers at least.  

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @jim + wearing

Paladin nodded in understanding, she didn't have any family to worry about should her identity come out, but she had friends, people she wouldn't want to see hurt because of what she did. It was unlikely, after all, the Heroes were like a super-powered Police force, and the Police didn't conceal their identities. But the costumes were for more than that. In this new age where godlike beings walked the earth people needed something to trust, a symbol that they knew would protect them. Heroes were that symbol. Hence the easily identifiable costumes. "Oh I know, you'll have to come to San Francisco sometime, I think I know just about every little restaurant you could possibly ever need to know." Laughing, Paladin shook her head, "Oh no no, I'm like, a serious foodie, I will definitely judge you on what you order." She watched, impressed, as his suit began to collapse in on itself. Her own suit was considerably more awkward to get in and out of, though she'd managed to get it down to a minutes changing time now that she'd had a chance to practice. Even so, she couldn't exactly carry a change of clothes around with her easily, and she imagined that showing up to this place with Paladin in tow might give away his profession. "That is pretty sick, but I'm gonna have to head back to my hotel to change. I can get back there pretty quick, but leaping over the city might give away my identity once I change. Where's this place and I'll meet you there." Once he'd explained how to find the aforementioned 'hole' she took off, leaping effortlessly into the sky to come down several hundred feet away. It only took a few minutes to find her way back to her hotel room, and she changed quickly before heading down to the lobby to catch a cab. That was another thing that had changed, before all of this she wouldn't have dreamed of catching a cab, wouldn't have been able to afford it. Now they were a much more reasonable expense. Her salary might not be particularly generous, but the sponsorship Dominic had secured her with Under Armour was. The taxi pulled up a few feet down the road from the 'hole' and she got out, handing the driver a few bills, then a few more as a tip. She waved at Jim, "Hey, I didn't want to say before, but I'm Alice."

© seadra of gs

[Deleted]

"I'm sure I'll wind up there at some point. It's not like crime stops at the edge of a neighborhood. And to weed out the real problem players you gotta dig past the street dealers."

Criminals moved, and the worst of them were the organized crime syndicates that spanned cities, states, and countries. Borders didn't stop them, and they couldn't allow themselves to be content with stopping a street level thug here and there. That wouldn't fix the problem, that was a losing battle. People at that level would be out of jail quickly or replaced even quicker.

"Oh sheesh, well then maybe I should order before you get there."

He'd say it with a laugh, and it was a joke, but only a little. His stomach growled to remind him that he was indeed pretty hungry, and while he didn't have to come back to life today, all of his healing took a lot out of him. He'd nod in understanding when she said she needed to head home to change, that was fair. And he wouldn't want her identity to get blown because she was afraid of offending him. So he'd give her directions to their destination and he'd just head off on foot while she did her thing.

By the time she'd arrive he'd be standing outside, back against the wall with his right foot propped up. He was glancing around at the street and then back to his phone as he texted. Just some small talk with old friends, trying to keep in contact. It was weird still, both because of what he was doing now, and because they all knew he'd died. They were still his friends, probably always would be. But things just were not the same. There was a distance between them now, because they were not the same, or rather, he wasn't. Whether that was just something his friends percieved and he didn't, or a fact that he was oblivious to he couldn't say. But the distance was painful, even if they were all trying to pretend it didn't exist.

"Oh hey!" He'd say when Alice waved him down, he'd slide the phone back into his pocket and extend a hand toward her.

"Nice to meet you, Alice." He'd say with a firm nod and shake before stepping back, still feeling the discomfort from his text conversation. "So this is the place. Chungs." He'd motion to the small little place. It was a little place tucked into the corner of the building, from the window you could see a couple of workers cooking up meat and serving customers food into styrofoam boxes. As for seating, there was a counter and two tables. One of which was taken. He thought it had a certain charm to it though. Even if it wasn't much to look at.

"You hungry then?" He'd ask, opening the door and holding it to allow her to enter first. He'd follow right behind. The small bell that rang when they entered caused one of the men to look up and move to the counter. Jim for his part would step up, figuring Alice might need a moment to decide what she wanted, he was a creature of habit and he'd get the same thing he always did.

"Uh hi, can I please get a Chicken Terriaki with no veggies extra rice?" He'd ask the man at the counter as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet, turning his head to glance back at Alice. "My treat so just get what sounds good to you."

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + @jim + wearing

It was true, Alice had mused on her way back towards Jim. What Heroes did mostly was deal with surface crime, the stuff that stuck out, that people noticed. They rarely, if ever, dealt with the deeper aspects of crime. It was great to interrupt a shipment of human beings, but they would probably never meet the person who had given the order in the first place. Heroes weren't detectives, it wasn't their job to track down criminal masterminds, just bring them in if they happened to be metahuman. It was frustrating, but there was little she could do. Her priority was saving lives, she couldn't take a step back from that to hunt down some evil-doer in their lair. She shook his hand, faintly amused by the gesture, it seemed oddly formal considering that less than an hour ago they had been beating the crap out of a group of thugs together. But then what else were they supposed to do? Alice wasn't exactly an expert on meeting new people, although she was always happy to. Dominic seemed to be the genius at getting things just right. "This place looks great." The description hole was right, it was clearly some kind of takeaway establishment, with only two tables, and those bolted into the floor. It was exactly the kind of place that Alice would seek out. She loved gourmet food, and dreamed of one day being a gourmet cook, but there was something about the tiny places that just made food for the love of it. Plus it meant she could actually afford to eat there. That was hardly an issue any more, but old habits die hard, and Alice was genetically predisposed to being frugal. "I'm pretty much always hungry, work outs" She winked surreptitiously at him, then realised what any bystander might think of that and blushed. "Ummmm… always make me hungry." She waved a hand, extracting her purse from her bag. She appreciated the offer, but she had spent far too much time feeling guilty when other people bought her food and scraping by when they didn't that she wasn't going to let him pay for her. "It's fine, I got it, I spent far too much time not being able to afford stuff to give up now that I actually can." "Teriyaki beef yakisoba please. And I'll have his veg as well." She smiled infectiously. It was hard work maintaining the image she had, and the strength training she did necessitated certain foods, still, she was in another city, it was kind of like a holiday. Once they had their food they went to sit and the one remaining unoccupied table. Alice took a careful taste, not because she was worried, but because she wanted to enjoy this. "Mmmmmf" She said through a mouthful of food, "This shit is good."

© seadra of gs