The Date

[Veiled Malice]

Lynn's laughter was music to Ren's ears. After her blow up outside, he had been worried the rest of the date would be colored by it. But "forgive and forget" seemed to be her motto. If only he could say the same... "Well, I try," he said with a smile after she'd straightened up some. Then he stroked a non-existent beard and looked thoughtful. "The pleasing of young ladies is the highest feat one can hope to attain, after all."

The Art Deco, while being mostly out of his range of cultural experience, was not lost on Ren. It felt quite cozy actually, not hard and artificial like most modern technology. A bygone era of form taking precedence over function, he supposed. Or perhaps more accurately, form and function working hand in hand, rather than one being a byproduct of efficiency. The model trains were a nice touch, though.

For the meal, Ren decided to go big. His food budget was nearly unlimited as he didn't really need to eat, so he got the Metropolis steak with a side of fries. To drink, he started out looking at the alcoholic beverages, (he'd always wanted to try something outside of sake) but didn't remember what the drinking age was in the US. So instead, he simply went with a shake as well.

"The weird thing is, I was a really good crook for the better part of last year; I was making money hand over fist." She snaps her fingers with a flick of a wrist. "Setting up marks and knocking them down." She shrugs and sinks back into the red leather. "Sad to say, my first instinct once I got my powers was to rip off rich guys. Now, I'm almost as bad a crimefighter as you are a crook." She raises up her water glass once the busboy sets them out. "To doing the right thing, no matter how much you suck!"

"Kampai!" he said in salute, raising his glass. "So you were a naughty villain type like me, huh? Sure you don't wanna go back to that? You might find it's very fulfilling," he said with an insincere smile on his face. "Yeah, right." He sipped his water, then swirled it about some, looking into the translucent liquid. "I just got more and more depressed when I was doing the villain thing. I felt like a prostitute, selling out to the highest bidder. Morals, interestingly enough, kept getting in the way."

"I couldn't be that guy - you know, the one that leaves his conscience on the wayside while he goes and does what the job requires." He set his glass back down and shrugged. "Maybe it would have been easier if I could." Ren suddenly perked up and gazed happily over the table. "But then I wouldn't have met you."

"Okay, but it's your turn now. Tell me who you are, and don't leave out any details," he finished with a wry grin.

[Veiled Malice]

Lynn's laughter was music to Ren's ears. After her blow up outside, he had been worried the rest of the date would be colored by it. But "forgive and forget" seemed to be her motto. If only he could say the same... "Well, I try," he said with a smile after she'd straightened up some. Then he stroked a non-existent beard and looked thoughtful. "The pleasing of young ladies is the highest feat one can hope to attain, after all."

The Art Deco, while being mostly out of his range of cultural experience, was not lost on Ren. It felt quite cozy actually, not hard and artificial like most modern technology. A bygone era of form taking precedence over function, he supposed. Or perhaps more accurately, form and function working hand in hand, rather than one being a byproduct of efficiency. The model trains were a nice touch, though.

For the meal, Ren decided to go big. His food budget was nearly unlimited as he didn't really need to eat, so he got the Metropolis steak with a side of fries. To drink, he started out looking at the alcoholic beverages, (he'd always wanted to try something outside of sake) but didn't remember what the drinking age was in the US. So instead, he simply went with a shake as well.

"The weird thing is, I was a really good crook for the better part of last year; I was making money hand over fist." She snaps her fingers with a flick of a wrist. "Setting up marks and knocking them down." She shrugs and sinks back into the red leather. "Sad to say, my first instinct once I got my powers was to rip off rich guys. Now, I'm almost as bad a crimefighter as you are a crook." She raises up her water glass once the busboy sets them out. "To doing the right thing, no matter how much you suck!"

"Kampai!" he said in salute, raising his glass. "So you were a naughty villain type like me, huh? Sure you don't wanna go back to that? You might find it's very fulfilling," he said with an insincere smile on his face. "Yeah, right." He sipped his water, then swirled it about some, looking into the translucent liquid. "I just got more and more depressed when I was doing the villain thing. I felt like a prostitute, selling out to the highest bidder. Morals, interestingly enough, kept getting in the way."

"I couldn't be that guy - you know, the one that leaves his conscience on the wayside while he goes and does what the job requires." He set his glass back down and shrugged. "Maybe it would have been easier if I could." Ren suddenly perked up and gazed happily over the table. "But then I wouldn't have met you."

"Okay, but it's your turn now. Tell me who you are, and don't leave out any details," he finished with a wry grin.

[Heritage]

Lynn'"Okay, but it's your turn now. Tell me who you are, and don't leave out any details," he finished with a wry grin.

"Oh, is that how it is?" Lynn attempts to hide behind her coffee cup, but as small as she is, she's still too big; she takes a sip and puts it down, slouches down a bit in her seat and places her hands on the table, arms spread wide.

"Okay, so, me in a nutshell. Born June 17, 1988 in Ventnor City, New Jersey. My family belonged to Congregation Beth Judah, a nice Conservative temple, even after we moved out of Ventnor and into the boonies. I have an older brother Ben, who is almost five years older than me, and a sister named Eddi who is three years older. Ben went to NYU law school and lives in New York; Eddi got knocked up by her abusive ex-boyfriend, and now lives with her baby in the same trailer park as my mom and dad.'

She drums on the table with her palms and looks out the window.

"What else, what else...oh, my dad was a forklift operator at this warehouse, and one day a whole rack of pallets collapsed, crushing his spine and leaving him just short of paralyzed."

Lynn holds her water glass between her hands, rolling it back and forth with her palms as she watches the water ripple.

"Five operations later, he can barely walk with a cane and is pretty much addicted to painkillers; we lose the house due to medical bills, and end up moving out to Tilton Terrace, a really crappy trailer park out by the Atlantic City Airport."

She looks up into Ren's face, her own a mixture of nostalgia, humor and pain.

"Not very good for the sleeping, y'know? Pretty much need to have headphones on if you want to catch any winks; if someone broke your headphones, it was a big deal. That was a declaration of war."

The waitress comes by and freshens up the coffee; Lynn thanks her, adds a ton more sugar and half-and-half, and continues.

"So after we move out to Tilton, life sucks; I can't even begin to describe it. Ben is totally focused on his schoolwork, determined to just get the hell out of there. Eddi decides to become the world's biggest slut; I think she could have gone pro if she had the right trainer."

Lynn stops and looks out the window for what seems like a really long time.

"Me, I get mouthy; that kinda thing gets you hit. A lot."

She turns back to Ren, and her tears get caught in the headlights of a passing cab; she's smiling, but it's not the healthy kind, more like a grimace.

"No one gets to see the scars, unless I let them."

She starts to hold out her right arm, stops herself, and then after a few seconds holds it out again, resting in on the table like a medical specimen. First the sleeve of her coat melts away into thin gray vapor, and then the scars blossom on her unmarked pale skin like stains spreading through a towel: jagged lines of shiny pink, tight clusters of cigarette burns, and near the crook of her elbow, a maze of needle marks. Almost as soon as they manifest, they disappear back into the milky smoothness like drowned islands of pain. Her sleeve reappears and she snatches back her arm, and holds herself tightly.

"That's all you get for today." After a few moments, she relaxes a bit, and even smiles as she wipes her tears away. "Okay, enough melodrama, I went on way too long; back to you now."

[Heritage]

Lynn'"Okay, but it's your turn now. Tell me who you are, and don't leave out any details," he finished with a wry grin.

"Oh, is that how it is?" Lynn attempts to hide behind her coffee cup, but as small as she is, she's still too big; she takes a sip and puts it down, slouches down a bit in her seat and places her hands on the table, arms spread wide.

"Okay, so, me in a nutshell. Born June 17, 1988 in Ventnor City, New Jersey. My family belonged to Congregation Beth Judah, a nice Conservative temple, even after we moved out of Ventnor and into the boonies. I have an older brother Ben, who is almost five years older than me, and a sister named Eddi who is three years older. Ben went to NYU law school and lives in New York; Eddi got knocked up by her abusive ex-boyfriend, and now lives with her baby in the same trailer park as my mom and dad.'

She drums on the table with her palms and looks out the window.

"What else, what else...oh, my dad was a forklift operator at this warehouse, and one day a whole rack of pallets collapsed, crushing his spine and leaving him just short of paralyzed."

Lynn holds her water glass between her hands, rolling it back and forth with her palms as she watches the water ripple.

"Five operations later, he can barely walk with a cane and is pretty much addicted to painkillers; we lose the house due to medical bills, and end up moving out to Tilton Terrace, a really crappy trailer park out by the Atlantic City Airport."

She looks up into Ren's face, her own a mixture of nostalgia, humor and pain.

"Not very good for the sleeping, y'know? Pretty much need to have headphones on if you want to catch any winks; if someone broke your headphones, it was a big deal. That was a declaration of war."

The waitress comes by and freshens up the coffee; Lynn thanks her, adds a ton more sugar and half-and-half, and continues.

"So after we move out to Tilton, life sucks; I can't even begin to describe it. Ben is totally focused on his schoolwork, determined to just get the hell out of there. Eddi decides to become the world's biggest slut; I think she could have gone pro if she had the right trainer."

Lynn stops and looks out the window for what seems like a really long time.

"Me, I get mouthy; that kinda thing gets you hit. A lot."

She turns back to Ren, and her tears get caught in the headlights of a passing cab; she's smiling, but it's not the healthy kind, more like a grimace.

"No one gets to see the scars, unless I let them."

She starts to hold out her right arm, stops herself, and then after a few seconds holds it out again, resting in on the table like a medical specimen. First the sleeve of her coat melts away into thin gray vapor, and then the scars blossom on her unmarked pale skin like stains spreading through a towel: jagged lines of shiny pink, tight clusters of cigarette burns, and near the crook of her elbow, a maze of needle marks. Almost as soon as they manifest, they disappear back into the milky smoothness like drowned islands of pain. Her sleeve reappears and she snatches back her arm, and holds herself tightly.

"That's all you get for today." After a few moments, she relaxes a bit, and even smiles as she wipes her tears away. "Okay, enough melodrama, I went on way too long; back to you now."

[Veiled Malice]

He'd seen them before; the scars. On the arms, legs, and backs of the kids he'd been looking after in Keihanshin. Each one came with it's own story. "I did bad on a test," said Keichi, showing off a discolored portion of skin where a contusion hadn't healed right. "I didn't listen fast enough," said Hohiro, lifting up his shirt so they could see were a hot iron had been applied to his back. "I said no," Kimiko said. No one asked to see where she had been hurt.

It was the same here, a kind of detached horror as Lynn showed her deepest shame. No one who was abused treated their scars the way a soldier coming back from war would; showing them off to get sympathy or a little bit better chance to score with the opposite sex. They felt like it had been their fault they had gotten them, almost without exception. It didn't make it easier to bare for Ren that he'd enticed her into displaying them for him to see.

"I'm sorry," he said in a hollow voice. He couldn't even meet her eyes.

"That's all you get for today." After a few moments, she relaxes a bit, and even smiles as she wipes her tears away. "Okay, enough melodrama, I went on way too long; back to you now."

"Only more melodrama to hear from me," Ren said, his voice a little shaky after all that. The water helps some, but not much. Idly, he wondered how long it would take for their food to get there. "Idyllic. I guess that's how you'd describe my life up 'till a year ago. Born same year as you, actually. November 17th in Osaka, Japan. Smart kid, only child in a well-off family. So I got spoiled rotten, see?" He grinned lopsidedly, a half hearted attempt to lift his own spirits.

"Great family life, great friends, great schools. Wanna kick my ass yet, or should I keep going?"

He shook his head and looked outside. It had started to rain, a slight patter of water falling against the window, blurring the view to the outside. The people looked like they would in a funhouse mirror; all deformed and misshapen.

"I got into like the third best high school in all of Japan. At that point, as long as you don't seriously screw up, you're done. All you have to do is get through your slog there, and get into college. Your future is almost assured after that. I had it all, too: extracurriculars, clubs, president of the student union, treasurer of blah blah blah. I got my admission into Tokyo University the day before..." He trailed off.

The waitress came back around and topped off their waters and handed out the drinks.

Ren eyed his shake, but didn't pick it up. "You ever have an epiphany? A life altering experience all condensed into a few moments? I did. I was in my science club meeting, nothing special going on, and then..." He made a gun with his hand, pointed it at the shake, then dropped his thumb. "Bang."

"I realized I was set. Someone would hire me straight out of college, put me in a high rise and give me tens of millions of yen per year to sit on my ass and kiss butt for the rest of my life. All I would have to do is keep my head down and do whatever the people above me wanted me to do. Eventually, I would be one of those people. I could look forward to bossing around the peons under me and get the kind of treatment I deserved."

Scooping up his shake finally, he took a big slug off of it and nodded approvingly. "'S good." Ren set the glass down and cupped it with both hands. "And that's when it happened. Maybe it was my fault, I dunno how these things work, but I started absorbing everything in the lab. Just drawing it into myself with those silver nanomachines you saw."

"I was screaming, I remember that much," he said in a strangely detached tone. "It's all kind of a blur now, just silver wires and things disintigrating around me. I don't even remember walking out of there. The next thing I knew, I was stumbling up the steps of my house."

The rain started coming down harder, the pattering against the glass and street becoming more insistant. "I took everything I had and left. It wasn't... I guess I wasn't thinking beyond getting away. Maybe it wasn't even because of the machine thing. Maybe I just wanted to leave. But afterwards... well, it was too late. I was on he run for destroying part of the building."

Finally the food arrived, and Ren cut off his speech while the waitress laid out Lynn's club sandwich and his steak. He managed a genuine smile and thanked her, then looked back at Lynn. "There's... there's more than that, but I'm kinda hungry." A lie. "You mind if we brighten up the mood some?"

"I want to know about your powers," he said with a grin while cutting up his steak. "I mean, does it feel weird, shifting about like that?"

[Veiled Malice]

He'd seen them before; the scars. On the arms, legs, and backs of the kids he'd been looking after in Keihanshin. Each one came with it's own story. "I did bad on a test," said Keichi, showing off a discolored portion of skin where a contusion hadn't healed right. "I didn't listen fast enough," said Hohiro, lifting up his shirt so they could see were a hot iron had been applied to his back. "I said no," Kimiko said. No one asked to see where she had been hurt.

It was the same here, a kind of detached horror as Lynn showed her deepest shame. No one who was abused treated their scars the way a soldier coming back from war would; showing them off to get sympathy or a little bit better chance to score with the opposite sex. They felt like it had been their fault they had gotten them, almost without exception. It didn't make it easier to bare for Ren that he'd enticed her into displaying them for him to see.

"I'm sorry," he said in a hollow voice. He couldn't even meet her eyes.

"That's all you get for today." After a few moments, she relaxes a bit, and even smiles as she wipes her tears away. "Okay, enough melodrama, I went on way too long; back to you now."

"Only more melodrama to hear from me," Ren said, his voice a little shaky after all that. The water helps some, but not much. Idly, he wondered how long it would take for their food to get there. "Idyllic. I guess that's how you'd describe my life up 'till a year ago. Born same year as you, actually. November 17th in Osaka, Japan. Smart kid, only child in a well-off family. So I got spoiled rotten, see?" He grinned lopsidedly, a half hearted attempt to lift his own spirits.

"Great family life, great friends, great schools. Wanna kick my ass yet, or should I keep going?"

He shook his head and looked outside. It had started to rain, a slight patter of water falling against the window, blurring the view to the outside. The people looked like they would in a funhouse mirror; all deformed and misshapen.

"I got into like the third best high school in all of Japan. At that point, as long as you don't seriously screw up, you're done. All you have to do is get through your slog there, and get into college. Your future is almost assured after that. I had it all, too: extracurriculars, clubs, president of the student union, treasurer of blah blah blah. I got my admission into Tokyo University the day before..." He trailed off.

The waitress came back around and topped off their waters and handed out the drinks.

Ren eyed his shake, but didn't pick it up. "You ever have an epiphany? A life altering experience all condensed into a few moments? I did. I was in my science club meeting, nothing special going on, and then..." He made a gun with his hand, pointed it at the shake, then dropped his thumb. "Bang."

"I realized I was set. Someone would hire me straight out of college, put me in a high rise and give me tens of millions of yen per year to sit on my ass and kiss butt for the rest of my life. All I would have to do is keep my head down and do whatever the people above me wanted me to do. Eventually, I would be one of those people. I could look forward to bossing around the peons under me and get the kind of treatment I deserved."

Scooping up his shake finally, he took a big slug off of it and nodded approvingly. "'S good." Ren set the glass down and cupped it with both hands. "And that's when it happened. Maybe it was my fault, I dunno how these things work, but I started absorbing everything in the lab. Just drawing it into myself with those silver nanomachines you saw."

"I was screaming, I remember that much," he said in a strangely detached tone. "It's all kind of a blur now, just silver wires and things disintigrating around me. I don't even remember walking out of there. The next thing I knew, I was stumbling up the steps of my house."

The rain started coming down harder, the pattering against the glass and street becoming more insistant. "I took everything I had and left. It wasn't... I guess I wasn't thinking beyond getting away. Maybe it wasn't even because of the machine thing. Maybe I just wanted to leave. But afterwards... well, it was too late. I was on he run for destroying part of the building."

Finally the food arrived, and Ren cut off his speech while the waitress laid out Lynn's club sandwich and his steak. He managed a genuine smile and thanked her, then looked back at Lynn. "There's... there's more than that, but I'm kinda hungry." A lie. "You mind if we brighten up the mood some?"

"I want to know about your powers," he said with a grin while cutting up his steak. "I mean, does it feel weird, shifting about like that?"

[Heritage]

The rain started coming down harder, the pattering against the glass and street becoming more insistent. "I took everything I had and left. It wasn't... I guess I wasn't thinking beyond getting away. Maybe it wasn't even because of the machine thing. Maybe I just wanted to leave. But afterwards... well, it was too late. I was on he run for destroying part of the building."

Lynn reaches across the table and gives Ren's hand a little squeeze. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad about your happy childhood; the important thing is, you ended up a basketcase, like me." She gives him a goofy smile. "I can't stand happy, well-adjusted people; they give me the creeps." She shudders and makes a face.

Finally the food arrived, and Ren cut off his speech while the waitress laid out Lynn's club sandwich and his steak. He managed a genuine smile and thanked her, then looked back at Lynn. "There's... there's more than that, but I'm kinda hungry." A lie. "You mind if we brighten up the mood some?"

"I want to know about your powers," he said with a grin while cutting up his steak. "I mean, does it feel weird, shifting about like that?"

She takes a big bite out of her club, chews it thoughtfully, then shrugs as she speaks with her mouth full. "You know, you'd think it would be, but it's not." She swallows and looks apologetic. "Sorry. No, it feels like breathing, like I could always do it. The first morning, after...whatever happened to me, I wake up in the alley buck naked, no ID, no nothing; it's the middle of winter, and I feel fine. Now, once I realize this is not one of those nightmares you sometimes have about being naked in public, I scramble into a dark corner, desperately wishing I had some clothes, and then 'poof!", they appear! Exactly the clothes I had on when I crawled into the alley that night."

She takes a big sip of her malt, then wipes her mouth before continuing.

"So now, I go from having only the clothes I have on my back to having any outfit I want, like I was given a magic MasterCard or something. Here, check this out." She grins mischievously as she starts to unbutton her coat. "You're gonna like this." When she opens her coat, she is now wearing a black T-shirt, nearly identical to the one Ren's wearing, except it says 'Vigilantes Do It In The Dark'; she laughs and shakes her head. "I mean, isn't that frickin' awesome? The money I save on laundry alone makes it the best birthday gift ever."

She gobbles up a few fries, then points at Ren with one of them.

"So what's the craziest thing you ever did with your powers? Nothing horrible, just, y'know, weird or bizzare."

[Heritage]

The rain started coming down harder, the pattering against the glass and street becoming more insistent. "I took everything I had and left. It wasn't... I guess I wasn't thinking beyond getting away. Maybe it wasn't even because of the machine thing. Maybe I just wanted to leave. But afterwards... well, it was too late. I was on he run for destroying part of the building."

Lynn reaches across the table and gives Ren's hand a little squeeze. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad about your happy childhood; the important thing is, you ended up a basketcase, like me." She gives him a goofy smile. "I can't stand happy, well-adjusted people; they give me the creeps." She shudders and makes a face.

Finally the food arrived, and Ren cut off his speech while the waitress laid out Lynn's club sandwich and his steak. He managed a genuine smile and thanked her, then looked back at Lynn. "There's... there's more than that, but I'm kinda hungry." A lie. "You mind if we brighten up the mood some?"

"I want to know about your powers," he said with a grin while cutting up his steak. "I mean, does it feel weird, shifting about like that?"

She takes a big bite out of her club, chews it thoughtfully, then shrugs as she speaks with her mouth full. "You know, you'd think it would be, but it's not." She swallows and looks apologetic. "Sorry. No, it feels like breathing, like I could always do it. The first morning, after...whatever happened to me, I wake up in the alley buck naked, no ID, no nothing; it's the middle of winter, and I feel fine. Now, once I realize this is not one of those nightmares you sometimes have about being naked in public, I scramble into a dark corner, desperately wishing I had some clothes, and then 'poof!", they appear! Exactly the clothes I had on when I crawled into the alley that night."

She takes a big sip of her malt, then wipes her mouth before continuing.

"So now, I go from having only the clothes I have on my back to having any outfit I want, like I was given a magic MasterCard or something. Here, check this out." She grins mischievously as she starts to unbutton her coat. "You're gonna like this." When she opens her coat, she is now wearing a black T-shirt, nearly identical to the one Ren's wearing, except it says 'Vigilantes Do It In The Dark'; she laughs and shakes her head. "I mean, isn't that frickin' awesome? The money I save on laundry alone makes it the best birthday gift ever."

She gobbles up a few fries, then points at Ren with one of them.

"So what's the craziest thing you ever did with your powers? Nothing horrible, just, y'know, weird or bizzare."

[Veiled Malice]

"Niiice," Ren drawls after the demonstration of Lynn's powers. And here he had to get his made up custom and everything.

She gobbles up a few fries, then points at Ren with one of them.

"So what's the craziest thing you ever did with your powers? Nothing horrible, just, y'know, weird or bizarre."

"Weird or bizarre, huh?" Ren hunched over his steak and slipped a few pieces into his mouth while he thought. "The first time I manifested my armor. Though it was horrible at the time. I thought I was going to die. Arms and legs just aren't supposed to... come off like that."

The rain had let up some, and the headlights of the passing cars danced in the window while tracing shadowy patterns on Ren's face.

"I was experimenting, you know, with my powers. I wanted to know exactly what I had gotten myself into. At first, it was really just me absorbing more crap. A junkyard's good for that kind of thing. The only things I could hold onto were machines, though. Something about them made them either to assimilate with my body. The more complex, the better. And after a while, I got... well, I guess "full" is the best way to describe it. It wasn't like an uncomfortable sensation, but a weird pressure under my skin... like something was trying to get out."

He visibly shuddered. "I pushed it farther than I should have. Already full and I tried for more. A car, if you can believe it." Ren looked down at his steak, which only had a few small pieces taken out of it, and grimaced. "Kinda tough, but I suppose I'm not one to talk. I eat metal, after all."

"Anyway, the car. It didn't go the way I thought it was going to, like I'd take whatever I needed and leave the rest behind. But instead of that, the entire thing liquefied and started condensing around me. That silvery stuff was everywhere again, and... and then my arms..." He rubbed his shoulder and made a face. "It's not easy to get used to. It doesn't feel like they go anywhere, and there's no pain, but still... I mean, if your arms popped off, even if it didn't hurt, wouldn't you freak out?"

"So there I am, covered in armor I apparently created with my mind, seeing out through some sort of visual faz sense, trying not to piss myself in terror." Ren chuckled with genuine mirth. "It's actually pretty funny now, looking back. Not so much at the time, but you know how that is, waking up in an alley like that. Anyway, that's when I learned about the rest of my powers - flight, strength, big guns, all the kinda stuff otaku like me get excited over." Strange how talking about it with Lynn made it seem better somehow. If he'd gotten his powers some other way, would he have so much trepidation over using them?

"Now I turn it over to you again. How'd you stumble into crime fighting? The way you made it sound, you started off as a mean n' nasty villain type."

[Veiled Malice]

"Niiice," Ren drawls after the demonstration of Lynn's powers. And here he had to get his made up custom and everything.

She gobbles up a few fries, then points at Ren with one of them.

"So what's the craziest thing you ever did with your powers? Nothing horrible, just, y'know, weird or bizarre."

"Weird or bizarre, huh?" Ren hunched over his steak and slipped a few pieces into his mouth while he thought. "The first time I manifested my armor. Though it was horrible at the time. I thought I was going to die. Arms and legs just aren't supposed to... come off like that."

The rain had let up some, and the headlights of the passing cars danced in the window while tracing shadowy patterns on Ren's face.

"I was experimenting, you know, with my powers. I wanted to know exactly what I had gotten myself into. At first, it was really just me absorbing more crap. A junkyard's good for that kind of thing. The only things I could hold onto were machines, though. Something about them made them either to assimilate with my body. The more complex, the better. And after a while, I got... well, I guess "full" is the best way to describe it. It wasn't like an uncomfortable sensation, but a weird pressure under my skin... like something was trying to get out."

He visibly shuddered. "I pushed it farther than I should have. Already full and I tried for more. A car, if you can believe it." Ren looked down at his steak, which only had a few small pieces taken out of it, and grimaced. "Kinda tough, but I suppose I'm not one to talk. I eat metal, after all."

"Anyway, the car. It didn't go the way I thought it was going to, like I'd take whatever I needed and leave the rest behind. But instead of that, the entire thing liquefied and started condensing around me. That silvery stuff was everywhere again, and... and then my arms..." He rubbed his shoulder and made a face. "It's not easy to get used to. It doesn't feel like they go anywhere, and there's no pain, but still... I mean, if your arms popped off, even if it didn't hurt, wouldn't you freak out?"

"So there I am, covered in armor I apparently created with my mind, seeing out through some sort of visual faz sense, trying not to piss myself in terror." Ren chuckled with genuine mirth. "It's actually pretty funny now, looking back. Not so much at the time, but you know how that is, waking up in an alley like that. Anyway, that's when I learned about the rest of my powers - flight, strength, big guns, all the kinda stuff otaku like me get excited over." Strange how talking about it with Lynn made it seem better somehow. If he'd gotten his powers some other way, would he have so much trepidation over using them?

"Now I turn it over to you again. How'd you stumble into crime fighting? The way you made it sound, you started off as a mean n' nasty villain type."

[Heritage]

"Now I turn it over to you again. How'd you stumble into crime fighting? The way you made it sound, you started off as a mean n' nasty villain type."

This makes Lynn laugh, unfortunately just as she's taking a big gulp of her malt, which apparently goes up her nose; after much spluttering and napkin usage, she regains most of her composure, though some giggles remain.

'"Mean and nasty?' Hardly; well maybe mean, but mostly 'selfish and petty'. The first thing I started did was go into a fancy restaurant, order a huge meal, and then disappear without paying."

She laughs and wiggles her finger in a menacing fashion.

"Ooh, how diabolical! I did that for about a month, never hitting the same place twice; I was always nice to the waiters, asked lots of questions, and actually kind of learned a lot, y'know about food and who waiters are nice to, that sort of thing."

The former bad girl chews another bite of her club, and then points at Ren's steak. "Can I try some of that? You can have a bite outta mine; the veggie bacon is pretty tasty, actually."

After food has been exchanged, she continues. "After that got boring, I started hanging out in nightclubs, getting free drinks and, um, meeting people." She holds up her hands. "I know what you're thinkin', but I was always careful; I didn't want to ruin all this with any, y'know, complications."

Now she sighs and looks down at her plate. "And then it hit me, my great scam: I would set up lots of free internet accounts under different identities, join all the online dating services I could, and then started looking for marks." Lynn rolls her eyes and looks of into space. "Petty and horrible; I targeted rich guys, went out on a date of two, maybe more, and then as soon as we ended up at their place, I would slip out of bed, rob them while they slept and make my escape. A few times I would take credit cards, but mostly I grabbed cash and small valuables; sometimes I would leave the building disguised as the guy so I could leave with like a nice CD player or something. I used fences all over town, different faces and whatnot, and made a nice amount of cash."

She buries her face in her hands, clearly ashamed. "I didn't always rob them, like if they were nice and all; a few I dated for a month or two, sometimes at the same time, and one I was with for six months." She takes her face out of her hands and looks a bit wistful. "His name was Terry; I think he would have married me if I let him, but I knew I was bad news, so I cut out before he had a chance."

There is clearly a lot of regret here, and it takes Lynn a while to regain her focus. "Oh, so fighting crime; right around the holidays, I'm on a date with a nice-ish guy, not Terry-nice, but he'll do, and we've just seen a show north of Broadway, not far from my place in the Fens; we're on our way to this jazz club or something, when I hear this, y'know, struggle off in the alley. Nice Guy can't hear it, he's got normal hearing, but I insist we check it out."

The memory is obviously uncomfortable, and it takes a while for her to get to the next part; Lynn starts twisting a napkin into all kinds of random shapes.

"He follows me down the alley, cellphone in hand, as I follow the sounds, and we round a corner and this guy is...forcing himself on this girl, and he's got his hand over her mouth, so only someone like me can hear her. He's holding a knife-" Lynn takes her knife off the table and holds it to her own throat. "Like this, with his free hand, and his pants are down-" A pause of several seconds, eyes shut tightly to keep the images back. "Nice Guy panics, and he screams...the knife-"

She drops her own knife and covers her eyes with her hands. "God, why are all my stories so horrible?" She laughs a bit, wipes her eyes and shakes her head. "The psycho runs, I try to chase him, but Nice Guy grabs me, and I almost rip off his head for that. 'This is a job for the police,' he says, and calls 911 on his phone." Lynn laughs bitterly. "The police show up, and they're next to useless, and clearly don't care all that much about a dead hooker; I try to describe how the guy smells, which was really distinct, some sort of imported aftershave, and they look at me like I'm nuts. 'Go home,' they say."

Her voice goes cold as steel. "I went home, alright, after I found Mr. Aftershave." She takes a few moments to compose herself, then gives Rena weird sickly grin. “So, another fun story from the adventures of Grim.†She pops another fry into her mouth and chews it noisily. “So, you and crime; how’d that happen?â€Â

[Heritage]

"Now I turn it over to you again. How'd you stumble into crime fighting? The way you made it sound, you started off as a mean n' nasty villain type."

This makes Lynn laugh, unfortunately just as she's taking a big gulp of her malt, which apparently goes up her nose; after much spluttering and napkin usage, she regains most of her composure, though some giggles remain.

'"Mean and nasty?' Hardly; well maybe mean, but mostly 'selfish and petty'. The first thing I started did was go into a fancy restaurant, order a huge meal, and then disappear without paying."

She laughs and wiggles her finger in a menacing fashion.

"Ooh, how diabolical! I did that for about a month, never hitting the same place twice; I was always nice to the waiters, asked lots of questions, and actually kind of learned a lot, y'know about food and who waiters are nice to, that sort of thing."

The former bad girl chews another bite of her club, and then points at Ren's steak. "Can I try some of that? You can have a bite outta mine; the veggie bacon is pretty tasty, actually."

After food has been exchanged, she continues. "After that got boring, I started hanging out in nightclubs, getting free drinks and, um, meeting people." She holds up her hands. "I know what you're thinkin', but I was always careful; I didn't want to ruin all this with any, y'know, complications."

Now she sighs and looks down at her plate. "And then it hit me, my great scam: I would set up lots of free internet accounts under different identities, join all the online dating services I could, and then started looking for marks." Lynn rolls her eyes and looks of into space. "Petty and horrible; I targeted rich guys, went out on a date of two, maybe more, and then as soon as we ended up at their place, I would slip out of bed, rob them while they slept and make my escape. A few times I would take credit cards, but mostly I grabbed cash and small valuables; sometimes I would leave the building disguised as the guy so I could leave with like a nice CD player or something. I used fences all over town, different faces and whatnot, and made a nice amount of cash."

She buries her face in her hands, clearly ashamed. "I didn't always rob them, like if they were nice and all; a few I dated for a month or two, sometimes at the same time, and one I was with for six months." She takes her face out of her hands and looks a bit wistful. "His name was Terry; I think he would have married me if I let him, but I knew I was bad news, so I cut out before he had a chance."

There is clearly a lot of regret here, and it takes Lynn a while to regain her focus. "Oh, so fighting crime; right around the holidays, I'm on a date with a nice-ish guy, not Terry-nice, but he'll do, and we've just seen a show north of Broadway, not far from my place in the Fens; we're on our way to this jazz club or something, when I hear this, y'know, struggle off in the alley. Nice Guy can't hear it, he's got normal hearing, but I insist we check it out."

The memory is obviously uncomfortable, and it takes a while for her to get to the next part; Lynn starts twisting a napkin into all kinds of random shapes.

"He follows me down the alley, cellphone in hand, as I follow the sounds, and we round a corner and this guy is...forcing himself on this girl, and he's got his hand over her mouth, so only someone like me can hear her. He's holding a knife-" Lynn takes her knife off the table and holds it to her own throat. "Like this, with his free hand, and his pants are down-" A pause of several seconds, eyes shut tightly to keep the images back. "Nice Guy panics, and he screams...the knife-"

She drops her own knife and covers her eyes with her hands. "God, why are all my stories so horrible?" She laughs a bit, wipes her eyes and shakes her head. "The psycho runs, I try to chase him, but Nice Guy grabs me, and I almost rip off his head for that. 'This is a job for the police,' he says, and calls 911 on his phone." Lynn laughs bitterly. "The police show up, and they're next to useless, and clearly don't care all that much about a dead hooker; I try to describe how the guy smells, which was really distinct, some sort of imported aftershave, and they look at me like I'm nuts. 'Go home,' they say."

Her voice goes cold as steel. "I went home, alright, after I found Mr. Aftershave." She takes a few moments to compose herself, then gives Rena weird sickly grin. “So, another fun story from the adventures of Grim.†She pops another fry into her mouth and chews it noisily. “So, you and crime; how’d that happen?â€Â

[Veiled Malice]

Ren was somewhat surprised by Lynn's admission of her... experience. That hadn't even been something he'd thought of when he'd gone out with her. Of course, it wouldn't matter if she did have something. No organics meant no diseases could affect him. But he did find himself somewhat... turned off by the prospect that she'd been with so many other men.

But then the next part came up... more pain, more bad memories, one more little piece of the Lynn puzzle solved. But this one's a bit more hard-edged than even he was prepared for. The implication being that Lynn murdered someone hit Ren slightly harder than he was prepared for. He tried to cover it up by taking a couple of the fries that Lynn had offered, but he was fairly certain she'd caught a glimpse of distaste on his face before he could cover it up.

"Crime thing... right," he said, trying to get himself back on track. Damn, maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought to himself. "Well, it's mostly a continuation of the story from before. I'd been wandering around for almost six months when I stumbled across the Keihanshin Industrial Zone. A part of it is just one big junkyard, so I settled down there, mostly to feel sorry for myself. That's where I learned about my armor, by the way."

He looked back down at his steak, which by now had gotten much smaller, seemingly through osmosis. "Gettin' down there," he muttered as he slid another piece into his mouth. "Anyway, I stayed there all by my lonesome for that time, then a bunch of kids showed up. Weirdest thing. Ten homeless children - well, I guess they weren't all children, some of 'em were almost my age - showed up and tried to make themselves at home. Most of them were runaways, like me, getting away from their families."

He shook his head as the memories came back. "They had some stories to tell, none of them good. But back then I was more interested in myself, and I nearly told the lot to get lost." Ren shrugged. "Brooding for months on end by yourself will get you really bitter at the outside world."

"But there was this kid with them," Ren said, his eyes starting to sparkle with genuine happiness, "Tiny little runt, he was. Couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl at first. But he wasn't afraid of me. I was armored up, seven feet tall and ready to wreak havoc, and the kid stood up to me." He chuckled, now gesturing wildly with his hands. "Can you imagine it? This little kid had more balls than a legion of adults with guns would have had under the same circumstances. He actually told me that scaring people was wrong, and that I should be ashamed of myself."

"Took the wind right out of my sails," Ren said, calming down and poking at his steak a few more times. "I couldn't throw them out after that, so I reluctantly invited them in. Made a few more 'homey touches' with them there. They couldn't sleep in the same places I could, after all. That kid was always there, though. He idolized me for some strange reason." Perking up, Ren snapped his fingers. "Daisuke! Sorry, I forgot to tell you his name. Daisuke Seto."

"We lived there like the most dysfunctional family ever for three months. They fought about everything, I swear. Just like kids..." His voice trailed off at the end. Suddenly, he wasn't smiling anymore. A stone-faced expression replaced his former joyful one. "Then this... @$$hole showed up one day. Kamikaze, his name was. Couldn't forget it if I tried. He started pushing the kids around, scaring them, like it was all that hard to do to a couple of half-starved children."

"I was going to stay out of it," Ren said. His fist tightened around his glass. "The guy was just there for kicks. He'd leave after he'd had his fun. But Daisuke begged me. Told me that it was my duty... as a hero." He spat the last word as though it was a curse. "Hero. I didn't want to be one. I just wanted to be left alone. But I couldn't... I couldn't say no to him."

He looked out the window, as if there was something to see out there that would take him away from what came next. His left hand tightened and relaxed as he spoke again. "So I picked a fight. Me versus Kamikaze in a battle to determine who the bigger idiot was. We fought... for a while, and as we did... it was like a game to us. None of it mattered, not really, so we just... just smacked each other around for a while. It was like two buddies getting together after a long time. It was... unreal."

Ren closed his eyes and thumped his head into the window. "I don't know why I treated it that way; why he did too, but there it is." He sighed, seemingly tired. "But when two people that powerful 'play' like that, people around them get hurt."

"It was an accident," he said, suddenly rounding on Lynn. He scooped up her hands in his and leaned over the table so he was nearly in her face. His eyes were wide and desperate, like she needed his to believe what he was saying more than anything in the world. "I need you to understand that. I didn't mean it... didn't..." He slid his hands back. "I got scared. Kamikaze had hurt me for the first time, right here, over the shoulder," he pointed at the indicated area. "Threw a piece of rebar through my armor. It... hurt. For the first time since absorbing machines, something had hurt me."

"I didn't react well." Now Ren pulled back into himself, trying to become smaller. "I freaked out, nailed the guy hard... too hard. He was fine, just flew through the wall, but... the wall... the ceiling..." He looked at his hands. "It all fell down. Collapsed like a house of cards. But I saw... I finally saw..."

He looked back up at Lynn. His eyes were wide with horror. "They were there. They had been there the whole time, watching. The children. All of them... they were screaming... all but Daisuke. He was smiling at me. Smiling... through the tears. Then... the building..."

Ren stood up suddenly and looked around the restaurant desperately until he found what he had been looking for. "I'm sorry... I need to go..." Without so much as a word, he ran towards the bathroom, trying to hide his eyes from Lynn.

He couldn't even cry for the people he'd killed any more.

Ren burst into the bathroom and slammed the stall door behind him. Why had he done that? Why had he told her at all? He couldn't even cry for them. Couldn't give them the respect they deserved. He cradled his head in his hands. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

[Veiled Malice]

Ren was somewhat surprised by Lynn's admission of her... experience. That hadn't even been something he'd thought of when he'd gone out with her. Of course, it wouldn't matter if she did have something. No organics meant no diseases could affect him. But he did find himself somewhat... turned off by the prospect that she'd been with so many other men.

But then the next part came up... more pain, more bad memories, one more little piece of the Lynn puzzle solved. But this one's a bit more hard-edged than even he was prepared for. The implication being that Lynn murdered someone hit Ren slightly harder than he was prepared for. He tried to cover it up by taking a couple of the fries that Lynn had offered, but he was fairly certain she'd caught a glimpse of distaste on his face before he could cover it up.

"Crime thing... right," he said, trying to get himself back on track. Damn, maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought to himself. "Well, it's mostly a continuation of the story from before. I'd been wandering around for almost six months when I stumbled across the Keihanshin Industrial Zone. A part of it is just one big junkyard, so I settled down there, mostly to feel sorry for myself. That's where I learned about my armor, by the way."

He looked back down at his steak, which by now had gotten much smaller, seemingly through osmosis. "Gettin' down there," he muttered as he slid another piece into his mouth. "Anyway, I stayed there all by my lonesome for that time, then a bunch of kids showed up. Weirdest thing. Ten homeless children - well, I guess they weren't all children, some of 'em were almost my age - showed up and tried to make themselves at home. Most of them were runaways, like me, getting away from their families."

He shook his head as the memories came back. "They had some stories to tell, none of them good. But back then I was more interested in myself, and I nearly told the lot to get lost." Ren shrugged. "Brooding for months on end by yourself will get you really bitter at the outside world."

"But there was this kid with them," Ren said, his eyes starting to sparkle with genuine happiness, "Tiny little runt, he was. Couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl at first. But he wasn't afraid of me. I was armored up, seven feet tall and ready to wreak havoc, and the kid stood up to me." He chuckled, now gesturing wildly with his hands. "Can you imagine it? This little kid had more balls than a legion of adults with guns would have had under the same circumstances. He actually told me that scaring people was wrong, and that I should be ashamed of myself."

"Took the wind right out of my sails," Ren said, calming down and poking at his steak a few more times. "I couldn't throw them out after that, so I reluctantly invited them in. Made a few more 'homey touches' with them there. They couldn't sleep in the same places I could, after all. That kid was always there, though. He idolized me for some strange reason." Perking up, Ren snapped his fingers. "Daisuke! Sorry, I forgot to tell you his name. Daisuke Seto."

"We lived there like the most dysfunctional family ever for three months. They fought about everything, I swear. Just like kids..." His voice trailed off at the end. Suddenly, he wasn't smiling anymore. A stone-faced expression replaced his former joyful one. "Then this... @$$hole showed up one day. Kamikaze, his name was. Couldn't forget it if I tried. He started pushing the kids around, scaring them, like it was all that hard to do to a couple of half-starved children."

"I was going to stay out of it," Ren said. His fist tightened around his glass. "The guy was just there for kicks. He'd leave after he'd had his fun. But Daisuke begged me. Told me that it was my duty... as a hero." He spat the last word as though it was a curse. "Hero. I didn't want to be one. I just wanted to be left alone. But I couldn't... I couldn't say no to him."

He looked out the window, as if there was something to see out there that would take him away from what came next. His left hand tightened and relaxed as he spoke again. "So I picked a fight. Me versus Kamikaze in a battle to determine who the bigger idiot was. We fought... for a while, and as we did... it was like a game to us. None of it mattered, not really, so we just... just smacked each other around for a while. It was like two buddies getting together after a long time. It was... unreal."

Ren closed his eyes and thumped his head into the window. "I don't know why I treated it that way; why he did too, but there it is." He sighed, seemingly tired. "But when two people that powerful 'play' like that, people around them get hurt."

"It was an accident," he said, suddenly rounding on Lynn. He scooped up her hands in his and leaned over the table so he was nearly in her face. His eyes were wide and desperate, like she needed his to believe what he was saying more than anything in the world. "I need you to understand that. I didn't mean it... didn't..." He slid his hands back. "I got scared. Kamikaze had hurt me for the first time, right here, over the shoulder," he pointed at the indicated area. "Threw a piece of rebar through my armor. It... hurt. For the first time since absorbing machines, something had hurt me."

"I didn't react well." Now Ren pulled back into himself, trying to become smaller. "I freaked out, nailed the guy hard... too hard. He was fine, just flew through the wall, but... the wall... the ceiling..." He looked at his hands. "It all fell down. Collapsed like a house of cards. But I saw... I finally saw..."

He looked back up at Lynn. His eyes were wide with horror. "They were there. They had been there the whole time, watching. The children. All of them... they were screaming... all but Daisuke. He was smiling at me. Smiling... through the tears. Then... the building..."

Ren stood up suddenly and looked around the restaurant desperately until he found what he had been looking for. "I'm sorry... I need to go..." Without so much as a word, he ran towards the bathroom, trying to hide his eyes from Lynn.

He couldn't even cry for the people he'd killed any more.

Ren burst into the bathroom and slammed the stall door behind him. Why had he done that? Why had he told her at all? He couldn't even cry for them. Couldn't give them the respect they deserved. He cradled his head in his hands. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

[Heritage]

She saw the growing disgust in his eyes as she kept on talking, compulsively spilling our all her dirty laundry on the table between them; when she got like this, she couldn't stop, no matter how stupid or horrible she felt. When she was finished, she felt a change in him.

He thinks I killed that guy.

She wants to tell him the truth, about what she really did to him, but was it that much better than ending his life? Hadn't she done something worse, in a way?

But now Ren is talking, and is story is so...unbelievably sad. And now it all makes sense; he's a villain because he thinks that's what he deserves; only a monster would let those kids die, so he must be a monster. Finally he gets up abruptly and lurches to the men's room; she gives him a minute, and then follows him inside. Lynn stands just inside the doorway listening to him for a moment, and then she speaks up.

"What you did? It was stupid; I'm not gonna deny that. You risked the lives of innocent people, and you failed; nothing is going to change that."

She crosses over to the stall, and leans her back up against it.

"But that little kid was right; there is a hero in you, and I can see it, too. That Kamikaze guy brought the violence into your life, and you responded with violence before you fully understood your powers. And you weren't thinking straight, you lost your focus, and then all that mattered was the fight, who was better. You forgot why you were fighting, and who you were defending."

Lynn's tone gets a little sad, but is still soothing.

"I didn't kill that guy that night, even though I really wanted to; I tore him up bad...real bad. I don't think he'll ever walk again, and his face...well, there wasn't much left of it when I was done. I don't know if that did anything to help that poor dead girl, but I wasn't doing it for her, I was doing it for me, and that’s where I screwed up."

The heroine drops down to the tile, and rests her head against the stall door.

"When it comes down to it, the only thing that really separates the good guys from the bad guys is why we do what we do, and who we do it for; you tried that night, and you screwed up royally, but that doesn't mean it was wrong to try. You can’t bring those kids back, but the fact that you still care, that it still hurts? That’s the good guy part; that’s the part you can’t afford to lose.â€Â

[Heritage]

She saw the growing disgust in his eyes as she kept on talking, compulsively spilling our all her dirty laundry on the table between them; when she got like this, she couldn't stop, no matter how stupid or horrible she felt. When she was finished, she felt a change in him.

He thinks I killed that guy.

She wants to tell him the truth, about what she really did to him, but was it that much better than ending his life? Hadn't she done something worse, in a way?

But now Ren is talking, and is story is so...unbelievably sad. And now it all makes sense; he's a villain because he thinks that's what he deserves; only a monster would let those kids die, so he must be a monster. Finally he gets up abruptly and lurches to the men's room; she gives him a minute, and then follows him inside. Lynn stands just inside the doorway listening to him for a moment, and then she speaks up.

"What you did? It was stupid; I'm not gonna deny that. You risked the lives of innocent people, and you failed; nothing is going to change that."

She crosses over to the stall, and leans her back up against it.

"But that little kid was right; there is a hero in you, and I can see it, too. That Kamikaze guy brought the violence into your life, and you responded with violence before you fully understood your powers. And you weren't thinking straight, you lost your focus, and then all that mattered was the fight, who was better. You forgot why you were fighting, and who you were defending."

Lynn's tone gets a little sad, but is still soothing.

"I didn't kill that guy that night, even though I really wanted to; I tore him up bad...real bad. I don't think he'll ever walk again, and his face...well, there wasn't much left of it when I was done. I don't know if that did anything to help that poor dead girl, but I wasn't doing it for her, I was doing it for me, and that’s where I screwed up."

The heroine drops down to the tile, and rests her head against the stall door.

"When it comes down to it, the only thing that really separates the good guys from the bad guys is why we do what we do, and who we do it for; you tried that night, and you screwed up royally, but that doesn't mean it was wrong to try. You can’t bring those kids back, but the fact that you still care, that it still hurts? That’s the good guy part; that’s the part you can’t afford to lose.â€Â

[Veiled Malice]

There was nothing from the other side of the stall for a time. It's encouraging that Ren had stopped blubbering, but the silence coming from him was almost deafening. But then- "Thank you," he said quietly. It's strained, but sincere. He swallowed around the knot in his throat. "It's not like I can judge. About killing that guy, I mean. I know that... that if something happened to someone I knew..." he left off in the middle of the sentence. His intent was clear. There was nothing left to say.

"God, I'm such a wimp," he said, chuckling darkly. "It's why I suck as a villain. You know what 'villainous' things I've done while I've been here? I got my ass kicked by Icarus, got roped into a museum job that I screw up royally, then I actually betrayed the guys I was supposed to be acting as an enforcer for." He sighed. "Drugs," he said, hoping that would explain everything. "I couldn't do it, Lynn. Couldn't sell myself and let others suffer."

"And here I am now, in the men's room of a restaurant, crying my eyes out in front of my would-be girlfriend." There was a sudden pause, like Ren's mind had just caught up to what he'd said. "Wait, this is the men's room, right?" The stall door opens suddenly and Ren stuck his head out. Finding the urinals, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked down to where Lynn sat on the floor. "Geez, that would have topped off the perfect evening, huh?" he said with a crooked smile, tinged with just a hint of residual sorrow.

[Veiled Malice]

There was nothing from the other side of the stall for a time. It's encouraging that Ren had stopped blubbering, but the silence coming from him was almost deafening. But then- "Thank you," he said quietly. It's strained, but sincere. He swallowed around the knot in his throat. "It's not like I can judge. About killing that guy, I mean. I know that... that if something happened to someone I knew..." he left off in the middle of the sentence. His intent was clear. There was nothing left to say.

"God, I'm such a wimp," he said, chuckling darkly. "It's why I suck as a villain. You know what 'villainous' things I've done while I've been here? I got my ass kicked by Icarus, got roped into a museum job that I screw up royally, then I actually betrayed the guys I was supposed to be acting as an enforcer for." He sighed. "Drugs," he said, hoping that would explain everything. "I couldn't do it, Lynn. Couldn't sell myself and let others suffer."

"And here I am now, in the men's room of a restaurant, crying my eyes out in front of my would-be girlfriend." There was a sudden pause, like Ren's mind had just caught up to what he'd said. "Wait, this is the men's room, right?" The stall door opens suddenly and Ren stuck his head out. Finding the urinals, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked down to where Lynn sat on the floor. "Geez, that would have topped off the perfect evening, huh?" he said with a crooked smile, tinged with just a hint of residual sorrow.

[Heritage]

"And here I am now, in the men's room of a restaurant, crying my eyes out in front of my would-be girlfriend." There was a sudden pause, like Ren's mind had just caught up to what he'd said. "Wait, this is the men's room, right?" The stall door opens suddenly and Ren stuck his head out. Finding the urinals, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked down to where Lynn sat on the floor. "Geez, that would have topped off the perfect evening, huh?" he said with a crooked smile, tinged with just a hint of residual sorrow.

Lynn looks up at Ren; his sad, pathetic and goofy face is upside down to her, like everything else in her life, and she knows what she wants to do, what she has to do. She turns and stands, growing slightly taller as she does to bring her eyes even with his, and gives him a warm and wicked grin.

"No, this is topping off the perfect evening."

She wraps her arms around his neck, pulls him in close, and gives him a warm, lingering kiss right on the lips :shock:

[Heritage]

"And here I am now, in the men's room of a restaurant, crying my eyes out in front of my would-be girlfriend." There was a sudden pause, like Ren's mind had just caught up to what he'd said. "Wait, this is the men's room, right?" The stall door opens suddenly and Ren stuck his head out. Finding the urinals, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked down to where Lynn sat on the floor. "Geez, that would have topped off the perfect evening, huh?" he said with a crooked smile, tinged with just a hint of residual sorrow.

Lynn looks up at Ren; his sad, pathetic and goofy face is upside down to her, like everything else in her life, and she knows what she wants to do, what she has to do. She turns and stands, growing slightly taller as she does to bring her eyes even with his, and gives him a warm and wicked grin.

"No, this is topping off the perfect evening."

She wraps her arms around his neck, pulls him in close, and gives him a warm, lingering kiss right on the lips :shock:

[Veiled Malice]

It comes out of nowhere. Renichi couldn't have been more unprepared for it. Fireworks exploded inside his head as her lips met his and the warmth and soul of her outpouring of emotion filled him. He closed his eyes and responded, settling his hands on her back and pulling her in closer still, crushing her body to his.

And just like that, all his worries and doubts fell away. All of his past misdeeds didn't matter. They couldn't touch him here. It was just him and her now.

But soon, all too soon for his tastes, it ended, leaving him with the warm afterglow of the act. He rested his forehead against hers, barely noticing that she was much taller than before. "Wow," he said breathily.

[Veiled Malice]

It comes out of nowhere. Renichi couldn't have been more unprepared for it. Fireworks exploded inside his head as her lips met his and the warmth and soul of her outpouring of emotion filled him. He closed his eyes and responded, settling his hands on her back and pulling her in closer still, crushing her body to his.

And just like that, all his worries and doubts fell away. All of his past misdeeds didn't matter. They couldn't touch him here. It was just him and her now.

But soon, all too soon for his tastes, it ended, leaving him with the warm afterglow of the act. He rested his forehead against hers, barely noticing that she was much taller than before. "Wow," he said breathily.

[cosmicarus]

Unfortunately for the kissing couple, fireworks and explosions weren't only going on in the men's bathroom. You didn't need super senses to hear the ruckus that suddenly erupted back in the restaurant. There was a loud crash and then shouting - both agressive and frightened.

[cosmicarus]

Unfortunately for the kissing couple, fireworks and explosions weren't only going on in the men's bathroom. You didn't need super senses to hear the ruckus that suddenly erupted back in the restaurant. There was a loud crash and then shouting - both agressive and frightened.

[Heritage]

Unfortunately for the kissing couple, fireworks and explosions weren't only going on in the men's bathroom. You didn't need super senses to hear the ruckus that suddenly erupted back in the restaurant. There was a loud crash and then shouting - both agressive and frightened.

Lynn jumps at the noise, abruptly shrinks several inches, and fervently clings to Ren. "Oh crap, they found us!" Then she frowns. "Wait, what am I talking about? Just a second."

She gently disengages from Ren and darts towards the door, activating her camouflage just before she takes a peek out into the restaurant.