Killing Time [IC]

[Ozob]

Johnny looked out the window of the Bently as it motored through the affluent Bayview neighborhood. He sighed looking at the prim, well cared for lawns and topiary of the many large sprawling estates and homes. Everything was cared for, and the brick houses screamed money and influence with their white picket fences and neatly painted trim.

"Don't sigh," the young blonde girl sitting next to him said without barely glancing up from her magazine. "You sound morose when you do."

"I feel morose Emily," Johnny replied pressing his head against the window of the car. "We're in New Jersey. This is totally not USC."

"No," Emily replied setting down her periodical and looking over at her ward, "it's not. However, your father seemed pretty clear on what he wanted. Private school until you reach an age where you can make... let's see... how did he put it? Oh yes. Responsible decisions."

"Great," he said, "another prep school. You know, you'd think that he'd have given up on them by now."

"Well like his son, he's very persistent," she replied with a disarming smile. "Besides, I think you are going to like it here. I was able to choose this prep school for you this time. It's not another military academy this time."

"Well that's a relief," Johnny said before forcing a smile back to her. "Although after the last time, I'd think they'd chalk it up to a disaster."

"Yes, well that is true. Oh, driver, there is a Bayview Mall in the area. We need to do some shopping if you can drop us off there?"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Alex Johnson looked across the crowd that seemed to gather in the halls and corridors of the mall. What he saw made him both scared and a little angry. At least half of the people in the upscale shopping center weren't even from the local area. They had been practically bused in from the Southside.

Didn't they have their own stores to loiter around?

Regardless, he was not about to let a bunch of sneakthiefs and vagabonds ruin this neighborhood. Not on his watch.

It wasn't that he disliked those people. It was more that he disliked them being here instead of where they belonged. There.

[quotemyname]

It was just after classes had let out for the day on Friday at Claremont. Zach and his sister were still getting used to life above the surface. Much as he'd wanted to ignore the world under the sun and crawl into someplace dark until night time when the sun would no longer hurt his eyes, it wouldn't be very supportive of their established covers identities. Especially not when it meant missing out on a trip to the mall to kick off the weekend.

He and his sister didn't have much money between them, but they managed to scrape together what they could for things like clothing, and the occasional splurge. Part of the reason for the trip to the mall was to see if any of the stores were hiring for part time positions. It was pretty clearly Jeena's plan. They were always Jeena's plans.

But first, the two had split up to do some shopping. Not that they were ever really distant from each other, being able to reach out to one another's thoughts as easily as breathing. For his part, that meant stopping by his favorite store, Hot Topic. Zach wasn't sure what it was about the clothing and the designs that the store carried. Maybe it was the shiny metal bits on much of the clothing that reminded him of military uniforms. Maybe it was the leather, in which he saw some of the functional outfits the Tektani resistance fighters wore. Regardless, there he was perusing the shelves to see if there was anything he could add to his spartan wardrobe within his price range.

He was here, Well, at least I'm inside and out of the sun. But it's really crowded in here!

[Ari]

Subito Sondo walked rapidly into the crisp, air-conditioned mall, his eyes bright and quickly moving along the shopfronts as he hunted for the movie store.

His sister Galanta had always been into movies, but recently she had hit onto a profound kick of mid-70's science-fiction stuff like the old Atom Family Adventures show and the more recent "Jack Wolf: Moonshadow" movie series. It was hardly unusual for her, she and the rest of the Sondos were avid science fiction aficionados after all, with many fond memories from their childhood bound up in gazing at the marvelous things and places the genres architects had conceived.

What was unusual, and the reason Subito held himself a touch more self-conscious of his size and steel muscles was the fact that he preferred going to the specialized movie shops that dotted Freedom. They often contained people with similar interests as he and were often quite easy to talk to. In malls like this, everyone was in a vague hurry, or else seemed struck with a lethargic sickness that left them unable to move faster than four miles an hour in either body or mind. Such peculiarities aggravated him deeply and made him that much more eager to have done with the matter and send the latest bundle of DVDs to Galanta.

Of course he had no idea that was why he felt nervous in malls and comfortable in independent video stores, he put it down to his enhanced hearing, which did indeed allow him to catch the numerous conversations going on around him. A couple in the (suspiciously low-priced) jewlery store were talking languidly about the merits of the variously-hued gems they were considering setting in the bracelet of a friend. A man in the food court was singing the national anthem of Brazil under his breath and a small crowd of teenagers were talking loudly about their mutual hatred of the Twilight series.

As a result his otherwise flawlessly stoic demeanor was broken by an occasional need to cover his ears and temporarily block out the still-unfamiliar torrent of noise. Nevertheless his step never faltered, and he soon reached the bright, well-appointed Movie Time!, doffing his baseball cap as he entered, he moved smoothly over to the familiar ranks of bright heroes metal or flesh fighting their near-uniformly hideous and clearly sinister foes on vast plains of star-studded vacuum. Sometimes a massive head dominated the scene, but whether the head belonged to a heroic or villainous sort was almost entirely arbitrary. Suddenly realizing that he ought first to check if it was even stocked(Atom Family series tended to sell with great speed), Subito headed to the front desk. "'Scuse me, do you have the 70's 'Atom Family Adventures' in stock, the one with the blue and orange cover split diagonally?"

[Ozob]

Johnny stepped through the front doors of the Bayview Mall. It looked new; like fresh coat of paint new. Given the places he shopped, wasn't all that unusual. The only really odd part is that it looked more like part was new and part was old. Still, architecture wasn't really on his mind given the funk he was in.

"I don't care what you get, but your father did say something respectable. We didn't really pack much for you and figured you'd just buy what you needed when you got here," Emily said with a tone that expressed her disapproval of the wasted spending.

"He wanted me gone that quickly?" Johnny replied stuffing his hands into his faded cargo shorts.

Emily favored him with a smile, "he did mention that he wanted you here for the start of school, and that he didn't care what it cost. 'Just get the kid there.'"

"Yeah," Johnny replied, I guess that kind of figures.

"Look, you can either enjoy what and where you are, or not. That choice is yours. You're here for now, so make the best of it."

Johnny nodded and smiled, he'd made the best of it before, and he'd do it again. Just why New Jersey?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Alex Johnson fingered his night stick as he looked from one beatnik to another, practically daring them to try something. Technically, he couldn't hit them first, but if they caused trouble. Well they were his. Of course, they must have known this, because he couldn't seem to catch any of the degenerates doing anything wrong.

Putting the radio to his mouth he called, "sector seven is quiet, but there are a lot of suspicious types here. Continuing patrol."

There was a pause and a sigh that might have been a person or might have been interference, "is that you Alex?"

"Captain of the Bayview 21 to you," he snapped back into the radio.

"Yeah... well Captain, just keep in mind that these people are really her just to shop. This isn't some kind of war game."

"You can shirk your duty and next thing you know you'll be living knee deep is the worst scum of the earth."

"Right Alex. Um... maybe next time, you should leave the mall to us."

"I'm going to enforce radio silence on you. Discipline! Now turn that comm off!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Johnny made it over to the opposite side of the mall, kind of grazing past the windows and not really buying anything. His heart wasn't really in it and he didn't really care to shop normally. Still, as it stood he had no clothes so to speak and he might as well make use of the time.

Making his way over to some clothing stores he found one that looked acceptable enough. Next to it was a video store which looked at least somewhat well used. He had just about made it to the store when someone grabbed him from behind.

"Where do you think you're going?!" came the voice of a guy that sounded like he was amped up on far too much coffee.

"Into the store..." Johnny replied a little confused.

"I don't think so. I saw you steal that!" the man shouted loud enough that people nearby started to gather.

"Steal what?" Johnny said. "I haven't been in a store yet. What could I have..."

"Quiet! I have the authority here to take you in for questioning!" the guy shouted raising his already loud voice another step.

[quotemyname]

Uh oh, Jee? There's some kind of trouble outside the store I'm in. Zach craned his head over the rack of vests he was currently looking at, Thankfully it doesn't involve me for once. Are you nearby? I'm going to get a closer look. Not get involved, just see if I can be more aware of what's going on.

Zach stepped around the clothing rack and pushed towared the front of the store. He joined the gathering crowd, remarking on how humans seemed delighted to see someone else in trouble. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked no one in particular nearby in the crowd.

[Ari]

Having just learned that the 70's Atom Family Adventures was indeed in stock(with the blue-orange cover split diagonally) Subito was just about to pay for it(and the large stack of other films he figured Galanta wouldn't hate) when the shouts outside crashed into his ears with a sensation similar to that felt by a mouse next to a busy highway.

Shaking his head, he excused himself and went out of the store to see what the commotion was. Lifting his head to get his bearings back he saw the crowd, which appeared to be centered around an angry confrontation. Getting closer, he saw a blond guy man being collared by a busy-body wielding a nightstick, which set off alarms in his head to rival the rush of noise outside it.

Walking rapidly up to the nightstick-wielding man, he placed a hand on his shoulder and said crisply "There a problem here, buddy?" his words carrying the implicit message that if there wasn't, he would be glad to make one. That getting into a fight in a mall might be a bad idea crossed his mind, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that there wasn't much this guy could do to really hurt him, and that the worst that could happen was getting the wacko mad at him.

[Ozob]

GM:

As Zach spoke, a pair of girls who had been whispering to each other and checking out both what was happening along with the cute blonde newcomer who stepped up behind them. One turned to Zach, batted her eyes at him and said, "OMG! So like this guy was just walking along, you know? And that creep that comes here to 'patrol' the mall... like we really need that. Anyway, he picked on that guy over there, I totally don't know why. That guard is a total looser."

[Ozob]

GM

"Whoah!" Alex shouted as Subito placed a hand on his shoulder. "Time to move along, unless you want more of this!"

As if to emphasize, he pushed Subito's arm, intending to fling it off his shoulder in dramatic fashion. What happened in practice, was far less spectacular. In fact, as he pushed, nothing happened at all, much to his consternation.

Awkwardly turning to face Subito, he snarled, "this is none of your business punk, unless you want to mess with the law!"

Of course, he wasn't really the law, but that was a fact that he was not about admit... even to himself.

Johnny meanwhile was looking around wondering what kind of madhouse he had landed in. All he had been doing was wandering the mall, looking at what was here. Why this guy had it out for him he didn't know. Nor did he have any clue who the newcomer was either.

"Um... look, I didn't steal anything, and I just need to go buy some clothes. Are you sure you have the right person?"

[Heritage]

Like her brother, Jeena did her share of shopping at Hot Topic, but today she was looking to broaden her fashion palate beyond black, red and dark purple, which lead her just across the mall to the Gap; as she wandered the store, she eyed the other girls present from behind her dark purple shades, noting the ease with which they talked about the trivial events of their lives. She actually envied them; most of them probably had more or less uneventful childhoods, and had never known true hunger or lived with the knowledge. She was just about to approach one of the ditzy shopgirls to ask about a particular top in her size (which she still found terribly confusing) when she got a sending from Zach.

Uh oh, Jee? There's some kind of trouble outside the store I'm in. Zach craned his head over the rack of vests he was currently looking at, Thankfully it doesn't involve me for once. Are you nearby? I'm going to get a closer look. Not get involved, just see if I can be more aware of what's going on.

The Tektani girl frowned and sent back. I'm in the Gap, Zee, just across from you if your still in Hot Topic. Now she could here the commotion herself; still holding onto the top, she moved closer to the door, forgetting for the moment the plastic security tagged attached to the garment. Be careful, Zach; we don't want to draw any-

Bwee-bwee-bwee-bwee!

Jeena's face froze as she unwittingly tripped the store alarm.

Unwanted attention.

[Ari]

Subito didn't change expression when Alex attempted to remove his hand from his shoulder. Not due to any stoicism, but rather from a lack of interest in changing it. He seemed rather hurt at the word 'punk', however.

"Watch your language. If you don't know what the word means, don't use it! Besides, it is my business as a citizen to make sure other citizens don't go making trouble for others on no basis whatever. You aren't the hired security here, so unless you have actual proof this guy's taken something, I suggest" he grated the word 'suggest' like he meant it "I suggest you either explain why you think this guy stole something, or leave him alone and go bother somebody else. Your call buddy"

At the sound of the store alarm he cocked his head in the direction it came from, wincing slightly but saying without apparent difficulty "Well, what do you know? Looks like something's actually been stolen this time, why don't you go and check it out? Make yourself useful?"

[Ozob]

GM

"Well he... I mean... they... you know what kind of people..." Alex stammered, clearly loosing control of the situation.

He paused, looking around at the gathered crowd, which had grown to unacceptable levels. He was the law here? Right? For a moment, his failing courage nearly made him stand his ground. However, the compact man's suggestions and demeanor were less than reassuring. Better to find some other beatniks and hoodlums elsewhere.

Bwee-bwee-bwee-bwee!

That was it. A way to save face and salvage the situation. Besides, the girl standing dumbstruck in the door didn't look like she was going to offer quite the resistance he was going to get here.

Looking back to Johnny, he spat out, "well it's lucky that I wasn't there when you didn't steal something! Now clear off... all of you... while I take care of a thing in a place... over there, and not here."

Johnny scrunched his eyes in confusion as he tried to make sense of what the guy was trying to say to him. Shaking his head he watched the Community Watch guy walked off rather quickly and with several glances back to see if anyone was following him.

"Hey man, thanks. This sort of thing happen a lot around here?" he said to Subito.

[Ozob]

GM

As Alex strode across the mall trying to keep the girl in his sight he was doing his best to gather his failing courage. As it was, he was not the first to arrive on the scene. Instead, a peppy looking guy in jeans and a hip tee shirt tapped Jeena on the shoulder. His blue eyes were alert and his smile seemed genuine as he spoke to her.

"I think you forgot something. Happens all the time, I totally hate those things with a burning passion, but they do keep people honest, ya know?"

[quotemyname]

"OMG! So like this guy was just walking along, you know? And that creep that comes here to 'patrol' the mall... like we really need that. Anyway, he picked on that guy over there, I totally don't know why. That guard is a total looser."

Zach stood and stared at the girl. Momentarily forgetting his manners in favor of stark wonderment. Was that some strange form of English? I don't remember... What did she even say?

Be careful, Zach; we don't want to draw any-

Bwee-bwee-bwee-bwee!

Jeena's face froze as she unwittingly tripped the store alarm.

Unwanted attention.

The timing of his sister's sending and the alarms coincided too closely for comfort. Coupled with the finality of her tone, Zach didn't have to look across the mall avenue to piece together what had just happened. Oh, Jee. Stay right there. I'm coming. We'll sort this out.

"Excuse me, excuse me," He said to the crowd as he attempted to press through them. He dropped the shirt he'd been holding in the hands of the girl who had spoken to him, "Here you go. Sorry!" then continued pushing through the crowd, "Excuse me!"

Looking back to Johnny, he spat out, "well it's lucky that I wasn't there when you didn't steal something! Now clear off... all of you... while I take care of a thing in a place... over there, and not here."

Johnny scrunched his eyes in confusion as he tried to make sense of what the guy was trying to say to him. Shaking his head he watched the Community Watch guy walked off rather quickly and with several glances back to see if anyone was following him.

Someone was, indeed, following him. Zach was hot on the heels of the supposed law man as they crossed the mall. Zach wasn't fond of the look in the man's eyes as he approached his sister. "Hey, wait!" The man didn't respond, and Zach wouldn't get there in time just by running.

To any onlookers, it appeared as though Zach put on a sudden burst of speed. The especially shrewd, however, would notice that in the following seconds, he actually flew, his feet not touching the ground again until his was positioned in front of Jeena, facing Alex, "I said, stop!" He insisted, arms outstretched and his expression defiant.

[Ozob]

GM

The girl just giggled at Zach and called out, "but it's not my size!" as he literally flew away from them. Anything further she might have said, like a phone number or perhaps email address was lost as he gained ground on the determined and apparently deranged Neighborhood watch captain. How no one realized that he literally flew through the packed mall corridor was a minor miracle.

Yet he appeared almost like magic in front of Alex as he marched to apprehend the villainous, thieving, degenerate girl who was being led back into the store by a clerk. No doubt she was one of the many who crossed over from her lowly South Side hovel into the neighborhood that HIS taxes helped pay for.

On any normal day, Alex would not have been deterred by a teen asking him to stop. In fact, that might be more of an excuse to bring in the young whippersnapper for questioning. Perhaps he was rattled from his encounter with Subito, perhaps Zach's amazing appearance startled him, or perhaps he just for once in his life listened. Either way, he stood staring at Zach with his angry eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

"Son, you are detaining a man of the law from his god given duties..." he said with perhaps less conviction than he might have otherwise and he was most certainly not walking forward.

[Ari]

Unaware of the complex circumstances of the triggered store alarm, Subito turned nonchalantly to Johnny. "No problem! My sister has been hounding me to take a stronger stance against bullies, and she's very...into the whole 'fighting injustice wherever it's found' thing. Since we were kids, really. It doesn't happen a lot, no, but it can and does occur so be a bit more aggressive next time someone tries to say you're a thief without proof"

Glancing over at the confrontation, he was shocked at the pale teen's speed he's got to be on a track team. Wonder if he's some big shot in that circuit?

Seeing as there remained a chance the busy-body might keep being a nuisance, he casually kept himself slightly facing the new staredown.

[Ozob]

"Not a bad way of looking at things," Johnny mussed almost to himself. "I try to roll with things and honestly, I totally thought he made a mistake. I mean, I hadn't even been in a store, and like, I have more money than I know what to do with. What would I want to steal anyway?"

He took a good look at his benefactor, whose white tee and jeans didn't quite fit in with the seeming affluent crowd in the mall. It wasn't that he was badly dressed, just that he didn't trend with the latest styles and fashions; which kind of seemed to be all en Vogue. Johnny couldn't help but smile as he contemplated his own garb of cargo shorts and a body shirt swimming with color and patterns. They made a very odd pair sitting in a sea of designer labels and perfectly styled couture.

Johnny paused, watching the retreating Alex get stopped by another youth. He shook his head, wondering at the sanity and determination of some people.

"I'm Johnny, by the way. If I didn't thank you, I totally mean to do it now," he said offering a hand to the shorter boy. "I was just on my way to check in at school and needed something to wear."

[quotemyname]

"Son, you are detaining a man of the law from his god given duties..." he said with perhaps less conviction than he might have otherwise and he was most certainly not walking forward.

Zachary put his arms down and sighed, "I don't know about all that," He glanced over his shoulder at the store clerk leading Jeena back into the store, "But that's my sister we're talking about," He turned to face Alex again, "I saw the way you handled the last person you thought was shoplifting. I would sure appreciate it if you didn't put your hands on her. Because from what I can tell from your previous engagement," Zach paused a second to nod his chin toward the crowd that was slowly shifting from one side of the mall to the other to gather around the newest source of excitement, "You're not exactly an official man of the law. And my sister isn't quite eighteen yet either." Zach folded his arms. From what he'd read about Earth's laws and customs, older humans accosting young ones in anything less than official capacity was something of a moderate faux pas. Especially when members of the opposite sex were concerned. Not that Alex and his sister even belonged to the same race, but appearances were appearances after all, "After all, we wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea, would we?"

[Heritage]

"I think you forgot something. Happens all the time, I totally hate those things with a burning passion, but they do keep people honest, ya know?"

When the cute boy approached, Jeena's first reaction was to tense up, but once he started talking, she relaxed considerably; it certainly helped that he was awfully cute.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I heard the commotion over in Hot Topic-" She waved a hand vaguely in the trendy store's direction without tearing her eyes off of Cute Boy. "And my brother's over there, so I was worried..." With a winsome smile, she held up the top. "Do you work here? I'm Dutch, and I don't understand all the American sizes."

Oh, Jee. Stay right there. I'm coming. We'll sort this out.

Oh, don't worry about me, Zach; everything is just fine over here...

[Ozob]

GM

"Not official!" Alex screamed forcing his voice, which he normally kept in a manly baritone to squeak in a very unacceptable manner. "I'll have you know that I am Watch Captain of Community Watch #21, and we are deputized to act as the eyes of the law!"

He was practically sputtering and color was tinting his cheeks as his ire and anger boiled over, "and if your sister stole I'll put my hands all over her as I drag her back to jail!"

Wait, that wasn't what he really meant was it? Well there was no use correcting himself now, it looked wishy washy and he wouldn't have that, or they might as well turn the keys over to the riff raff and vagabonds. Somehow this day was not going as planned.

"Now step aside or I'll be forced to issue you a citation!"

[Ozob]

GM

The clerk smiled, flashing perfect teeth to match his overall looks, "I'm David, nice to meet you. So not from around here? Well that's no matter, I'd be more than happy to get your sizes. You're looking for a top, right?" he said walking with an easy gait and confidant demeanor.

He led her over to a changing room and pulled out a tape measure with only a glance back at the disturbance outside.

[Ari]

Subito smiled genially and shook Johnny's hand gladly. "Subito Sondo at your service! Thanks are hardly necessary, just doing what I ought to. If you need advice on what to wear at school I'd be glad to offer it. What school you going too? That's one of the biggest things to keep in mind"

At the sudden barrage of noise from the Gap confrontation, he briefly closed his eyes in quiet protest, opening them quickly and resuming his bright and pleasant demeanor. He deeply hoped this wasn't going to be a permanent problem, otherwise his enhanced hearing would be an unbearable thing to use. Simply turning it off was always a possibility, but he was well aware that he wasn't going to learn how to use his gifts if he didn't use them in the first place.

Thinking it best to try and work in an explanation for the otherwise incomprehensible action, he said casually, jerking his at the confrontation in front of the Gap "Man, these places get all the crazies, huh?"

[Ozob]

"Tell me about it, back on the West Coast everyone is more laid back," he said. "You know, flower power and all that jazz."

As he spoke he watched the crazy mall cop start shouting at yet another person. Johnny was not doctor, but it looked like that guy was about to have a heart attack. Seriously, it must be something in the water, or maybe it was all the deep fried food that seemed to weight down every menu East of the Mississippi. Hadn't anyone realized the green movement had come?

"I'm heading to some place called Claremont academy. It's some fancy prep school my dad sent me to. Well really my kind of mom picked it, he just sort of enforced it. Ten schools... ten years."

[Ari]

Subito started at the mention of the Academy. He had never heard of it before except as a ultra-elite school for the incredibly wealthy until his own induction into the supers world, whereupon he had learned of the place's true nature. The revelation that the person standing before him possessed powers was a sobering thought, and he couldn't help but feel almost..disenchanted to realize that he and Johnny, outwardly indistinguishable from unpowered humans, had such gifts.

Of course, he made sure not to be rude and stand mouth agape when there was conversation to be made.

"Really? I almost envy you. I've been to the same school for most every single year of my life. Must be exciting to go new places, make new friends. I'm going to Claremont at the start of the Autumn quarter myself, maybe we'll bump into each other there!"

The showdown at the Gap(he wondered if that was the title of a song...) seemed to mercifully have stalled. Nonetheless, he edged in the direction of the over-zealous neighborhood watch captain, just in case he needed to apply a bit more hand on the shoulder violence-forestalling.

[Ozob]

Fun? Well perhaps, but all Johnny had ever wanted was to stay home, surf and be with his friends. The schools his dad had chosen had been more about discipline and work than they had about learning. Which did not bode well for this school either. Still it was good luck on his part that he had bumped into Subito. It was nice to have an early start meeting people.

"So you're new there too? Well just our luck, we can start the semester knowing someone. What are you going to study there? I don't even have a schedule on what I am going to take. Like I said, my kind of mom set me up there. Seems to think I'm going to like it."

He couldn't help but notice Subito edging back to the psycho guard and thought that this might be a good friend to have. Well he could ride shotgun for him, not that he wanted to get into trouble before he even started school.

[quotemyname]

Zachary smiled, Alex had just given him all the leverage in the world, "Okay, let me spell this out for you. We'll make a deal. You go watch some other part of the city, and don't issue any citations to anyone," Zach waved his hand dismissively toward the far end of the mall, as if to tell the watchman to head in that direction, "And in return, I'll forget that you just threatened to rape my sister, and I promise not to tell the cops either!" Suddenly Zachary's smile faded and his eyes adopted an almost predatory, territorial look, "But take one more step toward my sister and you will regret it."

Glancing behind him, he saw that his sister was once again safely inside the store, and out of sight, "Besides, I think you just missed your chance to 'put your hands all over her,' anyway. Hell of a job you're doing today. Maybe the watch should get it's eyes checked." As he teased, Zach placed his fists against his hips.

I swear, if this guy tries to break down the door to the women's dressing room...