Ww - the coming storm

[Esme]

Alec looked between all of them before going back to playing pass the phone with Ricardo answering his questions on everyone till he put in something about her and Vent. Her response made him do a spit take going wide eyed and sputtering. "Seriously?" Alec laughed nodding her head before holding out a cloth to him.


Looking back at the others she smirked, eyes staying focused on Vent fully tuning into there conversation, she was rather interesting in what her friends had been up too and it seemed, going by how much everyone had changed, a lot.

 

[Coro]

Vent stopped his conversation with Steven, glancing at Ricardo.


"..... Water doesn't have the gold flakes you like in it, Bigshot?" He asked with a grin.


He rested his elbow on the table, and propped his chin on his hand, looking at Alec.


He obviously wasn't the only one who'd changed, personality-wise.

 

[Riddle78]

Steven's thoughts were interrupted by the strange man sputtering,followed by an incredulous outburst. Steven glared at him,raising the eyebrow of his "blind" eye,which was milky white,except for a jagged red scar that ran down the middle of it.


"And what,praytell,young man,is so confounding to you? Did you expect to be told of us,or something? Or did you think...Something else?"

 

[Esme]

"Gold flakes in water would be terrible and very unhealthy." Ricardo said back to Vent before looking at the other man and waving a hand in the air dismissively. "It was nothing. Well, nothing for you at least." Standing up he excused himself which made Alec shoot him a look, he made a simple gesture towards the w.c. and she nodded her head, adjusting her chair so she could watch the door without problem.


"So...." Alec started when her ward was out of ear shot. "That was interestingly anticlimactic.Any way, " She looked at Steven for a second, "What did happen to your, ah..." She really didn't know how to say in case he was sensitive about it. She doubted it but she wasn't going to be the one to get him pissed.

 

[Riddle78]

Steven eyed the young man as he stalked off to the lavatories. When the door closed,his gaze returned to Alec,Vent and Marco.


When Alec asked about his eye,Steven smirked and replied "Why'd you stop? 'Fraid I was going to take offense? I wear my eye proudly. But it's nature isn't for the...Mundane folk to overhear,even partialy. I'll tell in private. This one,however..."


Steven lifted his chin,and gestured to the throat scar.


"This one,I can share here. It was two years ago;One year after I left te Academy in Chicago. Vent,you remember how we first met,right? I got ambushed by a Nightrise goon squad? Anyway...They got me again...Same damned alleyway,too! Anyway,they grabbed me from behind,and dragged me into the alley,and demanded to know where "the rest of the freaks" were. I refused to say anything about the Academy,even though I was going for a visit. After a few minutes,I pushed the bastard who had me away. Sadly,his knife found it's home for the next half hour in my throat. Thankfuly,I used my telekenisis to keep my blood inside my body...But I still made it look serious. Someone brought me to the hospital,got my throat all fixed up,and landed me a stay in the hospital for about...Three days. I bailed during the second night. Couldn't afford the fees. Anyway,the rest is history."


"Sorry for dodging the question,Alec,but the story about my eye is not something for normal people to know. Even fragments of it. I'll tell you when it's just us. Marco and Vent included,of course."


All of this was said in a hushed tone,to keep eavesdroppers from listening in.

 

[Coro]

Vent sighed.


"..... A knife to the throat, eh? Pretty tame stuff." He said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.


As much as he felt like a **** for wishing it, he wished Steven and Marco and Ricardo wern't here.


Shaking his head, he leaned back in the chair, relaxing a bit.


He still couldn't get over how coincidental this all was.

 

[Esme]

Alec nodded her head, "Understandable." under the table, she sent Vent a swift kick to the shin giving him a look that a mother might give a disrespectful child. "I'm glad your alright." She said with a small smile before looking at Vent again. "This seems...it seems weird not having him here. Honestly, I would love to have a second chance for the tea, maybe it would have landed on his face this time." She laughed lightly, winking at Vent, "And maybe you could have gotten in a few punches and did a K.O. on him"

 

[Coro]

Vent raised an eyebrow.


"..... I couldn't have beaten him then, and I still doubt I could beat him. We're not the only ones who can train." Vent said, expressionless, simply stating a fact.


"But I appreciate the sentiment." He said, a grin springing from nowhere.

 

[Esme]

"he said he didn't train." Alec stated leaning back in her chair eyes looking over towards the w.c. again before frowning and looking back at them at the table. "Besides, with how much you've trained, and to be honest, i saw them before you pulled your sleeves down, you could kill him."

 

[Coro]

Vent shifted uncomfortably.


"... Let's NOT draw attention to them. I've already had to do some fast talking to avoid getting detained a few times. And really, Alec? I will never underestimate him again. Not after last time." Vent explained.


He scratched at his right arm, still feeling the occasional itch.


He sighed.


"Enough talk about him. We'll cross that bridge when we get there...... Anyways, how's the whole bodyguard buisness?" Vent asked.

 

[Esme]

"Brutal. Dangerous. Deadly." She sighed her eyes bluring a bit as if remember hurt. "Not a good profession for someone like me really. Physically and mentally at least. It takes a huge strain to keep going when you get a bullet through your lung. Even more of a strain to realize that you can die at any moment and can easily be replaced by another suit." She sighed again shaking her head.

 

[Coro]

Vent gave Alec a funny look.


".... And you let your desire to be 'the protector' take you that far?" He asked her, remembering the time he brought her back from Hell. Vent then smiled.


"I can't really talk. I let my..... No, I let Conner's lust for power take me. But, it benefitted me. I think you could say the same about your training." Vent inquired, wondering just how strong she'd become.

 

[Esme]

"More of a drive really." Alec said, "But yes. I did. And oh, did you? He always had a nasty temper when dealing with power. Very if-y really." She cracked her knuckles. "And if you'd like, I'm sure we could give it a go."


"Give what a go?" Ricardo said appearing once again in his chair.


"A sparring match., I'm interesting in seeing how much he's grown." Ricardo nodded his head, "I have the perfect place for this too." He said cheerfully waiting to see if Vent would accept or not.

 

[Coro]

Vent looked a bit uncomfortable.


"..... I'd rather watch a match between you and someone else." He said, rubbing the back of his head.


He shifted, and then sighed.


"But I can't decline a challenge." He said, looking not too happy. He sipped the last of his tea, and got up.


"Marco, Steven, we'll be back in a little while." Vent said.

 

[Esme]

Alec smirked and Ricardo nodded his head before tapping Alec and showing her a picture on his phone. "There is where you want to go." Alec nodded her head before reaching across the table putting a hand on Vent's arm and her other on Ricardo's shoulder before the three of them dissapeared, a mind spell going on the people in the restaurant to make it seem like they had never even been there.


Appearing in a dome like place, complete with a spectators box with a glass floor above them completely hidden by the metal walls. They were the only ones in there. Ricardo pulled out a flower and twirled it in his hand before he suddenly teleported up into the box. Alec grinned looking at Vent. "Don't you dare hold back."

 

[Coro]

Vent looked around, a bit amazed.


"..... It's like something out of a manga! This is amazing!" He exclaimed, sliding out of his plaid shirt. Underneath, he had a black muscle shirt with wavy patterns that matched his Umbralus markings, sort of. The markings now ran all the way up to his shoulders, instead of just being on his fore-arms.


He sighed, getting ready. He put his left hand in his pocket, his right hand and side facing Alec.


"...... Well?" He asked, a grin on his face.

 

[Esme]

Shrugging off the black suit jacket Alec grinned setting into her fighting position. Standing straight up, one hand behind her back, the other open palmed angled out in front of her body. (think Rock lee really) Nodding her head, she flickered out of sight, before she sarted duplicationg, splitting magic between the clones so each was indistinguishable from the rest. All of them started circling Vent simply lflickering in and out of site, changing places rapidly in an almost dizzying pattern.

 

[Coro]

Vent sighed.


"..... Wow!" He exclaimed, his grin getting bigger. "This is REALLY reminding me of a manga now!"


Vent crouched, and sprung straight up into the air, holding out his right hand. Cutting blades of wind blasted down, whislting as they desended at all the Alec clones. Vent's staff materialized beneath his feet, and he stood floating on his staff in the air, like a flying skateboard.


He waited to see how Alec would react, knowing full well this wouldn't faze her.

 

[Riddle78]

Steven was alarmed at the sudden departure of Alec and Vent. He sipped the last of his Earl Grey tea,and donned his hat. Steven turned to Marco,and said, "Dine and dash;let's go." With this,Steven got up and proceeded to the door,and subtly raising a telekenetic shield.

 

[Esme]

Each of the Alec clones, in perfect harmony, did a a triple back flip away from the blades.Time had not taken her old skills away in the least. Holding out an arm each, the all pointed at Vent. Grinning in a taunting way, sparks started to fly from the fingers before each let out a wave of electricity aiming it at him.

 

[Coro]

Vent smirked.


"..... You can't beat me with one of my specialties!" He shouted, snapping his fingers. A wave of his own electricity shit forth and nullified Alec's with a dazzling display of lights and sparks.


Still standing on his staff, Vent raised both his hands. Around one hand, wind swirled and spun, and around the other, electricity crackled and danced. He swung them both down in front of him, clapping. A wave of electricically charged air shit towards Alec like a tidal wave.


All the while, Vent's Umbralus markings didn't make the slightest hint of glowing.

 

[Esme]

The clones laughed before a sigh was let out following a simple sentence. "To easy..." Each of the clones fell back onto the ground, vampire style (reverse how they get out of a coffin) before absorbing into the ground hiding beneath the earth just seconds before the tidal wave of a spell crashed over where they were. Under the ground, all the clones conformed again back into one Clone, which wasn't a clone actually. Moving under the earth, blind in the darkness and putting out a constant string of magic to keep phasing through the dirt and muck was rather annoying, but Alec would deal.


Putting out an old seeker spell, she located exactly where Vent was located and moved directly beneath it before crouching down low, another spell forming. Darker forms surrounded her before each black tendril shot out of the ground sharpening into multiple small tips as they broke air, launched directly at him.

 

[Coro]

Vent saw the black tendrils coming at him, at te last possible moment. He'd been expecting a ground-based attack, but this was ridiculous!


Still using his staff as an air-board, he whispered 'Ventus' the winds twirling around his staff. He flicked his staff, spinning beneath him like a circular blade, cutting down on the tendrils. Sticking his foot out after blasting the tendrils, Vent stopped the staff, grabbed it, and pointed it at the ground.


"Talea!" He shouted, his staff rocketing into the ground and causing a split. He hadn't connected with Alec, but he could now see her in the crack.


He let go of the staff while was impaled into the ground, and fell towards her.

 

[Esme]

Alec blinked, she didn't know he was going to do that. As he fell towards her she attempted diving back into the earth away from the crack to get back into a cover.

 

[Coro]

Vent cocked his fist back as Alec tried to get away from his decent.


"Magica Sattica!" He shouted, five arrows of magic spinning around his right hand, dramatically increasing the destructive power of his punch.


Rocketing down at Alec, he swung, trying to connect with her ribs.