Pure Imagination (Nate, Pat)

Vic had few times he traveled but his older brother was always the type to invite him on many of his trips across the country. Their reasons were business, likely the cover being the company and holdings their father presided over. If there was one thing Elijah Marsden could do it was kept things as legal looking as possible, but he knew enough to know how false that was. Most of the day was spent wiling away in their hotel room on a sleek laptop while Lukas was off speaking with people likely in their smokey backrooms. Maybe even shot someone, though that was rarely what a businessman like him resorted to.

Watching a video of a young youtuber breaking down the powers of a popular hero the door clicked open and Lukas stepped through while loosening his tie. ”Long day?” He questioned with a sly smirk,  pulling off his coat and casting it onto the second bed, sitting down onto the end once he strode over to it. The bed creaked in protest from his weight.

”Yeah, apparently course work doesn’t stop even when you travel cross the country,” Vic noted with a frown, closing the laptop with a click.

”No ones making you do it. Thought you had some plans for fun here little bro,” He teased, though his teasing voice had a certain deadpan quality to it.

”I did but decided I needed to be a little productive. Besides, they had HBO for free,” He arced a brow at the statement, as if HBO were not a good enough reason to stay inside in the cool air and relax.

”Well that’s not good enough. We’re getting you out of this room and enjoying the night,” He grinned, bleach white teeth flashing in a sharkish grin.

”What? You are so unfair,” He was joking, laying back and resting his hands behind the back of his head.

”Heard there was a food truck gathering not too far, they might have some good tacos or whatever.” He was already in the motion of moving around the room and changing into something a little more casual. Jeans and a button up shirt that he rolled his sleeves up in. A pair of jeans hovered into the air and hurled itself across the room, nearly smacking Victor in the face. He caught it, snapping his hand up and glowering at it. ”put some pants on. Not walking around in those pajama bottoms of yours,”

He rolled his eyes and then hopped off the bed, changing into them with a few quick motions. Well, this wasn’t the worst day to have and he actually enjoyed spending time with his brother. The two of them were quite the pair however, with one standing nearly a foot taller than him and easily looking more muscular too. How could he not envy that jacked look? The two of them walked out of the hotel and were soon in the midst of bustling people with their chattering voices and smile. Lukas looked pretty pleased with his idea, hands buries into his pockets.

”Think the wife would like you eating junk food?”

”I could care less what she likes. Harpy doesn’t seem to like anything I do anyhow,” Might have been why he noted he wasn’t wearing that ring. ”I hear a few have some really good deep fried things that clog up arteries, ” he added, scanning the street with brightly interested blue eyes, ones he didn’t share with his brother. Time to time his step-mother liked to remind him he looked like his “whore” of a mother.

Within a few minutes they were munching on some street tacos because they were lacking in  adventurous spirit. ”So tell me, anything interesting happen on your day out?” He noted the shifting of his eyes and him awkwardly tugging on his collar.

”Nothing too interesting,” He responded, crunching on his taco and pointing out a shaved ice set up. Vic agreed.

Wyatt honestly had no idea what he was doing in a city like this. He didn’t mind the cities, honestly, he didn’t. He actually felt more in home in cities than he did in woods, which many had told him was weird. “You’re a bird!” They’d say, always carrying the same surprised tone. “You’re an owl no less and you belong in the woods, in trees, in nooks! There’s plenty of hero work out that way!” It was always the same and it was honestly getting overly old. The thought alone made him feel like an old man, ready to complain at those dang kids and their wisecracks, thinking they knew what was best or what was right.

Still, he didn’t know what he was doing this city in particular. Rabbit had been keen on sending him out this way, word was that they don’t get as many heroes here and some outside help would be just what Wyatt needed to boost his reputation. Reputation, according to Rabbit Punch, was important. Having someone people could look up to was inspiring, it helped people be better, have a role model to follow after. At least, that was her belief. Wyatt didn’t share the same exact ideals, but some time away from the city and doing other work would be good. He was sure of it.

On the other hand, as he stood in the street, he felt a wave of unease wash over him like a wave that was a mile high. Most people were staring at him. Unlike other metas he couldn’t hide away his wings. They were always out and always in view. Many on the street would gawk as they walked by and all he could do was give a little wave of his fingers, hoping they wouldn’t press him for questions.

Crime fighting in the city had been slow, honestly he had only busted minor criminals. Pickpockets, thieves, muggers, and drunks. There were no major villains or massive threats to the city, which he didn’t mind actually. It felt more like a vacation with an occasional violent workout. His family trips were never like these vacation, but he still managed to relax regardless.

It was noon now, or a little before? Or a little past? He had forgotten his phone at the room this morning and didn’t have a way to check. Either way, it was around lunch and he was hungry. He had perched himself up on the ledge of a building above a bustling street below. He could see people move about down there, food trucks catering to their needs and people either walking away with their lunch or stopping to enjoy the pleasant day. He now was faced with the dilemma of going down there and grabbing something and getting gawked at again or going hungry until he went back to his apartment room.

His stomach obviously threw its vote one way, while his anxiety threw it the other. The two terrible combatting forces made it ever harder to decide on what to do. He let himself fall back into a sitting position, his legs straddling the side of the building as he considered his options, counting on his hands as if math had some answer reason and will did not.

Finally, he let out a defeated sigh and unfurled his massive brown wings, spotted with white specs. With one more breath, he just stepped forward off the ledge and swooped down below. It was a silent descent downward and he was sure that many people would miss it until he got closer to the ground.

When he landed with a few flaps he looked around. Already people were gawking. This was already bad, he could feel the pressure weighing down on him like a bag of rocks. And, to make matters even worse, he hadn’t even decided what he was in the mood for. He had no idea what kind of food truck he’d stop at. So, there he stood in the middle of rubbernecking passerbyers.

Anxiety in a new city was a bitch…

”See anything interesting Luke?” Victor questioned, looking up to his brother who looked all too interested in something aside from their conversation.

”Not too much. Just a flying man,” He noted, taking a bite from his standard truck food with an audible crunch.

”A flying man? That sounds cr…” Vic paused, catching sight of the same flying man that his brother had mentioned. Jaw clenched tight in the middle of chewing, his mind working over what exactly he would do with the information. Not like metahumans were new to him, though he allowed himself to forget that from time to time. Turning into smoke was fine but flying was weird right?

”Crazy right? Sometimes I think you forget what we are,” He teased with a strangely bemused smirk, barely having the time to react to the sound of someone cursing and the splash of food on the shorter males clothes. ”ah…okay there Vic?”

”I’m fine. Just a few big stains on my shirt now,” He sensed the glare coming from the taller male though he knelt and smiled at the guy. ”you okay? Um…my shirt’ll be fine. Just needs a bit of cleaning is all,” He tried to assure, feeling a few eyes on him but ignoring them.

Wyatt's ears picked up something strange. Something was soaring through the air? Falling? Someone...did someone jump from a building? No, it was too close to the ground to be an attempt like that. It was probably...dropping something. His head turned, a bit unnaturally like an owl searching for prey, towards the falling plate. Following it was a man who must've tripped, and then watched as he hit the ground. Was that means to go check on him? His face was red, but he seemed fine? Was this really a situation to get involved in?

Might as well? Not like anything else was happening. He made himself a bit smaller, seeming a bit discouraged by the scenario. This wasn't how he imagined his day, but he knew that Sam would've done the same. He went over to the man with fiery red hair and tilted his head a bit. "Ah, um...you good, bud?" He scratched the back of his neck, feeling a bit awkward by the situation. "Do you-uh-you dropped your food there, do you...I don't know? Do you need someone to get you something else? I can cover if you need?" Was this really what heroes did? Offer food to people who dropped theirs? The poor guy was red faced, seeming nervous. He supposed this was what heroes did, helping folks, but still...it felt very weird to do this.

He slowly looked around the area, trying to read the crowd, if any. He caught a glance of where the food had landed. Right on the shirt of another...oh, that was bad...he should check in with them next. He slowly raised his hand to them, giving them an awkward wave. "Oh good...just the kind of stuff I wanted to get involved with."

Vic was ignorant of the fact but Luke could tell the red haired male was thrown into quite an awkward state once he noticed he threw his food all over the shorter males shirt. Well Vic wasn’t the kind of person to worry over something like his clothes being stained, so he didn’t expect any kind of blow up. Luckily it wasn’t his clothes, those had a much higher price tag. ”it’s fine, I’ll just wash it later,” Vic said with an attempt at a placating gesture, though he could tell the two were about the same amount of awkward.

Vic was getting ready to just disengage from the situation when a loud sound broke through the bustle of the street. Both siblings had heard that kind of sound before, moving before really even seeing where it was from. As close to the ground as they could be, as metal and chunks of what they could assume were a person and food were showered across the very street they were standing on.

A steadying hand rested on the taller sibling, keeping him from unleashing  his own power on whatever might have caused the explosion. The ginger turned his attention to the winged man, likely some kind of hero that was part of dealing with this kind of thing.  ”I’ll do this, you get everyone out of here,” His brother narrowed his eyes and nodded, likely remembering that he didn’t need people knowing what he could do. The kind of power he had at his fingertips. He had an idea what he wanted to do but then again that wasn’t going to be easy.

”Don’t worry about me. I’ll…help the innocents escape,” His brother responded just low enough for him to hear,  Vic chewing his lower lip nervously before nodding and springing to his feet once again. Thankful he didn’t get himself scuffed up on the sidewalk.

With that Vic seemed to run off, ducking around one of the buildings and pulling a mask he meticulously folded in an inner pocket of his jacket.  It would cover his face, and with that he took on the form of smoke, gliding along the edge of the building whose shadow he was hiding in and reforming at the apex of the roof. Watching for what might happen with the winged man and the bomber.

”We should probably get out of here. Don’t know if anything else might get blown up,” Luke spoke to the red haired man, motioning with one of his hands for the two of them to get out of there.

Wyatt had, honestly, kind of zoned after things had initially got cleared over. At the end of the day, it was just food and this wasn't really something that needed all that much sorting, and it certainly didn't need the help of a hero. Still, he just stood there, idling as the two handled the whole food dilemma, feeling as if he had some sort of...responsibility to? Not because he was a hero, but because he had approached when it happened and it'd be weird to just shuffle off now, not really...what someone would expect of a hero. But also standing around was awkward? So there wasn't much he could do to alieve that, so in the meantime, he just stood...trying his best not to be too noticeable.

He had opened his mouth towards the latter end, ready to say that his work was done, when that food truck exploded. Wyatt's wings shot out behind him, not in a motion to show he was ready, but rather from the suddenness of it all. Even with his earmuffs, he felt his ears ringing and the world around him was spinning. It hadn't even been that intense of an explosion...he thought? It was hard to tell, his senses were out of whack, his improved hearing really taking a toll on him now. Still wincing through the pain he had looked to the two he was with before and it through half-shut eyes he could see their lips moving, trying to communicate something, but as it stood that ringing was all he could hear.

This, however, was not a situation he could ignore, people needed help and hearing or not, he had to act. He let go of his ears, staggering as he did, but managing to keep his balance. His wings folded in behind him and he gave the two a nod, speaking...perhaps at a tone louder than he meant. "Hey! I am a hero, I am gonna make sure everyone is alright, you all get somewhere safe and stay out of the way of emergency workers." One of the people around him seemed to have already run off, which only left the other two and they already were conversing about something, so that seemed all set.

With a few precautionary flaps of his wings, Wyatt took to the air, though only by a few feet. He flew over to the wreckage and began to scan the area, looking for anyone who might've been hurt. His flying had been a bit off as he went over there, shaky and almost appearing as if he was drunk as went. There were...yeah...there were people here who needed help, people scared, and...and...there wasn't any sign of any death, which was good, but there was still too early to tell for sure.

With a few more flaps, he touched down towards the center of the explosion and moved to a pair that had been shook, bleeding in a few places, but put together for the most part. They looked stunned, but with a clamp to the shoulder and a point to somewhere safe, the two took off. First job, get those who were still good to move out so response teams could focus on those trapped. In a loud voice, louder than he meant still with his hearing, he called out to everyone. "My name is Who, a hero! If you can move, get out of the area! Help is on its way!" This would've been so much easier if he was a strong hero or had some sort of telekinetic power, but he was just guy with wings and sharp talons.

He wasn’t a hero by any metrics and yet he found himself leading what few people around him away from the explosions rocking the streets. The things he did for family was something that aggravated him to no end. Perhaps he just wasn’t expecting explosions, a nice little day with his brother ruined by someones mad designs to blow the street up. His brother had flitted off, hoping likely to finding out what was happening and stopping people from being further hurt.  At least he had a power that let him slip into a harder to hurt form.

‘The red haired man seemed to muttering to himself, just audible within the chaos of the street. It didn’t make any sense why just a street fair like this was being targeted. There had to be more to this event. If he went far enough to make a mess, there would definitely have to be a greater reason for the whole thing. What that could be escaped him immediately, until one of the people he was trying to escort out of here produced  a phone with screen faced towards him.

”An art heist?” He muttered, looking incredulous about the fact as if it were the most ridiculous thing.  Not like he could do anything now anyway. That would lead to many awkward questions, and people knowing more than they should about him.  He reached out to grasp the phone, considering it if it weren’t pulled away and filed away the information in the back of his mind. This would be useful for later he was sure.  If only to make sure and punish the people who decided to ruin his otherwise perfect family day.

”Not much I can do either, as much as I hate that. We’ll have to stay out of the way,” That was all he could say, despite having so much he could actually do.

--

Victor felt his heart hammering in his chest.

A phantom feeling even when he dispersed into smoke, having no limbs or even heart. People were scattering while he moved towards the commotion, vaguely aware of the man with wings flying around and doing what he could too.  At least he knew he wasn’t working alone, which managed to alleviate some of the anxiety.

After changing into his costume, he quickly floated through the radiant smoke of the explosion and seemed to apparate from it.  The other hero seemed to easily stand a good half foot above him, though he looked capable enough. He wondered if the skull like mask made him look like a villain. If so, this wouldn’t have been the first time. Why did his roommate think this would work for a hero suit. Okay, it was a vigilante suit but that didn’t matter to him.

”I’m here to help too,” He stated immediately, noting the faint looks of horror and shock in the injured people that the winged man had also been helping.  A voice echoed out in the crowd, his head whipping towards where it sounded like it was coming from. ”don’t know what the wicked witch laughter is about though.” he added, sounding as confused as one would expect.

Wyatt’s eyes went wide, but not with fear. They searched desperately for that disembodied voice, shifting around in the sky trying to find the source of it. Everything was being jumbled together, it was hard to keep track of it. People were shouting, moving; there were lights flashing somewhere. All of his enhanced senses were slowly being overloaded and while it didn’t hurt yet, it was getting hard to keep track of everything. He clutched the earmuffs as another explosion sounded, then winced back a few paces. It was a fruitless endeavor to try and find the source; he certainly wouldn’t find it just helping the people out.

His gaze was then focused upon the newcomer, the skull masked fellow. He stared long and hard at the man, trying to judge his words. He opened his mouth to reply, but a woman screamed shrilly, causing him to cover his ears. There was no helping it, he would need the extra hand. Even one belonging to a man who looked exactly like a villain.

Wyatt nodded towards him. “The people are following the front of the crowd!” He called out to Skull-face. “They’re headed in a good direction away from all of this, and I can see the lights of sirens so the cops should be able to take care of them.” He looked around once more, his gaze narrowing and his hands moving to adjust his muffs once more. “We gotta find the voice. I would bet my wings he’s the cause of all this.” He took a few flaps higher, giving another spin, “Or lure him out.” His eyes went downward to him, “You can call me Who, by the way! If you got any bright ideas on what to do, I’m all ears.”

His mind began to race. He heard the words “heist” from somewhere, maybe? He heard the word terrorist attack, which…no, this didn’t seem like that. It was too showy. Someone else he heard accuse him or skull-face of it. That at least made people a bit faster away from the scene. Some sort of Meta was the obvious answer, but still, he couldn’t find what they could be after.

Grimacing, he bit his lip and flew towards where he saw signs of the Gala event, hoping against hope that he would find what he’s looking for. As he went, he called back to skull-face, “I am gonna check something out! If I’m not back in a minute, go the gala display! If you find something, just shout really loud, I'll hear it!” And with that, he took off full speed.