Fandom Amateur Avengers.

[Elektra's Nachos]

turbulence

It had been a few weeks since the hand had been 'defeated'... if they could call it that. The house was feeling full. Gray had started staying around more and Adrianna had moved in. Delilah didn't mind but she did miss it just being her and Luna. She liked Gray but he was a mystery that she didn't really want to fall in love with and Adrianna? She didn't understand her at all. The girl was a ninja a few weeks before and now she was staying at their apartment. It made Delilah a little on edge.

It was late in the evening and Delilah had finally got home from work. She was tired and in need of some fun. She loved her job but things recently had been weird. She couldn't explain why but her coworkers just seemed...off? She had put it down to stress because of the latest designs coming out. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She wished herself into comfortable clothes and relaxed outside by the pool with a bottle of wine. But something was missing and she hated herself for it but she missed Gray annoying her. She could of gone to hang out with the others but she just wasn't feeling it.
"Hey, what are you up too? I'm bored... " She texted him.
Then she threw the phone next to her, regretting instantly that she'd texted him. Maybe she should of just had dinner and gone to bed.
-
Adjusting to life in this luxurious apartment was tough. The soft sheets didn't feel right on her skin, the nice clothes didn't feel right to her. She missed the uniform, she missed taking orders. It was all she knew.
Now she was free of the hand's grasp, what was she supposed to do with herself? Get a real job? That didn't seem like it was on the cards for her... she had a problem and it wasn't going to go away. She was a murderer.

She sat on the sofa with her legs crossed in Delilah's and Luna's apartment listening to the other's talk. She would of called it home but it didn't feel like that at all.
She hadn't spoken a single word, she just sat and listened to them talk while she sipped her drink which was some expensive gin. It didn't taste night but it did help relax to some degree.

Carter loved his new group of friends. After taking down ninjas... he felt like they'd grown a bond together which was nice because he'd really struggled with making friends due to his job taking up a lot of his time.
He had the night off so he'd agreed to go and have drinks with Luna. Plus... he knew Theo was there. He was great and sometimes, he felt like they had a connection and then it went away. He assumed he was reading the signals wrong but god, he wished he wasn't.

It was tough because no one knew he was an alien. He hadn't really come in conversation and really, he didn't know how to tell them. He didn't know how they'd take it so he'd kept it to himself. Though, maybe that was just irrational because they all had their own abilities and skills. An Alien shouldn't be too much of a shock.

"It's my night off. We should go hit a club or see a show. It's still early. I mean... I like sitting here and drinking but we should actually make a night out of it."He smiled.

 

[turbulence]

Gray was doing just fine. The bar's lights were dim, the furniture expensive, and the alcohol more so. This is what he needed, he didn't need ninjas or a girl or a group of friends with crazy powers..well, okay, maybe he didn't mind his friends so much..or the gi-no. He just needed this, and maybe a little something else too.

His last guy had been murdered right in front of him, but there was hardly a shortage of dealers in Manhattan, especially not with enough money and the right connections, and Gray had both of those. He pulled out his phone to send a message, ignoring the two unread messages he already had. One was from earlier in the night, a group text sent by Carter asking if everyone was still going to their gathering tonight and if he should bring anything; the other had come through just a few minutes ago, a text from Delilah that he didn't even read the preview for in case he felt tempted to reply.
"Hey man, what you up to tonight? I'm in PDT, you know the place right? I'm willing to buy whatever you're selling" He sent, not surprised to realise that the number was already one of the most frequented in his contacts.

It barely took a minute for the reply to come through, but it still felt to long, and felt longer still when the dude said he wouldn't be there for another ten minutes. He watched the time tick away slowly on his phone's clock before grabbing his jacket from the coat man and slipping outside. The new guy didn't talk much, and Gray preferred it that way, just sipping him the money and taking the baggie. He headed back into the club and into the bathroom. There was one of those guys in there, the ones who got up in your face and sprayed cologne on you, but Gray ignored him and headed to one of the stalls, it was almost too easy to get away with these things.

-

Luna enjoyed nights like these, it was nice to just be surrounded by a few good friends and a few drinks (lemonade, in her case, she didn't thin anyone here would protest her drinking even though it was still a few months until she turned twenty one, but she wasn't always comfortable with it herself.) She liked it more than the overwhelming clubs and bars that Dellah usually took her to, though she hadn't been doing much of that lately, too busy with work and dealing with Gray. Luna liked Gray, it was hard not to feel some connection to a person when you'd been through what they'd all been through taking down The Hand, but she wasn't sure that he was good for her cousin, she knew that Delilah wasn't very happy lately.

In truth, she knew that no one in her new social circle was very happy. She could see it in their auras every day, they were always solid, deep colours of sadness and stress. Sometimes she even felt like she could feel it too, though it was probably just empathy because her powers didn't work like that, or at least they never had before.

"That sounds fun, anything in mind? If not I know of a great dance showcase going on, it's only about twenty minutes away by car, and they have an open bar as long as you buy tickets." The truth was Luna didn't really want to leave the sofa.

The auras around her right now were already keeping on edge, she didn't want to throw more into the mix. But she knew that Carter didn't get nights off much, she wanted her friends to have a good night, and maybe if they left the apartment Delilah would come instead of spending her time alone by the pool, although they saw each other every day by virtue of living with each other she still missed her somehow.

-

Theo's drink had been sitting in his hand only half drank for god knows how long now, he'd been forgetting to drink it, he kept spacing out. Saying it was spacing out was lying to himself, he kept finding his attention wandering to Carter instead of the task at hand. He honestly wasn't meaning for it to happen, but he had always been easily distracted, and if that soft hair an even softer looking lips weren't distracting then, hey, he didn't know what was.

Sometimes he felt like Carter maybe liked him back, that instead of it being as simple as Theo looking and Carter looking somewhere else, it was both of them looking and just never quite catching each other. When he thought like that he had to remind himself that it didn't matter either way, he couldn't act on the way he felt, not after last time.

He would never know if those lips were as soft as they looked, and if Carter really did return his feelings then he deserved better than that.

"Hmm?" Theo said, having only just realised that people were talking, luckily he was used to actually spacing out enough that his brain managed to catch up with it. "A dance showcase? Yeah, that sounds cool I guess, y'know, whatever you guys wanna do."

 

[Elektra's Nachos]

Delilah sipped her wine and sighed softly. Maybe he was busy? He was probably busy. That didn't stop her from overthinking the text. So she made it worse. She picked up her phone again.
'Luna is having some sort of gathering. She's wondering where you are..."She texted him.
Then she threw her phone across the sofa again and slumped down. She stared at the pool for a minute just debating if she should go inside and hang out with the others. If Gray wasn't going to see her then maybe she should make an effort to go inside and be friendly.

She finished her glass of wine and poured another. Then she put her headphones in and closed her eyes.

-
"You had me at open bar. That sounds awesome. I've lived in New York for over ten years now and I swear I've never done anything fun here! Let's do it."Carter said.

He glanced down at himself and realized he was definitely not dressed to go out anywhere. He was wearing grey jogging bottoms and skate shoes. He had dressed for comfort. He'd probably need to pop home and dress a little bit nicer. He didn't live that far anyway so it wouldn't be a huge issue.
"Maybe I should run home and change first... I can't imagine many people go to shows in Joggers."He chuckled.

Then he turned to Adrianna who was quiet. Well, she was quiet a lot of the time but since they'd gotten rd of the hand threat, she'd been even more quiet and he knew she didn't like him worrying over her but he really couldn't help it.
"I'll pay for you Ade, you're coming right?"He asked.

-
Adrianna didn't like the idea of going out. What if she got ID'd? She didn't have an identity technically. It would just make her feel awkward. She liked the idea of staying at home and meditating more. But if she wanted a chance at a real life? She'd have to make an effort to act normal. This was good practice.
"Uh.. yeah.. sure."She said.

Adrianna was worrying that something bad would happen because it just.. always seemed too. She felt a little insane and she didn't have anyone to talk to about it because she'd just sound sick. She'd killed before when she was with the hand but they were orders and she had to find her way out. But stabbing the ninja over and over again? That had been her own doing and it made her feel... great. Maybe being in the hand had warped her mind and she just needed to get herself straight but then the dark thoughts returned and she almost dropped her glass out of her hand.

 

[turbulence]

Gray wasn't entirely sure what he had taken, the dude (Gray always failed to catch his name, didn't matter, if he was anyone important he'd be using a fake one anyway) had said it was a new mix that had just hit the streets. Gray hadn't asked any further questions, it didn't matter what he was doing as long as it felt good, and damn did he feel good right now. He felt alive, so much better than the numb existence that plagued his few sober hours.

He heard his phone go off again, though it felt far off and dreamy. He reached for it clumsily, and when he saw it was another text from Delilah he opened it without thinking, no longer thinking about his earlier apprehension.
"I can't come, i'm busy. I'm sorry, hey did you know that the sofa's here at PBT are like super comfy? You're so beautiful." Gray wasn't thinking before he typed, he just let his stream of conciseness flow out onto the screen before hitting send.

He put his phone back in his pocket, or at least he meant to, he was pretty sure it has just slipped onto the seat next to him but he forgot to check. He only remembered to retrieve it when he decided to go up to the bar to get another drink, he didn't really want one, but he wanted to do something, he wanted to talk to someone.

-

Luna went to get changed herself while they waited for Carter and Theo to return from their own apartments. She didn't much care what she wore, her wardrobe was just an endless sea of muted colours anyway, mostly made of white and grey. She picked out a white blouse and a skirt that was a soft beige colour, then after tidying up her pixie cut hair slightly she was done. It was not like anyone would care how she looked, Delilah was the only person who'd ever disproved of her fashion choices, and it wasn't as if she had anyone to impress, Carter and Theo only had eyes for each other, it was both cute and frustrating since for reasons Luna wasn't sure of neither of them were doing anything about it, and even if they weren't for obvious reasons Luna didn't have eyes for either of them.

The only girls in Luna's life right now were her cousin and an ex-ninja who lived in their apartment but barely spoke to her, not about anything of substance anyway. Having Adriana live with them had been uneventful so far, she had took one of the many spare rooms and that was that. She was their friend, but sometimes Luna wasn't really sure how to act around her, she'd lived a life so different from the rest of them, Luna wanted to make her feel welcome and she hoped she was, but that's the most she could say of their relationship.

Luna headed back to the living room, not surprised to find it empty. Adriana had probably gone back to her room to change to, then again Luna got the feeling that she didn't like the clothes she had, (maybe she could find way to get her something she'd be more comfortable in, she thought to herself), so perhaps she'd just retired there until it was time to leave. With nothing else left to do Luna made her way to the poolside, finding Delilah just where she'd left her. She approached the other woman, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention until she took her headphones off.
"Hi there! We were just heading out to a show, my friend Maddison's studio has a showcase going on, if you remember her. Wanna come?" Luna asked, already prepared for the rejection but still hoping otherwise.

-

Theo had been rummaging through his wardrobe for ten minutes now, but he still hadn't found something he wanted to wear. He had a couple of outfits laid out on his bed, including the one he normally wore to his auditions, because even when he sacrificed the money for his much needed apartment renovations on clothes, he only had a few truly nice outfits, it was unfortunate but that's how things happen sometimes. He normally didn't think so much over his clothes, but today he was picky and unfortunately he knew exactly why.

Stop thinking about it, dude, he told himself, and grabbed the clothes off his bed and got changed. Once he was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, and gold shirt with his jacket tied around his waist he put on some simple eye makeup (it honestly wasn't about impressing anyone this time, it just never hurt) and grabbed his keys before heading out the door.

He started the brisk walk back to Delilah and Luna's incredibly fancy apartment. It wasn't a long walk but he still wished he had a car to make the journey a bit faster. SHIELD granted him enough money to live, just about, and his last few auditions had actually paid off, though they were nothing big, two commercials and a one episode role with maybe ten lines throughout the whole thing, a car was definitely out of his reach for the foreseeable future, but hey, he didn't mind too much.

 

[Elektra's Nachos]

Delilah could of fallen asleep, she'd gotten so comfortable but her peace was disturbed by Luna coming to talk to her. She opened her eyes and pulled her headphones out. It was sweet that she was asking her to go out even if it was painfully obvious that she wasn't interested in interacting with anyone. Work had taken most of her energy for the day and relaxing on her own was helping calm her down.

The dance showcase did sound good... even if she couldn't remember who this girl was.
"I would but I think I'm gonna have an early night. But have fun, don't drink too much."She laughed.

She checked her phone, surprised to actually have a text from Gray. He was busy? He was such an idiot, he was just at a bar. He wasn't busy. He was probably getting high because that seemed to be all that guy did. But he had called her beautiful and that had her smiling at her phone before she realized what she was doing and went back to a neutral expression.
'I'm even more beautiful in person, want me to come meet you?'She replied.

-
Adrianna had wondered off into her room once everyone had gone to get changed. She opened her wardrobe, the clothes were cute but every time she put them on, she wanted to take them off and go back to something more simple. She knew that girls typically wore dresses on their nights out and tactically ,that was okay provided it wasn't too tight. But she figured jeans were a much better option for her. She had no idea why she was thinking about her outfit tactically, it was stupid but it was the way she was wired.
She chose a pair of black jeans, a black vest top and a leather jacket. She slipped her boots on and picked up her switchblade. There was no way she was going out unarmed so she slipped it down the side of her boot.

-
Carter had gotten a cab home even if it was only a twenty minute walk, he wanted to be quick and he didn't like the idea of everyone waiting for him to get ready. He opened the door to his apartment and scooped up the cat in his arms.
"Fitz!"He said and stroked the cat while he walked into his bedroom.

He put the cat down on his bed and walked into his closet. He realized he didn't have any nice clothes so he just changed into a jumper and jeans. He put on a different pair of skate shoes and fixed his hair in the mirror. Then he changed his contact, he didn't know how late he'd be out and he didn't want the contact to dry out. That sounded like a disaster.
He took the contact out and blinked a few times. He glanced up in the mirror and smiled at himself. Carter didn't hate his golden eye, he was incredibly proud to be an alien... but he always imagined the things people would say. The shame he'd get for not being human even though he was born on earth.

After replacing his contact, he walked back to Luna's place. He walked as fast as he could and knocked on the door. He didn't know if he was the first back or not. Adrianna opened the door and smiled.
"You look uh... nice."Adrianna said, trying to compliment her.
She knew it was Carter, she could smell his cologne from a block away. It was a strong scent and when they'd first met, she felt like his Cologne had chocked her out but she'd adjusted. Super senses, they sucked.

 

[turbulence]

Gray didn't remember replying to Delilah's text asking if he wanted her to come meet her, or even telling her where he was, but he must of done both of those things because here she was. She looked dazzling, he had to stop and stare for a moment, though that desire was quickly overridden by his desire to be closer to her and he moved to meet her at the other end of the bar.

"Hey" he breathed, then added "Missed me that much, huh?"

The bar was loud, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed by everything going on. Whatever he'd taken had fully kicked in now and he knew Delilah didn't like seeing him high, it was probably so obvious, but there was nothing he could do about that now. There was nothing he would do about it anyway.

-

Luna paid for their tickets into the showcase. Her friends dance school was much more prestigious than her own, and therefore expensive even though the dancers were students rather than professionals, and when Luna had realised as much she was more than happy to pay even though no one had asked.

The venue was lovely, looking more like it was hosting a wedding reception than a show. The stage was at the other end of the room, but instead of just having chairs lined up in front of it their were multiple tables with white cloths set up, with their own centrepieces. The bar was along the side of the room, and clearly already a popular place.

"You guys go get drinks if you want, I'm just gonna go say hi to Maddision quickly." She waved, leaving to go find backstage.

-

Theo headed over to the bar first, finding himself a little nervous to be left with one less person between him and Carter. It was ridiculous, his mom was known for her seductive prowess, and yet here he was too scared to be near the boy he liked. That was the problem though, his mom, that's exactly why he was too scared to talk to the boy he liked.

He knew that he had it in him to be just as charming and alluring as The Enchantress had ever been, but she'd passed down more than that in her DNA. He'd gotten her magic too, he was just as adept as she was, albeit weaker due to the fact he wasn't on and had never been to Asgard. His mother had a lot of abilities that she'd passed down, energy beams, transmutation...enslaving people with a single kiss...

He didn't want to be like her, he didn't want that to ever happen again, which is why he didn't do anything and kept the secret of who his mother was close to his chest, where it could hurt no one but himself.

"Yo, I'll have a beer please." He smiled at the bartender.

 

[Elektra's Nachos]

Delilah had got changed, she had debated putting on a killer dress but it would just be wasted. They were going to sit in a bar and drink. Gray was going to deny being high, they'd talk and he'd come back to her house to crash. It was pretty basic. Delilah questioned herself, if that's what she thought... why was she going? Probably because he was an idiot, he'd get killed if he was left o his own for too long. He'd come pretty close when they were fighting against the hand.
She changed into a pair of high waisted jeans, a red vest top and a pair of black, Louis Vuitton heels.

"Ew, no. I didn't miss you. I came here for the booze."She said.
She ordered a gin and leaned against the bar, looking at Gray. She debated using her powers, reading his mind. She wondered what she'd hear. Probably just gibberish right now.

"Gray, do I even have to ask if you're on something... your pupils are crazy."Delilah laughed like it was a joke.
-
Adrianna looked around the room, taking in the small details. She was also scouting the room for threats which was ridiculous. They were at a show. But it was her training. She walked to the bar and closed her eyes for a moment, listening to a conversation on the other side of the room. It was good practice. But she was a little nervous about the show, loud music and people clapping? It sounded like she was going to end up in sensory overload. That was one of the reasons she actually didn't mind the hand at times, they were trained to be quiet. She never ran the risk of being taken over by a sea of noise and smells.

She didn't order anything, she actually decided it was best to leave. She didn't fit in here, did she fit in anywhere? No. She hated herself for thinking it but maybe, maybe she missed being a part of the hand. But taking them down was the right thing to do, she had to focus on that.
She walked out of the building and took a deep breath. She didn't have a key to the apartment so she'd probably wonder the streets, listen to the city. Try and figure out what she was going to do next/

-
Carter watched Luna walk off and stood awkwardly, trying to figure out if he should talk to Theo. Confidence, that's what he needed. It wasn't like a conversation was a date. He was trying to be friendly.
He walked to the bar and stood, messing with the sleeve of his sweater. He then realized how awkward it would be if he didn't say anything at all.
"So uh... do you like cats?"He asked, then laughed at himself."That was a weird question. I'm just... I noticed no one in our group has any pets. I guess i'm just... Uh.. ignore me."

 

[turbulence]

Gray had the fleeting though to close his eyes and hide his pupils, until he remembered that that would be immensely childish and he was a grown man, and also probably the drugs talking.

"So? What did you expect, Lilah? I thought we knew eachother by now, bibically, in fact," He laughed, and it sounded foreign to his own ears. His laugh didn't sound so manic when he was sober, hell, did he even laugh sober? He honestly wasn't sure.

He took a sip of his glass of champagne while waiting for Delilah's reply, he was sure he would get a disinterested roll of her eyes at worst or rile her up at best, but it was better than sitting in silence; what self respecting high man liked silence? He was still waiting (how long had it been? A few seconds? A few minutes? Was there even a time before or had he been waiting in this bar since the moment he was brought into existence?) when he felt a hand clap against his back. It was only then that he remembered that he hadn't actually came to the club alone, he'd actually been invited out by a couple of friends promising a good time. He couldn't remember where he'd met these guys or how they became friends, but every now and then he'd get a text from them telling him about some hot new club or hot new girls and find himself out with them.

"Gray, my man, where did you disappear to? We'd almost thought you'd ditched us!" Chad said, he was tall and blonde and had an accent that was high pitched and irritating if you weren't used to it, Gray wasn't sure he was.

"And, Pray tell, who is this hot piece of ass you're talking to?" The other guy chimed in, and wait, maybe he was Chad, maybe the blonde one was Brad? They didn't look alike at all, the man talking now had dark hair and was just edging on overweight, but they were never apart and Gray never saw them sober.

-

Luna saw Adrianna slip away from the venue out of the corner of her eye, she was gone too fast for Luna to catch the colour of her aura, but whatever it was probably wasn't one of the more pleasant colours. Luna did honestly debate staying for the dance recital, she could have fun, do what normal twenty year old's did with their evening, she didn't have to follow up on everyone's feelings just because of her powers, god damn it.

...But she couldn't bring herself to stay. This wasn't just some empathetic obligation, she considered the other woman her friend, even if she wasn't entirely sure if Adrianna thought of her in the same way. She couldn't just leave a friend in pain, she didn't have it in her, the idea didn't make her feel guilty exactly, but she knew it should and that was enough.

Luna looked back to check on Carter and Theo at the bar, but they were busy talking amongst themselves, they probably even notice she was gone with the way only had eyes for each other these days. She didn't bother saying bye, she'd probably be back soon enough anyway, at least that's what she told herself as she followed the direction Adrianna had gone in.

-

Theo was pleasantly surprised to hear Carter approach him. He knew he shouldn't be trying to initiate anything with him, but it was only polite conversation, what could it hurt?

"Well, personally I'd say i'm more of a dog person..like..have you ever seen a shiba inu? But I like cats too, I love all animals, I don't discriminate, why?" He replied lightly, entertained by the sudden topic of conversation.

He was always a fan of pointless, out of nowhere chats, it was certainly better than all the serious talk about the hand or peoples feelings that normally went on. It wasn't that he didn't want his friends to talk about these things, he just never had much to contribute, he'd never been one for worrying, or at least he tried his best not to be.

 

[Elektra's Nachos]

Delilah had a thought. Go home. What was the point of chasing after a guy who was more interested in his drugs than her? Didn't she deserve better? The truth was, she liked a guy like him. Funny, charming but also, in need of fixing up. It was her curse. She was sure of it. She didn't know what to say to him, she just rolled her eyes and sipped her drink while she debated running home or even going to find Luna and the others. Maybe she could catch the show, she didn't know when it started but she was sure she could blag her way in half way or teleport into the bathroom.
No, she knew what she had to do. She had to be honest. Gray's behavior was worrying. But as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, it was interrupted by sexism. Of course.

Usually, Delilah would laugh it off. But tonight, she was angry. Frustrated. Work was bad enough, she didn't want to have to deal with assholes in her personal life too.
She slammed her drink down and turned to the two new guys.
"I'm a human being. With a name. Not an object so why don't you fucking leave?"She snapped and moved closer to them." Get in your expensive car that your daddy bought you and drive it off a cliff."

Delilah needed to calm down, she hadn't noticed that her hand had started to glow. If she didn't relax, she'd lose control. That had happened in a while, she had been convinced she was past that.

--
Adrianna didn't move for a minute while she debated her options. She turned to look back at the door, maybe she should of said goodbye? They were her 'friends' after all. But she was taken out of the thought by Luna. She'd followed her out and Adrianna put her head down and looked at the ground to avoid eye contact. She almost felt bad for wanting to ditch. Who knew adjusting to the world around her would be so difficult?

"I... I'm sorry."She said in a weak voice and cleared her throat."I... I have a sensory issue. It's complicated but... I just can't do shows. The loud noises make me on edge. Maybe I should just go home? You guys enjoy the show."
If she went home, she'd probably spend the evening meditating and trying to keep up on being fit. Half of her life consisted of working out. It wasn't terrible, it helped with relaxing. It just probably wasn't ideal when Delilah and Luna could hear her making loud noises in the middle of the night.

--
Carter was surprised that he'd actually answered what was possibly the most ridiculous attempt at a conversation. He smiled at him and ordered a drink while he talked. He went for vodka and lemonade.

"Oh, I have a cat. He's called Fitz. After Fitzgerald, the novelist? I read the Great Gatsby around the same time I got my cat so... But yeah, he was just on my mind."He said.
He didn't even know what he was saying, he must of sounded like the lamest person. Talking about his pet to the guy he liked but what else could he talk about? Work was straight forward. He was a nurse. The only other interesting thing about him was the fact he was an alien. But that wasn't a topic he was ready for.
"How can you be more of a dog person? I don't understand how people can pick dogs over cats?"He chuckled.

 

[turbulence]

Gray watched the situation happening in front of him, only half comprehending and unsure on whether he should intervene. He wasn't happy with his friends behaviour, but he wasn't surprised either, it's what guys like them were like, he didn't even think he could say he was much different some of the time. He was more than aware that Delilah could handle this, she'd proved herself against The Hand, some assholes in a bar were nothing.

"My daddy didn't buy me this car, but it seems you need a daddy to teach you a lesson, would you like that?" Brad(?) said, his tone sounded sleazy even to Gray's ears.

Gray clenched his fist but still didn't say anything, he was waiting to see what would happen next to know what to do, as much as he knew that Delilah wouldn't want him fighting her battles for her, it was getting tempting to just throw a punch, his adrenaline was practically urging him to and it was only the little bit of sense in left in his mind holding him back.

*

Luna took a moment to let Adrianna's words sink in. Sensory issues? That wasn't something she was aware Adrianna was suffering from, though she supposed it made sense what with Matt Murdock being her father; even when someone got their powers through an incident or event it still manged to be passed down to their kids, Luna wasn't entirely sure how it happened but she'd never really thought about it much, it was just the way life was to her growing up surrounded by superheroes.

"I apologise for dragging you out here then, you should have said something." Luna couldn't say she was surprised that the other woman still didn't trust her, or any of them, with her issues, it was probably just a natural outcome of her upbringing, but it still stung a little when everyone had been trying so hard. "We can go home if you want? I've already said hi to Maddison, and I don't actually really know any of her students that well so there's not really a reason for us to stick around other than for something to do."

*

Theo nodded along while Carter explained about his cat, listening but not really understanding. He'd never read the Great Gatsby, the S.H.I.E.L.D facility that he'd mostly grown up in had been too high-tech to keep many paper books around, not even for people like him who lived there. He'd never minded that fact, books weren't his thing before and he hadn't really developed an interest in them after. Carter's reasoning for naming his cat was pretty cute though, as nerdy as it was, but maybe that was just all in the way he explained it.

"Dogs are just so friendly, they're like sunshine all compressed into a little animal. I don't have one though, or any pets for that matter, my apartment building doesn't allow them." Theo explained.

 

[Elektra's Nachos]

Delilah's eyes narrowed at the guy speaking, he was being serious? She was waiting for him to laugh or say it was a joke but he didn't. Delilah was beyond angry and that clear by the sparks that she still hadn't noticed. Then, the guy who had been talking went flying backwards. The purple glow around him surprised Delilah and then she looked down at her hand. She would of been concerned by the lack of control but...he was asking for it.
"Ooops!"She laughed and took a step closer."I suggest you apologies or i'm going to make you."
She briefly glanced at Gray, why hadn't he jumped in to defend her? Not that she needed it but it seemed like he'd just stood by and watched his friends talk to her like that. He wasn't boyfriend material. This proved it, she was done.

xxxxxxx
Adrianna was surprised, Luna was so... nice? It didn't make sense to her. In fact, she almost questioned her motivation before reminding herself that not everyone was bad. Luna and Delilah had let her into their home. They let her into their home even though they knew about her. The weird ninja girl. She needed to rewire her brain. Though she doubted she'd ever change, the dark thoughts were consistent and what she'd done in the past? That was never going to go away.
She could of mentioned her sensory issues but she wasn't comfortable with the group and she really didn't want the attention on her.
"No, You... you guys have fun. I'll probably just go for a walk. I can...I can meet you after the show is over? I really don't want to drag you or the boys out because I have.. whatever it is."She said.

Adrianna could hear the boys inside, they were talking. They were getting along so nicely and it was obvious Carter had a crush on him. She was sure it would ruin his night if she dragged him out of there now.

xxxxxx
Carter sipped his drink, he hadn't even realized that he'd been practically staring at Theo while he spoke. He was just... so handsome. It didn't make any sense. He almost told him that but he knew he was getting ahead of himself. This would be his first attempt at actually flirting with someone and so far, all he'd done was talk about his cat?It really did shock him that Theo hadn't just ran away from him.
"We could have this animal debate all day, I'm just biased."He chuckled.

He ran out of material to talk about pretty quickly and drank his drink as fast as he could just so he could summon the bartender and get one. He was feeling awkward again. He entwined his fingers together and put his hands on the bar to stop himself from fidgeting.

 

[turbulence]

Gray caught the sight of Delilah's hand glowing, he was hypnotised by the prettiness of it for a moment before realising what it meant, the deep purple glow was like something people would travel for miles for to see in the sky. He'd seen Delilah's powers in action and they were devastating, they could do far more damage than he ever could with his rusty fighting skills and non-super powered body. He'd often wondered why he'd even let himself get dragged into the fight against the hand when he knew all too well he was barely capable of defending himself sometimes and everyone else was more powerful than him, the only other non-powered human in the group was Carter, but he hadn't really been in the fight, just tagged along and patched their wounds.

As much as Gray liked the idea of Delilah kicking the asses of these dicks, she couldn't lose control of her powers here. This was a club filled with people with more money than sense who wouldn't take kindly to any damage done to their bodies or property, and Gray, though as rich as anyone else here, did not like the idea of getting sued.

So instead of letting Delilah's powers go crazy he wen't for the only plan he could think of and threw the first punch.

*

Luna smiled weakly. Leaving Adrianna by herself didn't sit right with her, but she wasn't sure what else to do because she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. She just wanted to fix this whole situation and have Adrianna feel comfortable with them, but she couldn't do it overnight...well actually, she could if she wanted to, she didn't like to talk about it but as well as seeing auras she could change and even remove other peoples emotions entirely, but that was a breach of trust and not something she wanted to do to someone. It wasn't something she wanted to do to anyone, she'd rather not have powers at all, but that wasn't an option.

"Okay, you can leave and head back to the apartment if you want to, but I really don't mind coming back with you," She said softly, it would be her last offer if Adrianna said no, but it was worth a shot. She really did feel guilty now, an uncomfortable sensation that twisted in her gut as well as her mind. "If you really want we can leave the boys. They have their own places to go back to and I'm not sure they'd even really realise we were gone." Luna added, a bit more cheerfully because she really was rooting for the two sat back at the bar.

*

Theo was a fan of comfortable silences, but this one didn't feel particularly comfortable. Carter seemed awkward right now, and yeah Theo had noticed he sometimes wasn't as outgoing as the rest but he hadn't been like this when they were up against the hand, did Theo make Carter more uncomfortable than undead ninjas? Man, that would be unfortunate, it really wasn't the vibe he was going for. Once again he thought to himself that maybe this behaviour was because Carter liked him, possibly as much as he liked Carter, but he immediately pushed those thoughts away for the millionth time. What did he have to offer someone like Carter anyway? Sure he was pretty, and he'd been told his easygoing nature was nice enough to be around, but Carter deserved better than having secrets kept from him, especially about something that was bound to be a huge mess for him and all his friends, if it came out it could destroy the first real friendships he felt he'd ever had.

Theo looked back up at him and was struck by how cute he looked right now, sipping his drink nervously, he was beautiful. Theo was beautiful, he spent his time at work around beautiful people, but no ones beauty had ever had as much of an effect on him as Carter's did.

He took a gulp of his own drink for a bit of liquid courage and offered to buy the next round. He just wanted to make Carter feel more comfortable around him, he told himself.

 

[Elektra's Nachos]

The look on Delilah's face was priceless. Gray had punched one of them, weren't they his friends? He was defending her and that was really refreshing. She didn't want to have to fight this by herself. She'd just come across as crazy and irrational.
She had been staring at Gray so she hadn't noticed the guy she'd thrown to the floor get up until his fist made impact with her face. She didn't managed to catch herself and hit the ground. She reached up and touched her lip, coming away with blood. A model with a split lip? She was going to be out of work until this healed.

She got to her feet with a wild look in her eye. She punched the guy who'd hit her in the face as hard as she could and grabbed his shoulder. She bought her knee up to hit him low and then tossed him to the ground.

xxx

Luna had a point, She could hear Carter inside. He hadn't mentioned either of them once since they'd disappeared so they clearly didn't care that they'd wandered off. A concern of Adrianna's was that she didn't think she'd be interesting. What could she talk about? The fact that she could use a sword? That she knew Martial Arts? That she'd grown up among ninjas? Was there anything about her that was normal or would even be remotely fascinating to a girl who dances for a living and constantly smiles? No. There wasn't. But she couldn't deny herself this chance to find something normal. It was what she needed.

"Uh, okay. sure. Come with me."She said awkwardly.
She crossed her arms against her chest and started walking back towards the apartment. She kept thinking about what would happen in the future. Would she get a normal job? Find her own apartment? It was crazy to have so much freedom and still feel trapped. Who knew her own head would become a prison. One that she could not escape.
"Just so you know, The boys have no idea that we've left. I could... I could hear their conversation."She admitted.
It was a little uncomfortable talking about her abilities because they were another burden she'd lived with.

xxxxx

Carter smiled, it was nice that he'd offered to buy the next round because living in New York was expensive and he didn't exactly make a lot of money. In fact, he made barely any and most of it went on bills. He agreed and finished his drink.
He turned around briefly to look for Luna but he couldn't see her anywhere, maybe she was backstage or something? He didn't know but he wished she'd come back and break the silence that was slowly creeping back in. Adrianna would've been good too but she walked off, like she always did.

"So,"He said and cleared his throat before he continued." I never asked how you know Luna and Delilah? I mean, I know that you guys had the whole hand thing go on but how did that come about?"

 

[turbulence]

Gray was trying to keep an eye on what Delilah was doing, but his friend had taken kindly to being punched and was taking up all his attention now. He took a punch to the face, but he barely felt it, this guy wasn't exactly a skilled fighter, hell, he'd probably never been in a fight in his life. Gray had taken on a group of ninjas, his muddled brain reminded him, and suddenly he felt invincible. The sober part of his brain told him that wasn't true, but he didn't listen, and grabbed his friends arm to twist it behind his back.

"Listen, fucker, I don't give a single fuck about you, so if i was you I'd leave me and her alone before this gets messy," Gray snarled in his ear.

Gray never heard his reply, because suddenly he was roughly snatched away, forced to let the other man go.

"What the hell!" Gray almost screamed. He was freaking out now, flinging his body every which way in an attempt to set himself free, but whatever was holding him back just gripped tighter.

"Right, We don't tolerate fights in here, are you and your girlfriend gonna leave or do we have to escort you out?"

It was only then Gray caught on to what was happening, Security had spotted what was going on and intervened, obviously without caring why the fight was even happening in the first place.

*

"Wow, and I thought it could get annoying knowing what everyone was feeling, I'd hate to hear what they were saying," Luna laughed awkwardly. It actually sounded more useful than her own power, if annoying, but she could tell that Adrianna wasn't very happy with her abilities, so Luna wasn't about to start praising them in case it made the other woman uncomfortable.

It was a nice night. Luna preferred the spring, but she loved summer too. The air was a little humid, but the city looked so different at night, it was fascinating to her every time, to see how the buildings and people changed once the sun went down, even if it wasn't always for the better. All of a sudden she wondered what kind of weather Adrianna preferred, if she preferred night or day, if her surroundings were interesting to her, or if they were just in the background, could anything really be background with super senses? Luna didn't know, she didn't know anything about Adrianna.

The walk back exactly a long one, especially not for a walk in a city as big as this, but it was almost intimidating thinking about spending all this time alone with Adrianna. Normally she'd fill a walk like this with conversation, asking questions about the other person or talking about whatever had been going on in the world lately, but Luna couldn't think of anything tonight for some reason. Luna wanted to get closer with her, but they came from different worlds, Luna knew that. Her own upbringing hadn't been a cakewalk, but she couldn't imagine growing up like Adrianna had, trained to kill from a young age.

Luna didn't hold her past against her, but she couldn't relate to it either.

Maybe that meant they'd never be close?

*

"You weren't there?" Theo asked, trying to think back to that day, "No, I guess you weren't. Sorry, it was such a wild time it's a little difficult to keep everything in order." He laughed lightly.

Carter didn't say anything to that, Theo payed it no mind and continued with his story.

"Well, obviously you know what went down with the hand. I met them because of that. We were at a party, I'm not much of a swanky party kinda dude but I got told something big was going down there, guess they were right. I don't know why Luna and Delilah were there, I never asked, but considering where they live and this fancy place right here, I'm figuring they are that type..Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked," Theo apologised, but looking at Carter the other man didn't seem annoyed, he quickly looked away again to make sure he didn't get sidetracked by something completely different. "Long story short, I spotted something suspicious and then we all ended up on the roof and there was everyone else, just a group of super powered folk, a drug dealer getting kicked off the roof by a random ninja...and Gray was there, doing his thing, I think he got his ass kicked, I don't know, I was distracted by the ninja, and meeting other people with powers."

He didn't say what he'd really been distracted by was how similar Delilah's powers were to his own, how he'd wondered briefly if they shared a similar lineage or something, he'd quickly found out it was just a coincidence anyway.

"So, what about you, man? How did you and Adrianna meet? You seem like you've known each other a while, but I've never been able to guess how that friendship happened." He asked, because Carter and Adrianna's personalities were so different and their relationship logically shouldn't work, but the world didn't care about logic and neither did Theo.

 

[Elektra's Nachos]

Delilah wanted to continue the fight. The man had angered her but security was throwing them out. Of course they'd do that without asking a single question about what started the fight. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her drink, knocking it back in one go. She wasn't going to just leave her drink.

"We were just leaving."She said.
She gave the men one last dirty look before heading to the exit.

Once they were outside, she crossed her arms against her chest and took a deep breath. The only thing on her mind was how she was going to have to miss out on work. It was summer, they were doing big shoots but she wasn't going to be able to hide the fact she had a split lip. Just her luck.
Delilah debated just teleporting home, shoving a bunch of ice on it and praying to a god somewhere that she'd be able to get work still. But she couldn't just leave Gray. He was high and most importantly, he was stupid.
"Uh... Thanks for sticking up for me back there. You didn't have too."She said almost sheepishly before chuckling."I'm glad security threw us out. You were definitely going to get your ass kicked."

xxxxxxx
New York, the loudest place to live on earth. She could hear people in their houses, people at work or singing loudly while they drove their cars. That was what she could usually hear but one particular sound stopped everything. Adrianna stopped walking, coming to a complete stop and tilted her head. She couldn't have imagined that sound. No way. It was a sword being unsheathed.
She turned around and looked up at the roof tops. It sounded like it came from above and then she saw it. A flash of red. A flash of a familiar red that she couldn't ignore.

"No..."She whispered to herself.
She knew it was a trap. She knew it was stupid. Of course. She was a trained assassin but unlike most assassins. She had emotions. Ones that took control of her. But this was a new one. This was pure, raw anger.
She looked at Luna, debating if she should explain what she saw but instead, she took off running.

She ran across the busy street, cars beeping her as she ran across. There was a car parked in the alley, she jumped onto it and jumped up to grab the fire escape. She propelled her body over it and ran up the never ending stairs to the roof top. The flash of red became very real to her. It was a person.
"We stopped you... it... you can't be."She said.
The other person said nothing, he simply put his sword back in his holder and dived to the next building. Adrianna ran to edge and watched them run off. She grabbed her knife out of her boot and went to throw it but they were too far away.

Something became very real to Adrianna. She was not free of the hand and she never would be.

xxxxxxxx
Carter sat listening to the story with complete fascination. It was an insane story. A party, powers, ninjas? He could've laughed at himself. He'd been there when they fought the hand and it still surprised him how completely mad that whole situation had been. Though, really. He hadn't been involved. He'd stood by, watching all of his new friends kick ass and stayed there in case any of them took a beating. Surprisingly, it went well.

Then he asked about Adrianna. It felt like so long ago now. Adrianna became a big part of his life. Like a weird sister he never asked for or something.
"Ade? Oh... Well, I was walking home from a shift and I walked past this alley way. I heard this really weird sound. I wasn't sure if it was a stray cat? I walked down and I found her. She was wounded. Bullet hole. She cursed me out and told me to help her without taking her to a hospital otherwise she'd cut out my spleen... she's a sweetheart."He laughed and sipped his drink." I took her back to my place and helped her. Extracted a bullet from her. Now she breaks into my apartment when she feels like giving me a scare. It's weird, she's so mysterious but I feel like we're almost.. family now."

Adrianna had really opened him up to the world. If it wasn't for her, he would have just walked to and from his work place like a mindless zombie. It was almost like he'd found his place in the world with her or was that too cheesy?

 

[turbulence]

It took Gray a while to realize that he was in fact outside. He should have. The night air on his skin was electric, making him feel unbelievably alive— like the drugs coursing through his system made him feel alive, like the adrenaline in his veins made him feel alive...like fighting by Delilah's side made him feel alive. It was summer, he shouldn't feel hot, but he'd been sweating in the club and the fight only made it worse. He shrugged off his suit jacket and fumbled with it until he had it tied around his waist.

He felt a ripple of annoyance at Delilah's suggestion that he couldn't have taken care of himself during that fight, but it was minuscule. It was buried so deep under his high that he could ignore it easily (and he wasn't really annoyed at her. He was annoyed at the little voice in his head telling him she was right). Instead of sticking up for himself he just laughed.

“No problem, babe,” He told her. He moved closer to her until their faces were close and her sweet perfume took over his senses. “So, where do we go now?”

*

Luna had barely blinked, but Adrianna was gone. She'd barely caught a glimpse of her figure across the road before she completely disappeared from Luna's line of sight. Luna would blame herself, she'd feel like she'd done something wrong, but she'd seen Adrianna's aura as well as her figure.

The anger had been as red as burning fire.

Luna had no idea what was going on, but she knew it could be nothing good. She hesitated, standing in the middle of a New York street, other pedestrians glaring at her and pushing her out of the way. What should she do? Should she call someone? Carter, maybe? But did she have the time for that? What if Adrianna was in danger.

No, she had to follow her, she decided, and ran towards the road before she could change her mind.

*

Theo listened to Carter's story attentively before chuckling.

“You know what, I feel like I should be surprised by that, but it sounds just like Ade, right down to thinking she was a stray cat and all.”

He would be more surprised, but he had long since realized they were a strange ensemble. It's not just the superpowers— those were practically commonplace for New York. It was their strange blend of personalities, their histories, their parents. Theo was almost surprised that they'd stayed in touch at all after they'd stopped the hand, nevermind formed a true ragtag band of friends. He was glad that they did though. He liked them all, and they liked him. It was nice to not feel lonely.

“Speaking of our stray cat, where is she? And Luna, too?” Theo asked, swiveling in his chair. He hadn't noticed the two leave, but they were nowhere in sight.