#rictorscales

@rictorscales

Natasha wished it had felt like a lifetime ago that she was working under the Red Room — wished that she could say that telling lies on behalf of a group that cared nothing for the world or the people in it… because she traded them and the KGB for SHIELD… and it had been revealed that it was Hydra. Natasha had swapped one terrorist network for another. And worst of all, she hadn’t known. It had happened all under her nose and she hadn’t noticed.

Where did his family land in all of that? Was it Hydra that had told her to clean up the mess she had left behind when she had helped give Julio Richter’s father a better position? Or had it been SHIELD? It had been one of her last missions with the Red Room and one of her first with SHIELD. And she had jumped at the chance to cut down someone she had helped in the past. It had, at the time, felt like she was making up for all the things she had done wrong.

(And what was another orphan? The world was full of people like them. Born into violence and shaped by it — alone in the world. Reaching for something that would never reach back.)

@rictorscales

Ric was strange. Not in a way that she disliked, but in a way that was recognizable - and relaxing on many levels. "Greed, huh?" Sharon dipped her fry and almost waited for him to explain. Greed usually came with a hoard of worldly items that were worth something. But all Rictor seemed to care about was nature. (Not a bad thing, but not exactly what she paired with the word greed.)

"Then why am I paying for lunch?" Sharon finally asked, arching a brow. "Or is that why? Because you're too greedy to treat me to a good meal? Not sure if that's greedy or if you're just stingy." She leaned back, smirking slightly as she waved her hand. "Or worse. A freeloader."

@rictorscales​

She knew what he meant — he meant that she was supposed to be the fall guy. And that was the only reason that they had continued speaking after that first time. (Not friendship. Not with Rictor. He was a solo type of person and Rachel was of the same thread. Existing outside of most everyone else.) But she wasn’t about to let him dictate the terms of anything. He might have been raised by Cable, but Rachel had been raised with him. (To some degree.)

Tapping the side of her head, Rachel leaned closer to Rictor. “You know,” she whispered. “I could make it to where no one in there sees you. You could literally walk in and out without a single person seeing.” The footage was a different issue, but that was in the realm of things that she knew Rictor was capable of. (She wouldn’t have trusted him with it if it had been her going in and walking out with anything — but Ric would do it to save his own ass.) “No need for a fall guy if you don’t include someone getting caught in your plan.”

@rictorscales

"This shit is bullshit," Zatanna said, using magic to pull one of the constructs from the ground and started to take it apart. It was harder than she imagined, it wasn't made of anything from this Earth. (She wasn't sure what the rings were made out of — but by the color and consistency of these objects — she had a feeling that it was something similar.) And she hadn't seen any of the Lanterns yet. Maybe something had happened.

She pushed the thought aside, deciding that she'd freak out about the possibility of an evil Lantern later. She had to trust that if her hunch was right, that they would handle it themselves. "I missed it last time," Zatanna said, looking at Rictor. "The panic — when the siege happened." She had read about it on the internet when she got back, but this was her first time seeing the city in turmoil — at least — a city that wasn't Gotham. But Ric didn't look he was ready to bullshit with her. In fact, he looked... on edge. "Hey — you know, we could find someone for you to arrest! That's like therapy for cops, right?"

“You do realize that was rather careless of you, correct?” It was probably the last thing the other man wanted to hear, but Billy right now was more concerned about the other man’s future...Or possible lack thereof if he keeps doing what he just did. “I get that your powerful and everything...But picking a fight with people like that never tends to work out in most people’s favor.” 

Thankfully, Billy had chanted for his powers to ‘take him to someone who needed help’. It was easier for him to do that then to patrol a small area...This let him help people from all over the place. Although he supposed that saying such a broad spell has definitely gotten him into trouble himself from time to time. 

“Like seriously...What were you thinking?”

"Non," Remy muttered to himself, rubbing his temples as he ducked into an alley, "Non, not again. You ain't ever comin' out again!"

He had no idea what was going on, but first the city had been thrown into a blackout. The entire city, which alright, could have just been an extreme run-of-the-mill power outage. But not when there were also these awful waves of negative emotion coursing though the air. Much as he tried to do anything to block the feelings out, Death had picked up on them as quickly as a bloodhound on the trail of a suspect, and Remy could only try frantically to keep him locked away, trying to focus on anything positive. But after a while, he felt himself become too overcome, and he collapsed and passed out.

When Remy came to, he sat up and looked around, finding himself still in the same alley, and it seemed barely any time had passed. What was even more strange was that he could still feel the waves of negative emotion...and yet felt absolutely nothing from Death. How was that possible? He was himself, not possessed, so where was Death? The sound of people seeming to be in a panic suddenly drew his attention, though, so any worries about his own situation would have to wait. Running out into the street, he nearly collided with someone he knew, and for once was actually glad to see.

@rictorscales 

For what it was worth, he was trying. It was a weak attempt to seem useful, but he was making an attempt. Natasha would have whispered to Clint here that this man was trying to fake being an investigator, would have laughed at him quietly in the back of her head and let him “show her the ropes” as most men tried to do. But for all that it was worth, he was right about this. The blood was fresh. “Did you realize that before or after you stepped in it?” A fair question, she would argue. But also, one with a little bite that people who knew her, would have been familiar with.

This had been another stop on her search for Sacha. And with that came a certain level of investment that came with investigating this scene. Even one that had been slightly damaged by the carelessness of someone claiming to be an investigator. And if she were to judge by look, she would have assumed he had been there to roll the place.

Natasha crouched down, looking at the blood on the ground and then glancing around the room. “Did you touch anything else?” Her question coming out firm before she looked up at him. By all accounts, he was a kid. He probably had no idea what he had stumbled onto. “Did you notice anything else off?”

She had heard rumors. This place was as small as it was big, and that might not make sense — but Genosha felt vast when you first arrived, but this place circulated gossip like a small town. They talked about how angry he was at the world. And how angry he was at Magneto. How his rage and frustration came as naturally to him as a smile did on another person. And Colleen couldn’t help but hear his story and feel something. Empathy. He was like her, not just because of his run in with Magneto, not because of the threats that had hung in the air that no one directly talked about, but everyone hinted at until it was common knowledge. (And yes, Colleen wasn’t a fan of Magneto, she would never be able to see him and think of him as the savior that breathed life into this island.)

But he was angry. And she understood that. She understood the way he scuffed his shoes when he walked because he had places to be, but he was in no hurry to get there on time because he didn’t feel important. It made her wonder, if he knew what it was like to be able to do something with that anger? Or if he only knew how to hold it in and let it fester in ways that would eventually poison him and every relationship that he held dear?

“Hey,” Colleen called out unceremoniously. It was no proper way to introduce herself, but was there a proper way for people like them? That held onto things until they didn’t know who they were without it? There wasn’t. The walls were built tall and defensiveness became second nature. “I heard you can—” she waved her hands. “Shake things? But more than that?” She had heard that he had a direct hand in bringing this place up from the ocean. That he had helped shape it. But she didn’t know what to call that power. “Think you can help me with the outside of the center? It’s nice, but I’m thinking something a little more child friendly. And it’s better if it’s natural.”