The Cruel Price of being Neutral (Open)

Annie slowly opened her eyes and and looked at the bright light all around, it was dawn, and it had been another night sleeping on a bench, she rubbed her head from resting against the hard wood, slowly bringing down the blanket and folding it up and putting it in a very tattered looking bag pack, she rubbed her face as she started another day of trying to find food, as she walked the streets she winced in pain, her bare feet aching as the ribbons around her feet provided next to none protection from the elements and whatever surface the path would turn into.

She was in a bad state, she had only survived this long from occasional visits to her friends' homes where she was able to eat and make sure she was ok for another week, as well as the fact she had Harmony and Ellenia's guidance to help her stay out of danger, but she felt that she wouldn't survive much longer, her stomach growled once again, a hunger that seemed to never stop, she was feeling too weak to even fly.

She then sat down against a wall, cold, tired and hungry, she couldn't join the Teen Titans as Ellenia didn't want to be a "goody-two-shoes" nor could she steal money either as Harmony didn't want to do bad deeds, she didn't have any powers that would help her earn money either, and so this is how she had been for the past year, she brought out her blanket again, feeling that the ground seemed more comfortable than the bench then slowly closed her eyes, trying to conserve what little strength that she had left.

[OOC: The reason I started this thread was that I wanted to get Annie off the streets somehow, and I figured starting something like this is as good as any other idea, for anyone who has any suggestions for Annie, keep in mind that she will do neither good nor bad things because of her inner angel and demon making her stay in perfect balance, at least when she's in this state, to do anything it has to be something that her inner angel and demon will at least partially agree on.]

This was far, far too early for Virgil to be on Patrol.

The teen yawned as he glided through the sky, slower than normal. He'd drawn the short straw, getting the early morning shifts, and he'd been out here since early on this morning, back when it was still dark outside. That was his punishment for taking such a long leave, he thought, rubbing his face again, even if he had a valid reason to have been gone for so long.

The wind whipped at his hair and his uniform, the electricity crackling through the air. He was crouched over the disk, one of his hands resting lazily on the front as he tried as hard as possible to convice his body he was still asleep. This was the last area to patrol, and in another half hour, he could go back to the tower and sleep...

That was, if he didn't run in to anything alarming.

Of course, that was not the way his luck went, and he almost passed the girl, curled up on the ground. She looked dirty and hungry, and he frowned. Maybe there was a reason she was homeless, but it was against his better judgement to leave her there. People in this city seemed even worse than the Bang Babies back in Dakota. Still, precautions had to be taken, and he coasted to the ground, expertly stepping from the disk to the ground before cautiously stepping towards her.

Great one, Virgil, he thought, First day back and you're reduced to helping the homeless. No more Bang Babies for you.

He stopped a few feet away from her, ready to strike. There was something that made him think that she wasn't just a homeless teenager.

"Excuse me, miss?" he asked, his voice as calm as could be. Now what?

Annie slowly opened her eyes, her wings moving behind her back, showing that she was clearly a meta, her irises were also separate colours too, a sky blue one on the right, an ash grey one on the left "oh...hello..." she muttered shyly and quietly, staring at the teen before she scratched an itch on her demonic wing, thinking that he looked like a hero, if he was a villain he might have just ignored her or suddenly tried to hurt her.

"I'm sorry, am I not allowed to be here?" she asked as she stared at the teen, blinking a few times then lowering her head to the soft blanket, it was clear she was very tired and weak, she then waited for a response from the teen.

(Mind if I was to join in on this?)

[Sure, the more the merrier]

Nikkita was in the alleys, not far from where Annie had layed. But the were ferrets attention was busy on a box of doughnuts that she couldn't quit get open with her paws. The previous night had been a full moon and the ferret girl was still waiting for the effects to wear off, in the mean time, she had hoped for some breakfast... but now even that seemed difficult. Sh had gotten the box from a deli that she frequently visited. They often threw out or donated the previous day's doughnuts and so she had snagged a box of cream filled and took it to an alley that she knew no one would see or bother her. But it seemed that she would need some help to open the box, since she didn't want to tear it apart and risk having the doughnuts fall to the ground.

She growled and scooped up he box in her mouth and carefully lifted it, hearing the food inside shift. She then walked down the alley, hoping enough people knew about the night hawks that she wouldn't be carted to the zoo, or worse, a research facility. As the giant ferret rounded the corner she almost stepped on Annie's wings, but jumped back last minute to avoid hurting her. She dropped the box and made to apologize but then remembered that she couldn't talk in this form. She sighed in frustration and started to scratch out the word sorry, on the cement. She then looked over at Static and glared, not sure if this guy was a hero or villain. But she had attacked enough heroes by mistake that she knew not to leap at the first person you saw. Then she had an idea, maybe these guys would open the ferret proof box! She eagerly pushed the box between the two, hoping one would get the idea.

Open it open it open it! Open it PLEASE!!! She thought excitedly, thinking maybe her thoughts would be enough for them to understand her. She was willing to share if they would just open the stupid card board flaps that held it closed. And there was over a dozen, plenty to share, if they would OPEN THE BOX!!!!

Annie looked over to the were ferret "oh, a ferret? How odd..a box? Whats that got in it?" she asked as she looked to Nikki, her voice sounding weak and frail before she struggled to sit up, trying to use her arms to help her up then leaned against the wall, she then leaned forwards and saw the cardboard flaps "oh I see, you probably can't open it right? It's ok I can help" she said before she smiled at Nikki and opened the flaps and lifting the lid slightly which allowed Nikki to open the box, Annie then leaned back against the wall and drew her attention back to the teen in front of her with a calm and friendly looking smile, although her eyes still showed the kind of state that she was in.

Nikki quickly pushed open the box and grabbed three doughnuts in her mouth and dropped them on her front paws and began to eat them. She looked up after swallowing the first one and pushed the box over to Annie, seeing how she looked like she needed them more then the were ferret did.

Annie smiled at the ferret "oh thank you" she said happily before she picked out a doughnut and started to quickly eat it, picking out another doughnut and eating that one quickly too, then licked her fingers, not wanting to take all of the ferret's doughnuts so she then pulled the blanket over her shoulders and tried to keep herself warm.

Static watched the girl stand, her wings unfurling. It was far too early for this.

He had no idea what she was, metahuman or bang baby, or even angel or demon. He'd run into a lot of crazy stuff in the past year; neither would surprise him much.

He went to reply, before a giant ferret rounded the corner. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again.

"You definitely need sleep, Static," he muttered to himself, before the ferret began to scratch a message in the pavement. That was not animalistic. That was...human. He was past questioning, now, and he helped the girl open the box. He was everyone's hero, after all. He tried to continue his train of thought, before getting distracted but the ferret again. "I'm sorry. That's a giant ferret. Doesn't that strike anyone as weird?"

His train of thought back on the rails, he remembered what he'd landed for in the first place.

"I...It's just, you're a teenager, and the streets of Jump are not safe at night for a young woman like you, or anyone for that matter," he said, trying his best for hero mode again, "There are programmes and places I can help you find...when was the last time you ate?" he asked, wondering if there was going to be some kind of breakfast party between Wing Girl and Giant Ferret. If so, he was about to give up and go to bed. This was not a normal morning.

"Well I've seen a talking fox..." said Annie casually as she listened to Static talk about programmes and ask when she last ate "I have two friends who I sometimes visit, they give me a meal and let me have a wash but they can only put me up for a few days at a time as they also have to look after themselves too, they also don't have a lot of space for me to live with them either" she explained "I ate last week but then going for food without a week can be quite tiring, I also have an angel and a demon who talk to me in my mind, they've helped me survive this long, although they prevent me from joining either good or bad sides" she said, wondering where Harmony and Ellenia had actually gone, but she figured that they were being quiet and letting her mind rest.

Nikki looked up at Static, grateful that he at least knew the difference between a rat and a ferret. Nikki was happy to share doughnuts with any one who know the difference and nudged the box over to him trying to let him know he was welcome to have some too. Nikki then looked up at the sky and saw the full moon inch away from the sky. Very soon she would change back into her human form.

Nikki looked back to the angel demon girl and studied her a little, interested by her wings.

"A talking...No. You know what? I don't want to know. This is all too weird before eight in the morning," Virgil stated, holding his hands up in surrender. This kind of weirdness had never happened in Dakota before eight. Mostly because he was asleep, but he digressed.

He really did feel bad for the girl, though. "Not eating for a week? That's it. We have got to get you some help -" then he realised what she said about the angel and demon, and if he'd said it once, he was going to say it again: it was far to early for this, "- and maybe some mental help, too, because that sounds implausible, even if there is a giant ferret offering me donuts right here. This is all weird. Help me out here, a bit, because I can't even think straight, with the weirdness," he stated, comfortable with the idea that neither of these...beings were going to harm him.

It was against his better judgement to accept food from strangers, especially when the stranger just so happened to be a giant ferret, but he threw caution to the wind as well as all that he had once believed to hold true about science and the world, picking up a donut and munching away on it.

"For a ferret, these aren't half bad."

Annie just listened to static and facepalmed when he mentioned that she needed some mental help "how else do you think I look so weird? This is what happens to a human when both an angel AND demon possess them and get attached to your very soul" she explained before she took another doughnut from the box.

Nikki smiled and looked up at the sky. Finally she could change back! She shifted to her human form and sat where she had been sitting just a few moments ago as a ferret.

"Thanks, but I get them all the time from a doughnut shop near here. They make their food fresh every day so what ever doesn't sell they donate or throw out. The manager knows me pretty well, so he leaves a box out for me every few nights." She stretched her arms above her head, glad that she didn't have to walk on all fours any more.

"So, my name's Nikki."She said, introducing herself to the hero and homeless girl," Sorry bout not changing to this form earlier, But the full moon kind of leaves me stuck in my ferret form until the moon goes down, or at least behind a few buildings."