Anyone home?

Shadow stared up at the giant T. It was intimidating, but where else could she go? She had no family, no friends... The Titans were the only people who could help her. After all, she wasn't even completely human. Not anymore.
'Hello? Anyone here?' Shadow timidly rang the doorbell. Nothing. She sighed and tried again. This time she heard footsteps, coming down a flight of stairs.
This is so not going to work. What if they reject me? Who gives a random girl a room in their house anyway? Shadow's worried thoughts stopped her from thinking clearly.
Okay, focus. Don't worry about it. Just wait, and see what happens. She tried to calm herself down, and sat down in front of the door, waiting.

A young man answered the door. He was tall and lean, with a noble, hawklike face. Glittering hazel eyes shone under slicked back brown hair, and his teeth were bared in a grin that seemed somewhere between manic and strained. He wore an open brown leather jacket over a plain white tee shirt, ragged jeans, and worn combat boots. Offsetting his seemingly friendly appearance was a battle scarred Famas slung across his back, though it strangely hung in place without any visible means of support. He tilted his head to one side, his grin taking on an eerie quality while his eyes took in every detail, like a cat might watch a mouse. He leaned in, his arms outstretched as he held onto either side of the door frame, watching her intently. After a moment, his eyes narrowed and his grin faded ever so slightly. "You lose something, love?"
As he moved, it was obvious there was something different about him, his skin moved across him in a strange manner, as if there was something else just below the surface. This close to him barely visible lines can be made out across his skin, further evidence of the presence of some foreign substance. In addition, the solid steel door frame groaned slightly as he leaned in, as if holding up a tremendous weight.

Shadow stared at the new arrival. He was dangerous, she could see that from the Famas on his back, seemingly staying without any support. It wasn't just the weapon that warned her, though; his grin was unsettling and his eyes were darting around, making him look... predatory. Shadow noticed the way he moved, and the way the door frame squeaked in protest as he leant on it. He certainly wasn't some random citizen.
'Are... are you a Titan?' Shadow wasn't so sure this guy could be trusted. He didn't act like a hero should, all reassuring and chivalrous. But then, what did she know of heroes? Her whole life she had to fend for herself, no knight in shining armour to save her. Maybe this time was no different.

The man's grin widened to it's original size, and he leaned back until he was standing upright again. "Am I a titan?" he repeated to no one in particular. "No idea! Though I do know that I'm a Zack. We're a rare and hardy breed, easy to take care of, require no grooming, and are great fun for the whole family! Though we do eat twice the amount of food any other breed eats... But it's well worth it!" His grin widened and his chest swelled with self pride. Then he paused, thinking for a moment. "Titan... Where have I heard that before? You know, love, I'll bet anything that explains these weird shaped towers. Why else would someone build something like this? Though still... It is a stupid shape for a base... Way too easy to attack. And the security is worse than at an orphanage... And it's way too obvious. If it were me, I wouldn't want to broadcast my location to every nasty baddie out there." He abruptly stopped again, as though his attention span lacked the capacity for him to stay on any one subject for long. "Right, I suppose these Titans are why you're here, eh girly? You can wait for them inside if you like, I needed someone new to talk to anyways." His grin widened for a moment, then he spun around and walked inside, leaving the door open. He had a strange way of walking: he raised his hands behind his head and leaned way back, as if he were reclining in a chair. As he walked, he hummed a tune in a deep voice. With his arms raised, his jacket lifted up just enough to reveal a wickedly serrated combat knife paired with a Glock hanging from the back of his belt. Like his rifle, both hung without any visible means of support.

'Right.' Shadow muttered to herself. 'You're not a Titan. A simple no would've done fine.' She sighed and began to follow the strange guy inside. She noticed the two new weapons, again, hanging without anything to hold them up. This guy acts so casual, but he looks like he's just stepped out of World War III. And won it, by his grin, thought Shadow. He's got to have some interesting secrets. I suppose he's worth talking to. At least he's different. Like me. The thought saddened her. Shadow had no chance of a normal life now. She tried to shake off this depressing frame of mind, deciding to start a conversation with this stranger. She didn't even know his name. 'So, if you're not a Titan, what are you doing in their tower?' Shadow hoped he didn't take the question the wrong way.

Zack turned slightly, his grin fading, though not quite disappearing. He watched her for a moment, then roared angrily. "And what are you trying to say?" He paused, his grin widening as he laughed uncontrollably. "I must..." He began, speaking through waves of laughter. "Apologize... Couldn't resist... Never gets old..." His laughter subsided, and he wiped a tear from his eye as he turned and continued walking. "Ahh... Funny." He looked over his shoulder as he walked into the main room. "When I arrived here, these things were everywhere, but they were run down. Looked like no one had touched 'em in years. Then, out of nowhere, there were lights in the windows, vehicles parked outside, voices coming from within, all signs that they were in use. being the curious little thing that I am, I decided to take a look. But this one is empty. However, if you look, you can tell someone's been here. Fresh food in the fridge and pantry, air con's been activated, TV has either cable or satellite, though it still has absolute crap on every one of it's several hundred channels. I want to see what's going on with these places." He sat down heavily in a couch, causing it to groan under his weight and sag almost to the floor. " And what about you, love? Why are you here?"

As the man turned and yelled, Shadow stopped walking, and watched with one eyebrow raised as he burst into laughter. 'It's okay. It takes a little more than that to scare me,' she said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. As he became serious again, and told her about the towers, she listened intently. When he finished, she followed his lead and sat down in a nearby chair and thought over what he had told her. He was curious? Well, fair enough. Shadow was getting slightly more relaxed around him, and decided it couldn't hurt to tell him why she was here. Usually she wouldn't be so trusting, but he had, so far, been reassuring, even thought he wasn't who she was looking for. A new ally couldn't hurt.
'I here because... well, I need help. I don't have a home. Not one that I can go back to, anyway. I thought the Titans might be able to give me somewhere to stay, at least until I can get a job.' Shadow had been looking down as she spoke, but now she raised her head and looked at the man. 'And if you want to know why these towers are here, well, maybe I can help you. I guess it's obvious the Titans live here. They used to be based all around the city, and each tower had a team of Titans. They all had some kind of power, or skills that made them better a fighting than normal. Some of then weren't even human. Anyway, they were heroes. They protected the city. At least, that's the way it was before...' Shadow stopped. She had been referring to the years before she had been kidnapped. The memory hurt. In the year she had been gone, a lot had changed. Before the man could ask what was wrong, Shadow started talking again. 'That's why I came here. I didn't realise so much had changed.' She was looking at the floor again and her eyes were sad.

(Just wondering, should we move this to the common room now? Seeing as our characters are in there, not at the front door.)

ooc: Meh, it really isn't necessary. I'm in an rp where the characters started in the streets, moved to the front door, and now are having a battle royal so to speak all throughout the tower. If we'd changed topic locations to match the location of our characters, we'd have had to change it half a dozen times. I believe the admins, or moderators or whatever the proper term for the scary people here is, simply want the rp to start in the right place. Where it goes really doesn't matter.

ic: Zack nodded thoughtfully, his grin fading to a mere smirk. "So I assume you're all differenty too, then? Why else would you have come here? Titans... So many looking for these Titans... And Slade. I'm sure you've heard of him? He sounds like he can fight." Zack's grin widened, and he leaned forward, resting one forearm on his knee. "Between you and me, I don't like your type. Nothing you did, love. Nothing that's your fault. I'm assuming you weren't always differenty. You were once human, like I was, no? Why else would you be so lost? Why else would you look for a home? You're looking for the wrong thing, love. Or rather, the right thing in the wrong way. Imagine for a moment, You're human. Normal, no weird stuff, no blood, no nothin. You're out for a nice pleasanty stroll with your parents. Then, out in the street, a man appears. you don't see his face, he barely even registers. Just a face in the crowd. Then he pulls a gun, some spiffy pistol. He starts gunning people down, for no reason. Then time seems to freeze. You see him clearly, He's wearing a black trench coat with a high collar that hides his face, and he wears dark sunglasses. His hair is pulled black in a ponytail, as black as the raven's feathers woven into it. His right hand is raised casually, it is encased in a metal claw. He holds his hand at head height, his arm making a 'V' against his body. As he guns people down, he opens and closes the fingers of his claw. Click, click, click, click, click. The bladed fingers clink against his palm. Hiss. His claw opens, and it starts over. Others show up, in random clothes, dressed like no one, like everyone. They start shooting. You see the "heroes" come to save us, but they don't, they just watch. You and your family are dead." Zack chuckled softly, his grin having faded to a smirk as he spoke. Yet despite his distress, it remained, as if irremovable. "Yet even after death, you wake up. A man asks you if you want to join him. You remember his uniform, but nothing else. Everything is distant. He says he offers you a chance to get your revenge, to avenge your family. You ask about them, and are informed that you are the only survivor. What choice do you have? You say yes. You sign away your life to some military official. Then they take you away. They take your corpse, and they cut. They cut and cut, they slice away until you are nothing, blood and bones and ruined flesh. They open your skull, they go into your very mind, and they take something. Something a man never holds, yet never loses. Something that once lost, can never be found. And they put something else in. Then they rebuild you. You wake up, and are thrown into training. Your body is so heavy you can't breathe. There are people around you, people who speak to you, who ask you questions. You don't hear any of them. You only hear one thing. Click, click, click, click, click. Hiss. Click, click, click, click, click. Hiss." He chuckled. "I found out that I was chosen. They chose me long before I died. The man who killed me was an experiment, and I was the next step. I ran. Naturally, the first place I ran was my house. I thought it would be my home once again, but no. It was barren and lifeless like me. I have searched tirelessly for two things, a home and a good fight. I tried to get a job, but I found out the hard way there isn't much of a market for a nutjob. I haven't had a house since I died, all those years ago, but I have a home. A home isn't given to you, you have to find it. It doesn't matter if you join a spiffy little group of buddies, it doesn't matter if you don't. A home isn't stuff, it's an idea. There's a huge difference between a house or a place to stay and a home. Until you find where you truly belong, you will never be home, no matter who or what you surround yourself with." He paused, looking confused for a moment before standing up, his grin returning too it's usual size. "Right, I'm hungry. Ima go have a look in the fridge, want anything?"

(Okie, if you say so. Makes sense.)

Shadow sat for a moment, completely still, taking in what she had just heard. This man had seemed so casual, so carefree. But all the time he had been carrying this. He had sounded like he needed to get his awful history off his chest. Shadow supposed he had been on his own for a while.
She came to realise the man was watching her expectantly, waiting for an answer. 'No, thanks. I'm not hungry. And listen, I know you might not believe me, but I'm not the person you think I am. I'm not some lost little girl, waiting for a hero to come rescue me. I know they won't. I've only come here because I've got no other options. I was abandoned, abused, then kidnapped and used as a lab rat. I know how it feels, and no hero showed their face in the last five miserable years of my life.' She hesitated, then went on. 'You know, now that I'm here, I kind of feel like trashing the place. Let them see what it's like to have someone walk into your life and tear it apart.' Shadow's eyes were dark and she shivered suddenly, as if a cold gust of wind had hit her. She extended her wings and wrapped them around herself. 'Look, we know each other's histories, pretty much, but I don't even know your name. You can call me Shadow, by the way.'

Zack wandered into the kitchen as she spoke. Some may have thought it rude, but he didn't like the idea of standing around for long. His hearing was quite impeccable, and he was still listening from the fridge. He returned carrying a bag of chips under one arm, a bag of beef jerky under the other, a steaming plate of nachos balanced in one hand and a large cold pie in the other, walking into the room just in time to see her wrap her wings around herself. He raised an eyebrow, his grin shifting to the same side as he noticed her wings for the first time. "Ya know, love, if you're cold you can borrow my jacket." He sat down, placing the bags on the floor next to him, the pie on the arm of the couch, and the nachos in his lap. He chuckled again, reclining in the chair. "Hah! You've got a little mean streak in there don't you, love? Trash the place? I may not like your kind, but I definitely like your style." His grin widened as he raised a nacho to his mouth. Just before biting, he added "You any good in a fight? I guarantee whoever lives here won't take our fun so lightly. We may have company later." He munched down on the nacho, closing his eyes as he enjoyed his snack. After the first one, he went to town on the plate, wolfing down the nachos like he wouldn't have another meal. He finished them in record time, wiping his hands clean on a napkin he had carried beneath the plate. Opening the bag of jerky, he offered some to her. "You sure you don't want any food, girly? Never a good thing to trash a house on an empty stomach. Not really good to do anything on an empty stomach for that matter. He paused for a moment. "I already told you I was a Zack. And while Shadow is a fitting name, I'm assuming it was taken, not given?"

'Ya know, love, if you're cold you can borrow my jacket.' The man had obviously seen her wings.
'Thanks, but I'm fine. My wings are pretty warm.' Shadow watched him as he approached, holding what looked like a feast in his hands. 'And yeah, I'm pretty good in a fight. Company's what I came for anyway.' As he scarfed down the plate of nachos and offered her some beef jerky, Shadow turned slightly green. 'I'm definitely not hungry. I'm not planning on doing anything anyway. It was just a thought.'
The man went on. 'I already told you I was a Zack. And while Shadow is a fitting name, I'm assuming it was taken, not given?'
Shadow's face darkened. 'Oh, it was given, all right. By the guy who turned me into... well, this.' She leaned forward. 'Zack... remember what you were telling me before, about having a home? I know what you mean. And while you may have a home on your own, I need human company. Because of what I am, if I stay on my own too long, I won't even faintly resemble human. The man who changed me wanted to turn me into a monster and use my power for his purposes. I escaped, but I'll never forget why I was created. This is why I'm here. I'll only ever belong among people who will accept my differences, and the Titans were my best chance.' Shadow was, again, lost in her hatred for the fact that she wasn't human. Maybe it isn't so bad, she thought. Look at Zack. He's got a worse history than mine, and he's happy. Maybe you should start looking to the future, instead of brooding on the past. As this occurred to her, Shadow looked at Zack, wondering what kind of answer he would give. He probably didn't want to hear all her deep reflections.

ooc: Oi, I apologize for the crazy long reply time... I've been a little busy.

ic: Zack finished the jerky as she spoke, remaining silent for a moment, his grin distant. "What's done is done, love. You can't brood upon your past, no matter the pain, no matter the nightmares. It's like running along the sidewalk, you can't do it facing backwards, you gotta look ahead. By all means, you can try to run backwards, but if you don't trip, you're gonna run into a whole lotta stuff you don't wanna run into, girly." He chuckled. "And resembling a human isn't all as cracked up to be. Look at me, I used to be a normal kid, now no one can hurt me. Sure, if I get lit on fire I'll cook from the inside out, and I'll never be able to swim again, but I'm alive, and I'll never lose a fight. There are two sides to every coin, love. Even though he killed the person you once were, your captor helped you in some way. You've got some spiffy wings, so I'll bet you can fly. You're always gonna be able to keep yourself warm, you never have to pack a jacket or a blanket. You could fan yourself with your wings and cool yourself off." He paused. "Though a downside would be I'll bet they're impossible to clean. But ignore that. You're no monster. The dude wanted you to become a monster, yet you decline the opportunity to cause mayhem and wish to join up with a bunch of goody two shoes. No monster acts that way. If you ask me, you turned out way better than I did."

(It's all good xD I've been busy too.)

Shadow let a faint trace of a smile touch her mouth. 'Thanks. But the fact that you can tell me all this and put me above yourself, without once getting upset about it, shows that you're the stronger person. So, thank you, for everything you've said. It's all helped me get over the crap I've gone through.' She paused, then spoke again. 'But, believe me, when I say I need human company, I mean it. If I give myself over to the shadows, I'll just become a shadow myself. That's not in the past. That's something I'm going to have to keep at bay my whole life. But, think positive, huh?' Suddenly, Shadow didn't feel so cold. She retracted her wings.

Zack's grin faded to a slight smirk. "I wasn't kidding. You got lucky. When them sawbones cut my corpse, they took something. I said it before, and I'll say it again. They took something, and they put something else in. Not just any something, they put in someone. Since I died, I have never been alone. I am split, tri-part." He reaches behind his back, pulling out his pistol. "My creator was a bit of a fan of metaphors and riddles. Everything about me is symbolic. From my abilities, to my preferred style of combat, to my personality. Even my appearance, my favored weapons, all symbolic." He placed the pistol on the coffee table. "The rational. The one who carries as little as he can, who tries to keep the peace." He reached back, drawing his assault rifle. "The Havok. The crazed gunman, the original split from the rational, never at home until the blood starts spraying, never happy 'till the shells fill the air, 'till the screams fill his ears, 'till the gunpowder fills his nostrils." He placed the rifle on the table, reaching behind his back once more to draw his combat knife. A ten inch blade, it had a straight bladed edge curving up at the top, meeting with a wickedly serrated back edge. It's appearance was unremarkable, it looked like any soldier's combat knife. But the way Zack stared at it, like a long lost love, was beyond unsettling. His knife was to him far more than a knife, it was everything, it had become an extension of his own body. He suddenly shook himself, shaking his head as if snapping out of a trance. He stabbed the knife into the table, burying the blade halfway into the wood. "Did you know there are two types of aggression? There's physical aggression, mostly bark, little bite. The classic reaction to any threat. You yell and scream and make noise. You may throw a punch or two, but rarely do so. Then there's active aggression. Active aggression is what makes a serial killer. Someone who will sit and wait while the source of their anger puts up a show, making noise, providing the perfect distraction to allow the active aggressor to calmly walk up, slit his enemy's throat, and walk away before anyone knows what happened. Active aggressors are all bite and no bark, you get no warning." He stared at the knife. "The Watcher. The third piece of the puzzle, the silent killer. He carries a knife, for he needs nothing else. He creeps through the dark, bringing a swift and violent death to any he meets, he is the piper, come to collect the life given to all. He gives the gift of eternal sleep, allows any who meet him to embrace Silent Night eternal." He shook his head, his grin widening a fraction. "Two types of aggression, two dogs on a leash. Always fighting, always whispering, never quiet, never still. They pace their broken cages, waiting for their chance." He chuckled. "Do you know what keeps them in check? Just as there are three, so two are there three values, held by the original, enforced by an indomitable will. Honour, Loyalty, Faith. The Rational Lion, the Dogged Havok, the Watching Hawk. I do not wish to offend you, but humans will not save you. Humans are blind, and stupid. You are different, and they will not understand you, therefore they will fear you, therefore they will attack you. Spending time in their company will only drive you further from them. Perhaps they will not always be this way, but for now, a safe distance should be maintained. Have faith in yourself, Shadow. Your willpower may surprise you."

'I'm not offended.' Shadow's voice was devoid of emotion. 'I'm not seeking human company because I want to be saved, or I think they are stronger than me. I'm seeking human company because I am human. Because no matter how different I am, I still think and feel and act like a human. And you may not like me saying this, but so are you. The rational side of you is typically human, the developed part, what sets us apart from animals. The blood-crazed side of you is the instinctive part, the one that sets us apart from machines. And the silent killer... is what was added to you. But it's still human. It was created for a human, and put into a human, wasn't it? Just because you have some personality issues and some freaky battle skills doesn't make you inhuman. It makes you different, sure, but if the world was divided into ordinary people and us, it would be pretty boring.' Shadow paused, gathering her thoughts. 'You and I are similar people. We've both gone through rough times. We're both gifted with powers we never asked for. We both denied what we were created for. And that's what makes us both human. This whole time, you've been telling me to forget my past and concentrate on the present, to forget that I'm meant to be a monster. Where did all that wisdom come from if you think you're not human?'

Shadow couldn't pretend that Zack wasn't a little weird, but hey, so was she. She truly believed he was human, but he confused her. Did he really hate humans that much? Did he put himself above them? It didn't sound like him. Then again, Shadow had only known him for a short time. Just what was Zack's deal?