A stroll in the streets (Glenn)

Sometimes, when Jinx had to blow off some steam in the most violent way possible, she liked not having to constantly check her back.

That was why she'd take a trip to Steel City. She could walk out into the streets after eleven in the evening, and after a brief interval, she'd be approached by some men. It was always that way, like it was now. And then, like she was now, she'd slowly start compiling a small pile of unconcious and possibly wounded dirtbags, and she didn't even care. The annoying thing was, if she did this in Jump (no matter how noble a pursuit it really was), she'd be apprehended by the Titans. But if she was a Titan doing it, then it was justice. It was all just so injust, really!

She turned away from one guy, throwing a bolt of pink at another. She thrust one booted foot behind her, catching the man somewhere between the groin and navel. He groaned as she turned around, a pink bolt of energy making direct contact with him as he collapsed. She turned to the other man again, thinking after him she'd probably call it a night. There were probably some kind of 'Good Guys' prowling around here now, and she really didn't want that to spoil her evening.

The last guy collapsed, and she wiped her hands off on her dress, looking at the small pile of people. She flexed her hand, looking at her wrist. She'd busted it a while ago, but it was back to normal again, she decided, satisfied with her work.

Of course, in turning around, she walked straight into another person. She'd let her guard down, damn it!

There was no escaping it, he guessed, because one way or another he always found himself dragging his feet back to Steel city. Night had invariably fallen but he was okay with that, was always okay with darkness and the absence of life on the streets. Just meant he didn't have to get into much trouble, he liked that about steel city at night as the crooks came out and the regular denizens went home. If they came looking for trouble, Ethan was usually good at diffusing the situation but sometimes he had to go that extra mile, give them an electrifying experience that they wouldn't ever forget.

But hey, today was nice and quiet and he had himself a fresh pack of cigarettes, as he took a drag from the one in his mouth, the bright red cherry tip turning bright red like a little fireball. But frankly tonight was kind of boring and Ethan was hoping something would happen, troublesome or not. Because let's face it kids, sometimes you had to fill your monthly quota of trouble to have a little fun yeah? Well, Ethan being himself strolled around the corner blowing a cloud of smoke up into the air, his eyes fixated on the small pile of people as he scratched his chin, scraping his fingers across the stubble as if he was thinking about the situation at hand.

Well, until somebody walked their face right into his torso that is.

Looking down with the tiniest of motions, his eyes carrying the rest of the distance, he blinked and blinked again before a small grin pulled at the corner of his lips. "Well hey there kitty eyes. What brings you back to jump city?" It was very nonchalant how he greeted her, as he plucked the cigarette from his mouth and with a casual flick of his fingers, tossed it behind him. Dull hazel eyes staring down at the grey skinned girl before him. "But really Jinx, what brings you back? Other than..." he paused for the briefest moment, eyes locking onto the pile of groaning people. "Well, you dealing with your frustrations?" he finished with a sigh, but hey, it was good to know she was safe at least, alive and kicking...both figuratively and literally.

Jinx stepped back quickly, balling her hands into fists. She looked up, before a small grin spread across her face. Then, she rolled her eyes. They always seemed to bump in to each other in the weirdest places, at the weirdest times.

The wind picked up and died down, not once moving her perfectly hairsprayed hair. It tugged at the bottom of her dress, but her wool tights kept her warm and her dress didn't go anywhere. She tucked the one, rogue strand of hair behind her ear, watching him with amusement in her pink eyes.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," she greeted in response, her hands relaxing. She punched him weakly in the gut. "How many times do we have to go over it? They aren't cat eyes. Perfectly human. Well, okay, maybe that's a lie," she said, shaking her head. She shrugged deeper into the light coat she wore. She heard him out, before rolling her eyes.

"Eugh, you make it sound so dirty. Just giving people what they deserve, that's all," she stated, rolling her pink eyes. "Anyway, I just come here time to time. Motels are cheap and the workout it so worth it," she said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the men.

"What about you? Smoking like a chimney still, I see," she stated. It really had been a while.

"So you finally admit to being the cat in this weird small world of ours? Well, guess that makes me the chopped foie gras." Ethan had to give a little chuckle, not because of his own humor, but because it really was a small world. And someone had to be doing this to them, ya know? Making sure they ran into each other at the oddest times, and in even stranger places. But his own musings were broken by the weak punch to his gut as he exhaled hard, emptying all air in his lungs and causing his sternum to tense up; like an organic rock. "What was that for Jinxy?" he grunted with a soft inhale, a small spark of electricity dancing across his fingers and hands.

But when she pointed at the pile of guys, his listless smile came back twice as smug,cheap motels and working out on the local populace, well that's a new prospect, and one I never wanted to hear about." He yawned into his hand before jerking his head to the side with a sharp crack and a stiff grunt. "Anyways, I was heading back home to my cosy little warehouse. Cook up a pizza and watch some television, sometimes I hate my powers, sometimes I realize, hey, I'm my own power supply, suck it power company."

Gabbing like this, well, that was an unusual thing for Ethan but even with all that gabbing and chatting, his eyes still locked onto the pile of men. One of them wasn't exactly down for the count and Ethan had noticed this with those eyes of his. Maybe he wanted to get away? Nope, he wasn't trying to get up and run, he was pulling a gun. Well, that wouldn't exactly do, not at all as Ethan snapped his hand forward and with a finger, fired two jolts of energy, one hit the gun causing it to explode like a cheap Chinese firecracker, the second hit the man square in the head. A jolt like a taser hitting him directly in the brain and dropping him with the rest of his cohorts who were looking far worse for the wear after making his gun do a bad impersonation of a Roman candle. "Let's go, that's probably gonna attract all kinds of attention and not the good kind either."

"I can't win, can I?" she sighed, shaking her head. "Bask in your triumph, or whatever you people do. You win. I'm obviously a cat. Catwoman just got to the name before I did, and the getup, too," Jinx stated, briefly imagining herself in a catsuit and quickly dispelling the mental image. It was not a pretty sight. Then she shrugged as he exhaled. "I don't know. Maybe to let you know that I'm not a cat? Cats don't punch," she informed him, winking. Still, she didn't fail to notice the electricity dancing across his hands. Maybe she shouldn't punch him. She didn't fancy the idea of being electrocuted at any point soon.

Then, she realised what she'd said, letting out a laugh. "Holy crap. I mean, yes. Of course. Slutting up Steel City. Don't lie, Ethan. You're jealous," she stated, shaking her head. She hadn't meant it like that, obviously. She rolled her eyes. "You're permanently bored, aren't you? Jeez," she said, before raising her eyebrows. "That sounds like buckets of fun, but if you aren't having to pay power bills, I might have to invest. I might be, you know, a supervillain of epic proportions, but the power companies are besting me," she informed him, not sure why she was telling him that.

Jinx hadn't even realised what was happening before Ethan triggered multiple events with one flick of his hands. The small explosion caused Jinx to flinch slightly, before she whirled on her heels. Her eyes widened. This was going to get really messy, really fast, and she didn't even want to think about what could have happened, had Ethan not shown up. She nodded, hurrying away, dragging Ethan with her. That had all escalated entirely too quickly.

This way and that way, up ways and down ways. It was a bit of a blur as they fled the scene of Ethan's choice in the matter, the man was injured severely, bloodied from the chain reaction of lightning, steel and gunpowder. He would be crippled for how long? Life probably, his hand was mangled but Ethan didn't so much as bat an eyelash, rather, as they fled deeper into the city, away from the crowds and towards the backstreet's and the warehouses and the docks. Close to Behemoth territory, to some it was a place to avoid, but to Ethan, it was his home.

A place that reminded him of Paris island and despite his attitude he wouldn't have it any other way. The behemoths left him alone and, well, Ethan didn't wind up hospitalizing them....or worse. Yeah, it was surprising that Ethan could actually have a vicious bone in his body, let alone believe that he was capable of terrifying one of the largest gangs in Steel city. "So yeah, my place for pizza and some television? It's just a little bit further, like, twenty more minutes." He said with a grunt, his eyes arcing with electricity every so often as he searched their immediate surroundings.

"Anyways, what's uh, new with you Jinx?" It was better to break the ice a little bit and, wait, did he just call her by her name? All good and properly like? Did hell just freeze over, has an angel lost it's golden halo? Or has Ethan finally decided to act like a damn gentlemen for once in his life? Visibly, he had an awkward half-grin on his face, even with his eyes shifting left and right, up and diagonal which for the most part, made him seem like a shifty drug dealer. "Yeah, yeah, don't have to clean your ears out Jinx, I'm using your name, properly. Big surprise."

(Blllahhhh)

Jinx wasn't entirely sure where she was going. She hadn't been back here for a while, and it was pretty obvious. She may or may not have turned back on herself once or twice. She didn't really know. The wind made her eyes tear up as she ran, and that was not particularly pleasant. They slowed after a while, and she remembered the scene that Ethan had caused; perhaps she'd underestimated him. She had a history of that.

"Where the hell are we?" Jinx asked, looking around.

Then Jinx grinned; that was kind of how they first met, pizza and television. She rolled her eyes. "Sure. I could kill some pizza right now," she stated, before staring at him open mouthed. She blinked a few times, before shaking her head. "I don't believe my ears. The Great Ethan, actually calling me by my name. I think the world's about to end," she stated, blowing a strand of hair from her face. "On that note, lead the way," she added, spreading her hands in a vague direction.

Where the hell were we? Well that would be a good question if you never lived in Steel city, but to answer that, Ethan looked at her and gave a yawn. "Well, obviously we're in Steel city. But to answer the question for real, we're in around the south side, behemoth territory. To our north east is Impel down and directly north north west is the red light district," it was the matter of fact way he pointed out that they were near all these places, and not one of them was a friendly place to linger. But then again, Ethan was the kind of guy who gave zero god damns about friendly and unfriendly. People avoided him around here like he was the bubonic plague and that was all he wanted or needed to know. After all, that plague was responsible for killing upwards of one third of Europes population.

And lead he did, Ethan was pretty good at navigating these winding streets and back alleyways. Steel was his home away from home, a sprawling urban landscape that for anyone else was a problem city. For him, it was just another Tuesday night except that Jinx was here and that was better than a Tuesday he had to admit. In fact, she was just about the only person he could tolerate, besides his parents. And they were back in Dakota city. "So yeah, place is still the same as usual. Big spacious and empty, save for that little corner office that I'm shacked up in." He took a drag off his cigarette, long and hard before exhaling the lungful of smoke and flicking the remnants of the butt into a puddle with a soft hiss.

"Not far now, just a few more lefts, rights and forwards."

Jinx was quite honestly confused; Steel City was not her forte. She knew enough to get from point A to point B, but fleeing from a small explosion and running aimlessly through the streets did not provide her with a better sense of direction. "Always a smartass," she said, raising her eyebrows, "But thanks for the short geography lesson, human compass," she said, trying not to show the slight sense of worry. Behemoth territory didn't exactly invoke the warm fuzzies. Still, Ethan tended to tell people not to mess with him...and they didn't. Mostly because he handed their asses to them on a silver platter, Jinx assumed.

Jinx followed him, trusting his sense of navigation. She was surprised; she and Ethan hadn't had slumber parties and braided each other's hair while painting their nails, but she trusted him. She wasn't exactly sure why; she supposed she didn't have a great track record, but Ethan hadn't let her down. So she followed him relatively blindly. "Glad to know you enjoy that 'abandoned warehouse' vibe. Not sure why it hasn't featured in Better Homes and Gardens," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you have a real eye for interior decorating."

"Jeez, you sound like a bad aerobics video. Hurry up! It's cold out here," she stated, joking of course. Well, only partially.

The docks were pretty cold this time of night and Ethan could understand why she wanted to hurry it along. It wasn't very wise to wear what amounts to a skin tight leotard when the air started to chill and frost slowly began to creep along windows. "Yes my ass is pretty smart, thanks for noticing Jinx," was his retort as he took another drag from his cigarette, the soft glow from the cherry tip creeped along his features, gave him an infernal appearance; the sharp angles and contours of his face darkened, becoming contrasted with the hellish light.

It was quiet out however, save for their own footsteps echoing through the alleyways, crunching broken glass and bits of stone debris caused by gang-shootings and the indiscriminate violence that claimed more innocent lives than that of the gangs that waged war with each other. For a moment, a scant second or two, Ethan looked disgusted, by what? The lingering stench of urine and fear, rusty blood and illicit activities that belonged in a brothel. It was exactly those things and that reason why he lived out here, crime thrived and so did Ethan because, while he avoided trouble like the plague it always found him one way or another. This was where he belonged, in this desolate city of crime and steel. On the front-lines, in the heart of the crime a none to subtle scalpel.

Crime was a cancer, he was cancer and if anything else, he was going to prove to be the stronger of the two, to consume it all and make it his own. "We're here Jinx, hold your suspense." The look on his face lightened up, but that wasn't saying much for the man who was always dour faced, and possessed of a condescending judgemental stare. But it had lightened up slightly and quietly he ushered Jinx through the small door to which he had broken many, many months ago before pointing her towards the small foreman's office; his current home and domicile. "Make yourself at home"

Jinx pulled her coat closer around her. She should learn not to wear dresses come wintertime, but she just didn't want to admit she needed a new wardrobe. She rolled her eyes at his comment, smiling all the same. "Like I haven't noticed you looking at mine," she joked, though she was aware there was very little to actually observe. She almost envied the tiniest amount of heat radiating from the cigarette, because right now her ears were starting to sting from the wind and her cheeks felt like ice blocks. She was entirely sure her nose had turned red, and that was never a good luck on the pale-skinned girl. Plus, red and pink didn't really compliment each other.

Jinx tried to avoid stepping on some of the more unsavory debris; why anyone would do certain things in this distugsting alleyway alluded her, but she was so cold she almost didn't care. A broken glass bottle clattered as it rolled from her boot as she accidentally kicked it. Her nose wrinkled at the smell; sure, she'd smelled the like before, but that didn't make it any less unsavory. "Boy, you really know how to impress a girl," Jinx said sarcastically, trying not to inhale too much. Steel City really did seem like a lost cause, and she thought there were far too many Titans in Jump when they really needed to be here. Then again, that would disrupt her fun and games, and so maybe it was all for the best. She shoved her cold hands in her pockets, following her giant, walking cigarette of a guide.

Jinx could have sighed in relief as they entered the slightly warmer warehouse. She cast her eyes around the place, and came to the conclusion it hadn't changed much since she'd last been here. She smiled.

"You really are one for interior decorating," she said, gesturing in a sweeping motion to the rest of the warehouse. "I like the modern chic," she stated, in all seriousness. She stepped through to the foreman's office quietly, slowly thawing out. It was a wonder what four walls could do to keep out the cold. She kept her coat on still, waiting to warm up. "Well, aren't you a gentleman," she said with a grin. "What the hell happened?"