Photos tell perfect stories (Open)

"You have no idea." He said, smiling at her as the preacher's voice grew louder and louder. He tried to ignore it as best as he could but the man's voice just grew louder and louder. A waitress came by and asked what the two were going to have. Albert ordered a slice of cheese pizza and a Dr. Pepper. He watched as she ordered, the preachers voice growing louder and louder. His sentences and psalms were heard clearly from where they sat. "So you must live somewhere offshore sense you arrived from the sea but say that you left Atlantis. Do you mind..." He sighed for moment as he could barely hear himself over the man's preaching. "Excuse me." He said standing up for a moment and walking to the preacher. When he approached him, he spared no time shutting the man up. He kicked the crate that he was under and grabbed the man by his throat, slamming him down on the floor with ease. He walked back and sat down, pretending that that did not just happened. "So, what were we talking about?" He asked, folding his hands together as he paid attention. The man was still alive but was knocked unconscious.

"Well," He said, more out of curiosity then scolding, "The ocean is where Atlantis is located but I assume it's much more complicated then that, Venus." He said, folding his hands together as he heard a group of people help the unconscious man. He didn't regret shutting him up even though that man worshiped him like a god. He never really regrets actions like those only if he wasn't Isenstein. If he wasn't wearing that mask that so many people believe is the source of good and justice in the world. Of course, the good and justice is in more of a killing kind. He placed his hand on hers for a moment, feeling her warmth. Then a slight chill came. "You are good at lying, madame, but I'll keep quiet and not ask you any further personal questions about who you are or where you live, but I have one question." He leaned in closer and said in a low voice, almost to a whisper. "Do you think the heroes are really for the people and are not merely gods watching down on us?" This question will determine his relationship with her, friend or foe, or further if she wants.

Albert smirked at the answer. It was something that he wanted to hear from someone else. He had the ridiculous experience of having people go against Isenstein and the cult of True Justice but to hear her opinion on the Titans that way made him smile.

"Prersonally," He said as the waitress gave them their food. "I find heroes, all of them, lacking the motivation to stop crime entirely. See, think of criminals as this slice of pizza." He lifted up the slice and took a bite. "You can chew into the pizza and digest it, same way as a villain. You put him in jail and then let him out, only to cause havoc which way he or she goes. Now if you," He took a couple more bites until he was at the end of the pizza, the crust, and then he threw it into the ocean. "Destroy the crust entirely, there is no more pizza. Same thing as a criminal. If you destroy the criminal, the crime vanishes. I find heroes lacking this motivation and it sickens me when a criminal gets out and does it again. That's why I...I mean vigilantes like Isentsein, should be out there killing the criminals." He looked out at the ocean and then sighed.

"That was a bad idea to throw the pizza. I'm still hungry." He looked back at her and chuckled at his joke.

OOC: Sorry about the late reply

A rather faint smile from Hydra, nodding in agreement. Though she didn't really, after all. She herself was a criminal, a villain. Most of her friends were as well, and only a few miles away from the coast. But for now, Albert had no idea of that. He seemed normal himself, anyway, nothing Titan-ish about him. So perhaps he'll never know, and things will be fine. Otherwise, from the sounds of things, there could be a fight on the horizon; good job the sea is nearby, eh? Hydra would pick up a slice of the Pizza herself, quickly devouring the slice in true Atlantean fashion, like some bloodthirsty shark or something.

"Killing them? Surely you would have to be crazy to attempt such a thing. Poison Ivy, Joker, Braniac... not your normal, everyday criminals. It's dangerous to even battle with them, never mind trying to kill them"

(It's okay)

Albert felt a little disappointed when she doubted the ability to kill villains and stop them from committing anymore crime. He smiled at her and spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice, almost soothing. "My dear Venus, you have not met Isenstein yet." He said and just as he said the T.V. that was placed on one of the corners of the pizza place showed a man with the same mask as the preacher sat in what looked like a news media studio.

"Good evening, Jump City. I have some delightful news for you and I'm sure your minds will be shifted and shaped to a different opinion about the heroes of this city than before. After a malicious attack that a former hero had made to stop me from speaking the truth about crime, I have recollected my thoughts and find that the Titans are an unnecessary factor to this city. They simply imprison villains and for what, just so they could get out of jail or escape and commit the same crimes over and over again, only to be put back into the same jail that they escaped from. No, this is not a punishment for villains, but a vacation from their everyday lives. I vote that we get rid of the view of murdering a criminal as unjust. In fact, I vote we add something that will change the definition of justice. When you think of justice, you think of imprisonment which leads to release. I think of justice as the elimination of the source. Starting with the so called protectors of this city, the Titans. Now, don't find the solution so quickly as murdering the folks, but instead taking their masks off and giving them normal lives. Whose to say, maybe the police will actually be able to do something, to do their jobs instead of giving them to teen heroes whose goal is to keep their position of power with the imprisonment of the villain. I believe we do not need heroes, just men and women who will fight and kill the source of villainy. This is the face of True Justice, Isentsein, and I hope you have a good day." The t.v. turned back to its normal programming and some of the customers were whispering to one another. Some were questioning the sanity of this masked figure while others might have agreed with him. Either way, Albert had a bright smile on his face.

"That's Isenstein." He pointed at the T.V.

"No, he's a phanatic." Albert said absent minded. He was marveling on his speech and how much he gave himself chills when he wore that mask. He could see her nervous expression and she should be. Villains are everywhere. He looked around as the people spoke but what had him wondering was why some of them looked over at him. Was his hair dyed black again? No, it was still the bright red as before. He then looked at her as the people's whispers were clearly heard. "HIVE" He heard among some of the people. His heart dropped as he thought of something. What if she was a villain? It would make sense because of her distaste for the Titans (even though it seemed slightly to him) and the fact that she's super powered. He reached in his pocket to take out his pocket knife, to lunge in for the kill, but something was wrong. His hand froze. He didn't want to kill her. His brain began to think thousands of thoughts, reasons, and explanations on why he wasn't able to take the knife out and cut her throat. Then it hit him, was he fallen for her? Can't be, He thought, putting ten dollars on the table, he was cold-blooded after all and he had a slight attraction to the same sex. This must be late hormones or something, he thought again, hearing the footsteps of several men. He looked back slightly and could see men with his mask walking by, the preacher sitting up from his box. They must have found out what he had done. Then he remembered, they could have recognized Venus as a villain on accident and would try to hurt her. How and why he felt this way was beyond him. Maybe because he wasn't Isenstein when he wore the mask, just a normal boy. He grabbed a jacket from a man who had placed it their and left his table and pulled the hood up. He couldn't let it happen, even though it is surely an accident of mistaken identity. He grabbed her hand, pulled her close to him, and lunged in for a kiss but only on the cheek, close to the lips, to force the hood over her head and to hide her face. It was a desperate attempt, but he could try and distract them if it failed and help her escape. He was sure that she wasn't some villain, but a goddess from the ocean. He heard the footsteps of the men passing, their creepy robes and masks going by. His heart pounded after they passed and he leaned back, sighing with relief. He felt his face burning. Was it from the excitement? Little did he know that he was blushing.

"No they weren't." He said, looking down. He felt embarrassed that he had to do such a desperate thing. He placed two crumpled five dollars and was about to stand up. He instead looked at the time on his phone, it was getting close to eight. He didn't want his family to worry about him but he didn't want to leave so suddenly. He placed his hands, folded, and said. "Sorry if it wasn't a proper kiss, I just needed to hide your face. I process information a lot faster and I noticed that those men could also be after you sense I walked back and sat here. So I burrowed a jacket, put the hood up, and pretended to be your boyfriend for two seconds. I hope you are not mad or disgusted, I just didn't want any conflict today." He said, half telling the truth. He had a theory that she wasn't who she said she was but he didn't want to confirm it today.

(do you want a romantic thing with Isenstein, it will go great with what I have planned much...much...much, much, much, much later.)

"I...I know this I just..." He scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed as he just sat there. He then had an idea. He took out one of his photos, it was of the Titan's tower, and wrote down something. He looked over at the open kitchen and stood up, walking towards it. He asked the chef if he had a plastic bag but instead he got a plastic wrap. Albert just shrugged and wrapped the photo in the plastic wrap. He headed back and stood next to Venus, placing the photo on the black square. In the small white space at the bottom was his phone number. "If...If you're ever in town, maybe we can hang out sometime?" He asked, smiling slightly.

(PM me the basic idea? Been trying to find something to do ^_^)

"...sure, maybe"

If recent events are taken into consideration, you can see why Hydra would be skeptical of this guy. Albert seems a little off at times, to her at least. Like he isn't being as truthful or honest as he claims to be. Though, Hydra hasn't been anywhere near honest herself. She took hold of the photo, a smile; seems he remembered how she travels. Though you never know if it'll last with the depths she goes. Nice thought at least.

"Sounds like a, plan"

Wonder if Albert was expecting her to say 'date'...