On a rainy day, no one knows your sorrows. (OPEN)

It was a rainy day. The beach had been deserted except for one individual. Roark stood in the downpour, staring out into the ocean. It was so serene and calm; but at the same time a mystery and frightening. This day was full of mixed emotions for him, which is why he stood out in the rain. He had just escaped the asylum one day ago, or as he called it, "his own little piece of Hell." Roark was amazed at the outside world, but at the same time, it was as he expected. He had never been allowed outside. Instead, they had showed kids videos of the horrors of Jump City, hoping to plant a disdain for the city into their young minds. He eventually sat down on the sand, and ran his fingers through it. Grainy, but at the same time comforting. He sighed before he let himself fall into the sand. Laying down, he whispered one thing to himself.

"After all of this... I still feel empty. Why?"

He closed his eyes and let the noise of the ocean and the drops of rain overtake him. He enjoyed the solitude, but hated the loneliness. He had already met a few people, but they were nowhere to be found. He slammed the ground with his right fist, feeling the pain of the wristband hitting the bone in his wrist. He cringed a bit.

"On a rainy day, no one knows your sorrows. The preach of better days, yet we aren't guaranteed a tomorrow..."

"Ah... Finally, a day where the city just kinda stands still. No one wants to rob banks or fight in the rain."

Vincent Ward walked down the shoreline, holding a transparent, coppery umbrella above his head as he walked, taking in the scent of the rain and the breeze that accompanied the rush of water from the sky, In his opinion, it was a beautiful day: No show-off supers, no obnoxious baddies... No coffin-wielding weirdos... It was almost like the world had finally decided to give him a break.

His boot treads sank deep into the wet sand with each step, footprints slowly washing out as he walked thanks to the rain pelting down from the sky and leaving the normally smooth sand of the beach pock-marked with little impact craters... In fact, he was so at peace, something that seemed rare these days, that he almost completely missed the individual standing down the beach a ways...

"Huh, wonder what his deal is..."

Aleta walked down the side walk quietly with a white and little lily pad umbrella in hand. She was wearing a pair of cute frog rain boots and a green frog rain coat to match. She enjoyed walking about during her days off. Especially on rainy days. It reminded her of when she lived in Gotham. Even though many sad memories laid in Gotham for Aleta, she couldn't help but feel home sick.
"Aw man mom, I wish you and I could share this together..." she said to her self as she hopped into a small puddle creating a big splash. "It's so much fun.."

As Aleta walked on, she noticed two others outside on the empty beach. She smiled then decided that it was time to make new friends for the day. Aleta hopped onto the soft sand with a plish then made her way towards them. Her froggy boots making a soft squeak each step she took.

Roark was just planning to fall asleep here in the sand, but something woke him from his pseudo-comatose state. His wristband began to glow blue. He looked at it and then smirked. New friend? He hoped so. He put his hands back before he launched himself to his feet. Dusting himself off, he turned around and saw not one, but two people. One guy, and a girl. He smiled before deciding to speak.

"Well, hello. Welcome to my humble abode; the great outdoors. I am..."

He took a second to think if they were a threat. The girl didn't seem like a threat at all, but he wasn't too sure about the girl. He decided to use his alias on this one.

"...Atlas. And who are you?" He asked Vincent. Looking over at Aleta, his face got more cool.

"And who is this?" He said slyly. Most people would be shy at first, but that's not the Roark Baythers way. Go hard or go home without a date.

Vincent wasn't quite sure what to make of this individual at first. He took a moment to respond, looking at the other newcomer for a moment, before turning his attention back to... Atlas? Interesting. Sounded like a super handle... Then again, he couldn't judge every super just because he didn't like most of them... He was one himself after all...

"Well," he responded to Atlas, "I can't speak for frog-girl over there, but my name's Vincent." He saw no real issue with giving out his first name... After all, there were plenty of Vincents in Jump, and giving out a hero handle could wind up bad if he found someone who had a chip on their shoulder... Though he was sort of using his powers already, so someone paying attention could probably figure out that his umbrella looked like it was made of tinted glass...

"And you, miss?"

Aleta hopped up to the two with a tiny bounce. "My name's Vibe Howler. So nice to meet you both". she said with a bright and innocent smile. She gave her lily pad umbrella a twirl then tilted her head slightly "So, Vincent, Atlas. What're you two doing out here on such a rainy day?" she asked politely, rocking back and fourth making her rubber boots croak like a frog. Aleta really seemed to pick up how friendly Atlas was being. But wasn't one hundred percent on Vincents. So she just continued to rock back and fourth.

"Nice to meet you both as well."

Vibe's question caught Roark off guard. He didn't want to say he was homeless, but at the same time, he didn't want to lie. I mean, he was trying to impress the girl. He wasn't trying to make the guy like him, because he was giving Roark a weird feeling. He decided to simply tell the truth. It was the best way to make friends. He sighed.

"Well, I don't have a home. I technically a run-away, or really a run-away kidnapped teenager."

Vincent felt a little bad for the guy, offering his umbrella to Atlas. Not like it was a viable weapon against Vincent even if the guy did wind up crazy or dangerous, so no harm helping him from getting sick, regardless. He was a bit hard on powered individuals more often than not, but they were people too, right? No point in being needlessly cruel just because they weren't the same as every other old homo sapien.

"Here, you're going to catch your death in the rain if you don't have anywhere to go."

It was unfortunate it wasn't a permanent solution since it was a projection of his own will power, but it was better than nothing for the time being...

"Anyway, as for me," he finally responded to the girl next to him, "It's beautiful out. And so peaceful, which is a rare thing in this city." At least that was true enough. He liked rainy days, especially warm ones, but he also loved the peaceful tranquility the rain often brought.

Aleta looked at Atlas with an innocent gleam. She was a run away too... Aleta set her umbrella aside then unbuttoned her rain coat revealing her light green spaghetti strapped dress and handed the coat out to Atlas "W-What he said..." she blushed a bit then picked up her umbrella to shield herself from the rain then cleared her throat "Rain is very soothing and all. But too much can make you catch a cold." she said puffing her chest. "B'sides. We run-aways gotta stick together." she giggled holding up a thumbs up and winked.

Roark laughed. He didn't need these things, as he was genetically altered to avoid sickness all together. The worst sickness he had ever gotten was a couple sneezes in a row.

"Thanks for the gestures, but I can't get sick. Perk of being a lab experiment I guess." He gave a nervous laugh, not knowing what their responses would be. His eyes went over to Vibe. How could she be a run-away? She looked like she came from a mansion dressed like that. He looked back to Vincent.

"It is nice out. Nothing exploding, breaking, or screaming. Just serene quiet all around."

Vincent was beginning to feel a tad more at ease around these two... Admittedly, the 'lab experiment' bit caught him off-guard but... Well, candidness about that sort of thing either meant he was confident in himself, or that he didn't have anything to hide. Vincent really wanted to believe the latter was the real case... He didn't want a fight to ruin the day's peace.

"Agreed, Atlas." he finally decided on responding simply, avoiding what may have been a sensitive subject. He... Well, didn't entirely trust either of the two yet, but didn't want to be a jerk after all. "Although, even if you can't get sick, sometimes being soaked can be obnoxious. Offer's still there."

He wasn't going to bring up the fact that he was in a similar situation, only barely having a roof over his head at the moment, but he almost wanted to say so, if only to make himself seem less like an outcast in the little group of strangers... But he wouldn't.

Aleta blinked puzzled then waved the coat at Atlas "You sure? Alright..." she pouted, slipping the coat back on buttoning it back up. She smiled at Vincent, confirming that he was a decent guy as well. "I'm pretty sure that getting the rain off of your back for a little bit would be nice. Besides, Vincent and I could share since he's offering his own umbrella. Or would you like to share with me?" she added with a small smile as she twirled her umbrella again. Aleta really started to enjoy their company slowly. As the rain began to pour a little more vigorously she looked out to the ocean quietly then looked back to the boys.

Roark smirked. He walked up to Aleta and nodded, thanking her.

"If it will ease your souls." He said, chuckling a bit. He had never really smiled so much. Being kept in a cell most of his life, only out to eat, use the restroom, or fight, really took it's toll. He enjoyed being outside, and even being soaking wet. It was an experience that was new to him. He let the breeze hit him, giving him a feeling of ecstasy. Not sexual ecstasy, but an elated feeling. He was glad to be in the company of some good people.

Eh, pretty much what he expected. He'd probably take a cute girl over himself too, though Vincent could make as many umbrellas as they needed... Well, actually, a single big one would probably be easier, but whatever. At least this way, the other two were comfortable, and he didn't have to strain his powers.

"Heh, well, it was nice meeting you, but I'll be heading out. I'd hate to be a burden."

It just felt like one of those situations where he was going to wind up as a third wheel, just messing up the overall balance of the moment, and he doubted either of them were going to do anything he was going to have to handle. Atlas seemed alright enough, and it really wasn't his business what happened between every person in Jump. He wasn't the ONLY hero around, after all...

Aleta smiled sheepishly at Atlas then looked to Vincent puzzled. "A-Ah! Wait, we just met..." she whimpered as she grabbed Vincents hand gently. Looking up at him with big puppy-dog eyes. "I'd like to get to know you a bit more at least before you run away..." she looked down realizing she was still holding his hand then blushed brightly, reverting her hand to her coats pocket. "S-So um.. don't go? Please?" she shifted in place, still blushing a little. Grasping the umbrella handle a bit tighter. "Please..?" Aleta's lower lip puckered out pouting ever so slightly.