Utopia

Paul glanced around and nodded. "Just don't say my name," he warned, not wanting to blow his cover. He didn't know how many people actually knew him, but he was almost certain that somehow news that he was in the city would reach the authorities. Then he'd have to flee the city and it would be a big mess.

Kira's face lit up, as she grabbed the sleeve of Paul's coat, guiding him through the crowd as they walked. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about Luke, would you? He went missing a few years ago, and I figured that maybe, y'know, because..." she trailed off, glancing back at Paul hopefully.

Paul shook his head gently. "I don't know anything about Luke, sorry," he told her, telling the truth this time. He didn't really notice too much out there, mostly because it was a big world. It wasn't easy to keep track of everything.

Kira looked a bit crestfallen, before brightening back up. "That's alright, it was a-a stupid notion, anyway," she said, though she was still quite disappointed. It did make sense, though, how was Paul supposed to keep track of everyone? Just because they were both on the run didn't mean they were on the run together...

"Hardly," Paul waved off her disappointment, "It was right of you to think I'd know something, all things considering. Unfortunately I went solo a while back, so I lost touch with just about everyone." Paul thought for a moment. He could probably find Luke with little trouble, he figured, but what was the point? Unless Kira had something to offer him, it was none of his business. Then again, he could use some info...

Kira stopped in front of the restaurant, turning back to look at Paul. "I'm sorry for wasting your time... If you ever need anything...um..." she trailed off, digging around in her purse for some spare paper and a writing utensil, writing down her address. "I live here, if you ever need food or anything..."

Paul smiled softly, though it was covered, leaving his cold eyes, and took the piece of paper. "Thank you, and if you ever need me...well I'll know." He nodded at her stepping away, "We never met."

Kira nodded in understanding, waving good-bye as she stepped inside the building. At least it was warmer in here. Did that count as getting closer? She hoped so. Jason needed some sort of male figure around, and she would rather have it be Luke than some stranger.

Paul took a deep breath, looking up at the sky. So much to do and learn and only so much time to accomplish it all. And now this shit going on in the city...it was gonna be real interesting.

"What sort of stuff did you do?"

Clue asked quietly, her question good as drowned out by the man's musings, given her soft-spoken voice. She didn't necessarily mind though. This would be something she was used to, and then something she was rather nervous about should she have the be pushy.
But she'd always wondered about the Acer tournament. Just another one of her daydreams, she supposed. Course, even if she'd been able to go she'd had no Flow back then.

A small smile spread across her lips. She had a Flow now. But she didn't even know what she'd do with it, let alone what it was, or how to use it.....

Clue's autumn eyes gained a far off expression to them, like she was staring into empty space and beyond it. She didn't notice as Char walked off , or she would have insisted that the girl take a piece of candy, or be safe, or go to her Nanyayaya or something.
One of the many reasons why she didn't make a good babysitter.

Edit: SORRY DX Idk why it did that...my computer is weird....

"Nah, I was hoping to get rid of you so I can explain myself to the Chief for taking a convict out of prison and back into the streets. You being there would probably incense him more, so I figured you off making yourself happy would work out best for every," Russell explained lengthily, not looking up at Heidi but tapping away a message on his phone. He frowned a couple of times, but persevered, and lifted his head eventually.

He put the phone to his head, waiting for Percival to pick up his mobile phone, which Russell hoped he had with him. Usually it would be next to impossible for a member of the ordinary police to get a member of the Flow Response Unit's contact number, as their personal details were extensor confidential, but Russell had friends in high places, and had got his call patched through, even of he still wasn't privy to their files.

"Yo, Percival?" he asked when the man picked up.

-----

Luke scratched his chin while he thought, a tic picked up somewhere along the way. He wasn't really sure how to succinctly describe what had happened in the tournament, and his thoughts were interrupted by him waving a belated goodbye at Char. His ice-blue eyes squinted slightly as he thought, his face looking vaguely hawkish because of it.

"Mostly I fought with one of my team-mates, but other than that, my talents were mostly limited to burning things. Fortunately, a lot more problems than you'd expect can be solved by setting things alight. Those that couldn't be, I left to my team-mates. Apart from one challenge, where you had to dive deep under a lake to retrieve these pearls, and I stupidly took it. I think it was kind of a macho thing, plus my team-mate, Kira, was so quiet I didn't want to ask."

"Hehe, hopefully I've outgrown that, now that I'm no longer fourteen years old, but I guess it would be hard to tell if it's not exactly conscious," he mused, keeping the heat he exuded at a steady temperature. He used to have the problem of accidentally getting too hot or cold with his emotions, but he was much more in control of his Flow those days.

Percy heard his mobile phone ring, and proceeded to pull it out from his coat pocket, before answering it. "Hello?" He said when he answered. "Yes, this is Percival, who is this?" He asked the person on the other end of the phone.

Charmaine managed to run pretty far on her own, but eventually she had to stop and listen to her body's needs. Her stomach was growling: She didn't eat breakfast and she spent most of the morning running. She had a little bit of money on her, most of it she stole, but it probably wasn't enough. Oh well. Time to use Ade's power to use.

She headed deeper into the city, where it was the most crowded, and looked for a suitable target.

A tall, light-haired man gazed at out a window steadily, observing the vast stretches of dark, barren land that lay below him. His eyes were obscured by opaque, blood red goggles; his face betrayed no emotion. He wore a blindingly white coat secured with buttons running up and down the front of his body. Four more adults were situated in the same room as he was-- two of them sitting on red velvet couches, another standing quietly in the corner, and the final leaning against the wall. The silence hung in the room heavily, one could hear nothing but the occasional whisper of the wind. Finally, one of them spoke.

"You've been standing there looking out the window for quite some time, Thadius. Just enjoying the view, or still sore about your loss?" The smooth brown-haired adult spoke, his eyes darting over to the man at the window. The man in question did not reply, continuing to gaze outwardly at the land. Moments later, he turned around and spoke.

"That Asquith... is a bastard," he simply said, taking off his white gloves and putting them in his lab coat pocket, and taking a seat on one of the red couches.

"It's been years, Thadius, what's been done was done for the best," the brown-haired man replied, standing up and strolling around the room casually. "Be glad that besides your Nullifier, you managed to keep everything else intact." His eyes involuntary darted to a long, round table near the end of the room covered with knickknacks, failed experiments, bits and pieces of metal, wire, and other contraptions.

"He isn't doing that great of a job, I hear," the fiery-red haired man leaning against the wall said. His muscular arms crossed tightly on his chest. Chains dangled from his dark pants and tattoos ran up and down his arms. "I've sent Rook and Phi to scout out the city, and they said there's been a string of strange murders lately."

"I suppose even our Utopia isn't perfect," the brown-haired man replied, sighing. "What is the situation with this murder case, Vanthus?"

"Murders of the ones in our tournament. Ex-Acers," Vanthus replied, pushing himself off in the wall in one swift motion. The chains rattled quietly as he strolled closer to where the others were. "There was that kid who could read minds, and some others. Got the police all riled up, I'm sure."

"This is why Asquith shouldn't have taken my Nullifier," Thadius said, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "Without their Flows, humans are unable to defend themselves. If one chooses to do so by choice, then by all means, go right ahead. But forced to Null your gift is an absolute travesty..." His eyes lingered toward his arm with a hint of sadness, his artificial arm he had created himself, a mechanical replacement.

"Murdering I can understand, but murder of the ex-Acers?" Acerbus, the brown-haired man, mused. "Sometimes, a motive for murder is more of a concern than the murder itself."

"Couldn't have been Shima or any of his goons," Vanthus said in a snark tone.

"Now, with Shima, you never know," Acerbus suppressed a small smirk. "Perhaps one of his vigilante Illuminati with a vengeance, running around the city wreaking havoc?" He turned to the young girl on the couch opposite him. She wore a red and white skirt and blouse and had honey-colored eyes. She twirled a parasol in her hand. Most striking however, was her bright pink hair. "What do you make of this, Anya? You've been unusually quiet so far."

The girl in question shrugged. "I don't know... Lillian, isn't your brother living in Utopia? Maybe he can back us up with some info?" She turned to the last adult, a stoic woman with blueish-dark hair and dark eyes, holding an ornate staff with both hands. A single pink cherry blossom nested in her hair, providing a stark contrast.

"Perhaps," she said, her voice a flat tone. "It's been a while since I last spoke to him, when Shima was attacking the tower. He said he'd be waiting. I've yet to figure out what it meant..."

"Speculation is all we have so far, isn't it?" Acerbus stood up. "Rook and Phi are still in Utopia currently? I'll have them contact a few... associates I know who are in the city. Your brother might be one of them, Lillian. We all have our Flow still intact, and I'm sure Rook and Phidus are more than capable enough to avoid conflict with the police and possible Nullification. I'm heading up to the top to speak with them."

"It's time we stopped idling."

"Oh, so it's you heating the air? Thank you..."

Clue's eyes widened. She smiled, suddenly a whole lot more grateful now that she knew where the warmth was coming from. A slight wave of curiosity washed over her, causing her to slightly tilt her head to the side. Seeing as she hadn't had a Flow for the longest, the Flows of other people had always intrigued her. A million questions popped up all over her mind. Seemed as if that didn't change, even if she had a Flow now.
And she did have a Flow now. Whatever it was.

Her image flickered and sputtered like a defective hologram before stabilizing, but she didn't seem to notice.

"That sounds like fun".

She smiled, tapping her foot on the ground and casually watching his fingers as they scratched his chin. That seemed to be a tic or something he did when he was thinking. The gesture made him seem more approachable, somehow.

Charmaine eventually found herself in a park, filled with wealthy idiots she can easily steal from. Her eyes changed from light blue to dark brown as she walked casually around the park. Rocks of different shapes and sizes disappeared around her at random intervals, like something invisible was following her and hiding them.

She sat down in the shade of a tree, wrapping her cloak around her tightly. The little fat spirit she summoned waddled behind a young man on the path. It pulled a wallet out of the man's pocket and quickly replaced it with a rock about the same shape and size before he noticed. The wallet floated in mid-air for a few seconds, before disappearing and reappearing next to Charmaine. She took enough cash so she could buy herself a proper lunch and maybe even dinner, then gave the wallet back to the spirit so it could return it to the man. The art of pickpocketing.

Heidi groaned when Russell said Percival's name. Why did it have to be him of all people? "Guess who's back, y' little fucker?!" she called out loud enough for Percival to hear from the other end, before starting to mutter to herself. Why did that asswipe have to get custody of Mary?

"Hey Mr. Percival, it's detective Russell Bell from the regular police force. We've met before. I have here Heidi Armistead, I believe you two know each other. She's helping me with an investigation, and she'd like to see Simon. You're taking care of him, right?" Russell explained briefly, never sounding more than detached and disinterested. He didn't have any particular love for anyone involved, but maintained a cool indifference for all parties.

-----

"Oh, it's cool. The air thing's mostly automatic, it's kind of a passive side-effect of my Flow. Doesn't take much energy, so it's difficult to sense, too," Luke shrugged, quietly amused by how taken the girl seemed with Flows. It was probably because she hadn't had one, but she seemed fascinated by the whole world of after the Storm, from Flows to the Acer Tournament itself. Oh well, he mentally shrugged, enthusiasm wasn't a bad thing.

"And it was, and it wasn't. I mean, it was an adventure looking back on it, but adventures are only christened in retrospect, I find. I met some pretty interesting people from it, so that part of it was fantastic, but it was tough, and some bits were horrible. I'd love to forget some of the fights I was in," the former contestant mused, his face taking a more contemplative look as he did.

"That said, overall it changed me, and I think for the better. The people I met, one in particular, helped me to become a better person, less aggressive and violent. So I think I would have turned out completely different if I had spent longer roaming that wasteland as I matured," he elaborated, thinking back to Kira and even his other team-mate, Nathan, and how he'd developed.

Heidi stood closer to Russell, actually staying quiet this time, trying to hear Percival's response. She wanted to see Simon and Mary something terrible, and she wasn't going to let the imaginary friend cheat her out of an opportunity to do just that.

Percival frowned a little when he heard Heidi's voice, but lightened up a little when Russell began explaining. "Of course, I'll bring them down to the station, what time would be appropriate?" Percival asked. As far as he knew, Heidi was still in jail, and this was just a request for them to come visit her. While he didn't really get along with Heidi, he had nothing against bringing Simon and/or Mary down to see her.

Simon was about to leave when he heard Percival talking on the phone. Frowning, the boy stayed where he was, wondering what was up.

Heidi scrambled for the phone, snatching it away from Russell and setting it on speaker. "Cool 'yer jets, shit head, I'm not in jail. For now anyway. I'm temporarily out!" she explained rather crudely, sounding far from a young adult and more like a twelve year old.

"Wait, what?" Percival asked, confused. "What happened exactly?" He went on, turning to Simon and gesturing for him to come back over for this. For some reason, Heidi was now out of jail. The boy would be happy to learn this of course.

"Simon, Heidi is on the other end with a detective from the police force, she's saying she's out of jail now." He quickly explained to the boy.

"Simon's with you?" Heidi exclaimed, smiling ecstatically. This was good, this was very good. Maybe she'd even get to talk to Mary as well, that'd be great. Hopefully she'd be able to find them, too.

"You can talk to him if you want." Percy said, before offering Simon the phone. No doubt the boy would like to talk to her as well.