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Post by Banshee on Sept 27, 2023 15:46:46 GMT -6
The boys nodded when he spoke about his identity being known. And while Lux was confident in the confidential portion of the deal, Nox on the other hand, was a little worried about Joe knowing the same information. He leaned in towards his brother and asked; “Do you think Joe will keep this a secret too? Or do you think she's going to blab to her twin sister?”
Lux rolled his eyes and looked at his brother with a disapproving frown. “Josephine is really loyal. Like...for crying out loud, you know her as much as I do. She's never once told anyone anything we've said to keep a secret. I doubt she's going to blab it to someone else. Especially Davis.”
Nox wasn't sure about it but felt that his brother seemed to have great confidence in her. So he felt that he should as well. “Alright then. I just...you know...Worry.”
“It's fine.” Lux responded to Hyper X teasing him one last time about Josephine. “I-I mean, I wouldn't mind it if we...did date...but I don't know...” He looked down at his feet, suddenly feeling a bit down about the possibility.
“Brother?”
Lux erased his frown and placed a false smile to them both. “It's fine! I'm just tired from all of this running! Let's...make it home-err, to his home! Plus, I'd like to play with the dinosaur at some point...Once it gets comfortable with being around us...that is.”
Once they made it to Hyper X's house, the boys opened their eyes in surprise. It was so much nicer than they expected! And when he opened the door, he was met with a grand surprise. Nox and Lux both staggered back, giving Hyper X room to stand his ground against his shock.
After was all said and done, the boys quietly followed him inside the house. And as soon as the mention of quantum physics appeared, Nox eagerly looked at his brother. A desire that left Lux questioning his brother's sanity. Then without asking or speaking, the boy took off in a sprint to find those said books. Leaving behind Lux who looked at Nathan.
“He's...not normal. It's okay.” Lux shrugged to him. “Um...” He could hear Hyper X having a deep conversation with some others, whom he didn't know much about. So he looked back to Nathan and said; “I...Is it weird that I've never touched a video game before? Can I try one of those?”
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Post by Moe on Sept 27, 2023 16:23:02 GMT -6
"He's his own version of normal." Nathan said with a fanged grin. "Those books are probably littered in the hall closet, but-oh okay he's gone." he said, as Nox took off. "He'll find 'em." he shrugged. He lead Lux into his room and plopped down on a massive bean bag, that was big enough to hold him.
"Not weird at all!" he said, grabbing a controller and tossing it to him. "I wasn't allowed to play video games, growin' up. Or read comics. Or watch tv. I grew up in a pretty strict house. But now that I'm bunkin' with my best friend? I've been catchin' up on a lotta lost time! Go ahead, pick one out, pick more than one if ya' wanna try 'em all!" he smiled.
"Sounds like you two are stayin' here a while, so don't be shy about askin' me for anything!" he assured Lux. "I got video games, board games, rpg games, card games, comic books, graphic novels, movies, cartoon series, basically a whole comic con. Mark isn't super interested in that kinda stuff, so it's nice to share it with somebody who'd appreciate it."
"Also, we can get food delivered right to us, for free." he pulled out his phone with a delivery app open. "I dunno what hacky stuff he did, but he just said 'Don't worry about it'," he said, impersonating his friend's voice the best he could. "And now we don't gotta pay for nothin'!"
Spicy Nugget squawked in excitement.
"Oh, yeah. We probably gotta feed him. Uh, do either of you know what dinosaurs eat?"
"This." X said from the doorway, setting a bowl down that contained a pureed mix of something that was best left unsaid. Spicy Nugget wobbled over toward it, and started scarfing it down. "On that note, we need a new blender." X said to Nathan, causing Nathan to gag a little.
X was dressed completely casual at this point, and looked exhausted. "So, what did you found out about the data breaches?" he asked his friend.
"Nothin' we didn't already know." Nathan shrugged. "Nothin' was super sensitive. No bank accounts, no passwords, no identities. Nothin' like that. Just...information. Building structures, city history, world history, blueprints, website code would probably be the biggest concern."
"Yeah. We just found more of the same." X sighed. "And my security hasn't been broken through, yet. Looks like the most information they have access to, are news articles. Which are all bogus, anyway. I guess you guys settle in for a bit," he said to the twins, "I've got a lot of digging to do, about a lot of different things. Feel free to order food,"
"Already got that covered." Nathan said with a grin.
"Unsurprising. Anyway, make yourselves at home. Just don't wake my kid up, or the one who does is next on babysitting duty." he said, in a serious tone, as he left the room to do his own researching.
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Post by Banshee on Sept 27, 2023 16:50:55 GMT -6
Lux followed Nathan into his room and took a deep breath as the amazement of what he had within it, struck him. It was like walking into a dream. Or maybe a nerd store. It was all stuff that he never knew even could exist within the same place. And yet? There it was. All of it. Books, movies, games, comics, the list went on as Nathan explained to him that he was pretty much the geek of the place.
“Wow...” He said as he walked in and continued to look around the area. “I-I would love to try it! Them!” Lux was struggling to contain his excitement but he was sure Nathan knew very well how excited he must've been to see it all.
He slowly took a seat in a beanbag chair, something he's never seen before. It was so soft and bouncy. Lux pretty much sank into it. “This is honestly so cool!” He said, still trying to keep himself from screaming with excitement. “Thank you so much, uh...Oh...I don't know if I got your name. I'm Lux and my brother is Nox. We're...not really from around here.”
He sighed when it dawned onto him that Nathan had mentioned he lived in a strict household. “Yeah...I can relate on that... We were raised by my older brother because our Mom and Dad were...” He stopped for a moment as he didn't want to dwell too much on his past. “Let's just say, Reese really wanted us to follow their footsteps and so he trained us to fight and be righteous and whatever...” He threw his hand towards the side. “Nox was able to do all the nerd stuff because he's not exactly fit to be a knight. But me? I was...kind of the golden child...I guess.” He shrugged. “So I couldn't have any fun...”
He held onto the controller and looked down at it for a moment. “Sorry, I don't mean to be a downer. It's just really cool that you're doing this for me...and Hyper X is doing this for us. It's honestly...one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for us, since arriving in these parts. I-mean, we met another family that's been amazing to be with. But they're not in this area...Well...except for their one kid who is here visiting.”
Then Hyper X walked in and threw in food that looked like a depressing slop. Lux wanted to hurl as he looked at it. “Ew...” He then looked over to Nathan as he mentioned that he ordered food already. “Oh? What food did you get?”
Then there was the thought of waking up the baby. He winced. “Last time I tried to care for a baby, they cried...I'm not very good at it.”
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Post by Moe on Sept 27, 2023 19:19:47 GMT -6
"I mean, family's important," Nathan said, rubbing the back of his head. "But ya' gotta know when a relationship is toxic, even if it is family. Ya' shouldn't be obligated to do what ya' family says ya' gotta do, just 'cause they're ya' family, y'know? I was always the black sheep in my family, too. And not just 'cause I got all the good looks!" he smiled, decided to look on the positive side. "My parents were both cops. Dad was even a detective. My sister wanted to follow in their footsteps, and went to police academy as soon as her kid was born. She really just ditched her own daughter just so she could live up to our parents' standards." he said. "Eh, it's for the better, anyway. She woulda been a horrible parent. My niece woulda grown up the exact same way, with the expectation to follow in her mom's footsteps. It's not healthy, I tell ya'." he shrugged.
"On that note, don't worry about it." Nathan assured Lux. "She's my niece, so I'll take responsibility if it gets too loud. He's all talk, anyway. He's been kinda grumpy, lately..probably just needs a nap, too." he laughed. "As for food, how do you feel about pizza?" he said with a grin.
Spicy Nugget warbled happily, whatever pureed meat was in the bowl now dripping off his jaws. He licked the remaining slop off, and snuggled up to Lux, happily falling asleep.
X on the other hand, was doing his own research in the living room, while fighting off sleep.
"When's the last time I've slept?" he thought to himself, as he could feel his eyelids growing heavy.
"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say 5 months, 2 weeks and 3 days." a voice said. There was somebody standing in the living room, right in front of X. "Yeeeah, you really need to get some rest. Sorry I can't let you do that, tonight." the voice said again, clearing up enough for X to hear that it was female.
His face scrunched in a scowl, as he tried to get up and defend his home. Unfortunately, he found that he couldn't move.
"Yeah, not gonna happen." the woman said. "You're in a deep sleep. You were supposed to get a huge power influx when you turned 18, but your dad sucks and you got all the power and none of the perks. Your body's shutting down." she said. He voice and her figure started to become more clear. She was tall, blonde, and had wings. One bat-like, and one feathered.
"No, you're not dying. I didn't quite phrase that right." the woman said. "Allow me to introduce myself," she cleared her throat. "My name is Amber!" she said, striking a pose. "Though, that isn't very dramatic. I'm the daughter of Ananke, and the granddaughter of Fate herself. Basically, I'm the space to your time. We're connected on a deep level." she said, getting uncomfortably close to his face while he was unable to move. "A deeeeep level." she said, smooshing her face against his.
"Oh god, my dreams are flirting with me." he said, completely ignoring the rest of what she'd said.
"What? Ew. No." Amber reeled back. "I meant like, we're twinsies." she corrected. "You're the grandson of Time, I'm the granddaughter of Space. One can't exist without the other. Don't you know the stories? The dragons who created the universe?"
"Why can't I dream about nice things? Like a beach vacation." X said, still ignoring her. "Or maybe something about those robots and the data breaches. Sudden clarity. Yeah. That's a thing most other geniuses do. They dream about their research and then an idea presents itself."
Amber gave him a sour look. Clearly this wasn't going anywhere. "Yeah. I'm not getting anywhere with him." she said to somebody behind her. Nobody was there, but she was talking as though there was. There was another muffled voice, it sounded female as well. "Hm. Athena says to take things slow." Amber turned back around. "Damn, Chronos really did screw up big time, didn't he?" she leaned over, looking X in the face.
The same mumbled voice was heard, again. It was faint and distant, and X couldn't make out anything she was saying.
"Hm." Amber said. "She said next time you're dreaming, ask for Bastet. She's the best one to walk you through this. Meantime, you should probably wake up. It's noon, the next day. Boop!" she bopped him on the head, causing him to wake up to the sound of knocking at the door.
He groggily got up, sore and stiff from sleeping on the couch. He answered the door to find... 24 ice creams, 17 packages of various cookies, 4 pizzas, and one large soda.
"Nathan..."
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Post by Banshee on Sept 27, 2023 19:43:31 GMT -6
Lux quietly listened to Nathan explain his family problems. Much of which, he was able to relate with. To a degree. He then giggled when Nathan was trying to lift up the mood by complimenting his own looks with a grin. Lux had to admit, he felt that the guy was most likely a chick magnet.
“Right.” He said with a laugh. “Well, I'm glad that she's not heading down the same path as she did. And...that's kind of what my brother and I don't want to do either.” He then pulled his legs up to his chest, letting the controller rest beside him.
“I don't remember much of my parents...” He solemnly said. “I remember bits and pieces of them. Dad had this gruff voice with a thick accent. It was so hard to understand him all the time.“ Lux laughed. “Could never ever say the word, aluminum. He would just call it shiny bendable metal. Then he;d get mad whenever Mom tested him on it. Then Mom? She always had a smile on her face and a voice that was soft to listen to...She always cared so much about us... I remember her singing in our native language. It was always so beautiful to listen to because...well she was an opera singer at one point. She'd perform on stage and sing to small crowds. She always dreamed on becoming the next big thing...”
Lux frowned as he looked down at the controller once more. He could feel tears swell up in his eyes as he rubbed them free from it. “She was performing one night. We were in the audience watching her sing. It was so pretty, with all the dancing lights and smooth music to go with her voice. She had the prettiest dress on too. But...someone didn't like it.”
He wiped a tear. “I remember banging sounds. Screaming. Then Dad shoved us into Reese and jumped into fisticuffs with the bandits that raided. He was a knight, off duty, but he and his friend would team up and, with him being the sword, allowed his friend to use him as a weapon. And then...all I can remember...is hearing the story that a lot of folks didn't make it. Mom and Dad included...”
“I...never spoke to anyone about this. But...it sort of feels...relieving to do so?” He shrugged. “Either way, I think that's why Reese is trying so hard to become what my Dad was. And he wants us two to follow in pursuit. But if you want my honest opinion? I'm scared of stuff like that... Nox...he's afraid of everything so he wouldn't be so good either...”
He rubbed the back of his head. “I know Mom and Dad would be proud of us, no matter what we became but Reese wouldn't accept that. So that's why we ran off. It was more-so trying to figure out who we are, without his help. I mean, I feel bad ditching him and all, because...even if he is toxic in some ways, he did raise us and care for us while our parents left this world. So...maybe when the time is right, the two of us will make our return to him once more. But until then...” He heard the squawk of Spicy Nugget and he grabbed a piece of food for the little critter. Lux smiled and said; “We're going to have fun learning our way to the top...”
When asked about pizza, he grinned. “Heck yes! I love pizza! Only toppings I don't like are, Olives and anchovies. Blegh! Fish!” He made a funny face. “Nox loves that stuff and he'll put it on my plate on purpose to get me grossed out.” Lux shivered. “I hate the texture.”
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Post by Moe on Sept 27, 2023 20:58:03 GMT -6
Nathan listened as Lux talked about his family. Hear could hear the pain in his voice, and decided to just let him talk it out. Sometimes it was better to just have someone listen. The story was awful, it had to have been traumatizing for the boys.
Nathan was a lot more awkward than his friend was, in comforting people, but that didn't mean he didn't have sympathy. "Y'know what?" he said to Lux. "I think they woulda been proud of ya', for wanting to forge your own path and the people you're turning out to be." he smiled his crooked smile. "My parents are gone, too. But, I'd like to think at least Mom would've been proud of me for what I do. Sometimes ya' just don't know, so ya' gotta look on the bright side, y'know?" he said.
The next morning, or afternoon rather, Nathan responded to his friend calling out for him.
"Oh, food is here!" he said with a delighted grin.
"You know, just because you have the ability to do it, doesn't mean you should order nothing but junk food, every day." X said sternly to him.
Nathan had already started eating an ice cream sandwich, and looked at X as though he was speaking another language.
"Nevermind. I'll let it slide for now, and make us an actual meal. With veggies!" X said, poking Nathan in the chest, before grabbing food from the fridge to cook. "Hey, you weren't gaming all night, were you?" he added.
"Tiff's fine." Nathan said, with his mouth full. "When I came to check on ya', you were pretty much unconscious on the couch. Figured I'd let ya' sleep as long as possible. Which it turns out, was a really long time. And ya' still look exhausted."
"I am." X yawned. "I feel like I haven't slept in months. And I had the weirdest dream..." he trailed off. "Anyway, we've got a lot to figure out, and I feel like we're running out of time. These data-stealing bots can't just be after harmless info,"
"Mark." Nathan interrupted him. "Take it easy. Ya' can't just work all the time. Somethin'll turn up." he smiled.
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Post by Banshee on Sept 27, 2023 21:11:47 GMT -6
Nox was quietly listening to the elders speak to one another about eating a healthy diet. He then looked down at his plate. There was exactly, one vegetable, one grain, and one meat. In his opinion, he felt that it was quite balanced. He even had orange juice sitting beside him as he reached of to take a sip. But what caught his eye was, his brother.
Lux was staring at his plate, blankly.
Slowly Nox reached over and poked him with a fork. “Brother? Are you okay?”
“I had a dream last night... I was driving in a large empty mall. There was this jazzy tune playing and each lap I made, the song went faster. I was throwing bananas and blocks at other drivers. Then right before the finish line, there was confetti that exploded and a squid splatted ink in my face. I swerved out of control and ended up inside of a hay bale. Then when I got out...There were aliens fighting us. They had t-shirt canons and they were firing them at us. And when they hit?” He turned to his brother, all wide eyed and in shock. “We turned into kittens.”
“Um...” Nox adjusted his glasses a bit. “What...did you eat last night?”
Lux grabbed his brother by the scarf. “I ate T-shirts.”
Nox wearily looked at the others, wondering what their take was on Lux's weird dream. “Um...d-did they at least taste good?”
“They tasted like dirty gym socks on a hot and humid day. It was horrible.”
“Lux...I think you need to lay off the energy drinks. I smell it on your breath. Have...Have you even slept?” He waved in front of his brother's face.
Lux laughed maniacally as he stole his brother's bacon and ate it. Nox quickly reacted to it but Lux was only getting him going. He merely wanted to steal the bacon off his brother's plate. “Nah, I kid. My dream was about walking in a meadow with someone. It wasn't anywhere near as weird as that. I just wanted to scare you for bacon.”
“Jerk...” Nox huffed as he sank into his seat. “You know...Yesterday? When I was reading those books. I was listening to the news, which...is often times unreliable. But they were talking about this guy who was going around the city, claiming that he's a circus performer or something. Says something about owning a flying ship to show. Sounds kinda cool.” He shrugged. “But the reporter talking was saying that he was suspecting the guy to be a part of some conspiracy theory of helping these robots invade areas for information. I don't know what everyone's take is on it. But I found the report to be rather interesting.” He shrugged.
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Post by Moe on Sept 27, 2023 21:37:59 GMT -6
"Interesting, indeed." Mark said, sitting at the table with the twins. He poked at his food, weirdly not feeling hungry. He chalked it up to stress. "Wouldn't hurt to look into that. Though you three might have to go without me. I uh. Don't have a sitter today."
"What about Alex or your mom?" Nathan mumbled, through a mouthful of cinnamon toast.
"Church thing." X rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out. "Much as I hate to humor the thought of calling her...what about your sister?"
"Test at the academy, today." Nathan shrugged. "Hey, what about the new girl? She already knows who you are-"
"Nope. Not a chance. Don't like her. Don't like her vibes. Nuh-uh. No way." X very firmly responded.
Of course right then, the group-issued communicator went off. It was Ikuki. Before she could say anything, X quickly greeted her.
"Ikuki! Hey! Good to hear from you. Hey I've got a mission just for you. Since you already know who I am," his expression changed from happy to sour, "still salty about that, by the way. But since that's water under the bridge, how would you like to babysit, today?"
"Um, actually, I called to-" Ikuki stammered.
"Excellent. See you in a couple hours." he shut off the communicator before she could say anything else.
"So," he said with a devious grin, not feeling bad one bit for suckering Ikuki into babysitting all day. "Get ready, cause we're going to the circus!"
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Post by Banshee on Sept 28, 2023 5:43:00 GMT -6
There was distinct confusion on Nox's face when he listened to the rant about Hyper-X's dislike for Ikuki and then when she called, it was as if he were talking about the wrong person. Perhaps the name used was incorrect and he was talking about someone else? He wasn't sure. Nox then glanced to his brother for reassurance, but like usual, Nox had his attention held elsewhere. His food.
When Hyper X chimed that he was going to come along with them to the circus, Lux beamed with excitement. But Nox? He asked; “What was that all about? Did you say that you didn't trust her and now you're letting her babysit? That's...trusting her to do the right thing...right? I'm so confused.”
“Who cares?” Lux shrugged. “He's coming with us to that circus you mentioned. Speaking of which, do you remember where it's located? Though, I suppose if he has a floating ship or whatever, then I guess it should be easy to find. You don't see too many of those flying around.”
“I didn't catch it...but we can probably do some research and locate it.” Nox said as he hopped off his chair and hurried into another room. Then he quickly came back, nose deep into the screen of the tablet with his fingers tapping away at it. “Okay, the search results says it's near the City Park where they normally do large festivals and concerts.” He shrugged. “I know where that is. I've been there to see the science projects kids our age and younger make in school...”
“Of course you would. Nerd.”
“It's all fascinating. From the biology of small particles to the massive size of the universe. Ranging from how things are recycled to-”
“Whatever. So the Park! We got it!” Lux interrupted his brother's speech as he really didn't have much interest in the topic of science and biology. He even swiped the tablet and looked at it. Poor Lux had no idea how to even use one and frowned at it. Then he shoved it back into his brother's arms. “So when is Ikuki coming over? Soon?”
Nox sighed at his brother's actions and scrolled to show him the picture of the ship. It was massive in size and had a resemblance to a pirate ship. Massive wing-like sails protruded from its sides. And when it wasn't in flight, they were standing upright, like the normal sails on the masts were supposed to. In truth, the decoration on the ship made it look fun and enticing to get into. It wasn't anything Lux was expecting a ship to look like.
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Post by Moe on Sept 28, 2023 10:58:15 GMT -6
"It's not that I don't trust her," X explained. "It's that I don't trust my dad. He was never around when I was a kid, and now he's using her to try and reconnect or whatever, instead of just doing it himself. Like a coward." he said with a bitter tone. "Also, where did you get that?" he noted the tablet Nox had. "Eh, no worries, I've got a ton of those lying around." he shrugged. "You can have it." he said, finally deciding that the only part of breakfast he was interested in, was coffee.
"Couple hours, I guess?" he answered Lux. "That'll give us enough time to get ready. It's an investigation, not an immediate threat. We've got time to finish breakfast..or lunch, I guess. Rest a bit, shower if you need to, and do some more digging on this guy to see if we need to come prepared for a fight. Just because we're heroes, doesn't mean we have to neglect ourselves. Also, never go in looking for a fight. If we don't need to go in with weapons blazing, we're not."
"Says the guy who hasn't eaten anything." Nathan pointed out.
"Hey, I'm the only adult here, I can get away with telling people younger than me to do stuff that I don't do." X stuck his tongue out, teasing his friend.
"Pfft. Barely." Nathan grinned a devious grin, as he threw half a piece of toast at X.
X laughed and took a bite of the toast; "There, happy?" he said, making sure to get as close to Nathan as possible, to ensure crumbs got all over him.
"It'll do." Nathan laughed in return, shoving X back over to his seat.
Spicy Nugget also waddled in, squawking loudly at the guys. X handed him a piece of bacon, which he happily gobbled.
"Ya' know, ya' never said where he came from." Nathan pointed out.
"Don't worry about it." X shrugged.
"I'm gonna worry about it. Weird cloning experiment? Gene splicing? Chicken in disguise? Or ooh, robot!" Nathan said in confidence.
"Nate, if he was a robot, he wouldn't be eating." X pointed out. He sighed deeply and finally confessed; "I went back in time, okay? I was distracting museum staff, looked at a fossil, and suddenly I was in dinosaur times. Somehow, he came back with me. First I lose control of my powers in front of Ikuki, and then I just go back in time, millions of years! I mean, it's a cool ability to have, but I had no idea I could do that!"
He stared off into the distance for a moment, as though coming to a sudden realization. "Now I don't know if, this whole time, I've been moving really fast or if I'm actually freezing time." he said, seeming to have an existential crisis.
Nathan wasn't sure what to say to him, so he leaned over and stuck a piece of bacon in his friend's mouth. "Finish your breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. It gives you brain power."
X gave him a sour look, but grumpily munched on the bacon, anyway.
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Post by Banshee on Sept 28, 2023 16:55:33 GMT -6
Right as Nox went to scoop up some eggs, Lux stole his plate and screamed; “FOOD FIGHT!” And with that, Lux started to chuck Nox's breakfast at everyone at the table. Of course, he wasn't going to waste his own food. He still wanted to eat his. Nox on the other hand winced as food began to fly across the table. He knew that it wasn't a good idea and frankly, hated the idea of wasting food to begin with. Cute animals died for their meal and now their remains are being tossed around like trash. He frowned, covered his head with the tablet and sank beneath the table to hide from it all. The quieter brother crouched beneath the table and tried to make his getaway. He didn't want to participate. He didn't want to be in trouble for throwing food. The energy was just too much and he simply just wanted to disappear into a corner somewhere and hide. Unlike his brother, who thrived on being in the spotlight, Nox was quite the opposite. Crawling his way over to the closest exit, he managed to escape the room without being pelted by any particle of food. He then darted over to the couch, on the furthest end possible, and crammed himself into the corner of it. Hiding from sight. Hiding from any possibility of being in trouble. He hated being yelled at. It always made him withdraw. Trying to block out the energy from the other room, he found someone's headphones and placed them over his ears. No, he didn't turn on the music. But he wanted to mute the energy exploding around him. The headphones weren't amazing at blocking the sounds, but it helped ease his timid woes. Now all he had to do was wait for someone to realize that throwing food around was a bad idea. Then the scolding would begin. And the worst part? He was still hungry.
Nox then figured to see if he could investigate the fellow that was in the news. The one that was in charge of the circus that seemed oddly suspicious enough to be causing some form of trouble or conspiracy. And as he skimmed through the web, he did manage to find some information about the guy. But...it was pretty much useless information, in his opinion. Nothing really worth noting for the others. At least, not until he continued on with his search.
It was then he located a fairly good picture of the guy. A black haired fellow with nearly gray-ish skin was wearing a bright red tailed coat. He had a top hat with a playing card stuck inside of the ribbon. There was a long scar that went across his nose, almost as if he had a pretty bad fight in the past. But there he was, smiling in the middle of the ring with a bunch of...lesser colorful individuals surrounding him.
Nox leaned in towards the tablet and zoomed in on the picture. But the folks surrounding the man, were all pixelated and difficult to get a good look on them. He frowned and scratched the back of his ear. Something didn't seem right with them. For some reason, the way they were standing made him feel that they were in some sort of trance or something. But he couldn't be sure of it. And so, he shrugged and continued to look for more information about him. All the while the food fight raged on.
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Post by Moe on Sept 28, 2023 17:35:31 GMT -6
Nathan laughed as Lux joined in on the food fight, after all, it was just some bacon and toast with a couple eggs here and there. Overall, it could've been a lot worse. Plus, Spicy Nugget was happily scrambling about, eating all the egg bits that had dropped on the floor.
X on the other hand, wasn't quite as amused, but glad they were having some fun. "Just don't make it a habit." he said, as another piece of toast slapped him in the face. He just smiled about it, and tossed it down for the baby dinosaur, which it happily gobbled up.
Then he noticed Nox retreating, and how uncomfortable he was.
"Okay guys," he said calmly, setting a hand on both Nathan and Lux's arms, pulling them down to meet the table. "That's enough. Nox is uncomfortable, and we can have fun with other things without it being at the expense of somebody else." he said, standing up to go talk to Nox. He brushed some toast crumbs off, and grabbed his own plate of food that had been untouched; he leaned over the table and grinned slyly, "Since you two had so much fun, I'm sure you wouldn't mind cleaning up." he said.
"No worries." Nathan laughed, nervously. "It was my bad, anyway!"
X meanwhile, made his way over to Nox, and sat beside him, handing him the plate of untouched food. He spoke to him in a quiet and calm tone; "Hey, if you ever feel uncomfortable, let me know. I'll set some house rules. I want you both to be comfortable here. And if you ever feel like you're getting overstimulated, you're more than welcome to retreat to the basement. It's the one room that's off limits to everyone, so I can get some peace and quiet. But for you, I'll make an exception." he smiled. "Plus, there's a whole workshop down there with tons of science stuff. I've got all my sensitive stuff encrypted, so don't worry about any of that."
While he was talking, he couldn't help but glance at the tablet Nox was holding. He had a bad feeling about this guy, as well. "Doesn't look like the sort who would be connected to the data breaches," X noted; "Still doesn't give off good vibes, though. If you need to take a moment to cool down, go ahead. Lux and Nate are busy cleaning up the kitchen, anyway." he shot a glance over to the kitchen.
"We got this!" Nathan assured him.
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Post by Banshee on Sept 28, 2023 19:09:08 GMT -6
His hand was held against the table, stopping him from continuing the food fight. Lux looked down at it and frowned. Hyper X told him that if they were both capable of making the food fight happen, then the both of them were more than abled-bodied enough to clean it. And the cleaning part? Was totally not fun. Lux groaned but didn't put up a fight. After all, he and his brother were invited to stay there. They were guests. It was only out of respect that he should do it. And besides, it looked like Nathan was going to help as well. So at least he won't be doing it alone. “Okay, sorry.” Lux apologized to Hyper X as he pulled the plate out from under his other hand. He then started to sweep up the crumbs and gunk that he made. Scooping it onto his plate so that he could go ahead and dump it out. Nox noticed Hyper X appearing. He then lowered the headphones from his ears to be shocked to hear that it was much quieter than before. “Yeah...I just don't want to be the burden of fun. So if there's ever areas I can go to, to just get away from it all. I think I should be okay. I...should be used to it. Lux has always been really loud. Even when we were real little.” He laughed a little. Then Hyper X spiked his interest. There was a workshop? “Oh? You tinker with stuff too? I love messing with technology. I actually applied to become something called a Scavenger. They find such cool stuff! They travel all over the area, finding abandoned technology and materials. Then they join together to create things or repair them for profit. One particular one, likes to build stuff for hospitals in communities that are not wealthy.” He shrugged. “It'd be kinda cool to be a part of that group one day. Lux just likes the exploration part of it. But...I digress, I'd love to see your workshop one day. Maybe we can build something?” He then tilted the tablet to show the image to Hyper X. “Yeah, the guy gives me eccentric vibes, if you ask me.” He shrugged. “But I don't know. It could also be the fact that he...well, goes by the name Entertainer and his job is pretty much that.” Fast Forward~ The group arrived at a massive gathering near the City's grand sized park. And right smack dab in the middle was this gigantic pirate ship that was decorated in bright flamboyant colors with flags and balloons hovering above. Banners and tents could be seen scattered on top of the deck while a large ramp was lowered, allowing folks to enter the ship after paying a fee. Lux and Nox tilted their heads at the sight. “Weird. I can't really see a circus being...well considered threatening.” Lux admitted as he read a flier that someone had dropped. He read out loud, the words that filled the center column. “Come one, come all! To the magical circus haul. We've got tricks and gimmicks As well as performers and mimics. Let your eyes be amazed As the world before you will be a blaze! Enter the magical world of The World Renown, Entertainer!”
He handed the flier to Nox and let him read it over. “Looks like the tickets are only five dollars. Which is kind of cheap actually. Some places charge triple that, so it's no wonder why so many people show up here.” He gestured to the mass of individuals standing before them. “Kind of cool, to be honest.” When they walked over to the booth, they noticed that a young woman with a cold gaze had met with theirs. Her two-toned blue hair was short in the back and had one long braided strand hanging in the front, resting on her chest. She wore a celebratory kimono that had a snowy design on it. And when she looked at the family arriving to the booth, she gave them a soft smile, countering her original cold appearance. Her voice was smooth, almost icy to the ears when she spoke. But she was friendly and wasn't trying to be condescending to them at all. “Good day. Welcome to The Entertainer's Circus. Once you pay, there are food stalls, games, and you'll bear witness to many performers. In about an hour, The Entertainer will make his appearance to simply...entertain you!” She held her hands out a bit half-heartedly as she really hated saying that line to people. To her, it was a waste of time and stupid. “Wow! Really?” Lux nearly forgot why they were there in the first place. “Is there a way we can even get a chance to speak with him?” Asked Nox. “Oh, I'm sure you will. He tends to prowl the deck to speak with customers. Don't worry, he's not hard to miss.” She smiled as she took their money away. “Believe me. I know.”
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Post by Moe on Sept 28, 2023 20:20:53 GMT -6
Nathan looked around, eyes gleaming with delight, as they couldn't quite seem to focus on any one things. There were just so many colors, performers, balloons, and people just having fun! It was hard to get a really good look from down below, so he looked to his friend with a glint in his eyes and a childlike smile on his face. He didn't have to say a thing.
Hyper X, dawning his suit once again, sighed and paid for all of their tickets. "You know, this is why a secret identity with a job, is also important." he said sarcastically, but not really meaning any harm.
"I don't think I can get away with havin' a secret identity." Nathan laughed. "Though, maybe I could join the circus." he joked, before eagerly heading up the ramp and onto the deck.
"And he's gone." X sighed. "Listen, it could be dangerous, so just stay on guard. It's important to know how to do things on your own, but also when to stick together as a team. Which I'm sure you two have already got mastered." he added. "Or, it could just be a circus. In which case, have fun."
"Although, I don't suppose you've had an influx of robots around here, have you?" he questioned the woman at the booth. "There's been some real sketchy ones around here, lately. Specifically, they're out here stealing information. Don't suppose you've had to deal with anything like that? Trying to steal magician secrets, food ingredients, anything I can work with?" he pressed, trying to get any information about what's been going on.
Nathan yelled at them from above, leaving over the massive deck. "Hey!" he yelled, "You guys gotta get up here! This is amazing and totally probably not evil!"
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Post by Banshee on Sept 29, 2023 6:10:43 GMT -6
The twins heard Nathan call out to them about how amazing and probably not evil the place was. After they thanked Hyper X for paying for their tickets, they hurried up the ramp. They too wanted to see what was so cool about the place. After all, they could hear the excitement come from other customers, laughter, cheering, and just overall joy.
The woman looked at Hyper X as he spoke to her. Her tone didn't quite match her facial expression, as her face showed grave concern and her voice still sounded a bit cold. “Oh that's terrible. Stealing information like that and using it for what? A possible global domination scheme?”
To answer his inquiries, she simply shook her head at him. “No. The Entertainer, is oddly enough, not for robotic interference with his shows. Everyone who participates are all human...or organic, if you will.” She waved her hand towards the side. “Because we do have some other-worldly creatures that assist.” The woman didn't describe what she meant by that. “As for food ingredients, it's all pretty much basic. Hot dogs, popcorn, pretzels, funnel cakes. Typical items that you see at entertainment places like this.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “Are you some sort of investigator or something?”
As the twins made it to the top, their eyes widened with surprise and awe. Nathan was right. The place WAS amazing! There was so much to do and they only had a single day to do it all. Lux was eagerly bouncing beside Nathan, dying to try them all. “Wow! Nathan, this place is so much cooler than anticipated! I mean look! Balloon animals!!”
Nox on the other hand, was more-so trying to keep his cool and hide his own childish excitement for the place. He knew they were there to investigate what was happening on the ship. But the place, he had to admit, really was quite extraordinary. He'd never seen anything like it.
A man bumped into Nox's shoulder who then quickly apologized by pulling off his top hat and bowing to him. Nox immediately recognized the man's face, as the one who ran the entire show! “The Entertainer?” He gasped and backed away.
“Ah! Welcome to my show, young lad.” He waved his hand over the opening of his hat and a burst of white doves exploded out from it. They flew into the air and away from the area. “I sure hope you and your family are going to have a splendid time here!” He smirked.
“Uh-I-uh...”
“WOW! THIS PLACE!” Lux dragged Nathan over. “This place is so cool! How did you do it?”
“Ah! Inquiries of the youthful minds!” He leaned downwards and smirked, while placing the hat on top of his head once more. “Don't you know? A magician never tells his secrets.” He pulled himself back and flicked his wrist. A card suddenly appeared in between his index and middle finger. The Entertainer then tossed it into the air and it exploded into confetti. “Knowing everything in life, becomes dull and boring. What is life without a little...[excitement?”
Nox had to admit, The Entertainer was quite animated as he spoke.
The Entertainer looked to Nathan and continued to speak to the twins. “Let your mind wander with wonder! Embrace the mysteries of life without knowing the answers. Life is enigmatic!”
“Sir? Has weird things been happening?”
“Nox...Come on...” Lux frowned. “He's so cool and fun to listen to! Why do you have to ruin it?”
“Weird things always happen, young lad. It's really what life is all about. Isn't it?” The Entertainer merely danced around the question and took it literally.
Nox stared at him, wondering if he was avoiding giving him a direct answer or not. The man was amusing, he had to admit. But there was some sort of weird feeling he had about the whole situation, that really made him wonder if they had been led into a trap.
“He takes everything so seriously. Don't mind him.” Lux explained.
The Entertainer smirked at them both. “Ah, a little seriousness isn't such a bad thing. Now-”
A similar looking male walked over to him. However, he was a lot more thin and younger looking than the Entertainer was. And he also had more color to his skin, giving him more of a natural peach color. “Um...The show is about to start, brother. We should probably grab Onyx too.”
“Ah yes, you're right Dirk!” The Entertainer turned to Nathan and the boys for one last time. “Is there anything you'd like to ask? I do have about...five more minutes before needing to arrive at the main show event.”
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