It started out with a lick. How did it end up like this? It was only a lick. It was only...

The metabot robot trudged towards him, weapons armed. Ready to fire. What weapons did this metabot have, you ask? Its red eyelight glow and painful non-lethal red bean bag anti riot cannon, for starters. The underlying possibility of more dangerous, non-non-lethal measures hid in the background of his mind, for a follow-up. 

He hadn't meant to aggravate the robot. Really, he hadn't. In fact, he hadn't even done anything to break the law! An old woman had been tromping along with her cane, making what he had figured was great time for an octogenarian. He'd wanted to congratulate her. She was out there, exercising in Central Park on an average day. She wasn't at home, eating, sleeping, or doing whatever else it is old people do on a Friday morning. She was doing something to better her life. Then, she'd started to fall. 

When old people fall, it can seem like its happening in slow motion. Ever see a relative go down? Their arms move to try and catch their balance. Their face spells out the horror of knowing the ground is coming but being utterly impotent in stopping it. And when they hit, that's the worst. They failed. They aren't as strong as they used to be. In their youth, they might have shrugged it off, gotten up, and moved on. But old bones are brittle and old skin is thin. Organs are weakened by the passage of time, and one little spill to a ten year old can become oh so much worse to someone over 70. So, he tried to stop her.

It was innocent. He had a way to stop her from a distance by catching her, so he'd used it. His prehensile hand tongues had shot out just so, and wrapped around her midriff. He had wanted to halt the fall without breaking anything, and grabbing her arms might have, so he'd snagged her waist. Here's a pro tip. Old people taste awful.


... And then the Metabot attacked. He was caught red-handed and tongue-tied with his tongue around an 80-something grandma named Marge. 

Aura loved central park, it was mostly peaceful but sometimes offerd some other forms of fun as well. She recalled fighting a bear here once...she had released it for the fight, as well as a few other fun events. Aura mostly came at night before to many people gathered as she attracted attention when found out. She had come later in the morning the useful and so some people were here though it was not to bad yet.

In her arm's was her black and white bundle of joy, the Skunk Solkat. Petting the skunk as it tore the head off a mouse. It had been several years since she had obtained the pet that had been a faithful companion for years. Aura saw what happened next from the shadow of the trio of trees she was standing next to.

Aura watched as something came out of the guy's hands and wrapped around the old lady keeping her from falling. The act however attracted the attention of a metabot. This was an issue Aura believed could easily be remedied. Aura ran for the metal monster as it reached for Elliot. Her pink aura flared up around her body and Aura believed that would be enough to take it's attention away from it's current pray. Forming a drill around her fist she aimed for the metal beast's eye area, in order to blind it, even as her other hand aimed a newly formed hammer at the side of the metabot's head.

Slowly, carefully, Elliott closed the gap between the old lady and himself. As he went, he reeled his tongues in.

"It's okay, Ma'am. I've got you," Elliott said soothingly. Marge was not having it.

"Leggo! You green-skinned menace!" Now that she was steadied, she had balance enough for action and a free cane for drubbing. The cane came down on on of the arms that was supporting her... and Elliott winced. Some people have no common sense. Or gratitude. But she was still old, and he was still helping her out so he exercised the patience of a saint and said '*%$& off'. ... He wasn't a very good saint.

"You're good now. Just put your cane down and steady your stride..." And then I can deal with this metal menace... Elliott finished in his head. Said Metal Menace hadn't continued its path towards him, which he thought was strange. He'd focused on the old lady as problem one, and now... now he turned towards the robot, hands raised for peace.

The robot wasn't facing Elliott any more. In fact, it didn't have much of a face left. Whatever pinkness the cute girly had used on it, the attack she had scored was super effective. His jaw sorta dropped and kept the grass on the ground company for a minute.

"ChecKING DATABASE. New TARGET located from criminal records. AUra. Wanted for manslaughter and murder. On X counts." X was an obscenely large number as stated by the robot. X was probably an inaccurate number. X was way too large. Or maybe they hadn't found the other bodies. A spark spritzed from one of the robot's eye sockets. Its head was at an odd angle from the hammer blow she had followed the drill assault with. It was still running, however. One eye still worked. It used that eye to line up a shot with its painful non-lethal red bean bag anti riot cannon. Then it fired at the pink aura girl's center of mass.

The jaw snapped back up in that moment as Elliott reached a decision. There was no freaking way he was letting a damnable machine hurt a pretty girl like that. Especially one who had saved him and helped him help an angry old biddy out! As things hit full tilt, he rushed towards the robot as fast as a world class sprinter. His goal was to kick its feet out from under it and send it toppling to the ground. 

He had no clue that this Aura girl was a legend in New York. He had no idea about any details about her. He was new in town. And she needed his help.  ... He may have been mistaken about that. 

The robot lined up it' shot and fired. Aura acted out of instinct and jumped aside though the bean bag struck her aura and fell to the ground. Picking the object up, she found herself annoyed. "Stupi....." she started preparing to Finnish the half dead robot. The mutant she was recuseing has decided to act.

Considering the option of watching the other mutant to see what they could do. She had no idea what this guy could do or if he even needed her. On the other hand he could be an idiot about to get himself seriously hurt but she was pretty sure the robot would not kill the guy. She walked forward splitting the bean bag in two as she did and watching the dust incide blow away.

The old lady was a stupid human. An ungrateful human from what had heard over the sound of the robot. Aura fought the urge to kill the lady. Their was nothing to gain from such a kill and it could alienate her to her unknown friend. On the other hand of the old lady knew who she was.....Her fingers stroked her bag knowing the 9mm that was inside.

The robot falling sprung aura into action and as she approached it, when it tried to rise she turned her hammer aura into an Axe ready to swing down if her new friend did not Finnish it himself. With a sigh, Aura calmly withdrew the gun, aimed at the old lady and would proceed to empty three shots into her if not prevented. It was a test, Aura would not hide who or what she was and this guy would either like or hate her for it, but he would not be surprised by who she was.

"I am Aura, are You alright my lovely friend? she asked with a friendly smile as if nothing had just happened. Weather the old lady had lived or not did not matter, only the reaction

It had been too long. Rummy thought to himself as he leisurely strolled through the park, relishing in the sights and sounds that have eluded him for so long. There wasn’t anything particularly special about this morning, or the park for that matter. The humans stared and averted his path as he continued his leisure stroll through the familiar paths; he couldn’t help smiling to himself. Indeed it was good to be back.


A stampede of humans rushed toward him, their brief passing bring screams of “mutant attack!” and “Aura is here!” Their panic and fear or who or what this Aura was over shadowing the fact that they were rushing head first towards a devil. The mob shoved and pushed their way past the crimson colored mutant with no regard to the consequences; under normal circumstance he would kill the lot of them. His tail snatching an unfortunate straggler from the path, coiling itself around the teen’s neck as red bolts of energy surged from his body into Rummy’s.


“But, finding out who or what this “Aura” is takes priority.” He stated discarding the unconscious body aside and continuing down the path, the faint humming of engines could be heard off in the distance, followed by gun shots. Romell sprinted toward the sounds of the shots, hoping the action wasn’t over to soon. After all this Aura was supposedly someone to be feared, right?

It hit the ground with a clang of metallic limb on metallic limb, and as it did, he noticed something. The blow to the head the Aura girl had given it had been more destructive than previously noted. There was wiring exposed around the neck. One swift kick was all it took to send the already damaged head spinning round and round. All the way off. It rolled away on the grass like a macabre soccer ball. Elliott watched it for a moment, and then turned back to the girl, and paused.

The girl had a gun pointed at the old lady. Well, okay then. There wasn't enough time to place himself in between them, and he did not want a dead body. He did the next best thing. Now, normally he would not place himself as a target by shooting out a whip tongue to snap the gun up and out of an enemy's hand, but dire situations call for dire courses of action. So he appropriated himself a gun. Elliott held it up admiring it. He hoped she wouldn't take offense and use this as a reason to put that pink ax into good use.

"I am Aura, are You alright my lovely friend?" She said.

"Nice piece," he commented, eyeing her gun. He took her peaceable tone as reason to be hesitant, but friendly. "People call me October. Or Elliott." He dropped Elliott because really, being too cautious was too smart, and pretty girls (even psychopaths) deserve a little honesty now and then. The old lady turned away from the two of them with a salty curse and started walking. "Yeah. Leave. Ingrate. Not worth our time," Elliott muttered darkly. He let the lady leave. His eyes fell to a skunk on the ground not too far away from them as he returned his focus to Aura. "Hey, is that yours?"

And what were the engine sounds he could hear faintly but getting louder. Certainly not some sort of riot squad alerted by a Metabot to the presence of the future site of an Aura blood bath. That sort of thing would take ten minutes to arrive, and they had only been fighting about three... give or take. But maybe response time was faster around Central Park. As for gun shots... well okay, then. Blam. An armed passerby had been drawn by the sound of the fight. He took it upon himself to be an hero, and pull out a concealed weapon to fire uselessly at the pink aura girl. Two shots, squeezed close together. Neither of them hit. 

Elliott ran forward to kick the gun out of the idiots hand before he lost it to the pink ax. He followed it up with a brutal punch to the face that left the dumb ass unconscious. Apparently today, he was all about minimizing death totals. He appropriated another pistol for the pistol bank. "Maybe we should go get some coffee, and get out of here?" He asked the Aura girl. 

She felt the gun pulled from her hand and while she still got off the shot's they went wide,2 striking a metal garbage bin. She glanced over to the Long tongued mutant whom had spared the old lady's life. She had no real reason to kill her other then simply being an animal. "The badge number of the officer i took it from is etched on the side, so you may not want to keep that, I have other unmarked ones if you prefer" she said casually watching the old lady make her her exit.

She kneeeled down and scooped the slunk back into her arm's or rather the aura above them."She is, i have had her for a good number of years now, ever since a group of animal mutations decided to release all the animals from the zoo. A fun night, not often i get to fight a bear" she said recalling the admittedly brief encounter with the bear. The details however were prolbely not needed she decided to herself.

Aura heard the shot's long before she saw the attacker. Both struck her as she turned, her aura gaining bulk over actual form. She was more concerned with the skunk and was more worried about protesting Solkat then herself. The bullets missed her but before she could react the guy she had just saved seemed to be trying to return the favor.

She smiled as she watched. Elliot here was interesting. Sure he had saved the old lady but most people would have been angry at her actions or afraid. She could see nether of those emotions in Elliot and if felt either she could not see him doing this.

"I think talking with you further is a wonderful idea. Getting out of here More so if you want to keep tonights death toll count zero. I was sloppy, the metabot saw me and likely radioed in who i am, Which means the MRC will likely bring a null or mutant members of their unit to fight, lacking those on hand.....well in case of me the police are aloud bigger toys" she said which was partially true. Humans were animals but not stupid, they had long ago learned a pistol would not stop her, that yelling freeze just gave her time to close distance and that numbers helped.

It was then she saw what looked like a red man with a tail running toward them. Aura streamlined her aura to it's angeled default form. Assuming this new mutant might be hostile, Aura formed a chainsaw on her right hand, the chain of which moved like the real thing. The other hand flatted the hammer into the the double sided axe. "The MRC is quick tonight" she almost growled.

Rummy slowed his sprint as he entered the clearing, bearing witness as the frog-like mutant leveled the gunman to the pavement. ‘These two seem to be a regular terror squad…’ he thought to himself; eyes shifting between the pistol wielding Amphibi-Man, and whom he guessed was the terrifying Aura. Her gaze fell upon him the moment he was in view, her pink energy swirling with a controlled grace that was in the very least admirable before solidifying into constructs of death. He knew next to nothing of this woman, but it was quite clear she was ready for a fight; the green ones intentions however were of another matter. Unlike Aura’s his lacked the obvious killing that the female’s held.


Surveying the situation he looked for the best course of action. On one hand he was quite interested in testing this girl’s power, maybe even taking a piece for himself. On the other distance and odds at this time were not on his side. Shifting his attention between the two he tucked his hands into his pockets and once again began his approach, his tail working its way beneath his suit jacket to grip the handle of one of his knives.

“You must be Aura...” he jested as he neared their position,”…oh, those frightened humans spoke such high praises I had to bear witness myself.” Mockingly he glanced over her and her form leering purposely. “And you are quite a specimen aren’t you, and you little frog man. Very Impressive with the whole…” His arms flailed mimicking the punches used to knock out the shooter. “Truly great form, really…” He was purposely trying their nerves, as he closed the distance. You can learn a lot from a person that way, and it proved one hell of a distraction when attempting to gain advantage; by now they were less than ten yards apart. A figuratively safe distance just in case things went to hell and perfect for using his powers.


“I’m Rummy by the way, pleasure to meet your acquaintance.” That hand moving swiftly from his pocket, extending to whoever would accept.

>>"The badge number of the officer i took it from is etched on the side, so you may not want to keep that, I have other unmarked ones if you prefer." Aura said.

He glanced at her and nodded once. "Good to know." That gun was going so far in the trash once he was near a trash can. He would only pause to wipe it clean. Or maybe he could sell it to some idiot who didn't think about those sorts of things. He was just glad the old lady hadn't been killed by it.

A skunk and a bear fight. He made a note to ask about that some time later. It sounded like one hell of a party.

RE: Coffee. Girl said 'Yes'. Keeping death count down to zero, also yes. "Yeah, I'd rather not have to deal with big police toys." He agreed wryly. "I just got these pants the other day, and blood stains are a pain to get out of clothes." When playing with people who kill for fun (or profit!), it's best not to show weakness. Or that they've got you flatfooted. "I know a great place we can go."

Getting off the streets was good. Getting coffee was better. He suddenly felt like he could use a cup. Or a stiff drink. He had to hold off on acting on that thought for a moment, though, because Aura, bless her old-lady-shooting heart, found a new friend.

Elliott stood on guard. MRC was a New York police thing, an anti-mutant task force slash mutant task force full of hypocrites at odds with themselves. She had almost growled about the MRC. He really did growl. "Joy. Hell of a party."

He had a gun in each hand. Aura's 9mm, and unconscious guy's gun, too. He didn't have much practice using guns. He was more a hand-to-hand kind of fella. But there's a first time for everything. For the moment, he kept himself sharp. He didn't lower his guard. He could lift the guns and fire at any second. But for the moment, they were lowered, and safely at his sides.

Red-skinned guy walked towards them, hands in his pockets. Yep, he was still on-guard. Hands in pockets meant nothing. He let the guy talk with Aura. Maybe he'd hang himself, say something that instantly caused Aura to gut him, and they'd avoid a fight. And then the guy had the nerve to call him a freaking frog man. That made him pause and reevaluate. He tilted his head at the 'little frog man' comment, and the charades act. The guy was playing at a game. At first brush, he'd thought he was simply approaching peaceably, maybe trying to get close so he could defuse the situation. Being careful. Making small talk. Nothing worthwhile. Empty words. A little praise. An accidental insult wrapped in mocking compliments. But now his body language and actions gave Elliott another feeling. Elliott had dealt with criminals before.

You see, it's simple. It's all about first impressions. This red man was making them uncertain. His hands in the pockets said harmless. Or maybe an attempt to make them careless? The mocking praise said nothing, really. They were just words. How they responded to them told red man something. Words cost little, and could reveal a great deal. Having dealt with people who play such games, Elliott saw it quite easily. The only question he had was why. The mocking praise could make them hostile, but it could also make them say too much. Was he trying to feel out how they reacted to things? Or simply an idiot. At the end of the day, the only thing he was sure of in his quick bout of paranoia was this: In the immortal words of Admiral Ackbar, "It's a trap."

When dealing with unfamiliar mutants, the last thing one wants to do is drop one's guard. A hand shake was something Elliott had no interest in. He put his head back on the right angle, and really looked at the guy. "Hi. Please excuse me if I don't offer you my hand. I've kind of got my hands full right this second." A gun in each hand does that. "I don't mean to be rude." But I enjoy it. "Aura and I were just leaving." Fleeing. "Central Park is just too nice. It's giving me a migraine. And when aliens who look nothing like frog men get migraines, it ain't pretty." Subtle hint: You wouldn't like me when I have a migraine. Back off.

He seemed a confident mutant which was always nice. The red skin was nice as well and she thought she saw a tail though her angle made that hard to confirm. Still he was a very visible mutant and Aura saw beauity in his gift as she did her first friend of the day. "Animals learn who their predators are quickly enough" she said with a smile. His tone was not lost on her. She often tried the same during combat and so it put her on guard. Why distract them though? She had no idea on the motive for doing so other then maybe to buy time for something. It was certainly a poor time to show up in her opinion.

"My friend is right, the police will be hitting this area hard soon, well your friendliness is nice, your timing is also troublesome. You may be innocent or you maybe mrc, so i must decline your hand as well." she said noting her new friend also did not take his hand. The mrc would not be kind and she had a feeling her two new friends were not quite as durable as herself. She was normally right about such thoughts and so tended to apply them to any mutants whose powers she did not know.

"You have a lovely Mutation however, one i would not mind learning more about, perhaps you might like to join us? I love getting to know others of our kind. Come with us and we may learn of each other, or go and we will not follow." she said hearing the sirens get closer. They had a few minutes but Aura felt it would be best to leave sooner then later. "I am one of the most wanted criminals in this city however, so you may wish to consider your reputations" she said honestly never taking her eyes of this new mutant, but she let her chainsaw collapse and flow back into her aura. They really did not have time for a confrontation at the moment and if this guy was mrc he would pay, dearly.

His smile wavered, as he withdrew his hand. Fingers curling into a loose fist as they each declined; he was a little disappointed to say the least. Rarely was a meal so easily obtained, and most of time those that were lacked the “juice” to really be fulfilling.
These two would be fun indeed.
“Yes, understandable, can’t trust every hand you meet right? I mean you never know what people are capable of.” He looked to the heap of META on the ground, tucked his hand back into his pocket and lowered his tail from his suit jacket. They weren’t hostile; but their tone and posture proved they weren’t slouches either. To him their statement was clear; it’s his move and they would react accordingly. No, they weren’t your run of the mill simpletons.

“I won’t keep you any longer…” He head dropping to the remains of the META. “…seems like two you need to get going.” By now you can see the dancing reds and blues of police lights through the trees. If not meals then maybe they could be of another use. Aura was certainly a force in this city and decent muscle was hard to come by, and the frog well he had potential. Rummy wanted to stall a bit longer. See more of what these two could do on a larger scale.

‘In time...’ he thought to himself.

“I do plan to see both of you again, but for now I bid you adieu.” Turning on his heel he would start his stroll back in the direction he came. He would see them both again, that was a promise.

Aura turned the guy down as well. He had no doubt she'd gotten weird vibes from him, as well. Some people simply develop the need to read people due to circumstance. Judging from the reputation the robot mentioned, she was likely one of those people. Translation: Predators can sense other predators. Aura was a big bad wolf. This red guy likely didn't eat much lettuce.

He wasn't too sure about why they were inviting him along. He didn't trust the guy. Then again, he didn't trust most people. Maybe Aura sensed something he didn't. Whatever the case, his guard wasn't going to drop.

Guy said you never know what people are capable of. Guy looked at the robot mess. Case and point.

The police were getting closer. The sooner they left, the better. He quite agreed with red man's sentiments, there.

Red man left, after looking over the robot. Inwardly, Elliott thought "Bye Felicia." Out loud, he said "Well! Let's get going. You want your gun back? Before we dash?"