Mercury Carefully tied the size twenty wide converse, he already had Jeans and a red hoodie and bright blue baseball cap on. He all but skipped down the hall way to Isabel's door. He raised his large red fist to the door, only remembering at the last second to knock softly.

"Isssssabel, are you ready?" They were going to get something good to eat today. Ice cream or snow cones or floats, or shakes or gellato or or or something yummy!

He stood impatiently beyond the door but waited none the less, part of his job was to keep impatient boys out of her room, he would hardly be doing a good job if he became one of the boys he had to keep out. He rocked back and forth toe to hill with his hands behind his back, he wouldn't knock again. he wouldn't he would wait. he would wait.

His hand slowly began to sneak toward the door, begging to rush her along. she didn't always have to be so fancy. She would be pretty even if she dressed like he did. that was part of her problem he thought, her boy problem that is. she was too darn pretty. if she didn't bathe so often maybe they would like her less....she could do with some stink, that would fix things.

Isabel had apparently gotten a late start when she'd gotten around to getting ready to go out with one of her oldest friends. She didn't keep a watch on her, her cell phone being her only means of telling time and even then she hardly paid any attention to it. Rarely did she ever have any appointments to meet. She had neither job nor school classes to attend to, so running on a schedule seemed rather pointless. If she had to be somewhere, she was always just a phone call away.

She'd spent most of the morning and early afternoon lounging around in her pajamas and enjoying a quieter day. Only when she'd passed the clock built into the cable box of the television in the Rec Room did she scurry back to her room, a string of quiet curses following after her.

A promise had been made to Mercury that they'd go out and enjoy some sort of frozen treat during the day, preferably in the afternoon before it began to get dark out. She didn't want to keep him waiting too long when he came looking for her, so she'd have to get herself ready in a bit of a hurry.

She took a hot shower as quickly as she could. Washing her long hair took a little longer than she would have liked, but it felt so much better afterward. She towel dried her hair as well as she was able while pulling her clothes on at the same time. Every once in a while she invested some time in a hair dryer, but it was easier to let her hair dry on its own, especially when she was in a bit of a rush.

She was just pulling on her second boot when a knock came at her door. She swore again quietly to herself and rushed to her dresser, letting the boot slide the rest of the way into place by walking in it. She just had to brush down her damp hair with her fingers and tie her ribbon into place and she'd be all set to go.


"Sorry!" she offered as she opened her door, stopping herself in her rush just in time to avoid crashing into the hulking red body that stood on the other side of it. "Ready to go find something yummy?" She had a craving for some sorbet herself.

A long day. That was what today was turning out to be.

The sun was high in the sky at this point, what rays the clouds were not blocking shining down to warm his skin. It wasn't a particularly warm day out, but spring was finally starting to descend upon the city, basking it in the milder temperatures of a coming spring. As such, most the snow was gone and Kyle was able to lay upon the roof of a building with only the mild concern for catching a cold.

Despite what people said, he wasn't a fool though. He wore a long sleeved shirt to shield his upper body, jeans to shield his lower and his jacket fended off any of the extra cold that might dare to intrude on this decent weather. Beneath his clothes was his outfit, which he'd taken to habit to wear underneath in case of emergencies. Let people laugh at it; he didn't care one bit.

The building he had chosen to camp out and relax on was only a short distance away from the Sanctuary, which was serving as a temporary second home to him. It was peaceful up there and Kyle could enjoy the day fully without having to worry about....rain? That couldn't be right. Peeking an eye open to the sky, Kyle was rewarded with something wet splashing into it and forcing him upright.

Indeed it was rain...or maybe snow that the warm weather was melting before it hit the ground. The clouds before had suggested it but for it to arrive so quickly? Kyle sighed as the pitter patter of drops started filling the air, not heavily but enough to showcase this was more then just a basic drizzle. Sighing, Kyle tossed his backpack onto his shoulders and quickly climbed down the fire escape of the small building to drop to the alley below, where his bike rested.

Grabbing his helmet, Kyle was about to toss the thing on when he spotted a familiar face exiting the Sanctuary, with some beast of a man trailing beside her that he didn't know. Surprise was etched across his face at this, but it was soon replaced by an amused and thinking smirk. Oh ho ho...and here I thought she didn't have too many friends else. This could be interesting to check up on. Clicking his helmet on as he lowered it over his head, Kyle slapped the visor down and rode off on his bike, making sure to keep Isabel and her friend in sight while he remained as far out of it as possible.

"Yes!" he took a breath. " I am ready. And an Isabel arrives percisely when she means to." He nodded to the little woman and grinned. The pair navigated through the halls of the sanctuary and out past Lisa's Desk and onto the street. Mercury opted for walking along the curb so that every other step was low, up, down, up, down, up, down.

"So what do you want to eat?" Mercury was asking as his head shot up toward the sky.

Mercury glared into the sky, how dare it spit on him, and how dare it spit on Isabel, and how dare it spit on their trip to acquire delicious treats! The sky should be thankful it didn't have a face to punch. Glancing to the other side of Isabel he spied a hotdog cart. The man took the risks of being near the sanctuary because of some of the appetites that occasionally came out of the building.

Pluto walked over to the cart and pulled out a ball of cash. The kind of bills didn't matter to him, singles, twenties hundreds. who ever taught him about money didn't bother to teach him well. He slapped the ball of money down on the cart leaving a dent in the shelf on that held the condiment packets and reached over to the bar that held the over sized umbrella. a flick of his thumb and a pinch of his finger snapped the heavy pipe that held it up.

"Thanks." was all he had to say to the man who's jaw hung open.

He turned and held the large red and green umbrella above them. " No water on Isabel today." Mercury was at the very least oblivious of any tag along that might be following them. typically if someone followed him, they regretted it when they caught him, he didn't bother watching his back often.
.

Isabel was glad that Mercury hadn't gotten irritable during his wait. He probably would've forgiven her either way, but she'd have felt bad. It was her own fault that she'd been in such a rush and the Abyssi was one group of individuals that she didn't want to upset. Not because they were hulking giants that could crush her if they threw a tantrum, but because she considered them to be her friends and would rather not offend them in any way.

She followed the red giant down the hall after closing her door, through the lobby, and out onto the street where the two were met with the beginning of a rain storm. She was mildly irritated by the moisture in the air, but at the same time she kind of hoped it would get worse and there'd be thunder and lightning chasing them later.

She stopped walking, her reply stopped before it had even begun, as Mercury abruptly halted and approached a rather brave hot dog vendor. She couldn't help but grin as the exchange took place. A wad of cash for the oversized umbrella. Someone might be getting some soggy dogs later, but she was sure the vendor wouldn't mind, judging by the size of the green ball that had been laid on his cart. Once he got over his initial shock, anyhow.

A normal person might have protested the waste of so much money, but she didn't particularly care. Monetary value didn't mean much to someone who was supplied with any need she might have and made a habit of thieving if she found something she wanted.

"I think I want something frozen and sweet. Like mango sorbet. Yum," she replied after the large umbrella had been hefted over the pair and was effectively keeping the rain off. "Or we could find a candy shop or something and see what kind of sugary treats they have."

Sitting across the seat atop his bike, currently parked in an alley to avoid being part of the moving traffic flow, Kyle watched Isabel and her red escort as they started wandering forth from the Sanctuary. The pitter patter of the rain had grown slightly since Kyle had first descended the roof, enough that he could clearly see the rain falling.

With his head secure in his helmet and his body covered decently enough to keep him from getting too wet, Kyle wasn't concerned with the rain. In fact, he welcomed it. It would serve as a helpful way to avoid detection for a little bit longer as he examined this odd event before him.

And it was worth investigating. No sooner had they exited the building, did the red man glance to the sky before moving to a nearby hot dog vendor. The red man put something on the cart, which Kyle couldn't quite make out from his position, but he clearly saw the man snap the umbrella from the cart little effort. That caught his attention. Kyle had seen those umbrella's and they were held in place by a tough metal pipe, to help them stick around in even the worst weather. Most impressive to say the least.

Then the pair were off again, heading off down the street with the massive umbrella shielding them both from the current downpour. Watching them for a moment, Kyle then started up his bike again and slowly started following them. The umbrella would keep them safe from the rain no doubt...and for Kyle, it would help him follow them from afar easily.

"surebert sounds good, mangoes are OK, but pineapples are better." he said in a sing song voice that challenge all mangoes to an argument. After a moments consideration. " we could do both."

He spun the umbrella around so the water that hit it flew off of it in every direction. the way the two went about life was very similar, it might be the reason they got along as well as they did, they were fiercely loyal to those they loved and beyond that, they did as they pleased when they pleased because it was pleasing to them.

"Hey Isabel, which way should we go?" Mercury asked as they reached the first corner, he hadn't planned ahead and really wasn't sure which way would be best. He looked around to see if there were any candy and fro yo shops about in the immediate area even though he knew he would know about one that close to the sanctuary

He got that weird feeling that someone was watching him...he always got that feeling, because someone was always watching him. he looked down into the reflection of a puddle on the street. Gotcha! it was the mirror world Abyssi. mirror worlders were duplicates from a different dimension that wrote backwards. that was how you checked if someone was from the evil mirror world, trick them into writing and they would write backwards.

Isabel simply grinned at Mercury's insult to mangoes. She could make an argument for them, but she liked pineapples just as much, so the argument would be dishonest in part. Maybe she'd get something like a double scoop, one of each flavor. Now that sounded good. Add candy to the mix and she's meet her sugar quota for a week.

When Mercury stopped at the corner and questioned their next course of action, she had to pause and think, looking in both directions. It hadn't occurred to her that they might need to look at a map at some point to figure out exactly where they were supposed to be going. However, one good thing about New York was that there never seemed to be a shortage of shops one could run into.

"Let's try this way," she proposed, jerking a thumb to the right. They were bound to run across some sort of shopping district at some point. If it took too long to stumble across one, she could always pull up the GPS system in her phone or run an internet search to find a destination.

For now, though, she was content just to stroll along the sidewalk with her companion. Mercury seemed to march to the beat of his own personal drummer, and she appreciated him for it. It was nice to get a break from certain people that were always pestering her, and traveling with a Red Giant was just another reason for pedestrians to leave her alone. He was always welcome company.

Whenever Isabel and her red companion decided to stop, Kyle took that moment to watch the rain fall. It was heavy now, turning the streets of New York into a shower within end, the rain drenching everything it touched within moments. Pools of water were forming now and if it wasn't for New York traffic being so slow and gridlocked, many people would be suffering tidal waves of water as car hit puddle.

Thus a normal day in New York, though a surprising one to get in the early days of March. Mother nature throwing her weight around to remind the world who was really in charge. Kyle smiled within his helmet at this; the storm was coming and wasn't likely to let up soon. Which was good, because it made his task easier.

Looking back down, Kyle put his bike forward once again, as Isabel and her friend continued onwards to their destination; all of them unaware the Kyle wasn't the only one following them this day.

From within a white van, four men watched the pair walking down the streets. Two huddled in the back while the two up front conversed among themselves, pondering their potential prey.

"That's here right?" the driver said to his passenger, glancing at the muscular man seated there. A huge scar lined this man's face, but it was the only damage to what might have otherwise been a handsome face.

"Yea, that's her. You sure we can pull this off? She is one of the most dangerous of her kind out on the streets."

"Don't matter how tough she is. We've got ourselves a secret weapon in the back. The boss has been wanting a new play thing and I know she'd make the perfect gift for him. I can't believe our luck in finding her just when we were sent out. She's worth more then any other wrench of the street could be worth."

"Well then, we'd best get to keeping up. This rain will make things tough...but your right. The boss will like her." Both men grinned to each other, then the driver slowly edged his way back into traffic and began following their intended prey.

Oblivious. Mercury resisted the call of the puddles, if he stomped in one he would get wet and more importantly Isabel would get wet too.The fact that a van with a secret weapon was sneaking up on them wouldn’t concern him even if he knew it. however if he learned that they intended on harming Isabel and giving him to some boss as a toy. Oh there would be blood.

So they continued down the rain pelted sidewalk while being stalked twice over. Heading to a delicious treat that might never be.

“So Isabel, meet any boys lately that don’t need smooshing?” He asked periodically just in case there was a male that he wasn’t to pretend that they were play doh upon unexpected entrance of her domain. He grinned like a Cheshire cat suspecting the answer would be no, it wasn’t that he enjoyed the prospect of Isabel’s lack of love merely that appreciate the potential of defending her all the more. Perhaps she would lose him upon a unmet suitor.

Stalkers did not concern Isabel, known or otherwise. The confidence she had in her abilities was high enough that it could be considered a flaw in her character. She had no fear of humans or their more common weaponry and she often believed that her reputation would be sufficient enough to keep most idiots out of her way and out of trouble. Her death count was probably in the thousands and she believed her confidence was well earned.

She listened to Mercury as she took another turn, finally beginning to recognize a few of the surrounding buildings and deciding that they were definitely on the right path to the candy shop, and likely an ice cream parlor as well. It shouldn't take too much longer before they stumbled upon one or the other.

"Well, there is one guy that seems determined to make a pest out of himself. And I wouldn't really mind him getting squished a bit. But I guess he's supposed to be an Order member now or something, so there probably shouldn't be a whole lot of squishing." Unfortunately.

Turning the corner on the street Isabel and her companion had just made a turn onto, Kyle used a sleeve to clear some of the lingering rain drops from his visor. The rain was his companion in this venture, masking his approach and dulling out the sound of his engine, although the roar of hundreds of other vehicles did that just as well. In that same regard though, it was his enemy. On a day like this, bikes were at a disadvantage, as the slick roads could catch the tires on a turn and send its rider sprawling.

It was with that thought in mind that Kyle slowly coasted his way through traffic, watching the two of them carefully. At this point, his plan was simple; watch until they picked a location, then park his bike off the main road, hopefully out of the rain, and follow them in. If Isabel questioned his appearance, Kyle could simply say that it was a coincidence. Her companion, and more to the point, her relation with him, interested him.

He simply wanted to know.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle finally noticed the pair of them stopping in front of one of the many shops that lined this street, though the rain made it hard to make out just what the shop name was. Still, Kyle remembered it's location, so that even after he parked his bike around the corner in the cover of a building, it wasn't hard to retrace his steps and make his way to the shop itself. Half grinning, half sighing, Kyle followed them in, removing his helmet as he did so.

Meanwhile, just down the road, a white van pulled to a stop alongside the street. Its occupants, all tense and ready for action, knew now was the time to wait. For they too had seen the biker, noticed how he seemed to be always just in the shadow of their prey. A coincidence perhaps, but they weren't taking chances with this prey.

Henceforth, their leader had decided they would wait for a bit and if nothing happened, they'd move in and take their prize captive. In the meantime, they'd slowly get into position to spring their trap and if something DID happen, then they'd adjust to be in the best possible position to take advantage of it.

“Hmmm.” Mercury pondered. “ I could do it by accident. Not like anyone would bother not believing me. But I guess if he is Order I probably shouldn’t. What did he do?” this would play a major part in Mercury’s decision if there were accidents to be had in this members future. If he was making Isabel uncomfortable that was already in favor of smashing, but maybe he should survive if he was useful.

As they closed on the shop they happened by first, a slab ice creamery Mercury shook out the umbrella with a harsh swing this way and that and then rested it against the wall in case it was still raining when they left. The place didn’t have a great smell not that it smelled bad, but frozen things just didn’t announce themselves like other restaurants. The selection however was vast and that made him happy. After holding the door for his petite companion he entered after her. And was instantly distracted by the deserts in front of him.

The man that was behind them had better not get any funny ideas about cutting in line.

Isabel couldn't help but grin in amusement at the thought of an accidental smooshing. Mercury was probably one of the only Order members that could get away with such a thing. She often defaulted to the self defense claim when she was caught maiming someone she probably shouldn't be, and 'he ran into the spike several times by accident' could only work so many times before it stopped being excused. Which was lame.

"He's just a pest, really. I almost killed him a couple of times and now he won't stop following me around. Something about wanting my respect or whatever. I dunno," she explained as she made her way through the entrance of the ice cream parlor, ducking behind the door just quickly enough to avoid any stray splashes of water that might be flung her way.

She was kind of glad they'd stumbled upon the ice cream shop before any kind of candy store. She'd really been craving the cold dessert, even on such a miserable, rainy day. Sugary treats afterward were just a bonus.

She decided on lemon sherbet in the end and accepted the treat without even bothering to look like she intended to pay for the cup. It was clear enough that she'd come in with the large red man. Either they'd expect him to pay for the both of them or they wouldn't think of asking because of how intimidating such a large individual could be. Her own reputation would probably persuade the clerk to deliver the frozen edibles on the house, too.

It had been only moments since Isabel and her big red companion had entered the ship when Kyle stepped in himself, rain still dripping from pockets of his jacket that he'd been unable to shake dry. It was polite, after all, to avoid making a slip hazard in the entryway of a store if it could be helped. On a day like today though, where the rain fell without abandon, some things could not be denied, only delayed.

Rubbing his shoes on the mat provided in the entryway, Kyle slung his helmet under an arm, shaking his hair out to remove what he could of that dreaded helmet hair effect. A few people within the shop cast him a glance, even a few admiring glances from the woman patrons which he responded to with a slight smile before ignoring entirely. His mark was in line, just stepping back with a yellow treat in hand.

Smiling, Kyle took a separate line, noticing with interest many eyes were now on the hulking red man who was at Isabel's side. An attention grabber, even if he didn't want it. Calmly, as if the pair of them weren't but a few feet from him, Kyle got a small drink from the man who was glancing between his job and the two dangerous looking individuals in their store. Then he turned back, casually, and seemed to notice them for the first time.

Almost at about the same time that Isabel had turned his way. "Why Isabel, what a surprise! It's rare to see you outside of Sanctuary, let alone with someone at your side.

And might I say what a someone you are, giant red man. So who might you be?"