The Beauty & The Beast

Israel sighed as he watched the last round of applicants leave the I.S.O. facility near New York's central park. The last group was particularly... Well... Interesting... Especially one in particular that had taken to giving nearly everyone Disney themed nicknames.

He wondered just how unique the last applicants of the day would be, though he had fought alongside one of them and had a pretty good idea of what he was capable of, the woman that had applied was largely an unknown. That said, her record was quite impressive.

In any case, he stretched, more out of ritual or habit than necessity, and prepared himself for the next, albeit smaller, group...

The bus came to a stop, the giant number ten flashing over the heads. Along with the stream of vagrants, working class men and woman, a mother and two, and the occasional rich snob, there was a single cop. Underneath the peaked cap was a long blond ponytail, the bottom portion of which was streaked liberiously with green. Eyes as green as grass peered at the sign ”Yup, this is it. Right, where do I go from here. The instructions said the western tip of Central Park … but Central Park is, like, round. Okay, whatever. Let’s just go … and stop talking to yourself, Elaine!” She shook herself, her ponytail waving wildly and marched off. She was early, just in case she got lost. She was moving with purpose and dedication, every movement shaking the full tactical belt she wore on her. She may trust ECLIPSE, but she definitely didn’t trust some random stranger telling her to meet her at Central Park that was definitely sketchy.

Once out of the cover of the trees, she spotted the building. Really, it was quite hard to miss. Immediately she noticed the general lack of bird activity in the trees and the imposing feel of the building itself. Her right hand immediately came to rest at her hip where a traditional officer wears a gun; Elaine, however, had a sword with a green wrapped hilt. This her fingers wrapped around. She had to approach this constantly, and as she sunk into a crouch green energy leapt to her hand, the output from it pouring over the area in an all but invisible green aura. Her eyes narrowed at the only individual she saw, a tall, attractive man dressed in white. The sight of him just made her tense up further. Either this was a very clever trap designed to trap superhumans, or it was the real deal; either way, best not to approach it blind. Once ten feet from the stairs, she called out.

”I’m Detective Sayomi, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?” Despite her friendly words, her hand never once left the hilt of her sword, nor did the energy pouring from her left hand dissipate.

Leo had been following the blonde haired woman for some time from far above. His beady little bird eyes remained fixated on her, reading every move, taking in every detail..and also following her because he forgot where to go, and she seemed like a responsible person...unlike him. His heart jumped with joy at the sight of Israel, causing him to dart to the ground quickly, having to roll across the dirt on impact. "What's goin on, Robes? Long time no see! " The blue haired boy wrapped his arms around the man before turning back to the wOman "I'm Leo- oh you meant him, of course..this is Robes." Leo removed his arm from around the man before coughing standing up straight and putting on a facade of being serious. "And who do I have the pleasure of speaking to, miss?" [let me get back into the hang of things]

In some relatively nearby alley the lid of a dumpster bursts open! The inside of the dumpster has been cleaned and covered with a tarp and bed-sheet which actually made it look relatively comfortable. Leaping out from the the small metal comfort box came Samuel Grayson, a worried look in his eyes. He had overslept, he had been stressed about it the night before and when he was stressed he'd oversleep...it was a bad habit. Lucky for him, though, he had chosen a dumpster that was about a five minute run away from the location in which the test was being held. He could probably use a few portals to get there quicker, but he did want to conserve some of his energy and be able to perform whatever task they'd ask him to do today.

In his mad-dash Sam managed to actually make it there in four minutes, but he was still worried that he was late. Breathing heavily he looked around for someone...anyone, but he was the only one there. His gripped his head, trying to think of what to do. How late was he? Could he just go in and take the test? What would he have to do from here? What could he do? He quickly looked around for anyone who could help. He first needed to learn what time it was and how late he was. After a few moments of searching he found someone, a young man. Sam dashed over to the man and waved for him to stop.

"Sir! SIR!" Sam called. "Please! You have to tell me! What time is it? Please tell me it's not past noon! I can't be late for this meeting."

The man just blinked at Sam. "Sir...it's five in the morning." He then shook his head and started off.

Sam just stood there for a few moments. One eye twitching. It had just felt like he had overslept. He collapsed and hit his head on the ground, cussing under his breath. For the remaining time that he had Sam just sorta...sat there on the sidewalk, finding a shaded area to rest until the test. The entire time spent waiting he kept mentally beating himself up, not being able to cope with what he did. When he saw other people starting to arrive he managed to pull himself up, put a grin on his face, and introduce himself to a few people.

When it was finally time for the test Sam made his way to the foot of the staircase and looked around. His head sort of...slumped to one side. He had no idea where to go from here. He should've asked someone. "Shit..." He muttered, still doing his best to keep his smile.

Israel watched the three of them as they approached, all close together in their arrival times. They were all quite punctual, especially the man that approached last. Strangely enough, he had arrived first.

"Welcome to all of you." He said, smiling. "My name is Israel Knight, but you can call me Robes if you wish. I'll be handling your COE, just as I handle most of them for ECLIPSE."

He then nodded to the girl's energy surrounding her hand. "It is good to be wary though, Ms. Sayomi; never let your guard down."

Upon saying these things, he motioned for everyone to come inside the facility and began to walk towards it himself.

Leo jumped at the sight of the blade, shifting himself into the form of a Smilodon, and after a few seconds, grew even more impressive in size. The beast let out a deep roar, staring down the woman..a least until the homeless kid walked up. Leo reverted back to his human form and coughed shyly "I'm not much of a fan of..weird swords, I'm sure you understand, saysay..can I call you that?"

He held his hand out for a handshake, but watched her waltz passed him behind Robes..Leo turned to the other individual "Well, uh..I'm Leo, most people call me creature..what's your name?"

Leo wrapped an arm around the boy and guided him into the facility "Robes is a good dude, I fought this pumpkin headed dude with him, and the pumpkin kept trying to raise the dead and Robes was like 'Nah I healed them, bitch' and the pumpkin was so mad and I fought Lord Smasher for a but cuz he went sll evil and yeah, that's how I got this scar!" His eyes drifted around the facility, looking at all the lavish yet..professional decor.."So when are we getting food, Robes?"

Sam managed to return the handshake, trying to be as firm as he could, but not being able to match the woman's. However, before he can introduce himself he finds himself being whisked away by the strange being who called himself Leo. Sam smiled brightly up at him, then looked over to the girl, then back to Leo. "Ah! My name is Samuel Grayson! It's a pleasure to meet you, Leo and Detective Sayomi!" Though before he could say anymore, Leo was already continuing to speak. Sam could only nod in agreement, not wanting to interrupt or be rude. He didn't understand a lot of what he was saying, but he nodded like he got it, smiling all the while. It sounded impressive, but there was no way to really know without more context. Something about robes and pumpkins raising the dead, there was some lord who was good at smashing things apparently.

When he was done talking and asked the question, Sam turned his head towards the man named Robes and smiled. "Hello, uh-Robes! It good to meet you too! I'm Sam." He thinks for a few moments. "Food sounds good, but isn't there some sort of test or something first? Should we get that over with?" His smile shifted to be a bit more nervous. He would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling a bit out of place. All these people here seemed to be in a completely different league than him. He was outclassed. There was no way he'd be able to compare to these heroes. He didn't even consider himself a hero, especially compared to people like this.