Kids At War

[Kuzuryuu]

Kids At War​

When Evadne jumps to conclusions, Ben frowns. Kicking her off the team is the last thing on his mind – it's probably the first thing on Noah's mind but not his. Sure Castor was a problem they would need to address at some point, but her brother's actions didn't give Ben any reason to distrust her. They all desired privacy regarding their past lives…who was Ben to disrespect that?

"Castor's just a bump in the road," the redhead replies with a smile. It hurts to smile. The cut on his cheek is open and bleeding, not to mention his fat lip. Despite the pain, he smiles anyway. "We all agreed not to talk about our backstories," he continues. "We all have skeletons; I don't think any less of you for all this." At least she wasn't a double agent or something.

He flashes back to his conversation with Noah earlier today. He'd told the archer he would trust Evadne no matter what; the redhead was willing to stick to that promise. Evadne had shown him and the others so much kindness; if it wasn't for her, he, Scorp, and Daze would probably be dead or something. Not to mention the crime levels in Oceanship City would much higher.

"Noah might, but we can handle that tomorrow," he adds with a laugh.

Still – on the thought of Audrey, Ben grows serious. As skilled as Castor id, the real threat tonight was Audrey. It was clear to him that Evadne's brother still cared for her and wasn't a real enemy at the moment. But Audrey was unpredictable. She'd almost killed them all tonight, whether she meant to or not. That needed to be addressed.

He follows Evadne's glance to the rubble; this was serious damage. He keeps an ear open during Evadne's explanation and nods at appropriate times. He's not sure what it is, but despite her powers, Ben senses a weak link in Audrey. She might be the key to getting one up and this mysterious Organization. If they could get through to her.

"She doesn't sound all bad to me," the redhead says. He glances towards Daze, Scorp, and Noah to make sure he wasn't overheard – he wasn't sure how much Scorpius and Noah would appreciate that comment. "And clearly you know her better than anyone else does; you think you could get through to her?"

Audrey had Ben in a tight spot. He recognized and respected the friendship between her and Evadne, but she was an enemy doing bad things. The redhead wasn't in this to redeem people; he was here to put the bad guys away. And he was hesitant to admit it, but some feelings for Evadne were introducing some grey areas.

The sound of sirens robs him of his focus for a second. With wide green eyes, he glances towards the fire department that had finally arrived…late. He trusted them to pick up the mess. With a shake of his head, he returns to the moment.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but I think she might be doing this against her will."

It's a bold statement, but he stands by it. Audrey didn't strike him as a conniving villain like her partner or Oswald did. She was different. And the idea of not only removing her from his list of enemies, but getting her out of this conflict sounded fantastic to him. But that was all up to Evadne, not him.

"If you can get to her, do you think you can talk her out of all this?" It's not a simple question, Ben knows that; it's asking a lot of Evadne, but he prefers this option over Noah's "shoot now and ask questions" later method.

This is all too much for any of them to handle. He hardly knew what this Organization was planning; all the redhead did know was that it was up to him and his friends to stop them. And these bouts with Audrey, Luke, and Castor were only the beginning.

At this rate, they're going to end up fighting an all out war with the Organization before summer's over.

 

[Peko]

Evadne listens to Ben's optimistic reply in a trance, eyes fixated firmly on the remains of what was once a building only an hour before. She's amazed, to be truthful, and doesn't want him to know that. She doesn't know whether to consider his optimism and faith in her admirable or foolish. For someone to put that much trust in someone like her was strange… She grew up in an environment where she was told to be skeptical of everyone she met, after all.

Tired, she doesn't say anything and just listens for once, rather than running her mouth. She looks back at him in time to see his smile. It takes a little while for her to manage one of her own-- its' construction felt flawed, the corners of her mouth twitching a little. On the verge of lightheadedness, she reminds herself to breath, swallowing in as much air as she could before directing her gaze back at the rubble.

"You sound so sure of yourself. I should probably lecture you on trusting people so easily, but…" Her grin holds a warmer look now and her shoulders sink. "Thanks. It's… nice to have someone on my side for once."

His input on Audrey makes her grit her teeth. She lets herself listen to what he has to say, noticing in the process that his thought process is similar to her own on the matter. Weight was stacking up on her shoulders, bringing her on the point of collapse. Grimly, she looked at the building. Their confrontation today caused this. What if Audrey's next victim was a person instead of a building…? Intentional or not, that was the very thought that opened up the flower of apprehension in the petite blonde's chest.

A humorless laugh escapes her and she shakes her head incredulously. "That's the incredible thing about it, Ben."

Her demeanor becomes rather stoic now and she glares at her feet. "None of them do. Not even Luke." Her voice quivers a little and she tries to force it to stop. It's difficult. "It's drilled into their heads from an early age that what they're doing is right. The penalty of leaving is death. Luke, Audrey, even Castor… they're all still kids. I'm just stupid and reckless."

"And Audrey and I… we were together since we were kids. She was always quiet and polite, she's not evil. Far from it. She's probably just scared." She sighs. "But confronting her, see. I think that's where it gets tricky. If her powers are driven by emotion like I'm assuming, this is going to be a suicide mission. Tonight it was a building… who knows what else she can do?"

She smirks afterwards, though, making up her mind. The determined voice in her head was telling her to go for it. Once her mind was set, it was set. She crosses her arms over her chest, now allowing herself to look the redhead in the eyes confidently. "But hell, when does that ever stop me?" She looked over at the tiny figures of their team, they were probably wondering why they'd fallen so far behind by now. So she started to walk forward, gesturing with her hand for him to follow. "We can't beat the Organization if we play it safe. And since I got you all into this mess, I'm going to need to give this my all."

 

[Kuzuryuu]

"Wait, a star what?"

Noah scratches the back of his head with his eyes narrowed in confusion. Ben doesn't respond at first; he's far too preoccupied with the fresh scent of coffee lingering outside the small shop.

"Starbucks," Scorpius answers matter-of-factly. "A coffee shop popular with kids our age. They specialize in fancy caffeinated beverages that you wouldn't be able to make yourself at home." Scorpius had never been to Starbucks himself, but he knew a thing or two about what was popular with his age group.

Noah nods several times, still not fully understanding.

"Unfortunately it's kinda over our budget," Ben finally says, downcast. "I'd feel awful if we spent all the money Katie gave us on coffee." Scorpius nods in agreement.

"What about shakes?" Noah suggests with a raised eyebrow. Ben and Scorpius give him a look, and then exchange glances with themselves. "I'd go bananas for a vanilla shake right about now," the archer continues. Just the thought of a good shake made his mouth water; everyone back home knew the way to his heart was through a tall, cold, fresh milkshake.

"Ice cream sounds good to me," Ben says, glancing at his friends. It was one of the warmest day's Oceanship had seen all summer; despite the breeze from the coast, the heat left the ground practically scorching. Definitely not a day for coffee.

The nearest ice cream shop is a few stores away, but no one minds walking much, especially Noah; he leads the group a little hesitantly, but the promise of a milkshake keeps him moving. With every person that passes the group, the archer finds himself watching them wide-eyed. Everything's changed since his time.

When a girl in revealing short shorts and a tight top passes by, the blond time traveler can no longer contain his curiosity. He leans towards Scorpius and bluntly asks, "why's every girl dressed like a paper shaker?"

His question clearly catches the antisocial adolescent off guard. It's the first time anyone sees Scorpius visibly confused. "I'm sorry Noah – a what?"

"A paper shaker," Noah repeats himself. The archer too seems confused; it's as if he and Scorpius are speaking two different languages but still trying to communicate. "Y'know, a paper shaker. One of the gals that cheers on the boys in the games."

Scorpius's mouth forms a rather large 'o' shape. "I see. Well, fashion styles have changed in the last fifty years. Society believes a girl revealing more of her body is attractive." Perhaps Scorpius wasn't person to ask, but his explanation seemed to suffice. Although Noah's expression mirrors displeasure.

"It's sad if you ask me," Noah replies as another girl passes. "There's no way her pop let her leave the house in that, am I right?"

As Scorpius shrugs, a smirking Ben leans in towards Evadne. "He's kind of like watching a Back to the Future movie, huh?" the redhead chuckles in a whisper. He knew Evadne hadn't warmed up to Noah like the rest of them had; it was going to take time, but he was confident that she would…eventually. Besides with the Organization running around, they were going to need all the help they could get. And, Noah had promised to get out their hair as soon as he found a way home; Ben was sure he wouldn't be with them for too long.

And on the bright side, at least he, Evadne, and Scorpius did have experience with teaching someone how to adapt to the world; they'd spent some time educating Daze on everything from television to toilet paper. Crash coursing Noah on their time period was going to be a synch.

When they finally reach the ice cream shop, Noah is happier than a kid on Christmas. He wastes no time running to the counter and ordering a large vanilla shake. Without much thought, Scorpius orders a chocolate ice cream cone. It's Ben who takes the longest to order among the boys; everything sounds good to him.

The redhead settles on the root beer float. With Katie's money still in hand, he steps aside to allow Daze and Evadne the chance to order. Once they're done, he pays the man who then sets off to make their treats. Between the five of them, ice cream costs only about twenty dollars, which seems to surprise Noah.

"Man, you've gotta make serious coin to buzz around in this time, huh?" he remarks. He gestures to the display overhead menu as if it proves his point. "I mean, two dollars for a Coke? Where I come from, it's ten cents for a Coke!"

In response, Ben only chuckles. "He sounds like my grandpa," the redhead laughs.

 

[Peko]

Evadne walks towards the back of the group through the debate and conversation, their voices combining and making a kind of garbling background noise to her thoughts. Her mind's preoccupied. Normally peaceful afternoons and blocks of time dedicated to relaxation were usually things she encouraged. Now her paranoia taunts her. Was there an assassin tailing her? She was pretty sure all of the bastards running the Organization's sick show wanted her head right about now. That and she wanted to confront Audrey. One on one, just the two of them. No taunts from Luke or any outside discussion coming from Noah and the others.

Ben makes his comment and she crafts a smile and gives a nod. He's trying, she can at least respond to him. She pays attention in time to notice that they're going for ice cream and perks up just a little. Almost unbearably hot, ice cream sounds glorious. Unlike the 'paper shakers' Noah talked about, Evadne dressed herself modestly, even in the summer's heat.

Daze, on the other hand, is battling with both confusion and endeared amusement. Noah's words are quite charming, she thinks, and she finds herself visualizing his time period. He didn't hold himself or speak like the others, and she likes that about him. She feels like she's not the only one in the group that asks questions anymore, and that's quite pleasant to her.

Daze orders a flavor titled 'cotton candy' this time, the vibrant blue and pink mixture of the ice cream enchanting her quite a bit. Evadne, on the other hand, sticks with vanilla.

"Make a serious coin to buzz around?" Daze echoes, tilting her head to the side just slightly as she tries to decipher the meaning. His next words hit her and she finds herself a little dumbstruck. 'Where I come from'. Her eyes glaze over with deep thought for a split second before she shakes it off.

Evadne notices, but doesn't have time to question it as the guy behind the counter begins to hand off their snacks one by one. Evadne thanks him and then turns to look at Daze, who's in the process of examining the colorful cone that'd been handed to her.

"You've gotta have a generously paying job to afford anything around here." She translates. "Because if you don't have the money, you can't afford snacks like this-- you need to focus on necessities."

"A job... that sounds like fun, doesn't it?" Daze smiles. "Maybe I'll get a job one day, if I stay here."

"Technically we already have one." Evadne points out, crossing her arms. She contemplates Daze's 'if I stay here' part for a moment, but shrugs it off. The petite blonde notices the guy behind the counter scoff and she decides to lead the group away from the counter.

"Are we going to go outside and walk today?" Daze asks. Evadne shakes her head.

"I'm no paper shaker. And it's cold in here. Lets just sit for a little while and relax." No assassins lurking in here either, as far as she knew. No one came in after them, anyways. "Our ice cream would melt pretty quickly out in that heat."

Daze nods in understanding and checks over to see if the boys are fine with staying. When it's decided, they pull two tables together and sit.

"So Daze, what kind of job would you get?" Evadne decides to ask. Fun... jobs certainly didn't sound or seem fun in the slightest... but Daze was probably one of the most selfless people she knew. If anyone could genuinely enjoy having a job, it would be her.

"I would work somewhere like this." She answers without much hesitation. Evadne lifts her eyebrows.

"Scooping ice cream and working a cashier?" The blonde purses her lips, "There are lots of other jobs out there too, y'know... Better jobs, for that matter."

Daze just shakes her head. "No, no. I mean making the ice cream." She tips her head to the side ever so slightly. "Isn't there someone who prepares it? It can't appear in that glass case magically, can it?"

Evadne gives a light laugh and shakes her head. "Hey, it's the future. Of course the ice cream appears magically."

Daze's expression of confusion intensifies and Evadne lets out a light sigh, though her slight amusement is still evident. "I was just kidding, Daze."