George
It has been a few months since Fiona Marley, Panoptic, has gone to the mall for purposes other than general theft and petty crime. She doesn't really have safe spending money usually and she doesn't like going out on her own to these places but the other two had decided it was a good idea so she's here. Exhausted. She was hungry too, maybe she could trick them into buying her lunch.

Fiona sat on the front steps to the mall with her phone to her face. She was dressed up, relatively, but it wasn't particularly pretty. Her shirt was a nice enough band tee but it was baggy and forced her to tuck it into her skirt that had be held in place by a belt. She waited outside for her Cluster, aware of their proxity through a deep connection to their minds, and staring into space.
Robert
*Rebecca Smith would show up after grabbing a drink and a bag of crisps from one of the stores in the mall and smiles when she shows up and sees Fiona. Becky would then walk out of the mall and over to Fiona* "Hey there, how are you today?" *Becky is wearing a simply comfortable hoody and athletic pants as she would wear normally. Although on her hoody there is paint splotches on it from her artistic endeavors*
George
She'd look up from her phone and towards Rebecca. Her eyes lingered on the space over Rebecca's shoulder, however, and her attention didn't change much as she shifted uncomfortably. She didn't look too homeless right now but she certainly wasn't all together. "I'm fine." She pursed her lips, a thin sheen of gold along them. "Seen the other two? Felt them?"
Robert
"Not too close? They probably will be here soon, or at least I am sure Charlie will be here sooner than later" *When Becky is close enough she would smile at Fiona* "Want some Crisps?" *Becky would offer her bag out for Fiona* "But how have you been recently if I may ask?"
George
"Yea." She'd reach her hand out and snatch the bag with a little too much speed, leaning back against the step. A thin layer of gold now shimmering along the steps now too causing a wet sound when she laid back. Her eyes looked back up as she took a few chips before tossing it back. "As long as she shows."
Jo
By contrast, it had not been very long at all since Charlie's last visit to the mall. It was a hub of commerce, bustling with people, and as a result: full of opportunity... Opportunity for _what_ she hadn't quite decided yet. More thought could be put into that at a later date, because for now Charlie's mind dwelled on the meeting ahead of her. It had been months since she had spoken to any of these girls in a meaningful capacity, and who knows how _certain events_ had affected them in the meantime?

This kind of uncertainty wasn't going to stop Charlie from showing up, of course, part of her was still eager to go. Excited to see her... Friends wouldn't have been quite the right word. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be long before Panoptic might feel that all too familiar fuzziness inside the radius of her awareness. That oddly woman-shaped hole where the perception of her power simply failed to grasp its subject. Closer and closer it would stroll, until Charlie's snowy-haired form wandered into view, lithe form a little darker its complexion than they might remember and clad in a beige tracksuit, its hoddie cut-off like a croptop. 

"Long time no see, girls."
Robert
*Becky would catch her Crisps when tossed back* "Heeeyyyy Charlie! How have you been girl?!" *She clearly seems happy to see Charlie* "What have you been up to recently?" *Rebecca leans against a pillar while waiting for Charlie to come closer to the group*
George
She'd sit up a little straighter as Charlie entered her vision. The gold fluid now shimmering the edges of walls and the steps as her range grew. She shifted herself as the combination of a friendlier face and a bit more bleed sat her emotions higher. "Hey." She seemed to slump back into her posture but more comfortable. Calmer. "Been a while." 

She awkwardly ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. Her eyes still so unfocused. A static of annoyance and anxiety running through the cluster's bond. It seemed to be her natural state. She looked towards Rebecca once more, eyes focusing somewhere above her head, as she asked "Anything interesting with you?"
Mark
Despite what she had said, Olivia found herself walking to the mall to meet up with her classmates. Originally she didn't want to get involved, but the more and more she thought about it, it didn't sit right with her. All of them already had a general idea of what each other looked like - or at least she had to assume so. She didn't pay much attention to the other's faces beforehand, but of course everyone would remember **HER**. If she let them all meet up without any supervision they'd likely end up doing something stupid. Maybe even something that could come back on her.

Or... Plot against her.

She couldn't let that happen.

She wore a plain, gray hoodie with the hood pulled up. Her hair was rather distinctive, so the only chance she had at avoiding detection entirely was to make sure she wasn't facing directly at any of the others.

Rather than go straight up through the normal entrance, she went through a side entrance and started to make her way through the mall and towards the main entrance. So long as they didn't see her coming she'd likely be able to wait around and listen in on their conversation at the very least.

As she walked within 100 feet of the group she froze, anxiety suddenly spiking through her as she felt the other three through some sort of connection - their emotions pushing onto her.
Jo
They were sharing food already, Charlie couldn't help but note as she watched that crisps packet get tossed between Fiona and Rebecca. Not a significant morsel of information, perhaps, but amusing to Charlie nonetheless; when had 'FlyOnTheWall' transitioned from not trusting most of the group enough to appear out of costume, to accepting potentially poisoned snacks? ...Maybe it was just Charlie who had become acutely aware of how easy it could be to dose someone's foodstuffs. 

The thought of that coincided with a heightened sense of anxiety that briefly made her look uneasy, though Charlie would attempt to bury the sensation and focus on the upsides of reuniting with old friends? Eh, classmates. She was glad to be here, she reaffirmed to herself, surely she wouldn't have come otherwise. Damn nerves. 

"I've been jobhunting, mostly." Charlie begins to respond, happy to be catching up but simultaneously nursing a sense of annoyance at the invasiveness of the question - then brushing that off. Come on, Charlie, it's perfectly normal smalltalk. "Parents want me to go to uni, but I feel like I have skills to offer, uh, _outside academia_." Charlie wags her head from side to side as she emphasises the phrase, hair moving less than one might expect - as if wet against her scalp, gelled into its particular style. 

"...Anyway, what are we thinking about for the immediate future? Window shopping, food court, maybe shoot a PHO message to Olivia so she doesn't think we ditched her if she turns up here and we're already inside?"
Robert
*Becky would nod* "Yeah, Was thinking some food, clothes, Probably should shoot a message to Liv so if she does show up, she knows we didn't just bail on her." *Becky smiles because she is happy to be around the others, even as anxiety and nervousness starts to bleed through into her emotions. To which she responds by eating some more of her chips*

"I hope Liv is doing fine, the people she seems to wanna mess with are no joke. They are also deadly serious in their view, so if she screws with them, with no backup, that would be very bad." *She says as the nervousness/anxiety starts playing with her, this sets off alarms in her head, bc she wasn't worried or anxious at all today before now*
George
Her anxiety was dowsed by the insistence of Charlie to be positive. At least for the moment. She sighed and stood from her spot on the steps reluctantly, eyes flicking between the two, before turning towards the mall. The calm seemed to wash through her before paranoia spiked again through the bond with a sudden surge as the feeling of calm made her question why she was calm.

"Let's go inside maybe. Been a while since I've been shopping." She huffed quietly, reaching for her pockets. She stopped, realized she had no pockets, and crossed her arms. She looked around as she felt something at the edge of her consciousness. A distant feeling. Her range wasn't big enough yet to reach it but maybe if she could delay the other two for a little longer. "Wonder what she's up to at this moment."
Mark
Shortly after entering into the emotion range, Olivia ran straight back out.

What even *Was* That? Some sort of master power maybe? She knew that her own master power was quite effective. Was it because she had merged her power with someone else's?

If there was some sort of emotional manipulation happening, then would it be better for her to expose it early? Or to make sure that she was never possibly touched by it? With a scowl she stalked away, going back out the way she came. None of them were really friends of hers, but...

Well, she could give them a warning at least. She wouldn't expose herself, but she could at least make sure to alert the group on PHO. That could work for now.

She left back the way she had come, moving to leave the mall entirely.
Jo
"Yeah that's. That's what I said." Charlie would reply with a brief chuckle, head tilting to the side curiously at Becky - her expression remained mostly amused, perhaps endeared by the copycat behaviour? The talk of Olivia's chosen company swiftly moved Charlie's train of thought on, a wave of disappointment crashing on the shores of this cluster's emotional bleed.

Charlie moved to accompany Fiona as they made for the mall's entrance, shrugging. "Maybe it's better we don't find out - she could have it out for us for whatever godsforsaken reason." Even if one were merely looking for the protection of an armed group, there were other gangs. Perhaps smaller, less notorious, but it was rare for all-out war to spill onto the streets for normies - as much as she tried, Charlie could not rationalise Olivia's interest in the neo-nazis, and that was as far as her train of thought got before being derailed by her phone's insistent pinging. 

Were the other two typing instead of listening to her? Charlie rolls her eyes, reaching up under her cropped sweatshirt to retrieve her phone from beneath it - her outfit otherwise devoid of pockets - to check the group chat.

"Guess she isn't going to make it after all - though I'll be honest, I think I've kind been feeling, uh, _it_?" She nods to text on her phone's screen. "It isn't coming from me either, you both know what I do." She reminds, dotting the back of her mobile with a patch of ichor and using it to adhere the device back into place under her top.
Robert
*Rebecca looks at the others* "As I said in messages, I did not make it, y'all know I tag things with paint. Mine clearly ain't that sort of thing. I don't know what is causing this, but it feels weird" *She says as she slowly feels the anxiety ebb from her and she goes back to her calmer before the disappointment comes through* "As I said before, we can not change who she associates with, we can only advise her to not go and do foolish things." *Becky face falls as she says that before she tries to put on a better face*

"Well, if she can't make it, we might as well head in and see what they have to sell here. Or if nothing else, at least get some food."
George
Fiona shrugged her shoulders at Rebecca's comment. "I'm just a Thinker." She lied, keeping her voice low so only the other two heard her. The rollercoaster of the battle against the emotional bleed continues to make her anxiety spike. She began to make her way up the stairs and into the mall without really looking up from her phone.

"If she isn't going to come, she isn't going to come. I agree with getting food though." She made a motion like she was wiping her hands on her skirt and a smear of white paint was left behind on it, forcing the zone to continue to center on herself. Despite not looking up from her phone her stride was confident and she carefully maneuvered around the crowd without much effort. Damned thinkers. A faint buzz of a smug confidence spreading through the bond.
Jo
Charlie moved through the loose crowd of the mall's interior with similar ease to Fiona, though she lacked much of the Thinker's casual grace. Instead Charlie sported the weight of the ichor beneath her skin, allowing her to trudge ahead in an unnaturally sturdy manner - a teenage boy not paying attention to where he was walking taking a shoulder-check _quite_ poorly as Charlie shoved past. 

""Okay, all for food... What are we feeling?" Charlie muses, arms raising and being folded together behind her head. "They have the new curry house upstairs, could grab a pretty private booth and y'know, _catch up_."
Robert
"That could work, after all a booth provides space for me to work on some of my paintings my customer's want from me." *She smiles at the others as her mood starts to re-stabilize from the effects of the other two* "It can be my treat, at least if you two don't object." *She offers generously. She also is looking at the other two and has a slight pang of envy that their powers have everyday use as well. Hers were tied to controlling areas, and she can't really do that at the moment in a place such as a mall at the current moment*
George
"You have customers? Damn." The envy pang fuels a spiteful surge as Fiona considers her own living situation. Petty theft has gotten her only so far and she wasn't sure how long she could make it on the cash she has. Apartments aren't cheap, after all. "Your treat? Yeah, I'll take curry." Fiona would continue twiddling with her phone. She was too self conscious to admit she's bad with spicy food. 

She began to turn directions towards the escalators, speaking up again to ask "Wait you brought canvases to the mall?"
Jo
"I suppose not, though I'd rather pitch in something." Charlie voices, she didn't want to freeload off of her friends. Especially not when she was still, ostensibly, being supported by her parents... Fiona's pang of envy is something Charlie can resonate with. Despite her relatively stable position, she still craved the independence and agency that would come with a recurring source of income like Becky's commissioned paintings. 

"I guess she could be doing some kind of street art?" Charlie responds, looking from Fiona to Becky, up and down her person for any supplies she might have been carrying. "Modern art is all wacky anyway."
Robert
"Even though I do mainly paintings, you still need an idea of how you want it to come out, especially if you want to make sure that the client will be satisfied. So I would be working on some sketches for designs of the paintings, so I could get the best idea of what they want. I mean its better than diving into the painting and them being annoyed with the result." *She says freely, even if she can feel the envy emanating from them* "Ideally I wanna find a career that could make using my natural artistic talent something more for fun, but right now I have to subsist on commissions and small side gigs."

*When the arrive to the restaurant she would find a table for them* "If you guys, have a way you guys wanna do it to speak more openly, I am open to ideas."
George
"I've never had a talent for art and I've been avoiding art class since highschool." A bitter grumbling that spills from her with the resonating envy. Her voice would almost have reached a growl if it weren't for how it cracked as she spoke again "I've been trying to get a good gig going but people are making my life difficult." She moved with purpose, her phone now tucked into her waist band, as they moved into the curry house and sat herself into the booth.

"I would know if anyone's listening. Talk quietly but we should be fine." The gold film coated her seat as she sat down and the white paint stuck to the underside of the table. "C'mon, something to say?"
Jo
"Oh, mostly prepwork?" Charlie would muse as Becky spoke, much of her elaboration upon the artistic process lost on the athlete though Charlie could still appreciate her friends' obvious passion for the subject. Or, uh, friend _singular_. It didn't seem like Fiona was all too interested after all. 

Charlie brings up the rear of the group as they filter into the curry house, seating herself beside Fiona. They were 'sisters', after all, and being the smallest of the three of them Charlie assumed it would be less of a squeeze than setting up next to Becky and her sketching supplies...

Now they were here, however, Charlie did find herself at something of loss as to what she should say. Or ask. The terrible event they shared had bound them together, inextricably, but now they were forever connected what was there to even share? "I thought I'd have more to say, to be honest... I've just been trying to get by. I'd like to launch a little business with the, y'know," Charlie says, gesturing with her index finger - a thick globule of gilded goo beading on her fingertip. "I figure cape security has to be booming more than ever?"
Robert
"I have had to throw my hat in with the Hats for the time-being, but I would love to get out of them if possible. But I don't want to throw my hand in with random teams. Especially since my main use of my power is to scramble others, so it is very well as inclined to fuck with powers of those I work with, as it is for those of those any team I would join would be working against. Believe it or not, Unpredictability is not what others want these days." *She muses a bit bummed, but accepting of it also*
George
"I've been working odd jobs as security." She said flatly as she sat between her clustermates. Her finger drew a line in the film of gold collecting along the edge of the table as she remained staring with unfocused eyes. Her attention drifting to the space around them with a frown. Her nosiness getting the better of her as she minded other people's business. "My chances with the people I'm applying to are low. If it doesn't work.. Might resort to joining a company."
Jo
"The Top Hats?" Charlie questioned, mostly rhetorically. There weren't many, if any, other gangs who had 'hats' in their name, after all. Charlie just wanted to muse over the idea of them, but didn't have too great an idea of what they were about. She knew they were violent, and extorted local businesses, but at least they didn't have a reputation for being massive bigots on top of all that. They weren't any worse than the Children of Scion in many regards, so Charlie decided not to speak ill of them. 

"I guess that's fair, maybe it would be a reasonable to try forming your own team?" She would suggest instead, pausing briefly to watch the waiter approach and subsequently thank them for the menus they distributed, waiting for them to get an appreciable distance away before picking back up the conversation. "Oh, who are you trying to get in with, Fi'?"
Robert
"Yeah, they just are basically like the typical street gang that were run by Capes that would existed before... Yeah, but anyways, it is something for the time being, and with any group as such, protecting your own is usually seen as good practice, and Capes especially. If I could find those that could manage being around my tags without being affected too much by them yeah, although the best people for that are those such as thinkers and tinkers, and those aren't the easiest to just pick up off the street." *She muses out loud to the others*

"But that is because the Tinker Tech is not affected by it at all, and Thinkers rarely have a physical manifestation of what they are doing with their power. But most other types have physical manifestations, so they do screw with it. So I would have to find people that can adapt on the fly to whatever fuckup of the day is, and would have to do so better than the enemies could do so if wanted other people. I mean I guess Master's could help too, at least if they don't summon minions with their powers, but Master's have always given me the creeps." *She gives a slight shudder* 

"Otherwise they would have to work around my spots, which is not as ideal." *She is sketching out some designs at the moment as she talks to keep her hands busy.*
George
Fiona made a show of placing her hands over her mouth when questioned about who she was trying to align herself with before dropping them back to the table. "Not saying, don't want you guys to figure out my cape identity before I even debut." She made another gesture of placing her hands over her face like a mask. She did seem to turn her gaze directly, well as direct as she ever did, to Charlie when the nickname was spoken. 

"Thinkers are the best classification for any team. The order of 'best classification' always has thinkers and tinkers at the top." A shimmer of pride through their bond. Smugly talking herself up. "Like I said though, if it doesn't work for me I'll go corporate or maybe even.." She shuddered "Rogue."
Jo
"It makes sense to get in with a group, yeah... Suppose if the reason you're in danger is mostly cape stuff, though, it might be good to get in with those children guys." Charlie mused idly, wanting to test the waters. To float the idea amongst people whose opinions she could use to gauge how good or bad a decision it might be without stating any real commitments. "You they kind of revere us, and stuff. Bet they'd throw themselves in danger's way, and the normie members wouldn't be all scrambled by your paint."

"...Oh, you have a whole identity figured out?" Charlie would question, shifting some to face Fiona a little more. "Costumes and everything, if you're actively looking to get on a team? I guess I should put something together even if I intend to just go rogue, maybe I'll get a marketable plushie out of it."
Robert
"They stay to themselves more than any other gang, but they are **Literally** Worshipping the being that brought the end of everyone's previous lives. They see us as the Chosen Ones, but that leads to plenty of one sided relationships and they really don't like those that were marked by their trigger. Although, they do have that one angel guy with them, what's his name, Michael? No. Rapheal? No, not that one. Is it Gabriel? Whichever one it was, it was the one that was supposed to represent strength."

*Becca considers some things. She ends up thinking about how genuinely happy she is to be around her former classmates.* "If either of you want help with stuff related to alt Identities or help designing such, I would be happy to help. Mind you, even these days the unwritten rules are still meant to be respected, so even though I would know the face under the costumes, I wouldn't dare reveal it to others."
George
"I don't trust the Children. I dealt with enough weird religious lunatics in my life and worshipping Goldie? No thank you." She drummed her fingers on the table, trying and failing to catch staff attention to order. "Not to mention that they are just assholes." She slumped back into her seat.

"My identity is figured out, don't worry. Costume together and all. You'll see it when I make an official debut." She gestured vaguely to Charlie "No marketable plush for me."
Jo
There's a slight hesitation in the way Charlie holds herself after fielding responses from her old schoolmates, mouth moving if only so she could click her tongue and buy herself a few more seconds with which to put together a response that didn't sound like she was mostly comfortable with regarding Scion as a diety. "Well... He's more real than any other _god_," She frames the word with quation marks using her fingers, "That any organised religion has had. You kind of have to give them that! Valid criticisms, though- you don't have to buy it to make some scratch off of 'em. I bet they'd pay up for a second shiny golden god." She spreads the fingers of her upheld hands, a shimmering film of gilded slime stretching between her digits.

She didn't want to dwell too long on that point, though, in case the others grew uncomfortable - a mote of self-consciousness leaking from Charlie as she sought a new topic, wiping her hands off on a napkin and picking up a menu. "Thought about what you wanna order?"