cheating ? [Open]

Ring, ring ring!

“We have our winner!”

The bell signaled the end of the fight, and the fight was over. A portion of the spectators cheered, egging on their precious hero, while others looked flabbergasted or annoyed. Among the crowd who supported the winner, there was one who remained quite calm. A smug smile was placed on his face, the corner of his fedora tugged to just cover part of his face. He was only sitting in a folding chair, but even his posture made him seem like royalty to the ring. His shoulders hunched forward, he had one hand placed on his stomach, the other at the edge of the hat. His feet rested on the card table in front of him, ankles crossed. He spoke not a word as a man strode over and angrily placed his winnings on the table, before turning to storm off.

Oh yes, Mister West was certainly winning.

As the next competitors were lured in the direction of the ring, they were stopped right before the teenager. Whenever the brunette boy was in, there were certain procedures that had to be taken. He was never wrong, even in long-shot matches. At first, people were wary of his accuracy, thinking him to find a way to skew the odds. After a few weeks, he had been isolated from match discussions. He was forbidden to have been spoken to about the competitors. After a while, it was confirmed that he had no knowledge of who would compete. Thus, he was revered as a sort of god in the betting business of the ring. The only request he had besides giving a larger cut of his earnings to the facility was that he be allowed to get physically close to the competitors.

He leaned back in the chair, smirking. He was quite risky with his clothing, but he had no problem with it. Sure, he was cheating, but that meant nothing. He had a gift, and he planned on using it. His bare arms were exposed beneath the turquoise t-shirt, and he tugged the black dress vest down. He pushed the fedora out of his eyes before sliding in the chair to face the two fighters. Both male. Both rather muscular. They were virtually the same person, especially to the teenager as he reached out a hand to touch both of them at the same time. His hands fell upon the two men, on their forearms, at the same time. His eyes shut as he channeled his energy into concentration. The crowd hushed slightly, or perhaps that was his ability picking up to show him who to place his money on. The smirk only grew as the familiar din of a vision passed over.

The referee calling numbers. Heavy breathing from both competitors. The ringing bell, signaling the end of a match. The shout of one name as the winner. The crowd erupting into even more applause.

He looked up, his eyes gleaming as he looked from face to face. His gaze settled upon the escort of the fighters, and he told them his prediction at the outcome of the match. His bet would not be called until betting polls were closed, to prevent others from also taking advantage of his gift. The two fighters were taken into the ring, and it was obvious of their discomfort from the boy. He leaned back in the chair, sighing, before resting his hands behind his head. Perhaps it was going to be a good match; there was no way for him to know. All that he knew was that he was going to go back to his apartment with enough money to support him and his new guest for a bit of time. That was all that mattered. He needed to be able to afford his housing and the basics. Even if he was cheating.

Nathaniel West was perfectly content with cheating.

He wasn’t really a villain or anything.

He was, however, human – and as one, required some form of income.

The fighters were now in the ring and the bell had rung. It was time for them to begin. They would fight and Nathaniel would be right about the winner. He always was. There was something to be said for that. Although what was to be said for it was not usually heard in polite conversation.

Serenity's eyes narrowed. She didn't need to look for him she knew exactly where he was. But avoiding the other drunks in the room was another story. She was wearing an outfit that Athena had lectured her about never wearing again but what the green titan didn't know wouldn't hurt her. It seemed to be the only way for the blond to get into the fowl place itself. She normally wouldn't stoop to such levels but the cage was a very useful place in itself.

She obtained a lot of research within those walls for many of her psychology papers and her medical skills had increased just by watching them patch up some of the fighters. Although avoiding the men was always difficult. She was just glad to see them coming at least. That made her life all that much easier.

Her Stiletto boots clicked on the floor as she placed each foot down in front of the other walking to the spot behind the other future seer's chair. Her arms crossed in front of her rather low cut backless top that didn't quite reach the waist of her jeans. The makeup that lightly covered her features helped with the image as well. Very few people had seen the emerald eyed seer like this, and some who had didn't even believe it had been her.

"Hello Nathaniel," she said her voice showing the disgust with what the human in front of her was doing. Using knowledge of the future for such petty means was not what she would call reasonable. In fact in several states it was illegal. Nevada included. "So betting on the outcome?" she asked her delicate eyebrow raised slightly to show her outrage. Her drumming fingers didn't help to hide her feelings on the matter either.[/size]

Ice dripped down his spine.

Oh, crap.

He hesitated, the smug smile slipping. He knew that voice, he was certain. She was getting ready to criticize him, he had a feeling. He wasn’t really willing to find out. “Good night, Serenity.” He had managed to slide the smirk back onto his face before he removed his feet from the table in front of him and scooted around in the chair. What was she doing here? Would she really come out this way just to tell him what he was doing was illegal? He hoped not, then perhaps other people would overhear and he would get chased out for the night. Not that many of the drunken fools around him would be able to understand that what he was doing was of questionable legality.

The smirk faltered once more as soon as he took in what she was wearing. He wasn’t really one to hang around the other seer, but this was different. Surely she wasn’t dressed like that the last time he’d been lectured, but he couldn’t remember when that had been in person. Visions, yes, they were the only reason he had first discovered he wasn’t the only one with foresight in Jump City. It could be quite annoying when she popped into his head. He raised an eyebrow. He chewed his thoughts over for a moment, biting his lip, before words came. As soon as they left his lips, he knew it certainly wasn’t the way to approach the situation. “Does your boyfriend know you’re here? I’m not sure if he would approve, but I’ve never really met him.”

He folded his arms, looking unimpressed for a moment. The truth was far from it. While she was a pain for his business, she had more power than he did. Sure, he knew where and what was coming. But her? She could speak to spirits, she could see the dead. She may have been a bit younger, but she was stronger than he was. His discomfort slid onto his face as the usual crease appeared between his brows, almost as if he had another headache starting up. He tugged at the rim of his hat, casting a glance at the ring. “As a matter of fact, I was close to giving up this sort of shenanigan. But, you may have seen that there’s somebody else in my house. There’s no way I can support both of us if I just stick to minor fortune-telling.”

He shrugged, his lips curling back into a smirk.

He regretted the wording, though, wincing – he hadn’t meant to sound so harsh about Raephen.

Serenity rolled her eyes at the mention of Mathew, he did know about her habits of hanging around in shady places like this one. They were good for her psychology papers. Especially places like this where betting was also a factor that was brought into the lime light. It made studying the people that surrounded her rather interesting. "I don't think he'd mind much." she said coolly her face lit from the self sustaining chemical reaction that he had created in the diamond itself.

And now the symbol carved into the diamond perfectly matched the maroon symbol glowing softly on her forehead. The spirit dove smiled at the sight, Serenity hadn't given her a signal to act yet so now wouldn't be the best time to throw in a sarcastic comment about her love life. She was still in the dog-house bird cage for the last few comments she had thrown at the blond. But this time around she kept her beak closed. She didn't want a repeat performance. That would be bad. Very bad.

This time the dove chose to take a place on the edge of the table, ready to intervene at the first sign that the seer in question gave her.

Serenity kept her eyes on Nate as she let herself lean over the table her black stelleto boot now resting on the chair that her newest victim was sitting in. "Normally I would just tell this establishment about your little advantage." she warned letting her aerobatic voice show exactly what would happen to him if they found out he knew exactly what was going to happen in the future. These kinds of establishments didn't like it when people won at their own games. They liked it less when they found out that there were cheaters.

Although that wasn't quite as far as the blonde was ready to go to take him down, "But I'm sure telling Raephen would like to know how your funding her stay at your place." she said with a cold look of disaproval slipping across her face. She leaned an elbow on her knee and placed her chin in her opened hand making the diamond heart around her neck swing back and forth at the movement.

Her emerald eyes twinkled dangerously for a moment and the dove felt herself smirking, yes Serenity was basically playing the role of the tattletale, yet when it came to sums of cash this large and so many people being deceived the dove knew that the blond enjoyed her little game, "I know for a fact that this little business of yours is also illegal where she's from." she said coldly while leaning toward him her hair now brushing the edges of the white folding chair.

She let her disgust for what he was doing show in her every movement, when she blinked it showed her contempt, "I'm sure you don't want my suggestion." she hissed quietly her forehead now becoming brighter as she searched the future for all that she could find out about his new house-guest, "But you could get a job." she let her fingers drum against her cheek each nail hitting her cheekbone with a staccato movement to her manicured nails.

Sorina broke into laughter as the female seer smirked.[/size]

Was she threatening him?

Normally, Nathaniel was positive that he would have just kept up with sarcastic remarks. After all, those may have made people angry, but there was never very much menacing about them. He could have just gotten under her skin, annoyed her a bit, then maybe she would leave him alone. This, however, seemed different. She was threatening to bust his secret – not that he was sure they would believe a teenage girl – and all sorts of annoyances. His smirk transformed into a thin line, as he found himself mentally panicking. What if something bad did come of his powers in the business? Would they go so far as to take back all of the money he had gotten by cheating? He doubted the last part, but he figured that the truth would go over much less graciously than the sort of illusion the owners seemed to be under.

He wanted to use his powers, it would have made things so much easier. Maybe he could’ve seen what she would do, but he doubted it. Unless he was out of the picture, it wouldn’t really do any good. He glanced in the direction of the match, wondering if he would have been able to get the future from somebody in charge. After all, if she was willing to tattle on him, they would have it in their future, and may not have him directly in the scene. Still, he kept a firm grip on his powers, not allowing himself to stoop to search the future of anybody in the room besides those he already had.

It was her second statement that shook him up even more. His eyes widened, then narrowed as he thought it over. Raephen would certainly disapprove. He knew enough about her to know that she was a good person, and that his nefarious uses for his precognition would probably not go over very well. She had launched into danger, even with her injuries, and forced herself to help. Neither of those were very much that Nathaniel would have done, but she probably didn’t realize that. “You wouldn’t,” he hissed back. He was leaning forward, glaring at her. There was no sign of the carefree joy he had only moments ago, when he was placing bets and receiving money. No, the circumstances had changed in a direction that he wasn’t very positive about.

He remained a vision of cold contempt, posture rigid, eyes narrowed. He needed to find some way to get around this. He needed the money, and a job certainly wasn’t his style. He had his little shop, but that wasn’t enough for two people. Nathaniel was able to live comfortably with it, but now that the alien girl was staying with him, it posed some problems. What did she know about jobs? She was the age of a high school student, taking college classes. He knew that she didn’t just let her powers go to waste. She was one of the do-gooders that tended to find their outlet in heroism. It was a different path than his, sure, but she certainly didn’t just push off her powers to pretend she was normal. Surely there was something unfair in being able to see your enemy’s every move. Surely there was something unfair in her threats.

After all, he was positive that not everything she had done recently was in that flawless image.

He didn’t have to see the future to see a quick clip of her funeral speech; it had been one of the events to make the news.

And he was certain he had gotten a vision of her trying to track down the murderer recently.

Serenity raised an eyebrow at the look on his face as she finished, "Oh wouldn't I?" she asked having not been in a good mood recently. He could surely hear that. Athena was missing now and Rena's killer was still out there. And yet she had to stop this guy from doing anything stupid before she finished anything else. He was just in the way, and needed to be stopped as obviously she needed to come in person to stop him as her "future" warnings hadn't been enough.

As he had pointed out she wasn't above using blackmail. As most of the news crews had failed to notice as of late, she wasn't a titan. She was a separate entity. One who happened to usually agree with the titans, yet still separate. She fought to protect life, not justice, but to keep the living alive. She had talked to their spirits and knew exactly what they all went through to pass over into whatever happened after you passed into the next life.

It's what had allowed her to be best friends with Rena and Athena at the same time although they both wanted to kill the other. It was the only way she could be the way she was, giving advice to villains and hero's alike. She had people who she believed were actually good at heart and some who weren't. And if the circumstances were different she would probably believe that Nathaniel himself was a good person. He just happened to have the gift of foresight and had caught her at a bad time.

All unfortunate circumstances.

The dove had calmed herself down now, this was one of the first things that Serenity had needed to do today, she knew it. Otherwise it would have driven the Blond nuts that she hadn't come and kicked him out herself. The two of them had had enough to deal with recently, what with all the extra deaths and now Athena was missing. This was her way of blowing off steam. Usually her calming methods would have contained some drunks and a bar but this would do for the seer.

It would have to.[/size]

His eyes remained narrowed, his mind racing. If he could get her to stall until the end of the match, then he could probably get away with all of the income. If it got that far, he could just leave. Sure, people would remember him when he got back, but they didn't know where he lived. They wouldn't just be able to barge into his house and demand every dollar he had won over the years back. He did have a feeling, though, that Serenity wanted him out of the building as soon as possible. Taking up her time might blow his chances of making off with the cash, or he'd get himself into an even worse situation. He pondered a few other options, but he doubted they would really do him any good. Causing a riot would result in him not getting more money. Leaving now would mean the current match was wasting his time.

"What if I helped you find who you're looking for?"

It was something he didn't really mean, but he hoped she would be too blinded to realize it. He had absolutely no idea who the killer was currently, though, he had gotten a vast amount of creepy people in his shop lately. Some crazy woman looking for a set of twins, judging from his vision, who were in quite a fit with the law. And she was probably the most sane out of all of the new customers. Still, if the girl was determined to seek revenge against the killer or get her other friend back, then hopefully she would buy it. He wouldn't involve himself directly with the affairs, leaving them open for his visions. He could see a bit of her future. He could see the coordinates if he had a vision leading her. It wasn't completely illogical for his abilities, it just seemed like something he wouldn't regularly do.

"I won't charge you any money or anything. As long as you let me finish this match and receive my winnings." He paused, suddenly regretting the words. Was she going to trust him? He was a sell-out to anybody who was worth anything. He was probably just being lead on, and going to be thrown out in a few minutes. "If you let me. I'll try to find your future, and I can use that to find out where your shifter friend is or maybe where your mysterious murderer is." If you let me? He frowned slightly. If she didn't want to take his deal, he would need some sort of other exit. Sure, the money from the earlier rounds was tucked safe in his wallet, but there was still that chunk that he wanted. It was better to be safe than sorry, he thought, and that extra money would make things easier.

The bell rang, signaling the end of a round.

Stalling or not, he was getting closer to a point where he could make his escape.

Serenity narrowed her eyes at him, she didn't want to give into him. Plus he was staling, he probably knew she knew as well. Her friends were either dead or missing now. She hadn't seen it coming and now here was another seer who thought he could help? This was worse then bribing the police, they usually just wanted the money. She herself wanted to see the end of the killings that were never ending along with the fact that Athena was missing. The public didn't know yet.

He knew that, but seers could see past the lies.


She knew this, but her sight had been blocked. And whoever was doing it was making it obvious that he knew exactly what he was doing. The new spirits in the city were restless, they didn't know who their killer was. He kept his face hidden. Or she was sure it was a he anyway. She hoped she knew who she was looking for. If it was just one person...

Damn it she probably did need his help.

"Sorina his back pocket." she muttered and the dove went to work quickly. Finding the wallet. He was thinking about his escape to much, it gave him away. Didn't he know she studied psychology? "Now that this rounds over we can talk," she said her hand resting on the tabletop as the money was distributed. "Don't play with me I can read you like a book." she said coolly seeing the intent to escape in every movement he made.

For some reason he thought running was the answer, but no, the titans would be happy to know about a new powered criminal on the loose.[/size]

He had a feeling that all of his winnings were about to vanish.

He wouldn't put it past them.

Sorina. Damn, it was that spirit. The bird? He wasn't really sure. Of course, he'd never heard or seen her through his visions, but he did know that Serenity spoke to her often. An annoyed pout set itself upon his features and he folded his arms. He moved his foot to the base of the table in front of him, using it as a prop to lean himself back. "You know, by giving the money back, that goes against what I asked of you. I could run, and you could turn me into the police, but they'd never find me. You know I'd never resort to anything like bombing or - what did some of the other ones do? Hostages. Kidnapping. I think there's a little brother-sister act that specializes in breaking and entering." He shrugged. "You think I'm a criminal, and maybe you're right, but I'm not a villain."

He fell silent for a moment as another round completed, signaling the end of the match. He had guessed the winner correctly, he always did, and his gaze flicked over to the man who was distributing winnings. As the man approached Serenity and Nathaniel, the teenager spoke. "Give my earnings to her." He nodded his head in Serenity's direction, and the man shot him a confused look before placing the cash on the table. As the man passed them to move on to the next winner, Nathaniel sent an unimpressed glare to the other seer. "Since you're apparently the one in control of my income tonight. Tell me, do I get a job any time soon? Or do I just move into a cardboard box? Maybe I become like the insane villains who run around this city?" He paused, smiling coolly. "I'd really love to know, you know."

He spoke like it was a game, and to him, it probably was.

After all, he could see some of the moves before they happened.

He couldn't see his future, and it killed him. Surely, by now she knew his visions never included himself. He wasn't sure about her, but his was probably his largest downfall. He always craved knowledge about his future. He wanted to know what decisions to make, versus guessing. It made him feel to normal, too human. He glanced in the direction of the ring. Was it the final match? Several of the people had removed themselves from the room, filing out the doors. "What's the latest clue you've gotten?" he asked, his eyebrows raised, despite his calm exterior. A flicker of a smirk crawled onto his face, before it was gone. He was going to play some of his cards, try and show that he did know what was going on.

Maybe then, she'd take his offer seriously.

Not that it mattered, he had a feeling some of the people leaving had just been refunded their money.

Serenity grabbed the money that Sorina had given her along with the money on the table. She didn't look at how much he had actually won. She would let the dove do something about it later. The dove would give the money to various charity's, that would do for her as this entire place was illegal. The only reason it was still there was because there were supervillains running rampant in the city.

Yet here was another powered human lecturing her on right and wrong.

That was year one theory. Quite interesting.

She blinked at him and flicked her hair out of her face. It was a habit for her to play with her hair. But she wasn't about to stop, "I know your not a villain." she said her disapproving gaze lingering on him. "They at least have the self confidence to show people who they really are." she said letting her eyes rake over Nathaniel face.

Did she want to trust him? She had trusted Domino just after finding the third hint. Well at the time she had had a gun hidden on her. Although it had been stolen from a cop and the android did have a shot gun on her at the time but still. Reading the future of a complex computer program was one thing.

Reading the intentions of someone who never made a decision was another. He was a seer who couldn't see himself. He was powerful. That was obvious, he saw past the indecisions and strait through to what the future would be. He was useful. He could do something. That was more then what the blond could do at the moment, her hands were tied.

She just hoped no one noticed how obvious it was.

"2 Hints on my whereabouts, and no one could guess who I am. And even that couldn't help your silly little Goddess of War. As of now, she's in BIG trouble. But you can't do a THING about it, can you?

And as to all the silly little antagonists. What the HELL've you been doing? It took me a matter of a whim to capture the one called Shift, and how long have you been trying to beat the titans. Pa-the-tic! Rally Under me, or you'll die, sign your names in graffiti, and watch the places you sign, and I"ll give you names to use on notes and things to contact me, That, and so I know not to kill you. Anyways. This is my third hint, and I'm make it for ALL to see, not just the Titans, or the now dead Jump city branch of the Hive academy.Rally Rally! Time to pick a side, everyone. It's either ME or Death! You can choose. Oh, and don't get your hopes up for Athena, I might make another nice little notch on my belt, and maybe put her up on a wall somewhere.

The Tides are turning, with the oozes of blood pouring out of bodies. Expect some more activity soon. So bring your snorkels Kiddies, and let the big boys play now. Don't cry when you get wet, or you'll wind up in an ocean of blood, just like Blacklist." She muttered under her breath. She had memorized it only a moment after seeing it. She couldn't see the future as well as she would have liked anymore.

Whoever was behind it was blocking it.

People were choosing sides now, with so many deaths all stemming from the same person things were bound to get ugly. And now the city was taking it out on them.

"But I'm sure you knew that, it was painted on the side of the church." she said glancing away at the other pieces of filth in the cage. "Along with Blacklist." she muttered using Rena's impersonal name. Her code name. Only her friends called her Rena, along with half of the news casters.

She glanced at the dove for a moment before she fully got control of her emotions, "Oh and you'll get a job, the dove already sent in your applications." she said with a raised eyebrow. Nathan thought he had her. Even blind she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. Or she would if she was wearing sleeves.[/size]