[Jack Orion]

"Sound the alarrrrm....shatter me like glass..."

The soft sounds of a guitar and a gentle voice would sound all around Tokyo Park, giving a somber tone to a calm mid-afternoon. The source comin' from near the center of the park, where a small (but rather dashing, if he said so himself) dragon boy and his fox and lynx lay under a tree. The melody reachin' all who would walk by, some passerby people even stoppin' and listenin' from afar as many enjoyed their time after work or school. 

As for Jack, it was more of a time to just relax after a rather strenuous day of workouts and exercises. Every strum of a guitar string taking away a small bit of tension and stress from his body, the voice emitting melding smoothly with the winds, carrying off a feeling of hope and fatigue even as the dragon boy would get deeper and deeper into his song. Lapis and Opal, meanwhile, would lay on both sides of him, laying their heads on his lap and curled up, enjoying the relaxing time themselves, almost as if they could feel their owner's softening strain themselves.

Of course, the song Jack was singing actually meant something to him. Rather than speaking about a lover like the song would imply, Jack would be singing about his life as a whole, at least primarily since coming to UAU. How everything thus far seemed to be catching him off guard, from the intense physical training to experimenting with his Quirk, despite having a general mastery of it. How despite his power, he still found quite a few challenges in the road ahead, and all of the general chaos (no pun intended) that seemed to find it's way into his life still.

Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if some people who passed by could relate in their own way.

[zaya]

“Zaya! Zayaaaa!”

Great. Him again.

The voice was annoyingly familiar; The goth girl had tried to ignore it at first, praying it was just some paparazzi who had learned her name. Sighing, she turned around and saw a brunette teen; Same naïve, dumb looking face, and sparkling green eyes full of obnoxious optimism.

“Not again…” Zaya mumbled, stopping in her tracks and crossing her arms.

The guy had a grin plastered on his face, happy to have finally caught up. “Hey Zaya! Super good to see you again!”

Zaya stared at him with an unimpressed expression. “What do you want, Mark? I thought I made it clear that I wanted you to buzz off.”

“Can we please try teaming up, like I suggested before?” Mark asked, clasping his hands together and doing his best puppy eyes.

“No.” Zaya’s response was brutal quick. “Look, I don’t know what ideas you have in your head about me, but I’m not trying to be a part of the little ‘Neo-Thunderbolts’ team of two you’re trying to make.” The girl started walking faster, trying to get away from Mark.

“Come on! Our dads work really well together, just give it a try!”

The girl let out an annoyed grunt. “Why don’t you give leaving a try?” Zaya crossed her arms angrily; This guy just wouldn’t give up; Looking around for some kind of out, she spotted a guy playing a guitar;

Good enough.

“I’m actually here to meet my friend, so how about we just catch up later?” Zaya stated, motioning to Jack.

Mark’s eyes widened as he analyzed Jack. “Alright.” His tone changed as he examined the dragon man, sounded more disappointed than anything.

“We’ll catch up later then!” And back to cheery.

Zaya let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully she could spend a minute with the musician, explain her situation, and go on her way.

“Hey! Whats up, man.” Putting on the strongest weak smile she could, Zaya waved to Jack, and started walking towards him.

Hopefully she wouldn’t be seen as a creep…

[Jack Orion]

The dragon boy's eyes almost seemed to be glazed over, the longer he strummed at his instrument. Every note makin' his soul soar through the air, while his body felt almost numb to the rest of the world around him. A faint smile formed on his lips, feeling as though he was in a sort of harmony with everything, if even for only a moment. Which, given the nature of his Quirk and all, was kind of ironic. Psh. Bit of a stupid little thought process, but it made him laugh a bit all the same. Moments like this were basically what he lived for, so he really shouldn't sully it with thoughts like that.

However, a poorly timed holler would have been quickly followed by the jarring sound of a sharp, wrong note. The dragon boy blinked for a couple of seconds, shoulders tensing a bit again as he would look up. Still at least trying to play it off, he would continue to play more half-hearted notes as he would zero in on the source of the interruption.

As he would zero in on the cause of all the noise, his eyes would narrow a little at what he was seeing. Ok…looked like the stereotypical ‘nice guy’ trying to woo over some girl, judging by the general body language of the two. You could almost hear the siren going off in Jack’s head when the guy made his hand melt into some kinda mud, or something - was he threatening her? Especially with his Quirk, this blatantly out in public?

Still, Jack didn’t just jump up outta nowhere - he had to play it safely, just in case. He kept playing, but his eyes were basically locked on them at this point. Luckily for the girl, whether she chose him out of chance or caught his glance, she would quickly begin to approach her. At least knowing how to bullshit people pretty well, Jack would make a quick clicking sound from the corner of his mouth, towards Lapis particularly.

The lynx would quickly perk up, looking around until he would follow his owner’s gaze. Looking back at Jack and seeing his expression, Lapis would suddenly act excited, in a cat way at least. Approaching the girl and rubbing against her, purring like the average housecat except much louder. ”Sheesh, take your sweet time gettin’ here, don’t ya? Lapis was missing ya, dork!” he said cheerfully, even going ahead and scooting over a bit. The movement would make Opal perk up herself, the small fox making a yipping sound.

Assuming the girl would accept the invitation to sit, Jack would stare back at the mudman, a sharp-tooth smirk on his features. C’mon, creepo. Try me, he thought, a message that showed in his eyes. What the man would do in response remained to be seen, but the small dragon was more than willing to fight a creep if needed. Student or not.

[zaya]

Good, dragon guy was going to play along; Even his fox things seemed to be inviting her.
Going over to him, Zaya took a seat next to him, and let out a sigh of relief. Now hopefully Mark would stop bugging her.
“Yeah, sorry it took me a minute, I was just catching up with an…Acquaintance.” Zaya motioned to Mark, who didn’t look all too pleased with the snark he was receiving from Jack.

Mark cracked his knuckles in response, not seeming to happy about being taunted. “What do you think you’re looking at, wing boy?” Mark snarled. His tone was a complete 180 from how he sounded talking to Zaya.
“You have something you wanna say to me?” Slowly approaching, Mark shifting his right hand into an oversized mace. “If you have a problem, I’m happy to fix it for you.” The clay man would walk right up to Jack, not striking but practically daring him to make the first move.


This didn’t bode well. Through her few interactions with Mark, he seemed like a docile and harmless guy; So where in the world was this violent, confrontational side coming from? Maybe he just had a crush on her or something, and hated everyone else? She’d heard that his father had a bit of a short fuse at times, so maybe it was hereditary.
Zaya stayed put, just nervously running her hand through the grass next to her. With any luck, Mark would just give up and go home, and not try to press this any further.

[Jack Orion]

Jack nodded simply at the girl's reply, smiling kindly enough as she would sit next to him. Lapis would be quick to lay down next to her, still purring loudly as his piercing yellow eyes would gaze at her expectantly. Opal would quickly follow suit, hopping out of Jack's lap and sniffing at the new arrival, before plopping down next to her herself. Jack snorted a bit at the display, before returning his shit-eating grin to the mud boy. He noted the boy's annoyed look in response, which only made his grin grow, violet reptilian eyes boring into him like he was looking at prey.

The reply that would finally follow would...well, it was definitely something. A very lightly veiled threat so obvious they would need a whole new shade of red to identify it's type. The dragon boy blinked for a second, staring at the mud boy, then at his crude attempt at a mace that replaced his hand. If his grin could grow any more it would probably start leaving his face entirely. His pets, meanwhile, didn't take kindly to the perceived threat. The loud purr emitting from his lynx would suddenly be switched to a loud, threatening growl, while the fox would try to mimic it in her own way.

However, before they could even move, a sharp whistle from their owner would quickly shut them up, the grin from Jack not faltering for even a moment. Looking the mud man up and down, not even budging from his spot. "I'm just trying to figure out if that's your actual face or not," he replied, continuing to play his guitar. Even as he would stare at Mark's hand, he would whistle lowly. "Actually, that's a pretty cool ability overall. That mace the best you can do or can you do like...a clay dragon? Or a lion! That would make people REALLY shit themselves!" he said, actually being a little bit genuine, his gears turning with the ideas he would come up with with an ability like that.

Nonetheless, Jack would finally shake his head. "That being said, I'd be careful if I were you, friend. You can get in trouble pretty easily if people got the wrong idea. I have a feeling for both of our sakes that's something we would rather avoid, yeah?" With that, he would put his guitar away, and leaned back against the tree he was laying on. Watching the mud man carefully, still wondering if he was planning on going through with whatever he had planned or not.

[zaya]

That first comment only got Mark more riled up; He looked like an animal ready to pounce; Though, as soon as Jack’s words turned to compliments, the urge to rip him to pieces started to fade away; It was still there, but not roaring as loudly as before; Jack was still annoying him, and it was only when he insinuated that the two would get in trouble for fighting that the mud man finally backed down.

“Yeah…Guess it would be pretty bad if I bashed your face in here.” He stated in a tone that had plenty of underlying anger.
“Hey, Zaya;” Now seemingly ignoring Jack entirely, Mark would yell over to Zaya. “I’m starting to get the feeling you don’t like me very much, I get that.”

Zaya just rolled her eyes, not responding. “Hit the nail on the head…” She thought as she continued to listen to him.
“But if you want to be taken seriously in the hero world, you’re going to need to think about being on a team; Just remember that when you decide whether to bother reaching out to me.”
Hearing Mark almost scolding her was odd. Had he just reached a breaking point or something? In any case, it was starting to become more and more obvious that Mark was sent to try and coerce her into following in her fathers footsteps; She was starting to wonder how much of this was what Mark wanted, and how much was just him being pressured by his dad.

“Yeah…I’ll start looking into teams…Just get out of here, ok?” Zaya responded anxiously.
Mark gave the Zaya one last look, before staring Jack right in the eyes; Almost daring him to make a move; Before shifting his body, making his front his back and vice versa, and walking away.

The girl was thankful Mark was finally gone, nervously petting Lapis to try and get her mind off of things.
“Thanks for getting him off my back.” She’d finally speak up. “Our parents are on the same hero team, and I’m guessing his dad sent him to get the both of us to create their successors or something.” Hopefully Jack didn’t know of the Thunderbolts; Mark’s quirk would give away the team if he did.
“But he’s right; I’m going to need to look into teams at some point in the near future.” Petting Lapis more, Zaya would try to coax the strange pet into sitting on her lap. Having to spend a lot of time buddying up with heroes, posing with her team for photoshoots, going out in public a ton…It wasn’t her cup of tea, but if she wanted to actually make good income, it would be a necessity.
Best to get her mind off it. Looking at Jack’s guitar, she figured she’d inquire about it.
“So…You play a lot?”

[Jack Orion]

Well, at least that seemed to work out. He could tell the guy was a ticking timebomb - honestly, it seemed almost familiar. Mud-like Quirk, abrasive personality...Jack's eyes narrowed just a little bit, trying to place the memory from somewhere. Definitely didn't meet the guy before, so...eh. He'll place it, he was sure. A simple smirk at the guy's remark of kicking his butt, and as far as he was concerned the 'argument' was over.

Nonetheless, the guy's attention was off him, and onto the girl beside him. His eyes narrowed again as the mud-for-brains realized Zaya didn't like him very much. Yeah, no shit, Sherlock, he thought, considering the whole situation they were currently in. However, he raised an eyebrow at his remark about joining a team. Was that what this all was about? What a buncha baloney. Still, he held his tongue to at least avoid having to fight the dude. Unlike him, Jack was actually wary about using his Quirk in public. 

The guy would finally end up leaving, Jack once again leaning back against the tree, snorting a bit. "Sheesh. Talk about some hot mud, amirite?" he joked, smirking at Zaya as she would thank him. "Bahhh, don't mention it. Could tell the guy was buggin' ya, and who am I not to help a person in need? Kinda the point of going to UAU and all, yeah?" he said dismissively. However, her comment on their parents being on the same hero team caught his attention. 

Finally putting the pieces together, Jack would snap his fingers, like a lightbulb just went off in his head. "Ahh...that explains a LOT. Papa mentioned having to work with a team with a guy like that once or twice. The...Thunderbolts, yeah?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at her. "Not like you need a team for anything other than feeling the need to have someone get your ass outta hot water if you mess up. 'Slong as you got a clear head, you should be fine."

With that, though, Zaya would inquire about his guitar, asking him if he played a lot. "Occasionally. I stopped for a bit after getting into UAU. But, well...since the Elementalist attacks, it's been a help to keep my mind off things. I was basically a front-liner on the robotic attack - but, y'know. It was a lot," he replied, looking away for a second, a frown on his face. An open book, he was. Didn't always mean that was a good thing, though.

"But, ah...kinda rude of me, in hindsight. Name's Jack. Jack Orion," he said, turning back to his chirpy self. The last name may ring a bell or two, depending on if Zaya knew anything about his family. Including the fact that both of his parents were more solo acts with an agency, anyway.

[zaya]

Finally having Mark out of her hair, Zaya could relax, and let out a chortle at Jack’s comment about the guy.
“Yeah…He’s never really gotten so confrontational like that before…” Checking around just to make sure Mark wasn’t in the crowd still, she thought about just how much she even knew the guy; Maybe he was told to be nice but had a short fuse he couldn’t control.

Her attention snapped right back to the dragon man as he mentioned the Thunderbolts, though. “Hey, hey, not so loud.” She hissed. “Not looking to get MORE unwanted attention.” Sighing, she realized how easy it must’ve been for Jack to put things together after seeing Mark’s quirk, and most likely knowing about his father. She wondered how much he knew, though. The less the better.
“Yeah…We’re both legacies of current Thunderbolts. You’ll probably figure it out anyway once I use my quirk, but my dad is ShocK-King. I mean, you could probably eliminate Godroach and Polyphemus with process of elimination anyway.”

Speaking of those two, she wondered if they also had children; with Polyphemus’s size, she wondered if he could even have children; A cyclops baby would be hard to hide.
Hearing him give his name, Zaya realized she hadn’t given hers. “I’m Zaya; Nice to meet you, Jack.”
Thinking on his comment on teams, the girl got to thinking; Did she need a team? Sure she was strong on her own, but the thought of being out there alone, fighting villains as a solo act…
Scary would be an understatement. “I dunno about going solo…Don’t solo heroes not make a lot of profit in the long term?”

[Jack Orion]

A bit of a smirk formed on the dragon man as Zaya would chide him for speaking out loud about the matter. "Simmer, amiga. I think people stopped looking a bit ago after your friend there stopped bugging us. 'Sides, crowd's not nearly big enough to cause any drama about it anyway," he replied coolly, patting Opal on the head and seeming all the more relaxed. Honestly, there were plenty of Heroes with kids at this point that it likely wouldn't matter a whole bunch anyway if people knew or not, regardless of how big the Hero was.

Well, unless you were, like, Number One. But even then.

That aside, Jack would otherwise nod at the rest of Zaya's explanation, remembering her father well enough. "I mean, if it makes you feel even a lick better my folks are Foxtrot and Polaris. Y'know...the ones that retired and had seven kids." he said, his eye twitching a bit as he remembered seeing just how much traction that had ended up getting in the long run. Especially given that their youngest - i.e., him - almost died because of the sheer power of his own Quirk.

But hey! That's a story for another time!

Quickly moving along from that little tidbit, Jack would snap back to reality as Zaya made a comment that made him raise an eyebrow."...A question before I answer that one. How much does profitability exactly matter for you?" he asked, a sly smile forming. He would suddenly stand up, stretching his arms and wings as wide as they would go, before looking back down at Zaya.

"A simple enough answer is yes. Just sign with a good agency and usually they won't force you onto a team anyway. Most people tend to do so for marketability. TV Shows, anime, toys, the like. Like...those Super Sentai shows from like wayyyyy long ago. But is that what you want?"

He felt a little bad posing all of these hard hitting questions so suddenly, but considering her predicament, those were the questions she really had to ask herself. At the end of the day, there were a lot of people who were just in the hero business for the money. The fame, the fortune, some even just for the thrill of the fight. Jack knew more than well enough where he stood on that spectrum, but this wasn't exactly about him here.

[zaya]

Zaya let out a sigh of relief, noticing that the crowd was, in fact, minding their own business. While it was true that most heroes children didn’t get mobbed by cameramen and questionnaires, most heroes weren’t as controversial as the Thunderbolts.
She’d hardly seen him in action, but she’d heard the rumors. The Thunderbolts brutally beating villains, sometimes killing them, and claiming self defense; According to the internet rumors she’d researched, the team was constantly drenched in lawsuits and internal investigations.

The rumors claimed some pretty outrageous things, too; Polyphemus accidentally stepping on civilians, Blademaster killing a villain that hardly posed a threat, even one that claimed the Thunderbolts were responsible for eliminating a cult of fire based quirk users; As in killing them.
Still, maybe it was just due to her father always being a doting dolt when he was around her, but she just couldn’t picture them doing such things. There wasn’t much evidence to back up a lot of the claims anyway. That didn’t stop the paparazzi from coming after her though…

“Foxtrot and Polaris…I think I’ve heard of them.” It was a half-lie; She had heard their names, but didn’t know much about them beyond that.
Profitability; An interesting question. “I mean, its kind of a high priority for me. My dad is a hero but that doesn’t exactly mean we’re living in a high rise; I want to make enough to live comfortably, afford some luxuries when I can.”
Thinking about herself as an action figure or in a cartoon was odd; It made her shiver a bit.
“Yeah, I kinda cringe a bit when I picture my face on a trading card or something….I guess I’ll have to sign a few deals to make the cash though…”
Gazing over to him, she mimicked his question. “What about you? You in it for profit? Looking for a team?”