[Nell Shepherd]

Nell was much more of a homebody than she pretended to be, especially in job interviews where she said yeah, she was definitely a team player. But even for her, being home alone became boring and stressful sometimes, with only so much that she could distract herself with.

And so Nell jumped at the opportunity of going out to a new club and not spending a Friday night watching old cartoons in bed. Dressed casually - ripped jeans and a t-shirt - and felt comfortable to blend in and have a few drinks and not think too hard about anything at all.

After a few shots, she was probably the most drunk she had gotten in recent memory, not having to worry about networking or putting up the best version of herself. She could just be, and that meant a little messiness, as a treat.

She thought she recognized a friend in the crowd, and went over and gave them a firm slap on the butt, except-

"Oh crap, sorry," Nell said when she realized it wasn't who she thought it was. "You know what, feel free to kill me right now."

And she could melt into the floor right then.

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

This wasn't his scene. The nightlife. He enjoyed spending time in his lab, or testing his robots on the field, or solving some problem or another. But not this. Loud music, drunk people. Everyone dancing around trying to attract whomever with their dance moves like monkeys in heat. Not that Acker didn't enjoy dancing, because he did, but not in these circumstances.

Skilfully, Acker kept dodging drunk people left and right while his eyes were searching the crowd. He had come here to meet a supplier slash client slash person who knew how much Acker hated places like this so that was why it was chosen as the meeting place. Also, his Lads weren't allowed in this establishment, they weren't real dogs, but they looked like real dogs and people couldn't tell the difference. Although, they were real to Acker, in fact he considered his creations superior in every way.

The Lads were outside, waiting for him, ready to cause some chaos. However, it wasn't the moment now. Acker still needed to meet this client. His business deals weren't always official, sometimes the clients didn't want to be associated with the job, so both Acker and the clients had to meet in secret to avoid unwanted attention.

Acker stood out like a sore thump. Everyone was having fun, dressed randomly, instead Nicholas wasn't having fun at all and he was wearing black, he was even wearing black glasses. The glasses weren't normal glasses, but Acker had modified to turn them into a technological device. Right now, the glasses were analysing the crowd, searching for the client.

So, he was standing there, looking around, when suddenly he felt someone slapping his butt. Acker menacingly turned around and stared at the butt-slapper, the glasses scanning the woman's face, although the lens looked normal, black and dark, but nothing out of the ordinary "Don't tempt me" was his answer to the killing comment, he sounded serious, although he understood that she didn't mean it seriously of course. He completely ignored her apology.

Nell Shepherd

[Nell Shepherd]

Don't tempt him? Oh jeez. Oh gosh. This night was certainly not about to go her way, was it?

Clearly, this was the worst person she could have possibly groped in a chummy kind of way. She looked around, as if she could figure out his deal through environmental cues. Maybe he had a sensitivity to light? Maybe he was just making a fashion statement? People didn't really go around looking like he did if they didn't at least have some great confidence, and that - at least - she had to admire.

"Well, obviously, you have my permission," she said with no shortage of sarcasm. This scenario was pretty sobering, and it was like all those survival instincts she'd developed over her lifetime came flooding back now that she was dealing with this guy.

Could be worse, though. She could be dealing with her ex or like, a giant bloodthirsty moth. No wait - that would be better, maybe.

"You seem a little...out of place," she told him, tilting her head. "Not in a bad way! Love the glasses. Very Matrix. But uh, what brings you here?" She asked the question with a quirk of her eyebrow and clearly offering her help, as much as she could be of help to him.

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker had to keep himself from smirking when he noticed the woman's nervousness. He was enjoying this. He always enjoyed seeing someone squirm, especially if he was the cause of it. His eyes focused on the lenses when words started appearing, fortunately his eyes couldn't be seen behind the lenses, so he couldn't give it away that he was reading something.

The words were spelling information: Nell Doe Shephered, Wildlife Rehabber, 24, dislikes rain.

Nell sarcastically said that he had permission "Do I..." pause for suspense, or better, for himself so that he could taste the moment even better "...Nell?" there it was, the moment of revelation and confusion. How could he know that? What was happening? He was anticipating it, savouring it. He even took off his glasses. Sure, he had to find that client, but it could wait for a moment, this moment was worth it.

He couldn't keep in the smirk anymore, especially after Nell's comment about the fact that he seemed out of place "You have no idea" he enigmatically replied about the glasses, after all the glasses were more like matrix than not considering their technological quirkiness, but that bit of information was for him only, in fact the glasses didn't work if someone else wore them. Although, his last answer could be both for the out of place comment and the glasses comment, he left it open to Nell's interpretation.

Nell Shepherd

[Nell Shepherd]

She froze when he smirked and then spoke her name. Things just got weirder and weirder. How fun. Los Eurosia was just full of fun.

"What a suspiciously good guess," she said. "A one-in-a-million guess, actually."

Well, maybe there were more Nells than that running around, but it was kind of an old-fashioned name. That was entirely beside the point, however. The point was that this guy knew her name.

She had to play it cool. In most situations, you're advised to run and scream your head off, but for some reason she felt like that would be a poor choice here. Her demeanor shifted, and she wished she had a glass in her hand or something, but she settled for searching his now-revealed eyes, as if she might see what he had seen in her.

"I guess I don't," she said slowly.

A pause. He could probably see the way she was like a wild animal frozen in the headlights; he could see her name after all.

"Who are you?"


Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

It had to seem extremely unfair that he was the one with the power among his family. Everyone else in his family would have used the power to help humanity, but not Acker, he used his power to help himself. To use a cliche, he was the black sheep in his family. He was proof that powers seemed to be assigned at random because if karma was involved then it had skipped him. So, it had to seem unfair that Nell had slapped Acker's butt among any other in this establishment.

Acker's smirk turned into a smile the more he was savouring the moment. He even took a little step forward to hover over the smaller woman like a bird of prey with its next meal. Acker was aware that taking off his glasses wasn't the wisest of choices, after all he had just revealed his face to Nell, for all he knew her next step could be a police sketch. But he never cared, he always dealt with the consequences which gave him even more confidence.

A part of him wished that this annoying amass of noise, which was mistakenly called music in here, would just stop because it was ruining the moment. Suddenly there was a huge chorus annoyed at something: the music was gone. The place was dead silent besides people protesting. The DJ started apologising and promised that the issue would be fixed in just a sec.

Acker fought the urge to close his eyes in annoyance because he didn't want to lose sight of Nell. His power had followed his wish and manipulated the DJ's stand. He was about to reply to Nell when it happened, so this had ruined the moment even more than the annoying music.

A drunk man walking towards the exit stumbled against Acker and in doing so the drunk man spilled the drink in his hand. The spillage only wet the tip of Acker's shoes, his expensive Italian shoes. The drunk man just laughed it off with a "Sorry dude" and left the building. Acker had stayed stoic during this interaction, his face frozen in disdain, but in reality he was using his power. A moment later, people turned towards the exit because of the screams of terror outside. It was the drunk man. He was running away from what seemed to be two Doberman.

The music started again at the exact moment Acker started laughing off the drunk man's predicament. His laugh was drown by the music and the people soon went back to their drunk dancing and mingling. Meanwhile, the drunk man was still running away from the Lads in a cartoonish kind of way. The Lads could record through their eyes, so Acker made a mental note to go through the Lads' recordings later at home.

The shoes vindicated, Acker finally replied to Nell "Ah, yes! Who am I? How do I know? What's happening?" he mocked twirling the glasses in his hands which were covered in black gloves by the way "It's always the same, not that I'm complaining" his lips formed an unfriendly smile "Your job must keep you busy, it seems there has been more injured wildlife recently" he added salt the wound because he had just revealed that he knew what her job was.

How did he know that there were more injured animals? Well, the glasses were connected to the internet so statistics could be easily fetched, but he wasn't wearing his glasses. He knew because some of those injuries had been caused by him, after all he had to test his inventions on the field and what better field than the isolation of the National Forest with wildlife as target practice, but he knew how to cover his track thanks to years of experience. Although no one was perfect, slips happened and that was how he had been found by Hunters before.

[Nell Shepherd]

All at once, she felt like she was in a dream, things happening so fast she couldn't keep track of it all. Glasses Man was looming over her, soon-to-be Sans Glasses and she was tense as could be. The thing was - attentive as she was to him - she hadn't noticed the music stop. But she did notice the...dogs? And the drunk guy who bumped into her new "friend."

She was still reeling from are those Dobermans in a bar when the DJ picked up again and the man laughed as if he found it all very amusing.

Well, of course he did. She crossed her arms, making sure to give her skin a pinch - just in case.

She rolled her eyes. "OK, I get it, you're having fun."

At least one of them was. But really, Nell could have left at any point. She could have just turned around and gotten another drink and let this dude continue doing whatever he did. Which, Nell couldn't even imagine. Cobbling shoes for people to spill drinks on? Birdwatching? No, too pedestrian. Maybe he was a raver. A drug dealer for the raves.

One thing Nell was certainly sure of, though. He was like her.

"Well, yeah, a lot of people just released pet bunnies their kids didn't want, not too mention all the baby rabbit calls we get-"

She was about to go into a whole ramble about misinformed people and folks who think every snake is a cottonmouth before shaking her head.

"Wait no, no - you're not changing the subject here." She jabbed a finger in his direction. "You're either a stalker or you're talented. And I would know if I've ever seen you before, so I'm going to go with talented." She added air quotes. "I don't know how exactly it is you know things, but I have to say, you're pretty brave about knowing them."

Should've never touched his butt. She should just not drink at all, ever again. Her life would be much easier, that way.

"Seems like you mess with a lot of people, but you don't scare me. Nice effort, though."

She was half-prickly and half-joking in that sarcastic kind of way that was hard to read. But this guy seemed like he enjoyed trying to read people.

Nell leaned up, as if she could be half-as-intimidating as he. She didn't have black gloves or a thick moustache, but she was looking pretty stern "You could at least give me your name, since you know mine."

Quid pro quo, after all.

Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker rose a brow at Nell's sarcastic comment about him having fun "Seems that not only blondes have more fun, huh?" his comment was a reference to a song. He let Nell talk uninterrupted, not to be a gentleman, but for information. Sometimes people said too much when not interrupted like Nell just did.

"A stalker, please..." he pretended offence "...don't think so high of yourself" he winked at her, still ironically though.

"You are not scared because I'm not trying to scare you" he was just toying with her "Although, a wiser person would be, especially considering how talented I am" he had been talented for decades "How do you know about talented?" he mocked her air quotes. He didn't deny being a Gifted, he wanted to see where this was going.

Usually, only other talented recognised a talented "Brave? You are no threat" at least for now "Or are you?" he wondered what her power was, if he could bring it out of her. It could have been dangerous, but he wouldn't have achieved anything in his life without facing danger. He knew that she probably meant it was brave of him in a sense that he shouldn't flaunt his power like he did to avoid exposure, but he had made those comments on purpose.

Acker leaned even closer when she leaned up, his nose an inch from hers while staring directly at her eyes. He couldn't help but smirk. He was about to make a snarky comment about Nell trying to stand up to him followed by an impressed comment about Nell figuring out that he was a Gifted, then he would have introduced himself, but he suddenly felt his power activate like a switch.

Acker put the glasses back on "Someone just shot my dogs" he said out loud to process the information. The glasses' lenses connected to the dog's eyes, so he could see what was happening. He would have to deal with Nell later, after all he had her face logged in the system, so he could find her again.

He stepped outside. The security working for this place were pointing their taser guns at the dogs. Considering that the dogs were machine and not organic, the electricity had temporarily shut the dogs off "Did we kill..." the security guard did not finish the sentence when he noticed Acker crouching next to the dogs.

"We had to shoot them! They kept tailing him! We were sure he was gonna get mauled!" they meant the drunk. Acker wasn't even listening, too focused checking on his Lads. It looked like Acker was petting the dogs, but in reality he was using the gloves to scan the damage.

Nell Shepherd