Shoggoth on the Roof (IC)

[quotemyname]

"Dang!" Breakdown exclaimed as he came out of the warp himself. "I'm going to have to work on alleviating that nauseous feeling. Sorry, guys. That was my first time transporting a group of people."

Once he stepped into the apartment, he simply took in the whole place. "I wonder how the acoustics are?" he asked, looking at the rafters and ductwork.

Heading into the kitchen, she asked, 'Want something to drink?"

"No thanks, Fulcrum. I think I'll let my stomach settle first."

[Lone Star]

Once he stepped into the apartment, he simply took in the whole place. [/color=#008000]"I wonder how the acoustics are?" he asked, looking at the rafters and ductwork.

KC called from the couch. "ECHO! ECHO! Echo! Echo. echo."

[Dariusprime]

Not bad, not bad. Probably improvable, in the musical venue sort of way. Acoustics weren't something that Fulcrum had in mind when decorating, but new perspectives were always welcome!

"Don't worry about it, Breakdown. You'll work out the bugs," replied Fulcrum as she handed KC a glass of water, "And I have no idea on the couch. It was a gift from my sister."

Speaking of family, a row of family pictures sat atop her entertainment center. The most striking depicted a tall but fairly normal sized Fulcrum towering behind her parents and teenage sister. All of them except Fulcrum are dressed in traditional Muslim garb one would see in the Middle East. Fulcrum just looks like Fulcrum, although her complexion and ethnicity were easier to pin down. Even before her powers she must have been a powerful woman.

"Thank you. Took me a while to nail down the style. I'm not an interior designer, but I'd say it came together well. The ceiling was finished actually, and my landlord agreed to let me take it out if I painted the frames," she said offhandedly to KC, looking around the apartment. Finally she opened the other screen to reveal her studio. Really, well, compared to how clean and neat the apartment appeared, the studio was a complete mess. Drawing board, easel, paints, inks, sketch books, canvas, half-finished models, brushes, drying lines, all sort of artistic junk!

Curiously, other than her works-in-progress, the only decorations were two photographs. One was a smiling Centurion cradling a painfully thin little girl in the crook of his arm. The other, rather out-of-place in the cheery studio, was one of the most famous photos in the world: The Dying Centurion.

[quotemyname]

"You really do take after him, you know that?" Breakdown said quietly, as he reverently picked up one of the pictures of Centurion. "I mean, it's something you might just gloss over, but then if you actually have a conversation with you, there it is. Right there in front of you." He set the frame back down in its place. "It feels good to know his legacy is living on." Breakdown turned away from the pictures and beamed a smile at Fulcrum.

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum, despite her best efforts, choked up at Breakdown's complement. She smiled weakly and looked away, "Thank you. That means so much to me." Stepping up next to him, she picked up the other picture and examined it carefully, "I only met Centurion one time, but he is still a father figure to me. I always wanted to be like him. To stand for what he stood for."

She left out the complicated feelings that bothered her daily, but the conflict crossed her face nonetheless. Taking the name 'Fulcrum' wasn't a fluke. She had spent many a night contemplating the struggle between forging her own path and taking up Centurion's mantle. Standing in his shadow was one thing, but being completely subsumed by it was another matter entirely. She wanted to be known for her courage and compassion and be Centurion's legacy at the same time. Striking a balance was difficult. There was another reason for modeling herself after Centurion, but she refused to even bring it to mind.

Sitting down the picture gently, she looked up to Breakdown, her smile regaining its former cheer, "You're a good guy, Breakdown."

[Lone Star]

Sitting down the picture gently, she looked up to Breakdown, her smile regaining its former cheer, "You're a good guy, Breakdown."

KC sipped at the water, which admittedly was difficult with his...tentacles. "Oh, sure, ignore the starving artist in the corner."

[quotemyname]

"Thanks," Breakdown smiled. "I try!"

KC sipped at the water, which admittedly was difficult with his...tentacles. "Oh, sure, ignore the starving artist in the corner."

"Hey, man. I can't help but charm the ladies. I'm a rock star after all." Breakdown gave KC a large boasting smile. But his new friend knew enough by this point to easily tell that Breakdown was just giving him a hard time. "That, and not having tentacles helps." ;)

[Lone Star]

"Thanks," Breakdown smiled. "I try!"

"Hey, man. I can't help but charm the ladies. I'm a rock star after all." Breakdown gave KC a large boasting smile. But his new friend knew enough by this point to easily tell that Breakdown was just giving him a hard time. "That, and not having tentacles helps."

"Hey, the ladies love the tentacles, despite what you may have heard from various sources." He decided to change back into his human form. "There, better?" Blake said, sticking his tongue out at the young hero.

[Dariusprime]

"I'll do the wise thing and not ask for those sources, KC," joked Fulcrum as she sat in her work chair, "You're a good guy too I'm sure."

Sliding the chair up to the drawing board, she flipped through several sketches for Typhoon, "This is where it all comes together. Doesn't look like much, but when I sit here I really get in the groove." A shelf ran overhead, holding all manner of items from paintings to large books and three-ring binders. Reaching up to it, she pulled down a moleskin full of sketches of local superheroes and offered it to Breakdown, "You're both welcome to browse.

Leaning back in her chair, Fulcrum tapped her chin in thought before pulling a blank cd case from her desk, "If you need any cover art, Rock Star, I'm game."

[quotemyname]

Leaning back in her chair, Fulcrum tapped her chin in thought before pulling a blank cd case from her desk, "If you need any cover art, Rock Star, I'm game."

Breakdown had been leafing through one of her binders when she'd spoken. He stopped mid-flip and let the page fall back to the binder. He slowly glanced up and Fulcrum could see the huge smile on his face. "Man, I thought you'd never ask!" He cheered.

He placed the book on the seat beside him, "I've actually been thinking of an album called 'Octopus Dropkick'. It's probably a long way off, but if you want, I can reserve the cover art for you. For whenever it comes out." Breakdown smiled, excitedly.

That's it, Eddie. Make a bunch of deals now when it doesn't cost anything. That way you'll have more money to give away when the time comes. I just hope I don't end up selling my soul...

"I'm not even sure if it's gonna be my first album. It was just a name that someone mentioned to me, and I knew I needed to make it happen. I'd offer you work on some albums in the near future, but I don't even know if I'll get one out this year. It's on the resolutions, though!" Breakdown realized he was rambling. He quickly gave KC a sideways glance and shut his trap. His smile showed the tiniest bit of embarrassment.

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum grinned and nodded, "Sure thing, Breakdown, thanks. Just give me a call. I have to ask though, why 'Octopus Dropkick'?" She winked to KC before turning back to Breakdown, "I'm not saying its not an interesting name, but it sounds like a veiled threat against a certain squid person here."

She motioned a thumb at Kid Cthulhu.

"Good luck on the album though. What sort of music do you play?"

[quotemyname]

"Haha! I didn't mean it like that!" Breakdown waved his hands apologetically. "It was just something that someone said to me once. They thought it was a cool name, and I decided I'd make an album out of it. It'll be the band's only self titled album. And it's not coming out until I'm good and ready for it to."

Zoe sighed, closed her eyes, and rested her head back against the wall. "You can't promise not to get mad. That's ridiculous. Look, I'm not a starfrakker. I didn't throw myself at you because I knew you were gonna be a rock star someday. I wanted to get in on the ground floor of that, sure, but I wanted to do it with you. I'm not some barnacle looking for a free cruise. I've had a crush on you since I was eight. I grew up listening to your music. It hit me right here." She punched her chest. "And my parents hated it. That helped. Octopus Dropkick was the reason I learned to play guitar. And when you guys donated all the profits from your fifth album to charity, even the concert tour? When that reporter asked you 'Why?' and you just smiled and asked her 'How many yachts can I water-ski behind?' I wanted to jump on you right there. I mean, yeah, you were old, but you aged really well. Most of you guys did."

Breakdown tore his thoughts away from Zoe as force himself back into the present train of conversation. "I sing actually. I'm better with these chords than any other chords." He lifted his chin and pointed to his throat.

"Learning the old six string is on my list of things to do, but I don't know that I'll be good enough to go solo for a while." Breakdown smiled. "You might be happy to know that I'm hoping to get Octopus Dropkickl a few concert dates in the new year. We're probably best classified as Hard Rock, so there should be at least a few places around here we can play."

[Dariusprime]

Breakdown was passionate about his music, and Fulcrum didn't interrupt his reminiscing. Sure, knowing what he was thinking about would be nice, but she wasn't going to pry. Instead she nodded, "I'd like to hear your band. Give me a heads up on the concert dates please? I'll ask around Riverside and see if anyone is interested. You'd be surprised how diverse the local music scene is here, artsy reputation aside."

Walking over to KC, she offered him a couple of binders with more of her artwork, in varying styles and formats. They ranged from surreal to quite realistic, many studies of anatomy and posture. The old ones had more superheroes, but the newer ones featured more landscapes, other models and even horror elements. In particular was an industrial theme featuring complex machines and cybernetics. Some even ventured into the biomechanical style of H.R. Giger.

Leaning on the couch, she smiled to Breakdown as she flipped through another one, "Maybe you can land a spring concert in Riverside Park. It has an open air auditorium." She held up a sketch of the stage.

[quotemyname]

"That'd be amazing!" Breakdown said as he pulled out one of his iPods. He accessed the notes section and placed a reminder for himself into the iPod about it.

"And I'll definitely let ya know what when we're playing. In fact, hell, I'll even get you tickets. You too if you want them, KC."

[Lone Star]

Breakdown was passionate about his music, and Fulcrum didn't interrupt his reminiscing. Sure, knowing what he was thinking about would be nice, but she wasn't going to pry. Instead she nodded, "I'd like to hear your band. Give me a heads up on the concert dates please? I'll ask around Riverside and see if anyone is interested. You'd be surprised how diverse the local music scene is here, artsy reputation aside."

Walking over to KC, she offered him a couple of binders with more of her artwork, in varying styles and formats. They ranged from surreal to quite realistic, many studies of anatomy and posture. The old ones had more superheroes, but the newer ones featured more landscapes, other models and even horror elements. In particular was an industrial theme featuring complex machines and cybernetics. Some even ventured into the biomechanical style of H.R. Giger.

Leaning on the couch, she smiled to Breakdown as she flipped through another one, "Maybe you can land a spring concert in Riverside Park. It has an open air auditorium." She held up a sketch of the stage.

KC lifted his head as she moved the book towards him. "GIGER!" he suddenly shouted. "I love that guy!" KC began to flip through the books. He smiled to himself as he studied her work. "You've got a real unique style, Fulcrum. Sorry, I passed out for a second. I've been staying up late on city patrols, although I haven't been recieving the attention I want." KC reached in his back pocket, and pulled out a tabloid magazine, which featured a blurry, black-and-white picture of himself. "Yeah."

[quotemyname]

Breakdown smiled as he looked at the tabloid snapshot. "So that was you? I'd heard about someone prowlin' the streets at night, but honestly," he gestured to the tabloid, "I don't think they got your good side. I couldn't tell that was you when I saw you. That could be a good thing, though. I wouldn't want to be associated with a photo like that."

An idea dawned on Breakdown as he finished talking. "Hey, you know what you need? A decent crime busting escapade. Maybe if we can catch some real crooks, people will start paying attention to you better. I'd be glad to help out if you want some back up!" It was amazing how Breakdown's winning smile could travel like an infectious disease, spreading excitement wherever it went.

[Lone Star]

Breakdown smiled as he looked at the tabloid snapshot. "So that was you? I'd heard about someone prowlin' the streets at night, but honestly," he gestured to the tabloid, "I don't think they got your good side. I couldn't tell that was you when I saw you. That could be a good thing, though. I wouldn't want to be associated with a photo like that."

An idea dawned on Breakdown as he finished talking. "Hey, you know what you need? A decent crime busting escapade. Maybe if we can catch some real crooks, people will start paying attention to you better. I'd be glad to help out if you want some back up!" It was amazing how Breakdown's winning smile could travel like an infectious disease, spreading excitement wherever it went.

"A crime-fighting spree? Yeah, I'm down for it." It was true, Breakdown's smile was as infectious as the plague, and KC felt his face light up. "So, what are we waiting for?"

"CTHULHU FH'TAGN!"

A wash of mystic fire changed the lanky teenager into his otherworldly form.

"Let's roll."