Unloading [open]

[Empathy]

Rain, mist and a very cold, diffuse light flooded the docks of Jump city. Amidst the container ships, the loud noise of working machines echoed endlessly. The port never tired. And occasionally, little hooded figures could be glimpsed through the fog, unloading ships manually or yelling orders against the chilling wind.

On top of one particularly lonely mountain of containers sat a different type of figure. It was really not more than an outline made visible only by the rain bouncing off the otherwise white skin of the person. "Biiiido." Back hunched, head down and his tail just resting limp against the container below him, the reptile man barely moved and was even uncharacteristically silent, except for the occasional sigh.

The chameleon's right hand, visible only because of the surrounding rain, moved up and towards his left shoulder. This one was just a limp. Water hit the side of Bido's rib, where his left arm should have been. "Bido keeps losing things." Even the voice inside his head had disappeared, as if disappointed by the mutant. A shrill whistling sound announced the beginning of the lunch break. Progressively, the noise level diminished. The yelling stopped, and the chatting grew dimmer until it disappeared. Machines stopped humming and containers were immobile.

With the little activity that was left on the dock all but gone, the reptile became an even lonelier figure, stranded far away from any meaningful activity. He didn't seem to register the change, but instead kept talking to himself. "Bido couldn't have done anything." The hand rubbing against the missing arm was cold to touch. The reptile's movement slowed. "Bido still can't do anything."

[Silv]

She was totally not sneaking around the docks trying to find her Father's super secret warehouse full of awesome toys. Nope. Not Rose. She was a good little angel of a daughter. Totally. The little ninja pulled on her hood to keep the rain out of her eyes. The warehouses loomed in the fog, forbidding as mountains, and she knew she wasn't supposed to be here. Then again, that had never stopped a Wilson before. The salt crust on the wood of the dock made a light crunching noise as she walked. Normally, this would bother her ninja sensibilities (or it would if she possessed any sense) but the fog made everything muffled. Even the sound of the surf below her was hazy. Then the lunch bell sounded. Well, she didn't actually know what it was, but the sound of people coming at her caused her heart rate to speed up. With a soft intake of breath the girl ducked between some of the warehouses, hugging against the wall. She waited until the last of the clomping noises had moved past. It was still raining. It was still an awful day. It was perfect because it was one of those days Daddy would expect her to stay at school. Though, she supposed, he should technically expect that of her every school day. But whatever. School was lame. And she would never mind skipping it to sneak around the docks suspiciously. When what seemed the last of the straggling workers had gone past Rose moved out from her hiding spot. That was when she heard the voice. The girl turned abruptly towards the source, sneaking closer, and trying to figure out where it was coming from. Then, she saw it. It was the vaguest of figures spelled out by the rain. Her blue eyes widened in curiosity as she moved closer to Bido. She didn't look terribly intimidating in her baggy yellow (because only true ninjas can hide wearing yellow) rainslicker, even as she pulled back her mask under the hood to get a better view of the creature in front of her. “What are you?” she asked, lost in child-like curiosity and reaching out a gloved hand to touch the strange creature in front of her.

[Empathy]

Bido didn't hear the other person come. His body felt numb, a cold embrace slowing his movements and very thoughts. Even when the yellow ninja spoke up, Bido did not turn his head, or otherwise react to Rose's question. When she reached out for the reptile's body, it simply toppled over, like a broken puppet. Bido sensed a throbbing pain at his head, then a chilling surface against his left cheek. "Biiido." He said, to no one in particular. Although it did constitute an answer of sorts for the girl's question. His stump of a left arm wiggled in slow motion against the floor. After a few moments the fallen figure became immobile again.

"Bido is cold. Maybe Bido should sleep." Bido coughed. A sharp pain across his resting shoulder made Bido spring up. "Biiido." It seemed he couldn't put much weight on the stump, despite the numbing temperature. Again, the mutant's right hand came to rub some warmth into the hurt shoulder. The fog in his mind lifting somewhat, Bido finally registered the presence of another human being. "Bi..Bido is being followed!" He tried to scream through shuddering teeth. "Is the yellow ghost here to finish off Bido?" The reptile's cold body scrambled away, slow as if it weighted a ton.

"Bido has nothing more to give." He pleaded. "The masked men already took Bido's hoard away." Bido shivered as the wind blew against his naked back. That prompted him to look onto the empty space that was behind him. The ground was four containers below, hard and wet. Bido turned around again to face the yellow figure. Could he survive the fall? Would he survive another confrontation?

[Silv]

Rose would never admit to the squeak she made when the strange creature toppled over at her touching it. She hopped back in surprise, her bright eyes wide as she took in the strange creature in front of her. It was missing an arm, and it looked so...sad like it's entire world had just crashed around it. It was like finding an abandoned puppy, only cooler. She wondered if Daddy would let her keep it. If it lived. Then it started talking again and she was reminded that this wasn't just some animal. It was a talking animal. The girl's voice changed from morbid curiosity to something slightly more tender. “Is that your name?” she asked softly like any person who had just taken an interest in an injured, feral animal. When it finally seemed to notice she was there, the way it freaked out caused her to smile slightly. It wasn't necessarily because she enjoyed the thing's pain. She loved the power fear gave her. “I'm not a ghost.” the youngest Wilson protested even if she was rather yellow at the moment. “But if you attack me I will kill you.” she warned. Then it was telling her about some masked men who took away it's hoard. “You're a dragon!?" the girl asked, her expression lighting up with wonder. She didn't notice Bido trying to gauge whether or not he could make the leap to get away from her. She was too excited with the prospect of meeting a real live dragon. “Can you breathe fire?”

[Empathy]

Bido's remaining arm wrapped protectively around his scaled head. "Please don't kill Bi...Bido. Bido never atta..attacked anybody." He shivered. "Bido is a peaceful dragon." It took a while to utter the words, although progressively Bido's tongue was loosening up. Blood was flowing again. But as the reptile's body defrosted, his brain registered the threat Rose may be. The girl's tone left some tension in the air. She threatened him once, but did not seem to know him.

When Rose asked about Bido being a dragon, this one let his arm fall down before meekly answering. "Bido is just a lowly earth dragon." He thought of Naga, the sea dragon and a much more impressive specimen than himself. "Bido does not breathe fire." Then he burst into tears. "And Bido has noooothing anymore." No hoard, no map. Bido had even lost an arm. Although that one would eventually grow back. "And Bido can't go home. The men are waiting for him at home." His fingers started spasming. "With their guns and traps." Bido had only been able to escape the bear trap by sacrificing his arm... and the shiny bait it was holding.

"And who is the yellow person?" He recognized the voice as being female. He was still scared of her. But she didn't seem connected to the evil men. "And what... what does she want from Bido?" Maybe thanks to the voice that had accompanied Bido for a few months, the little reptile man was now slightly less naive, although still as greedy. "Does she have... shinies and candy?"

[Silv]

The girl in the yellow rainslicker crouched down next to the dragon. It said it was peaceful, not that it made it true, but she was pretty sure she could handle something as pathetic as a three legged dragon. She was Ravager, after all. She looked a little disappointed when Bido told her that he couldn't breathe fire. Because what little girl hasn't dreamed about having their own, terrifying, fire breathing dragon? That was about when the thing started crying. Despite being a girl, Ravager had not really been endowed with empathy. She stared blankly at the dragon, mostly because she had never thought dragons could cry, before biting her lower lip in a concerned fashion. She didn't like him crying. It went against everything she knew about dragons. "Dragon hunters are after you!?" the girl asked sounding excited about the prospect that had clearly terrified this creature so much. It wasn't a good thing, really, but beating up people was something Rose knew how to do. So, if she could solve this thing's problems with her fists, to make him stop crying, then she would do it in a heartbeat. "Tell me where and I'll kill 'em." she proclaimed baring her teeth in what might have been considered a smile if it weren't mostly snarl. But then it wanted to know who she was. "I'm Rose," she replied instantly, not even thinking about using a codename with a creature that could be her new best friend/pet dragon. "And I…Iunno. I just wanted to know what you were. But, now that I know you're a dragon, would you like to be my friend?" her expression was mixed hopefulness and insecurity and she looked younger then she normally did in that instant. The girl fumbled in the false pocket of her rainslicker to reach her utility belt and pulled out a throwing star. It glittered deadly in the pale light. "This is kinda shiny?" she said, holding it up so that the edges caught and gleamed. "But if you eat candy, then I can get you some candy." thinking that his diet consisted entirely of sugar.

[Empathy]

Bido's head turned as the girl excitedly talked about dragon hunters. Realization dawned on the reptile's mind and he nodded through his sobs, "Ye...yes, evil dragon hunters came after Bido's hoard." Clutching his knees with his arm, Bido went on recounting his story. "Bido came back home with a treasure treasure map." His eyes had a small gleam of happiness. "It was blank, but it was golden!" Really, just sturdy yellow paper, but it fitted the reptile's needs perfectly. "Bido was going to redraw his map onto the golden treasure map." A small sob punctuated the phrase. "But when Bido got home, Bido knew something was wroooooong." His hand shook in the process.

"Bido knew someone was in his lair. Bido has a very organized hoard." Bido nodded to himself. "Bido throws shinies into his hoard, and he remembers where Bido throws them." Another shiver. "But some of the shinies were oooooff." Bido looked Rose into the eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of empathy for his plight. Hoards were a serious business for dragons, after all. "So even though Bido was home, Bido went invisible." Bido pursued. "Like the little voice said." The voice that was no more. "But then the masked men came out. They knew Bido was there even though Bido was invisible." Bido's face was one of utter shock at the thought his camouflage had failed him at this critical moment. "They asked Bido if he had more shinies. If he knew of a better map. They tried to catch Bido."

"But Bido escaped. He took his most precious shinies, and then he escaped into the new tunnels." Bido's face turned gaunt and terrorized. "Bido knew the black tunnel wasn't on his map. It never had been." He shuddered. "But Bido also knew the men wouldn't find him there." Even if they had a copy of his old map. "So Bido hid there with his last shinies." Alone in the cold, dark and forgotten tunnels of Jump underground.

Bido stood up on his trembling legs to tell the next part of his story. "Bido then went back, to save more of his hoard." That was when the voice had left him, exasperated. One of many losses to come. "But it was gone. Bido's hoard vanished!" A clawed hand gripped the air in despair, then rested against Bido's heart. "But Bido explored a bit more, and he found other shinies. They weren't Bido's shinies." And they were booby trapped. "Bido lost his arm trying to get one of the new shinies. The big metal teeth ate Bido's arm." And with that, Bido fell on his bum again. He didn't cry this time, but just had a blank look on his face as his eyes just stared off at a distance.

Rose's proposition woke Bido up from his torpor. "You can find the hunters who stole Bido's hoard?" A glimpse of hope shimmered. Then the girl introduced herself. Bido turned his head, puzzled. "Bido has never met a yellow rose. Bido always thought a rose was red, or maybe white." Rose's next proposal also took the lizard by surprise. "Bido. Bido has very few friends." The archer boy sprang to mind. And maybe the redhead girl, but she had been together with the boy of the bat. Bido had not liked the boy of the bat.

Bido gave the proposal some thought. He scratched his chin with his right hand as Rose was looking for a shiny. When she held up the shiny star, he finally responded "Bido would like it." He came closer to look at the deadly throwing star. "Bido would like to be friends with the yellow rose." The promise of candy sealed the deal. "Bido eats candy. Bido is a good candy eater."

[Silv]

Rose could understand, and respect, that hoards were serious business to dragons. This was mostly because she expected any dragon worth their scales to have a hoard. Especially one that was glittering, golden, and worth stealing. She listened to his tale with rapt attention, figuring that the thing that had eaten his arm was probably a bear trap. Whoever these guys were, they might have been good, but she was better.

She gave a curt nod when the dragon asked if she could find the hunters. Revenge was something the youngest Wilson understood and sympathized with more than anything in the world. "If you help me they can become the hunted," it might have been a joke if her smile wasn't so predatory. "But if they sold it, I don't think I can get your hoard back." There wasn't much she could do about that.

A genuine, sweet smile graced her face when he mentioned he'd never met a yellow Rose. She wasn't normally yellow, but she wasn't about to correct him. His mention of how few friends he had made her realize that they were in the same lonely boat. Especially since she hadn't seen her only friend, Dante, in quite some time. If he even counted as a friend.

Maybe this was fate? Maybe a girl's best friend wasn't a diamond, but a dragon.

The smile when he said he would like to be her friend was ecstatic and lit up her entire face. She held out the star to him as he came closer, holding still so as not to scare him and letting him take it with a warning of: "Careful, it's sharp."

She watched him, smirking, as she let him study the star she had given him. Then she realized she didn't know what to do with him now. "Let's get out of the rain." she announced before a thought struck her. "I wonder if my Dad will buy that you followed me home," she mused out loud.

[Empathy]

The girl's brazen confidence was contagious. Bido clapped his hands together in excitement, only to look down at his sad and lonely right hand. Then he said, "Bido can help. Bido wants his hoard back." Bido only partly registered Rose's predatory smile. The impression was quickly erased by the much warmer one following it.

Bido took the star with a careful but greedy hand. Laying it flat, he observed the rain bounce off the reflective surface. Then, laying it vertical again, he saw the sharp weapon slice through the falling droplets. "Thank you." Bido's face turned a happy orange. He had never owned a star before.

Then Rose proposed to get out of the rain. Thoughts of jumping down the container mountain now safely banished, and with the lunch bell ringing again to signify the end of the break, Bido was ready to leave. "Bido can follow people." He usually didn't. Bido usually avoided people. But he could make an exception for his new friend. "Is Rose's dad nice?"

[Silv]

It looked like they were going to be a team, then. Perfect.

The bell rang again. The girl's head jerked towards the source of the sound but since no people went past where they were hiding she assumed that it meant everyone was back doing…well, whatever it was that dock workers did.

When Bido said he could follow people she smiled and gave him a nod, hopping to her own feet and moving to get back towards the normal wood of the docks instead of where they were. She was balancing along the edge of a container when the dragon asked about her father.

She hesitated for a few seconds before hopping off the edge and twirling to face her new dragon friend. "Ummm. I wouldn't say Daddy's nice exactly." she said with a frown. "He's big, and can be intimidating, I guess." she twirled back around as though contemplating something. "But I won't let him hurt you!" she said quickly.

[Empathy]

Twirling the dangerous star through the hole in its center, Bido listened to Rose's description of her dad. Then, as she moved down, he looked at the star. Then, without warning, he spat out a small glob-like shape. The cushioned bag, all slimy and wet, was then opened with one hand while the star rested on the ground. Eventually, Bido dropped his new shiny inside before hiding the bag inside his oversized mouth again.

Bido was a bit slower than Rose coming down the containers, moving through them more slowly, and probing grips with his hand. "Rose's daddy is big?" At that point, Bido was picturing a large, Santa Claus-like figure. Intimidating because he decided whether you got shinies or not for Christmas. "Does he think you behave well?" The mutant jumped down the last few feet onto the wooden ground. Rose's last response didn't quite compute. Only scary people hurt you. Like the boy of the bat. "And how long is his beard?" Bido knew there was more than one Santa Claus. He wasn't naive. And in his experience, the longer the beard, the better the presents.

[Silv]

Rose shrugged, not facing the dragon when he asked her her Dad was big. "Yeah. He's tall. And strong. And could probably bench press you," she said, as though this was no big deal. Though, she had to admit the mental image of her Dad bench pressing a dragon was kind of fantastic. A smile split across her face.

It died instantly when he asked if he thought she was well behaved. The girl twirled to face the dragon with large eyes. "Me?" she asked, jabbing her thumb at her chest. She wasn't sure where this was going. Maybe dragons had magical powers and they could tell when you didn't have the greatest relationship with your parents. "I don't- no. He doesn't. I don't think he wants anything to do with me most of the time." the conviction with which she said this, and the hurt in her voice was very apparent.

Then he said something that made no sense. She frowned. "What does his beard have to do with anything?"

[Empathy]

Bido's jaw fell down as Rose continued describing her father. "But why would Rose's daddy want to press Bido like an orange?" The chameleon's skin brightened up, mimicking Rose's yellow raincoat. When asked whether Santa-Slade considered her naughty or nice, his daughter turned around and pointed at herself, as if unsure about the question. But then she gave an answer -honest and blunt- about her relationship with her dad. Bido turned blue. His eyes teared up before he ran to Ravager and attempted to hug her with his one arm. "Bido knows the feels." The mutant's parents had all but banished him from home, not even recognizing -or wanting to recognize- their own son. "But Bido will make sure Daddy gives you presents." He would convince Rose's dad she had not been naughty this year. Bido could attest to that!

The beard question was greeted by a question of its own. Bido was just as confused as Rose. "Bido thinks daddies with long beards are more generous." Bido didn't consider himself very generous. But then, he didn't have a beard. The thought made him try to fake a white beard with the skin of his chin. "Maybe Rose should tell her daddy to not shave before Christmas?" Clearly an important day for bearded men worldwide, and probably the root cause for no-shave November. Bido nodded to himself, quite proud of his internal logic.

"How far is Rose's home?" Bido asked curiously as the awkward pair waddled through the rainy streets. The morlock was getting slightly uncomfortable as more residential buildings came into view. He longed for the safety of his lair, which was no more. "Bido is cold," His stomach grumbled. "and hungry." The chameleon put his camouflage back on when he spotted the first lit window. A few seconds later and the sound of an approaching car made him dash behind a wall. He didn't leave the hiding spot until the car was hidden again by the fog.

[Silv]

So, her new pet dragon could totally change color.

That was pretty awesome.

But then he turned blue and charged her. The girl tensed, sinking into a fighting stance, but relaxed when she realized that the silly thing was trying to approximate a human hug. That was kind of endearing. She gave into temptation and hugged him back. From every book she'd ever read on the subject as a child this was how it was supposed to work. You looked sad, your pet comforted you, and then everything was magically happy again.

She wasn't sure how Bido was going to convince her Dad to give her presents. Or what that even meant to dragons, but she let herself get lost in the moment and pretend that maybe he could make everything better just by being her friend.

Rose burst out laughing at the idea of telling her Father to do anything with his facial hair he didn't want to do. Though, the idea of her Dad with a gigantic Santa-style beard was hilarious. "My Dad would look like Santa the Terminator!" she gasped out between giggle fits.


In a fit of inspiration she pushed back her yellow hood, pulling her hair to the front of her face and mimicking a gigantic white beard with her long white hair the same way that Bido was trying to fake one with the coloration of his skin. "Ho ho ho~ the Titans have been naughty this year!" she mocked bouncing in a half-circle around Bido and delighted to have found someone who's sense of humor matched her own. "I'll have to blow their brains out through their ears!"

Alright, perhaps matched was a stretch. Her sense of humor would always be violent.

She dropped the "beard" and pulled her hood back over her head when Bido complained about how much longer they'd be out. The girl skipped through a puddle before smiling at her dragon friend. "It's not far." she said as she led the way towards a building that was obviously not a home in the traditional sense. "I'll find us some food once we get inside!" she added in proclamation as she ducked into a service entrance of the building and put in a code on the security device besides the door.

Instead of the door in front of her opening, the garbage bin to the left slid to the side to reveal a stairwell. Rose didn't hesitate, gesturing for Bido to follow as she took the stairs two at a time. "Dragons live underground in caves, right?" she asked, twirling to look at him long enough to ask the question before turning back to the stairs she was hopping down. The entrance they used slid shut behind them with a rumble as the youngest Wilson led the way into the villainous sanctuary. "You oughta feel right at home here."

[Empathy]

After their awkward hug, Rose and Bido went on to laugh about her father as Santa. Giggling being contagious, and Bido not quite understanding the Terminator reference, he just joined in on the merry laughing. Then Rose played her trick with her white hair. Bido hadn't noticed its color before, with her hoodie being on all the time. He joined in on the laughing, though his mind was disturbed by the second part of the joke.

"Rose has nice long white hair." Bido noted after calming down. "And Bido doesn,t understand why daddy would blow the titans' brains?" The mention of violence made the chameleon go invisible again.

But then they arrived at Rose's home. He turned visible again at the mention of food. Then Rose mentioned caves. "Yes. Bido likes the underground. Bido's lair is always underground." He nodded as the villain conjectured he was going to like it there. "And why does Rose live underground? Does she like caves too?" He tried to think of another animal -besides a dragon like him- that liked caves. "Like bats?"