Powerhouse: Legend of the Archwave

Chapter 14 (Act II): A Haven Of Hues

We last read Chapter 13, in which James Markovsky a.k.a. Powerhouse and his companion Isabela Acosta a.k.a. Archwave talk about how the latter wasn't typically allowed to stay up too late back where she came from, if it wasn't business related. She comments on how lively the city of Seattle feels, with both her and Powerhouse agreeing that it would've been even better without the graffiti. Powerhouse then goes on to remind Archwave of a lesson that was—ironically enough—taught to them by a regular vandal offender, specifically Valentina Valdez of the Spraywatch gang: that hate and hostility are bred as a result of an unwillingness to listen or compromise. This gets Archwave thinking—once again—about the Celestial Syndicate back in her home city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, but she eventually segues into letting Powerhouse know about how satisfying it feels to have finally escaped the shadow of her family and their business. Though Powerhouse questions the legality of Archwave's former affiliations, Archwave—after momentarily being stunned—quickly deflects Powerhouse's interrogations by claiming that only some would see it as "illegal", and compares them to the Spraywatch gang on the spot despite the Spraywatch gang being much more light on their operations compared to the Celestial Syndicate. Powerhouse, for the moment, respects Archwave's privacy—much to her relief—just before the two of them begin pulling up on the dark iron fencing marking the outer courtyard of the Spraywatch Hub. However, wanting to meet their 8:00pm PST time on the dot, Powerhouse starts going drastically slower in the convertible since it's only 7:55pm PST.....annoying Archwave in the process, who proceeds to grab her gear, get out, and continue on foot, ending up being faster than the convertible as a result.

Two notable members of the vandal gang, Valentina Valdez and Tyrone Hoover, are already waiting outside the Spraywatch Hub courtyard for the heroes' arrival, and end up seeing Archwave first, walking down the cement sidewalk towards them. Powerhouse arrives a few moments afterward, hastily running up to Archwave, Valentina, and Tyrone while panting heavily due to the distance between the convertible's parking lot and the courtyard itself. Despite this, Valentina and Tyrone—but mostly Valentina—happily welcome Powerhouse and Archwave to the Hub, and the chapter ended with Valentina naming it as such after officially leading the two heroes through the fence boundary and giving them a wide and lively view of all the activity occurring within.

This time, Valentina and Tyrone show Powerhouse and Archwave around most of the outer courtyard of the Spraywatch Hub in an attempt to begin building that precious "first impression" of theirs.....

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As James Markovsky a.k.a. Powerhouse and his companion Isabela Acosta a.k.a. Archwave followed Spraywatch vandals Valentina Valdez and Tyrone Hoover into the Spraywatch Hub's outer courtyard, the former two were approached by another random Spraywatch vandal who was cheerfully smiling; however, neither of them could tell whether it was sincere or not. At any rate, the vandal happened to be carrying a black plate of freshly-baked cupcakes; they all had white icing and rainbow sprinkles—fitting the excessively colorful motif of the Spraywatch gang—but the baking cups which the pastries were nestled in varied in color, from red, to yellow, to blue, to green, to purple.

"Welcome to the Hub!" the cupcake-holding vandal greeted, beaming. "Cupcakes?"

"Well, we didn't quite have dessert before leaving the house....." Powerhouse contemplated aloud. ".....Sure!"

Powerhouse looked over the cupcakes, selected one with a red baking cup, and opened his mouth to eat it.....but Archwave gently yanked his left arm down before he could use it to insert the cupcake into his mouth.

"¡Oye (Hey)! ¿Qué diablos estás haciendo (What the hell are you doing)?" Archwave asked in an urgent but hushed tone. "Do you know if that's safe or not?!"