# [IC] SAINT HAVEN: Regenesis



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 25, 2013)

SAINT HAVEN
r e g e n e s i s












Game Masters: Advocate, Atlantic Storm, Hidden Nin.

_See  thread for information._​
Are you a hero who works to protect justice? Are you a villain who leads the path of destruction and anarchy? Or are you neither and work for your own interests? Which side would you choose if you could suddenly wield incredible power? Would you serve, oppress, rescue, defend, corrupt, kill, or follow your own set of rules and laws? Crime is on the rise and Saint Haven's police force can no longer contain the new breed of danger invading the city . The fate of Saint Haven, and possibly the world is in your hands as you choose a role and make a difference as a new era dawns.


----------



## ?clair (Oct 25, 2013)

*INTRODUCTIONS*​
Lanse Rowling, "Anima"

"Young lady, stop terrorizing your father and help me with the dishes!" barked the amused voice of Marlene Rowling, her head popping out of the large window through which the entire living room could be seen.

"E-er..."

Lanse froze, her hands in the air and the variety of Halloween props (spiders, bugs, dismembered body parts, eyeballs) stopping with her. Her father, Charles, sighed in relief, crawling out from under the couch and promptly shrieking loudly when a stray eyeball rolled his way.

"GET IT AWAY!" he cried.

"Oh, man, Daddy! You're such a girl," Lanse giggled, but at a withering look from her mother, immediately stopped.

"Lanse."

"Yes, Mommy."

Obediently banishing the horrific props back to their drawers, the little girl headed over to the kitchen, her father wiping his sweaty, terrified face with the bottom of his shirt.

"Remind me why I had her?" he flatly asked Marlene, jerking his head towards Lanse's direction.

"Don't make me sic her on you again, Charles," Marlene warned. "Lan, the spoons, please."

Unbeknowest to her mother, Lanse merely ordered the sponge to scrub the spoons clean, smiling innocently.

"Yes, Mommy."

Such was a normal day in the Rowling household.

*

Ze'ev, "Kraken"

The human world was fascinating yet... not, Ze'ev immediately decided with a look of utter distaste as he passed by an overflowing dumpster. He was clad in all black, and his greyish pallor attracted quite a bit of attention from the people around him. 

Honestly, the only reason why he was even bothering to do this was because His Majesty was adamant that he be given the task. Why, he wasn't informed, but under no circumstances would he dare disobey the king of Ivatoh.

Sharp amber eyes scanned the crowd. He was to find a man of great importance. George Higgins, if his memory was correct (when was it never?). 

_If I was the leader of such a nation, where would I live?_

In the most populated, most richest and most secure part of said nation, of course. That was generally how things went.

Ze'ev paused, promptly flickered out of sight, and reappeared in the middle of a bustling sector of the city, a fountain soothingly spraying out jets of water behind him.

A smirk curled on his colorless lips.

Overhead, a pristine directional board hung.

243, SAINT HAVEN, CENTRAL SECTOR.


----------



## Fedster (Oct 25, 2013)

*1st Sonata - The Finished Symphony*









​
*Bach*
_South Saint Haven - 1st Part_

Not even a fly dared to disturbed the silence on the basement where Dr. Garry Seanfield was working. Only the fast typing on the computer was heard. On the screen there were graphics, charts, and complex logarithms indicating the progress of his project, now 98% complete. His fingers ached due to such intent on completing the final stage, or as he called it, the final Update, the last bit of programming needed to finish what Dr. Fulcrum started: to create a hero, but this time, with a single purpose.

To kill the person who tried to hinder him, and who killed every member of his team. At that thought, Dr. Seanfield couldn't help but put a hand on his right thigh, where a big scar had been drawn permanently on his body after a thug cut him with a knife.

Suddenly, a window popped up on the screen. _'The AI needs a certain patch to work. Would you like download it now? (All of the programs will be closed.)'_

"Damn it!", He swore, clicking annoyingly on the 'Yes' option and becoming increasingly annoyed as he saw the progress bar was not moving. At all. It was going to be a _long_ patch. So, in the meantime, he decided to open his research journal, grab a pen and start writing.

*Project B.A.C.H. - Final entry (Hopefully.)*
Progress: 98%
Today is probably the big day where Bach will finally be awake. Of course, it depends on whether this patch starts making some damned progress or not. Why do these things have to happen in the most crucial moments? It's as if no one want this project to end, and leave me with this torment that is my vengeance! Bach, if you're reading this ( And I know you can. I designed the Reading Comprehension program MYSELF!), remember your mission and know that I-​
He looked at the android lying on the metallic table. It looked so real, the pale synthetic skin, the blonde hair, even the details on the lips and nostrils. It was, at first and last sight, a perfect imitation of a human. However, his sight could not dwell too much on it. There was a set of quick, heavy steps above the basement.

He had been found.

Dr. Seanfield took a quick glance at the monitor. 99% completed. He needed to be fast. The man typed sequences and sequences of formulas, his mind working at full throttle. With a smash of the Enter key, the final Update began, sending Terrabytes of information through a cable connected to Bach's brain. He stood up just in time to see the basement door flew off its hinges and stared at two huge men towering at the sides of an elegantly-dressed elderly man. Seanfield knew who he was, the golden cross hanging from his neck gave him away.

Mr. A.

*"So it is true."*, he said, *"You are alive, Dr. Seanfield."*

"What if I am?", the doctor answered, covering his project with his pathetic body. Mr. A. smirked.

*"We both know I will not let that abomination walk on the Lord's land. And these gentlemen,"*, He pointed with his cane at the pair of thugs at his sides, *"Will not allow it either."*, And just like that, he turned around and left, but not before saying, *"Leave nothing."*

100% Completed. Status: On.


----------



## Narurider (Oct 26, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
?Would you hurry up already?? Meiko yelled up the stairs, her voice echoing through the silent house. A young boy stumbled into view at the top of the stairs, obviously dishevelled. He muttered curses under his breath as he ran his hand through his chaotic blond hair and slowly swung his tattered jacket around and slid his arms through the sleeves. He trudged down the stairs; his reluctance at the idea of having to leave the sanctuary that was his home was evident. When he had finally descended the stairs he, ignoring Meiko entirely, stomped into the kitchen and pulled a bowl out the cupboard. Meiko visibly twitched and her hands slowly curled into fists. ?What the hell do you think you?re doing??

The boy stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, a look of utter confusion on his face. Meiko stared back at him with her hands on her hips and her frustration evident on her face. Neither of them spoke for a moment before he finally broke the silence, ?I?m making cereal. You want some??

?No, I don?t want any cereal!? Meiko was about to continue when the boy proceeded to turn around and fetch some milk out of the fridge. He then produced a cereal box out of the same cupboard the bowl had come from and poured the contents into the bowl. Meiko?s entire body shook with angry as he grabbed the milk and poured it into the bowl, slowly and with great care. Finally she couldn?t take it anymore. ?GADIAN! We were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago and you get your lazy butt out of bed and instead of being ready to go, like you should be, what are you doing? You?re making bloody cereal! I?m in the right mind to give you a beating, you lazy sod!?

?I love you too.? Gadian smiled at her as she stood there, stunned, before finding a spoon and proceeded to begin eating his cereal. He eventually finished and as he put his dishes in the sink, he noticed that she was still standing there, speechless. Had he broken her? Or had that pervy old spirit he?d seen following her around the past week finally tried to possess her? He waved his hands in front of her eyes as he spoke, ?Earth to Meiko, are you in there? Anybody home in there??

And that?s when she slapped him. Hard. He mumbled curses as he rubbed his now red cheek and looked up at her with a pained expression. Obviously her speechlessness had been because of her scheming about how the best way to get back at him would be. It seemed she?d settled with the old classic, The Legendary Left.

?Now, are you ready to leave or do I have to slap you again?? Meiko smiled at him and Gadian sighed. He had so hoped he could have stalled until she?d given up on the idea of going out but unfortunately he had failed. He was going to have to leave his fortress of solitude and face the annoying spirits that wandered the neighbourhood. This is not going to be a good day, He thought to himself as he quietly trudged towards the door, Meiko smirking as she followed behind him.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
The hallway leading to the mayor's office was pretty spectacular, in James' opinion. The carpet was easy on the eyes and very nice to walk on, and the walls of the corridor were filled with portraits of previous mayors, who ruled in happier, easier times. James would have also liked to live in those times, but alas, life wasn't fair; he learned _that_ the hard way. The agent leading him to the office was a tall, silent man in a finely tailoured suit - which James was pretty sure wasn't standard issue - with dark shades obscuring his eyes and a neat haircut. At his waist, the demi-god noticed a small nightstick and a gun. "It's pretty nice in here," James commented idly, in an attempt to make conversation. 

"Quite." Came the curt reply, and the conversation ended there. Clearly, the man wasn't interested in speaking. James was fine with that.

After a few continued moments of awkward silences, the man finally led James to the entrance to the mayor's office; two large, slightly ostentatious-looking (but who was he to judge), wooden doors. The government agent opened the doors, and James slowly entered the room. It, like the rest of the building, was rather exquisite, though slightly more personalized. The carpets were the same, but instead of paintings of the previous mayors, the walls of _this_ room were instead filled with various portraits of himself, his family or the city. Quite grand, in James' opinion, for such a small, dull looking man as Barret Higgins. But hey, who was he to judge?Upon his entry, the chair behind the desk swiveled forward, allowing the leader of the city to face the demi-god in full view. From there, James became aware of two things: the mayor looked much older than he did in the public pictures he took. His face now was battered with crevices forming in the skin, and his eyes, while still glinting with a distant hope, had lost the radiance they once held when he had first taken the seat. The second was that the mayor was a bit shorter than James had expected, but that wasn't really important right now.

"Ah. James Brooklyn, I take it?" The mayor arched an eyebrow, as if sizing  the demi-god up, then reached out an equally weathered hand. "It's a pleasure, my boy. I've heard quite a bit about you." He smiled.

James accepted the handshake. "I'm flattered." He smiled back, though the action still felt a little foreign to him, his facial muscles not having yet adjusted to 'smiling' yet. The demi-god was pretty sure the mayor could see straight through him, but the elderly man didn't comment on it.

The mayor then nodded, releasing his grasp on James' hand and turned around once more, looking through his large window, overlooking the rest of central Saint Haven. "Tell me James, what do you see here?" He asked, after a few moments of silence. 

At this question, he blinked, and then frowned. "Uh . . . is this a rhetorical question?" James asked, cocking his head to the side slightly.

The mayor laughed. It was a sad, melancholic sound. "Not quite, son. Describe what you see."

"A city." James replied slightly pensively, then spoke up again, adding on: "Not a particularly good one. No offense."

"Yes, but also no." Higgins replied, then looked around, the setting of the sun bringing in bright golden rays of light through the windows behind him, brimming him in a faint aura of radiance, forcing the young man to squint slightly. "I see a city tainted with darkness, from corruption and crime. But also one glowing with the light of potential, so long as we have capable individuals willing to make a difference." Raising his hand, he extended a finger and pointed at James. "I want you to be one of them, James."

James nodded. He'd expected this, and he had come to the city with the intention of doing good anyway. "Yeah, of course I'll do it." The demi-god replied. "But the city is a pretty big place, and it's kinda filled to the brim with crime. I'm good, but I doubt I can do this _alone_."  He'd seen first hand what the city was capable of. Hell, earlier this morning some guy had tried to mug him. No success, obviously, but it was still pretty crazy, considering it was during broad daylight.

The mayor nodded, then suddenly sighed. "Indeed, but you won't be alone here. I have begun trying to assemble a team of similarly skilled individuals . . .  who should be here soon." He shook his head. "Including my daughter. I'm still convinced that it's a bad idea, but at this point, there's no chance of me persuading her otherwise."

"Your daughter?" The demi-god had an idea as to where this was going, and he didn't like it. 

"Yes. Will you accept another, selfish, request from this old man, James?" Higgins asked, looking at James, the sad look of his eyes drilling straight into him. The demi-god's eyes hovered around him, but he found himself unable to make direct eye contact with the mayor. There was something about his eyes that James wanted to avoid. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, though.

James nodded. "Of course." He said. 

"Protect my daughter."


----------



## Hossaim (Oct 26, 2013)

*Simon*
"The end of the cigarette is always the worst. It never feels good to smoke it. Yet I always do. I always finish it. I don't why I do finish it. I could just get to this part then discard it. But nobody does. I don't either. I guess I just like to finish things for the sake of finishing them.

I discard the cigarette.

I find myself in a pretty slummy part of town. Not much is going on right now. It's early morning, the period in-between the drugies waking up and slouching off to wherever the fuck they go when it's sunny outside, and the hobo's setting up their little begging areas. As such, it's relatively quiet.

I am leaning against the back wall of a drug store. Graffiti is painted across the walls, all of it reaking of amateur. You need to go downtown to find the good shit. Everything around here was done by some highschooler who thinks hes some big time rebel, fighting authority. 

Still, it was a pretty good place to have a cigarette. But now his was done. So he had no reason to still be here. So why was he. Well, it was also a pretty decent place to think. Not often you can get quiet, peaceful moments like this. Especially considering I'v spent the past few years lounging around in the bar scene of the criminal underworld. I thrived there, among the scum and the weak, those who kill and eat eachother to gain a single penny of status. They made easy prey, and hustling made pretty good money if you did it right. As long as you didn't get your head chopped off. But luckily for me,  that was not generally a concern for him. Low level gunmen had little resistance against magic decapitating cards. 

But times change. The world is moving, and it does not pay to sit idly by and wait. You must move along with it. It was time to move on. Speaking of which, I should be moving on. "

In a fluid movement, Simon pulled out his gun and fired and teleporting card above the roof of the drugstore. In an instant he was there. This game him an excellent view of the city, the rising sun just beginning the peak through the distant skyscrapers. 

"The world is moving indeed."

With that thought, Simon began to head towards downtown.


----------



## Bringer (Oct 26, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Party Crasher_

Our jet black haired maniac stood before the door to city hall. He had just finished beating down the guards that stood in his way from entering. Apparently it was only invite only. He knew that the heroes for the Mayor's little project would meet up here, everyone knew. This whole hero project wasn't necessarily a secret, it was supposed to be a beacon of hope for the city. Now you may be wondering, why would Mike be joining this project? Well, because he's bored, that's why. The brown eyed boy heads towards the Mayor's office, entering a long corridor. As he walks through, he began tilting the pictures as he walked. 

_"Stupid, fat, stupid and fat."_ 

Mike thought as he tilted each picture, until approaching the door. Without warning he kicked down the door.

"What up fucktards, I'm joining this team."

He spoke smugly, a smirk on his face. Although Mike was easily agitated, and had anger issues, there was one other thing he did possess. 

Arrogance.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
The mayor and James both turned their head to face the new arrival at the same time, stunned with silence. Higgins regarded him with an inquisitive look on his face, then his expression relaxed, apparently having remembered who he was or something. James wasn't sure. The mayor was a hard man to figure out. "Ah, you must be Mike." He said at last, reaching out a hand for a handshake. "It's nice to finally meet you."

James looked at Mike, his eyes flashing a warm gold for a moment, the figure of Mike turning into a silhouette of brilliant dark blue aura as his powers activated. The aura glowed like a bright, aggressive flame. Radiating with power, unlike that of the humans James usually encountered. "_An enhanced human, eh?_" James thought to himself, sensing the abnormal presence of his soul, then stopped his monologue for a brief moment. "_Well, probably only physically enhanced. He seems a bit dumber than the average human._" He concluded, his eyes flickering at the kicked down door for a moment, before focusing back on the black haired boy now stood before them. Not really a smart entrance into a room that was potentially filled with superpowered people. Either that, or he was really powerful, but James sort of doubted that.

Maybe this would be interesting after all. Angry people - especially ones who were arrogant - were usually entertaining to watch.


----------



## Bringer (Oct 26, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Party Crasher II_

"Get those dirty hands away from me fatman."

Mike replied, walking towards a chair to sit, wrapping his arms around his neck, and putting his feet on a desk. He turned towards the other guy in the room, eying him a bit. Was he a mere human? A mutant? A alien? He pondered on this for a second, but remember he didn't give a darn.

"So who the fuck is this chump."

He asked the Mayor.

"And where da fuck are the snacks."


*Kimberly Higgins*
_Worry_


Kimberly stopped her motorcycle as she reached city hall. Today was the day, where all of her fathers efforts would pay off or not. She shook her head, shaking all the negativity out of her head. The green eyed girl hopped off her motorcycle, and took off her helmet releasing her long flowing black hair. From the corner of her eye she saw it.

"No. No!"

She ran towards the entrance of city hall, to the unconscious bodies. She began shaking them, but they were out cold. Kimberly placed her fingers on their neck, and sighed in relief. There was a pulse. But what of her dad? She quickly left the unconscious guards unattended and ran inside city hall, going straight for the corridor that leads to her fathers office. As she was running she noticed all the tilted picture frames, and as she closed in she saw the kicked down door. She immediately ran inside.

"Dad! Are you oka-"

She stopped upon realizing her dad was completely fine, standing next to some other guy, probably sixteen or seventeen. She also noticed another boy, sitting on a chair with his feet on the desk.

"You almost gave me a heart attack! What happened out there?"

"I happened."

Kimberly turned to the black haired boy, who answered her nonchalantly. Why was he joining the team?


----------



## ?clair (Oct 26, 2013)

Lanse Rowling, "Anima"
-Flair.

Lanse had run away. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to leave. The seven year old was terrified, and she clutched desperately at Goofy, her beloved plush puppy. She stumbled slightly, running through an alley, and turned right - none of the people passing her even bothered to look concerned.

Why would an upset child worry them, though? The city was cruel, unkind.

Lanse's lips were dry and her throat parched from holding back a sob.

Mommy. She... she was sad, and now... Daddy had gone. He left. Mommy was alone, and sad, and crying, and so, so, so small-looking, and-

-and she had just left her, just like Daddy.

But Lanse was a child. She was young. Immature. She didn't want to leave, but she wasn't going back. Not yet. Not now. Not now, please, not now.

_Daddy was so scary. For the first time..._

A truck screeched to a halt, the driver yelling profanities, and Lanse sprinted across the road, her speed picking up and her eyes flashing a brilliant blue.

_...I felt scared of him._

It seemed like hours had passed, but in reality, just ten minutes later, she collapsed in a dingy corner in some dark, dark street with no lamps. The faint smell of trash, blood and alcohol rose in wafts. 

She cringed, squeezing her eyes shut.

But she stayed put there all night long.

*

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

Walking down the exquisitely decorated hallway, Ze'ev felt a flicker of astonishment at the sheer luxury that could be afforded to the ones living ashore. Thick, rich carpets covered the marble floor, the color a deep red, and the walls were brightly illuminated by a series of candles in small bowls. Large, tall portraits of men that rose to power before the current Mayor hung proudly on those very walls, and looking at their confidence made Ze'ev feel a little better about leaving home for the first time in his life.

Of course, those were thoughts unfit for a warrior. Unfit for a savior, a protector, one trusted by the king of Ivatoh himself.

So, Ze'ev rose his head high, amber eyes steely like they always were, and strode down the remainder of the hallway, his armour meshing back into his civilian guise. The safe, secure and comforting thrumming of the Force within his body reassured him softly.

_For my people, I will fight._

The doors were thrown open, and Ze'ev stepped inside, ignoring the two others in the office. His priority was the clearly important man before him.

He didn't even remotely resemble a leader.

Ze'ev hid his dissatisfaction and growing disappointment.

"Good evening, Mayor."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
Higgins withdrew his hand, then watched Mike carefully as the young man strolled over to a nearby seat and made himself at home, propping his feet up on a desk. James did the same, then noticed Mike staring at him, before the kid apparently couldn't hold it in anymore: "So who the fuck is this chump." He asked plainly, still glaring at the demi-god.

James smiled as politely as possible, his opinion on the new kid dropping further and further with each syllable uttered from his mouth. "I'm Ja-"

"And where da fuck are the snacks." He asked again, cutting across James before he could answer his question.

"_Maybe they traded in brain cells and intelligence for physical ability._" James observed. "_And attention span._"  He added on as an afterthought. To say the kid didn't appear to be the sharpest knife in the shed would be an understatement; so far he seemed about as sharp as a marble. Before he could dwell further upon the empowered kid's lack of intelligence, however, another person burst into the room.

Long black hair trailed her as she entered the room, her footsteps elegant and graceful, but rushed with worry and anxiety. "_She's pretty._" James noticed, then, from the corner of his eye, saw the mayor's shoulders slacken slightly. "Ah, this must be the daughter." The demi-god nodded, his eyes flickering a faint gold again, her soul resonating harmoniously with Higgins' and radiating a similar, brilliant shade of fuchsia. Unlike Mike's, however, her spirit was far less aggressive and powerful and was more like a wisp or an ember, dancing quietly in the container that was her physical body.

"Dad, are you oka-" The girl began, but then stopped herself, noticing that Higgins was, in fact, quite okay. A bit stressed out and sullen-looking, James thought, but fine nonetheless. "You almost gave me a heart attack out there! What happened?" She demanded.

Then Mike spoke up again. "I happened." He said quite nonchalantly.

Higgins' eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he looked between James, Mike and his daughter Kimberly. "What are you talking about, dear?" He asked, settling his eyes on Kimberly.


----------



## Bringer (Oct 26, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Worry II_



"The guards outside are out cold, and the door was kicked down... I thought you could have died."

Kimberly explained, her voice grim and full of worry. Ironically enough, just how the Mayor is always worried about his daughters safety, she is always worried about his. Him dying is always in the back of this young woman's head everyday. Many people, especially evil factions don't quite like how the Mayor is planning on opposing them. Kimberly inhaled and exhaled once more, finally calming down.

_"I shouldn't have made such an outburst, I should've have used my powers."_

Kimberly possessed powers her father had not known about, two in fact. She had what she could describe as Empathy, she could sense emotions, feelings, hopes, dreams, desires, and even fears of others. The green eyed girl didn't exactly have a grip on this power, but she knew that it could do much more than that, she just had to push a bit.

Immediately she felt her fathers emotions. His overwhelming emotions of hope. Under all that pain he possessed, under all of that sacrifice he made, there was hope. She could see glimpses of her fathers life, the day he became Mayor, the day he married her mother, the day she was born. She could also see his fears, the city collapsing, his dreams dying.

Next was James. She immediately sensed that he had some dislike for the sitting boy in the room, and that he was going over how much superior he was to the boy. She tried to push deeper, but then Kimberly stopped, she couldn't get any deeper... strange. 

Next was Mike.

_"I sense... nothing."_ 

She couldn't read him at all, she couldn't get through. It was as if his mind was blocking her off. Or did he simply not have a mind?

The young woman was so distracted from learning about everybody, she didn't even notice the other peculiar looking man walk in. 

She sensed disappointment in him.

Why was she sensing this, she had just stopped using her powers, but she was still sensing everyone... she couldn't turn it off. She slightly stumbled backwards, her hand pressing against her head.

"Kimberly dear, are you alright?"

"I'm fine dad, just a little lightheaded, I need to sit."

Kimberly walked up to a chair, and sat down crossing her legs. She couldn't turn off her empathy.


----------



## Byrd (Oct 26, 2013)

*The Demonic Entity "Maou"*- _Cold Case Part 1_



_*Alleyway in Saint Heaven*_


She ran swiftly like the wind, knocking down multiple trashcans... fear was in her eyes. Earlier she had seen her husband and child killed right before her eyes. The beast was still feasting on their flesh, consuming every organ and bone. She let out a cry for help, hoping that anyone near would hear

"HELP!!!!! HELP... MONSTER!!!"

The Darkness was fast approaching her for within these alleyways, it exist abundantly and would not let her escape into the light shining in the city. Everywhere she found an exit, it was quickly block away by mysterious spears, ready to lunge outward if she got near...

The growl of the beast was getting nearer and nearer... the woman quickly grab the nearest object she could find, it was a steel pole lying on the ground. This would be her last defense and the menacing force approach her...  

A woman emerge from the shadows, a few feet from the woman... face hidden away from any shred of light... A cry was heard as blood splash against the wall... and the shadows retreated from the alleyway...

This would make the 8th case in the city of Saint Haven


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 26, 2013)

Temple Lea Soriente - A Family Affair
West Saint Haven
_________​
_"Yes, my employer would like very much to meet with you, Mr. Soriente.  I understand you're very busy and all, but let me tell ya it's *very *important.  I am *sure *that you'll be able to make the date, else we'll make the time for you, capisce?  He really appreciates you taking the time out of your schedule to come see him next week.  Have a nice evening."  Temple watched the middle aged man that had come to his doorstep evenly, even as the thug tipped his hat and turned to move from his doorstep.  Yes, he'd noticed the bulge just above his belt, and the one, tiny spec of blood just inside the fold of his suit jacket.  But that didn't matter, much.  All he truly needed to know was...

"Hey, wait a moment," Temple murmured, and as the man turned back, to him, and there were a few quick swipes of movement between them.  Then, the mafia grunt fell to the floor, his body beginning to unfold in the form in a series of inked layers, arms, shoulders, face, legs, and torso alike flaking in sections to reveal thousands of folded pages that detailed this man's very essence.  

Temple knelt down, though it was impossible for anyone to perceive what his victim was experiencing.  To the casual observer, the writer was now helping up an injured man.  After reading over the sections he needed to within a moment or two, Temple imprinted a few notes on the pages, and then stood, easing the door shut slowly.  The man rose with unsteady steps, and Temple nodded as they regained eye contact.  

"Tell him I'll be there next week, then," the young man replied in delicate Italian._

_________​
That had been a week prior.  Temple now was being driven to some location in West Saint Haven, with a new individual as the driver.  The man, who'd instructed Temple to call him Iggy, was a bit more talkative than the messenger, for whatever reason.  Temple sat with him in the front seat, window open as he carefully studied the route they used to reach whichever mafia headquarters they were currently headed towards, and engaged Iggy in an idle conversation about the weather and how he pondered how his wife would react if she found out he was cheating on her.  Temple rolled up the window as Iggy told him they were approaching their destination, and then got out, dusting off his muted grey suit neatly and adjusting his vibrant crimson tie.

"You're awfully talkative today, Iggy."

"...yea I guess so.  I'm not sure why."  Temple smiled gently to himself as he watched the floor, walking in with them.

They were in an underground, cavernous garage, and after a few moments he was led up to a well lit, though eerily decorated, conference room.  Tatami mats lined the floor, and paper lanterns dotted the ceiling illuminating the area, with thousands of origami cranes laced in between the spaces the lanterns occupied.  Elegant calligraphy was displayed prominently, brief haikus that told of harsh winters.  An ornamental daisho was mounted on the wall, and archaic full yoroi stood ominously in the corner, an inanimate sentinel to overlook the coming dealings.  The second mafioso they'd walked up with happened to be the messenger that Temple had met previously, and stood at the left of the yakuza boss Temple was now seated across from.

"Mr. Soriente.  I'm glad you could make it."  A small amount of time passed with that opening between them, and Temple nodded.  "Of course.  Glad to be here."

Then, the man, Kaito, did two things.  He slid a copy of Temple's latest book towards the young man, and told him to open it to the book mark, asking if it seemed familiar.  And Temple froze as this occurred, as the man in the photo that had been made into a book mark was indeed someone he recognized.  It wasn't a moment of fear so much as him reconsidering a half a dozen things he'd taken for granted when reading the messenger, Dan's, pages for his memories.  How had they...?

Temple looked up at him, and Kaito's eyes were two narrow slits that harbored fierce burning coals.  The man in the picture was an individual that Temple had 'imprinted' on as an experiment to see if he could perhaps gain a contact point into the mafia, for any number of purposes.  Unfortunately, it seemed that had perhaps backfired; they obviously had caught onto the man's intention, and despite his commands of not revealing anything about him, they'd apparently succeeded in probing into the spy's mind.  He should have thought of that possibility, he scolded himself now.  Leave it to the mafia to have more ways than torture to get an idea out of a man's head.

The writer didn't speak, and Kaito instead continued, taking his silence to be a concession.  "Right.  I'll have to be blunt with you, if that is the case, so please excuse me.  The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because of that book.  I don't have time to dance around the topic at hand; it's something...strange.  I'm not sure what, but it's done something to a few of my men.  They can 'see' things coming, now.  I haven't gotten very far, but I understand it already, what it is that's happening."  Kaito leaned a bit closer, his voice lowering to a threatening octave.  "The reason you aren't dead is because you're going to make more of these for me, Mr. Soriente.  Many more, that can tap into even more impressive feats of preco-"

And then Temple sneezed.

Kaito paused, and Iggy raised an eyebrow.  Neither the yakuza boss, nor the driver, however, had their eyes on Dan.  The moment Temple sneezed, the conversation stopped.  All the sound, even the buzz of a few gnats about the lanterns, stopped.  Temple had already begun moving, the efforts of his  gambit now finally coming to fruition.  He'd searched the room for a possible solution the problem at hand before he'd sat.  Now he was getting up to move towards that solution, even as he made a few deft pen strokes in midair, his pen gaining an incandescent glow.  Into Kaito's pages he wrote 'And then you flew 10 meters backwards'.  Dan's fist came down where Kaito had just been, the yakuza boss having leapt back inexplicably due to Temple's involvement.  As the fist rent the desk Kaito had been sitting at asunder, the young man darted back and grabbed the katana that was on the wall.  He watched as Iggy took quick steps back, his bullets uselessly bouncing off of Dan's hardened carapace.  Temple sprinted right for Dan, bracing himself as the man's fist easily sailed wide of him.  And with a deft thrust, Temple pricked his eye, the only spots that didn't possess super hardened skin upon it, and pushed, piercing the mafia grunt's brain.

Over within a few seconds.  And then he dropped the katana as he heard a few others burst in, and shout in Italian and Japanese alike for him to get down on the ground.  He did just that, dropping to his knees.

"Yare yare daze..."

Kaito watched him with a piercing gaze, and he could already tell this would take some wordplay to get out of.  Out of the frying pan, and into the fire.  Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to have placed that _exact _reaction in Dan for when he sneezed.  Temple wasn't certain they'd even realize he'd saved Kaito, at this rate.  Sighing as his face was pushed down into the carpet, he didn't resist as two other grunts subdued him.

"Can we hurry this up?  I have another appointment I have to attend to, later today..."


----------



## ?clair (Oct 26, 2013)

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

"The guards outside are out cold, and the door was kicked down... I thought you could have died," the girl explained, looking shaken.

Ze'ev barely rose a brow, letting her and her father (the Mayor, he dryly realized) continue their little talk. He was content to sit back for now and observe.

A rather grouchy and irate looking male was scowling in the corner, and looking at him, Ze'ev knew he was possibly the deadlast of the group. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes; excellent, more useless baggage. As if he didn't have those already, what with the Mayor's apparent lack of combat skills.

Or brains.

A strange aura emitted from the boy beside the useless one. This one appeared more mature, more serious. Maybe, just maybe, there was some hope left.

"Are you done yet?" he finally asked, masking his impatience with a false smile. He knew it looked out of place on him. "Not to be rude, of course, but my king awaits a reply..." he trailed off pointedly, crossing his arms.

If he had it his way, he would be long gone, missive in hand and enemies slaughtered. Back home. Not here, with this place full of toxic gases, crowds and unfamiliar faces. Ivatoh felt like a distant dream to him as he met the Mayor's squinted gaze coolly, itching to _move_. Ze'ev hated this feeling of being so... lost. It damn well felt like being a weakling.

Ze'ev cleared his throat, ire rising, and the Mayor shook himself out of his reverie.

Good lord, he wanted to strangle these people.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James looked at Kimberly curiously, having noticed her sway around before she made her way to the chair. More than that, for a moment, he had also seen her soul flicker from it's bright, radiant fuchsia to a darkened, duller colour for a moment, wavering as if some outer force had struck it, smothering it in a layer of smog. "_Weird._" The demi-god thought to himself, then looked at Mike again. Was he the one who took out those guards outside, then? "_Well, he did enter after breaking down the door and acted like a moron upon entry, so probably_." He concluded. Maybe he wasn't so weak after all. Then again, taking a dozen or so of those guards wasn't really a big deal either.

The other young man who recently entered seemed content to sit on a nearby chair, grumpily watching Kimberly and Higgins without even bothering to veil his distaste for the whole situation. Then, he finally spoke up. "Are you done yet?" he finally asked, masking his impatience with a false smile. He knew it looked out of place on him. "Not to be rude, of course, but my king awaits a reply..." he trailed off pointedly, crossing his arms.

At this, James arched an eyebrow. "_Another arrogant one. Just what we need._" He mentally sighed to himself. None of these people, aside from maybe Kimberly, seemed like they would be remotely easy to get along with. "_Forget fighting crime, at this point it seemed more likely we'd be fighting ourselves._" So far, this seemed like a pretty shoddy team.

Higgins nodded at Ze'ev, clasping his hands together and looking slightly apologetic. "Sorry, sorry." He said, slightly sheepishly. "There are a few more arrivals to be made. Some of them will be your teammates, and some, your..." 

"Instructor." Another man walked through the entrance. Tall, with neat black hair, and dressed in an exquisite matching dark suit, James could immediately tell he wasn't one of the guards. For one thing, he wasn't knocked out. For another, he was carrying a sabre at his side and looked far more competent than the others. The demi-god's eyes flickered a faint gold to examine him, but a quick glance from the man told him it was a bad idea. "Alexander Fortis." He introduced himself, his voice stern and serious, and each word carefully focused.


----------



## Hossaim (Oct 26, 2013)

*Simon*
Simon stopped outside the Mayor's office fother a smoke. He had bought another pack on his way here so he was good to go. 

"I wonder who is already there."

His walk to the office had been relatively non-eventful. He had mostly stuck to the rooftops, as he did not enjoy the rustle and bustle of the crowd. He enjoyed double teleporting over long and up tall buildings. Shooting a card, flashing to it, then immediately shooting another one and flashing to it again. He felt as though he was flying when he did it. Humans had wanted to fly for a long time, and it felt cool to be able to do it, although he questioned weather man had quite wanted to fly in such a manner. 

He did an inventory check. He had 138 cards in his gun, another 300 in his pouch. He looked up and saw the mayor's office window. He took out a card, gave it the teleportation mark, and placed it on a windowstill below. This way, in case someone started shooting at him, he would have a quick escape. 

"Time to make an entrance"

Simon took out his gun, and fired a teleportation card right through the window. After hearing the crash, he teleported up to it. He landed bowing  with one arm outstretched and the other tipping his hat.

"Howdy do"


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 26, 2013)

Behind Fortis came a woman dressed much differently than Alex; neat spectacles, her white hair tied back, and in a slim fitting iconic yellow and black tracksuit.  Her steps carried all the grace and poise of a cat, eyes gliding over each of the young heroes carefully to get an idea of what they'd be working with.  She had a certain confidence to her steps, despiting appearing to be at most 16 or 17.  On her hips sat a belt with varying implements, and she crossed her arms as she looked down at Mike.  No introduction, no nothing.  Lillian Masters, in the flesh.

_"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first, Lil?"

"Later, Alvin."_

"Get up," she commanded, tone impatient as she glared down at Mike.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
Everything was pretty instant. Moments after their 'instructor' walked into the room, the window shattered, pieces of glass cascading across the room in a hail of fragmented crystal. The next thing James saw was a slim looking man wearing a hat appearing out of nowhere in the room, giving a greeting to everybody, followed by a trail of crimson light dashing past his peripheral vision, appearing next to the man in an instant. Another woman walked in soon after Alex appeared, moving casually and nonchalant, not even bothering to take a glance at the explosion of glass as she strode over to Mike.

The woman's voice, despite her stature and slightly delicate appearance, was commanding."Get up." She said to Mike, her tone impatient.

"Holy shit." James muttered audibly, blinking. He wasn't sure what he was more surprised at; the window suddenly exploding, this new guy coming out of nowhere, or 'Alexander Fortis' being . . . so fast. He looked at the mayor, who seemed unperturbed by the recent sequence of events, but was nonetheless, looking at the hatted man curiously.

A glint of silver flashed, the small piece of revealed blade glowing under the sunlight. Likewise, an aura of fuchsia covered James' fist, the demi-god breaking off a chunk of his soul to cover his fist. As his powers manifested themselves, James' eyes also turned a brilliant gold. "State your intentions." Alex said to the young man, his voice steely and cold and his piercing red gaze drilling straight into the invader. James gulped slightly. Damn, this guy was scary.


----------



## Island (Oct 26, 2013)

*The Gray Man*
West Saint Haven

Who was the strange man that lived on 125 South 30th Street, Apartment 48? Some say that he suffered from a terrible condition that bleached his skin and ate away at his sensory organs. Others say that he was a burn victim who lost everything in a terrible fire several years back. Of course, there are some who insist that he?s a mutant and needs to go back into whatever hole in the ground that he crawled out from. Then, there are those who say that he?s not of this world. Instead, he is a being of extraterrestrial origin with from an unknown world and with an unknown purpose on ours. Did any of these claims stand out? Were any of them even the least bit grounded in reality? Nobody would dare ask Mr. T. H. Grayman for the truth. If he really _was_ the victim of some horrible skin disease or, alternatively, a fire that destroyed everything he knew and loved, it would be rude to pry. Meanwhile, if he actually was an alien, he might respond to such a question in? undesirable ways.

Other than his strange physique, Mr. T. H. Grayman was an otherwise ordinary man living an ordinary life. He made his money as a stock broker in Central Saint Haven and spent his free time at the bowling alley and periodically visiting his neighbors. In particular, he was good friends with Ms. Goodwin from next door, the kindly old lady who invited him over for dinner a couple times a week. He was also friends with Mr. Anderson, the single father who would sometimes ask him to babysit his kids. Overall, Mr. Grayman did everything that an ordinary person did: he went to work, paid his bills, went grocery shopping, and was even an active participant in his community. How could somebody like him, such an upstanding citizen, possibly be an alien?

_?Feeble humans,?_ Grey murmured to himself as he strolled down the street and toward the Roswell Apartments on South 30th Street in West Saint Haven.

Though he didn't wear clothes when he first came to Earth, it quickly became evident that such was necessary if he wanted to integrate himself into normal human life. On this particular day, he left work early to do some grocery shopping and was still in the expensive black suit that one would expect to see being worn by wealthy businessmen in Central Saint Haven. On his right arm, he carried a hefty brown paper bag of groceries, including all the usual things: milk, eggs, assorted fruits, canned vegetables, and some other random snacks that Ms. Goodwin gave him coupons for. On his left, he wore a fancy silver watch and held it up to his wrist to check the time. At this point, if he had a face, he would have made one of disgruntlement.

_?They can never do anything right.?_ He shook his head in disappointment.

While Grey was in the checkout line at the local supermarket, he received a phone call from one of his coworkers, asking if he could come back to work for the evening. At this point, all Grey wanted to do was go home, relax, have dinner, and then continue his hunt for the wretched creature that he pursued all the way to this backwards ball of mud. Just how was he supposed to do that if these backwards primates couldn?t even go a couple hours without needing his assistance?! Was a little peace and quiet too much to ask for?!


----------



## Bringer (Oct 26, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Three bitches enter the fray_

Well this was a turn up, much more of the heroes the Mayor mentioned before had arrived. First a man with a sword. The first bitch entered the fray. Before Mike could properly observe how much better he was, the second bitch entered the scene. A man teleported inside the room, sparking confusion as heads turned. Mike smirked as a gun was pointed to Simon's head, and grinned when he saw it was Kimberly who was holding the gun. Turning back towards the instructors he had not noticed the third one.

A white haired girl, in a tracksuit. She walked as if her shit didn't stink. She was the biggest bitch of them all, she had the fucking nerve to walk up to Mike... and tell him to get up. The jet black haired boy looked Lillian right in her eyes, sat up, smiled sweetly, and then crushed the chair with one single axe kick. The wooden chair shattered to multiple pieces. He turned back to Lillian and looked her in the eye once more.

"You can shove those wooden pieces right up your stank cunt bitch." 


*Kimberly Higgins*
_Alex sensei and the interloper_

Upon seeing Alex, Kimberly's face brightened up, and she got out of her chair. Alex had been Kimberly's martial arts instructor for years. She had learned so much from him, but she still had a long way to go before she was just as good as him. 

"Alex!"

Suddenly she sensed someone, she quickly pivoted 180 degrees, and aimed her gun at Simon's face.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 26, 2013)

Lillian watched impassively as Mike literally shattered the Mayor's chair into pieces with a single kick, her facial expression surfacing just as she desired.  Unamused, unmoving, and with a silently simmering glare.  Her body language was relaxed, though, and she observed Mike's posture in that instance, as well as everyone else there.  He was cocky, for sure.  But didn't seem hostile, at least not at the moment.  He held himself centered, though, so that habit probably lent itself to quick reactions...he was adaptable, or could go this way or that very easily.  That might lend itself to his mindset, as well.  She tucked the note away for future use.  But at the same time he'd be trouble if not reigned in early.

_"Maybe we should nip this one in the bud?"

"You're preaching to the choir, Alvin."_

"Done? If you're here to join the team, act like it."  She had a piece of the debris in her hand.  When did she have time to-

With a quick flick of the wrist, she'd thrown it at Mike, grazing his cheek with eerily precise accuracy. Her control over her body kept her eyes from widening as an immediate response, but she was rather surprised to see the small cut across his cheek instantly seal up.   "Or I'll have to make you."

_"He reminds me of what you were like when we first met, I think."

"And that's the part that potentially scares me."_  She'd definitely have to keep an eye on him, especially.


----------



## Hossaim (Oct 26, 2013)

*Simon*
Simon waited a moment before moving. 

_"State your intentions"_

Simon smirked a little. His little entrance seemed to have tightened everyone's panties a few ticks too tight. 

"Calm yourself hotshot, no need to be so serious. You invited me here."

He took a moment to look at his surroundings. He had a gun pointed at him. Inside the room was the mayor, the girl with the guns, this random prude, some kid who looked like getting punched in the face would shatter him, some random fish thingy, and a guy who appeared to have serious anger managment issues. There was a gigantic hole in the wall. He guessed that it mr. anger management was responsible.

He directed his attention to the girl

"Relax cupcake. With panties as tight as yours I'm surprised you can even move. Now let's all calm it down a bit".

He strided to the back of the room and leaned against the wall.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James watched Simon as he looked at the room. "Calm yourself hotshot, no need to be so serious. You invited me here." He said to Alexander Fortis, then he turned to the girl the demi-god now recognised as Kimberly. "Relax cupcake. With panties as tight as yours I'm surprised you can even move. Now let's all calm it down a bit." Given his disposition, James half expected Alex to just lash out and throw the guy out the window, but the suited man remained impassive and unamused. That is, until the guy got up and began walking. 

The next few movements were a bit of a blur to James, the sword-wielding man's moves efficient and precise. A single hand shot out, his fingers hooking into the man's collars, then with a swing, the instructor threw him across the room, throwing him against the wall. His eyes glowed a crimson red as he approached Simon, his sword still not fully unsheathed. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't quite believe you," Alex said. "Your entrance erred slightly on the suspicious side." James then looked around to see what Mike and the short girl were up to. Apparently, Mike had decided to have an angry outburst on the chair, while the girl dressed in white grazed his cheek with a piece of debris.

Higgins coughed, clearing his throat. "Now, now, Alex, Lillian. That's quite enough." He said. "A little bit of discipline is fine, but we don't want to scare them off the team." The mayor smiled, looking at Simon. "I apologize for my friend. Your entrance, while stunning, just had us a bit, ah..." He paused for a second. "Startled."


----------



## Bringer (Oct 26, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Predator of Prey_

He didn't expect any of it. He thought he had scared her off after smashing the chair, but instead this bitch had the nerve to actually make a move. The worst part is the brown eyed boy was totally caught off guard, she could've have killed him. His hand searched for one of his pocket knives, he was resisting the urge to strike her down here and now. He wasn't sure what her powers were, and he wasn't nearly as skilled, but with the element of surprise he was confident that he could take her down.

For some unknown reason... he didn't.

"Fucking bitch."

He muttered, before dropping it altogether.

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Simmering Down_

She put her gun back in holster, this man obviously meant no harm, and had Kimberly not been shocked she would've have sensed there were no malicious intent.

"Alex, it's okay, he's alright." 

She called out to her teacher.


----------



## Fedster (Oct 26, 2013)

*1st Sonata - The Finished Symphony*
*Bach*
_South Saint Haven - 2nd Part_

Mr. A left the room by the doorless hole of the basement, leaving his thugs to deal with a pathetic scientist and an apparently still android. Dr. Seanfield did not know that the Update had fully loaded and the systems were turning on, but what he did know was that, as it was the first time, it would take her two full minutes to spring into life. That was his reassurance. _'Two minutes after the Update, and I will be saved. However, how can a man like me hold two baboons like the ones before me?'_ He eyed his work. _Their_ work, he corrected himself. Their enterprise. Their dream. Their _hope_.

_'I have to protect *Her*. No matter what.'_

"Let's get this over with.", said one of the hired men, walking towards the still android on the table. Dr. Seanfield dashed and jumped on him, holding him in a sort of embrace as though his life depended on it and ocassionally punched him in the face. "Ah! Get this fucker off me!", Said the thug. The other one closed in on them and grabbed the doctor's sides, trying to pull him out of his companion. Finally, 30 seconds after, he could separate him and throw him to the other side of the room. Seanfield lost his breath momentarily.

"Let's kill 'im first. It'll be easier that way.",the second thug stated, and the other nodded. Dr. Seanfield looked up, his eyes depicting horror behind the black curtain of hair. He couldn't die just now. In his mind, he was counting the seconds left to Bach's awakening._'80. 79. 78. 77...'_ Oh God, why did it take so long!? He needed to think of something...There must be something. There always was...

His face illuminated. The scientist stood up, resolved to protect their creation. The two goons started to lunge towards him, and, surprisingly, he squeezed through a gap between them, as he grabbed a welder that was loitering around the floor, and turned it on. The flame peek through the opening, menacing the thug's body. _'63. 62. 61. 60...'_

That plan worked sort of well. It would've worked splendidly if it were only one of them, though. Dr. Seanfield charged at them like the crazy man he was and was able to burn one of the thug's eyeballs before the welder was taken away from him and he was kicked the living daylights out of him. Luckily to him, the whole action entertained the thugs for enough time. _'13. 12. 11. 10...'_, he counted, as he fell to the floor, bleeding from mouth to nose to ears, and even from his black eyes. "Stop.", Said Thug 1,"He told us to leave him alive to see how we destroyed everything."

"Shit. You should've said something, moron.", Insulted Thug 2. _'9. 8. 7. 6...'_, "We could've just restrained him and I wouldn't have lost a fucking eye!". _'5. 4. 3. 2...'_

"Well, let's just destroy that thing.", Thug 1 turned around to Bach.

_'1...0.'_

The screens turned off, indicating their completion. The cables connected to the android detached themselves, their task finished. An artificial breathing was heard. A flutter of eyelids was seen. And the awakening of a new, invented life was felt.

Project B.A.C.H. was finished, and Bach rose to her feet, her baggy, military-like pants looking as though they were barely hanging on her waist, and the white, sleeveless shirt constrasting with its tightness.

"Command!", shouted Dr. Seanfield. "Eliminate standing males!", the two thugs shifted their gaze from Seanfield to Bach, as she opened her eyes and her menacing blue eyes glared at the men's, her order received.

Everything ended in a blink of an eye. Her hands turned into sharp, long swords and she dashed towards the frightened men, slashing their throats open, mercilessly. The thugs fell to the floor with a loud thud to stand no more. Her hands turned to normal, yet they stayed tainted with crimson blood. Bach looked at her Creator, who bled profusely and was barely alive. He shook his head as though saying _'Don't save me.'_

"Command,", He said, with the weakest of voice, barely audible. "Follow your mission, and then...", he coughed some blood. Right now, the only thing keeping him alive was his determination to finish his sentence. "Follow what you think it's right. For the greater good.", his head leaned forward, as though nodding. However, it didn't bend back. Dr. Garry Seanfield was dead.

Bach turned away from her Creator's corpse, breathing and staring into the stairs that would take her to the outside world.

"I will, my Creator."


----------



## Chronos (Oct 26, 2013)

_Ulric Belric_
_-The Soul of The King-_

​
There are times where I wish I could share the perceptions of the other people. Not only the minds of the thinkers that helped mold the moral code, but of the little, the smart, the wise, and also the ignorant. Because there I would have a tool of understanding. Something that will help us achieve change. I'm not intent to demonize or ostracize humankind, I wish for progress through understanding. I don't believe I hold the power nor the will to change the world. I'm not exempt to anger, negativity and the other. I am part of the cycle and much like everyone, I have my flaws. But I believe that a wish can be granted only if man finds the need and the will to do so. But how to move a nation? Or change the will of a person? How to eradicate fear, anger and close-mindedness? A man's will is different, to shatter bone is much easier than shattering ideals. Not many will share a haughty goal where man is powered simply by selfless need. We are all a tad selfish, we need to understand that. However, how can we use that to power an ideal for a better future? I don't wish for machines to be upgraded nor a cure for an illness. Although it maybe beneficial, mankind's mayor problem is with itself. We treat other lesser than ourselves, I myself have felt this sensation. We all had at one point, but, I wish to stop. But at the same, I feel it's impossible.

Mankind, humankind in it's essence it's flawed. Who am I to change the fate of the world? I was given the power of the King. I am King. That's is what's certain to me as what I am cannot be explained. I have the form of a human, the look of one, the ideals of one. I wish to form a better future not only for me, but for the people. At the same time, I wish to eradicate the vileness of the city, I want the flames of justice to eradicate those who's belief and philosophies are being implemented into the lives of the innocent. Yet I know that as King, I must not choose one of the other. A path where I keep in the straight and narrow, I wish to elude my senses and disclose to the world the change that's about to ensue. But, there is not change, I will not change the world, I have not the ability, even as King, to do as such. 

I will not save the pigs who dared look down on the society they themselves are built upon. Who's to say? I am no God to bring salvation to any, neither am I the Devil, that brings damnation to the evil. I follow a path paved with questions unanswered. 

However, I am still King. 

Yet, I have not the will nor the power to move and so, I've become the king without the crown. That which marks my ancestors is lost to me. And so, I masquerade. He who has the freedom and the will to take things into his own perspective, which higher status of man is greater than that of a King? I am not bound by the chains of society, neither will I step against the heroes that dare halt my path. No matter what goal or ideal you might weigh on you shoulder. There is no man above me. And as such, I've become the combination of all kings. 

When I am bequeathed with it's power, I am only know as the man of the mask...

Aeon.​


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 26, 2013)

Lillian observed the tension in Mike's form closely, then relaxed as he seemed to drop the matter.  Odd.  For all intents and purposes, she thought that he'd...more than likely have taken that a bit further.  She sensed the Alvin observed it as well.  She stalked back to the Mayor's side, crossing her arms as she leaned her hips back against the front of his desk.  Still, it wasn't wise to dwell on the reason why he dropped the matter.  Knowing how she used to be, he'd get even later, and it'd be a whole nother thing.

"Right," she observed, in agreement with Higgins.  Still, she wouldn't mind shocking a _few _away, in the end.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
Alex relaxed slightly as the two Higgins' spoke, nodding at Kimberly. James frowned at this slightly. She seemed to know him from somewhere, the way she spoke to him with such familiarity. Then again, the mayor referred to the man as 'friend', so it's possible that he was a family acquaintance or some such. James mentally shrugged, deciding that it wasn't really all that important and looked at Lillian, the aura coating his fist dissipating into wisps of light, but his eyes remaining the gold colour, examining the woman curiously. "Weird." James muttered. Within the container, he saw _two_ souls. One was a smooth, icy blue, while another was a vibrant green. He blinked a few times in rapid succession, trying to make sure he wasn't seeing things, then shut off his power. "_That woman is housing two souls._" It was something he'd never seen before. Was that even possible? How could a body house two spirits?

Then, realizing that there had been new arrivals since he had introduced himself, the young demi-god decided to do the polite thing and introduce himself. "Oh, er, hi. I'm James Brooklyn, 17 years old." He introduced himself, then gave another attempt at a smile, finding it slightly easier to move his face in this way than before. James was sure the mayor knew what his abilities were, but he didn't quite want everyone else to know what it was... yet. Not when he didn't know what _they_ could do.

Higgins nodded. "Excellent idea, James." He said, beaming at the rest of the group. "Why don't you introduce yourselves to each other first? I want to make sure we all get to know each other first before the presentation of the team tomorrow." The mayor said, and for a moment, James detected a glimpse of genuine excitement and anticipation in the mayor's voice. The demi-god felt a twinge of guilt at this, but remained silent, still reluctant to reveal what he could do.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 26, 2013)

Joe disliked the job he was tasked with. The mobile device in his hand bleeped as the mafia member drew closer to his destination. The radar back in the base had detected a large signature of electromagnetic energy radiating from this area - one of the few locations in west Saint Haven not directly influenced by the mafia. This wasn't why James didn't like the job, though. The way he saw it, there were only two outcomes for this. One, this was just a giant waste of time and he spent time he could have used to get drunk doing a menial errand. Two, violence happens. The Italian was a capable fighter in his own right, but he was never one for brawls. Unlike most of his trigger-happy family, he preferred not to take out and load led into people. He sighed, finally arriving at his destination.

To his eyes, the apartment looked fairly unremarkable. Like most of the other buildings in west Saint Haven, it was covered in graffiti, the walls trimmed with moss and plant growth. His device seemed to disagree with his judgment, though, beeping more and more rapidly as he drew closer to the door. It was if the device had grown a mind of it's own at this point, radiating with anticipation as they neared the source. Joe's middle knuckle rapped at the wooden door, and then he waited.


----------



## kluang (Oct 26, 2013)

Squall 'Tribal' Strife-Zan

A morning meeting between the Soldier 1st Class and the mercenary leader of Radiant Bastion, Cid. He met Cid a few times. A ten foot tall cyborg who created the Radiant Bastion as the city problem solver, St Haven's elite mercenary force. A mercenary force for hire, conducting missions around the city as battle support and undercover operatives. Our services are requested by the government and civilians and our tasks range from providing military support to protecting civilians.

It seems crime is on the rise again. Squall looks at the meeting room. Many decorating with steampunk influence fill the room. This is not suprisng as Cid himself is very steampunkish. Cid then enter the room with a stack of paper, no doubt contracts. "The north is the priority again?"

"Yeah. I need you to go to the mayor's office. He's assembling a team. You are one of them."

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No. You're a soldier, Squall. Follow your orders."


----------



## Advocate (Oct 26, 2013)

*El Espejo*

"My name is Martin Hernandez. I've come to join your team," the scrawny, starved-looking Hispanic teenager introduced himself in a monotone voice, first drawing people's attention to his presence. He's been standing near the entrance to the room for a while now, having habitually projected an omnidirectional illusion of nothing being there at all on the way to the mayor's office. He was too shy to approach those humans outright - especially the angry, violent ones; besides, it wouldn't have been polite to interrupt them. But now was as good a moment to join them as any.

He was particularly curious about the non-human among them. An amphibian, but... much bigger, and somewhat more humanoid than Martin's true body. The young alien began to cautiously probe his mind - just to get a glimpse of his emotions and his thoughts, and overall way of thinking. Usually he only read humans - but with some effort, he could get limited information from animals as well. Surely another sapient being would be easier than that.


----------



## Island (Oct 26, 2013)

*The Grey Man*
West Saint Haven

Grey spent the next half hour unpacking his groceries and organizing them into the shanty wooden draws and shelves of his kitchen. Then, after that, he made preparations for work. Those feeble humans, as he often called them, didn?t understand economics. Their economy went through rapid fluctuations, and humans saw their economy the same way an intelligent being would see a lottery. To them, investing in stocks was like betting and involved a lot of risk, but to an educated being, one of superior intellect such as himself, it was obvious which stocks to invest in. He knew just how to manipulate the market for monetary gain. For the most part, however, Grey only served as an adviser. In other words, he invested for others so that nobody would suspect that he was, in fact, an extraterrestrial being of superior intellect that was manipulating their rather primitive market?

_Knock, knock._

Somebody was knocking on the door.

Grey adjusted his tie and straightened his jacket before heading to the door and answering it.

?Greetings, fellow human.? Grey attempted to disguise his identity, but his gray complexion and lack of face probably didn?t convince anybody that he was, in fact, an ordinary person.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 26, 2013)

Temple Lea Soriente - A Family Affair
West Saint Haven
_________​
Temple breathed in and out.  He could feel his left cheek bruising as he was held down into the tatami mat, and the knee in the small of his back causing a similar affair to form there as well. 

"Let go of him," Kaito ordered, kneeling to help him up.  Temple smiled faintly at the help, and then brushed himself off.  "I'm not sure what you just did, but I know two things."  The yakuza's boss keen eyes flew over him a bit longer, and he paused.  "Dan had been acting strange this entire week, but it was ever since he'd met with you.  Nothing had happened, however, that was as drastic as a berserker's rage."  Then Kaito picked up the katana a few feet away, and Temple tensed a little.  Should he try and write in a command right now?  Would he be able to react that quickly?  Kaito was obviously a bit more than he seemed, at first glance, but...

Kaito obviously read the expression on his face, and shook his head.  "This...was a family heirloom.  And your blow, in an effort to save me, nicked it."  Temple's eyes darted to the blade, and saw the small chip where he'd caught the katana on Dan's eyesocket.  Closing his eyes, he sighed internally.  A katana was not a sabre or a rapier.  It always happened like that, he was finding.

"As much as I wanted to...perhaps do business with you, I'm not sure I can, with such a grave insult having been dealt to my ancestors."  Kaito nodded, and the several underlings that had arrived all departed, leaving just Kaito, Iggy, and Temple to their conversation.  "But I'll tell you what I can do.  While I personally do not see fit to associate with you, I will not kill you either.  But I wouldn't hear the end of things if I let your talents escape this organization.  I'm going to recommend you take a visit to an associate of mine, Piccolo.  There's...no need for you be taken there in secret, however.  You'll follow a tunnel, with these directions.  You'll find him at this address."  

Temple blinked, and Kaito's features, for the first time, took on a slightly menacing appearance.  "Hai.  A prison, make no mistake.  Now hurry.  Visiting hours aren't for much longer.  You'll be needing to clear your schedule, I'm afraid, Temple-kun."


----------



## Fedster (Oct 26, 2013)

*2nd Sonata - The World*​









​
*Bach*
_South Saint Haven - 1st Part_

3 steps left. 2 steps left. 1 step left.

Outside of the basement.

It was different. Well, not like she had seen so much of the previous room. Only a glimpse, her hands turned into swords, cut strangers' throats and saw her Creator shut down for good. She had only seen him briefly, yet...She knew him so well. She did not know that Dr. Seanfield had written on her his memoirs, and scanned photos of him and his wife and uploaded them on her, so they could live through her and someday, maybe someone would read those. But first, Bach needed to keep walking to her first destination: the front door.

She took one, two, three algorithmically-calculated steps on the creaking wooden floor. It was a very small house, and very shabby, too. There were little to no furniture, and they were dirty as though no one had bothered to clean in months; insects infested the place, now more than ever due to the corpses downstairs; and there was this penetrating stench that bothered Bach's synthetic nostrils. However, she did her best to ignore it, and send a robotic hand to the door handle. She felt in control of her own body, even though she did not feel like an android.

By the way, she asked herself, what am I? A human? But, according to her database, humans were born from another humans, specifically _female_ ones. Then why was he the one who made her? Was she an exception? All this she asked as the handle was turned and the outside world was revealed to her.

It...Was _very_ different from what she had in her brain. Why were the tall buildings, the green grass and the lakes replaced by buildings almost in ruins, overflowing trash cans and sewer water? Everyone also looked so dirty, so _somber_ even, to the smiling, clean people in her database. Bach, with her flawless white skin and blonde hair, stood out a bit too much in that enviroment. Yet this fact was unbeknownst to her, for her emotions program was a bit...messed up, if you may.

Bach walked forward to the street, her eyes forward, her back straight and her steps coldly calculated. Everyone was staring at her. What is this blondie doing here? Does she not know where she is? Should we rob? Or should we...Have a little fun with her?

"Hey, sweetcheeks!", called a rather bath-neglected gentleman, in group with equally unwashed men, all grinning stupidly. The man closed in on her and soon she was surrounded. "Whatcha got fer us?", he asked, and Bach stared at him, processing his rather poor English and reaching a proper answer.

"I have nothing that may be of use to you, sir.", she replied, and the men laughed hysterically.

"HAHAHAHA. _Sir_. Ain't no one who had called me sir before.", He told his friends and then, to Bach. "Oh, y'know what I meant, woman. We want your _pussy_.", And as he said this, he put a hand inside her pants, and attempted to touch her sex...Or he would, should Bach had any.

"Is this how humans greet each other? By grabbing their genitals?", She asked, genuinely intrigued. He imitated the proccess the man did. However, with much more strength. The man screamed painfully as his genitals were squeezed by the android.

"STOP! STOP!", Bach, confused, let go of the man and watched the group ran away in fear.

So that wasn't the way humans greeted each other. Then what was the man trying to do to her?


----------



## kluang (Oct 27, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife-Zan*

He arrives at the mayor's office and walk into the room. he's been here a few times on work related jobs and this time is no difference. He sees a few people already gathered here including the mayor and his daughter.
 "Mr. Mayor, Kimberly. It's been a while." and he looks at the others and he have a pretty good idea what just happen.

"This is not the arena to prove yourselves."


----------



## ?clair (Oct 27, 2013)

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

He had been perfectly fine with the idea of tuning out those idiots until the Mayor had something of real substance to say. Yet, the man was too occupied with calming his (annoying) daughter. In a way, he was glad that his race was as bloodthirsty as they were, as that prevented the creation of such frail-looking people. 

And then, in a matter of minutes, several people were added to the now-cramped room, and the one that stood out most easily was Fortis.

The man had an aura of invincibility around him, and the steely gaze he possessed reminded him of Captain Balthe, one of the most esteemed generals of D'malta, the capital of Ivatoh. Then again, this man, Fortis, was slighter than Balthe, and seemed to be faster than sound, if not light.

He was something to keep an eye on, and Ze'ev's annoyance melted away. Finally.

Just as he was about to stand up and demand the Mayor to speak up on the mission, another voice cut into the noise. It immediately dimmed.

How... had he not noticed this presence before?

"My name is Martin Hernandez. I've come to join your team," the scrawny, starved-looking Hispanic teenager introduced himself in a monotone voice. He stood near the door, and held a resigned look to him.

For the first time since arriving ashore, Ze'ev spread out his senses, and felt.

This man's energy, his Force, held an uncanny resemblance to his.

Force was strange in the way that it also acted like DNA. No two races could have the same Force signature or makeup, and no two people could have identical threads that made up their unique Force. It was what allowed sensors to differentiate between energy signals. Without the separation, sensing would be impossible.

This boy, for he could not be older than sixteen, Martin, held a steady and lukewarm bubble of Force. It was colorless, almost transparent, like a whisper of the breeze could blow it away.

An illusionist - and right now, he was trying to probe his mind.

A valiant effort, as he had mental barriers up. He loosened them slightly, and almost wryly smirked when Martin's eyes widened a fraction.

"I would call this an invasion of privacy in any other scenario, but right now, I feel generous."

Martin looked up at him when he spoke.

"Let me ask you this. Who, or more precisely, _what_ are you?"


----------



## Advocate (Oct 27, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Martin looked up at the other non-human, feeling his heart sink. He had never encountered someone who could detect and repel his probes with such ease and speed before. Of course, some people would eventually figure out that something was off, and there were a few strong-willed humans that could shut him out if they did suspect that their minds were being meddled with. But he had never encountered anything like this before. It figured.

"I am Martin Hernandez," he repeated stubbornly. "I did not lie about that. As for _what_ I am... I am afraid I cannot tell you, because I do not know. I do know that I am not a human and that I am not like you, although I was born here and grew up among humans."

It was an uncharacteristically bold step; but if he was to work together with this team, he may as well be honest with them from the start.

His human persona's eyes blinked reflexively; his real, deep black eyes stared on unblinking. Martin was not sure if this big man was still affected by that particular illusion or if he saw him as he was - an even scrawnier, web-footed, big-headed, olive-skinned humanoid, standing at the door with a slouch. Tentatively, Martin moved into the room, approaching his interrogator.

"I apologise for my invasion. But I feel like I should ask you the same question. Who are you, and what are you?"


----------



## ?clair (Oct 27, 2013)

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

Hernandez looked a little taken aback. Ze'ev felt his energy thrum faster, almost like a heartbeat of its own sort, and realized that Hernandez was feeling nervous.

Of him?

"I am Martin Hernandez," he repeated stubbornly. "I did not lie about that. As for _what_ I am... I am afraid I cannot tell you, because I do not know. I do know that I am not a human and that I am not like you, although I was born here and grew up among humans."

He thought they were different. Somehow, they weren't the same. In the end, he denied being the same, and Ze'ev felt relieved. If there had been another Ivatish with him, he would have felt irritation at being constricted. Constricted of his freedom to act, because as a protector, he would have had to keep an eye on his kin.

Then again, was rescuing the city of Saint Haven any different a task? Or defending the Mayor, even?

"I apologise for my invasion. But I feel like I should ask you the same question. Who are you, and what are you?"

Hernandez flushed slightly.

To Ze'ev, it felt like he was seeing Hernandez through a veil. His eyes blurred whenever he glanced at him, and his mind tingled. He was covering up his true image through another illusion, and while Ze'ev could not fault him for being on guard, he still disliked being lied to. Indirectly or not.

"You may call me Ze'ev. I am one of the king's personal protectors, and a lieutenant in the Ivatish army. I come from D'malta," he said, interlacing his fingers diplomatically. Turning to face the Mayor, he added, "And I still await your debriefing on this matter."

The Mayor laughed nervously, his voice cracking.

"Y-yes, of course," he hurriedly assured him, not noticing the flash of red his eyes. He was getting impatient. "But, can we not finish the introductions first, my dear man?"

Rolling his eyes, Ze'ev sat down once more, feeling like his younger, more expressive self. His eyes, however, remained firmly fixed on Hernandez.


----------



## Narurider (Oct 27, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
Gadian stepped out his front door. And proceeded to drop to his knees as an overwhelming pressure slammed into him. What is this? This pressure...it’s like one of the more powerful spirits I’ve encountered, but...it feels like it’s alive. And it’s coming from..., “The mayor’s office?”

“Yes that is where we’re going, Gadian, aren’t you clever?” Meiko’s smirk had not left her face after she had slapped him. Why was she always so happy after she’d caused him physical pain? She wasn’t like this when she caused him emotional pain but whenever she slaps him or she kicks him in the groin it’s like she’s going to explode she’s that happy. It was quite creepy to be honest. “Well you’re going there. I’m going to meet up with Talia so you and the other freaks can have some privacy.”

“Hey! I’m not a freak!” Meiko gave him a look of appraisal in response and Gadian sighed wearily. He lowered his head and pretended to cry for a moment before his head snapped up and he gave her a death stare. She giggled at him and held her hand out to him. He raised an eyebrow confused for a moment before it dawned on him: he was still on the ground. He hesitantly took her hand and allowed her to pull him up. “I’m not a freak.”

“I know you’re not _a_ freak, you’re _my_ freak.” And with that Meiko suddenly began running and Gadian was literally dragged behind her as he slowly adjusted to the sudden change in movement. After a while he looked over at Meiko and gave her a look as if to say, Wanna race? The cocky grin that crept on her face when she saw this made it very clear she was expecting to beat him. Again.

They sped forward, occasionally dodging the few people that didn’t step out of their way when they saw the two teens hurtling down the street. Unfortunately for Gadian, his “gift” was his downfall as he span out of the way of a little girl he saw Meiko go straight through her. Then he proceeded to slam into a very bulky man with muscles the size of pistons. He quickly apologized and dashed away before the man could make it so that he’d never walk again. After all Gadian was a lover, not a fighter. Well he wasn’t really a lover either; he just liked using that excuse.

Gadian did his best to catch up to Meiko, but the damage had been done. By the time he’d reached city hall Meiko was standing there with a smirk on her face. As he skidded to a halt, he couldn’t help but hang his head in shame. He knew that some spirit would piss him off today but why did it have to be the spirit of a four year old girl? Why couldn’t have been some malevolent spirit of death or something? At least then he wouldn’t have felt some humiliated.

“Well it seems that while you were trying to dance with that behemoth back there, I won.” Gadian actually felt a tear come to his eye as she laughed at him. Why did she have to be so hurtful? As he pondered this he suddenly felt some sort of weight slam on his back and he struggled to compensate for a moment before balancing himself. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Talia had arrived and appeared to want to make him her steed. He saw the redhead smirk and was about to speak when she literally span around his body. Suddenly her face was inches away from his and her shapely legs were wrapped round his waist. He went bright red and began trying to speak but he couldn’t manage to form a sentence. In the end, Meiko had to come to his rescue.

“Hey, Talia! Aren’t you forgetting about someone?” Talia smiled at her and gave Gadian a kiss on the cheek that nearly caused him to faint, before detaching herself from him. She skipped over to Meiko and dramatically landed by her side with the elegance of a rhino. They gave Gadian a wave as started to leave. “Good luck in there Gadian! Try not to get eaten or something!”

“Can’t promise anything!” Gadian yelled back before entering city hall. As he made his way to the Mayor’s office he remembered the pressure he had felt when he left his house. Just what was that? It was a similar feeling to that of a possessed human but this felt more like two souls in one body that the body’s owner had full control of. He’d never felt anything like it before, it felt almost...godlike. He shook his head and swiped it from his mind as he walked down a long corridor to find a kicked in door. _I knew this day was going to be shit_. He sighed wearily and walked into the mayor’s office. Immediately his eyes were drawn to one person among the others in the room. He’d found the source of the pressure he’d felt. A boy, maybe about seventeen, whose very being seemed to draw Gadian’s attention. This boy was the source of that godlike pressure? Well, things had just gotten interesting.


----------



## Chronos (Oct 27, 2013)

_Ulric / Aeon_
-Heretics Must Die-  










______________________________________​
It hadn't been long since he came to the train station departing to the nearer jails of the city. After awakening to his ability, he's been suggesting many things to myself, he's been searching for goals and leads to him to believe that he's gonna be fulfilling a great purpose for not only humankind, but for himself as well. And so, he's had become one of those who pried enough out of the slums and gangs, that he managed upon an interesting but information, recalling what he has obtained through a denominated amount of time, he began to ponder his course of action, there was a man who seemed to hold power. Not only was he mobilizing an like-wise army shaped load munition and the rest, he also held the man power to allow him to become what he had proposed himself. He could achieve the greater goal of obtaining the crown of his birth right. What was a king without a crown? 

Lifting his gaze, as his eyes stared blankly a the speeding lights that flickered due to the speed of the train's velocity. They flickering was both annoying, and nostalgic. It reminded his of the many times he took this very route to the campus of his university here on the city. Someone would say he held a promising future, others would say that he was just a fool for following a path he had to pave out of all the misfortune that had occurred. Yes, he had not only killed a man, but he had lead the life of a loner and a criminal since then. But what is a criminal? It dawned upon him that the legal system is broken, and must be place in the hands of a man that can truly  hold just true. These men that had forgotten the meaning of truth and are solely in it for the purpose of wealth must die. And who else but the King to make an impact? I will begin my revolution tonight, when the moon had been placed on it highest pedestal, it would be the time for Aoen to make his move. 

*[12:47 AM]*​
A cloaked man dressed in dark, masked under a smile as wicked as those as demon's stood a top of the cross in the peak of the bell tower. The view was magnificent, under the very mask was a smirk that had dawn on the lip of this mysterious individual. Towering over everything that was before him, this was his birthright, his destiny, to be seen as he who stood above all humans. The moon placed neatly behind him, a moon so clear and pure it would turn men to werewolves in an instant. The lighting, causing his image to darkened, shrouded in the veil of darkness, the silhouette was perfect, in the near distance, there was the man he had been searching for. At this time it would be wise to strike, again, he wasn't a man of a plan, but a man-- no a King of action. 

He wouldn't miss, he knew it. A few lives would be cough in the cross road, but what better way to enact fear on the people than the lost of lives? There was no King who could solely rule under benevolence, if he wanted to rule, he must destroy the current system as a whole, and form it from the ground up. And so, he would take the role of evil for a moment, just for the greater good. Lifting the right hand, he pointed towards the jail far left wall. Powering an energy that was bequeathed from the bowls of his inner soul. Something unknown to humanity, but present nonetheless. This was the King's Power! Thanks to the heightened sense of his mutant powers, he could feel things within him rather notably, manipulating such an ability was only but a gift of Kings. Forming the shape of a gun in his hands.

A sphere began to flicker at the tip of his extended fingers, a surge of lighting coursed through his forearm, energy caused the cross to tremble, while a force was being released each second the energy was powered up. While this was only a single of his many abilities, this in itself was called...

_The King's Right Hand..._ 

*-Shink!-*

A blast of energy had been released towards the distance, it wasn't long before it impacted the wall and an explosion occurred. witnessing stone crumble, he noted the number of bodies that had turned to corpses. This was but a necessity, now it was time to take action. He saw the man he was searching for, and with a step, his image had vanish and he had reached speed of almost mach levels. Within seconds he had already make his way to withing the structure, using yet another of his abilities, his feet were glued to the ceiling looking down at his target.

"I've come for you, Piccolo."​


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 27, 2013)

Joseph blinked slightly at the man who answered the door, startled slightly by his complexion and . . . his lack of any facial features. Maybe it was the way the light was cast, but he was pretty sure he couldn't even see the man's eyes - if he even had any. The mafia's face gave nothing away, remaining impassive as stone. He politely waited until the grey skinned man finished speaking, before answering his question: "well, according to my device here, there's a big source of electromagnetic energy in yer house." He replied simply. This was in west Saint Haven, where their influence and presence was the most strong. No point in hiding anything. "So, I was hoping I could take a look." Joe finished, then looked at the grey man, his amber eyes focusing on where _his_ eyes _should_ have been. "Or do ya have a problem with that, bucko?"


----------



## Bringer (Oct 27, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_The Transpiring Events_

Well a lot has happened in a short period of time. Kimberly had remained seated in her chair after the whole Simon incident. The brunette thought Alex sort of went too far, throwing him against a wall. Though to be fair, she did have a gun aimed at Simon's face. The young women guessed that everyone was sort of uptight today, because danger was at every corner.

She watched as James stood in the middle of the office, and introduced himself. She would've have picked up right after him, but then another voice that she had not heard before filled the room. She quickly reached for her gun , why had she not sensed this man beforehand? Did he have mental abilities just like her?

Upon seeing him, she let go of her gun, deciding not to take it out of its holster. It was simply a scrawny looking teenager, no threat to anybody. Though she may have been underestimating him, his mental abilities seemed to be formidable. Then she felt it, something tricking her mind.

He was a telepath.
She was a empath.

_"Oh no you don't."_

Her mental abilities broke the illusions. No doubt about it, their powers could negate each other. Suddenly she heard someone say her name, she looked towards the entrance to the room.

"Squall! Its been a while, if you're here does this mean your joining the te-"

A hand grabbed Kimberly's wrist, she had been too distracted to notice. She really needed to work on her empathy sensing. The black haired girl was thrown, landing down with a thud and sliding a bit after the impact. 

"You're hogging the chair bitch."

She heard as she got up, ignoring her fathers hand that tried helping her.

"Kimberly dear, are you okay?"

"So here's how all of this is going to work, I'm the leader of the team, you do what I say? Is that clear?"

Kimberly turned to the boy, his jet black hair, his intense brown eyes. This wouldn't end well, and no she wasn't talking about the boy. She turned to her teacher Alex.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 27, 2013)

Temple Lea Soriente - A Family Affair III
West Saint Haven
_________​
_Let me explain something to you, that I learned reading Dan's mind one week before he died.  The experimentation process in the mafia targets 3 main groups.  Specialists, grunts, and the top of the food chain.  When I say specialists, what I mean to say is, hitmen, the mafia's scientists, dealers, or others who hold special talents that put them above the average street level thug, but who also lack authority, and are therefore below a mid level boss.  The others probably go without saying, thugs, and the men who run the mafia as kingpins.

You might be wondering why mid level bosses don't usually take to the powers.  It's for two reasons.  A head executive always has a second hand man ready to take things over in his stead should the experiment go wrong; and no one above him to betray should it go well.  Grunts and specialists can be lost, grudgingly in the case of the latter, but mid level bosses leave voids that cause violent power struggles between many of their subordinates in their wake.  What's more, they might even lash out for power against the top, lacking the leash grunts and specialists possess.  That's why you'll be hard pressed to find a mid level boss, anywhere in the modern mafia structure, who possesses super powers.  That's just the way it is with most mid level bosses.

Now, Do me a favor.  Forget everything I've just told you.

Piccolo was not like most mid-level bosses._

_________​
Temple glided through the visiting gates towards the end of a lavishly decorated hall, immediately recognizable as out of place to his senses.  There was no reason for a prison hall to lead directly to a single cell, nor for it to be this decadent.  Slowly his mind was starting to piece together the nature of what Piccolo's role truly was.  It wasn't just that prison was safer it was that...

He turned the corner, and was graced with...something entirely bewildering.

It wasn't just safer.  He had everything he needed in there besides.  Temple was greeted by a few prisoners who lazily gazed over at him from plush couches as he looked about, amazed at what was allowed to go on in a _prison _inside West Saint Haven.  The centerpiece of the entire room's furniture was a fountain that overflowed with wine, and there was even a balcony above, showcasing expensive paintings that rivaled those showcased in the Louvre.  Temple took a moment to simply take it all in, the layout, the half a dozen prisoners who also lounged about at their leisure, the kitchen nestled off to the side, the chandelier.  Bright, soft yellows, browns, and greens accented the walls and carpet, sans one, to the left...

It was simply a impossibility.  And with that thought, a voice cut through the silence.

"Ah, there you are.  Kaito told me you'd be arriving soon."  Temple watched as the wall to the left..._moved_.  It shifted, and he began to realize that the biliously green colored wall was sentient.  Alive.  The gluttonous form revealed itself to be none other than the person Temple had to assume was Piccolo.  The man was _huge_, far larger than any human should actually be.  It physically repulsed Temple to look at him.

Temple didn't stare, not in disbelief, or in general, no, he strode forward and nodded.  "Yes, that would be me.  Temple Soriente, at your service."  He sat down at the table vaguely oriented across from Piccolo, waiting.

"I wasn't too sure what he was on about," the man said, picking at his ear a little with a sausage of a finger, "but he seemed furious.  What is it that you did to get on his bad side?  Or rather, I don't care what you did to piss off that slanty eyed bastard.  What is it you _want_, my boy?"  He paused, then raised the same finger as if to silence the writer before he could even reply.  "And no waffling around the point, or dancing to ferret me out.  Be blunt.  What is it you want?"

And it was at this point that Temple began to notice movement, aside from the slight shifts of the prisoners located inside here with Piccolo, all about the oddly colored room.  It was gradual at first, but now he began to pick up on it better.  At the corner of his eye, slight, but feral shifts or pivots.  He didn't allow it to hold his focus for long, though, and turned back to Piccolo promptly, hand rifling through his pocket with smooth movements.  And then he felt something that made his heart sink, with the visual consequences of it coming soon after.

In front of him, a few shiny, metallic wasps danced about, holding the pen he wielded for quick use of his ability.  They seemed to be arguing over who'd get to hold it.  But when had they...?

"Oh, don't mind that.  They usually lift anything undesirable off whoever arrives here.  Kaito _did_ mention there was something a little off about you.  But there's a few things off about me _too._"  Slowly, from the edges and corners, Temple began to see things that shouldn't be able to move, indeed, moving, bustling, and active.  The suit of armor in the corner of the room made slight pivots every now and then.  Piccolo's shadow wiggled with a snake's agility, and the chandelier unfurled to reveal the form of a huge spider.  The tiny, metal-worked wasps darted about the fountain in droves that numbered in the hundreds or thousands.  A plush monkey with a tail that was much too long dancing about on top of the fridge.

_"Can he imbue objects with...mild sentience?"_  This wasn't a good place to be in.  Not without his pen.  Temple did as instructed; he cut to the chase.  "I need someone to heal me.  I've currently come down with an illness that even the most expensive doctors in all of Saint Haven can't seem to rid me of.  I need someone with abilities beyond that of mortal men.  Do you know anyone within your organization capable of such a feat?  I'll do whatever it is you need in order to requisition their services."

Piccolo watched the young man carefully as he spoke, drawing his head into a slow bob of a nod as he began to understand.  "Simple.  Take this."  He tossed Temple an inky black object, which upon further inspection, was a seashell.  It's outlines, contours, and shape were all dark, amorphous blackness.  As if it was entirely composed of shadow.  He felt a few tiny sets of legs scuttle against the palm of his hand as he held it.   "Bring it back here within a week, and we'll have ourselves a deal."  Temple looked down at the shell, raised an eyebrow, and then looked up at Piccolo, nodding.  "I can do that."

"Wonderful."  Piccolo snapped his fingers, and a bird flew into his hand, shaping itself neatly into a phone on command.  The behemoth of a mafia boss pressed a few buttons, and a series of strange squaks escaped the odd contraption.  It rang three times, and then someone on the other end picked up.  Temple held his breath.  Would he...finally escape this cycle?  "Hello?  Ghiaccio?  Yes, it's Piccolo, I have a favor to ask of you.  In about a week's time, could you-"

A powerful crash interrupted the conversation, and Piccolo dropped the phone as the wall opposite them collapsed with a bright flash of light.  The object instantly formed back to its original avian shape and flew away.  Something murky and vaguely viscous, a deep, ocean blue shifted quickly, darting from under a couch, and forming around Piccolo's body.  It was a nebulous blob, though Temple couldn't tell exactly what.  He looked in alarm at their new guest.

There was a blur of motion, and a man darted just inside the opening he just made, an odd mask on his face as he stood on the ceiling.

"I've come for you, Piccolo."

Temple stood, looking from Piccolo, and back to the man in front of them.  The prisoners all darted out immediately, and oddly enough...there was no sort of alarm sounding after this man's intrusion.  Then, Temple looked back at Piccolo and saw something that made his heart sink.  The huge, bulbous face was laced with a clear intent to kill, a wicked grin on his face, even through the sheen of the thick, mucus like membrane that had coated his entire body.

The wall behind the masked figure was rapidly beginning to repair itself, layer by layer, similar to the high speed regeneration of a massive cell wall.  A low rumble came from the depths of the room, and Temple's eyes widened.  With a strangely organic _click_, the wall set itself back into place as the hole sealed up.  The chandelier moved with clockwork elegance, quickly advancing along the ceiling towards the man with a deadly lurching of its eight legs.  The metallic swarm about the fountain lingered for a moment, and then circled the man on the ceiling in a frenzy, eager to nick or sting him.

"Is that so?  Well if you've come to play, just know that I play for _keeps_, whoever you are." 

_________​
Lillian kept her eyes on Mike as Alex moved to catch Kimberly, even her own reflexes brought her right in front of Mike within a moment's notice.  Her control over the muscles in her face did nothing to contain her visible anger.  She wasn't frustrated, or upset, and raised a hand as she knew Alex would spring back into action as well.  "A second, Alex." she murmured, other hand clenching into a fist.  She moved over towards Mike and stood over him sitting in the chair.  

"Hit me," she commanded.

Mike raised an eyebrow, but a mischievous smile was quickly forming on his lips as he tried to understand what he just heard.  

"Hit you?  Well sure, if that's what you want, bitch."  Mike got up and stepped forward from his seat with surprising coordination and speed, causing Lillian's eyes to widen, for just a moment.  

_"He's *fast*."

"I realize."_ 

Lillian's brain picked apart the mutant's approach piece by piece, the progression going through each individual step as slowly as she needed.  He was quick, but it was raw speed.  Undisciplined, erratic, berserk.  Child's play.

She didn't hit him, though.  Her legs moved under him as she swept him up, using his momentum against him.  Moving in counterpoint to the boy with a fluid economy of motion, Lillian instead made a deft swipe here and there, and then held a knife at the back of his head.  After a blur of motion, she stood behind him, other arm holding his shirt so he wouldn't fall face first, and then jerked him back up, speaking just quiet enough that only he could hear.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 27, 2013)

"What was it that you contemplated doing after I threatened you?  Waiting and stabbing me in the back of the head with a knife?  Really?  Yes, that's exactly what you'd have done.  And you want to know how I know that?  Because that's what _I _would have done, once upon a time.  And what I'll still do, if you push me too far.  You need to understand that this is a team, Mike Williams.  And that from hence forth, if you step out of line, it's going to end very, very, *very *poorly for you.  Powers or not.  Now introduce yourself to the newcomers."  She released his jacket with a slight shove, allowing him to stumble forward a few steps.  With a quick jerk, she tossed the knife she'd held at the back of his head at his feet.  _His _knife.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 27, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
Curiously, the demi-god observed Lillian as she spoke to Mike, his eyes tracing a path as he watched her take his own knife and throw it at his feet. "_She's fast, like that other guy._" He noticed, wondering if this was a result of housing two souls in her body or something else. But Mike did raise a relevant question, as much as James didn't want to admit it. "The guy has a point, though," James finally spoke up, keeping his voice as friendly and cheery as possible, "if we're a team, we're gonna need a leader or something to guide us. Especially considering how dysfunctional we seem to be right now." He said, carefully inserting a soft laugh into the last part. 

At this, Alexander Fortis, their combat instructor, removed his gaze from Simon and turned towards the rest of the group. "We've considered this, yes." He answered James, letting the small section of revealed blade slide back carefully into it's scabbard. "After the mayor's announcement of the team, there will be tests run for the group, done by myself and Lillian." He gave a slow nod towards the girl dressed in white, who likewise, looked back at him. James' eyebrow arched at this, slightly. A test could be interesting. Putting that Mike kid in his place would be fun. "A test for combat ability, and one for espionage and stealth skills. Of course, a high overall score is important here, but other peripheral factors such as decision making skills will be taken into account as well." The instructor explained, his gaze still kept at level with the team. The crimson glow in his pupils were gone now, replaced by his normal shade of steely onyx. A moment of pause was allowed, then Alex spoke again. "Are there any questions?" He finally asked.

The mayor looked around, smiling at the team. He seemed pleased, despite the glaringly obvious lack of trust between the team-members. Hell, in the past few minutes, a guy broke in through a window, then got thrown at a wall, while Mike had some... weird fit of random rage, before getting scolded by Lillian. Though, at the same time, James couldn't help but notice his face drop a little as his bespectacled eyes settled on his daughter. The demi-god quickly responded. "Nope. None from me." It seemed simple enough, right?


----------



## Fedster (Oct 27, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 2 -The World - 2nd Part_

Bach was fascinated with the world around her, even if her face showed nothing about that.Her electronic brain was processing every bit of sensation it possibly could. Getting out of South Saint Haven granted her access to the Central district, to which she found more interesting than its southern counterpart. The people were more clean, more elegantly-attired and, for some reason, more busy. Also, their eyes seemed dead, as though their lives were completely hollow. Oh, businesspeople. Always so dead and soulless.

Like Bach.

Her upwards gaze was interrupted by a bump with someone bigger than her. Luckily, her eyes didn't have to go down much. The man towered before her, looking down at her with an inquiring eyebrow. Bach look at him, her face devoid of anything. "I offer my apologies to you, sir.", her voice was monotonous. Her stance all stiff and straight. The man glared at her.

"Well, watch out next time. Now, get out.", the man said, a bit rudely. Bach analyzed his response and replied.

"May I ask why are you in such mood?"

"None of your business. Get out.", the man, as it happened, was on the lookout for the police, as his comrades were stealing the back in front of him, in broad daylight. Bach, however, knew nothing but theory about robberies.

"I do believe there is something.", The annoyance of the man was becoming palpable as her attitude became more and more intrigued. "I must investigate."

"Look, you _whore_.", He started, "You're fucking with matters that don't concern. Now, get out or I'll have to make you.", his fist waved in front of Bach's face, which was contorted in a sort of confusion, but looked like irritation as well. Her emotions programme wasn't functioning too well again.

"Make me? And what sort of artifact will you produce, sir?"

__________________________________________________________________________












Two hours later, Bach was walking down the halls of a prison, with men shouting indecent vocabulary at her, and throwing toilet paper for some strange reason. The reason why Bach was in prison was because the man attacked her, and her self-defense programme sprang into action, leaving the man into a near-commatose state. The android looked at both sides, frowning at the men who grasped their manhoods and even showed them to her. So maybe it was some way of greeting. Two policewomen were at her side.

"You sure asked for some trouble.", one said. "I don't know why someone like you were transferred into _this_ specific prison."

"Must be bad luck.", said the other one. Bach turned her head around.

"May I ask as to why am I being locked away from society? My Creator left me with a mission I must fulfill." The two guards looked at her, confused.

"Were you sleeping at your trial? You kicked the living lights out of that guy. And he has some really powerful friends."

Powerful...An adjective to describe a person with too much power in any sense. So a man that was powerful could lock away the people they want from society. Fascinating. _'I must acquire some power.'_, she promised herself.

"Well,", the guards stopped her at a cell, a most odd cell. Actually, it didn't look like a cell, but like a 5-stars hotel.Bach, in all her ignorance, would not be able to differentiate them, though. And a man, a very big man, was inhabiting it. "We'll leave you here."

"Well, well, well...", said the man, after the guards left. "Seems like you like to hurt my people.", Bach stood by the open cell door, not moving an inch. "First the guy in the South District, and then the one in Central...What ever did we do to offend you?", the man was being sarcastic, but the android took it as a serious question.

"The first man greeted me by attempting a genital contact.", The big prisoner spilt his drink. She was too direct. "The second one denied being interrogated on his inner troubles.", The man sensed something off about her. Not only was she too direct, but also seemed emotionless. AND if she could beat up two of his men to a pulp, then something could be expected about her. But also, she had heard something about her. She was in a sort of mission. Maybe _vendetta_?

"My name, _bambina_, is Piccolo, and I-"

"Piccolo, italian word for 'little'.", Bach interrupted, regarding curiously at the man. "It looks like you were a victim of irony, sir Piccolo.", His eyes went wide, and his face red. The shadows were creeping around the android. But yet, he saw, she was not scared of him. She kept on looking at him, fearless, defying. She either was too stupid, or she was too desperate for help. Piccolo grinned.

"I've heard that you are on a mission."

"Yes. I have to kill Mr. A.", Piccolo's eyebrow rised. That would be no easy target. She manipulated some shadows and threw them to her. She got hold of a seashell, petrol black in colour.

"Come back in five days. Bring that. Come alone.", He said, still grinning, satisfied with his new purchase. "I really look forward to seeing you..._Bambina_.
__________________________________________________________________________

5 days later, she returned. And Piccolo wasn't alone. In fact, he was the opposite of alone, which was in companny. A tall, frail-looking young adult was also at the cell, and him and her were looking at a strange, insect-like creature. Bach, of course, remained her confused, strangely at ease self.

"Will we engage in social reunion now?", She asked, sounding nonchalantly. How could she be so calm when there was all sorts of things moving about the place and with Piccolo is a sort of slimy shield!?


----------



## Bringer (Oct 27, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_What just happened_

One second he was preparing to punch that white haired cunt in the face, the next she was behind him holding a knife to his head, holding his shirt so he wouldn't fall over. Stupid bitch was all Mike could mutter as she let go, and he stumbled a few steps forward. Turning around, he noticed she had thrown a knife near his foot.

His knife.

_"When did the bitch take my knife?"_

Mike refused to introduce himself after the white cunt asked him to do.  Damn it, he hated when people read him like a book. The jet black haired boy listened to Alex speak. Tests to decide the leader? That's complete and utter bullshit.

"Is it really that hard to pick a leader!"

He yelled at Alex.

"Let's see what are the options?"

He turned to James.

"A obedient little bitch who seems like a doormat." 

And then to Kimberly.

"The Mayor's bitch of a daughter, who uses a fucking gun. Does the skank even have powers?"

And then the fish boy.

"Are we really going to let a fish lead the team?

And then to Simon.

"Can he do anything besides suck dick?"

And then to the man who had pretty much stayed quiet besides greeting himself to the Mayor and his daughter.

"Ooooh, we're going to let fucking squall lead? What kind of name is that anyway, bitch kill yourself."

And finally to the Hispanic kid.

"Shouldn't he be picking tomatoes or something?"


----------



## Chronos (Oct 27, 2013)

_Aeon
-Demon's Must Die-_













A large man stood under him veil in some viscus monstrosity form of armor, the wall behind him had seal within seconds of it's implosion, a man stood in the near distance, along with a woman who began to ask question that didn't seem to fit the situation at all. No matter, raising his head towards the man under him. His right hand rose to chest length, while view as the chandelier grew extension and began to crawl towards his position, other creature form the fountain circled him in conjunction with this creature. He hadn't much abilities to combat a plethora of living organisms, indeed this man wasn't anything that he'd expect. Then again, he was never a man with a plan. 

"Embrace this delusion, Piccolo. I've already caught you in my web." 

A kick and he had flashed through towards the chandelier that formed a spider. The quickness of it was enough to brace through the thousands upon millions of smaller insects, making them unable to react fast enough to crawl gripping it's feet colliding with the farther wall. A Kick of the ceiling and both had been placed air born, a twist of his feet, followed by his hips and body entirely, swinging the creature mid-flight and flinging it towards the millions of small creatures that were before him, colliding causing the room to rumble, wiping out his right arm in a flash, a hidden energy began to surge from the inner parts of his soul, a flash, the same technique as before that helped crack open the wall. Hands forming a gun, he pistoled the ability: King's Right Hand, colliding with the chandelier and exploding under a force stronger than what any had witnessed.

A clench of his teeth came after witnessing the swam of insect react, seems those efforts were for naught, twisting his body, he landed inches away from the boy whom Piccolo was speaking to. It only took a split second, his eyes connected with his, while with a slight sway of the eyes, he witnessed the female next as well. Their purpose wasn't important, but if they were simply caught in the crossfire... 

"Get out of here!" 

The left hand pushed the boy towards the distance, while he extended the right hand, instead of forming a pistol he spread his fingers, and this time a large surge was released, this one much more powerful than the last, engulfing a larger number of the insects that hurled towards him, however, these were far too many, with a kick, he leaped towards the far left, 180'd and avoided the collision, however, more came from the spot he landed and he followed suit, yet another kick at the ground so that he could avoid yet another close encounter, however this time, part of his arm was caught was caught in the crossfire, causing his blood to be exposed. A twist of his body, forming a 360' whirl, his feet sweep the lush furnishing the ground was adorned with. Battling wasn't foreign to him, it has been two years, however this was getting out of hand, he needed something, he wasn't at odd at this moment, and if he overused his powers he'd lament it later. 

If need may be he'll have to use it...

Noticing, these creatures were a cut above the rest. And the head was veiled in some armor, however... Quickly reacting, his movements directed him towards Piccolo, leaping his pointed his finger inches from Piccolo's mien. Surging energy from his finger tips, he was about to release the right hand's power.  ​


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 28, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James' smile visibly dropped as the black haired kid began speaking, his eyes turning a vivid shade of bright gold. He contemplated, in a brief lapse of patience, just moving up to him and punching him off the building through the broken window. Who was _he_ to think he was superior to James? An idiotic kid with some enhanced physical ability compared to a freakin' _demi-god_? Before he could act on it, his eyes instinctively flickered to the side. From the corner of his vision, he caught Alex looking at him strangely, then caught himself before he did something silly, taking a silent inhale of breath, his eyes returning to their usual colour. "_As if I let a kid rile me up so easily..._" 

The combat instructor stepped forward, taking a brief glance at Lillian as if to say 'I'll handle this one' then looked directly at Mike, his onyx eyes sharpened like blades. Alex had no intention of stealing a prot?g? from Lillian; she would be better suited for beating some discipline into this kid, but this was something that needed to be said. "And what about you?" He asked, an eyebrow ever so slightly arched - the first facial expression James had seen him make since the man entered the room. His tone was neutral, but there was a subtle hint of condescension in there. "An angry brat who needs to learn his place?" Another step forward was taken, until he was towered directly over Mike and this time his tone turned icy cold. The man was now positioned in a way so that the sunlight coming in from the now broken window directly hit his back, the golden rays cascading around him and forcing Mike to squint slightly as he looked at him. James wondered if he did that on purpose. "Or a kid who's in way over his head challenging his superiors?" Even though he wasn't talking to him, James still felt the chills from the way the guy spoke. As if the instructor was genuinely about to cut Mike down. If he responded to this, James thought, he was either very ballsy, or very, very stupid. Taking the opportunity to peek at Alexander Fortis' soul while his attention was momentarily focused on Mike, the demi-god's eyes shone a dull gold as he peered at the swordsman.

What he saw inside puzzled James slightly. "_He isn't even angry?_" The demi-god had expected a flaring flame of red, or maybe an ice cold blue akin to the first of the two souls James saw residing within Lillian's body. What he saw instead was just a normal, if not vibrant, ember of crimson. He turned to look at Higgins for a moment, curious as to how the mayor would react to this recent escalation of events. Baret Higgins simply stood where he was, examining the team with a curious look not unlike a scientist watching an experiment unfold.


----------



## Narurider (Oct 28, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
"The guy has a point, though," The mysterious boy finally spoke and Gadian could tell the friendly tone to his voice was fake. He could tell that this boy was far from happy with some of the people in this room. His interest was now double what it was before so he listened carefully to what the boy had to say, "if we're a team, we're gonna need a leader or something to guide us. Especially considering how dysfunctional we seem to be right now."

Well even Gadian could have guessed the dysfunctional part. After all, the door had been kicked in, which meant that somebody was obviously a bit full of themselves and was probably trying to show off. Gadian hadn?t even looked at any of the other people in the room except the boy and he could still tell that this was going to be one amazingly terrible team. The only question Gadian really had on the matter was who was the arrogant little prick that broke the door down?

"We've considered this, yes." Gadian?s attention was drawn away from the mysterious boy and was now focused on the man that had spoke. He was tall, black hair and damn did he have a gorgeous looking suit. Gadian?s eyes were drawn to the weapon that was being slid back into it?s scabbard. Obviously somebody had pissed this guy off earlier. "After the mayor's announcement of the team, there will be tests run for the group, done by myself and Lillian. A test for combat ability, and one for espionage and stealth skills. Of course, a high overall score is important here, but other peripheral factors such as decision making skills will be taken into account as well."

_Well that seemed simple enough,_ Gadian thought as the man asked if anyone had any questions. _Why would anyone need to ask any questions? It seems easy enough to understand: these tests basically decide who is going to be the leader. Only a moron would-_

"Is it really that hard to pick a leader!" Gadian?s eyes flicked to the owner of the voice, a boy with jet black hair. It was obvious from his demeanour that this was the guy who had broken the door down. Already Gadian didn?t like him. Then the brat made things even worse for himself. He turned to the mysterious boy Gadian had been looking at earlier and opened his mouth again, ?"A obedient little bitch who seems like a doormat." 

Then he proceeded to insult everyone else in the room, except Gadian who he probably only left out because Gadian was the only one who was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Then something interesting happened. The same pressure from earlier hit Gadian like a steam train and he barely managed to stay on his feet. He turned to the mysterious boy to find his smile was long gone and his eyes had turned bright gold. Well wasn?t that interesting? It looked a bit like when Gadian allowed himself to be possessed. What was this guy? Unfortunately he calmed down, which meant Gadian didn?t get to see just what the deal was with this guy. It did mean that the pressure was lifted from Gadian?s body though, and he could happily stand without using every last scrap of willpower he had to do so.

"And what about you?" Gadian?s eyes flickered back to the man in the suit and he couldn?t help but grin. He knew exactly what was about to happen. He kinda pitied the arrogant brat a little bit, but only a little. Gadian leaned against the wall as he relaxed and enjoyed the show. An angry brat who needs to learn his place?"

Then the man took a step forward and Gadian thought he was gonna smack the kid. Well at least he hoped he would. Gadian felt a shiver go down his spine as the man spoke again. There was something about the way he spoke that just...terrified him. "Or a kid who's in way over his head challenging his superiors?"

?Well if this isn?t the embodiment of a happy family, then I just don?t know what is,? Gadian muttered to himself, not daring to say it out loud in case he might be next. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were shaking. This man, with his beautiful suit and neat black hair, had quite a deceptive appearance. If Gadian were to have seen him walking down the street, he never would have guessed that this man would cause such fear in him. This man was just as interesting as the mysterious boy that he?d noticed the moment he?d walked into the room. This was definitely going to be a very weird day.


----------



## kluang (Oct 28, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Zidane- Zan*

"Yeah, I'm here to join your team." says Squall enthusiastically. Seems this time the mayor is serious about fighting the crime in this city. At least he can bust some head and do good at the same time. And make Radiant Bastion Mercenary Corp. much more famous then busting a few street thugs.

He then realize someone is missing. "Have you seen Rinoa? She's suppose to be here already." He then turn  his attention to the other team members who seem eager to show their supremacy. To much of a bother if you him. When Mike began to runs his mouth, he started to lose his cool.

" I'm not interested in being a leader. When you're a leader, you are not allowed to fail, because you have people who followed you. You fail, you will bring everyone down with you. Do you think you can handle that, boy?"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 28, 2013)

*The Meeting*
West Saint Haven

____________​
The building was situated in one of the deeper stretches of western Saint Haven, in Grove Street. Surrounded by mostly derelict and abandoned buildings, the Mafia-owned building was one of the few still used structures in a dead section of the city. The base itself was a modest looking two floor building with stone walls, coated in faded paint which gave way to patches of revealed brick. The inside was no more impressive. The walls were a dead, lifeless colour, while the floorboard itself was a plane of splinters, sporadically interspersed with holes in the wood. Tucked away in the living room was a large wooden bookshelf, layered with dust and decay. Behind it, was a indentation in the wall, which would collapse into a small tunnel leading into a basement room when scanned with the right card only the top members of the mafia held.

A small staircase led downwards into the meeting chamber, the corridor connecting to it being lit by dim lights. The chamber itself was considerably more impressive than the rest of the building. Despite the dilapidated appearance of the building's exterior and most of it's interior, this room was meticulously well furbished. It had been a hefty project, and required one of the wealthier members to pay up a substantial amount of cash both to build this and to keep it quiet, but it was generally agreed to have been a worthy investment. The room was deceptively spacious, with a small bar to the side and various leather furniture spread around the room. A single chandelier hung at the centre of the room, casting a bright gold light across the entire room as it dangled delicately above the long table, which was where most of the members sat.

The first to speak was a man messy blonde hair and green eyes, dangling a glass of wine in his hand as he spoke. "So, what was the meeting today called for?" He asked, with no attempt made to mask his boredom. The blonde was a tall, lean guy, with a perpetual smirk on his face. A faint horizontal scar lined his left eyebrow, and dangling from his right ear, was a not-so-small earring. 

"Rumour has it," another man replied, his voice deep and powerful, "that our lovely mayor has made one last attempt to stop crime from advancing in Saint Haven."

The blonde didn't even raise an eyebrow at this. "Oh?" He asked, with feigned interest.

"Quite." The man with the deep voice said. "They are no threat to us, but our spies inform us that Higgins has begun forming a team of people with special abilities. Just a few minutes ago, actually, I was told that the guards outside the mayor's office were all knocked out, and that the window overlooking it was shattered. It's likely they've already assembled." He finished.

"And why is this important to us?"

"As I said, they're not powerful enough to threaten us at the moment. However, it appears that the mayor has hired an Alexander Fortis and Lillian to act as mentors for the team." He answered.

At this, the blonde haired man finally looked at him, his expression turning serious for a moment. "Fortis and Lillian, eh?" He said, narrowing his eyes. "A resourceful old bastard, ain't he?"

This time, another man spoke up. He was quite tall, with a stocky build, with a thick beard that covered a considerable portion of his face. "Fortis and Lillian? As in those two from Neptune City five years back? The Originals?"

"Yes, you _idiot_. What other Alexander Fortis and Lillian do you know?" The blonde man snapped back impatiently. 

A cane struck the ground with a heavy sound. "Do this in your own time, my sons." He spoke, then turned to the blonde, who was now scowling slightly. "I want the team eliminated. Nothing high-end yet; a few gunmen should be fine. Pick an opportune time when the mayor and the team are all exposed and in the open and attack. If nothing else, it'll at least allow us to gauge how effectively they can operate at the moment."


----------



## Hossaim (Oct 28, 2013)

*Simon*
Central Saint Haven

"Well that hurt like a goddamn bitch. This guys is tough shit. Doesn't anybody have a sense of humor anymore? People are so serious these days. Can't make a joke without getting a bunch of guns on you then smashed into the wall. Ah well. Roll with the blows I suppose.

Heh, that rhymed." 

Simon picked himself off with a little laugh. He considered hitting back but from the power of that guys hit it would end with his violent decapitation. That fucker was fast too, Simon could have sworn he was not in the room when he entered. Instead, he would just let it slide. The room was a little stiff, and perhaps trying to lighten the mood was a bad idea. 

He walked up to the rest of them and titled his hat, and with a little bow he stated:

"The cardslinger, at your service."


----------



## Bringer (Oct 28, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_From bad to worse_

"Why don't you stick that sword up your ass."

Kimberly's jaw dropped in shock, as she watched the boy walk away back to the chair he threw her out of. He did this while giving Alex the middle finger. The green eyed girl walked up to her teacher Alex, they never got to properly greet each other.

"You sure got your work cut out for you Alex."

She said this as she hugged him. Obviously Kimberly was really comfortable around Alex, as if he was an older brother or even a uncle. After hugging her teacher, her eyes wandered all around the room. _Everyone_ had their work cut out for them.

Suddenly it happened, Kimberly sensed it a split second before, something entered the room, through the window. A small black blob, that jumped great heights, and moved with stunning speed. The blob made its way to Mike.

"NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!"

Kimberly pulled out her gun, as the blob jumped on Mike's face, sticking to it. Mike began stumbling everywhere and flailing his arms, accidently swinging at everybody in the room, and even punching some holes in the wall. As Mike stumbled around, Kimberly hovered her gun trying to find a way to shoot the blob without killing the jet black haired boy. Finally Mike managed to pull the creature off of his face, and to everyone's surprise it began screeching. The green eyed girl watched as Mike threw the creature at her father desk, the Mayor instinctively getting away from there.

Kimberly was about to shoot the damn thing, but Mike attempted to pounce on it. It simply moved out of the way, and Mike landed with a thud on the Mayor's desk. Kimberly took a shot, hitting the blob, but the bullet merely traveled straight through the obscure creature. It began screeching some more, as Mike recovered and attempted to axe kick it, only for it to move again and as a result, the Mayor's desk being chopped in half by Mike's kick.

Mike picked up each half of the desk, and began throwing it. One was headed towards Lillian's direction as the creature jumped towards there. The other Mike threw at Kimberly, as the creature quickly slithered by her. Kimberly barreled rolled out of the broken desks way. The creature was nearby her, and she dived for it, getting a grip. But to her surprise it merely slipped out of her hand as if it was liquid.


----------



## kluang (Oct 28, 2013)

Rinoa Lockheart- Central

She runs through the main street with amazing and continue to dash into the mayor's office and crash into the main door, knocking it down and she rolls inside the room and flip herself up and lands gracefully next to Squall.

"Sorry I'm late!!!"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 29, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
The demi-god's eyes shifted into gold once more as the strange translucent blob flung itself into the room, watching and observing as Mike and Kimberly frantically tried to capture it. In Mike's case, his 'attempt' at 'neutralizing' the creature resulted in the destruction of a fair portion of the office. The mayor seemed to be taking it in stride, though, watching in amusement. James had two options to go here. He was more than fast enough to just catch the thing, and could probably swipe it before it could dodge. Or, he could use his powers to try and capture it. "_Then again..._" He looked at Kimberly, noticing how the blob had simply slipped out of her grip when she had managed to capture it. "Guess it's time for me to show off a little~" The boy smirked, stepping forward. 

Tracing the movements of the strange creature, James moved quickly, shattering a piece of his soul and extending a single arm towards the general direction of the blob. The room became stained with a fuschia glow, contracted, homing in on the blob, before condensing and forming into a small barrier around it, sealing the creature in. "There we go. All contained." James smiled again.

Alex looked at Mike, looking almost amused. "Indeed. _Excellent_ leadership material; unable to even neutralize a simple threat." The demi-god resisted a snicker at this.


----------



## Advocate (Oct 29, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Martin remained silent as all of this occurred. He seemed to be an indifferent onlooker, as he took his place in the corner. In truth he was curious to see those people in action, and frustrated by having to restrain himself from mind probes. There was too great a risk of being noticed and resisted. Ze'ev, who was so unlike him and yet in some ways so similar, had repelled him and remained on his guard. But there was at least one other. Real Martin's big olive head turns on its thin neck to look at Kimberley Higgins. The Mayor's daughter. She was fighting back the illusions and could see him as he was, he realised. His deep black eyes stared at her, unblinking.

The rest of the team, he had no idea about. Some of them seemed unruly, but stopped short of attacking each other. Their trainers seemed able to handle them with ease. No doubt they too had prodigious mental defenses, if not powers. There was no need to press his luck with them just yet.

The arrival of that strange blob disturbed Martin, although he was relieved to find himself on the other end of the room from it. He was not sure whether it was a monster, a hero or anything else; though at the very least, it seemed as though it hadn't been invited.

Above all else, though, it was very odd how unperturbed the Mayor was by everything that went on. Yes, something seemed to be very much amiss about him... Martin hesitated for a few more moments, then sent a cautious mind probe into the Mayor's head. There were a few explanations for such behaviour, some of them deeply non-reassuring. While Martin thought that he could trust the man Father Diaz told him to meet, for the sake of the city and the team it was better to be safe rather than sorry.


----------



## Bringer (Oct 29, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Genre Savvy_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I couldn't take out a threat that my powers wasn't suited for taking it out. Hell that skank couldn't even take it out, so you're indirectly questioning her competence as well."

Mike's scowl became a smirk.

"Not even you could take it out even if you tried, unless you pulled something out of your ass, which wouldn't surprise me since I'd assume a lot of things are pulled out of your ass."

The jet black haired boy went up to the spiritual construct, kicking it.

"Take that you piece of shit!" 

The brown eyed boy turned to James.

"And you, don't get cocky, your powers were simply suited for restraining this piece of shit. I bet your mother would be proud." 

That last part was drenched in sarcasm. Mike walked away from the construct and back into his chair that he stole from Kimberly, his smirk returning back into the agitated look in his face. The annoyed boy put his arms around his head once more, and his feet on a piece of the Mayor's broken desk. Despite his argument and justification on why he couldn't stop the thing, he was still visibly bothered by the fact that James was able to do it.

"So why the fuck are we waiting here? You know how many people know about this team? How many people who would hate to see this project go through? I say we get the fuck out of here as soon as possible fatman."

He looked the Mayor in the eyes.

"Because first off, you're a big ass target. _Literally_. Secondly, everybody and their mothers know that we're all meeting up in city hall. Thirdly, you being here puts us all in danger, and you become a liability if a assassination attempt were to happen. It's pathetic and hilarious to imagine, your powerless daughter protecting you from an assassin, as you pathetically hide in a corner. Don't worry, if that happens I'll happily put you out of your miser-"

Mike's chair was tipped over and he came crashing down. 

"Who has the bal-"

The jet black boy opened his eyes to meet a gun pointing at his face, and the one holding the gun was Kimberly.

"That's enough out of you, _no one_ threatens my dad."

"Kimberly it's alright."

Mike noticed the intense look in her eyes, that seemed equally frightening to Alex's look. Unfortunately for them, Mike gave no shits, and wasn't afraid of either of them.

"Hmpf, hit me with your best shot bitch."

"Kimberly dear, that's enough."

Mike raised an eyebrow in amusement as Kimberly's intense look died down. So she didn't have balls at all. 

"Kimberly dear, that's enough."

Mike mocked the Mayor, but everybody ignored him. Kimberly turned to her father.

"I hate to say it, but he's right. This place isn't safe dad."


----------



## Hidden Nin (Oct 30, 2013)

Temple Lea Soriente - A Family Affair IV
West Saint Haven
_________​
_"The Villain Isn't Dead.  I know you've heard of it; it’s a staple of film and literature.  The antagonist one thought is dead or defeated really isn't. The obliterated slasher gets back up. The Terminator keeps on coming. The assassin refuses to die. Fate simply snaps back and brings this odd turn of events to bear against the hero._

_________









​
Temple was forced back by the momentum behind the masked assailant's shove, footwork from fencing allowing him to sidestep the suit of full yoroi crafted from ice that bounded past him with the clumsy gait of a gorilla.

"Get out of here!"  

He raised his arms in alarm as the man seemed to begin invoking a concussive energy field of some sort within a certain area.  Temple knew he wasn't fast enough, eyes glued to the attacker as Aeon continued to avoid the insects flying after him with preternatural sort of grace.  There was a flash of light and then...

Temple opened his eyes and lowered his arms gradually to see a shattered ice sculpture in front of him, the very same that had held the mannerisms of an ape and shape of a samurai's heaviest plates a moment prior.  But there was no time to catch his breath, as the battle raged on.

Aeon evaded the swarm a bit longer, blowing through even more, and then Temple watched as something odd began to take place.  The man's movements had gotten slightly...sluggish.  Squinting, he adjusted his glasses to get a better look from his vantage point.  He looked over at Piccolo, who was watching the fight continue with no veil for his dogged interest, and the other individual, some clueless blonde as far as he could tell.  Then he turned his eye to Aeon, and that's when he noticed it.  

Dripping from the quills of each of those small insects was something a deep, dark, red.  _Wine_.  _That _was why they were always hovering about the fountain.  Whoever this guy was, he obviously hadn't walked in here with a plan.  But luckily for him, he'd made a temporary ally in a certain writer who had just realized how dangerous an enemy the mafia was if this was simply one of their mid level bosses.

A sluggish, last ditch shot was taken, and Temple watched as the beam of light burst loose, but Piccolo's face slunk out of the way with inhuman fluidity, the huge man jeering madly in response.

_One._

Even in his slightly inebriated state, the masked man possessed alarming speed and accuracy.  Temple watched as he loosed a scatter shot of a multitude of shots, catching a portion of the swarm off guard with a volley of bisecting laser shots.  Temple concentrated very carefully on the battle unfolding in front of him, doing his best at kneeling beside the fountain to avoid notice.  As far as he could tell, this man was going to die if he didn't act quickly.  But what was possible in this situation?  Using the energy field had weakened him greatly.  

The blonde then sprung into action, and Temple realized he was truly in the company of only the prodigal.  Aeon leapt back, bounded off the wall, and then when it seemed he'd continued, applied his suction ability to stay planted on the ground, the robot barely missing him with a forearm that'd been adjusting to produce a chainsaw.  Aeon took another shot, and it sailed just a hair's width wide of the obese Italian.  

_Two._

There was a moment of pause, and the two young men locked eyes.  Temple simply mouthed the thread of fate that now bound the man's actions.  The third time's the charm.  

Without warning, he took aim, even as the remains of the swarm began to catch up with him in the gradually contracting room, and managed to loose a shot in Piccolo's general direction.  It found its mark on a shard of the chandelier that had now gone inert, ricocheted off into a mirror, and then found its mark on Temple's spectacle lens as he leaned forward to complete the process.  

_Three._

Without warning, the attack pierced right through Piccolo's lower stomach from an unlikely blindspot, and the large man looked down in sudden alarm.  His belly was pricked like a rotten fruit, and the contents began to slink out; disgusting bloated organs of all functions and sizes.  The massive form slumped into a motionless mass of flesh and fat before he could even attempt the task of turning to see where the shot had been able to catch him from.

There wasn't any time left to dwell on that, he had to make sure the guards didn't-

He took one step, and felt a moist, yet solid object underfoot.  Looking down, he met the eyes of what he could only assume was an electric eel, though composed of water.  It seemed it'd made its home under the lip of the fountain, and coincidentally didn't take kindly to Temple's accidental step.

Normally, he'd have found the irony in the creature's existence almost humorous, but at that specific point in time, the only thing he took notice of was the overwhelming amount of voltage it ran through his body.  He fell to the floor, suit singed, and the world went black.


----------



## Island (Oct 30, 2013)

*The Grey Man*
West Saint Haven

?Ah,? Grey spoke with delight, ?You have come to grovel, then??

The extraterrestrial motioned for the man to follow, turning away and heading into the recesses of his apartment. He stopped at his shabby dining room table where there sat a small black briefcase, presumably the source of the electromagnetic energe. As he opened the briefcase, he spoke, ?I presume that you are here because of spikes in electromagnetic radiation emanating from this room. That is an unfortunate side-effect of working with such primitive parts being, well, you know, lethal quantities of radiation. I mean, how can one construct a _proper_ electromagnetic pulse weapon with only parts available from a small consumer exchange center of a pre-interstellar civilization such as yours??

He paused as he opened the briefcase and carefully removed the contents, frowning at the product that he held in his hand, ?It is only natural, I think, that one would be displeased with the final result.?

?Still,? he continued rambling, ?It has its uses.?

?Admittedly,? he held what appeared to be a small gun-like object in his hands, polishing the barrel with his heads, ?You are the first of hopefully many to grovel, but it nevertheless pleases me that you have come.?


----------



## Narurider (Oct 30, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
Gadian watched quite contently as his entertainment continued to amuse him. He was laughing his ass off at the stupid jet black haired boy and the pretty girl as they frantically tried to eliminate the blob that had seconds earlier appeared to dry-hump the stupid boy's face. The stupid seemed to be trying his best to damage the room and all it's contents as much as possibly, while the girl was trying to get a good shot on the blob without shooting the moron. _Should of just shot it while it was on his face. Would've killed him and the blob, which would be a double win._ He raised his eyebrow in surprise when the pretty girl managed to catch the blob and it proceeded to slip out of her grasp. The entire thing was really quite comical overall. Gadian's amusement was ruined when the heavy weight from before crashed down on his shoulders and he winced in pain as he painfully managed to stay on his feet. There was a fuschia glow that seemed to hone in on the blob and Gadian watched as formed a barrier around the slippy little creature. Suddenly the weight disappeared from his shoulders and was replaced by the weirdest sensation that resonated from the barrier. It felt so alive almost like it was a sentient being with it's very own soul.

Gadian shook his head as the stupid boy seemed to be in the midst of a temper tantrum but his head shot up when he actually heard some actual sense come out of the boy's mouth: "Because first off, you're a big ass target. _Literally_. Secondly, everybody and their mothers know that we're all meeting up in city hall." Gadian couldn't believe it, the boy had some sense, not much but some. Then the boy ruined it by proceeding to insult the mayor and his daughter who, gauging from her very violent reaction to the stupid boy's threat towards the mayor, appeared to be the pretty girl that had been trying to kill the blob with the boy earlier. He watched as the girl pointed her gun at the moron and was hoping she'd pull the trigger when she turned to the mayor and spoke, "I hate to say it, but he's right. This place isn't safe dad."

Gadian sighed wearily. Well that could have been so much more entertaining if she'd just pulled the trigger. But alas, sometimes you don't get what you want in life and it just happened that what Gadian had wanted was the moron's brain, however small it might be, to be blown to smithereens. Despite his disappointment at his entertainment seeming to be over, he did agree that they did have to get out of there but there was something he had to do first. He turned back towards the barrier that held the blob. He stared at it for a few moments before turning to the mysterious boy he'd been staring at before, who he knew was the one who'd made the barrier. He walked up to him and finally spoke to somebody for the first time since he'd entered this building, "I'm Gadian, nice to meet you. Before we leave because the moron and girly over there have a point I need to ask you something. Who and what are you?"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 30, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James' eyebrows raised as Mike mentioned his mom, the purple barrier surrounding the blob cackling purple lightning for a brief moment. Then forcing himself to calm down once more, he smiled. "Yeah sure, champ." He replied. "I'm _sure_ tables and walls are a bit more 'suited' for your abilities." He let the sarcasm hang in the air for a moment. The demi-god usually wasn't one to lose his patience, but that comment about his mother struck a nerve. Though, admittedly, the moron did bring up a good point about relocating and perhaps hurrying things up a little bit. James didn't like feeling exposed, and with there being a gaping hole in the wall from where the window smashed, and a rooftop opposite it, he felt _very_ exposed. Of course, he doubted that there was any legitimate threat, given the presence of Alexander Fortis and the other girl, but still.

But this 'Gadian' guy, who had apparently insisted on staying quiet up until now, had other plans. I'm Gadian, nice to meet you. Before we leave because the moron and girly over there have a point I need to ask you something. Who and what are you?" He asked, approaching James. The demi-god regarded Gadian curiously. What brought _that_ question on? As far as he knew, he'd been acting fairly normally throughout the entire meeting . . . 

Though, James decided to humour him, nonetheless. Revealing a few things about himself wouldn't hurt, probably. "Well, er, as I said, I'm James Brooklyn. Seventeen years old." He paused. "As for _what_ I am . . . " A dramatic pause was made. "I'm a demi-god."

_________​
Higgins was a resourceful man, with many contacts. Throughout the city, there were various seers and psychics whom he knew personally. Among many of the things he did back when he still had the free time, was visit a few of them, and set up a few mental barriers around his mind. This made him slightly more 'aware' on a sub-conscious level, and as such, he could feel a small tingle anytime anybody tried to enter his mind. Such as now.

The mind probe the Mexican sent was cautious and unsure. _Particularly_ easy to home in on. "_Hello, Martin._" He greeted inside his mind.

Meanwhile, outside, Higgins stroked his chin. "Perhaps you're right," he admitted, "we've spent a bit too much time here . . . ah, chatting." He chose his words carefully. He didn't feel particularly threatened at the moment, but his daughter seemed very worried, and the mayor avoided making her feel anxious whenever possible. Higgins turned to face Alex and Lillian, then the team. "We'll be taking you to the headquarters now." 

_________​
The trip didn't take too long. Apparently, everything had been prepared beforehand. A back entrance underneath the town hall, through to a car park. The cars they got into were subtle ones that wouldn't attract much attention, but ones which were also quite fast at the same time. The drivers, more government agents, leading the group through a carefully planned route on bridges and small roads before reaching their destination. It was a small library.

"Huh." James frowned, getting out of the van. "Not a very . . . impressive headquarters."

Alexander got out after him, regarding the library with a faint, slightly nostalgic, smile. "You'll see." He said, then entered with the rest of the team. The interior was, frankly, somehow even more disappointing than the outside. It was, all in all, just an ordinary library - albeit, quite an old one. The librarian, an elderly woman wearing glasses, smiled at them, then removed herself from the desk. 

"I take it you must be the visitors?" She asked politely.

"Indeed." The mayor replied. 

_________​
The way down was a bit more exciting. In the back of the main library, was an elevator - quite an old looking one, along with the rest of the building, but big enough to fit half the team in at once. On the panel where the floor number(s) was entered, was a thin indent, which gave way to an access key that could be slid across it. Alexander Fortis took out a thin black card and moved it across the indent, turning the display from 'GROUND FLOOR' to 'GROUND X'. The elevator lights turned a red color, then a voice was heard. 'AGENT FORTIS IDENTIFIED'. Then the descent happened.

"On the basement floor, there's a little latch that opens up when an access key is identified in here, which takes you to the team base." Alex explained, putting his card back into his wallet. "These will serve as your new quarters from now on. There's a cafeteria, training room, entertainment centre for the kids," he glanced at Mike, "weapons chamber, and of course, your rooms." As he finished his explanation, the elevator, likewise, stopped it's descent, and the doors opened, revealing a wide, expansive entrance room and a dark skinned man wearing an eyepatch.

"You're late." He said, clearly unhappy.


----------



## kluang (Oct 30, 2013)

*Squall 'Triba' Strife- Central*

"You're late Rinoa."

"Sorry. I was sorting through my 'warehouse.' Anything exciting happen?"

"Beside the blob and that kid? Nope."

Rinoa walks to the middle of the room with her cheerful smile. "My name is Rinoa. My age is a secret and I'm a practitioner of gun-kata which I invented. Its'a martial arts that use guns. Like this. Rinoa pulls out a large piece of paper.



"The Gun Kata places emphasis on two tenets: shooting the enemy as efficiently as possible, and avoiding return fire. Hitting targets is a matter of knowing where enemy fighters are likely to be located in relation to the user, which removes the problem of aiming especially at close ranges and allows the user to defeat foes with pre-emptive fire before they can present a true threat. Avoiding return fire is also a matter of statistical probability avoiding the enemy's most likely lines of fire. In short, Gun Kata is the art of shooting where the enemy is most likely to be, while not being where the enemy is most likely to shoot."

"Rinoa can't stop talking once she started on her gun kata...." says Kimberly. 

"If everyone knows we're here, then we should greet their 'welcoming' party. Ruffle their feathers abit. Show them we wont back down. They hit us once, we pay them back, twice." Squall is really itching for battle after the blob incident.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 30, 2013)

Joseph nodded slowly, his eyes flickering over to the man's hands as they produced a small gun-like object. It was a bit more futuristic than what Joe was used to, but the barrel was a dead giveaway as to what it was. His main job here was to keep the Grey Man talking for as long as possible so as to relay more information to the hideout, as well as delay violence that may occur. From what the way he spoke - as well as his appearance, now that the lighting was slightly better - the Italian guessed he was an alien. 

"So," Joseph spoke calmly, speaking every word clearly, "what are you on Earth for?"


----------



## Ice (Oct 30, 2013)

*Emergence of a new threat*
________________________​
_The thrum of the plane's engines behind him, Zack walked towards the limo prepared for him. He received his reassignment last night. As usual, it came in the form of an untraceable letter, covered by a black matte leather briefcase. It was simple, all it stated was 'Make your way to Saint Haven. Further instructions will be given there.'. After closing the case, it imploded, leaving no trace of its existence. 

Now, as he sat back in the limo, a screen fell forward. "Mr Strider, there has been a betrayal deep within our ranks in our operations in Saint Haven. Your job is to find this traitor, and eliminate him and his accomplices. Further directions will be given after your objective is complete.", came a computerised voice. After finishing its speech, pictures of his target and information filtered downwards. 

A mutant, he thought to himself. A third eye covered his forehead, with a proud sneer edged on his rough face. His powers included eyebeams and hypnotism. His name was Rex. How crude. As the screen flickered off after releasing its information, Zack's hand grasped an imaginary neck. Another traitor. He hated traitors. Disloyalty had no place in this world. 

__________________________​
'You ever think that maybe we shouldn't have rebelled? Ya know, against Nocte? I mean, they aren't exactly people to mess with.",came Roger, a young mutant barely in adulthood.

"Eh, maybe it wasn't the right choice, but we can't exactly say no to the chief mayn. That's like courting death.", Samuel, a similarly aged mutant replied.

"..........."

"Roger you there? Don't screw with me bro, you know I hate that."

"..........."

"Roge-". Samuel's sentence grinded into a halt as a bullet slammed into his temple, sending his body spinning in a macabre dance to the floor.

"Targets eliminated. Moving forward.", Zack muttered to himself, sprinting forwards further into a large brick building, where fumes constantly blew out.

______________________​
"Sir, you got to see this. Our cameras keep going out one by one and its not in a batch or something. Its like someone's disabling them or something.", a technician voiced out. 

"Hmph, are you sure its not just a malfunction again?", came Rex's gruff voice. 

"I'm certain sir, if its a malfunction, its certainly a weird one seeing as the cameras keep going out in order.", he replied.

"You boys and your electric toys. All unreliable. Bah! I'll take care of this myself. If its just something wrong with the cameras, you better be gone by the time I'm back or...", Rex growled menancingly at the technician as his third eye glowed a bright yellow.

"Y-y-yes sir.", came the stuttered reply._


----------



## Island (Oct 30, 2013)

*The Grey Man*
West Saint Haven

?Ah, yes,? Grey was pleased that somebody was interested, but then paused, ultimately deciding that conveying his intention to exterminate all life on Earth might be counter-intuitive, ?There is a being, you see, one which has arrived on your world a couple months ago, and I am here to track it down, capture it, and bring it home with me. Where this creature is, I do not know, but I will take every necessary measure to ensure its capture.?

?That is my primary directive.? He concluded.

The whole destruction of humanity and the desecration of Earth were only secondary to his primary objective. They were only necessary because the manpower and resources necessary to construct a machine to get him home would require the entirety of what Earth had to offer. Since his home world was? very difficult to reach from his present location, it required a ship of immense size and power to make the journey, one that could only be crafted by strip-mining this planet dry for an engine that could output more power than this ?primitive civilization? had ever produced. Of course, there might have been alternatives to this, possibly through the use of some kind of divine power or magical teleportation device, but Grey thought that these would be a lot less? fun.

?I would offer you some tea,? Grey changed the subject, gesturing to the kitchen, ?But I?m afraid I must be going. I was on my way back to work, you see, and my partners would be disappointed if I did not return to the office in time.?


----------



## ?clair (Oct 30, 2013)

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

The dark skinned man reeked of imposing confidence, and for the first time since his introduction, Ze'ev spoke up.

"Here's someone who knows what has to be done," he muttered under his breath. 

Ever since Hernandez had stepped back in the shadows, and ever since those morons had started arguing again, a throbbing headache had been plaguing him. It stung the back of his head sharply, and with a grimace, he ran a pale-gray hand through his mess of short black hair. He kneaded his skull, trying to iron out the ache; he was sure that he would not be able to control his aggression if the loudmouth, Paragon, spoke again.

His voice was obnoxious and loud, and his mannerisms disgusted Ze'ev. He was like a civilized barbarian: he had the basics down, yet he couldn't be bothered to act on them. Why he was even in the group, Ze'ev didn't know, but what he did know was that Paragon would be a pain to work with. At least, work comfortably with.

Not for the first time, he found himself missing his squadron. Balthe would be laughing his head off if he saw the condition he was in right now. Him, a lieutenant, stuck with a gang of misfit teens with apparently little to no control over their powers?

Lord help him.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 30, 2013)

The Italian looked at the man curiously. The grey man said he was here to track something down, capture it then bring it back home. But there was something he was hiding. A few moments ago, he (or it, maybe?) had said that Joseph may be the first of many to grovel. With this in mind, it was quite likely that the alien was also planning to enslave the planet . . . or something along those lines. 

Even so, confident as he may be in his combat skills, Joseph didn't particularly wish to go up against a being he had no data on. Especially when said being was also wielding a weapon radiating a ridiculously high level of energy. The gun hidden away in his jacket suddenly felt very light. With this in mind, Joseph nodded at the alien. "I see." He said and waited for the alien to move. He didn't want to give it an excuse to attack him without helping it, if possible.


----------



## Island (Oct 30, 2013)

*The Grey Man*
West Saint Haven

The extraterrestrial looked at his watch one final time before slowly making his way to the door, ?If that is all, I?m afraid I?ll have to excuse you so that I may return to the office.?

?I am terribly sorry for having to cut this short, but I?m sure you understand; I have bills to pay and money to allocate toward the construction of doomsday devices.? He laughed.

At that moment, Grey contemplated killing the man and dissecting him in the name of science, but unfortunately, that too would have been counter-intuitive. He didn?t know who this man was, why he was there, or if he had any allies, the latter of which might be useful in the future. It was possible that this man was a government agent or somebody sent to spy on him, but the extraterrestrial didn?t care enough to conceal his identity. Alternatively, he could have been some freelancer who was looking for a new master to grovel to, but until he could confirm that, he would hold off on the probing.

?Ah, right, I almost forgot,? Grey paused, now holding the door for the man, ?Humans refer to me as Grey, so you may do so if you wish.?


----------



## Bringer (Oct 30, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Base Time_

After all the commotion died down, Kimberly noticed that there was someone else in the room. How hadn't she noticed him before? Was it due to all the distractions, or maybe her maybe she still didn't master basic empathy abilities. Regardless he brought up an interesting conversation. So James was a demi-god?

_"How come I didn't notice it before? Is this how he was able to block me out?"_

"So you're a half god or some shit like that? Eh, you're pretty underwhelming if that's the case."

After that, Kimberly and the rest of the team were led outside into vehicles much to her relief. The green eyed girl went in the same car as her friends Squall and Rinoa, where she and Rinoa had some _girl_ talk.

"Rinoa, you have to see this new ammo my father gave me. The bullets are stronger, faster, more accurate, and can even pierce through steel with ease."

The two shared chitchat until they reached the library. Kimberly was skeptical at first, but she had trust in her father, and knew that there was more to this base than meets the eye. Upon entering, they were led to a secret underground base. She knew her father had some tricks up his sleeves, but this was amazing! Upon descending, they faced a man.

*"You're late."*

"You have to forgive my father, we've ran into a few setba-"

*"Was I fucking talking to you?"*

Kimberly flinched, completely caught off guard by this mans outburst.

_"He's scary."_


----------



## Bringer (Oct 30, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Black Mr. Clean_

The rest of the events went by fast after that insult he told James. They all went to the cars, and Mike basically took a nap. He was groggy when he awoken, so he didn't make any comments or sly remarks about the library. Once the entire team made it inside the secret underground base, that's when Mike fully awoken. Especially after that man yelled, his voice echoing throughout the base.

"Who da fuck is this bald ass friend? And why da fuck does he have a eye patch. Bitch you're so bald I can see what's on your mind."

Mike couldn't help it, he could be so audacious when he awoken. The rude boy's behavior may confuse some people, as he could be a angry agitated individual one minute, and a witty smart ass the next.


----------



## Olivia (Oct 31, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter One: The Search Begins

A flock of pigeons temporarily blocked the warm rays of the sun as their wings soared overhead. I twisted and turned in my sleep, until the disturbance was no longer bearable. My torso sprang up from the cold concrete ground, and surprisingly my surroundings hadn't changed. In a giant city like this I expected someone to find a sleeping 'woman' in sketchy areas such as a darkened alleyway. Reaching to scratch my head, the expensive fedora I bought fell off my head. How typical. Looking at the accessory, it brought me back to the reason why I even came to this city in the first place.

It was about two weeks ago. I had received contact from the mayor of Saint Haven. Apparently the natives of the island I lived on had reported to this freak show of a city about who I was. Granted I didn't want to stay there another second, it was about time that they found a valid way to get rid of me. The alternative of living in a city of this nature was slightly alluring, however the prospect as to why I were to be summoned was less than delightful. The mayor summoned me to ask if I wanted to join a team of a bunch of freaks and clowns, more over, to protect this city, full of humans! The nerve of him! Humans are the entire cause of my suffering, and now he wants me to protect them? Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to harm any of these humans, but I'm not going to go out of my way and help these humans either! 

So I travel by boat, personally guided by one of the mayors assistants, and a weak and a half later here I am! That said, I couldn't just parade around like normal, I don't want to be discriminated any further than I already was back at home. For the time being I decided to stick my tail into my clothes, uncomfortable as that may be, but I didn't have any permanent solution for my ears. That's why I purchased (with all the money loaned to me, mind you) a black fedora, which was doing its job hiding my ears until it fell on the ground! Now it's all dirty! Maybe that should teach me not to sleep in creepy alleyways. 

I grabbed my fedora, and placed it carefully on my head, putting it in a comfortable position to accurately hide my ears. Today was supposed to be the day where the mayor was going to hold his meeting, but I'm going to reject his offer anyways. I'm grateful he got me out of that hellhole, but I'm here to start a new life for myself. I don't have time to help others, and in fact, I would make for a horrible team player. Especially if my other teammates were _human_.

With a quick stretch, I waltz out into the sunlit streets of Saint Haven. Activity seems to be bustling as much as a city could be. Granted, I heard that this city was very dark, holding a cesspool of crime and disasters, but maybe the rumors were wrong. Then again, why would this mayor be calling for a team of super powered freaks? Bah, I'd be likely to figure it out when I actually meet the damn guy.

It wasn't long until I ran into trouble though. In fact, all I did was turn the block towards the City Hall, and a big punk walked right into me. Of course through that action my fedora fell off and my cat ears sprang up, as if gasping for air.  Falling to the ground, I rub my head without realizing the full extent of the situation, and glance at the man in front of me. He wore spiked white clothing, and donned a long green mohawk. The sight of a man like this irritated me to no end, but surprisingly he looked more pissed off than I did.

*"Watch where you're going you damn bitch."*

My eyes focused, as my claws exposed themselves. I was going to do it, I was going to kill this friend. It didn't help that his friends, acquaintances, or whatever they were to him arrived. A burst of laughter could be heard when the three of them took a closer look at me. As I stood up to slice their throats open, the man on the left pushed me down while laughing.

*"Are you preparing for Halloween early this year or something? Bahaha."*

I decided to calm down, so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I wouldn't allow these idiots push me around. There was seemingly no movement, at least from their point of view. All they could register was that I opened my eyes. However before they knew it their right arms were lying on the ground, as I stood behind the group. I peered behind myself as I growled:

"Consider this a warning, now get lost."

Of course they couldn't, they were too busy worrying about a simply problem such as bloodloss. Placing my fedora firmly on top of my head, I decided that that this group had enough problems of their own to deal with, and continued towards my destination: The City Hall. It didn't take nearly as long to get there as I would have imagined, but I encountered another strange sight when I approached the building. There were multiple knocked out bodies, all wearing guard uniforms. Did a vigilante come to take out the mayor. But why now? Isn't this the time where he'll have maximum protection with him group of freaks?

Entering the building, I could immediately notice even more strange sights. It seemed as if a battle ensued in here. Before I could truly access the damage, a women approached me. Naturally I became defensive, but it wasn't long before I knew I wouldn't need to fight this women; she had an earnest look on her face. She held out her hand and asked:

"Do you have the letter?"

I begrudgingly handed her the letter, and before I knew it she was looking it all over. Probably to make sure the invitation wasn't fake or something. After about a minute she handed the letter back to me and said:

"Unfortunately you just missed the mayor, however he guessed there would be late arrivals. There are about three extra cars out in the back, you may use that to get to where the mayor is."

I sighed. This is more human contact that I've made then I've wanted to. Why can't things be simple so I can get this over with? I mean, I'm going through all this hassle to tell him that I won't be participating in this team of his. Regardless it's my current goal, so I might as well follow through with it. I found one of the cars, and before I knew it, I was off. It wasn't long until we made it, to what seemed to be a library. My eyes lit up, I know knew where I would live. Books hold such great knowledge about this world, but are simply divided up into different sections. My goal is to hold as much knowledge as possible, if I were to do that, then I would be able to discern who I really was! This library...maybe it was fated for me to come here on this day!

I slowly entered the building, to notice something amiss. That was it, I just missed the elevator! The faint dinging coming from the back of the library was very apparent, but so was my astonishment. How dare they remove (even if just temporary) an entire bookshelf of books simply for an elevator door! The designer of this library must be very impractical, something that must change soon. Before I could continue my deranged thoughts, a women from behind a librarians desk called out to me with a smile.

*"Are you also a visitor?"*

Sighing, I let my tail fall out of my shirt, and pulled off my fedora.

"What do you think?"

My face looked almost disappointed for some reason, but my mood sprung back up when I walked towards the elevator. I unfortunately had to wait for them to reach the bottom, but I could at least take a look around the library in the mean time. Unfortunately my fun was short lived as the elevator arrived. Pouting a little, I entered the elevator and pressed "Ground X". The librarian swiped a card, allowing the elevator to run, which prompted the doors to shut. I was quickly pulled down into the depths of their base, which frightened me a little. I was going to deny their request...inside their base. The elevator doors opened and I could see a few people in the immediate room...This wasn't going to go well.
​​


----------



## ?clair (Oct 31, 2013)

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

"Was I fucking talking to you?" the bald man snarled at Higgins' daughter.

She reeled back, shocked and probably a little upset.

Ze'ev surveyed the man with a critical gaze. He could sense Hernandez's presence behind him, and with a murmur so low that he wasn't even sure it would heard, he whispered to Hernandez, "Ready yourself. There may be a challenge awaiting us, and I doubt this man is the least of them."

Ze'ev didn't know why he had warned Hernandez, to be honest. He supposed it was because the man looked so pathetically pitiful, reminding him of a malnourished orphan, that even he felt empathy towards him. That, in any other case, may have been good, but right now, he had to keep himself focused. Hernandez was too distracting, like a fly that would go around in circles in front of your face. You wanted to ignore it, but it never went away.

The main point of his intrigue with Hernandez was that the man was an illusionist. While he doubted that he was cunning enough to do so, Ze'ev was wary of an illusion being cast on the group. They weren't his responsibility, but the Mayor was. Not to mention, such a tiny error such as being misguided by a scrawny teenager would not look good on his mission report.

And then... Paragon opened his mouth.

Ze'ev cringed.


----------



## Bringer (Oct 31, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_This won't end well_

Kimberly took a few steps back, she could sense it. The rage coming from the gigantic bald man with the eye patch. She watched as the man's lips slightly quivered, with rage no doubt about it. This boy Mike, he was in fact crazy. No sane man would stir up this much trouble. The green eyed girl turned to her father, and saw how he glared at the scene. She could sense it, he was worried as well.

*"Shut the fuck up you baby faced bitch! Say something else, I dare you! I double dare you mother fucker! I will shove my foot so far up your ass, you're going to be  shitting leather for weeks!"* 

"Fu-"

Kimberly watched intensively as Mike was thrown across the room, her head turning as he flew passed her. If this boy had any sense, he'd stay down and shut his mouth. 

He didn't have sense.

At first, the black haired girl sighed in relief as the boy got up and dusted himself but didn't say anything. But then Kimberly's eyes widened as she saw a sweet, but mischievous smile appear on the boy's face. The boy ran past the entire team, heading straight for Leroy. Kimberly could barely even process the movements, hell she couldn't even see no movements, all she saw was a blur, and a gust of wind past the team.

Leroy was caught off guard it seemed, as he was punched in the chest, and went flying into a wall, leaving a crater behind him. Kimberly turned to the team, and then to her father. Somebody had to stop this! Mike ran towards Leroy like a speeding bullet, his fist about to collide with the man's face... until.

His fist was caught by Leroy. Mike began grunting and trembling, as Leroy applied a great amount of pressure to the boys fist. The boy tried breaking out of Leroy's death grip on his fist, but to no avail he could not. Mike continued to tremble until he was on his knees. Suddenly the trembling and grunting stopped, and Mike used his spare hand to throw a punch.

That fist was immediately stomped down on my Leroy's foot. To Kimberly's surprise, the boy didn't even bat an eyelash at that. He didn't grunt, or attempt to pull away his hand. It was as if he stopped feeling pain altogether. The young women thought that worst had past...

She was wrong.

Leroy pulled out a gun, and placed it at Mike's temple. Kimberly sensed his intentions, he was going to go through with it. She turned to her father once more, who was about to intervene and say something, but he immediately raised an eyebrow and stopped. When the green eyed girl turned back to both Leroy and Mike, there was a third person amongst them. Lillian, who had been spectating the whole thing, was standing beside Leroy, her hand on his gun. 

Kimberly could make out her expression, completely emotionless, and she couldn't read it. When Kimberly had sensed her emotions, she sensed total calmness and a level head. But deep down... there was more. A completely different person in the recess of her mind.


"Leroy, let me handle this."

Suddenly, the sound of the elevator could be heard, and both Kimberly and her father turned to see a girl wearing a fedora standing before the team.


----------



## Olivia (Oct 31, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter One: A Intimidating Encounter

The doors opened on the elevator shaft, and extreme light poured into the elevator room. I lowered her hat to try and stop her eyes from being blinded, but was found that this source of light soon faded. In the end I felt as if this light should have stayed for a little longer, as I was not prepared for what I would see. Everyone in the room in front of me looked, not only intimidating, but powerful. Compared to a normal human being, I could be considered godly in strength, but compared to some of the other freaks that exist in the world, I would be comparable to an ant.

In my immediate vicinity I could see at least three faces, two belonging to men, and one belonging to a women. She wasn't sure if there were more in the room, but these three seemed to catch her attention more so than anything else. Not only that, but the tension in the room was so thick that my claws could slice right through it. I shivered, but decided I would have to cooperate with these humans for the time being.

Upon closer inspection, the first one I noticed hadn't looked very human at all. He was well over six feet tall, making him much taller than myself. He had a very toned muscular build, grey skin, and black hear. However what seemed to draw my attention was his amber eyes, they sort of resembled my own. Measuring his over all current potential, he seems to be at roughly the same potential as myself, strange.

The next had been a human women with long black hair. It was strange, she almost looked as if she didn't fit in. She seemed overly prepped in the looks department, wearing purple eye shadow, red lipstick, with striking yellow eyes. This women also seemed to be roughly around my potential level, which I once again found surprising.

Finally was a man that seemed sort of distant, but in a loud way. He had black hair, a cold and determined face, along with nice looking clothes to boot. I could tell by just one look that this guy was the one who would be the most rude and disruptive player in this entire team. His entire potential seemed to be slightly lower than my own and the other two, but over all still very close.

It is strange, why was the mayor gathering such 'talent' that share the same potential? Certaintly there were those out there that could make a mockery out of freaks like us, so what is he thinking? That we can win battles through numbers? But that doesn't work, quality is always better than quantity. Bah, why am I even thinking about this? I'm not joining the team. I decided if I want them to trust me before attacking, I better be showing that I'm willing trust them. I took off my fedora and approached the three, as I asked:

"I know I'm interrupting some...argument or something...Look I'm not great with others so..."

I quickly became flustered. I really didn't know how to deal with other beings. Well that's not entirely it, I needed to gain the trust of the two humans and one unknown race in this room if I am to see the mayor, but how can I force myself to trust humans? After what they all did to me. Maybe that is the source of my hesitation. But then a thought forced its way through my actions, the only way how I could deal with humans.

"You know what, forget it. Where's the mayor and no one needs to get hurt."

Through violence. 
​


----------



## ?clair (Oct 31, 2013)

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

The newcomer, wearing a fedora, looked anxious.

"I know I'm interrupting some... argument or something... look, I'm not great with people, so..."

She paused, rethinking her words. Then, a steely look came in her eyes.

"You know what, forget it. Where's the Mayor, and no one needs to get hurt!"

Ze'ev resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What good could the woman do alone against a team of superpowered, irrational teenagers, the experienced fighters that were hidden behind the throng notwithstanding. She would lose. Terribly.

"I suggest you reevaluate your words, for you're in no position to be making threats," Ze'ev offered, crossing his arms loosely. He was itching for a fight, but after that fiasco in the office, and the one that had happened just now, he knew it'd be a bad idea.

This was really turning out to be a test of his willpower. Thank the Lord for his mental training, or he'd have long succumbed to that urge.


----------



## Island (Oct 31, 2013)

*Close Encounters*​
Target sighted.

The extraterrestrial stood in the doorway of its apartment, chatting with some strange man. It sounded as though he was walking the man out, and after another thirty seconds, he shut his door, and the man headed toward the elevator. At this point, I could wait for the extraterrestrial to leave and then follow him wherever he was headed, or I could follow his strange visitor. I suspected that the latter was associated with the mafia given his overall demeanor, including his conduct and dress, and it would have been counter-intuitive to get on the wrong side of the mafia at this point.

Thus I decided to remain in the shadows of the west stairwell.

The creature wore business attire, so I suspected that it would be returning to the job. Apparently it was well-versed in economics, and was currently employed as a stock broker and spent a lot of his time at an office in Central Saint Haven. How it got the credentials for this job, I do not know, but once the target has been taken down, I will begin investigating this and other questions I have. Specifically, I want to know how it has been thus far been able to integrate itself into society so well without raising suspicion. I somewhat suspected that it had mind control powers, but nothing thus far has been able confirm or deny this. The apparent lack of evidence for mind control powers then leads me to believe that it is simply familiar with the ins and outs of the system, but again, I have no evidence to support this: How does he know so much about us, and where did he get all this information?

?Good afternoon, Mary.? I heard him greet me.

I jumped, not seeing him leave his room.

?Good afternoon, Mr. Greyman.? I smiled.

I began walking down the stairs as well, and it began making small talk, ?I didn?t know you had class this late in the afternoon. It must be exhausting to be out for so long.?

?Yeah, it is,? I replied, ?But it?ll all be worth it in the end.?

I moved into this apartment a couple months ago under the guise of a young college student who needed somewhere cheap to live. I first made contact with the extraterrestrial a few days after I moved in, pretending that I wanted to introduce myself to my new neighbors. Since then, I would have periodic conversations with it in the stairs or on the elevator ? I lived on the floor directly above the alien?s, thus justifying me being in the stairway often and these seemingly 'random' encounters I had with him. More covertly, I have spent many hours observing it, watching its movements, taking note of whenever it left or returned to its apartment. On several occasions, I had also followed it into public, tracking it to its place of employment, and learning as much as I could about its day-to-day interactions with the world.

Thus far, however, I have learned nothing of I hadn't already known. I thought it interesting to note that, periodically, the extraterrestrial made reference to some master plan it had concocted. It appeared open about its identity, though it never explicitly states what it is or what it really wants here on Earth. According to conversations it has had with certain parties, it was searching for somebody, or something, here on Earth. Specifically what that thing was and why it was on Earth, I had no idea, and we could only speculate why the extraterrestrial wanted it so badly.

?I would spend your time having fun, dear Mary.? He laughed. ?You never know what tomorrow brings.?

All I really knew was that this thing was up to know good and that I needed to take it down as quickly as possible.

?After all, the world could end tomorrow, and what would you have to show for it?? He continued laughing.

I laughed along with him the best I could, though I was secretly disgusted by this creature and its warped sense of humor, ?That?s very profound, Mr. Greyman, but I think I?ll stay in school and take my chances on somebody _not_ blowing up the world.?

The world wasn't going to end, especially by the hand of this creature?

?because I was going to stop it.


----------



## kluang (Oct 31, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

"No one gets hurt?" Squall is suprised to a base in the libary. First the bald guy and now this.He grabs the hilt of his blade but Rinoa quickly walks to Pitou. "He's over there." and she points to the mayor.

"RINOA!!!" Squall was shock by Rinoa's action. "She did say she's not good with people, so I think she resort to violence because of lack contact."

"Lack of contact? What kind of stupid conclusion is that?"

"The one that gives faith to strangers. We may gathered to fight for the city, but that doesn't mean we have to shoot everything on sight. "


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 31, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
"Well that escalated quickly," James muttered under his breath, as he slowly watched the events unfold. Mike shouted at Leroy, then Leroy shouted at Mike, then Leroy threw Mike, then Mike punched Leroy, then Leroy caught his fist, and now he was pressing a gun to his temple. In these circumstances, perhaps, a normal person would be concerned. James, on the other hand, really couldn't care less whether or not Mike died here. It was bound to happen sooner or later; Leroy was just helping destiny along it's way. Unfortunately, before Leroy could go through with the act, a small hand reached out - the hand belonging to Mike's caretaker Lillian.  "Oh, great. She saved him." The demi-god said dryly.

Then another person appeared. A slim, petite young woman with a fedora arrived through the elevator. Immediately, James' eyes shifted a bright gold, glowing slightly brighter in the dimmer illumination the entrance room had to offer. Her soul was a strange purple colour. She wasn't human, not alien and most certainly not a demi-god. The flame flickered and wavered slightly under his gaze,  and James shut off his soul sight. She was anxious? 

The woman spoke up again. "I know I'm interrupting some...argument or something...Look I'm not great with others so..." She paused, as if carefully considering her next words, then her expression shifted from a sheepish looking one to a more aggressive one. "You know what, forget it. Where's the mayor and no one needs to get hurt." She suddenly threatened. Man, what was it with this group and everyone being aggressive or trigger-happy? We had the obnoxious moron who punched everything in sight, sentient or not, the guy who thought it might be a good idea to break through the window into the mayor's office as his entrance and now this? 

"I suggest you reevaluate your words, for you're in no position to be making threats," Ze'ev offered, crossing his arms loosely. James could tell that he was itching for a fight, but after that fiasco in the office, and the one that had happened just now, Ze'ev probably knew it'd be a bad idea since he didn't take action yet.

James, on the other hand, found himself agreeing with Rinoa and Squal . . . sort of. They seemed a bit weird, but the demi-god certainly didn't think of this girl as an enemy. Walking, he stepped between Ze'ev and the new girl, smiling. "Hey, hey now." He said, then looked at Ze'ev. "There's no need to fight. If this girl was an enemy, she wouldn't have been able to get down here in the first place since you need one of them access cards." Hopefully he could maybe diffuse the situation before yet _another_ fight started.


----------



## kluang (Oct 31, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

"There's no need to fight. If this girl was an enemy, she wouldn't have been able to get down here in the first place since you need one of them access cards." 

"Finally someone with some sense. And a demigod no less. You know, if you become a god, I may pray to you." Rinoa smiles happily and gives a look at Squall that makes him sigh and nod in agreement. She then looks at Pitou with a warm smile.

"So, why are looking for the mayor?"


----------



## Olivia (Oct 31, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter One: A Diffused Situation

The tall man with grey skin approached me, but I already knew the answer. I had to diffuse the situation somehow, I couldn't take on all of these people at once. He conveyed a simple message to me:

"I suggest you reevaluate your words, for you're in no position to be making threats."

Tch, I already knew that. As I thought, this group seems to be one that all holds the same potential in skill level, more or less. No wonder the mayor didn't chose one person over many, this way he can establish a team that will grow. No matter how pissed these guys get at each other, there's almost no way for them to utterly defeat or kill another, as they're all at roughly the same level.  A tall human approached me this time, he had silver hair, determined eyes, and black clothing. Analyzing him, his potential was, again roughly the same as mine. He took one glance at me and said:

"No one gets hurt?"

He grabbed the hilt of his own blade, which made my claws naturally retract. However what seemed to put a pause in my mind was the approach of a girl. She had black hair, and her eyes gave me the impression that she was a bit carefree. She pointed to a man and said:

"He's over there."

The silver haired man let go of the hilt, as I withdrew my claws. The two started to bicker, but I didn't care for that. What did draw my attention was the approach of a man...no, he didn't look exactly like a man. He emitted something that I could notice, it was faint, but he didn't appear like a man. Regardless, he had black hair, and a red jacket. Looking at his over all power level, he seemed to be stronger than most of the people here, even if not by much.

"Hey, hey now. There's  no need to fight. If this girl was an enemy, she wouldn't have been  able to get down here in the first place since you need one of them  access cards."

I nodded my head, he was correct. There was no reason for me to fight at all. Sighing, I allowed my fedora to fall to the ground, exposing my cat like ears. I looked at him to his face saying:

"You...you aren't like the others, are you?"

 No, what am I doing? I didn't need to know anything about these people. All I needed was to sort things out with the mayor, and find some way how I can live in the library above. My thought process was broken when the black haired girl with a [somewhat] careless face came up to me and asked:

"So, why are you looking for the mayor?"

I shook my head, I might as well tell them.

"Well...I've been invited to join this team, but I'm not a cooperative person. I'm really glad the mayor was able to create an escape for me, but I can't work with humans, and I certainty can't help them. It would take too much effort to gain even a glimmer of my trust, so don't even try. With that said I'm not going to oppose you guys or anything, I'll just stay out of your way. So I'm going to the mayor to deny his request."

With the said, my tail sprung up, waving in the air. For some reason I felt a bit playful now. Oh well, I've spent too much time here as it is. I walked towards the mayor as I requested my resignation.

"Hello, the Mayor of Saint Haven I assume? You sent me a letter...from across the world. My name is Pitou. You saved me from that hell they call a village, so I'm very greatful for that. However, and I hope you understand, I _can't_ join your team. I know there are other freaks like me in this rag-tag group, but as long as there are humans I won't be able to participate. Not only that, but I'll be forced to help humans! I hope you understand the situation you'd be putting me in, one where I'd be forced to help the very species which made my life horrible for the past eighteen years. Now I won't get in your teams' way, so I'm not a hostile threat to you guys...unless of course you guys become hostile to me...So I've come here to say that I'm denying your request."




​


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 31, 2013)

The mayor took the decline in stride, nodding slowly as Pitou spoke to him. He had expected as much, and had made no false hope to himself that the girl would join the team. Still, it was slightly disappointing. Higgins had wanted to change the girl for the better. Make her see the radiance of humans and maybe restore the mental scars that seemed to plague and cloud her ability to trust. "Of course." Higgins replied after she finished talking. "I had expected as much, my dear, and I appreciate you taking the time to come here and tell me so. I wish you luck in the future, and hope that one day, maybe, you'll regain what you've lost." He smiled, and then paused for a moment.

"But, I very much doubt that you came here for the sole purpose of telling me this. Do you have something else you wish to ask of me?" Higgins asked.


----------



## ?clair (Oct 31, 2013)

Ze'ev, "Kraken"
-Rebirth.

Ze'ev watched with wary eyes as the woman, Pitou, sighed. She allowed her fedora to fall to the ground, exposing her cat like ears.

"You... you aren't like the others, are you?"

_A case of fear of judgement? Interesting._

Pitou looked conflicted, like several thoughts were crashing into each other within her mind with the force of a raging bull. Her face twisted in a grimace, and then it completely disappeared, an impassive mask appearing in its place.

Rinoa stepped forward. She was too sincere. "So, why are you looking for the mayor?"

Pitou shook her head, and Ze'ev got the feeling that something was haunting her. Well, it wasn't like the rest of them didn't have any secrets, least of all him, but she seemed so weighed down. He felt a pang of curiosity, and his gaze darkened. 

_Badump._

His ears, the most sharpest in the king's personal guard, picked up on the sudden increase in her heartbeat.

_Badump, badump, badump-_

"Well... I've been invited to join this team, but I'm not a cooperative person," she abruptly spoke, as if it had taken a great deal of courage for her to do so. "I'm really glad the mayor was able to create an escape for me, but I can't work with humans, and I certainty can't help them. It would take too much effort to gain even a glimmer of my trust, so don't even try. With that said I'm not going to oppose you guys or anything, I'll just stay out of your way. So I'm going to the mayor to deny his request."

With that said, her tail sprung up, waving in the air. Her shoulders straightened, and she brightened slightly, more playful. She shashayed to the Mayor, a feline grace to her movements. 

Captivating, but she was too caved in. Too cautious; too alarming. 

"Hello, the Mayor of Saint Haven, I assume? You sent me a letter... from across the world. My name is Pitou. You saved me from that hell they call a village, so I'm very grateful for that. However, and I hope you understand, I _can't_ join your team. I know there are other freaks like me in this rag-tag group, but as long as there are humans I won't be able to participate. Not only that, but I'll be forced to help humans! I hope you understand the situation you'd be putting me in, one where I'd be forced to help the very species which made my life horrible for the past eighteen years. Now I won't get in your teams' way, so I'm not a hostile threat to you guys... unless of course you guys become hostile to me... So, I've come here to say that I'm denying your request."

Ze'ev resisted the urge to scoff at her. Such a simple-minded individual she was. Didn't she know that the world didn't revolve around any of _their_ wants? No, no. She could resist all she wanted, but in the end, ultimately, she would be forced to accept.

If not by the Mayor, then by the looming figure watching over them all. Leroy, his name tag said.

The Mayor sighed, then smiled. "Of course. I had expected as much, my dear, and I appreciate you taking the time to come here and tell me so. I wish you luck in the future, and hope that one day, maybe, you'll regain what you've lost."

His sentimentality would get him killed.

"But, I do very much doubt that you came here for the sole purpose of telling me this. Do you have something else you wish to ask of me?"

The Mayor was too soft, he mentally frowned. Unfit for leadership. If he dealt with such issues in this manner, it was to no surprise that his city was crumbling down so quickly.

"Your pleas are not going to work. That's all I'm going to say," he finally said, his eyes boring holes into the Mayor's forehead, directing his words at Pitou. "You can try, but you'll never succeed. The Mayor, softhearted as he is, may have let you go, but could you say the same for the rest? This is how things work in the real world. Someone once chosen is a victim until the end of time - which, I assure you, is not going to happen soon."


----------



## Olivia (Oct 31, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter One: A Pleading Request

The mayors responses were calm, as I slightly expected. Truth be told, I thought he may try to persuade me, tell me things like "No, you need to work to overcome your disdain for humans." or "You can't judge an entire species based on a select few." or something. Granted, these arguments would probably reject my decline, that didn't mean I had to accept it.

However it wasn't long until someone had to but in. The non-human exclaimed:

"Your pleas are not going to work.  That's all I'm going to say...You can try,  but you'll never succeed.  The Mayor, softhearted as he is, may have let  you go, but could you say  the same for the rest? This is how things work  in the real world.  Someone once chosen is a victim until the end of  time - which, I assure  you, is not going to happen soon."

I rolled my eyes. This person...what was it to them if I joined or not? Whatever, if they wanted me to join they would have to do so, by force. I'm not really a big fan of that, but it would have to happen if they wanted me to join. Whatever, if the mayor accepts my plea then there's nothing stopping me. 

"Well, I suppose that isn't the only reason as to why I came here...You see, I'd rather not live on the streets where humans can easily abuse me while I sleep in dark and creepy alleyways. So it's for that reason..."

I took a deep breath. I didn't know how to proceed. I just declined his offer and now I'm asking him for one? That is quite shallow of me.

"I would wish to live in the library. Upon living at the island, I found reading amazing, in fact you could call it my passion. So much knowledge is held within these books, and I just want to read them all. However, I'd always have to hide the books because they always took them away from me. They said stuff like 'A freak like you isn't intelligent, so there is no reason for you to read', among other things. So I'm begging for this last request, allow me to stay in the library above. I don't know what I can exchange for this offer, but it would please me so if you could abide."

I placed my hands together and bowed my head slightly. If he were to do this, then it would prove to me that there are _good_ type of humans in the world, however thin and rare they are.    
​


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Oct 31, 2013)

The mayor raised an eyebrow. He had not expected such a request from the prideful Pitou. But still, this seemed like a step in the right direction for her. At the very least, it was clear she trusted him enough to ask a request of him. "_It would be hard to persuade Leroy,_" the mayor gave a mental sigh to himself, "_but I can't simply abandon her and allow her on the streets. Exposing her to the darker stretches of Saint Haven would only make things worse._" He looked at Pitou, his gaze soft and sympathetic.

"Of course I'd be willing to facilitate such a thing for you." Higgins replied. He then smiled, slightly mischievously. "At a cost, though. I would like you to live here with the others, and participate in the same training sessions as well, if possible. There are bad people out there, yes, but I also want you to open yourself to the world." He gestured to Alexander Fortis and Lillian, two of his trusted colleagues. The mayor was just waiting for another one now, but punctuality was never particularly her one point. "They serve as the combat instructors for the team, and are some of the most reliable and trustworthy people I know. Both are very good people, and I'm sure they would be more than happy to help you settle down here." At this, Alexander rose an eyebrow slightly, but nevertheless nodded, walking over to Pitou and the mayor.

His voice was calm, his onyx eyes scrolling up and down Pitou as if gauging her ability. "In that case, you'll have to attend the test tomorrow after the mayor's introduction of the team to the city. You don't necessarily have to join the them, but I would still like a rough idea of where you're at in terms of your abilities."


----------



## Olivia (Oct 31, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter One: A Compromise

The mayor seemed to take a while before making a full response, and even shifted his eyes to the bald man in the back for a few seconds. I hadn't spoken to this man before, but I could tell just by looking at him that he was strong, stronger than me at least. It wasn't long before he came up with an accurate response.

"Of course I'd be willing to facilitate such a thing for you. At  a cost, though. I would like you to live here with the others, and  participate in the same training sessions as well, if possible. There  are bad people out there, yes, but I also want you to open yourself to  the world. They  serve as the combat instructors for the team, and are some of the most  reliable and trustworthy people I know. Both are very good people, and  I'm sure they would be more than happy to help you settle down here." 

Really, was he making me participate with a team of _humans_? The thought sent a shiver down my tail, but I had to get a hold of myself here. These people...they didn't seem like the type to judge others, or at least discriminate them. Proof of the matter is that none have even pointed out my cat like features, despite the fact that they are currently exposed. Then again, that's to be expected from this group of freaks.

It was in that moment when a man named Alexander approached me. He looked and sounded calm, and more over, he was one of the trainers that the Mayor pointed out to me earlier. To be able to train a group such as this, well, he must have some decent combat strength.

"In that case, you'll  have to attend the test tomorrow after the mayor's introduction of the  team to the city. You don't necessarily have to join the them, but I  would still like a rough idea of where you're at in terms of your  abilities."

I sighed, I was really getting into the mix of things wasn't I? To think that I cam here to deny their request, but now I'm a pseudo-memeber? Oh well, what's done is done. I lifted my head to look at the man, and responded:

"Well fine. I suppose having some training can't hurt anyone, but as I said I'm not joining your team. So make sure that I'm not in that introduction thing tomorrow."

I started to walk away, but what froze me in my tracks was the staring of the bald man. He donned an eye patch, which held pertruding scars from underneath. His other eye though had been the one that caught my attention. It looked very cold, as if it buried straight into my soul.  
​


----------



## kluang (Nov 1, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

"I'm up for some training. I wanna try those new bullets that Kimberly showed me. How strong is the training facility and what kind of equipment it has? Anyone wants to join?" Rinoa is eager to see each of the team ability and test her gun kata against them. It can be a very good assessment on improving it.

"Well, I want to get some shuteye before the event tomorrow." Squall look at Alexander. "Can you show me to my sleeping quarters?"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 1, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
As Pitou began to walk away, Alex turned his attention to Rinoa, who asked him a question. "The training facility is pretty state of the art and can take an admirable amount of damage. There's also a simulation room, right next to it." He replied, glancing at her guns for a moment. "There aren't any weapons in the training room, but we have an arsenal down the corridor. You can see for yourself what's inside it, though I doubt you'll be needing much with that weapon of yours." The instructor said, gesturing at her weapon holster.  James knew nothing about firearms or weapons in general, but even he could tell the gun that girl had was pretty high quality. 

The demi-god spoke up this time, walking over to Alex and Rinoa. "I'd be happy to join in." He also wanted to see what his team-mates were capable of and was especially curious about Rinoa's gun. James had already revealed his power, kind of, so there wasn't anything to lose by displaying it in a training session either. Besides, if he wanted to trust his team-mates and have them trust him . . . perhaps he would need to be more open about himself. 

Alex nodded approvingly.

"Well, I want to get some shuteye before the event tomorrow." Squall said, looking at Alexander. "Can you show me to my sleeping quarters?" She requested, a small yawn escaping her lips as she spoke. James blinked, suddenly remembering that they hadn't been shown where they would sleep yet. He, along with Squall, turned to face the instructor expectantly. 

"Your quarters are down the corridor. Take the first right, and you should see a large common room with two staircases. The dorms are segregated by gender. The left staircase leads up to the girls, while the right one is for the boys." He replied, pointing down the corridor past the door of the entrance area.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 1, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 2 - The World - 3rd Part_

Just from there, it all went to feces, although Bach wasn't exactly sure what that meant. Was the whole situation going to be suddenly flooded with excrement, or would someone be so kind as to bring it to the situation? That, thought Bach, must be a rather badly-paid jo, if paid at all.

But, returning to the feces-free situation, everyone was moving, except from her. The masked man was intent to fight with Little, or Piccolo as he liked to be called, who seemed to be in a sort of cocoon. An army of insects covered the floor, apparently loyal to Little, attempting to catch the elusive masked man. In the meantime, the other blond just watched, just like her. Was he also summoned by Little? Did he want them to watch this fight? Or did he plan for them to choose a side, whther to help him or to help the man?

In which case, which side should _she_ take?

The android had no time to decide, and took cover behind a wall, as a surge of light came from the cell and she heard watery, squishy sound coming from it. Little was gone, replaced by mucus-covered organs and loads of secretions. If Bach could feel disgust, she would be feeling it right now.

However, the disgust would have to wait. A thud sounding behind Bach, and the blond fell to the floor. What had happened to him? She looked at the masked man. She truly was at a lost. "Your behaviour shows that you are clearly not here to engage in social reunion.", Bach didn't took a step forward, or back. She kept standing at the cell door. "Which brings me to ask: Which is the purpose of your visit?"


----------



## Olivia (Nov 1, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter One: Rest

Luckily for me, I head some news that would at least give me a comfortable place to rest for the time being. Granted I wasn't a human female, I was female nonetheless, so I would be staying in the female quarters. The girl named Rinoa asked Alexander where she would be staying for the night, and he responded with:

"Your quarters are down the corridor. Take the first right, and you should see a large common room with two staircases. The dorms are segregated by gender. The left staircase leads up to the girls, while the right one is for the boys."

I turned around and noticed where his hand had been pointing. Straight in front of me had been a corridor. Seemingly, all I would have to do is turn right and take the left flight of stairs. I simply continued to walk in the same direction until I had to make the turn.

When I arrived at the stair cases, I took a second to ponder: Exactly how many people was this place housing? Well, I suppose I'd see soon enough. I walked up the stairs and found a room full of beds. Past that led to a door, probably the bathroom. I felt a little empty handed now. I could assume, as human girls, they would bring make-up, hair stylers, and a whole lot of other utensils that girls usually use. This comparison made me fell empty, but I suppose I'd have to live with it for now. Especially since there had been a large library on top of this facility!

However the dreed suddenly came over me that I would have to share a room with other humans. Not only that, but these girls would probably critique me on how I don't keep my hair well, or that I should apply make-up to make me look _prettier_, as if I really cared for that. Ugh, forcing me to do something like this, what was the mayor thinking?
​


----------



## Chronos (Nov 1, 2013)

Aeon
​
Within the whiff of a second, had the whole ordeal halted. What had happened? Things flashed so quickly that it almost made little to no sense. Turning his gaze he was met with the blonde headed mane that had somehow formulated something in course to aid him. What he also intended to gain something from this man? In his stead, he had a much more head strong approach, in the other he had noted something valuable. The King walked down towards the blonde man, towering over his body, he placed he knee on the floor and both fingers on his neck. He still held a pulse, his chest was puffing, so he was breathing as well. He was alive, that was certain. Turning his gaze, he still held questions as to why had this man fallen so easily. No matter, it wasn't something he could, or even should process at the moment. A voice echoed, and his mien lifted. A girl had shielded by the wall had appeared before him, questioning his merits. Silence engulfed the room, and soon had he noted that he found an asset. Scanning the girl, she looked ordinary, however, something about her was odd, her actions, her mien, her overall feel was different. She had come to the big man himself, it was questionable if she was also someone of high importance to Piccolo. 

"I've already found what I came here for." 

Lowering his gaze once more to the boy who stood on the floor, he began to ponder his merits, a whale load of weaponry or even the mafia in itself was probably nothing compared to the odd abilities of this blond haired man. Smirking beneath the mask, his hands made it's way to his pockets and had caught a slight treasure, a shell of sort. Something of what seemed of importance. Gripping it, he soon placed it on his pocket, and lifting the boy, her placed him on his shoulder and looked beyond towards the girl, and began to speak to her.

"I sense nothing from you. No strife, no vigor, no emotion. And with this, I can build you as an asset as well. Come, I'll explain my merit to you and this boy. If you very well choose so, but I suggest you make up your mind."

Turning, his pointed his fingers towards the wall, and within a instance, another explosion occurred. Within a second, his body had already made it's way out the prison and towards the nearest building. He rose his voice before the wall regenerated and yelled the coordinates of his location. As if giving her the choice to decide weather she would come or not. 

"I am Aeon. The Right Hand of God. The inheritor of the will. I am King." 

Turning, he flashed stepped into a blur, and soon enough his appearance had vanished. A building located far east of the city, stranded in the near ocean was a island, there was a building withing, broken, torn and covered in flora. A chateau that had been abandoned. Of course Aeon would choose this, not only was is vast in size, but large enough, fitting for Kings. Within the span of around 30 minutes had he already placed the blonde man withing once of the rooms, while he escaped into the main hall. In it, he gazed upon a large statue, broken as well, only a single limb with a blade that pointed towards the sky was intact, other than that, all that remained of it, was simply the  body and small sections of it's head.

Walking through the large hall, did he meet himself with the large door, opening it, leading towards the chamber with a small throne in the end. Without hesitation, he waited, in hopes that the child would reach this place when he woke.


----------



## Narurider (Nov 1, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
Gadian struggled to process the events that took place in quick succession. First the stupid boy with the jet black hair had shouted at Leroy, who then got very angry with him and threw him across the room, which was very amusing to see Gadian had to admit, then the boy thought it would be a good idea to punch him, then Leroy caught the boy’s fist and ended up with his gun to the boy’s temple. Gadian was by no means fond of the stupid boy before him but he at least contemplated helping him when the woman came to his rescue. The excitement didn’t stop there though, because a pretty young woman wearing a fedora appeared in the opening elevator doors. At first she seemed very timid, Gadian found it a bit cute to be honest, but then she quickly changed her tune and threatened them all. Gadian raised an eyebrow in slight surprise but didn’t feel that she was an actual threat because, as the tall man with the greyish skin who the jet black haired boy had previously called a fish said, she wasn’t in any position to threaten them. After all, she was outnumbered and one of them was apparently a demi-god.

The tension of the scene was quickly broken when the man with silver hair approached her and grabbed the hilt of his sword, only for his companion to quickly diffuse the situation by giving the girl what she wanted and pointed out the mayor to her. After that Gadian’s attention waned for a moment and next thing he knew the man with the gorgeous suit was answering a question that the silver haired man’s companion, Gadian was sure he’d heard someone call her Rinoa, had asked, “The training facility is pretty state of the art and can take an admirable amount of damage. There's also a simulation room, right next to it. There aren't any weapons in the training room, but we have an arsenal down the corridor. You can see for yourself what's inside it, though I doubt you'll be needing much with that weapon of yours."

"I'd be happy to join in." Gadian’s eyes flickered over to the demi-god, James and looked him over, analysing the boy. James had obviously been surprised earlier when Gadian had spoken up and asked him about himself because he had looked at Gadian with curiosity clear in his eyes. He must not know what effect activating his powers has on Gadian and he was happy to keep it that way. If the others knew that Gadian struggled to even stand when their most likely leader candidate used his powers they’d probably get replace Gadian with somebody who didn’t have such a problem. Gadian still had many questions though, for example: what were James’ actual powers? Why did they have such a powerful effect on him? Were they related to spirits or his soul maybe? These were questions that would have to be answered at some point but Gadian figured it would be better to focus on how he should act now. It would probably be best if he meditated so as the try and get some better control over his powers but would he have to do it in his room or would there be someone in the training facility that would be appropriate? He figured it would be better to ask and walked over to the man in the suit.

“I need to meditate. Will I have to do that in my sleeping quarters or is there anywhere else that would be an appropriate environment for my meditation?”

"There is a meditation lounge located near the common room on your way to the dorms. It's not very hard to find, you can't miss it."" The man in the suit then moved on so that he could guide James and Rinoa to the training facility. Gadian stretched as he walked to the dorms, where he found a door tucked away in one of the corners of the common room. He pushed the door open and found the meditation lounge. He knew he was in the right place without even looking at the contents of the room, the room just gave off the right feeling to him. He sat down cross legged, placed the palms of his hands against his knees and closed his eyes. Soon after Gadian had discovered his powers, he had found a slightly older girl who was also a shaman. She told him that when a shaman meditates, it isn't like all that nonsense that most people think it is. It isn't about finding yourself, or clearing your mind or any of that. It's about using your mind to "feel" the presence of nearby spirits. This is best done by making a mental image of what the soul of a spirit looks like. Gadian always associated it with blue flames and that seemed to work. The next part of meditation for a shaman was to reach out to a spirit with your consciousness. This was the part that Gadian had difficulty with. The girl had told him that to this you just needed to imagine that your consciousness is a mass of warping tendrils and that to reach out your consciousness, you just imagine one of those tendrils moving towards the soul of the spirit you wish to reach out to. Then when the tendril touched the blue flame or whatever you associate the soul with, then you will be able to communicate with the spirit. For some reason, everytime Gadian tried to to this, the tendril that he reached out with would always stop just short of a blue flame and would refuse to budge. Maybe today he'd finally be able to change that. Probably not.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 1, 2013)

*3rd Sonata - The Emergence*​









​
*Bach*
_1st Part_

This person, Bach processed, was an enigma, wrapped in mystery and covered with a mask. Oh, and he called himself Aeon, the Right Hand of God. But...Which God? According to her database, there were so many gods and goddesses that even she lost count. Of course, by looking at the man, even though his face was conceiled, one may suggest he was speaking of Christianity. Sadly for Bach, she was not that kind of person. In fact, she wasn't a person at _all_.

But, thankfully, the man replied to her, and he began enumerating her being. No vigor? No emotion? But, she was given all that by her Creator, her Maker, her _God_...

_'Are we referring to the same God?'_, She thought. _'Was he also created by my Creator?'_ As she thought that, the man blew up a wall and started walking out of the prison, with the blond gentleman in his arms, as though he was a martyr being carried to his grave, without his followers to mourn him but one, the carrier. The alarm to inform of a prison break started sounding, leaving Bach with an important decision. Freedom or encagement?

Well, the answer was pretty obvious, even to _her_. The android turned on her feet, following Aeon and walking just behind him. And as it was customary of her when her curiosity had been satisfied, she said nothing. He had promised to reveal his 'merits' later.

She had seen this castle before. Not personally, but in pictures. It originated when Saint Haven was only a developing mid-century town, but with time, it was left unkempt once the Lord who owned it died, leaving no offsprings. Now it was in ruins.

"I am the Battling Adept Contructed Human.", She introduced herself to Aeon. "Otherwise known as Project B.A.C.H."

__________________________________________________________________________

Late again. As always. Late being recruited, late being on the computer, and late getting to the secret government-funded program to assess new heores. If only he hadn't stayed up to five o'clock in the morning, reading a steamy argument on a forum about how a character from a show 'would totally smash' the other one, but the comebacks were so good and the logic was so well-thought that he refreshed the thread again and again to read the next post. If only he wo-

"Ouch.", he muttered, in the most weird way possible, when he hit himself with a closed door. This young man was known for having no knowledge of how human interaction worked, which was why he was recruited late. But then the board thought better. Well, good thing they did. It wasn't like he had never left the room, clung to his life support, which was totally what he did.

He was a disaster, and yet a former hero.

The man walked casually through the door that gave accessto another door. _'So many doors...'_, he thought, and decided to investigate later on the subject. That mystery _must_ be unfolded, for he would not sleep until he reached a conclusion. Or maybe he will, the jury was still out on that.

"It was...Like this.", He said to himself, as he passed the identification card he was given and the screen gave away his name, and granted him passage to the elevator, just like the old days. He got on, and he was took to Ground X, deep under the library.

The young man stood slightly bent, though in full height he was 170 cm, and quite slim in figure, but not skinny. His shoulder-length black hair was still the same, but it had stopped being conceiled under a beanie a long time ago. His angulous face was longer but it had slightly more colour, making him look less dead. And of course, the unnecessary thick-framed glasses were still compulsory to him to face the world.

The elevator doors opened and the man stepped outside, only to lose balance and start a fall, facewards. "Ouch.", he said yet again, almost as he didn't feel it and it was just something customary.

Such was the man known as Aiden Adams, somehow a mentor of the team of new heroes.


----------



## kluang (Nov 1, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

"Well Rinoa, James, you guys can knock yourself out." Squall slightly bows to them before he leaves and head towards the dorm and climb the right staircase to the boys dorm.

Rinoa and James bows back to him and follows Alex to the training room They walk pass a corridor and arrive at a T junction. "To your left is the arsenal room.  To the right is the training room and the simulation room." Alex is showing them around and after a right turn they arrive at the training room.

"Welcome to the training room."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 3, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
The training room was a bit more plain than James had expected. Before he had entered, he had expected a high-tech room full of different terrains, training dummies and the sort. Instead of that, though, it was just a large, expansive room with ordinary looking steel walls and surfaces. Fairly underwhelming, actually. James looked at Alex. "Is this it?" He asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. 

Alex looked at James and smiled slightly, as if having read his thoughts. "Not quite. This is where you'll be training, but there's a lot more to it than meets the eye." He gestured up, towards a far corner of the room, pointing at a small rectangular window looking over the arena. "That's the control room. From there, we can change what kind of terrain you use here. Admittedly, we've still got mostly urban environments as the rural ones are a bit harder to do, but this should be enough for now." Turning around once more, this time the instructor pointed at a far wall on the opposite side of the room. James,swiveled around to look and frowned again confusedly. This was just a normal wall. "That's where the training dummies come from. All of them are versed in martial arts and resistant to damage, but we have twelve different levels for them, with each stronger than the last." He looked at Squall and James up and down slightly curiously, as if sizing them up. The combat instructor's look was just as intense, his eyes analyzing as if seeing which was the best possible way to throw them down. The feeling made James slightly uneasy.

Finally, after a brief pause, he spoke again. "Level two should suit you guys just fine, once we get everything set up tomorrow. For now, you two can have a sparring match. I'll set the controls." He said, before leaving the training room, with Squall and James alone. 

James looked at the other guy, his eyes briefly glancing at the firearms by his side. The demi-god found it unusually hard to read and understand this guy. Everything about him just seemed like it wasn't from this world, but a quick glance at his soul told him immediately that Squall was, indeed, human.

But before he could dwell on it further, an announcement rang through the arena: "STAGE FOUR, ACTIVATE." The ground rumbled and quaked for a moment, almost throwing James off-balance, then 'opened up' from the centre, sliding backwards into the walls like metal sheets, revealing a plane of solid earth underneath. Emerging from the now rising ground, rose several formations of rocks and boulders, scattered and interspersed across the battlefield. James moved instantly, his body turning into a blur as he made a move towards the nearest stone pillar, his eyes turning gold as he activated his powers.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 3, 2013)

The dark skinned man looked at the new arrival carefully. Average height with a slender looking build, with messy, slightly unkempt long black hair which framed his long face. Rested upon his nose was a pair of thick framed black glasses. The man was revealed as the elevator doors opened, and then fell over. Leroy identified him as Aiden Adams immediately, as the report and dossier he received mentioned that he was _particularly_ stupid. Okay, it wrote it a bit more fruity but, in Leroy's opinion, the words 'ungraceful' and 'stupid may as well have meant the same thing. With large, heavy footsteps, he walked forward, approaching him.

Aiden's recovery from his fall was slow."Ouch." The young man muttered, rubbing his head as he removed his face from the floor. The sign of weakness was unsightly for Leroy, who narrowed his remaining eye at him, scrolling it up and down his slim frame as if asking which might be the best twiggy limb to snap off from the branch of his body first.

Nevertheless, Leroy was a professional who prided himself on his fair and even treatment of everyone. As the group coordinator, he had to be fair and impartial. Such was the way of the consummate professional, after all. "*You're late, moron.*" He said, his tall, broad figure looming over. Leroy's voice was deep and powerful, resonating effortlessly through the whole room. His tone was sharp but aggressive, not even bothering to hide his impatience and dissatisfaction with Aiden's lack of punctuality. "*What the fuck do you think this is? A birthday party?*" 

And by even treatment of everyone, that meant he treated everyone like shit.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 3, 2013)

*Aiden Adams*

*"What the fuck do you think this is? A birthday party?"*, was the first thing Aiden heard after restoring his balance and getting on his feet. And what he first saw was the dark figure of a man towering before him. He felt it rather than see it. It was Mr. Jenkins, the man in charge of all superheroes. Everyone either feared or hated the man, but Aiden had no feelings one way or the other, for he had no notion of fear nor hatred. Instead, he stared blankly at Leroy, as though slightly entertained by the sight.

"I have no birthday registered for today in my database, so that possibility can be put aside.", he said, readjusting his glasses to the top of his nosebridge and, with a gentle click, turned on the apparently useless eyewear that was his personal computer. The pair of transparent glass was occupied by windows with lots of graphics and assorted data, this time regarding birth dates of acquaintances and relatives. "On a more throughout investigation, I conclude that there is no birthday for today.", And with another click, he turned them off, looking at Leroy rather expectantly. He would prefer that the man introduced him to the team instead of doing it himself. Introductions were so awkward for him, especially if they were made in front of a lot of people, like last time.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 3, 2013)

Leroy narrowed his eye, but this time, the mayor stepped in, walking between Aiden and the large man, giving him a look which made him reluctantly back off slightly. Higgins looked at Aiden, smiling politely. "Ah, Aiden. It's excellent that you could make it." He said cheerfully, then turned on the spot slightly so half of him faced the remainder of the team, his smile turning slightly wider as he faced the fruits of his hard work and planning. Seeing it finally come to a blossom gave him a sense of hope, a flame which he had long thought since been distinguished by the dark waters of reality. Three of the Originals from Neptune City, and a team of capable individuals. Of course, their teamwork could be far better, but that would surely get better in time. He trusted that the mentors would be able to mould the 'problem children' to suit the purpose of the team, as well.

The mayor reached out an arm, gesturing towards the assembled - or the remnants - of the assembled members of the team. "You recognize Alex and Lillian, and I trust you've received the files of each of the others as well." He said, having sent all the mentors dossiers on the various recruits several weeks ago in order to prepare them. "Team, this is Aiden Adams. Another one of your mentors, alongside Alex and Lillian." Then the elderly man turned to face Leroy, looking curiously as if he should speak or not. 

"*What?*" The man frowned. "*You gonna tell me there's another guy who's late or something, Higgins? Because I swear to God . . . *" He began, but was quickly cut off by the mayor.

"Not quite. I have a meeting I have to attend to right now, so I'll trust you and the others to show the team around." He answered, then made his way back to the elevator, before giving one last look to the team. "Get a good night's rest, everyone. It's a big day tomorrow."  Higgins smiled, then left the room.


----------



## kluang (Nov 3, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart
*
Rinoa looked at the other guy, her eyes wildy looking for any sign of weapons. None. Everything about him just seemed like it wasn't from this world, but then again he is a demigod.

She quickly load a magazine of the new bullets she got from Kimberly unto her guns. 

"STAGE FOUR, ACTIVATE." 

The ground rumbled and quaked for a moment, almost throwing Rinoa off-balance, then 'opened up' from the centre, sliding backwards into the walls like metal sheets, revealing a plane of solid earth underneath. Emerging from the now rising ground, rose several formations of rocks and boulders, scattered and interspersed across the battlefield. Rinoa moved instantly, at full speed she can go to Mach 3, but this is just  training. She looks at James and see's how fast the demigod moves.

Fast, very fast. And that not even his full speed. From James's speed Rinoa realize one thing. He can go beyond Mach 3.

Interesting. This is the first time she met someone who can match her or even outclass in term of speed. Rinoa quickly zig zag towards James  and unleashed a barrage of bullet.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 3, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
The demi-god's golden eyes widened slightly as the girl dashed towards him, zig-zagging across the field erratically as her arms raised, her dual firearms primed onto James. A barrage of bullets rained across the ground as James hid behind a nearby boulder, using it for cover as ammunition cascaded around him. "What the hell? Is she trying to kill me?" He muttered, looking slightly worriedly at the boulder behind him getting chipped away by Rinoa's offensive maneuver. This was ridiculous, but if she was going to go at it full-power, then there was no reason for James to hold back, right?  James then concentrated, his body cackling and fizzling a malefic lightning as another body emerged from him. "You know what to do, bro." The demi-god nodded at the splinter copy, then it dashed out from the cover, running as fast as possible to attract Rinoa's attention.

James then concentrated again, a purple orb of electrical energy covering his right hand as he waited for an opportune moment to strike. "_The splinter will probably die if it gets shot once._" The demi-god considered. "_I'll need to hit fast, and I'll need to hit hard._" He exhaled. Fighting with her was more tiring than he thought it would be. She was unexpectedly strong an opponent, for a human.


----------



## kluang (Nov 4, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

She continues to rain bullets until she ran out of ammo. She swirls her gun and reloads. James still hiding behind that boulder. Rinoa looks at the boulder and the surrounding area. The amount of damage she did is pretty impressive. This new bullet is amazing. Maybe she can talk with Kimberly to add a few adjustment to make it explode on contact.

She sees "James" runs from his hiding place and moves to the right in great speed. "You're fast, James. Much more faster then Squall. Maybe even faster then me." she place back her guns into their holster. The air behind her ripple and two gun emerge with the symbol T.

"Tranquilizer."


She looks at 'James' and to the boulders around her and she have an idea. She quickly dash towards a boulder and she climbs hopes her jump can achieve great rocket-like jump. 

And it did. 

She flips herself upside down and aim at "James". She wait until she's vertically  on top of him and she pull the trigger.

"How disappointing. I go all out while you just run and hide. Now sleep."  and two bullet comes out from the guns and hit 'James' causing it go poof.

"What?"

Before she can react a purple orb of electrical energy hits her and send her flying across the room and crash into several tall boulders before she hits the wall and fall to the ground.

"Such power......and tactic...."

Her injury isn't serious, but her whole body is screaming in pain. A glass cannon. Squall always calls her that. And how she hates that term.

".....You win, James...."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 4, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James blinked a few times as he watched his attack hit, smashing straight into the girl and sending her flying through a few boulders, into a wall. He swear he hadn't made the attack be that powerful, but then again, precision and control had never been a particular strong suit of his. The demi-god still found it hard to mould his soul and control the amount of essence he poured into the attack. Or maybe the girl he fought was particularly frail and light? That was possible too; she _was_ unnaturally agile and fast. 

"You win, James." She said, getting up from the ground with a slight grunt of pain.

The demi-god smiled as he walked up to his opponent. "Yeah, but it was a good fight! If you didn't know about my splinter ability, I'm sure you could have won." He said, dusting some dirt off of his shoulder.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 5, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven - The Next Day

_________​
The walk to to the town square from the library was a bit longer than expected, though that might have been at least partly because the demi-god was unfamiliar with Saint Haven and got lost a few times on the way there. He'd gone and gotten a dark navy blue suit beforehand since, at the very least, he wanted to look good for the photos. The material was somewhat starchy and uncomfortably tight, but presumably, the unveiling wouldn't take too long. If he was lucky, maybe there wouldn't even be that many reporters. 

James sighed, tugging at his collar. "God, this is so itchy." He muttered to himself, walking down the streets. 

"Oi," a voice came from behind. It was rough and aggressive, and James mentally sighed to himself, knowing what was coming. Boredly, he swivelled around. The man was quite tall, standing a head taller than James. He seemed relatively well built, and also very rough looking. With the gleaming skyscrapers rising behind and around them, he seemed almost out of place. A random hobo thrown into a Utopian-like landscape. "Give me all the money you have on you and you won't have to get hurt, kid." He grinned a toothy smirk. A few other people looked on, but simply looked on or turned around and walked away. 

The demi-god sighed. "Look, can we not do this? I'm busy." He said. James was feeling unusually irritable today. Perhaps it was due to the suit, or his lack of sleep yesterday. "Why don't you, I don't know, go look through some bins or something?" This seem to struck a nerve in the man, who immediately turned a shade of red. 

"Y-you..."

"Go on. Use your words." James smiled patiently. 

At this, the large man lashed out, swinging a punch at his face. The demi-god side-stepped, then responded in kind with a kick to the gut, his eyes flashing a faint gold as a purple aura coated fist came in and crashed against his face, knocking him down flat. Taking his phone out, he dialed in the number for emergency services. "Hello? There's a man who tried to attack me knocked out here in Bar Street. It'd be cool if you could come straight away, since I'm kinda busy." He said, then left to return on the road to the town hall.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 5, 2013)

*El Espejo*

_"Hello, Martin."_

This time the alien was not particularly surprised to have his mind probe detected and responded to with such speed. If anything, it was cause for relief: as the group's chief patron, the Mayor was a potentially fatal liability if his mind was subverted by someone opposed to its activities. It boded well that he apparently had something more on top of an average human's level of mental resistance.

Not moving an inch or betraying the mental contact he had established in any way, Martin cautiously withdrew the probe, retaining only a much weaker, nonintrusive telepathic link to the Mayor's mind. He wanted to continue the conversation; to air his anxieties without provoking the rest of the group, which appeared rather easily provoked.

_"Hello, Mr. Higgins. It seems we have a large and colourful group here. How well do you think it would be able to work under pressure? Hopefully my team-mates will grow more used to each other over time. Until then, maybe it would make sense to divide it into smaller groups, to reduce any conflicts to a minimum and put their individual abilities to better use?"_

---

Hiding in plain sight was a well-honed skill for Martin. It was not really a matter of telling people's sensory organs not to notice him; while this could be done, it was usually not worth the bother, and in any case was only liable to draw more attention to himself in this group. But his standard appearance was practically designed to be easy to ignore, especially when more interesting things - or people - were nearby. His relatively small size, unassuming posture, avoidance of eye contact, positioning - the main consideration with that last one was to be as far as as possible from the literal centre of attention - all those factors made it supremely easy for everyone else to more or less forget that he was even there, especially while their attention was seized by curiosity as to their future and the ceaseless bickering that seemed to characterise the team.

This suited Martin just fine - he saw no need to posture, and in any case needed more time to figure out how to engage his newly-acquired colleagues. He never was too good at teamwork back at school, and had little other experience working with others. He helped out at the orphanage, but he usually did that by himself. Watching the team made him more than a little anxious; he was shy enough when dealing with normal, reasonable humans; this group was anything but normal, and in many cases it seemed anything but reasonable.

For now he had to content himself with simply following the group around and listening to the conversations. He did not bother probing anyone else, both because he realised that doing so would likely result in unpleasant surprises and angered reactions, and because he wished to avoid information overload. The Mexican alien's head was already started to hurt a little at all the facts that his team-mates and their supervisors revealed, even without getting into any of theirs. He would have to try and talk to those people one on one, if he wanted to get any results.

He was then only too relieved when the team was effectively released for the rest of the day. He headed to the boys' dorm first, to hide his meager belongings under the bed, then to the common room, to rest and reflect on the day's events, and see if anyone else decides to stop by there.

---

And on the next day, of course, he diligently made his way to the town hall. As he saw it, this was simply a formality they needed to attend before their work could begin; still, it would not do to shirk it on their first day.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 5, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven - The Next Day

_________​
Town hall was packed, unsurprisingly. Swarms of civilians, reporters and the like crowded around the podium, chatting in anticipation, the air vibrating with the sound of their voices. James didn't like excessive noise, nor did he like huge packs of people. He much preferred the atmosphere of the small meeting the team had yesterday in the silent recesses of the mayor's office. Or at least, it was silent before all the other stuff happened.

Walking through a path that cut across the crowd, kept clear for the purpose of the team, James climbed up the staircase to the podium slightly awkwardly. He would have been lying if the masses of people below taking photos of him didn't make him feel nervous or embarrassed. The mayor smiled at him as the demi-god stepped on stage, and likewise, James passed him a nod of acknowledgement. Another person arrived on the stage soon after; scrawny, bad posture and a head of messy black hair. James recognized him as Martin, one of the quieter ones of the group. "Hey." The demi-god greeted him.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 6, 2013)

*El Espejo*

"Good morning," Martin answered, as he climbed on the stage, likewise nodding at the mayor. The crowd... well, this might be awkward. Their minds would still see him as human, but the pictures would be different. He had worked long and hard on his human guise, of course, and that made it easy enough to project on everyone now. But those who weren't in the crowd might already realise something was off; and those who weren't even watching now but would see the picture lately would not see a human...

Martin shook it off. This was either unimportant or big a scale of catastrophe to deal with right now. In any case, he would adapt. Not like he was the only explicit non-human in the group.

He turned to look at James, the boy who called himself a demigod. What did he mean by that? Just how literal was he? Still, compared to others in the group he seemed fairly reasonable, if a bit arrogant and detached. "How are you? Nervous?" Martin could just find out for himself... probably. But yesterday's experiences were still with him, and he was in no hurry to probe his team-mate's mind, certainly not during a public event.


----------



## kluang (Nov 6, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

Squall yawns as he slowly makes his way to the town hall. Yesterday sleep is the best he have. Not to mention the best pillow and mattress. He wish could sleep for a few more hours, but then Rinoa wakes him up. God that woman knows on how to set the alarm. He havent figured out how his cell works other then answering and texting. By the way, where is that woman.

Then he heard the sound of a brawl behind him. He knew it, some stupid friend probably 'accidentally' touch Rinoa's ass. At first he was angry, but after seeing what Rinoa dish out to those kind of people, he learn not to look.

"Squall!!! You dont even look at me when I shout!!!"

"I dont want to see the carnage you unleashed, by the way, can you even move freely? Didnt that hot woman in white told you not to move so much?"

"What hot woman?"

"Dr. Tear."

"You know her name?"

"I know her figure too. Much more mature...." before he can finish his sentence he can feel a gun nozzle at his cheek.

".....Please don't blow my head off....."

"Okay." Rinoa lowers her gun and give a swift kick at Squall's groin causing the man to fall down. She then storm off and headed towards the hall with anger.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 6, 2013)

*Lavinia*

_It was eight days ago that I was called back out of my seclusion. After an extended period of freedom in neglect, I saw a black car with opaque windows pull up just outside my humble dwelling. In some other time or place, such a vehicle might be taken for a sign of government attention. But in the western parts of Saint Haven, the functions, responsibilities and privileges of the government belonged to a rather different group, which some hated, some respected and all feared. It was probably just my overactive imagination talking, but the neighbouring houses all suddenly seemed to fall silent, like travelers in the woods accosted by a fierce predator, not daring to move even to turn off the lights or shutter the windows.

I, for my part, immediately went off to get dressed for the outside. It was a cold, dark winter morning, and even I have to temper my indifference for the environment with common sense sometimes. Having put on a thick jacket over my sweater and pants (all white, of course), I opened the door, bracing myself for the wind. The people who came to pick me up naturally stayed inside the car; they knew they didn’t even need to call me, and so they saw no need to leave the comfort of their vehicle.

As it turned out, there were three men in the car. Two of them – the chauffeur and the bodyguard-messenger – I had taken for granted, though I only faintly recognised those particular two (I’ve seen them before, but if I caught their names back then they must have since escaped me). The third one was different. I knew Giorgio; we met twice or thrice before. The small-framed young man in thick black glasses was always a bad omen. Like many people in my father’s organisation, he had a very special gift, which the organisation put to a very logical use. I would have called him a victim of his circumstances, except that he had made it clear to me – repeatedly – that he enjoyed it.

“Hello again, White Lady,” he said with a mocking half-bow as the car set off.

“Hello to you as well, my friend. Any idea where we’re going?”

“Your father’s basement again,” he smiled a creepy little smile. “Where else? I’m more curious as to who we’re going to meet there.”

“The name won’t tell you anything,” the messenger responded from his front seat. “He’s just some mook.”

“A mook?” I asked, confused as always by their forthright terminology. “One of our own, or…”

“Well,” the messenger said, looking back at us, “that’s what we’re trying to find out.”

Giorgio looked at me through darkened glass and shrugged exaggeratedly. He was a rather awkward young man when not in his element, that is, when not using his very special gift; his joking and gesturing was all a mask to disguise that, and I’m sure he realised as much. What he probably didn’t know was that I knew. I tried hard not to excite his attention; at times a difficult task, since no matter how silly and boring I acted, I was still technically his boss’ daughter.

“Read any good books lately?” Giorgio asked suddenly after two minutes of blissful silence.

At the time, my response seemed like a tactical mistake. How could I have known that Giorgio was also a fan of Letur Lefr? Perhaps if I had paid attention to the reviews and realised that his latest book was actually incredibly popular, much more so than anything he wrote before. Giorgio went on with some enthusiasm about how that book was really special, how it spoke to him… I had to admit that I would never have expected to see him so genuinely excited about anything that’s not work.

And then he dropped this (in a hushed voice, not that the other two hadn’t been tuning us out): “You know, this Letur Lefr fellow seems like he might be one of us. He may have published the book openly, but there are messages there, hidden hints that only people with our talents can understand. Subtle meanings that I am still processing, feeling just like when I am…”

That was when it hit me. The surprise must have shown on my face, for Giorgio stopped abruptly. I nodded slowly. I hated myself for letting down my guard like that – a little. But in truth I was more focused on what he had made me realise, just then. There really was _something_ about that book. I was reading it just before the car arrived, and I already knew it would be there then…

“You can continue your classy conversation on the way home,” the messenger said, and I felt grateful, because I knew that we won’t be going home at the same time. “We’re here. Time to work.”

I stepped out of the car, not waiting for Giorgio. I needed fresh air, so I could think straight – and push the thoughts of that book out of my head for now. I knew what sort of tasks required me and Giorgio and took place at the Basement. They weren’t really as difficult as normal healing tended to be – but they did require a good deal of self-control on my part._

---

The room did not look like a torture chamber. Indeed, apart from being underground – and a few other oddities – it seemed more like a psychiatrist’s office: civilised, well-furnished, though with a rather inexplicable-looking chair that seemed it was delivered to the wrong doctor in the place of the famous couch. The wiry, clean-shaven Asian man lying in the chair was visibly restrained – and unperturbed. His eyes were slightly hazy as he cast his glance around the room.

“What’s wrong with him?” the lady in white asked. “And please don’t tell me that this is what we are to find out.”

“…It is in part,” the man who brought her there admitted reluctantly. He was a tall man of good Sicilian stock, who could be a lot more imposing if he ever tried. “He’s one of our soldiers – or rather, that of our Japanese partners. He’s been acting odd lately…” the man scratches his head, seeming a bit unsure. “Truth be told, I thought our friends were just being paranoid when I first heard of this. But the boss insisted that we help, and when we brought him here, well, he…”

“Is he drugged?”

“I wish. No, it’s something else…”

Without waiting for him to finish, the woman rushed towards the chair, squatting near it, putting her hand on the man’s forehead. Hot… but starting to cool down now, at an alarming rate.

She touched his skin, looked in his murky eyes, listened to his breath. And at the same time, she perceived him on a completely different level, in a completely different way. The man was not dying, necessarily. But his organs – including his brain – were shutting down.

“Don’t let Giorgio come here,” she said authoritatively, not looking away.

“What? But…”

“Just don’t.” His presence here right now might do nothing, or it might scare the man and so speed up the process. Right now she needed to reverse this, to kick some life into the man before it was too late…

It wasn’t working. Her primary expertise, after all, was in cells. She was best at curing injuries, undoing damage. She could deal with diseases – some, however, were much easier than others. But what was happening to this man wasn’t even a disease. She could delay it, try to distract his body from carrying out the order that it was receiving from the head, but she still could feel the Asian’s bodily processes grow inexorably more still. And even so, the lady could not say whether this would end with him dead or in a vegetable state, and if there would be any way to reverse the latter. The former, of course, was quite beyond her power.

Just then she realised that she was not alone with the prisoner. Slowly, without standing up, she turned to look at the intruder. “Giorgio, why are you here?”

“You seem to be having some trouble, White Lady,” the young man said, taking off his glasses and making the woman flinch. “Perhaps I can help.”

She was at her wit’s end. “Go ahead. It does seem there is something with his head…”

“That’s what I heard,” the man nodded, walking up to the man, grabbing his shoulders and staring straight into the prisoner’s wandering eyes, his own pitch black orbs seeming to swallow the object of his investigation up. The prisoner stared back, transfixed, a sudden terrified clarity returning to his gaze…

“Damn it!” the lady shouted, as blood spurted into her and Giorgio’s faces. But she did not let it break her concentration any further. In a way, she was only too glad to have more easily identified problems. First of all, she healed the subject’s tongue, even as Giorgio pushed on his mind to keep him from biting it again. And then she got to work on his brain. This was a much more familiar routine. Giorgio stabbed into the subject’s mind with his gift, roughly, violently, threatening to destroy it – and she undid the damage, though this time she also had to contend with the damage the organism was doing to itself.

“That bastard. There’s a hell of an imprint here,” Giorgio said, as blood began to stream from his nose. But he did not flinch; instead, he smiled a strange, bestial smile with his gritted teeth. “Get ready…”

That was when the patient started struggling and screaming – to no avail. They were on to him now – or rather, to the program in his head. With each new mental strike, Giorgio burned those things out of his victim’s head and took them into his own, in a safely isolated form. And Lavinia merely healed the physical damage, and hoped the mental damage wasn’t too great.

Finally, after five frantic minutes, the man passed out, slumping in his restraints. Giorgio fell back to lean against the wall, while Lavinia stood back up shakily and approached him, careful not to look into his eyes.

“So, do you know who…”

“Put that program in his brain? The self-destruct was just a part of it. Mostly it was spying and reporting information…” Giorgio cringed; his headache appeared to be even worse than usual after his operations. But he did not let the pain stop him: “Young man, Caucasian, thin, tall, blond hair…”

The woman blinked. She had expected an organisation. Or at least, someone more distinctive than that. “Anything else?”

“A name…” Giorgio muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing his head. “One… Temple Lea Soriente.”

It took Lavinia a short while to remember where and when she had heard that name before.

---

Eight days later, the woman in white arrived at the prison, brought there by a hunch, as well as a few favours she called in over the week. She was too late to find Temple, or to take part in the battle. But she was not too late to save her uncle.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 6, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven - The Next Day

_________​
James looked at Martin again. He was a strange one; there was almost nothing remarkable about him, appearance-wise, and he seemed just like any other - if not especially unfit looking - human. On the other hand, back when he examined him in the base, his soul radiated an energy which clearly did not belonging to that of a human's. Now that he thought about it, it was sort of similar to Ze'ev's own, but where the other kid's was more like an aggressive inferno, the Mexican kid's was more like a calm fire. The demi-god considered his question for a moment, then spoke. "Yeah," he admitted, "I was never a fan of huge crowds, and all the cameras around here make me feel sort of uncomfortable. What about you?"


----------



## Advocate (Nov 6, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Martin shook his head in response. "Me either. I seldom really had to deal with that many humans at once," he smiled slightly. Then he frowned, glancing towards the reporters: "The cameras might be a problem for me too. I can fool living things, but not technology..."

Demigod or not, this James was a strange one. Even without intentionally and forcefully trying to infiltrate his brain, Martin could not help but catch a very confusing vibe from the young human as he looked at him. At once outgoing and holding back, both arrogant and outwardly unassuming. Whatever the truth, he definitely was not putting all of his cards on the table yet.


----------



## Narurider (Nov 6, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
Gadian stretched as he walked to the town hall. He had a kink in his back that just wouldn?t go away. It didn?t help that during his meditation he had failed, yet again to reach out to a spirit. It had been extremely difficult to concentrate as he kept getting crushed by the pressure that James using his powers seemed to afflict him with. It kept happening, on and off, on and off. He knew that the demi-god didn?t mean to, as far he knew James had no clue that his powers affected Gadian at all, but it was still aggravating. Gadian?s frustration was boosted by his lack of understanding as to why the demi-god?s affected him. He didn?t even know for sure what James? powers were. He was going to find out at some stage, but for now he had to meet up with Meiko before showing up for the freak show that he was reluctant to be a part of but he had no choice.

?Gadian!? Gadian?s eyes flickered to the waving hand that was sticking out above the crowd. He smiled as Meiko pushed her way out of the mass of people and ran towards him. He readied himself for impact and managed to stay steady as Meiko skidded to a halt, slamming into him and wrapping her arms around him at the same time. She gave him the cutest smile as she looked up at him and he brushed a strand of her blonde hair that was over her eye. He could tell, she had missed him. They had been separate for a few hours and she was already missing him, he was certain of that. He was certain because they?d been practically inseparable since they were four years old and so even a few hours away from one another was...taxing. ?Did ya miss me??

?Actually I was thanking God that I finally got rid of you.? Gadian laughed as Meiko pretended to be upset. She had crossed her arms together and had the facial expression of a puppy that had just lost its favourite chew toy. She had practiced this for years and only Gadian could tell when she was faking it and when she was actually upset. Her expression slowly turned serious as she looked him up and down before shaking her head in mock disgust. ?Really? You?re presenting yourself to all these people and you?re still wearing that??

?What?? Gadian looked at his clothes curiously. What was wrong with him wearing his tattered old jacket that had been with him for so many years? And what was wrong with his jeans with the tear at his knees? So he wasn?t dressed fancy but he had always thought that the look had suited him. Especially considering that nowadays his hair was usually a chaotic mess instead of the nice and neat blonde hair he?d had when he was younger. ?What?s wrong with me looking like myself??

?Nothing I guess. I just don?t want people to think that you?re a slob or something bad.? Gadian couldn?t help but grin. She was acting as if she was his mother, though to be fair Meiko is a very maternal person. She and Gadian were the ones that always protected their friends and were the ones that were there to give advice when it was needed. It was nice having her to back him up. In all honesty, he would happily trade in all of the team the mayor had gathered just so he could have her in their place. So that he could have her back and she?d have his. But he couldn?t do that, no matter how much he wanted to. Meiko got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek before giving one last hug. ?Well, good luck. Make me proud ok??

?Will do. Take care of yourself while I?m busy being a superhero, ok?? She nodded as they waved and parted ways. Gadian moved through the crowd and stepped onto the stage, where James and a Mexican boy with bad posture and hair that was as messy as Gadian?s, maybe even messier. Gadian had seen him before at the mayor?s office and was curious as to what the boy could do. His eyes slowly rested on James? suit and back down to his faithful old clothes that he was wearing. Meiko might have had a point after all.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 6, 2013)

*Kira Fujisawa* - _Blink_
Central Saint Haven - First Impressions

_________​
The date had been set, and many gathered to see the team altogether, in the flesh, together as a cohesive unit.  And the next day, there would definitely be a very particular news story circulating.  One of a rookie police officer and his mentor who'd been en route to that same team unveiling in Central Saint Haven, but had been encroached upon by a riotous mob of thugs on his way there.  Fortunately, it turned out he had a particular friend with him.  It'd be front page news the next day, but for now, it was still in progress...

"Please, desist and cease this unruly behavior.  All misdemeanors will be overlooked, and you can more than likely make the ceremony in Central Saint Haven on time."  The cop was unusually calm, even though the car was being rocked to and fro by the mob outside, the entire thing completely surrounded on a dingy back alley roadway.  The rookie next to him was similarly unperturbed, and Kira sat in the back with an unflinching expression of good will.  It was anyone's guess what had started the mob, though it happened to be a chance situation involving an apple...

Kira smiled sweetly from her seat as the officer continued to attempt to reign in the situation.  Currently he was using the loudspeaker on the top of the car to address them with the exact laws they were breaking and the consequences of such actions, and the Professor was chattering from the wristwatch on Kira's wrist incessantly that she should cut her losses and simply use her powers to escape.  They'd get back up eventually, he kept saying.

"Professor...that isn't the right thing to do in this situation.  I think I have an idea anyway."  How could she go about being recognized as a hero of the city later on if she couldn't even do this right?  Saving two police officers should be an easy job.

Kira tapped the officer on the shoulder as he was interrupted from counting to ten before issuing a widespread demerit to all the mobbers.  "Could I see the mic for a moment?  I think I might have a solution, Officer Barlo."

He turned around, and rubbed his beard.  "Seeing as you've made me lose count, I suppose it wouldn't hurt."  He handed her the mic, and she proceeded to mimic the sound of a scattering of bullets, to which the mob instantly reacted.  With panic.  All of the components of the riot died down and ran for cover, and the older copper hit the gas instantly.  The rest of the way they had no detours or obstacles to contest with.

_________​
Upon arriving, the police car pulled up as close as possible to the city hall's steps, and the officer looked back at her, grinning a wide, confident grin.  

"Sorry about that, as I'm sure you're aware, there's still some problems in the city.  It's a good thing we picked you up, though."  He paused, pointing to how close they were, on account of being apart of the barricade.  "We got pretty up close and personal though, huh?  Can't have anyone trying to barrel their way past.  And as you saw before, these cruisers are _quite _sturdy." 

Kira nodded, shutting off her wristwatch's communication feature before the Professor could chime in with an off color remark.  In the long run she'd probably benefit from having the clockwork trinket turned off anyway; the Professor would be watching just fine from where he was anyway, without the ability to offer his sometimes insensitive input.

It _had_ been their idea to give her a lift, though, and in the end all it did was serve to make her a bit later, and have to put up to save them too.  But Kira didn't mind, and giggled gently.  "I know."  Then she opened the back door, and stepped outside.  

"Wait...where are you going?  I'm afraid you have to stay inside and watch from here.  We're pretty close anyway, though."

She pointed to the stage, and then looked back to the duo as she was about to speak, but noticed their eyes widening.  Pausing, she let Barlo continue.

"You mean that you're..."

She nodded, smiling good-natured smile.  "Yep.  I'm Blink.  But you can call me Kira.  Thanks again for the ride, Officer Barlo."  And with that, she closed the door, and glided towards the stairs that led to the stage.

Kira's steps carried the grace of a cat, and her long black hair was tied back into a braid, with a velvety length of yellow ribbon tied deftly where it began.  Her long, slender black dress had an open back, and there were two smooth wounds, fully healed, on her back.  They were etched on the skin above her shoulder blades, two thin lines, though they didn't appear to be gashes or slashes.  It seemed more similar to wounds accrued from having something ripped off.

Her eyes carried a muted energy, like bottled lightning, and the edge of her dress danced and swayed at her ankles, just above the ground.  To those who could perceive it, she had an especially vibrant soul, one literally bursting with energy and a powerful wavelength.  She scanned the area for Mayor Higgins, as she'd wanted to say hello and give him the Professor's regards first and foremost, but it seemed like he hadn't arrived just yet.  In the meantime...

Elegant, cheerful, and carefree, she made her way up the stairs to get a look at Gadian, Martin, and James.  The Professor had debriefed her on who she'd be working with, as he talked it over extensively with the Mayor, and only grudgingly let his prized pupil join this team after making sure she was a suitable fit with the selected individuals.  Kira, meanwhile, was thankful for the chance to work with others, rather than being stuck with the Professors odd solo tasks and errands...

With a smile that was bright and inviting, she looked to each of them.  "Let me guess...Martin.  Gadian?  And I'm going to say James.  Nice to meet you all!  I'm Kira Fujisawa.  I'll be working with you starting today."  Thin fingers toyed with her braid idly as she waited for their responses.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 6, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven - The Next Day

_________​
Fool living things? That was a curious thing to say, James thought. "Wait," the boy began to say, the puzzles starting to fit together in his head, his eyes turning gold as he peered at Martin once again,"so are you..." But stopped, as another radiant - almost to the point of blinding - soul flared into his vision. It was a vibrant glow, and the flame danced playfully as it approached them, the container of the soul walking steadily with grace and poise. The girl was rather pretty, James thought, but like many others on the team, she too was an unidentifiable existence. James wasn't actually sure what _she_ was either. If anything, she was even _more_ confusing to identify than Ze'ev and Martin. 

The girl beamed at them, guessing their identities one by one before introducing herself as Kira Fujisawa. James thought this was a pretty bizarre name, but hey, their team in general was just a collection of freaks and weirdos. This was by far the most normal thing that had graced their team; as well as the most easy on the eyes. "Hey, I'm James. Nice to meet you." James replied in kind, his eyes dimming into their usual colour, his mouth turned upwards into a smile.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 6, 2013)

Kira Fujisawa - First Impressions
Central Saint Haven
_________​
Kira raised an eyebrow slightly and her smile quirked a bit.  "Uh yea...I got that part," she chided gently, shaking her head a little.  "You wouldn't know where I can find the Mayor right now, would you?  I had something to give him from the Professor."  Upon her shadow, for a tenth of a second, there were two circular lights that came to life.  Almost like eyes, right where hers would have been, if one transposed her facial features upon the shape of her shadow.  It's there, and gone, and would more than likely be attributed to eyes playing tricks than any real occurrence.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 6, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven - The Next Day

_________​
James frowned slightly, having noticed his mistake. "_Damn, I introduced myself even though she already knew who I was._" His smile twitched slightly at his mistake. Maybe he was more nervous than he thought he was. Though, the girl did bring up a good question. Where _was_ the mayor? "Sorry, I don't know either," James replied, scratching his head, "I'm sure he'll be here soon. Maybe he's doing some last minute touches on his speech?" He suggested, but Higgins didn't really seem like the type to do last minute work or half arse something.

James frowned, looking at Kira. "So, are you going to be on the team too? I didn't see you at the meeting yesterday." He said.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 6, 2013)

Kira Fujisawa - First Impressions
Central Saint Haven
_________​
Kira nodded, glancing over at the quickly blossoming crowd.  "It's good I could get you to smile, at least.  You seem a bit nervous?"  Locking her fingers together behind her, she stood on the balls of her feet as she tried to see to the very edges of those gathered.  "The Professor was a bit iffy about whether he _really _wanted me on this team, but in the end he relented.  I guess that means you're in luck," she added, flashing him another smile before looking back to the crowd.  Or perhaps she was.  One could go stir crazy being confined to that lab all day with the Professor, and although she was skilled at controlling her outward appearance, her heart was beating rapidly as she waited expectantly.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 6, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven - The Next Day

_________​
The demi-god laughed. It was a smooth, carefully practiced laugh - not completely natural, but far better than before. "Maybe. With all the craziness on our team it's a little nice to have someone normal looking to be around." He said, a faint smile crossing his features as he spoke. "By the way, who is The Professor?" He asked after a pause.


----------



## kluang (Nov 7, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

She arrives at the town hall with Squall behind her. Swarms of civilians and reporters pack the area and the buzzing of their voice fill the air.

"What do you think Squall?"

"Perfect place for an ambush."

"Not that, I mean this is a big chance to turn Radiant Bastion into a famous merc corp. And with that we can do a lot of good."

"That too. But we should be looking out for anything. This crowd makes assassination an easy act."


----------



## Advocate (Nov 7, 2013)

*El Espejo*

...Huh. The demigod seemed a bit surprised by his revelation; had he not yet caught on that Martin did not actually look like this? Had no one told him? Martin shrugged mentally (his true form was incapable of shrugging and he saw no need to imitate the gesture in his projected image). Maybe it was for the best if he had an opportunity to ease him into it.

In any case their conversation was interrupted by a new arrival. A young female of apparently Japanese origin (if her name was anything to go by). Martin waved sheepishly to acknowledge her. "Good guess," he said drily, then let James take control over the conversation... sort of.

While the young demigod stumbled through it in a show of surprising awkwardness, Martin gave in to his old habits again, peering into her head. After all, anyone could just say that they came here to join them. And this wasn't the Mayor's office - whatever the other people on the team said about it being an easy target, it was a more secure place than a public gathering.

The first impression that he got from her, however, seemed to dispel the alien's initial suspicions. If anything, he was surprised at the sheer... positivity coming from the girl. It was not a common thing to encounter in Saint Haven these days; and as Martin's own experiences were strictly confined to "Saint Haven these days", it would be fair to say he was slightly taken aback.

His human projection, of course, didn't show it. The Mexican kid just stood there awkwardly and listened to his new friend talk to the girl, looking past them both. "What did you bring, if it isn't a secret?" he asked, both to make conversation and out of genuine curiosity, a trait that he had never quite managed to suppress.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 7, 2013)

Kira Fujisawa - First Impressions
Central Saint Haven
_________​
"An old friend of Mayor Higgin's, and also my instructor, I guess.  Or manager.  Business partner...no.  Employer?  He nags like a dad?  I'm not sure.  I look up to him, and he watches out for me.  He's the one who initially suggested I join you all on this team.  In response to Martin, she loosens the wrist watch she has and tosses it to the Mexican alien.  "It's a communication device to keep in touch with the Professor, and does some other things.  Tell time, that sort of thing.  _Don't _turn it on.  At least, not the comm channel.  The Professor gets crazy when I spend a long time away from the lab.  He's just a grouchy old man at heart."  She runs a delicate hand through her hair, turning to look back at them as she smoothed a few loose strands behind her ear.  Flashing a mischievous smile, her voice takes on a mockingly conspiratorial tone.  "So...what is it you guys can do?  Like your talent."  Of course, the Professor had given her a vague idea of each of the other team member's talents; she was his star pupil, perhaps as a consequence of being his only pupil.  He took care to make sure she was always properly debriefed when leaving the safety of his lab, from tasks as simple as going to the grocery store to pick up the week's supply, to gathering test data he required for his...research.

She knew full well what each of them did, generally, but wanted to test if they felt they could trust her.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 8, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
This Kira person definitely seemed enthusiastic and trusting. "So...what is it you guys can do? Like your talent." She asked, a finger idly fiddling about with her hair. James blinked, slightly taken back by the random question. He didn't enjoy talking about himself, or explaining his abilities, but...

Trust was important in a team. And these guys seemed trustworthy and reliable enough. The demi-god hesitated for a few moments before responding, carefully calculating his words. "My 'power' is the ability to manipulate souls," James finally explained, "I break off pieces of my own soul and..." He paused, realising how hard it was to explain his abilities. The demi-god shrugged, and scratched his head. "Well, maybe I can show you later." He said, smiling.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 8, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Well, that didn't say much. James' answer to Kira, that is; the Japanese female herself was perfectly forthcoming. Her mind, too, seemed if anything easier to get into then normal - her openness extended to her mental space, or so it seemed. Although... Martin could not quite put his finger on it, but there seemed to be something off...

In any case, if she was so honest and trusting, then Martin figured that the least he could do to reciprocate was to answer her question. Besides - he knew he would need to explain it to James as well, after his earlier comment.

"I'm a telepath," he confessed a little sheepishly, his human image shifting from foot to foot. "I guess it's an ability my species has. I can read people's minds. For instance," and the Mexican kid smiled at this point with a mischievousness that he had not demonstrated earlier, "James is stumped right now, because he finds his abilities difficult to explain. And you, Kira, already have some idea of what all of us can do, and wanted to know if we trust you. I guess I trust you well enough to tell you that I know what's on your mind!" The amused tone was decidedly odd for him, and still came across as slightly awkward, if sincere.

Nevertheless, Martin's smile grew bigger as he looked at their faces before continuing - mostly speaking to James now: "I have some other things that I can do, though they take more energy and effort. I can plant thoughts and images, create illusions, even control somebody's mind - though that last part is particularly difficult. Still, I imagine all of those things can be very useful in a pinch," he concluded. "What about you, Kira? What can you do?"

Sure, he could dig deeper into her mind, but that might take time - and it would be better if she explained by herself, no?


----------



## Bringer (Nov 8, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Fashionably Late_

The raging sound of Kimberly's motorcycle roared, as she followed the black car in front of her. Both she and her father were late, and she was mostly to blame for it. The young adult may hate to admit it, but she did take consideration into her looks. So unfortunately her father had to wait on her while she got ready. 

Now you may be wondering, why isn't Kimberly inside the car next to her beloved father? Well as much as the inky haired girl loved her father, she didn't want to here one of his lectures of how she's too reckless, or have him talk her out of joining the team. Kimberly was an adult, and more than capable of taking care of herself. But of course to her father, she'll always be daddy's little girl.

Finally, after thirty minutes of driving, and then being held up due to traffic, both Kimberly and her father made it to city hall. The reporters immediately swarmed Kimberly, surrounding her motorcycle, flashing their cameras in her face, all of them asking her questions at the same time. She contemplated pulling out her gun and shooting the air to get them to disperse, but decided against it.

The mob scurried off to swarm the green eyed girls father as soon as he exited his vehicle. Kimberly sighed in relief, and then pulled out her capsule before dropping it to the ground, and puff of smoke appeared emerging her motorcycle. As the smoke cleared all that was left was the capsule. Kimberly picked up the capsule and walked towards the group of heroes. Specifically James, Martin, and Kira.

"Sorry I'm late."


*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Shame_

Mike walked towards city hall, occasionally stumbling. His breaths ragged, his face pale. He hadn't had much to eat both yesterday and today, thus his powers took his toll on him. It was all thanks to that bitch Lillian, her "punishment" overused his body, so it burned up much of his stamina.

From here, Mike could see the large swarm of reporters, it wasn't that much farther. Hopefully they had some food there, Mike had no money at the moment to buy food, and Lillian literally kept him from eating or drinking anything back at the base as apart of her punishment. The jet black hair boy knew one thing... he'd kill Lillian in the most excruciating way possible.

Maybe he'd burn her alive? He dismissed this idea, not painful enough. Maybe he'd rob a bank, and hire hundreds of sick ass men to rape Lillian for hours and hours until she begged Mike to kill her. Again, Mike dismissed it, the sick bitch would probably enjoy it. He mused on the different ways he could kill Lillian, but as he approached the group of heroes he decided to think about ways of killing the dumb skank.

"What on earth happened to you?"

Asked the Mayor's daughter. Mike normally would've have told the bitch to shut the fuck up, and mind her own fucking business, but he needed to complain about how much of a bitch Lillian was.

"Oh nothing."

He said sarcastically.

"That bitch Lillian, after that scuffle I had with Leroy, she decided as punishment she would cut my fingers off knowing they'd grow right back. I laughed at her sorry flat ass as she cut off my fingers, and told her I could do this all day."

The browned eyed boy spoke, his words filled with venom.

"And what does the bitch do? She takes me up on that. So she spent fucking hours cutting off my fingers, and this is the result."

Mike showed everyone both his hands, his fingers missing. Kimberly's eyes widened in shock, but Mike's tone went from vengeful to nonchalant.

"They'll grow back once I get something to eat. And then after they grow back, I'm going to take Lillian's finger and shove it up her ass!"


----------



## Chronos (Nov 8, 2013)

*Aeon*


Not to long before he slumped into his throne did the woman arrive and began to speak. An introduction of sorts, enough to peak his interest at least. Weather she was human or machine was vague to him, pondering what sort of madman would construct a machine from scratch, what purpose did the creator hold. She spoke of her name B.A.C.H

"An adaptation of cybernetics? A human birthed of literal steel... Tell me B.A.C.H, what thirst do you suffer from that only Piccolo could quench?"

He spoke diligently, turning his gaze upon the machine. Verily, he couldn't tell weather she held potential, or rather, was her malice, was her power simply masqueraded upon this sense of indifferent innocence? Her posture, her movements, her mien, her overall being, her overall self, all felt different, but very much so, she was human nonetheless, at least appearance wise. He stood from his throne, and walked up towards the young lass-- no young machine before him. Her height was that of the average woman, a tad smaller than him, but not too much, a glace to the eyes, she responded accordingly as well, having their eyes locked, he noted, even her semblance was very... humanly. 

"Who was your creator, lass? Although you lack a few screws in you, your similarity to humankind is almost remarkable."

Turning, he places himself once more at the throne and watches. And hears what the girl has to offer carefully, noting each phrase and recording them into his mind.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 8, 2013)

Kira Fujisawa - First Impressions
Central Saint Haven
_________​
Show her later?  She thought about it, if only briefly, and nodded slightly.  "Sure, I'd like that."  Kira hears Martin, but he's very easily missed for some reason she can't quite understand.  As his attention shifts to James, she begins to forget what she was going to ask him, in addition to the answer to his question, and her gaze drifts to the new arrivals; Kimberly and Mike.

"Hello, Kimberly, and..." her eyes drift to the severed fingers.  More than likely Mike.  "Mike,"  she adds with an even brighter smile.  Stepping towards the delinquent, she takes his left hand between both of her own delicate sets of fingers, to see if there was anything she could do, and remember Martin's question.  "Oh, my power?  Well, it's..." 

And at exactly that point, Mike, who'd kept silent until then, snapped.  Who was this bitch who wasn't on the team, smiling at him like little miss sunshine, and touching his fucking hand.  "Bitch?  Get the fuck off the stage.  Ballers only."  Mike wound up his stubby right hand , and then proceeded to attempt to back hand her right into the crowd, where he felt she belonged.  

"...shadow manipulation." 

The young woman's shadow literally leapt up from its 2 dimensional orientation, two bright, perfectly circular white eyes glowing with energy from its 'face'.  It still carried Kira's general shape, but was completely black; literally a living shadow.  In an instant, it'd crept up and caught Mike's punch in an open pitch black palm, and as it did so, Kira set a small treat from her hand bag into Mike's other palm.  Smiling up at him, she took a step back, either oblivious to, or thinking nothing of, his attempt at punching her.  Her shadow set itself neatly back into place.

"It's not much, but if you're hungry..."


----------



## Bringer (Nov 8, 2013)

*Mike Williams*
_Beast_

Mike eyes widened. Not from the shadow stopping his hand from sending this girl flying into the mob of reporters. But from what the girl pulled out of her bag. He eyed it... the brownie in her hand. The sound he made was not human, it was animalistic and wild. The look in his eyes, filled with lust and desire. 

Seeing as how the jet black haired boy had no fingers to grab the treat, his head immediately went for her hand, and his teeth tore into the brownie, and he began eating it as if this was the last piece of food on earth. Crumbs and his slobber what was left on Kira's hand. Mike's finger began to grow back, but he was still hungry. He still needed _more_.

He snatched the bag from Kira with such force the strap tore from her shoulder. He proceeded to slam the bag on the ground, and jump down on it as if it was his prey. He tore the bag apart, grabbing at all the treats in the bag, and ignoring the other things in there. He began scarfing down every last one of the treats that remained.  

Finally, it was all gone. Mike wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He gave out a sigh of relief, and then eyed Kira.

"Your brownies were fucking shitty, and you should be thrown into pits of fire and spikes for making such an abomination."


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 8, 2013)

Kira Fujisawa - First Impressions
Central Saint Haven
_________​
Kneeling slowly, she picks up the handkerchief of hers from the bag, and wipes her fingers clean of the crumbs and slobber.  "I'll remember to skip putting nuts in, next time.  At least you're not hungry, though.  Right?"  She smiled again at him, glancing about at the others to gauge whether this was commonplace.  The Professor had said he could be 'disruptive' but she hadn't expected anything like this.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 8, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Talk_

_"That was... something."_

Thought Kimberly regarding the Mike thing. The brunette was also curious about this newcomer. Kimberly didn't remember seeing her yesterday. She thought for a bit, and was about to use her empathy to learn more about Kira, however she then made a watchful glance at Martin, the telepath. She had no doubt about it, he was aware of her powers.

"Martin."

The green eyed girl placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you think we can talk in private?"

She asked, her voice crystal clear and professional.


----------



## Island (Nov 8, 2013)

*Bloody Mary - Confrontation*
West Saint Haven​
_Sometime in the near future?_

Apparently the creature has constructed some kind of super weapon. We have no idea what this weapon does or when the creature plans on activating it, but we have decided that we need to put an end to this before it?s too late. Originally, we sought to gather as much information as possible on the creature before attempting to capture it, but if its super weapon is as dangerous as we believe, then, again, we need to act now before it?s too late. Although capturing it is still an option, we mustn?t endanger the lives of the citizens of Saint Haven, or worse yet, the world. 

We could learn much from this creature and transform every aspect of our society. Apparently it comes from some faraway world that was once part of an intergalactic super state. We don?t know the specifics, but at some point, the super state collapsed, and the creature and its ancestors have been attempting to revive it by any means necessary. The creature believes that another extraterrestrial exists on this world and that extraterrestrial is supposedly the key to reviving the extinct civilization, the Roman Empire, if you will, that this creature wants to restore.

If we had even some of the information that this creature has, if we could construct some of the machines and develop some of the technology that this creature knows about, again, we could transform every aspect of society. We could change human civilization from a loose collection of squabbling states into an interstellar utopia. Still, we don?t believe that this vision is worth risking the lives on everybody on Earth. What good would this knowledge be if it comes at the cost of millions, if not billions, of innocent lives? What good would this utopia be if there was nobody to inhabit it? More importantly, what kind of precedent would this be: founding a utopian society but sacrificing our humanity to do so?

If necessary, we will kill the creature, but I hope that it doesn?t come to that.

We have so much to benefit from its capture?

But also so much to lose if we fail.

The creature has stored the super weapon in a warehouse in West Saint Haven. We don?t know how the creature acquired access to this warehouse or what kind of traps it may have set, but we have no reason to believe that he knows of our presence. Over the last couple weeks, we have observed the facility via satellite and have twice infiltrated the structure itself.  The warehouse is an abandoned structure built sometime in the 1970s and was used by Northern Manufacturing Industries to store large shipments of steel and other processed metals. However, when the steel industry took a turn for the worst, the facility was abandoned. We don?t know how the creature acquired the facility, but we suspect that its affiliation with the mafia is finally showing its benefits.

We have laid a trap, however.

The creature only visits this facility three times a week during the evenings. Therefore, we have decided to perform a sting. When the creature arrives, we will strike, and hopefully capture it. If everything goes as planned, we will take both it and the super weapon back to headquarters. The former will be reversed engineered for future use, and the latter will be interrogated for everything it knows.

---​
?Surrender,? I demand, ?Put your hands above your head and step away from the weapon, or I will be forced to shoot you.?

The creature stands in the center of the room next to a large metal machine protected by some kind of kinetic barrier. It stands with its back facing me, and I stand about five meters away. I have two pistols aimed at its upper back, and although it cannot see me, I suspect that it?s aware of the threat that I pose.

?Your puny weapons cannot harm me, human.? It answers. ?It?s a shame, though. I have grown fond of you over the months and have come to think of you in high regard. For a human, you are highly capable and have much potential. You are intelligent beyond what I initially suspected a human to be capable of, and you are wise beyond your years. You would do well to act on that wisdom and surrender before the lingering respect I have for you fades away. Drop your toys and grovel at my feet, and if I still feel like it, I will make your death swift and-?

*Bang! Bang!*

I shoot the creature multiple times in the back, but it doesn't even flinch. Instead it turns to me, cackles, and states, ?You have made your choice.?

*Bang! Bang!*

I continue shooting the creature, this time at its chest. It begins walking forward, and the bullets don?t even make it flinch. However, they produce small puncture holes in its highly dense, outermost layer, some kind of cross between an exoskeleton and traditional mammalian flesh.

?You are wasting the time you could be spending groveling at my feet, human.? He continues walking toward me.

?Am I?? I smile.

Suddenly, the creature begins convulsing and, soon after, starts shrieking loudly. The first stage of the plan is successful. You see, when combating non-traditional opponents such as those with enhanced human or even super human durability, we use bullets whose function is not to penetrate but instead stick. Then, after about five seconds, small batteries inside of the bullets activate that release powerful electric shocks, surges of electricity strong enough to kill an elephant. This creature, as we learned through our many months of observation, has some kind of super durability given to it by its exoskeleton-like skin. Likewise, it has an enhanced immune system that renders most poisons, toxins, and other biological agents otherwise useless. Other than dipping the creature into lava, electricity was our best bet!

The creature continues crying out in pain but to no avail.

?Marshall, Warren, _now_!? I shout, advancing our plan to the next phase.

Two men descend from the rafters. One lands a couple meters from the creature, and the other lands right next to the machine. The man near the creature activates a device that he has strapped on his wrist and unleashes a rope-like cord that wraps itself around the creature.

This cord is made of a highly durable but lightweight metal that was developed specifically to capture and detain nontraditional targets such as this creature. It has been compacted into a small device that attaches to the user?s wrist so that it may also be used as a makeshift grappling device.

?You cannot contain me!? The creature yells furiously.

I ignore the creature and turn my attention to my comrades. ?Secure both the creature and the weapon and let?s get out of here quickly.?

Just as I finished speaking, I heard footsteps in the near-distance, first from right outside and then from above, both to my left and my right. I turned to look at the creature, unconsciously expecting some kind of expression before remembering that it had no face. Nevertheless, it provides me with the answers I need by gloating: ?Did you really think that you could fool me, human? Did you think that I would come alone and unprepared for such a thing, that you could ensnare me like this? No, it is _you_ who has miscalculated, for I have been aware of your spying for some time. When I discovered that you were trailing me many months ago, I began plotting your downfall ? I decided that I would wait for you to strike first, hit me with full force, with all of your friends, and once you have gathered with your allies, strike you down decisively and mercilessly.?

He pauses ominously. Suddenly, the warehouse doors behind me bust open, and I hear the glass windows on the roof shatter. Armed mafia men swarm in from the main door and others from rope from the ceiling, and after about twenty seconds, I am surrounded by at least thirty to forty men carrying military-grade weapons.

?Of course, I?ve made a few friends along the way.?

The men behind me immediately open fire, unleashing round upon round on me, and turning my body into a bloody mess that that quickly succumbs to the force of these projectiles and collapses onto the floor. I hear the creature laughing maniacally, and once the mafia goons stop firing, I hear their footsteps approach my mangled body, as if looking to loot whatever is left. Then, as my senses start to fade, I hear the creature struggling with its bounds before a loud?

*SNAAAAAP!*

The creature breaks free, and I am on the floor dying?

?There was never any super weapon; that machine you see here does nothing, nothing at all!? he explains, ?I have no intention of destroying your civilization outright but instead wish to enslave it so that your people may strip-mine this backwards planet and bring me the resources I need to construct the machine that will take me home. Only after billions of your people have worked themselves to death extracting the materials I need for my machine will I deliver an end to your excuse for a civilization.?

??No.? I slowly rise to my feet, the bullets being pushed from my body and the holes closing.

?I will never let that happen.? I am covered from head to toe and am standing in a puddle of my own blood. ?I will put an end to this farce right here and right now.?

?You see,? I begin.

I take my hand, rub it across my blood-coated stomach, and then bring it up to my face, ?You and everybody in this room are about to learn a horrible truth??

?The truth of why they call me? _Bloody Mary_.?


----------



## Advocate (Nov 9, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Martin looked back at the long-haired girl, surprised. However, he did not mind the distraction. He increasingly found Mike unpleasant to be around more than anything, and was only too happy to leave him to James and Kira. "Is it urgent? If it's not, it would probably be better to wait until after the presentation..."


----------



## Olivia (Nov 9, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter Two: Chance

My eyes sprung open, looking straight to the cieling above. I looked around me and noticed no one was here. What time had it been? Well, I could only assume everyone left to go to that announcement thing today. I sighed while rubbing the back of my head. I truthfully felt bad for basically abusing the mayors kindness, but it's what he offered. Not only that, but this was probably the most comfortable sleep I've had since...well, ever. This was in fact the first time I had slept in a actual bed, so that was nice. A shadow darted in the corner of my eye, but I payed no attention to it. I was too tired to really react.

This had been so strange. I've been given facilities that I've never been granted before in my life. It actually felt as if I could be free here. Well, except free of their demands. He still wants me to participate in their training and stay here, how does that make it totally different from being on their team. I rolled off my bed and walked calmly to the bathroom provided to me. As I walked in I noticed a long row of sinks, and around the corner multiple showers.

Before doing anything, I brushed my teath and washed my face. I looked to the shower and just stared at it. How did it exactly work? As part feline I was scared of water, but I knew I had to take a shower, as that's how I get clean. I would lick myself like an actual cat, but cat tongues act as scrubbers, mine does not. I looked around, looking for any utencils for my usual sponge bath, as that's what they provided at my old village. Unfortunately, a simple look around proved that none was in sight. I sighed, resenting the fact of what I was about to commit. I turned on the shower and watched as the water droplets rained down from the shower head. I prepared myself to get in, but I was scared out of my mind.  

As each droplet hit the tile ground my skin jumped, but I knew I had to get over it, I had to accept this way of life. I opened the glass shower door, and took one big leap inside. Of course when I turned the shower on earlier, I left it on the cold setting, so the water raining down on me was not only wet, but freezing. My body started to shake as I grasped my legs and fell to the hard, wet, ground. I curled up, with my tail wrapping as closely to my body as possible. This was how I was going to die. 

I couldn't let water beat me though, I had to stand up against the liquid substance. I braced myself and got back up onto my feat. I reached for the temperature dial, and turned it three forths of the way to the right, hopefully meaning the water wouldn't be too hot. The water quickly enough adjusted to the correct temperature, which made it more tolerable.

My ears reacted strangely to the shampoo provided, but just as with the water, I had to deal with it. The soap itself was fine, although it sort of stuck to my tail when trying to wash it off. One advantage of having the tail though was being able to wash that one part of your back that no one can ever reach. As soon as I was finished I shook my body inside the falling water, and then turned it off with swift justification. 

My cold body stood there dripping, as I was shaking beyond belief. I couldn't believe I survived through this horrific experience. I jumped out and found a towel to wipe my body clean. I couldn't express how happy I was to get all this water off. However with that said, I was happy I was clean; I felt fresh and rejuvenated now. 

Putting my clothes on for the day, I walked back into the empty room. I didn't sociolize with any of the other girls, but then again, why should I have? I sighed, walking down the stairs and into the hallway. However, what piqued my interest had been the stairs to the right, which lead to the male rooms. I wasn't one to be interested in the other gender (or any gender at that) but it did make me wonder how they lived. Besides, no one else was here for right now, so why not just go and check it out?

I started to walk up the other stairs, and I walked into the room and it was, well, different. For the one night everyone had stayed here, it was definitly messier than the girls dorm. I sighed, I knew I shouldn't have come up here. 

_DASH_

I turned, as my eye had seemingly caught something moving. However when I looked I saw nothing. Strange, but it must have been nothing important. I walked back down the stairs and then headed towards the elevator, my destination: the library. I clicked the button to call the elevator, and waited patiently for my rising ride to arrive. With a loud ding, the elevator doors opened, and I walked inside. Something seemed different, or strange, about the elevator, but I didn't allow it to affect me. I just clicked the top floor, and it took me up to the librarys main floor.

The doors opened up and I felt as if I was in candyland. There were seemingly thousands upon thousands of books lying on the shelves, waiting to be read. I jumped around and instantly arrived to a section devoted to comic books, how typical. They were interesting enough, but didn't provide enough factual knowledge or general insight for me to truly like. I mean, in a world where super heroes already exist who needs books about fictional ones? 

I continued to wander around, until my eye caught a glimpse of another shadowy movement. I turned, and there stood a slender man. Instantly I could tell he was handsome, he had auburn hair and hazel eyes. His face looked calm, but I could sense that there was something underneath, he wasn't what he appeared to be. When I tried checking how strong he was nothing came up, even for a normal human I learn that they're pretty pathetic. Just who was this guy?

"You've been following me...who are you?"

"Oh...you'll see in due time."
​


----------



## Island (Nov 9, 2013)

*Bloody Mary - Recollection*
West Saint Haven​
_Sometime in the near future…_

At that very moment, I flashed back to my childhood. Why would I do such a thing? Why now of all times, and why here of all places? In the middle of combat, why would I suddenly remember something so insignificant? Why would my mind go back to my parents? I paused as the memories flooded back, and for that brief instant, I saw him. I saw my father in front of me, on one knee, holding me tightly as I cried. He patted me on the back and reassured me that everything was going to be okay, that he would always be there to protect me… no matter what.

“Do you know why we fall?” He asked.

“No,” I answered.

Then he let go of me, holding one hand on my shoulder and using the other to wipe a tear from my eye.

“So that we may learn to pick ourselves up.” He answered, smiling at me.

At first, I didn’t give it much thought, but as time passed, I would start to think back on that day, only periodically at first and then more and more as time went on. Those words of wisdom lived with me and saw me through many things, through good times and bad and everything else in between. I always remember that no matter how hard things got, they were simply obstacles for me to overcome, they were simply times when I fell, and getting back up would be a lesson for me, something that I could learn from and ultimately an experience to draw from and grow stronger.

Still, I had to wonder.

Why here? Why _now_?

I was confident in myself, and I knew what I was doing. The trap had been sprung, and we were ready to defeat these goons and capture our target…

Suddenly, I snapped back to reality. Around me stood the fresh corpses of ten men, and there were another six shooting at me. With a combination of my enhanced relaxes and some basic survival instinct, a ducked and rolled at just the right time to narrowly being shot down again. Then I returned fire, this time with traditional bullets, shooting one, then another, and finally delivering a headshot to a third before holstering my guns and engaging a forth man in melee combat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Marshall engage the creature while Warren busied himself with the remaining mafia goons.

Marshall Law was the name of one. He was one of the most dangerous men I had ever met, and it wasn’t because of his powers. It was because of the ruthless tactics he would deploy on the battlefield, luring his enemies into a false sense of security, and then mercilessly crushing them. This plan was his idea, and he had contingency plan upon contingency plan in case something went wrong. In the case that the creature was onto us and that not only would he escape his bindings but also bring in reinforcements, we were supposed to divide efforts: two would take the reinforcements and a third would take on the creature and prevent it from escaping. It ended up being Marshall that fought the creature, and to that end, I was somewhat disappointed.

Warren Peace was the name of the second man on our team. Although not nearly as clever as Marshall, he made up for a lack of common sense with sheer intellect. He was a super genius, one of the best and brightest minds ever to be born, and it was supposed to be him that was to disable the creature’s super weapon and safely transport it back to the laboratory for research. Some of his greatest feats included being able to assemble and disassemble bombs and other advanced weaponry in minutes, everything from dark matter bombs to electromagnetic field disruptors. 

I continued fighting, but for some reason, I just couldn't help but go back.

_“You know, Mary,”_ Warren’s voice echoed through my mind,_ “We are the third generation of heroes, the legacy of some of the greatest men and women who have ever lived. Is that a legacy we can live up to, one that we can carry on in these turbulent times? Thirty years ago, it was Lt. Justice, Miss Maple, and their friends protecting the Free World. Five years ago, well, those heroes died protecting the world, trying to stop a greater evil than anything the world has ever seen…”_

For some reason, the creature turned its attention toward me, and just as I returned to the real world, it began charging me, smashing its hefty feet into the ground and making small indentations with each individual footstep.

“Warren, switch!” I shouted, readying myself to combat the creature.

My opportunity had presented itself. It was time to face the creature and put it down once and for all.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 9, 2013)

Temple Lea Soriente - Where Nothing Gathers
Outside West Saint Haven









​
_________​
_"Some atheist scientists theorize that nirvana, or something similar, is actually possible.  Near death experiences have been linked to the brief window of brain activity that goes on after someone's body shuts down.  Dreams themselves occur within a time of perhaps several seconds.  It's entirely possible that the afterlife is nothing more than a waking dream that exists in our mind for an infinite span of time, though in reality is simply caught within the few seconds we're allowed to continue operating our brains after death._

_________​
Sometimes, when I need to, I dream.  It's never that long, always short, and ends differently each time.

But the dream always begins in the same way.  I'm at the kitchen table, eating the breakfast I intuitively know my mother's made for me.  She's not around, but I eat it dutifully anyway, and set my dishes in the sink.  I go outside, to play of course, and what I find is never the same.

I tiptoe through a field of tulips, sled down a snowy hill, make my way down a well, through a dank crawlspace, up and out into a wind valley with a sweeping swath of windmills scattered throughout, and come to a bridge that sits above a gently babbling brook.  A massive troll sits at the other end, and the eddy can't be more than half dozen feet across.

My childhood form takes a step forward, the troll imposes his massive club over the end I just arrived over.  I see a wispy figure in white at the edge of my vision as I move through this dream, and when I come to stand beneath the ogre, brutish and bare in his barbaric loincloth, he asks a single question of me.

"How many devils step through your heart?"

"It was the 4th of that year, speaking characteristically."

He bows his head, and steps aside.  I pass on through.

I feel I'm falling, then, and then find myself on the belly of a massive whale.  I slowly begin to sink in, it's flabby stomach consuming my form.  By now, I've grown, though to perhaps adolescent size.  The inside of the whale is a neat little trolley, and we're passing through a desert wasteland, moonlight pouring in through the windows of the small caboose.  The clockwork steam engine hisses and buzzes as it rolls along, and the ride is supremely smooth.  I say we, because I'm not alone.  In the other corner of the this booth is a man with pale, greyish skin, and broken and battered armor.  He is bald, and I cannot clearly discern his features.  He's reading a newspaper, and is enarmored in traditional Japanese full yoroi.  At his hip is a dull and rusted tanto.  Through the gut of his front plate is a horrible gash, and he carries no wakizashi, no katana.

I steal glances in his direction for a span of time, and he does as well.  I sit with my hands in my lap, settled neatly, and finally my curiosity gets the better of me.  I move over, and see that the man has a very sad gaze.  He looks up from his paper, and I ask him at once.

How is it that you survived that wound?

And his reply.  "I didn't."  I hear a scream from the front of the trolley, and feel a sharp pain in my back from the man's direction.  And before I can turn to look, the dream is over.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 9, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_The Empath_

Kimberly frowned in disappointment at the fact Martin wouldn't hear her out. She couldn't blame him, if the man wanted to socialize with James and Kira than let him. It's not like she could forcibly take him into a dark alley and threaten him. Well she could... but she wouldn't. An idea sparked into the young adult, he was a telepath! Maybe they could quickly have this conversation mentally.

_"Martin? D-do you hear me? Hello?"_ 

No good, she figured she couldn't contact him with thoughts without him being aware she was doing so. He'd have to make the link. But how would she get him to do it without saying a word? Would her empathy do any good? It wasn't really like telepathy. Sure both could accomplish the same things, through different means. Telepathy came from the mind, while empathy came from the heart. Mind and feeling.


Maybe she could transmit her feelings? Her desire for him to make a telepathic link. Was it possible? For someone to understand what you want them to do, without a word being spoken? Only one way to find out, Kimberly projected her desire of Martin creating a telepathic link using her...?


----------



## Fedster (Nov 9, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 3 - The Emergence - 2nd Part_

"Thrist?", confusion built up on Bach's expression as the emotions programme failed yet again and his mouth curled up in an amused grin, quite inadequate for the situation. However, her grin was welcomed in the gloomy and ruined edifice, whilst the man who called himself Aeon measured her up and sat down again in his throne. Good thing he had recruited Bach, or else anyone would think of him as arrogant and maybe with some sort of complex. Bach, however, thought of him as interesting and research-worthy. "I have never felt such sensation. Nor hunger, or the need to dispose of my wa-", And then she stopped.

_'Quench one's thrist': Idiomatic expression. Meaning: To satisfy one's needs, usually by the means of an external source.'_

"Oh.", she exclaimed, suddenly realizing her mistake and the tardiness of her database to inform her of the idiomatic expession. "My Creator asked me to kill Mr. A, leader of the organisation known as The Templars. My database does not have more information about them.", Bach admitted, and stared at the man sitting at the throne. "But such was the will of my Creator, Garry Seanfield, now deceased. And such, will be my duty."


----------



## Advocate (Nov 9, 2013)

*El Espejo*

At first, the Mexican teenager seemed unresponsive, just standing there and waiting for Kimberley to say something. But then Martin's eyes widened, ever so slightly. It was her silence that gave the Mayor's daughter away. It seemed she did know what his power was, and was trying to talk to him in his mind. The most cursory mental probe confirmed this. Martin was... surprised, and perhaps stranger, a little flustered - a bit like a nerdy Mexican schoolboy who suddenly got invited into a girl's house for no obvious reason.

_"I don't think it works that way,"_ he shakes his head - his real head - ever so slightly. _"I have to contact you, as I just did, and you'll have to respond inside your head. At least, I haven't found any other way to do it yet."_

_"Anyway, why did you need to talk to me without anyone knowing?"_ Suddenly remembering something, Martin has his image self turn away and look to the side. Two people staring at each other in silence was bound to be counterproductive if she wanted to be discrete...


----------



## Chronos (Nov 9, 2013)

*Aeon*

Listened, it seemed her creator was dead, she held-- it held no other meaning other than fulfilling a purpose which was inherited by man. His arm holding the weight of his head, he became quiet, rather a few minutes passed as he began to ponder. Would he feel sorry for this machine, longing for a purpose unknown. She wanted to kill a man who she herself had no ill will to. She didn't understand the weight of what she would cause, then again, neither does he know the intent in which this man wanted this Mr. A dead. 

Be it as it may, this robot was not amusing, but not worthy. "B.A.C.H" he spoke, imposingly. "One or the other, I have no feelings of the soul." Although he mastered an art, beneath his quenching thirst for power, lied a inner desire to help this young woman, this machine. She wasn't so quick on the update, neither did he believe she would. But his merits, and her's could coincide, both held a meaning to each others purposes, weather these coincided or not, mattered little, as long as it was achieved it would greatly enhance the purpose of an alliance. 

"Show me your mettle, Lass. I'll answer all once the boy wakes. Honor me with a demonstration of your capabilities as a weapon. To this, I ask, throw away your humanity and demonstrate to me, what it means to be the sword to a knight."

Standing, he towered. Pointing his finger towards the Lass, although weakened due to usage of his strength, he forced the inner strength, a binding between a force that's concentrated at the core at the human soul. This was his ability, a power bequeathed by Kings. The King's Power: The Right Hand was unleashed.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 9, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​











Mike was pretty irritating, and the way he treated everyone around him even more obnoxious. At the very least, though, his missing fingers were somewhat amusing. He turned around to make some sort of sarcastic comment at Mike, but before he could do so, the sound of the crowd and reports suddenly erupted, a hurricane of voices and cameras flashing whirling around town hall. 

The mayor had arrived. 

He looked somewhat different to the day before. Yesterday, when James had first stepped into the room, the man had simply looked old. Tired and weathered, like an old book. Today, he carried himself with a certain air of satisfaction, and though the professional smile on his creased features said otherwise, James' eyes told him that Higgins was feeling very excited. He walked slowly towards the podium, making his way behind the stand. "The sun has yet to rise, but the light has begun to seep into the city, ushering for the currents of change." The mayor's voice was calm but strong, as refreshing as a breath of air. As Higgins spoke, the sounds of the crowd died down, the audience listening intently to him. 

The demi-god found himself surprised at how the previously chaotic crowd were now completely silent and, indeed, he found that even he himself was drawn to the mayor's words. "When I had first entered office, I was worried. Everyone had warned me against it, saying that the city was unsalvageable and destined for ruin." He smiled fondly to himself for a moment, then continued. "The city was quiet, with crime spreading in the thin corners of Saint Haven. There wasn't a laugh to be heard in the streets." 

He paused and looked up in the sky, his smile fading slightly as he did so. "That was how my life as the fifty second mayor of Saint Haven started." Lowering his head, he looked back at the crowd once more, and then at James, Kira, Martin, Kimberly, Mike, Gadian, Squall and Rinoa. "On the first day, while I overlooked the city through the windows of my office, I drew in my heart... a dream. And that dream was for the streets of Saint Haven to one day be filled with warm light and laughter." His voice got louder, the mayor exclaiming in happiness. "And that dream began to come true!" He turned to his other side, facing Aiden, Alex and Lillian. "One after another, I gained the support of new friends, willing to make a difference. I couldn't believe it." He stopped, raising a hand to wipe away a tear from his face. "The architecture of my dreams finally has finally begun to start becoming a reality." 

He bowed. "And for this; people of Saint Haven, my new friends, you truly have my eternal gratitude. For your support and trust, it lights a warm fire in my heart." Higgins raised his head, and spoke again, a sparkle of a tear still in his eyes. "Thank you." He finished with a warm, wide smile, and the crowd erupted into applause and cheering.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 9, 2013)

There were a few things which made Leroy feel queasy. Optimism, the smell of petrol, children, greasy food and sweets. A recent addition to this list, the 'shit list', as he had not so affectionately dubbed, was this speech by Higgins. He wasn't in town hall, of course. Leroy didn't like people and he might be liable to start throwing people around if he got angry enough. And given the fact that Regenerative Turd was there, that was more than a likely possibility. God, he hated that kid. Leroy was nothing if not calculatingly efficient.

The librarian next to him - Debra - wiped a tear from her bespeckled eye and sniffled slightly. "That was beautiful." She said quietly. "Don't you think so too, Leroy?" She asked.

"*God no.*" He replied, reaching a finger in each year, pulling out a pair of earplugs from them. "*If I wanted to be physically pained, I would have just smashed my face with a brick or something.*" The dark skinned man flicked the earplugs into a nearby pin.

Debra looked at him, incredulous and astonished. "I-I see..."

The large man then got up, dusting off his trousers. "*Well, I've got shit to take care of.*" He gave a look at the television, then smirked to himself. "*Bye.*"


----------



## Olivia (Nov 9, 2013)

Pitou
Chapter Two: Force

My eyes shifted around, making sure no one else was around. No, it was only this man. Who was he, and what did he want with me. Not only that, why was he following me around this morning. I'm sure he was the one who I kept seeing this morning.

"Well, I see you've already noticed."

I  approached him angrily, how could a human put me in a state like this?  Who is he? What does he want from him? The cold stare from his eyes, it  reminded me of my hatred of all the other humans beings who treated me  like shit my entire life. I braced my claws and charged at him:

"Try, but that won't work."

As  my claws were about to scratch him, they, instead, passed right through  him. Upon inspection, I jumped back, not knowing who or what he was  made of. I looked at his face, and instead of a mischievous smile, it  turned into a friendly smiley. He held out his hand, as if he wanted me  to go back to him.

"Before I do anything, answer me this: What is your name?"

"What would telling you my  name do? I could easily facilitate a different or fake name to gain  your trust. So honestly I do not see the point in doing so."

Maybe  it was because he was speaking longer than earlier, but he seemed to  have a British accent, one with a tone that could sway you to believe  what he is saying; a silver tongue if you will. It seemingly worked, as I let my defense drop.

"Fine, I'll do what you ask if you stop following me and let me get on with my life."

The  man smiled, I know he has something up his sleeve, but there was no  other choice. He extended his hand, which I promptly walked up and  accepted. It was strange, unlike before, he was actually tangible. However this act was disgusting, holding hands with a human.

"I will first show you a land which few have seen, once there since I know you can't run off, I'll tell you my name."

He firmly grasped my hand, and my eyes got a sudden flash. It as if he was showing me an entire move within a second. My eyes widened and I collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Pain serged through my head as I tried to grasp what I had just seen. My mind ached, trying to perge the memory he just gave me. The man grabbed the top of my hair and pulled it back so our eyes could meet.

"Listen to me. If you want what you saw to happen, then sure, continue living your life in bliss and ignorance. However, a good future can still exist for you, and I have a solution for that."

My eyes wandered up dreamily. I could sense a truth from what he was saying. Maybe I could trust him. I nodded my head, and he continued.

"If you don't want that future to happen, then there is a way to stop it. Become my slave and I'll be able to order you on how to prevent it. There really is no two ways about it. I'd do it myself, if I could, but I'm almost powerless after what had happened. It's for that reason-"

I bowed instantly, I just wanted the pain of the memory he insirted to go away. I NEVER WANT TO EXPERIENCE THAT AGAIN! I need it to go away, I need someone to help me, even if it is by a human. I don't care what he asks of me, I can't hold onto this any longer. With my head bowed, I couldn't notice the smile which appeared on the mans face.

"My name...well, my last name is Hiddleston. That's all you will need. I know it's painful, but you have to hold onto that memory. It will be your passion, and it will out grow your hatred for humans. Besides, it holds clues as to what you will need to do. You will have to _address_ it sooner or later."

The man in the suit stood up and turned away. I stopped bowing and looked up to face him. He looked at me with discontent. My sight started to become blury, as if I was going to faint. However, I stayed awake long enough to hear him say:

"I hope to see you soon, Pitou."

Then I promptly passed out. 

​


----------



## Fedster (Nov 9, 2013)

*Aiden Adams*

Crowd. People. Eyes. Oh God, why did he have to endure _that_? The Neptune City Explosion, in his opinion, was easier to handle than being stared by dozens if not hundreds of people. Aiden, standing to the left of his fellow mentors, fiddled with his fingers anxiously and looked down, ocassionally adjusting his glasses, just for the sake of doing something. He only wished everything was over and the Mayor would dismissed them, so he could return to the depths of the library where he only needed to face just a handful of people, which, in his opinion, was less stressful than this.

It seemed crazy that after a whole year in the Original Team, some more work as a hero and his two degrees in Technology and Physics, he would have gotten over his issues with going out in the public. But, then again, Aiden was oblivious to the human behaviour, and sitll was, and probably always will. However, things were different with Lillian, Alex and Leroy. With the three of them he was more comfortable since he knew them for some time while being a hero, and that was why he could talk to them a bit more _'normally'_.

Mayor Higgins ended his speech, but not without humiliating the technopath by pointing at the Originals so everyone could see them. Aiden felt as though he was melting on the spot. But when the public humiliation was over, he dashed as casually as he could out of the stage like a shadow running away from the sun, silently and as though leaving an after-image of smoke behind him. Safe, at last.


----------



## Narurider (Nov 10, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru​*
Gadian had been very much content as he?d stood there; keeping quiet as the others arrived and he managed to avoid having to tell this Kira person about his powers as Martin had swiftly diverted her question back to her. Gadian did now know more about Martin and James at least. James? power involved manipulating his own soul, which might have something to do with why it has such a strong effect on Gadian. Martin was also an interesting one; the boy that had been so quiet in the last meeting that Gadian had never noticed him was a telepath. Gadian would have to keep a close eye on him; he seemed a lot more noteworthy than he?d originally thought. This Kira person was also someone that would need to have a close eye kept on them, she seemed extremely positive, possibly too positive. Her power seemed in great contrast to her positivity that seemed to radiate from her, shadow manipulation was the last thing that Gadian would have thought she was capable of. Something about it unsettled him, but he couldn?t put his finger on what.

Gadian had a smirk on his face when he?d found out how Mike had lost his fingers. He had also found it quite amusing to watch Mike when he?d swooped down for the brownie Kira had, and thought he resembled some sort of wild animal as he?d proceeded to devour all the treats that Kira had in her bag. Though Gadian was also slightly annoyed that the boy was so rude after he had finished his feast. The arrogant prick could have at least said thank you. Despite this, Kira seemed to just shrug it off. She even smiled at him! Was there no end to this woman?s positivity?

Gadian?s eyes flickered over to the pretty girl, Kimberly was it? She had suddenly started talking to Martin, who Gadian hadn?t seen have any previous interaction with her. Despite this, she apparently wanted to talk to the boy alone. Martin had brought up the point that they should wait until the mayor had made his speech but Gadian felt that it wasn?t over quite yet. So Gadian closed his eyes and began to focus on Martin and Kimberly. Gadian had encountered one telepath before Martin so his knowledge on the subject was limited but the one he had encountered had naturally drawn spirits to him without realising. For whatever reason, spirits easily mistake telepaths for shamans, or so says Gadian?s hypothesis. He could be wrong though. For a couple of moments he just stood there with his eyes closed. Then they snapped open and widened with shock. There weren?t just a few spirits surrounding the telepath but thousands. The feeling they gave off also indicated that they hadn?t mistaken him for a shaman; rather they were curious about him as a person. There was something more to it, they wanted to know what he was, that was what it seemed to Gadian. That was when he remembered how Martin had explained his powers:  "I guess it's an ability my species has.?

So Martin wasn?t human. Well that explained it. They were swarming him because they wanted to know what he was if he wasn?t human. Gadian considered trying to reach out to one and if he succeeded in contacting it, finding out if it knew anything more about the telepath. Gadian decided against it though. He felt that he would have been invading the boy?s privacy if he did. Besides, as he?d been considering this, the mayor had arrived. So Gadian settled back and listened as the crowd also became quiet. As the mayor spoke, Gadian couldn?t help but scan the crowd, looking for Meiko. Then he saw her, she was the only one in the crowd who wasn?t looking at the mayor. She was looking at him. He smiled as she gave him a quick wave and then the crowd applauded as the mayor finished. As they started to calm down, he returned the wave and saw her smile at him. Then she gave him the thumbs up before waving again and walking away.

_Well the presentation is over...I wonder what?s next?_


----------



## Bringer (Nov 10, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Quick Request_


_"Good it worked. It's Martin right? I want to make this fast, do you think-"_

 "The sun has yet to rise, but the light has begun to seep into the city, ushering for the currents of change."


Her fathers speech was starting, and Kimberly wanted to be by his side as he said it. She continued.

_"Do you think you can keep my powers a secret? I have no time for reasons, I really have to go."_

The girl with silky black hair quickly retreated by her fathers side as soon as she said what she needed to say.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 10, 2013)

*El Espejo*

The girl stepped away quickly to listen to her father's speech, before the alien could muster up much of a response.

_"Yes, I'm Martin. Uh, alright?"_

Who was she trying to keep it a secret from? And why? After all, she was already on the team...

Martin broke off his musings to listen to the Mayor's speech. Truth be told, he hadn't been expecting much from it. Yet now that Higgins started talking, he could not help but feel... impressed. Inspired. Not by the words themselves; they were pretty ordinary, and if anything the speech seemed rather sappy and melodramatic. But he could sense the earnestness that Higgins put into his every word, and he know it wasn't fake.

The young alien thought back to his human parents, to the squalor and the poverty he saw after he ran away, to the orphanage, undermaintained and under constant siege by gangs... He knew then why Father Diaz wanted him to help this man. The cynical, bitter part of him told Martin that dreams alone can't fix this decaying city, and that there was only so much that their team could do, even assuming it does not just fall apart at the first sign of trouble. Mayor Higgins may have been an honest politician and a committed idealist, but that did not mean that his plans were any good.

And yet, when the Mayor's speech finished, Martin found himself clapping along with the rest of the crowd, hoping the loud clicking of his scales does not prove too distracting. Smart or not, he knew that Higgins' dream was worth fighting for, if anything was. He owed the better humans of this city that much.


----------



## Island (Nov 10, 2013)

*The Grey Man - The Exchange*
Central Saint Haven​
_Back in the present?_

The Grey Man returned to his office in Central Saint Haven, and much to his surprise, there wasn?t actually any work to be done. Instead, his employer sought to speak to the Grey Man about a certain ?package? that was to be delivered to his address containing an unknown quantity of ?the goods? or, in other words, something that the extraterrestrial desperately needed in order to complete the first of many failed doomsday weapons he hoped to construct.

Thus the extraterrestrial waited patiently in his boss?s office. He sat on a somewhat uncomfortable wooden chair in front of his boss?s mahogany desk. Apparently, his boss was still in some kind of meeting, and although he hated being held up and should have probably killed the man for keeping him waiting, it was a necessary evil if he was to acquire ?the goods? that were promised to him. After all, what he sought was difficult to find on Earth, and apparently, the governments of the world went to extreme measures to ensure that the substance he sought would not fall into civilian hands.

?Ah, Mr. Greyman,? his boss?s voice echoed through the room.

A man that was roughly 6?2? entered the room. This man had slick black hair and a goatee that ran from the bottom of his nose down to his chin where it then pointed outwards. The extraterrestrial wondered if the human?s facial hair naturally grew like this or if he applied some kind of gel to make it point out like that. Nevertheless, there were more important things to discuss, so he nodded at his employer and waited for him to continue speaking.

?Your shipment of?? he laughed to himself, ?Well, your _shipment_ is on its way and should be on your doorstep in approximately three to five business days.?

?Excellent,? the extraterrestrial answered, ?Excellent!?

The two exchanged a healthy round of maniacal laughter before heading out for coffee at Starbucks.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 10, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 3 - The Emergence - 3rd Part_

_Defense Programme: Engage_

It all happened just in a fraction of a second. Bach was listening to Aeon, and the next moment she was avoiding his attack. Something was wrong, she thought. Why was he attacking her? Was it something she said? Or was he doing on a whim? The latter, after she processed what the man said, was a lot more likely than the other options. He also talked about the sword of a knight. Knights were medieval heroes that have gained a King's grace,and therefore a special place in the kingdom. However, this wan't a kingdom,but a civilized society with a democratic system. So, why did this man speak of swords and kings and knights?

But, then again, Bach had more urgent matters to attend to. And anyways, he had promised to tell everything once the unconscious blond returned to his senses. So, she had to resist this man's attacks until then. "If a demonstration of my abilities is your wish," she said after, ducking the beam of light, who seemed to emit a sort of strange energy. She made a reminder to investigate on that. "Then a demonstration I will run." Her left hand began to morph into a big, cillindric object with a small flame in front of it. A flamethrower. She pointed it at Aeon and activated it, sending a line of blazing fire to the man.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 11, 2013)

Even without his precognition, Alexander Fortis had developed a sort of sixth sense for danger. Everything about the situation was weird to him. The mayor and the entire team was collected together on a single podium, surrounded by multiple high rise buildings which could provide solid sniping positions. Yet, a quick scan of the rooftops told the Italian that there was nobody up there. It was the perfect opportunity to strike, yet nobody had taken it. Others might have called it a coincidence, but Alexander didn't believe in those; there was logic and reasoning behind everything that happened.

The mayor's speech was good, and everything in the audience seemed fine. No sudden movements about the crowds of people. "_So why does something feel off?_" A blink later, his eyes turned from onyx gray to a bright glare of crimson. "*Shit, get down!*" He roared, appearing by Higgins in a burst of speed and pulling him from the podium. 

Muttering erupted in the crowd, then...

A flare of flame enveloped the podium, the wood of the stand itself and the metal skeleton of the billboard behind tearing apart and melting under the force of the explosion, throwing up a thick plume of dark smoke around the podium. The crowd immediately dispersed in a chaotic storm of screaming and panic, a single bald man in a leather long-coat cutting through them, striding towards the stage with a confident smile on his face.

The Italian man carried the unconscious Higgins on his arm, the right side of his face covered in dust. He looked at the team, still within the smoke, but his eyes told him they had all survived. "Team, this is your first assignment. Capture or neutralize the enemy by any means necessary." He shouted.


----------



## Island (Nov 11, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Observation*
Central Saint Haven​
The extraterrestrial and his employer sat at a small table in Starbucks. The former sat quietly while the latter slowly sipped a hot beverage, periodically making remarks about work and other kinds of small talk. Finally, after a couple minutes, he spoke, “Ah, Mr. Greyman, have you heard about the mayor and the speech that he’s giving today? It’s going on right now, I think. That stupid man thinks that he can take down organized crime or something like that.”

The Grey Man remained still, only nodding at the end to confirm his attentiveness.

“We could probably do him in if we wanted, but…” he began.

*BOOOOOM!*

The sudden explosion at the mayor’s podium could be heard from where the two currently sat at a Starbucks just down the street.

“But I’m sure somebody is already on it.” He let out a gigantic laugh.

The extraterrestrial turned his head to the window, glancing in the direction of the explosion. A few moments later, he turned back to his employer, stating, “I am headed to investigate this further as I am interested to see what sort of beings your mayor has collected for this team of his. It is only natural that one would wish to gather intelligence on their future enemies, after all.”

“There is no need,” he took another sip of his drink, “The mayor has undoubtedly provoked the local mafia, and soon enough, they will deal with these pests. Of course, if you wish to go, I cannot stop you, but please try to restrain yourself. If you get caught and your “package” gets confiscated, I do not want government dogs barking at my door.”

The human’s arrogance bothered Grey, but nevertheless, he withheld from killing him on the spot. This human treated Grey as if Grey was the junior partner and failed to realize that it was him who held the real power. All this man had were the connections that Grey needed to get the necessary tools to construct a doomsday device. After that, he was expendable.

Any rational person would be groveling at his feet by now, but this man was clearly too caught up in himself to realize that it was in fact the extraterrestrial that was calling the shots here.

Nevertheless, Grey nodded, confirming that he heard everything that was just said to him, and then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone… off to observe.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 11, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James knew something was up the moment their combat instructor moved to the mayor and shouted at them to get-down. On instinct, the demi-god thrust his right palm forward then closed his hand into a fist, the air glimmering with faint shards of fuchsia light, before turning into a spherical barrier surrounding him and the rest of the team. The effort stung a little, but not as much as what followed.

The explosion hit like a punch in the gut, the explosion smashing straight into his barrier and threatening to break it like fragile glass. Another arm pushed forward to reinforce the soul construct, and somehow, it managed to avoid shattering under the pressure of the attack, with the only notable damage appearing being faint cracks. Through the smoke and barrier, the stern voice of their combat instructor rang loud and clear: "Team, this is your first assignment. Capture or neutralize the enemy by any means necessary." He commanded.

Slowly, the cloud of smoke dissipated itself and James let down the barrier, letting out a quiet exhalation of breath as he did so. The crowd had mostly dispersed away from the podium by now, stretching into the rest of town hall in frenzy. The podium was now a complete mess of shattered floorboard, burning curtains and metal rods sticking out in the billboard melted at the tip from the flames. A single bald man stood in the wake of destruction, hands placed in the pockets of a large leather long-coat, his eyes firmly placed on the team and his thin lips stretched up in a smirk.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 11, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_One second too late_

What had happened? She was standing by her father, he had just finished his speech. She could feel it, the hope radiating from his words, the hope radiating from the crowd. Everything was going so right. But then she felt it, it struck her, the intent she sensed. The intent to kill her father. 

The area was filled with hope, so much she barely realized that someone was trying to kill her father. She wasn't skilled enough, it was like trying to spot a needle in a haystack. The killing intent was there, but it was hard to find. Had she had one more second she could've have yelled something, warned everybody.

But time wasn't on her side.

The explosion sent Kimberly flying off of the stage. The shock wave hurled her to the left, and she rolled on the ground before a sudden halt. She lost consciousness, only for a few moments. When she came back from the darkness, the first thing that came to the black haired girl was where was she? She heard screaming and panic. Her body hurt, it was screaming in pain.

What was going on?

Team, this is your first assignment. Capture or neutralize the enemy by any means necessary."

Everything came back to her, the speech, the explosion, the team, her father. Kimberly placed her hands on the ground, and pushed herself up, her breathing ragged. Her body was covered in dirt, and blood trickled down her forehead. Her father, he was alive, Alex had saved him. She could almost sense everyone and what they were feeling. The crowd, her team, her father.

The enemy.

A bald man, walking towards the destruction. He was the cause of this.

*"You!"*

In a instant Kimberly whipped out her dual pistols.

*"You'll pay!"*

She began rapidly firing multiple shots from her gun, all accurately aimed at the man's vitals.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 11, 2013)

*Central Saint Haven - Crisis*
Central Saint Haven










​
Kira covered her eyes as she watched the podium burst apart in a split second of explosive fury.  Thankfully her shadow leapt up to protect her, but she watched as it knit itself into place as well.  It was fading, at least partially, due to the force of the explosion.  The last time she'd seen her shadow not able to withstand something...it had been due to the Professor exerting a phenomenal amount of force on her.  Just what was happening?

She readjusted her vision, and saw, before her eyes, a firefight erupting in front of the stage, literally on the steps of city hall.  

And it wasn't going well.

The crowd had erupted in a chaotic mess, and about a dozen mafia thugs had emerged, Tommy Guns in hand, and aimed at the few police officers that were still at the forefront of the steps of city hall.  The exchange of shots between them was over in a second, and Kira instinctively saw something was wrong.


The way the mafia thugs moved...their coordination, synergy, and teamwork...was too practiced.  Their timing was literally impeccable.  How was it they were able to move in concerto so well?

"You!  You'll pay!"  Kira watched as Kimberly's hail of bullets literally disappeared, small sparks coming to life in front of the bald man.

The man in the coat kept walking towards the city steps, and Lillian was long gone, helping keep the mayor safe with Alex, a second mafioso appearing to walk in stride with him.  Meanwhile, Aiden busied himself with trying to organize the crowd, his bland, monotone commands echoing over the din that had consumed city hall.  Finally, the two figures, now revealed to be wearing rather expensive Armani suits, stopped in front of city hall, strafed on either side by the dozen thugs who'd just cut through the few cops that had done their station justice.  The two that remained, taking cover behind the two statues to either side of the steps of city hall, were Officer Barlo, and his right hand, Jimmy Westfield.  They alone had managed to down 3 of the mafia thugs that had played support to the two wouldbe assassins, and were now surrounded by a sea of corpses.

As the two figures walked up towards city hall, the two cops popped up from cover, surprising either hitman, and shot instantly, though neither had much effect.  The bald man simply did not move, the bullet disappearing in a similar fashion to Kimberly's initial attempt, and the other's body seemed to morph into water as the bullet passed through her head smoothly.  Barlo and Westfield's eyes widened, and then the young woman standing next to the bald man with smooth, slick blonde hair, pointed her own finger gun at Barlo.  "Bang."  In an instant, a jet of water gushed forth, cleaving clean through his skull with a single, powerful shot.  Jimmy Westfield, meanwhile, watched his gun explode before his very eyes, and he instantly fell to the ground, a pool of his own blood quickly forming around is lifeless body.

Kira's eyes widened, and tears formed as she now disappeared in the blink of an eye, and lunged forth from that woman's shadow, clearly about to...

Do nothing.  The bald man gripped her neck in an instant, easily reacting to her attempt at attacking the water woman from stealth.  He lifted her up, her hands prying at his grip uselessly.  A soft glow was beginning to emanate from her body, centered at the spot where the man gripped her by the neck.  She could feel a gradual heat rising up in her.  Was this how he'd combusted the podium?  Jimmy's gun?  And now _her_?

"You know the deal.  We make a show of this.  They'll know never to go and try to make a bunch of kids heroes again, in Saint Haven."  He said as an aside to the woman, who nodded with a light smirk, advancing on the rest of the team.

"Focus it’s Quiet Coyote come on let’s go kids, everybody get together with a study buddy and then talk about the fuck that I _don’t _give~" she murmured in a melodic voice as the mafia thugs swarmed the steps as well.


----------



## kluang (Nov 12, 2013)

Squall 'Tribal' Strife

The moment the combat instructor flew towards the mayor he knows, something bad going to happen and before he can react, the instructor shout to get down and James the demi god quickly enact a barrier, saving them from the explosion.

"Team, this is your first assignment. Capture or neutralize the enemy by any means necessary." 

Squall turns off the safety on his gun and Rinoa flick both of her wrist and a gun slide down from her sleeves. He then unsheathed his blade and look at the surrounding. The crowd had mostly dispersed away from the podium by now, stretching into the rest of town hall in frenzy. The podium was now a complete mess of shattered floorboard, burning curtains and metal rods sticking out in the billboard melted at the tip from the flames. A single bald man stood in the wake of destruction, hands placed in the pockets of a large leather long-coat, his eyes firmly placed on the team and his thin lips stretched up in a smirk.

"I think this guy is some low pay thug whose looking to make a name of himself. What do you think Squall?"

"You!" Kimberly shout and in a instant Kimberly whipped out her dual pistols.

"You'll pay!"

She began rapidly firing multiple shots from her gun, all accurately aimed at the man's vitals. 

A second mafioso appearing to walk in stride with the bald one. Meanwhile, Aiden busied himself with trying to organize the crowd, his bland, monotone commands echoing over the din that had consumed city hall. Finally, the two figures, now revealed to be wearing rather expensive Armani suits, stopped in front of city hall, strafed on either side by the dozen thugs who'd just cut through the few cops that had done their station justice. The two that remained, taking cover behind the two statues to either side of the steps of city hall, were Officer Barlo, and his right hand, Jimmy Westfield. They alone had managed to down 3 of the mafia thugs that had played support to the two would be assassins, and were now surrounded by a sea of corpses.

As the two figures walked up towards city hall, the two cops popped up from cover, surprising either hitman, and shot instantly, though neither had much effect. The bald man simply did not move, the bullet disappearing in a similar fashion to Kimberly's initial attempt, and the other's body seemed to morph into water as the bullet passed through her head smoothly. Barlo and Westfield's eyes widened, and then the young woman standing next to the bald man with smooth, slick blonde hair, pointed her own finger gun at Barlo. "Bang." In an instant, a jet of water gushed forth, cleaving clean through his skull with a single, powerful shot. Jimmy Westfield, meanwhile, watched his gun explode before his very eyes, and he instantly fell to the ground, a pool of his own blood quickly forming around is lifeless body.

"All right baldy, and blondy. I will give the two of you two option. Option A. You both surrender. Option B. You don't surrender and I beat the living shit out off you both."

"We choose, Option C. All of you die." the bald man laughs at Squall. Squall face turns red. He hates when this happen.

"I don't think that option thingy of yours ever work Squall. They always go for C." despite her disappointing tone, Rinoa is looks forward to the battle.

"Rinoa, Kimberly, the rest of you. Get up and prepare of some unadultery violence. This what we're here for." Squall rotates his gunblade revolver chamber and after a few spins it stops at yellow marking. The gunblade hums and electric current run through his blade. "Fuck, I was hoping it stops at blue."

I have only five minutes before the sword needs to cooldown. And the cooldown takes three minutes. I really wish someone with mechanical skill can upgrade this blade.

"Got a rough idea on them?"

"The baldy have either a fire or heat like power while the woman is clearly water based."

"Got any plan?"

"Take out the goons first then we deal the boss."

"I like that plan."

Squall charges his gunblade towards the thugs, while Rinoa shoots them with her guns.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 12, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James cursed under his breath, dodging a stray bullet from some of the thugs attacking him, his golden eyes focused on the bald man who seemed to be in charge of the operation. "_Squall and Rinoa seem to have a handle on the thugs,_" he noted to himself, eyes widening in surprise slightly as he watched the two dismantle the thugs with clockwork-like synergy and precision. It was actually pretty impressive, but there were bigger worries right now.

"You know the deal. We make a show of this. They'll know never to go and try to make a bunch of kids heroes again, in Saint Haven." The bald man said to the woman next to him, a tight vice-like grip around Kira's neck, her upper body glowing a red glow. Was he about to melt her like he did with those bullets and that one guy's gun? James didn't like his chance against the big scary combustion man, and he'd never considered himself particularly brave either. But he signed up to defend the city, and at the very least, he considered himself a man of his word. 

The demi-god stepped forward, golden eyes glared at the mercenary. "Let her go." James said, his voice more confident than he actually felt; there was no chance he could win this. He had watched the sequence of movements as it happened. Kira was _fast_, but the other man reacted instantly, with a hand already stretched out to grab her neck. How was he supposed to take on someone like that? Then there was the fact he had a _friend_ right next to him.

"Or what?" He asked, an amused smile stretched across his tanned skin. "Let's face it, kid. There are only two ways this could go down, and neither of them involve you getting out of here alive." The mercenary spoke, turning around to face James.

"Now, now Red-Eye," Quiet Coyote chided her partner, putting the phone away into her pocket, "he's just a kid. There's no need to be so me-"

*BOOOM!*

James dived out of the way just in time to avoid the detonation of the air around him, though the sheer force of the explosion threw him off balance slightly. "Well that's hardly fair." He muttered. His ears hurt from the sound of the explosion; still ringing with the boom sound mere moments ago. It hadn't occurred to him how loud those things were behind his barrier. Shakily, he stood up. He felt disorientated, but at least he'd figured something about about his powers. The air around him felt warm the few seconds before the explosion occurred... maybe he could use that against him. But first things first, he needed to get the girl out first.

*BOOOM!*

The boy moved quickly, having felt the tingle of heat on his skin as Red Eye concentrated his powers, preemptively jumping out of the way of the explosion before it happened. An orb of fuchsia formed around his hand, cackling with electricity, then with a single straight motion he threw it at Red Eye's face.


----------



## kluang (Nov 13, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

Squall and Rinoa dismantle the thugs with clockwork-like synergy and precision. Soon they find themselves standing before Quiet Coyote. "Pretty impressive for a bunch of rookies."

"You haven't seen anything yet. Rinoa. Maneuver Five." She response to Squall's order and fires an explosive burst as she leap into the air. The bullet went through Quiet's head as if she's made of water.

"Are seriously thinking of using guns against me?" ask Quiet and she points her own finger gun at Rinoa. Squall looks at the yellow bar on his gunblade. Two more minutes before cooldown. Squall then charges and thrust his electrical charge gunblade at Quiet Coyote. He's betting everything on this attack.


----------



## Chronos (Nov 13, 2013)

*Aeon*

Without a inch of doubt, she reached quickly enough to evade the right hand,her hand followed suit and began to form, shape, twist and turn. This was an ability he's yet to witness, soon it had transmogrified into a flamethrower, with as kick, his imaged blurred and all he could managed was execute rapid lead, which only helped him move a distance away from the surge of flames that threatened to boil his flesh into ash. A puff of hair was released from Aeon's lungs. Fatigue began to veil his body, he was already weakened due to the battle earlier, maybe he should have considered things much more carefully... Thoughts began to swirl in his mind, turning the gaze he couldn't much do anything, with added restraint due to over exposure to his soul power, he could easily pass out at any given instance if he kept exerting his strength. Speed was out of the question, as his body didn't react too properly, strength was viable, but to shorten the gap would be considered suicide. Only the right hand would be it's folly, but then again. Even with his accuracy, she avoided his strike with less than any effort. 

Her reaction time was superb, or maybe it wasn't only his ability that was being weakened, but his entire essence was slowly decaying. Of course, the usage of this power would consist of the soul manipulating it's inner source, it requires not only a great amount of constant focus to even tap into the surface of the ability, but the body must also become aware of it's existence, although without it, the body wouldn't exist, the King of before manifested this will through speak, the sword, or even their charisma. It could be called something beyond a 6th sense. It's not something everyone can manipulate, let alone recognize it's existence. 

The soul energy know as King's Power, in other words, replaces the exiting soul, it assimilates its attribute of life, and heralds the body into a plethora of energy and strength. However, the human body isn't able to fully assimilate this strength and so, once awakened, it must be contained through effort alone, as a soul is manipulated by will. Again, Aeon hold will, and due to his mutant attributes, he is able to withstand more than the average King would at the awakening of such a gift. Thinking of this, gave Aeon strength and he turned to face the girl, the machine once more.

"Your powers are foreign to me, lass. What is this?"


----------



## Island (Nov 14, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Interruptions*
Central Saint Haven​
The extraterrestrial stood amongst a crowd of onlookers, observing the heroes and villains as they exchanged blows with one another. He watched every movement, taking in every single thing that both parties did that the heroes did, and putting all that information in the back of his head for future use. That one man, the dark-haired man with the swords, looked like the leader of the group. At the very least, he appeared to be the most experienced and probably the most dangerous. Everyone else except for maybe two others looked like total novices, individuals who couldn?t really control their power nor coordinate with their teammates. It was the perfect formula for failure, so it wasn?t surprising that they were being dominated by the mafia.

?Oh, hey, Mr. Greyson.? Somebody diverted his attention from the battlefield.

He turned and saw a young woman standing next to him.

_Mary_.

?Nice to say you again, Mary,? he greeted, ?Is it not dangerous for you to be here? Perhaps you should get to safety.?

?It?s okay, Mr. Greyson.? She smiled. ?I?m sure I?ll be fine.?

If Grey could frown, he probably would have. He wondered to himself why this puny human had to pop up here and pester him. Couldn?t she see that he was busy analyzing the combat strategies of these would-be humans?

?Say, Mary,? he suddenly got an idea, ?Who was that man who took the mayor to safety??


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 14, 2013)

*City Hall - Crisis II*​Central Saint Haven​
Red scowled as James shot a blast of energy towards him, dropping Kira, who sank neatly into the shadow below her.  She reemerged in James' shadow, kneeling with a hand to her throat, gently massaging it as she gave a ragged cough.  

"Thank you," she murmured quietly, still leaving half of her form leveled into the shade of his shadow.  Her eyes wandered over to Officer Westfield, his chest heaving pathetically in an attempt to hold onto life.  She sighed with an air of determination, and then looked up to James.  "I think I have a plan."

Meanwhile, Squall charged Coyote, who smiled an amused look as the auspiciously well coordinated grunts came to support her, as if coming back to life.  The mercenary braced himself, and instantly took the opportunity to backstep, pulling himself out of their firing range.  They smiled menacingly as they rose, the holes in their clothes marked with no blood.  Bulletproof vests.  

Rinoa and Kimberly lashed out with a hail of bullets, and Squall flew for Coyote with a final burst of speed, attempting to nail her across the chest with his electrically charged blade.  Coyote grew a bit shorter, which he reasoned was due to a long tendril of water emerging from her hand.  So, while she could convert her mass to water...it wasn't possible to create something from nothing.  She had a finite pool.  The two danced in melee for a few dangerous seconds, neither being able to score a hit on the other.  Squall then smiled neatly as he found an opening in her rather meager defenses; she wasn't a melee combatant, she relied on her ability to avoid damage through water a great deal.  How unfortunate that even that couldn't save her against Squall's electrically powered blade.

The cut was a telling blow...though not in the way he anticipated.

He felt the force he'd applied to so many enemies in the past tenfold.  The pain was excruciating.  He looked down to see that he'd stepped directly into a puddle of water, one that happened to stem from a thin stream branching from Coyote.  The woman was singed, but not broken, having braced herself for the attack.  She smirked as she then countered Squall's attack, cutting him neatly on the eye with a whip of water she'd drawn from the palm of her hand.  He fell to a knee, clutching his eye carefully as he dropped his gunblade.  Coyote maintained her form above him, hands on her hips as she beamed maliciously.  The reason for her decrease in height became all the more evident.  Not just the whip...it'd been a trap from the start.

"You can call be Narancia, by the way."  

The thugs that had been able to shrug off the blows with their hidden armor continued on their way, Kimberly cocking her gun and taking a defensive stance.  Mike lounged casually on the steps, picking his teeth without a care in the world.  Rinoa held herself back to back with Kimberly, Martin hiding, out of sight behind a statue.  They didn't seem to notice him, for now, but once they'd handled these two...

Kira whispered something to James as Narancia rounded on them, coming to Red's assistance.  "You're still not done over here?  Come on, let's finish this up."  Kira nodded to James, who simply looked on at Red, Coyote behind him.  Kira then swapped spots with James in a moment of planned precision, and her shadow popped up once with one last mustering of strength, blocking the blast from Red she had anticipated in response to her sudden movement.  James meanwhile cast off Narancia's water jet with blast of energy born of his soul.

Kira then created a small illusion of a gun, and imitated the sound of a round of bullets uncannily.  Red's reaction was nearly instant.  A blast of combustive energy went soaring through the man's field of vision, and in that moment, Kira pulled herself and James into both their shadows in the blink of an eye, leaving the blast to go right for Narancia.  The woman screamed in panic, and then was dispersed into a steamy mess.  The resulting viscous, jelly like substance slunk towards a nearby sewer, disappearing.

And as the two heroes emerged from the shadows, Red instantly struck out with another explosion.  His eyes were like two burning coals from the heart of an archaic steam driven clockwork nightmare.  It didn't stop, and suddenly explosions rocked the nearby area with no rhyme or reason.  The duo took cover behind a police car...in which Kira spotted a first aid kit.

"I'll leave him to you.  He's going to tear this place apart if he isn't stopped...but his rage will be the end of him.  But...it seems you were right about how his power works.  I think if anyone can do this, it's you."  She then nabbed the first aid kit, and blinked over to James Westfield's shadow, opening it up to try and save his life.  

"Stop hiding," Red seethed with quiet intensity.  "Come out so I can do this quickly."  His rage blinded him, a separate ordeal entirely unfolding on the steps of city hall as he searched for the person who'd just caused him to injure his own partner.  Then, spotting Kira, he snarled, firing an explosion, that just missed her as she pulled herself and Westfield to safety through shadows.

"Hey, Red.  How about we take another look at the different ways this can end."  The berserk mutant turned to face James, who's hand danced with slight sparks in anticipation of his last ditch effort.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 14, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James felt weird as he stepped forward towards Red Eye, the words of Kira still ringing in his mind. His legs had stopped shaking, but the anxiety in his chest was now replaced with a different kind of feeling. A pressure of expectation; she said she believed only he could do this. Was this what it felt like to have team-mates and friends? "Hey, Red. How about we take another look at the different ways this can end." The berserk mutant turned to face James, whose hand danced with slight sparks in anticipation of his last ditch effort. "I could cause some serious damage to you," the demi-god said, "but I really don't want to have to do that. Can you just give up or something?" He asked. Of course, James already knew the answer was. He wasn't dumb or optimistic by any means, but there was something inside him that told him it might be worth a try, no matter how stupid it was. 

"Don't patronise me, kid." Red Eye spat. "You think just because I've temporarily lost my vision I can't see you?" He smirked. "Well, sad to say, you're completely wrong. Should've gotten me down when you had the chance." The mercenary said, the veins around his eyes tensing. 

The next few moments moved in slow motion for James, who raised a single palm forward in preparation for the attack. The man's spiritual energy began to accumulate in his eyes, an aura of heat radiated from his body. From his eye, a small beam shot out towards James. This was, as he recognized, the thing that allowed the mercenary to guide and aim his explosions. He wasn't sure how it worked specifically, but his eyes told him his powers were spiritual in nature. This was when the demi-god took the opportunity for his counter-attack, an aura of soul glimmering around his palm, before he pulled it back in towards his chest, wisps and embers escaping the entrapment of his fist. A gleaming barrier formed around him, rebounding the guiding beam back at Red Eye, then...

*Booom!*

Before he could react and stop himself, or move away, the rest of the attack followed. The immediate space around his body heated up, highlighted as a bubble of red in James' vision, then exploded in a cloud of flames and dark some, tearing apart the ground around it while the barrier protected the demi-god from the rest of the attack. Slowly, the wall dissipated, turning back into a coat of energy around the boy's hand as he looked expectantly. The smoke quickly cleared away from the wind, revealing a seething Red Eye. His chest was bloodied, the clothing of his entire upper body burned and charred away by his attack. "That hurt." He growled.

James thrust his palm forward, streams of fuchsia erupting from his hand, straight into Red Eye's chest. The attack hit like a series of hard punches, knocking him off balance slightly. Moving his arms in a circular motion, the streams began to coil around the mercenary like a rope, covering his eyes, before binding up the arms and the legs. "I've got to add some more..." He muttered, pointing the two palms of his hands at the bound up mercenary, forming a cuboid barrier around him.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 14, 2013)

*El Espejo*

The attack came out of nowhere, like lightning on a summer day. Unlike the Mayor's daughter, Martin was no empath, but his mind nonetheless still had a certain sensitivity towards the thoughts and feelings of others. Yet in this case, it backfired. He could feel the passionate, desperate love and hope emanating from the Mayor, the cynicism and despair giving way to frantic, immature optimism and faith among the crowd - and deafened by their cheering, he could not notice the shady individuals making their way across the human sea. Their feelings were controlled and their minds were cold; they were professionals, and so they slid effortlessly under his grid.

And then came the explosion. Martin's fragile, flimsy body could not have survived it. He stood there, dumbfounded, for a few seconds before realising that he was alive. James, he suddenly realised. He was standing next to James, who had created some kind of barrier... Unable to speak from the shock, Martin nonetheless gave James a nod of gratitude - not that the young demihuman could see it, preoccupied as he was with the assault. It seemed that the explosions were only the beginning.

Martin gulped. He did not like to put it like that, but there was no way around it: he was a coward. Interacting with people he had not met before was nerve-wracking enough; but an actual physical attack? And not just some bullies or gangers - the humans marching towards the podium to finish what they started were, as said before, professionals. Guns, bullets. And those explosions - somehow it did not seem as though they set off the explosives that were already there... Which meant that they most probably had powers.

And Martin wasn't about to stick around to find out what else they can do. At least, not in plain sight. Moving like a frog, the scrawny olive humanoid leaped out of the way to take cover behind a statue, and only then realised that he had dropped the illusion. It was probably for the best: he needed to concentrate. He closed his eyes, covered his ears and shut his passive psychic sense off as well. The gunshots, the explosions, the screams and the panic that now gripped the crowd could only distract him. He couldn't think like that; they could only scare him further...

Now that he was alone and at least temporarily safe, though, Martin felt shame grip him. He knew he couldn't run away; not so soon after resolving to help out. But... he could not face those attackers head on either. If there was any way he could help, it would be with his mind, not his body.

Cautiously, he opened his big black eyes and looked out from behind his cover. He could see that the attack was not about to abate, though the rest of the team were doing their best to fight back. Those two older mercenaries were doing a particularly good job. A new chill hit Martin as he realised the Mayor was not there. Did he die or did he get away safely? But in any case, it seemed that the hostile humans had another target on their list, if it was not indeed their main objective to begin with: the team.

As he suppressed a shudder, the alien's eyes drifted towards the attackers. A big bald male human in a coat appeared to be the source of the explosions and the leader of this assault. He was assisted by a female human whose body molded into water. That pretty much eradicated any doubt about the nature of the attackers; the very sort of so-called "supercriminals" that the team was created to combat. And there was a dozen or so of gunmen, currently engaged in battle with the mercenaries. They seemed rather less powerful, more mundane - and yet there was something about them that struck Martin as awfully off.

They were individuals, of course... and yet, when he first scanned the attackers, it seemed as though there were three minds among them. Not fifteen.

Martin hid behind the statue again, thinking hard and shutting out the noises. By the time he made up his mind and settled on a course of action, the battle turned against the team again. Squall was on the ground, while the footsoldiers were advancing. He saw Kimberley and Rinoa retreat, firing back, while James and Kira - whom he last saw in the bald one's hands - were apparently planning something. The alien considered sending them a message - but then decided against it. He needed to focus on disrupting the attack. But how? He never dealt with anything like this before...

He focused on the nearest thug. He had a slight resistance there - but was also distracted by the pain from his wounds and the need to avoid the gunfire. He was autonomous, Martin could see it now; a mind of his own... but at the same time, that mind was part of a network. Suppressing second thoughts, the alien pushed forward. The thug took cover nearby, but thankfully, despite Martin's head sticking out, the alien was even easier to ignore in a battlefield full of guns and the more flashy sort of superpowers. And through him, Martin could reach the rest. It was more than a little disorienting, and yet, the link between the minds of the attackers proved surprisingly easy for him to go through.

The alien was wondering how best to exploit this vulnerability when suddenly he reached a mind that was not like the others. It was also open for a psychic contact, but it did not merely share information and receive orders; rather, it received information and _sent_ orders. And it was also aware of Martin's fumbling.

For a brief moment, the water woman - until then preoccupied with helping the attackers' leader as he bore down on Kira and James - glanced at him. She wasn't angry or concerned; merely annoyed. _"I'll deal with you later."_ She was getting tired of this... but she was far from spent. Gritting his small, sharp teeth, Martin desperately began projecting images. Sudden explosions, gun shots, monsters from movies, the police arriving from the flanks - to no avail. Narancia was not easily distracted, and neither were the troops that she coordinated. Martin felt ever more at the end of his wit. Scaring or dominating ordinary gang members, spying on people or sneaking past them - that he could do. This a challenge of a completely different magnitude, one that he was not in the least bit prepared for. But he couldn't just give up now, could he?

That was when his indecision was cut out by horrible, searing panic and pain; a sudden explosion from an unexpected direction, a betrayal, a fire that burned him up and made him lose shape, with pieces of his very being disintegrating in the air. The young alien screamed and thrashed behind the statue, too pained to realise that this wasn't happening to _him_. The horrible, frenzying sensation flew into him from one end of the mental network - and then, unthinkingly, instinctively, got thrown back at the remaining footsoldiers by his mind, with its strength amplified four-fold.

The thugs screamed and thrashed with him, like puppets whose puppetmaster has been set on fire, and then fell, as the little scaly alien fell to the ground, exhausted and unconscious, when the cord connecting him to the net's mistress was first stretched to the limit and then abruptly severed by distance.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 15, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
The demi-god took a step towards the soul cage entrapping Red Eye, his breath heavy with fatigue and exhaustion, the golden glow of his pupils dimming slightly. "Who hired you guys to do this?" He asked. "It must've been someone rich, to get two superpowered dudes like you and that woman in on this." James commented, then took a nod at the manhole Narancia had absconded into. "Your partner just abandoned you, and whoever hired you to do this clearly didn't give you much information to work w-"

"Don't bother." Red Eye said simply, his voice strangely calm despite his situation, which unnerved James slightly. The guy was trapped behind two layers of barriers which made it so he couldn't aim his powers at anybody himself, and he was obviously going to be taken in for questioning later on, so why was he so serene? "I'm a pro, and I knew full well what I was getting myself into when I accepted this job." He continued, then smiled. "And I sure as hell ain't going to let you lot take me in for questioning." 

The hairs on James' neck shot up, unease lancing and blossoming into realization. Realization of what the mercenary was planning to do, his eyes reaffirming his fears. "Fuck." James cursed to himself silently. There was no chance of dodging the attack if it shattered the barrier. His legs were shaky, and he was too exhausted from creating and maintaining the cage around Red Eye to move. Widening his stance, James thrust his palms forward again, the construct shining a purple glow as the demi-god reinforced it. He was going to go down either way. At the very least, he could neutralize the explosion so that it wouldn't hit the rest of the team...

*Booom!*

Flames clustered inside the barrier, pushing at the edges and walls of the barrier, the body of Red Eye exploding into a mess of flesh and blood. Then, like a balloon, the cage popped and shattered into shards of glass-like soul fragments, dissipating into the air before touching the ground. The ground tore apart from the force of the attack, throwing James completely off the ground, rag-dolling him through the air before his unconscious body smacked against a nearby wall.

_________​
James found himself in a small, messy room, clothes and CDs sprayed everywhere around the carpet floor. It was his old room, before he ran away, the same as he had left it, except one item. A shattered mirror lay in a corner, propped up against the messy beige wall and James' eyes drifted over there, his distorted reflection staring back at him. "Wake up, idiot."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 15, 2013)

James looked around the room, head confusedly turning left and right to find the source of the voice, then it addressed him once more. "My God, I didn't know I was this stupid." It said, agitation seeping into it's words. "Look at the mirror, James." It spoke, and James obliged, turning back to face his reflection. 

"Whoa." The demi-god blinked. 

"Use your words." The reflection encouraged sarcastically.

"You're... me?" James frowned.

"Yes and no." The reflection answered, then sighed, an arm moving to massage it's temple. "I'm a part of you. You could call me the true you, your subconscious, or just the manifestation of your soul." It explained, then looked at James. 

The demi-god blinked, a bit lost for words. He'd encountered some weird things before, but talking to his subconscious was a new experience for him. 

The reflection took this as an opportunity to carry on. "Let me explain the situation. You're sort of dead at the moment, since, for some reason, you thought it might be a good idea to soak up that huge-ass explosion. Maybe your brain shut down prematurely, or something." 'James' shook it's head in disappointment, then sighed again. "Either way, that was stupid. I'm not going to ask you why you did it, since I know why you did it, but don't do it again. Self-preservation is our most important priority here." It said seriously, then moved, it's body emerging from the mirror, it's surface rippling like water.

"Again?" James frowned, taking an uneasy step back as his double looked at him, a hand firmly planted in it's pockets.

"Do I need to spell everything out for you?" It asked impatiently. "You're not going to die. The barrier you set up softened the impact just enough that it wouldn't just shatter your body instantly. As we speak, your body is starting to recover, actually." Raising the finger of it's left hand, 'James' gestured towards the now illuminated light bulb of the room.

"How long until I wake up?" James asked.

The double shrugged. "Dunno. Time works differently around here, but I'd say a few minutes of your real world time. Either way, I don't think we have very long left." It said. "But, perhaps you getting knocked out was a good thing, since you getting wrecked is apparently the only way you can talk to me, and I have some important shit to say to you."

"What is it?"

"If you'd let me finish, I would have told you." The soul snapped. "As I was saying, shit is going to go down soon. I want you to buck up and stop being such a pussy with your powers. You and I both know how you are, so stop pretending you're some weak chump already. Secondly, please don't get put in this sorry looking state again. If you die, then I also die."

With a sudden quake, the room began to shook, books falling off the shelves lining the walls. The reflection looked around, an eyebrow raised. "Looks like our time is up. I would have liked to tell you a bit more, but this is fine too," it sighed, then stared back at James, "good luck."

And then James woke up.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 15, 2013)

*Lavinia*

_She was not affected by the explosion the way a normal human being would be. That much only made sense. The standard mature human body is about 50-65% water. Hers, however, was 100% – at least, when she wanted it to be. I don’t know how she came by this talent, though I could probably guess. But she put it to use in the service of my extended family – and this time she paid for it, badly.

It may seem at first glance that she had gotten away lightly. After all, an ordinary woman would’ve just been blown to gory bits, beyond all repair. Narrancia was… dispersed, deshaped, partly disintegrated; but alive. I can appreciate that point better than the most.

But imagine it. One moment, you’re human and standing on your feet, playing your part in a battle – helping your masters and benefactors nip some unruly brats in the bud, before they could begin to mess things up. Then suddenly, there’s a huge, fiery explosion. You may not feel pain like a normal human would, but damned if you didn’t feel _this_. But it’s not even the pain or the heat, or the sudden shock. Within a couple of moments, you are thrown to the ground, reduced into an overheated, rapidly evaporating puddle of liquid, losing more and more of your mass – and with it, your thoughts, feelings, memories, your humanity – with every millisecond.

And yet you are _alive_. You are as alive as an animal gone mad from the pain, thrashing in horror and frenzy. You do not think or feel like a human; your mind is completely gone. Driven purely by instincts so primitive that even a puddle of water might have them, you quickly press your remains together into a thicker, more compressed and coherent shape – and flee, while there’s anything still left of you.

Down the sewers you go. From an animal’s perspective, that is a very sensible destination. Away from the sun, away from the heat, away from the pain. Also, out of everyone’s sight, though I have no idea if this may have even entered your calculations. And most importantly, towards the water. Filthy underground water, but you need it, any kind of it, to reform.

Yet we can’t let you do that. Not out of control; not when you are as damaged as you are. Maybe it wouldn’t mean anything and you would just recover there and then report for duty again. Or maybe you’d remain insane or subhuman, go feral, and stalk the sewers like a predator, hindering our operations there and bringing undue attention to yourself from other powers. At the very least, we’d like to keep you under observation from the start. You’re alive, but the damage caused to you may be irreversible, and until we know one way or the other, you’re not going anywhere. Not like you were ever going to try and escape your debt to the Mafia anyway, right?

And so they collected her in a special jar, and brought her to me. Thank God I happened to be in the area anyway._

---

The observation post was a strange one, to be sure. A large square room, dimly lit, poorly furnished – somehow it seemed small and claustrophobic despite that, the gray ceiling and discoloured walls bearing down on those inside it. Lavinia had no aptitude whatsoever for technology, but she was that all those weird boxes and cubes and screens made up communications and surveillance equipment. Yet side by side with it there was a mini-laboratory, with what she recognised as a biochemical bent. Beakers and flasks, microscopes, solid and liquid samples of disquieting colours – and some rather unpleasant-looking metal implements. The people manning it were likewise a varied lot – silent armed guards, a couple of operators on the technical equipment, a stone-faced, hairless, well-built overseer, and a stern-looking, sharp-featured man with once-fair, now-graying hair dressed in a labcoat.

And, of course, the whole place was in a sewer, tucked away in an abandoned maintenance area, hidden behind a latticed steel wall. The stench was not as strong here, and the whole area actually quite clean, but Lavinia nevertheless felt glad that she came here in expendable outdoor clothes.

The men were all preoccupied, and she did not distract them. Instead, she simply stood there, incongruous in her white clothes, and observed. There were quite a few things she could figure out just by looking around in this place. For instance, right now, something big was happening on the surface, and the outpost was trying to monitor the proceedings. But it was clearly not why it was established in the first place. They had been looking for _something_, down here. Best not to know what.

The overseer cursed and Lavinia glanced at him – neutrally, non-reproachfully. Nevertheless, he apologised, in his abrupt and rude manner: “Pardon. Forgot you were here.”

“That’s fine; I know I’m quite forgettable.”

“…not what I meant, ma’am,” he seemed slightly chastened. Did he really care that much or did he just remember who her father was?

Lavinia shrugged mentally, without taking her eyes off the man. “I’m sorry,” she said. She did feel sorry – there was no need to snark. “I wasn’t supposed to be here, as far as you knew. Did something go wrong, Mr. Caldi?”

“Yes,” the man nodded simply, his blue eyes not betraying any emotion. “Trouble on the surface. Big operation just fell through. Shouldn’t affect us directly, but…”

One of the operators called him away, pointing out something. Lavinia stayed where she was; while she was curious, she knew well how to rein that curiosity in. Asking around more than she needed to would get unwanted attention.

Mr. Caldi nodded to the operator and went to talk to the man in the labcoat. Unlike the rest of the people here, that man was not Italian, although he was still affiliated with her father and his group. He spoke with them in English, as a way of maintaining distance; having met him once or twice before, Lavinia knew that he was fluent in Italian and many other languages. But they tolerated his eccentricity just as they did hers; they were both useful.

The man in the labcoat, Dr. Druzhbin, waved her over. An unusual look of concern crossed his face… and then immediately disappeared. “Ms. Italiani, we may need your help,” he said in his strangely sonorous, unaccented, very slightly raspy voice.

Normally that was bad news. But in this case, it was rather more mixed. It was, after all, what she was hoping for, even as she felt ever so slightly guilty for wishing that her services would be needed.

“One of the people that I lent to this operation was severely injured. Luckily, she was able to escape into the sewers and has been tracked down by my retrieval team. Unluckily…”

“No need to say anything more,” I answered. “I know what kind of help I provide.”

“I understand there is more than one kind,” the doctor answered with a twisted smirk.

I just shook my head.

“But that isn’t strictly relevant right now,” Druzhbin nodded in understanding. “I need you to heal her. You can restore someone no matter how little they have left, right?”

That did not sound reassuring. I blinked. “Only if they are still alive.”

“She is,” the doctor nodded again, a serious expression on his face once more. “It’d take a lot to bring her down, and in fact, I suspect that she might recover on her own if left to her own devices… eventually, and imperfectly. I’d rather not allow that, though. She’s very valuable.”

Of course she is. “I will do my best.”

“I will owe you.”

Good.


----------



## Island (Nov 15, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Origins*
Central Saint Haven​
?Alexander Fortis.? Mary stated.

She paused briefly, ?He is? one of the most famous heroes in the United States and possibly the whole world. His powers emerged after the chemical accident at Alexandria High School in Neptune City, and he went onto become one of the core members of T.A.N.K. He also became one of that team?s only survivors when the city was destroyed. They say that an archenemy of Lt. Justice, a super villain named Havoc, returned, and T.A.N.K. attempted to stop him. However, they were decisively defeated, and Havoc activated his doomsday weapon, not only destroying Neptune City but also releasing the Human Adaptive Virus and Organism-Enhancing Contaminant, or, incidentally, HAVOC, for short.?

The extraterrestrial crossed his arms, listening carefully.

?They say that when the kids that would eventually become members of T.A.N.K. were actually exposed to a less potent version of HAVOC. It was the namesake villain who stole the virus and turned it into a weapon that he unleashed into the atmosphere upon the destruction of Neptune City,? she shifted the course of her explanation, ?As for Alexander Fortis, in particular, he apparently has some kind of precognition that allows him to foresee what his will happen before it actually does based on some complex calculations of probability. Combine that with his master swordsmanship and advanced melee combat skills, and he?s one of the most dangerous men you'll ever meet.?

?I see.? Grey nodded, ?I see??

?Sorry,? Mary laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head, ?This is a topic I know a lot about. I major in biology, so HAVOC is a frequent discussion topic in my classes.?


----------



## kluang (Nov 15, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

"Squall!!!" she and Kimberly runs to Squall and help him to get up. Blood drips from his wound and he grabs his gunblade. The bars at the revolver chamber is now dim. It's in cool down mode. Several thugs surrounds them but suddenly they scream and fall. "What just happen?" ask Rinoa and Kimberly just shrugs. 

"I mess up big time. That water woman, Narancia, I underestimated her and I pay the price." 

*Booom!*

Flames clustered inside the barrier, pushing at the edges and walls of the barrier, the body of Red Eye exploding into a mess of flesh and blood. Then, like a balloon, the cage popped and shattered into shards of glass-like soul fragments, dissipating into the air before touching the ground. The ground tore apart from the force of the attack, throwing James completely off the ground, rag-dolling him through the air before his unconscious body smacked against a nearby wall.

Rinoa and the rest of the team rushes towards James who lies unconscious on the ground. "We need to get him to a doctor now!!!"

 Rinoa looks around the area and she looks at Kimberly.

"So do we have a vehicle?"


----------



## Island (Nov 15, 2013)

*Bloody Mary - Testament*
Neptune City Memorial, Neptune City​
_Sometime last year?_

The afternoon sky appeared black and dull, as if somebody had drained all the color from it. Every couple minutes, a bright flash would emanate, signaling thunder and lightning in the near distance, and then a few seconds later, a bang could be heard from anywhere in the city. Of course, this dreary place wasn?t Saint Haven, but instead, what remained of Neptune City. Since its destruction, the government closed off the city and had been excavating its ruins for bodies, valuables, and anything someone might want to pilfer or otherwise rob from this gigantic graveyard. At the heart of Neptune City, the site of the catastrophic explosion that killed over two million innocent people and infected many more, there stood a monument commemorating the sacrifice of all those who stood against Havoc and likewise remembering the millions who lost their lives that day.

_?A beacon of light in during mankind?s darkest hour: this memorial commemorates the sacrifice of those who sought to protect Neptune City and remember the many men, women, and children who were lost that day. You are lost, but never forgotten.?_ The plaque at the base of the memorial read.

The memorial stood taller than any other structure in the city, though that wasn?t saying much. At approximately a hundred and fifty feet tall, contributors from all over the world, from governments to private donors, scavenged together the funds to construct such a colossus. The bulk of the statue was the late Lt. Justice standing heroically against the super villain that he came out of retirement to stop. Then, at the base and serving as the platform for the statue, was a rectangular structure that one could enter. It displayed various artifacts and valuables recovered from the ruins of Neptune City, including the key to the city and relics miscellaneous dating back to its foundation. In the very back of that room at the base of the memorial was another plaque, this one honoring T.A.N.K. and naming the individuals of the team who lost their lives that day, including Lt. Justice?s own daughter, Baylee Allard.

?It is? regrettable what happened to this city.? Somebody was already inside when we arrived.

We couldn?t make out who this individual was. They shrouded themselves behind the cover a thick wool cloak, and the hood was just long enough to cover their eyes. Based on this individual?s body structure and tone of voice, I speculated that he or she was female, but again, I had no idea who it was. From my understanding, only special guests and other VIPs were allowed in here, and I couldn?t recall the director telling us that we would be having company.

I glanced over at Marshall and Warren, the latter of whom shrugged.

?One might call this a weakness in the human condition,? she continued, ?He or she might say that it is a testament to the weakness of humanity, that humanity has proven time and again that it acts counter-intuitive to its own survival? that this monument is the ultimate testimony to that fact. What other species ravages itself like this? Wild animals fight each other for mates, but this is for the advancement of the species. The strong go onto reproduce, and the weak perish. The next generation inherits these strengths. Men and women, on the other hand, choose to breed based on evolutionarily insignificant qualities and kill each other for equally insignificant reasons. The two are disconnected, and violence between people is for personal gain rather than for the advancement of the species.?

This person paused, taking a step forward towards us, then another, and then another. I had no idea what to do or how to react. On one hand, this individual didn?t seem threatening, but on the other, we had no idea who she was or how she got in here.

?I don?t follow this ideology,? she states, ?I think that this monument serves as a testament to where humanity has been and where it needs to go if it is to survive as a species. It testifies that humanity cannot simply continue following the old ways and that drastic change must be made in order for it to prosper. In the last few years, humanity has discovered the existence of creatures far beyond the normal and mundane. It has discovered the metaphysical and supernatural, things that are divine and unholy, as well as those who can be explained through science and those who cannot. If humanity is to survive, it needs to learn to live alongside these beings and creatures, and to channel their great and mysterious powers in ways that are beneficial not just for humans but for everybody that they share this planet with.?

She continued walking forward, and we stepped aside, bewildered.

?The actions of the man responsible for the destruction of Neptune City,? she concludes, ?I believe _them_ to be a testament to man?s arrogance and, likewise, a testament to the failure of the old ways. That man sought to channel these great and mysterious powers to destroy rather than to create. He wanted to establish dominance, to enslave humanity, and, ultimately, to rule the world. Can you see how these views are incompatible with the power  that humanity now has at its fingertips? In order to survive, humanity must begin working together, to set aside its differences, and work for the advancement of Earth, every man, woman, child, natural or supernatural being, else it risks repeating this catastrophe and turning the powers it now wields on itself.?

Without another word, she exited the room, and I just stood there?

?What was that?? I muttered.

?I don?t even?? Marshall frowns.

?I guess it doesn?t matter,? Warren changed the subject, ?We should finish up here and get moving. The director says our next assignment is in Saint Haven, so I?ll need some time to mentally prepare myself for staying in _that_ hole in the ground??


----------



## Bringer (Nov 16, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Let's Roll_

Was it over? It seemed to be over. Well at least for now. Kimberly couldn't help but to feel so useless. All she did was shoot with her pistols, all of her bullets having no effect on the enemy. She didn't even think of doing something else, all she did was shoot. She had the skill... to contribute but she didn't. All she did was shoot.

Her empathy was no better. It was a useless and worthless power, nothing more than a nuisance. It hasn't helped her much at all. It wasn't a combat power, but it even failed at sensing the threat in time. She couldn't even control the power much, she didn't even understand all of it's capabilities. The green eyed girl looked down, she placed her gun back into its holsters.

_"The battle is over, but how come it feels like we lost?"_

She looked up at Rinoa, barely processing what she had said. The young adult had been too deep in thought. Her reply to Rinoa, was quiet, almost a mutter. It was bland and lacking any emotion. Why did she feel this way? Her father was okay... at least she thinks he was. The team had prospered. Was it a effect of her empathy? Everyone felt dread, so now she felt dread? Or was it actually her emotions at work here.

"I-I have a vehicle."

Pulling out two small capsules, she pressed the top and threw it at the ground. Two puffs of smoke came out of the capsule, and as if out of thin air, a vehicle and motorcycle appeared before the team.

"Sorry, my car only holds five, maybe six if everyone in the back wants to be squished together. The motorcycle can take two people."

Her voice remained somewhat dead.

"I'll take my motorcycle, and who ever knows how to drive can take my car."

She took out her car keys, ready to give it to anybody who volunteers. Suddenly, something landed from the sky. The impact made a small crater into the road. It was

"Sup dumbfucks."

Mike.

"What the fuck happened here? I leave to go and get some grub, and all hell breaks loose?"


----------



## Narurider (Nov 16, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
Gadian had fallen to his knees, paralysed under the same pressure that James? powers always put him under. He?d barely been able to keep himself standing the last couple of times but this time, James was going all out to ensure the explosion didn?t break through the barrier he had erected.  Gadian had to admit, he did an amazing job keeping the explosion out, the only damage that Gadian could see on the barrier were a few cracks here and there. Despite this, Gadian was feeling like he was dying under the pressure of the James? powers, it was so bad he barely made out the instructor?s orders. James then put his barrier down and Gadian had a moment of respite as he watched Squall and Rinoa charge at some of the thugs that had emerged. Gadian?s eyes found the bald man in the coat and the blond woman that was walking with him. If he had to make a guess, they were probably the ones in charge.

Gadian couldn?t process all the events that were happening and closed his eyes for a split second and when he opened them again, the bald man was holding Kira by the throat. Her body seemed to be starting to glow, which Gadian was sure did not mean anything good. His hands curled into fists at the sight of the now defenceless woman and he felt an animalistic rage coursing through him. If this kept up, he was gonna probably let loose on the bald man and his companion. That wouldn?t be pretty. Then again, neither was the sight of a man ready to kill a woman right before his eyes. Gadian felt his spirits around him drawing closer to him, one in particular was closer than the rest. Its presence gave off that of an animal, which would be perfect for his current mood. Before he?d allowed the spirit in, James stepped in and Gadian began to calm down a little bit. He had a very good feeling that James could handle it, though maybe he was putting too much faith in the demi-god.

Gadian?s attention was taken away from James as he noticed Squall was apparently making the blonde woman his adversary. He noticed the woman getting slightly shorter as a long tendril of water emerged from her hand. He watched the brief melee that ensued and just as Squall noticed an opening and struck, Gadian noticed the puddle at his feet. He looked in horror as the electricity from the gunblade coursed through Squall, he was about to run to Squall?s aid when the woman cut Squall in the eye with a whip of water. Gadian winced at the sight of this, almost as if he felt the pain himself. Squall needed medical attention quickly, but Gadian wasn?t sure he?d be able to help him. Gadian couldn?t think of anything he could do to help any of them. He was just standing there, watching as events unfolded and he couldn?t think of a single damn thing he could do to help. He was useless.

While Gadian had been thinking these depressing thought, Kira and James had went to work and when Gadian finally snapped back into reality, the first thing he saw was the blonde woman being reduced to a steamy mess. His eyes flickered over to James as the demi-god stepped towards the bald man. It appeared James was about to take him own by himself. What transpired next was something Gadian couldn?t understand. Once again, he?d blinked for a moment and when his eyes opened again, the bald man appeared to be hit by his own explosion. He wasn?t dead but he had been badly injured. Then the pressure of James? powers that had seemed to be more like background noise to Gadian after the barrier had been put down suddenly sparked back to life and Gadian slammed to the ground. Gadian barely managed to lift his head high enough to see James constructing the barrier around the bald man. James appeared to be interrogating him and Gadian sighed with relief before his eyes widened. Gadian realised what was about to happen at the same time as James and he felt the pressure on him almost double. His body felt like it was about to snap in half when the bald man exploded. Flames slammed into the barrier and then the barrier dissipated and he watched in horror as James was sent flying and smacked into a wall.

The pressure faded off of his body and he immediate took off, flinging himself off the ground and sprinting towards the unconscious James. He slid to his knees beside the demi-god, and merely sat there as he frantically tried to find a single coherent thought in his head. The rage from before boiled up again but this time it was aimed at himself. He couldn?t do anything. His fist slammed into the ground beside James as he shook with rage. Why was he so useless? Why? He barely noticed the others as they came to James? aid. Gadian remained silent and still as they frantically tried to help the demi-god. 

Gadian finally came back to reality when he heard something slam into the ground. He looked to source of the noise to find the stupid boy with jet black hair. His fists curled even tighter and he slowly got to his feet. Finally something he could direct his rage at. Finally something he could kill with feeling any remorse. Gadian was about to let loose when he remembered the only time he?d ever let loose on another human being before. He?d done it to save Meiko but for the next month after, she?d looked at him as if he was a monster. He couldn?t harm another human being like that just because he was angry with himself.

He couldn?t but he wished he could.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 16, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James' body felt like a lump of chalk; heavy, brittle, as if the slightest movement or contact would shatter him into pieces. He winced slightly as he got up, his vision orientating itself as it adjusted to the lighting of the room. "Ugh..." he grumbled, looking around, then winced again, dull thorns of pain shooting up his back. It hurt to move around like that. 

The room was kept well lit, a lamp casting a dull glow over the area. The bed was small, but comfortable and soft. As he peered closer, he could make out white curtains bordering around the walls, shutting him out from the rest of the room. He was in an infirmary. Probably in the hideout as well. 

And then he noticed a girl, around his age, with long dark hair enter through the curtains.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 16, 2013)

*Kira Fujisawa - Blink*
Central Saint Haven​
Kira stepped inside, her skin still stained with a thin film of grit and soot from the disaster they'd just fought off.  There was still a red handprint around her neck, but the glowing had long since ceased.  Her dress was worn, and ripped about the shoulder, and she sat down a few feet from the bed, in one of the only chairs the room afforded.

She sat there with her hands clasped together, planted neatly in her lap, and then closed her eyes, breathing a sigh of relief.  "Oh, thank God you aren't dead.  I don't know what I'd have done if you didn't make it, and took my advice to try and fight him alone."  Leaning back in the chair, she smiled a little.  "But, you did well.  Was a bit chaotic, you almost died, and there was a huge explosion, but yes.  You did well.  For a second...it even seemed like we were able to work as a team, out there."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 16, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James carefully rose a hand to scratch the back of his head. It was still sore, but the pain had receded somewhat. "Nah, it's going to take a lot more than that to kill me." He laughed, though it was more of a forced laughter, since technically that explosion _did_ kill him. And the fact that he had actually died, even if it was only just a temporary limbo, was both a relief and a shameful scare. On the one hand, being alive was great, but the fact he had actually taken so much damage on the first day with the team was almost embarrassing. 

The girl leaned back in the chair. "But, you did well. Was a bit chaotic, you almost died, and there was a huge explosion, but yes. You did well. For a second...it even seemed like we were able to work as a team, out there." Kira said with a smile. 

He shrugged. "That's true, yeah," James said with a nod, relaxing his body slightly, "but we've still got a few creases in the team. A few of the people who turned up yesterday didn't turn up the meeting, and Mike is hardly a team player. " He said, giving a sigh.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 16, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Sorry_

Kimberly exited the room, her check up was finished. There was no permanent damage, all she had were a few cuts and bruises. As for her forehead, bandages were wrapped tightly around it. Had she approached the fight from close range, would she even be alive right now? Unlike everyone, Kimberly couldn't do things at mach speed, or even react to things that move at mach speed. She couldn't shoot beams, or creates craters with a punch.

Finally she had arrived to her destination, her fathers room. He hadn't really been that injured, Alex did save him from the explosion. What sort of damage bestowed her father. His door was guarded by many guards. Kimberly actually had to identify her self, and show ID, and even take a lie detector test before she could gain privilege into her own fathers room. But it was safety measures.
Upon entering, she seen her father laying down on the bed, sleeping.

She whispered gently.

"I'm sorry dad, I'm sorry things didn't go the way you planned. But don't worry, your vision will come true. Saint Haven will become a safe place, I'll see to it."



*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Not Sorry_

"What da fuck do you mean identification?"

Mike quickly punched the guard who actually had the fucking nerve to ask for identification. He already knew who the fuck Mike was, he was present at the speech. Who else would he be, Barney, Clifford the big red dog, or maybe even a goose? The guard was instantly knocked out by the punch, and just as six other guards were about to pull out their guns.

_Speed_

The black haired boy's speed spiked to unimaginable levels, each of his blows striking each one of the guards from a different angle. One knocked the air out of one of the guards, causing him to  immediately fell to the floor coughing. Another one got punched in the throat, and started wheezing and choking. Another got punched in the stomach, and began regurgitating his lunch on the floor.

"I'll be entering now." 

And so he did, the brown eyed boy kicked down the door. To be honest he didn't even know what was on the other side, he had been wandering the base, and saw that this door was heavily guarded, so curiosity got the best of him. Behind the door was non-other than the Mayor sleeping, and his skank looking daughter.

"Damn, the big ass oaf is sleeping?" 

"Keep it down."

Did this bitch just give him a command? Mike smirked, and his eyebrow raised, intrigued. What the fuck would she do about it. The jet black haired boy walked forward, standing right beside the Mayor's bed just like Kimberly.

"You know, who ever sent those enemies, they'll return. And when they do, your father will die a slow, painful, excruciating death. I honestly think it'd be better to kill him now, so he won't have to feel such pain."

He pulled out one of his pocket knives, and hovered it over the Mayor, only for the girl to grip his knife quickly like a snake.

"Don't you dare."

Her voice was cold. It was amazing how her voice could go from being gentle and sweet, to icy cold.

"I was only joking."

The boy smiled, only fueling Kimberly's rage.

"It wasn't funny."

Did this skank actually think she was intimidating. Mike would have broken out with hysterical laughter if it was anymore pathetic. Mike pulled his pocket knife out of her grip using his strength, and swung it towards Kimberly's throat. However the girl had skill, he'd give her that. She grabbed his wrist and twisted it around his back, and proceeded to disarm him.

"You think your hot shit? Don't you."

_Strength_

The brown eyed boy's arm swung the other way, sending Kimberly flying a few feet before she regained her footing. 

_Speed_

He was in front of her instantly, his arm gripping her throat, he pinned her against the wall. He got in close, his voice mocking.

"Aww, look at the Mayor's daughter."

His grip tightened.

"You think you're bad, that you're actually a challenge to the likes of anyone with powers. But here's some news, you're shit. Just like your father, and his pathetic dream."

Kimberly's hand found its way to Mike's arm, and she gripped tightly.

"Hmm?"

A jolt of electricity ran through Mike's body, and he released Kimberly. Damn it, he did find the fact that she had one glove suspicious. It was a glove that emits volts of electricity. If he had known this, he would've have turned down his pain sensors, making him unable to feel the shock. The jet black haired boy fell to his knees, totally caught off guard.

"Kimberly!"

The fat man woke up it seems. Mike was staring at the floor, why was his voice so urgent. He looked up, and saw a gun pointed at his head.

"I fucking dare y-"

*Bang!*


----------



## kluang (Nov 16, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

She enters the room where Squall is being treated. The doctor says his eye can be save, but he will have a permanent scar that runs from his forehead and down to his chin.

The doctor nods and Squall gets up and bow as a gesture before leaving. "You're ok tough guy?" ask Rinoa. Her tone suggest she's concern for her best friend and Squall response with a smile.

"I'm good. But I'm more worried about the others. Kimberly in particular. She look so down yesterday."

Rinoa looks down. She realize it too. To be so helpless in your first battle is a great blow to your confidence. "She needs someone to support her, more then ever. The burden she carries will crush her if she's alone." 

Then they heard a gunshot. 

"It's from the mayor's room. Kimberly is there!!!!"

'Lets go!!!" Squall and Rinoa runs to the mayor's room.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 16, 2013)

*Kira Fujisawa - Blink*
Central Saint Haven​
Kira smiles at that, strange for her normally professional attitude.  She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing out a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.  "Maybe...but that was their best shot.  When we were off guard, that is.  Next time we'll be ready.  It wasn't what I'd first imagine when guessing how my joining the team would go, but it was a wake up call.  You only have one chance to catch someone off guard."  She stood, smoothing out her dress below her.  "Next time, we'll be better.  So I'm not worried.  Get well soon."  And with that, she offered a quaint little wave, and disappeared behind the curtains again, leaving James to his own thoughts.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 16, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 3 - The Emergence - 4th Part_

"Lass...", Bach repeated loud enough fro Aeon to hear. "It means young girl or woman and, as a slang, it means sweetheart." So he wasn't aware of Bach's true identity? Or was he just playing with the fact that she looked like a woman? According to her cold, quick calculations, she couldn't get an answer. Why? Her results were perfect, devoided of any emotions and objective in all senses. But, then, was this a matter of sentiments? That, indeed, was the problem to solve. _'Should he be talking of his feelings, I should not answer. I will when I can solve the issue of the human feelings.'_

"As for my powers," She continued, "It is called Technopathy. It implies the manipulation and mastery of the technology around and within myself." And with that, she had revealed that she was an android, and had acknowledged herself as one.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 16, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
Kira exited the room, leaving James to his own thoughts. He was about to turn over to get some more rest, preferably in the form of a nice nap uninhibited by his abrasive subconscious speaking to him, when the sound of gunshot rang through the air. The demi-god's eyes snapped awake instantly, his body throwing off the cover of the bed. "God dammit." He muttered to himself, wincing as his feet touched the cold surface of the floor, before he slipped on his shoes. Another assassination attempt?

Thankfully, after the spar with Rinoa, James had taken the time to do some exploring around the base and had an idea where the mayor might have been kept; in the main infirmary chamber. Fearing the worst, James made a straight dash down the corridor, his eyes widening slightly in horror as he saw the pile of unconscious guards outside the door. Immediately, he turned around and turned the handle of the door and entered the room.

The view he was greeted him was completely different to what he had expected. James saw Mike on the ground, smoke rising from his head as a fresh bullet slowly rolled on the carpet floor. A young girl was stood above him, a gun level with the black haired boy's body while the dim lighting of the room cast a shadow over her face, hiding her facial expression, but not her heavy breathing and panting. The mayor was next to her, looking on at the situation with what seemed to be genuine shock and fear; it was as if he'd walked into a murder scene from a drama. Only, instead of Mike being the killer and Kimberly being the victim, it was the other way around. "What the fuck?" James breathed.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 16, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Misunderstanding_

She turned, facing James. At first, she was relived, but then reevaluated the situation. It looked like she had just flat out murdered one of her teammates in cold blood. Not only that, but she can sense it. The confusion, and fear. Even her beloved father wouldn't believe. She put her hands up. How could they not connect the dots? Mike was a destructive individual, this was purely self defense.

"I can e-"

"Kimberly, what on earth has gotten into you?"

"Dad, trust m-"

"You murdered that boy... why did you do it sweetheart? _Why_?"

"Dad I-"

Then she sensed it. Kimberly reached for her gun, and aimed it forward. The gun was clearly aimed in James direction.

"Don't move."

Her voice was low and serious.

"Whoa, whoa, can't we talk about this?"

*Bang!*

She missed, the bullet went over James shoulder, just missing the blob like creature, the one that caused havoc back in her fathers office. It let out a screech before it slithered around the room, Kimberly turned trying to keep up with it, but it was too fast. The creature was one Mike's corpse, and began enveloping his body, and making this horrid noise.

"OW! What the fuck!"

_"He's alive?"_

The jet black haired boy, rolled away, and began pulling away from the creature. He began cursing and muttering. Kimberly noticed the wound on his forehead was gone.

"Fuckin piece of shit! You ain't eating me today!"

He pulled his weight backwards and broke free. Both Mike and the blob went at it, causing a loud ruckus. At this point, this seemed totally normal. Kimberly turned back to James, and then her father. She still owed them an explanation.

"Before the two of you say anything, just... just watch."

_"My Empathy, during my fight with Mike I experienced large amounts of emotions. Anger, shock, desperation... maybe I can-"_

And just like that, images of her and Mike's fight flashed before both James and the Mayor's eyes.

*Empathic Flash*



> "You know, who ever sent those enemies, they'll return. And when they do, your father will die a slow, painful, excruciating death. I honestly think it'd be better to kill him now, so he won't have to feel such pain."
> 
> He pulled out one of his pocket knives, and hovered it over the Mayor, only for the girl to grip his knife quickly like a snake.
> 
> "Don't you dare."





> "You think your hot shit? Don't you."
> 
> Strength
> 
> ...






> Kimberly's hand found its way to Mike's arm, and she gripped tightly.
> 
> "Hmm?"
> 
> ...



*End Empathic Flash*

_"Wow... did I."_

"You understand now?"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 16, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
As it turned out, to James' both surprise, and disappointment, Mike was still alive. A familiar looking blob had entered the room and launched itself at Mike's body, attempting to eat at it with it's viscous mandibles. Then, with sudden loudness, Mike's voice erupted in complaint, Rolling away, Mike then pulled at the creature with an arm, while the blob resisted, before the two broke into what appeared to be a wrestling match. The demi-god, for his part, just looked on in complete and utter confusion. Before he could do anything, Kimberly approached himself and the mayor, her eyes closing as a strange sensation filled James' body.

Then images played through his mind, like fragmented scenes of a film being watched through murky glass. It wasn't very clear, but James could make out roughly what happened. Mike had entered the room and attacked Kimberly, then she struck back, which culminated in her shooting him in the head with her gun. Then the vision shattered away, the young boy snapping back into reality. "Whoa." He muttered to himself. 

Higgins gave a small sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness." He said, concern and worry evaporating from his voice. Then a look of realization formed on his face, his creased features further folding themselves in confusion and weariness as he looked upon his daughter once more, his eyes glinting with curiosity. "Wait, Kimberly, when did you..." He began.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 16, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Forgotten Detail_

It just hit Kimberly, what she just did. She was so caught up in the moment, her life death situation with Mike, her being accused of being a murderer, and proving her innocence. She was so focused on that, she forgot. She forgot about her powers, the power she's been keeping secret for a few years now. There was no point in hiding it, the silky black haired girl walked up to her father, and their gazes met.

"Dad... let me explain. Years ago, I developed powers. I kept it a secret because... you were so stressed out over everything. I didn't want to give yo another reason to be stressed, so I hid my powers."

Moments passed, and he said nothing.

"I'm sorry dad."

To her surprise, he smiled. 

"Kimberly dear, I manage a city filled with mutants, aliens, mystical creatures, and god knows what else. Did you really think you having powers would stress me out?"

She smiled, and leaned down, so she could hug her father.

"A little help here Demi-God!"

Mike yelled, as he was holding a box over the blob, and it began shaking wildly, before slipping out the box.


----------



## kluang (Nov 16, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

She and Squall arrives and sees the blob slips away from the box. She quickly shoots the blob and hit the right side of the blob causing it to spin towards the left. Rinoa smiles. "James, can you create sphere to lock the blob for a while? Mike, make yourself useful and find a container."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 17, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James frowned. He could have sworn he had the blob sealed and taken away somewhere last time, so how on earth did it get out? More importantly, how did it keep finding Mike every time? Whatever this blob was, it was probably more dangerous than it's harmless appearance let on. It was immune to physical damage, could track the team down, was hard to pin and was seemingly intent on attacking Mike as well. Personally, James had no problem with the last point, but it still presented a pertinent issue to the rest of the team. Nevertheless, the demi-god filed away these thoughts and went into action, stepping forward as his eyes changed colour, signalling the activation of his powers. 

A small aura of fuchsia coated his now ascending right hand, then with a casual horizontal wave across the air, a small barrier formed around the blob again just as it evaded another round of gunfire from Rinoa. "There we go." James breathed, more tired than he let on. His body was still sore and aching from earlier, and the demi-god found himself surprisingly exhausted from just making that little construct. But that could wait, as there were more important things that needed to be addressed first. Slowly, James turned to Rinoa, Mike and Kimberly. "Alright, what are we gonna do about this thing?" He asked.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 17, 2013)

*Maria Alara*
Central Saint Haven

_________​
"Dear diary,

Central Saint Haven was really amazing compared to the place where I was staying! Everything was so much cleaner there, and I didn't even get mugged! Well... I got lost a few times, but that's a bit better than getting attacked I think. After getting some instructions from a kind of scary sounding man over the phone named Alex, I managed to find my way to the library. It wasn't as impressive as I had expected, but it was still better than the place I was staying in. : P In my excitement, I ended up tripping on the stairs, but thankfully nobody saw me. Or at least, I hope not. It'd be really embarrassing otherwise! D: 

Anyway, uh, I told the librarian who I was and she showed me the way to the elevator. I was really confused by this at first, since the elevator only showed three levels: the top level, ground, and the basement. 'Did they keep the base in the basement? : O' I wondered, but it turns out they have this really cool card thing that lets them unlock a secret hidden level underneath the basement. Apparently, they had the hidden fourth floor emptied and destroyed as part of a secret project by the government for this, which I think is pretty cool.

I left the elevator and... ended up tripping, again, right in front of a really scary looking man called 'Leroy' who shouted at me a lot for being late and ungraceful. He told me that I missed the mayor's announcement of the team to the town hall too, which I was actually quite thankful I missed! I wouldn't be able to stand the attention or being the focus of the entire population of the city. Oh god, I think I'm getting a little woozy from thinking about it...

Never mind. Though, part of me was a bit disappointed as well. Apparently they were attacked halfway through, and I missed it. I felt as if I let the team down before I even started, and that made me feel really bad. After a thirty minute tirade at me, he let me go to my room (thank god!), where I'm now writing this. I heard the team come back a few minutes ago, so maybe I should go visit them in a bit..."


----------



## Chronos (Nov 17, 2013)

*Aeon*

Technopathy...

His eyes dimmed behind the shadows of the mask, turning back to his throne, he placed his elbow on it's rest and used his arms to hold the weight of his head, silently he pondered the words of this, machine. Whatever it held, it seemed to be that she-- or it, held a goal something he could potentially use to his benefit. While silenced roamed the room, Aeon only gave a blatant stare towards the lass, witnessing she was calculated, but that intervened with her humanity. 

"Lass, although you could mirror humanity's complex, you'll never inherit a soul. Search for not the succession of the will of a dead man, but a will of your own. Though no King has any word in the matter regarding the volition of a machine. Be it artificial or not."

Turning his gaze towards the chattered windows of this broken chateau, he continued:

"Has your creator ever thought of what made man into Kings? I wonder, would programming alone help to fuel the gap? Lass, what would you do once you have accomplish what you were assigned? A man's life is only one, you could never repeat the process once done."

While the moon shone brilliantly across a void, an empty sky that veiled the heavens with a shadows, it was a night very much like this that he had gained his gift. Would he be cursed to roam Saint Haven eternally, or would he rule with an iron fist. Pondering possible outcomes, he knew several things. The blonde lad that laid in one of the very broken rooms was about to wake soon, his mind holds precious strategic prowess, and the lass, her abilities were superb and her objectiveness a curse. She could not tell good from bad, and that neutrality was useful. She held an inept ability, something equal to a soul. 

"Now... B.A.C.H... Android. Machine. Lass. I'll tell you, my purpose."


----------



## Island (Nov 17, 2013)

*The Incredible Goose Man - Taking Flight!*
East Park, East Saint Haven​
The Incredible Goose-Man returned to his nest after a long day of crime-fighting. Specifically, this nest of his was an abandoned administration building in the center of East Park, East Saint Haven. At some point, shortly after he arrived in Saint Haven, he discovered this abandoned structure and claimed it as his new nest. Not only was it located within the city, close to the violence and wrongdoing that he wanted to stop, but it was also in close proximity to the park’s pond where geese often flocked after a long day’s flight. What more could a half-man, half-goose possibly want in this world: a good atmosphere, good friends, and the ideal location for crime-fighting!

The interior of the structure itself was less spectacular than the Incredible Goose-Man would have hoped for, but it made do. Unlike other superhero bases, there were no giant computer monitors or glass cases displaying the hero’s achievements. There weren’t even any vehicles: no motorcycles, no tanks, and certainly no jets hidden in the non-existent basement. Instead, there was a simple desk where the Incredible Goose-Man kept wanted posters, take-out menus, and various other things he thought were important. Then, there was a cot where he slept and a bathroom in the back with all the basic commodities. But hey, who needed the luxuries of modern living when one had… _JUSTICE_?!

*HONK.*

The Incredible Goose-Man turned his attention to the visitor that stood in his door. He kept his door propped open at all times so that geese, is waterfowl brethren, could come and go as they pleased.

“Ah, hello there, brother,” the Incredible Goose-Man greeted heartily, “Have you ever considered that Hershey Kisses are just giant chocolate chips?”


----------



## Fedster (Nov 17, 2013)

*Agent ~ Luke Walters​*
In my defense, I had no idea that things would turn out like this. You might say it was a whim of destiny, or a higher-up of the government playing a lame prank. I often think that the latter is the most likely, as I also think that newbs are stubborn and useless these days. Hell, if these guys could only be like the previous generation newbs, the world would be a better place. But that, as they say, is another story.

Coincidentally though, my story starts on the topic of gaming. I was sitting in front of my personal computer playing a videogame. Especifically, a Multi-player videogame and the party I was part of consisted on a single person: A S.O.N. (Stupid, Obnoxious Noob). Even his username transpired stupidity: ur.mums.bf. If it were not because the system had teamed me up with him, I would have never even passed my cursor over his avatar.

After a couple of rooms in the dungeon we were in and hearing how he had copious amount of sex with my mother, we reached a rather high-level enemy. Of course, ur.mums.bf, after seeing that we had to work together in order to succeed, left me alone with the enemy and casted a barrier behind me so the monster, and me, couldn't get to him. Of course, the monster one-shot me and I died instantly, while, on the chat, my party compannion wrote the words: 'lol u sux. liek u're mum lol.'

"Yes, as if saying 'lol' will do any better, you coward bitch.",I sighed, as I logged out of the game, and opened an Internet tab. I was directed to the Saint Haven Times' website. I always liked to be informed of the latest pieces of news, and well, when you are a Hero, it is a _must_ to be informed. Immediately, something caught my eye.

*'ATTEMPT ON THE LIFE OF MAYOR HIGGINS'*​
"Oh, shit.", apparently, it had been just minutes ago. This journalists were indeed fast. During Mayor Higgins' speech, a bomb of some kind set off and set the stage ablaze. Fortunately, or maybe I should say luckily, a team of wannabe heroes with powers saved the day. Of course. Let the inexpert heroes with flashy and cool powers handle the situation. These guys probably knew shit about crime-fighting, and they were Saint Haven's team of heroes? Lame.

"Maybe I should head out...", I said, standing and opening my closet which, after slightly pushing the inner part of the back, revealed a Hero suit hanging, wrapped in cellophane. I took it out.

It was time for the _real_ Heroes to emerge.


----------



## Island (Nov 17, 2013)

*Blood Mary - Drawing Conclusions*
Underground Compound, Somewhere in Saint Haven​
We sat in our compound, going over the information we gathered on both the creature and that team that Mayor Higgins was trying to put together. While the latter obviously wasn?t a threat, we were worried that it might somehow mess up our plans of capturing the creature, so was thus worth keeping tabs on just in case. Meanwhile, the information I gathered on the creature, as per usual, only consisted of useful tidbits of information. Apparently, it didn?t know what was now considered common knowledge: it didn?t know about HAVOC, the Neptune City Incident, or even the superheroes like Alexander Fortis who were household names nowadays.

?This does give us _something_?? Marshall stated from across the table, ?If the creature doesn?t know about HAVOC or Neptune City, then that would imply that it?s not interested in those things.?

?Well,? I answered, ?It?s after another extraterrestrial, we know that much, but I guess we can know confirm that both this one and the one its hunting are unrelated to either the Neptune City Incident or HAVOC.?

Out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention. I turned to see Warren on his laptop. He looked like he was playing some kind of game, so I moved over to investigate.

After a moment of looking over his shoulder, I sighed loudly, ?ur.mums.bf? _Really_??

?Well, I?? He stammered.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 17, 2013)

*Kira Fujisawa - Blink*
Central Saint Haven​
As the gunshot went off, Kira didn't hear a single thing, a chaotic jumble of events and misunderstandings unfolding about a room away from her.  She was in another room, earbuds in as she began to converse with the Professor over a digital communications channel.  She waited patiently for the connection to be established, and winced preemptively in anticipation for the barrage of questions he'd have for her.

"Kira?!  Just what happened!  Log me your medical standards!  Are you alright?  You've accumulated so much grime, return at once for proper sanitation!  Ugh, where is my pipe.  Did you know there was an explosion in front of city hall?  And an attempt made on the mayor's life?  You cold have been killed!  Your dress is ripped!  I told you this was a bad idea, I knew Higgins couldn't be trusted with my only living-"

"Professor!" Kira exclaimed, overwhelmed by the sensory overload of his sudden outburst.  "I'm fine, I'm fine, please calm down."

He eyed her warily from the monitor screen, and then nodded once.  "Attach the node to your finger, I'm checking your vitals.  No if, ands, or buts."

Kira rolled her eyes, but did as instructed.  After a moment of scanning the data, the Professor nodded, but still continued in his lecturing tone.  "Anyway, it's a good thing you didn't bring too many of your things to the base yet, as you can just return immediately, and have a drone pick up the few clothes you've left there.  I told you that superhero'ing would be too dangerous, you could have died, I can't even fathom how-"

"Professor...stop.  I'm not coming back to the Lab."

The darkened silhouette on the screen paused mid sentence.  Even with his raw intellect matched by perhaps one other individual in all of Saint Haven, the Professor took about a few seconds to process this bombshell.  

"_What?_"

"Professor, I saved someone's _life _today.  _Twice_.  And I saw another I saved die in front of me.  You kept me in such confined conditions; I had no idea what it was like out here!  How can I stay cooped up in the Lab all day and night when there's so much to be done!  So much to experience?  It's like...like you just want to confine me to the shadows.  Isn't that why you gave me..."  She trailed off, glancing down as she broke eye contact with the screen.

A very stiff interval of time passed between the two in silence.  When next the Professor spoke, his voice was cold, precise, and polite, much like a prerecorded directive.  "Your decision is made, then.  I have no way of influencing you from the Lab, and have no desire, or ability, to leave.  You're a fully developed female human, you can make decisions for yourself.  I'll have your possessions and personal effects moved to Docking Bay #3.  Pick them up before 5 Earth business days, or I'll have them incinerated to maintain the integrity of my Lab environment.  Consider yourself no longer a part of the Network.  Goodbye."  The communication channel instantly cut off, and the module shut down.  Kira attempted to turn it back on, but it didn't comply.  It was off for good.

Slowly, the realization of what she'd said, and what had been said to her, sank in, and tears began to well up in Kira's eyes.  She frowned intensely, tears streaming down her cheeks and cutting through the grime on her face as she tore out the headphones, and threw them at a nearby window, the accessories clattering uselessly against the pane as her sole reply.

"P-Professor...?"

-----------------​Temple Lea Soriente
Outside Saint Haven

Temple awoke to the sound of energy blasts, flamethrowers, and highspeed combat.  He glared in the dark at nothing in particular, unsure what exactly he'd just experienced in his dream, but angered by the sudden noises he was _sure _had ripped him from a rather enlightening vision.  Clutching his head through his mop of rough blonde hair, he pressed his one glasses lens to his face as he held his forehead, a massive headache coming into effect now.  He stalked into the hall, where he found Bach and Aeon.

Normally, he'd have been a bit more careful, asking where he was, what had happened, or what.  But right now, he glared from the lens that wasn't blocked by his own hand, slouching a bit from his still questionable physical state.  Force of personality and moderate amounts of frustration overwhelming, he simply demanded one question of the pair.  His tone sinister, and form just a bit menacing despite his broken condition, Temple would later wonder how he'd come to act so out of character, during that one instance.  Perhaps it was the menace of a God complex born of his powers coming to surface for the first time, or maybe he was just grumpy when woken up unexpectedly.

"Just what the _fuck _ do you think you're doing out here?"

-----------------​Lillian Masters
Central Saint Haven

Lillian slowly massaged her temples as she came to grips with the information Alvin was reinforcing in her mind.  And if Alvin was sure, the chances of it being incorrect were abysmally low.  

Even she thought the chances of it were too slim before, but the data was too conclusive now.  Either through a bizarre string of coincidences, a massive amount of bribes, or their collective deaths, the entire branch of her spy network within Saint Haven devoted to tailing the mafia was inactive.  No transmissions had been responded to, and no reports filed for about a few days.  And while that would seem like an insignificant span of time to most, there wasn't room for misconception in the policy she maintained.  Daily reports and updates, even if there were no changes in circumstances related to an individual's query.  And to go without response, effectively meant revoking your position in Lillian's network.  For all of the eyes and ears assigned to the mafia to go silent over that multi day period...

And then, her thoughts were interrupted by gunshots from the Mayor's room.  Any normal human would have been incapable of picking up on it, but her enhanced senses served her well.  Instantly, she dropped what she was doing, and slipped through the tunnel way above her office's desk; using the passageway she'd had created for her personal use would be quicker than the stairs, or God forbid, the elevator.  She came up into the hall nearby the site of the commotion, beelined for the mayor's room, and didn't even bat an eyelash at the downed guards, only to find exactly who she thought would be behind an outburst like this.  

Alvin silently pieced together the details that she took in with a sweeping glance, and confirmed her suspicions of what happened with almost uncannily accurate investigative acumen.  When she surveyed the room, her quiet rage created a subtle sort of tunnel vision.  Even though her eyes picked them all up, Lillian paid no mind to anyone besides the source of the problem.  This was the last time she, the mayor, or the team in general would suffer his antics.  What he did at the meeting was bad enough, and his fighting with Leroy only compounded the projected complications of having him on the team.  But to break into the Mayor's room, and not even back up the team during a crucial attack?  No.  She'd straighten this out now.  Exactly how it'd have been done had she been like this, while training to become what she was.

"Mike, consider your next punishment an indefinite ban from the training room, effective now.  If you step one foot inside...well, I'll leave you to find that out.  But consider the training room off limits for you, from this point on.  No negotiations."  She turned on her heel then, and walked off.  Straight for the training room.

-----------------​The Visitor
West Saint Haven

The Amazing Goose man didn't oftentimes get many guests besides geese to his humble abode, and it was difficult to fathom why given his charm, and choice of furniture and decore.  His most recent guest, however, received an odd query upon visiting.

?Ah, hello there, brother,? the Incredible Goose-Man greeted heartily, ?Have you ever consider that Hershey Kisses are just giant chocolate chips??

"I've...wondered that almost every day for the past six months."

Not only did was there a waterfowl at his doorstep, but...behind the goose, a woman had appeared in the doorway since he'd last looked away.  She had a smile on her face, and a faint dusting of freckles about her cheeks.  She had long, light blonde hair, and bright blue eyes that were like two pure drops of water.  The woman waved to the hero as she stepped inside, a bit timidly.  Most would probably see the crazy, unstable gleam in that woman's gaze, but who is to say what the Goose Man saw?

"Are you...the Amazing Goose Man?  I was just wondering, er, if I could get an autograph!"

She held out a blank piece of paper towards him.


----------



## Island (Nov 17, 2013)

*The Incredible-Goose Man - ???*
East Park, East Saint Haven​
The Incredible Goose-Man turned to greet his human guest, and at that very moment, all the geese in the park began honking a sad song. The man that turned to greet his guest was no ordinary man, but instead, a hulking gray being that stood about a foot higher than his guest and, most notably, had no face whatsoever. The man’s face stared directly at the woman’s, and one would suspect that the man was sizing her up and trying to get a feel for who she was and what she really wanted in _his_ nest.

“Of course you may have the Incredible Goose-Man’s autograph!” The being stated. “Anything for a lovely fan such as yourself.”

He chuckled to himself before accepting the pen and paper.

“What is your name, miss?” He asked with the pen on paper, ready to write a heartfelt message to his fan.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 17, 2013)

*Maria Alara*
Central Saint Haven

_________​
I left the confinements of my room, ready to try and meet my other team-mates, when I heard the sound of yelling through the corridors. Part of me wondered if it was Leroy shouting at somebody again, but then again, this didn't seem as 'deep' or as angry as the overseer's. Nevertheless, I decided to check it out, spurred by child-like curiosity. To my surprise and horror, the outside of the room was filled scattered with unconscious bodies, a few others groaning in pain. Then a small woman - though taller than me - stepped out, a stern look on her face as she briskly walked down the corridor, completely ignoring me. "_So cool._" I thought to myself excitedly, turning to look at her. I wonder if she was one of my team-mates. Then another person followed soon afterwards, yelling "why don't you stick your punishment up your ass!" as he rushed past her. Well _that's_ unpleasant...

Wait, no, I can't get distracted! I had to remain focused, dammit! I swiftly turn around on the spot again, barely avoid tripping over an unconscious guard. Phew! Maybe my luck was improving! I move to take a step in the room...

And accidentally trip on the arm of an unconscious guard, falling into a tumble in my half-entrance. Ow. Sheepishly, I look up to the team, a small finger moving to lift up my glasses. I could feel my face turning red already. Oh god, this was so embarrassing! "Um. Hi." I greeted awkwardly.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 17, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Stupid ass bitch, and her stupid ass wish_

As soon as James asked what to do with the blob, Mike yelled out, his voice filled with resentment and pure hatred.

"We send it to the depths of hell!"

This blob has tried to kill Mike for years, always trying to eat him. He tried various methods of trying to kill the blob, but nothing has worked. This thing just wouldn't die, which made the angry teen more angry. How the fuck was he supposed to kill something that couldn't die! Suddenly, someone entered the room, the brown eyed boy was still facing the blob in the soul construct, so he hadn't seen who entered. But then he heard that voice.

_"I hear whore."_ 

"
"Mike, consider your next punishment an indefinite ban from the training room, effective now. If you step one foot inside...well, I'll leave you to find that out. But consider the training room off limits for you, from this point on. No negotiations."

She then walked off.

"Uhh bitch fuck no."

Just like that, Mike ran out the room, and sprinted to the training room, passing Lillian on his way.

"Why don't you stick your punishments up your ass!"

Echoed throughout the base, as the jet black haired boy turned to a different hall, and eventually made his way to the training room. Oh, but he wouldn't enter yet. He wanted Lillian to witness him enter, and to witness him shitting all over her authority. He opened the door, and hovered one foot over the room. He waited for Lillian so he could "step one foot inside" right in front of her.


----------



## Island (Nov 17, 2013)

*Heroes and Villains - Shades of Grey*
Somewhere Far Away​
When the Incredible Goose-Man regained consciousness, he had no idea where he was or how he got there. All he knew was that he was surrounded by several people looking over him, in the middle of what sounded like a busy metropolitan street. These people, the ones that were looking down at him in awe, were young Asian men and women, and the logical thing to suspect was that, somehow, he ended up in Chinatown. Of course, as he rose slowly to his feet, he began to realize that he _wasn’t_ in Chinatown, or even Saint Haven, for that matter. Instead he saw huge neon signs written in Mandarin and things related to a culture he didn’t quite understand. The Incredible Goose-Man was in… China?!

“I am…” he began, “The Incredible-Goose Man!” He exclaimed to the world, but nobody seemed to understand him.

The Incredible Goose-Man had no idea how he ended up in China or how he would find his way home. The last thing he remembered was walking outside to feed the geese, and suddenly, everything went black. Had an unknown assailant knocked him unconscious and dropped him off on the other side of the world? If so, who would do such a thing, and why? While the Incredible Goose-Man recognized that he was invincible and nigh-impossible to kill, he couldn’t fathom why somebody would just dump him so far from home. He couldn’t recall having many enemies, but…

“Surely, you have heard of me,” he began flexing his muscles, “For I have heard of you. In fact, I eat your food all the time!”

Still, nobody understood what the Incredible Goose-Man was saying…

Little did the Incredible-Goose Man know, his trials and tribulations were only beginning. While he was stuck on the opposite side of the world and away from his flock, there was an imposter posing as him and making alliances in his name. This man, or rather, this creature, whose identity was completely unknown to him, planned to take on the mantle of the Incredible Goose-Man and infiltrate a team that sought to use him as a tool for restoring justice to that lawless city. 

Then, of course, there were the birds of prey who sought to do the Incredible Goose-Man harm. Although the Incredible Goose-Man _was_ nigh-indestructible, possessing a combination of super-human durability and regeneration, he did have a number of weaknesses…

---

_A few days earlier…_

The Grey Man put together his latest plan for world domination. Through his connections in both Central Saint Haven and West Saint Haven, the extraterrestrial learned of a vigilante who lived in an abandoned administration building in East Saint Haven. This freelance hero possessed a unique combination of super strength, super durability, and super regeneration along with the power to communicate with geese. This hero went by the name of the Incredible Goose-Man, and although he wasn’t a threat in and of himself, he could become a problem if he aligned with the team assembled by Mayor Higgins just a couple days before.

The extraterrestrial thought that it would be a waste to simply have him killed, which in itself, would have been a difficult task. That unique combination of powers together, super durability and super regeneration, meant that he was not only resistant to harm, but the few injuries he actually received would be healed almost instantly.

The Incredible Goose-Man had to be neutralized somehow, and his super strength made _that_ difficult as well. He could punch his way out of most prisons, and only the most advanced energy barriers, something Grey did not have access to at the moment, could even hope to hold the Incredible Goose-Man down…

Which was why he planned to knock him out and dump him somewhere he would never escape from. At first, Grey considered within a volcano, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, or even into space. However, he lacked the means for the latter, and his employer objected to the former as he believed the Incredible Goose-Man might be of some use in the near-future.

Thus the plan solidified itself. The Incredible Goose-Man would be dropped in some faraway country and kept busy with “crimefighting” and other trivial tasks while the Grey Man assumed his identity. When Mayor Higgins’ team came knocking, Grey would join as a the Incredible Goose-Man and sabotage it from the inside!


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 17, 2013)

“What is your name, miss?” He asked with the pen at the ready above the paper, poised to write a heartfelt message to his fan.

Grey might have noticed that as the woman walked in, she left wet footprints in her wake.  She seemed especially perceptive to the sad honking the geese started to engage in, ears twitching with agitation.  "Make it out to George Barret Higgins, please."

"Ok, one Barret Higgins."  Then, the Goose Man paused, looking up from his writing to reevaluate who exactly he was making this out to.  And then, standing in front of him...indeed was what appeared to be George Barret Higgins.  And he had a finger gun aimed at the Goose's chest.

"You might say...your goose is cooked?"  Then Higgins dropped his aim, and fell to the floor in a fit of hysterical laughter, over his own joke.  "*GET IT?  GOOSE?  COOKED!  GAHAHAHAHA.*"  The Goose started to set down the pen and paper for a moment, wary of the strange visitor, but then began laughing as well, right along with Higgins.  "Oh!  Goose is cooked!  Hahahahaha!  Believe me, the irony of your Earth humor is not lost on me, puny human!"  And so the two began to laugh together, the super 'hero' throwing his head back as he indulged himself, and the 'fan' rolling about on the floor. 

And then suddenly, the figure on the floor appeared in her true form; a woman with vaguely damp hair, a faint smattering of freckles, and a crazed, predatory look in those crystal clear blue eyes.  *"What the fuck are you laughing about?"* she snarled, lashing out with a whip of water at the figure in front of her, changing moods in the blink of an eye.


----------



## Island (Nov 17, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Imposter!*
East Park, East Saint Haven​
Grey dropped the act the moment that he recognized the human female: Narancia! This woman, as he recalled, was an associate to the local mafia and was involved in the attempted assassination of Mayor Higgins. To that end, they had common ground, a common enemy. However, the woman seemed particularly strange in the way she acted, possibly being mentally ill, much like the man that Grey disposed of to assume the identity of the Incredible Goose-Man. Regardless, her attacks on him would be ultimately futile, for Grey was the pinnacle of evolution, a higher being who would not be phased by such basic attacks.

The water whip splashed the extraterrestrial, but he did not even budge.

?You will have to try harder than that, human, for I am supreme, the ultimate being,? he boasted, ?One who will not be taken down by something as flawed and imperfect as yourself.?

He suddenly changed the course of this conversation, ?But I am also an ally.?

?Rise, my friend,? he leaned down to help his ally up, ?For I am not the Incredible Goose-Man, but instead the being known as Grey, an affiliate with your mafia and a friend to your cause. Allow us to engage in maniacal laughter together as our budding friendship blossoms into an alliance that will be the downfall of this Mayor Higgins and his superhero team!?


----------



## kluang (Nov 18, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife'*

He looks at Mike as he sprinted away and he have good guess where he's heading.  He reach to his pocket and took out a twenty dollar bill.

"Twenty dollar,  I'll say he's going to the training room for some childish display of defiance."Squall looks at the mayor and continue. "If he enters, then no holds bar training match?"

"Why?" ask Rinoa, she still puzzle why Squall is interested in that boy. "The only language that boy speak is violence, and  maybe thru it we can make him see reason. Or not. It's a pretty long shot to be honest." he then walks to Kimberly. "I'm sorry to ask you of this, but can you feel any emotion from the blob?"


----------



## Fedster (Nov 18, 2013)

*Aiden Adams*

"You should've let me do it.", a very feminine, slightly upset voice came from one of the dozens of monitors in Aiden's new office. Of course, he kindly asked Leroy to put them there, to emulate in some way his previous room when he was a Neptune City hero. He also had a big work table with scattered metal pieces and different instruments that he had left either on it or on the floor in just a few minutes. If the room was not messy, he couldn't work, or think for that matter. And if Aiden couldn't think, it was bye-bye for the Originals. "However, no journalist has documented your heroics."

"There wasn't much to document, Pear.", He replied to the A.I. He had designed her avatar to be a slim, tanned woman in her twenties, copper hair cascading over her shoulders and bright hazel eyes that shined like jewels. However, her avatar ended at the bottom of her neck. "The new team is what matters now."

Pear rolled her eyes. "So _this_ is what matters now?", her screen switched to a surveillance camera recording Mr. Williams and Lillian arguing about punishments and how the former wasn't allow to go to the training room. According to the footage, that was a minute ago. The screen then switched to what the training room's camera was recording at the moment. Mr. Williams, apparently in an attempt to show dominance over Aiden's colleague and friend, was just outside the room, with a foot hovering over the floor.

"Huh.", Aiden muttered, slightly interested in Mike's behaviour. "And everyone is going to the training room." He started, standing up. "I think this is the proper time to actively function as a mentor.", and he exited the dark room and walked straight to the Mayor's office. And of course, tripping on the way in with a guard. "Ouch.", he said nonchallantly, getting himself up and dustting off his clothes.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 18, 2013)

*El Espejo*

"Ugh..."

The little alien slowly stirred as he returned to consciousness. He was in an unfamiliar place. A small, dark room. He did not have night vision or anything of the like, but his eyes were a little more sensitive than those of humans. Even so, he could just barely see anything past the nearest walls and his own hands.

His scaly, webbed hands.

Normally the sight wouldn't shock him. After all, he never tried to deceive himself. But right now, the sight of his trembling limbs sent memories rushing back. The fight, the panic, what he tried to do... and what he _did_. But also, the fact that all of his illusions fell while he was focused on the fighting. He could maintain the image even while unconscious, but not make it anew after it had been taken down.

Martin sighed slightly. He supposed there wasn't much harm in them seeing him as he was. It just felt very uncomfortable to him - but that was something that he needed to get used to. He sat there and pondered what happened, forgetting his current predicament...

"You can come out now."

Martin blinked, startled. The voice was quiet, but audible. He had no idea who it belonged to. Apparently a female? He moved towards where the voice came from, only now noticing a well-hidden door. Looking at it suspiciously, he tried to reach beyond it. Hard without eye contact, but feasible...

"Don't worry. It's alright. You're back at the base."

She noticed what he was doing, but didn't make the slightest effort to resist? Puzzled, Martin opened the door.

"You should be fine. You didn't even get hit," the white-haired woman explained, smiling. "Now go and catch up with your team before they realise you were gone."

"Um, thanks, ma'am," Martin said, a little dazzled, as his eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the medbay. He hurried out, unsure what to make of the encounter.

"Don't forget to put your mask on," she advised, still smiling.

"...right. Thanks." Damn it, who _was_ that?


----------



## Bringer (Nov 19, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Upgrade_

The green eyed girl turned to her  friend Squall, hearing his question. He wanted her to sense if this blob had any emotion? That actually... was a good idea. This thing was clearly alive, and her powers did work on animals. So here goes nothing.

On the surface was anger, the creature was angry and wanted to eat Mike. That much was obvious, but why did it want to eat him? Kimberly dug deeper, and she had no idea that such a creature could feel the same emotions as a regular human being.

It wanted revenge.

Apparently this thing wanted revenge because Mike murdered the scientists who created it, but that wouldn't do. She had to use her empathy to suppress that desire of revenge. But could she pull off? She walked closer to the soul construct James made, and began focusing. 

"This creature wants revenge on Mike, because he killed the scientists who created it, but maybe I can suppress it's desire for revenge."

Kimberly stood there, frozen in place, and suddenly the blobs growling and struggling ceased, and then the blob began purring softly.

"Did you see that! I-"

Suddenly two agents entered the room, and they asked Kimberly to go with them, they apparently had new gear for her. The green eyed girl turned to her father. She didn't want to cause an outburst, but he knew exactly how she felt. He knew how much it bothered her whenever he armed her to the teeth just for the sake of being "safe."

"James, you can release the blob, it won't be bothering us. Also I think you should all leave my fathers room, he needs his rest."

She quickly told her team, before following the two agents, taking her into the weapon room. They showcased her a few weapons. First two guns, similar size to her pistols, however they didn't shoot bullets. They shot lasers, and the gun had a dial on it  that apparently put the gun on a certain setting.


The next thing made Kimberly sigh, grenades. Where was she going, to war? Finally the last item was...


"Don't you think this is a bit over the top?"

"Negative, your father requested we give you the best."

"Very well."

She walked off with her newly acquired gear.

"Before you go, Miss Higgins, we'd also like to give you this."

They dropped a capsule into Kimberly's hand.

"A new vehicle?"

"It's a vehicle for the team, not for personal use. You'll be taking this on missions, it is heavily armed."

The brunette nodded, and continued walking off.


----------



## kluang (Nov 19, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

Squall, James and Rinoa left the mayor's room and Squall heads towards exit. "I'm going to look for Cid. I need to upgrade my weapon."

Rinoa opens her pocket dimension and three bullet comes out. "I have a chat with my supplier and he gave me these. Bullets pack with explosive gel, explosive bullets. Bullets with a tracking signal and I believe you ask for this, silver bullets."
 Rinoa puts her hands into the pocket dimension and pulls out five magazine loads with sliver bullet and throws it Squall. He catch them and put it in his trench coat pockets.

"Why do you need silver bullets for? Your blade is made from Damascus Silver."

"One can not be too careful."

"And what about Mike?"

Squall stops at his track and look at Rinoa and James. "I dont trust that guy. He kill a bunch of people before and provoke Kimberly. Worst case scenario, he flips and attack us. We don't need a beast behind us while we're busy fighting the true enemy in front."

Squall raise and wave his hand and left.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 19, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* - _Soul_
Central Saint Haven

_________​
James looked at Kimberly, then at the blob, giving it a look before wearily dissipating the small spherical barrier he had set up around it. He had expected it to launch itself at his face, but instead it just stayed there, completely docile. "_What did she do to it?_" He wondered to himself, then remembered that Kimberly had mentioned a few minutes ago that she had some sort of empathic powers.

As he relaxed himself after straining his powers, James became aware of two things. The first was that, amidst the chaos, the mayor seemed to have disappeared somewhere. The second was the new arrival: a small, petite looking girl with messy auburn hair and thick red glasses, who was now picking herself off of the floor. "Oh, hi." James greeted with a polite smile. "New member of the team, I take it?" He asked. 

Maria nodded quickly. "Yes!" She said instantly, then blushed slightly. "Um, yes. I was invited by a Mister Fortis yesterday. Do you know where I could find him?" She replied.

"Right here." The voice of Alexander Fortis came, the combat instructor walking through the entrance, giving a glance at the broken down sprayed on the floor. "The combat simulation will take place after Lillian and Mike's duel. Prepare, then get yourselves to the training room. I've informed Martin, Gadian and Kira as well." He said, before walking off.


----------



## Narurider (Nov 19, 2013)

Gadian Enjeru​
Gadian was once again sitting cross legged in the meditation lounge. His hands had a tight grip on his knees as he tried to focus. His eyes were pressed shut so that he couldn’t even see light. The shaman had set himself a goal: he was going to successfully reach out to a spirit before the combat simulation that Alex had informed him of. He had to do this now, if he didn’t he was afraid he’d never be able to. If he couldn’t do the simplest of tasks of a shaman then the next time the team was in danger, he’d be just standing there like a useless idiot like last time. And he couldn’t allow that.

As Gadian felt the presence of the dozens of spirits nearby he couldn’t help but be reminded of how many he had sensed around Martin. He’d never sensed so many around one person before. He’d been surprised he hadn’t even felt a single one of the spirits presence until he had closed his eyes. Then again, those spirits were the ones with no actual form. Those were the spirits that had forgotten what they had once been and so did not have an appearance. Even shaman can’t see the spirits who have no form, as there is nothing to see. They can only sense the spirits. Shaman can see the spirits who do have a form though, and sometimes Gadian would have trouble being sure if someone he saw was a spirit or a living person. Gadian had heard that if the only way for a spirit that had forgotten what it had once been to remember was for a shaman to reach out to it and allow it to possess them. That could go horribly wrong if the spirit were to remember that it had actually been a serial killer when it was alive but that was the risk of being a shaman.

Gadian simply sat in peace for a moment, merely sensing the presence of the spirits around him. Then he slowly moved a tendril from his mind towards the spirit closest to him. There was something about it that seemed wild. It gave off this sort of aura that drew Gadian to it. The shaman felt as if he had to reach out to this spirit, none of the others would do. Nothing seemed to matter except reaching out to this one spirit. The tendril he had reached out with got closer and closer, until it was almost touching it. He urged it to keep moving but was met with the same resistance he always faced whenever he tried this. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get the tendril to get pass this resistance.

Gadian let out a sigh of resignation and carefully dragged himself up off the floor. Today was not going to be a good day, he could tell. He didn’t even want to go to this combat simulation now. After all, what would be the point in going if he can’t even use his powers properly? There was no point in him even turning up. But he couldn’t just give up like this could he? He couldn’t just give up, what would Meiko think? His mind went back to just moments before all hell had broken loose at the town hall:

_“Make me proud ok?”

“Will do. Take care of yourself while I’m busy being a superhero, ok?”_

Meiko would be so disappointed in him if he just gave up. He couldn’t let her down like that; he couldn’t let the person he cared about most down just because he was feeling unhappy with himself. With that thought in mind, Gadian pushed through the door of the meditation lounge and into the common room. The shaman walked to the training room with purpose in each step. He had almost reached the training room when he remembered Alex had told him something about Mike, the stupid boy with the jet black hair, having a duel with Lillian. Gadian decided it would probably be safer to stay out of the training room until they were done, even though he really wanted to see Mike get his ass handed to him.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 19, 2013)

Mike felt a foreign pull from inside the training room, and then Lillian stepped inside, the door shutting closed behind her as she did.  As the young man pulled him self up from the ground, the lights dimmed, and an eerie glint could be glanced from Lillian's gaze.

"Ok, I'll be brief in my explanation," she murmured, drawing her twin short swords from behind her.  "I'm going to make you a very simple deal.  We're about to fight, one on one, and that result is going to determine two things.  Your involvement in this team, and mine."  Nodding towards the weapon's rack, she continued.  "Take your pick.  If you best me, consider me your slave for as long as you're on this team.  But...if I win.  You're to begin following my directives, and training with me, one on one, to instruct you on proper use of your powers, and also formal martial arts.  Sound good?"

-----------------------​
Narancia frowned intensely, brushing herself off as Grey introduced himself.  She kept her distance, stalking about a short radius away as she glared over at him, shifting through different forms.  "Well, I don't know.  If you killed the man I came to kill...doesn't that mean I have to kill you now?"  She stopped, and held up her finger gun.  "Or do you have a different idea?"  And _then _she began to engage in maniacal laughter, though it was by no means the synergetic type.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 19, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_The Wager_

His eye brow raised, his face filled with shock for a brief moment. This had caught him off guard, he hadn't expected this wager. He thought he'd simply shit all over the white haired cunts authority, and face whatever pity punishment she can dish out. But this was still an amusing surprise. He smirked, and began thinking everything through.

Mike may not look or act like it, but he is actually a man who can keep his word. Now you may be wondering, if he was a man of his word, then why did he slaughter the scientists, and rebel against the team. Simple, he never gave anyone his word. He never asked to be apart of the scientists experiment, it just happened. He didn't ask to be on the Mayor's team, he demanded it.

As for her terms, well they weren't as thorough as they should've have been. Did Lillian not know who she was dealing with, this was Mike after all. He would try to find a loophole. She'd teach him how to better utilize his power, and train him. That's all dandy, but following her directives? What stops him from nitpicking that, and pulling off something along the lines of "You didn't specifically say I couldn't murder the Mayor, shove a pole up James ass, skull fuck Kira, and shoot Tupac."

As for the battle, the jet black haired boy was sure he could pull this off. Sure Lillian has shown to be incredibly fast, and has caught the despicable but entertaining Mike off guard once or maybe twice, but if Mike played his cards right maybe he'd have a chance. First off, he'd need to avoid keeping his powers active, he wouldn't want to burn himself out too quickly. 

He'd use his powers in bursts, activating his strength last second before a punch, and bursting his speed right when Lillian attacks. However he'd have to keep his reflexes spiked throughout the battle, which would probably bite Mike back with a killer headache. 

"I agree to-"

The brown eyed boy stopped mid sentence, hoping to catch Lillian off guard as he dashed for her, bursting his speed to close the distance, and then spiking his strength as soon as his fist would collide with her jaw.


----------



## Chronos (Nov 19, 2013)

_Merkava_









​
Humanity is a malefactor. What purpose does it hold other than survival? We are brought with an intent, that intent unknown until we've grown and have lost any sense of meaning to dreams or futile attempts to fuel a gap that cannot be quenched. Humanity's ideals, prophecies, ideologies, thoughts and wisdom are a fabrication of a singular organism, something devoid from any which is incarcerated in the human body. We speak of religion, we preach the name of a God almighty! May he bless the lands with prosperity! But we are also cursed with a devil... May his wrath stay caged upon the deepest channels of his prison. 

Nevertheless, who are we to play the role of God? Who are we to condemn the other? Who we to torture our brother? Who am I to usher the process? It wasn't long ago that I've sinned. It wasn't too long where we played the role of devil's advocate. I will inherit the blame of my forefathers, and my knowledge might as well have caused the end of the world. I've witnessed hundreds, thousands of my friends become food to a beats made by the hands of men... a literal mistake that shouldn't have wrought. It's become of my ignorance and lust for knowledge that this occurred, I lost my son because of it. 

I witnessed a beast, made out of gleaming metal, eyes brilliant-- blinding. A light that enveloped me sense in existential fear. I witness hell at first glace when the son that I raised, the human being that was my own flesh and blood, was devoured, swallowed before my every eyes. A monster who held no soul, no mercy, who simply destroyed. The same monster that took my leg.  A beast like no other, a monster like no other, a creature like no other.

Would demons themselves bow to the might this creature held, as it slowly gazed at me, while it growled beneath it's feet. A voice was heard in the annals of my mind, of my conscious, sincerely, at that moment I became insane, as I heard this beast speak. The very words I'll never forget. 

​
A fear that was so powerful... I ran the beast chased after me, with speed unmatched, ripping the edge of it's mouth, while the gape in his mouth grew large as to envelop my entire bodies, running, cowering, I soon found myself at the mercy of this beast, and before long, my foot had become part of it's meal. I escape, through sacrifice... 

To this day. Do I regret what I've done to these men? To my son? 

No.

I feel sorry for what I've done to humanity... that a beast roams the street, praying on anything that breaths, anything with emotion...

And soon... it'll finish the job with me.


----------



## kluang (Nov 19, 2013)

Rinoa Lockheart

"Mike vs Lilian? That battle can give a few insight on both parties capabilities." Rinoa hurried to the training room and climb to the observation room to watch the battle.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 19, 2013)

Lillian crouched in anticipation; she had been brought up taught and communicating explicitly through body language.  But an important part of this would be letting Mike release whatever frustration he wanted to out, and fighting until his powers were exhausted, and she could beat him into submission.

And, as Alvin observed, she was also indulging herself in fighting Mike; trying out a few tricks she'd picked up since the old days in Neptune City, that would be quite lethal to attempt on someone without his ability to regenerate...

She could see from the way he poised himself as he began speaking, that his intent was to attack from surprise.  Who the hell did he think she was?  She'd written the book on getting the jump on someone.

But she'd let him have his fun, and get the cheapshot in.  This was worth nothing if he couldn't feel a sense of having had a shot, but then having lost it as well.  An earnest desire to better himself.  And understanding Lillian was the only one capable of helping him towards that.

She clinched her jaw, and began to implement one of her newer applications of her biological manipulation.  Through the outsourcing of local body heat, Lillian was able to evaporate her bodily fluids rapidly enough to freeze anything she touched; or whatever touched her.  This came at the cost of killing off the tissue, and subsequently spending some of her cell divisions in order to repair the damage, but she wagered it was worth it.  It wasn't often she went all out, and she needed to illustrate to Mike the feats capable of someone who found their center.

Her swords clattered to the ground as the young man chose not to take a weapon, and she watched as his fist froze with contact.  Her body re knit itself together as his attacked connected, and she allowed herself to flow with the hit, darting to his left as she prepared to continue.  Building internal pressure within her head, she focused this on the her tears.  Unfortunately a headshot with such pressure concentrated there could prove fatal even for her; fortunately, Mike had no idea.  

"Mike...if you keep hitting me, you might make me cry."

The voice, strangely enough, was not hers, and the moment of bewilderment in Mike was long enough to strike.  She then sped forward, aiming an atemi strike at Mike's throat, he made some distance, knowing she was probably more comfortable in melee, and drew a few knives, casting a barrage at her deftly.  And she retaliated, catching them from the air with quick snatches, and then opening her eyes and releasing the pressurized jet of tears at Mike, the stream fast enough to cut through stone.  And in the wake of that, she released his knives back at him, with uncannily precise accuracy, born of Alvin's auspiciously keen eyesight, and her own coordination.


----------



## Island (Nov 19, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Alliances*
East Park, East Saint Haven​
?No, puny human...? Grey shook his head in disappointment. ?We kill his would-be friends and then turn on one another. That is how these alliances of convenience work, after all. Two or more parties align against a common threat, and only once that threat is eliminated do they turn on one another until one is left to claim total victory.?

The extraterrestrial ignored his human visitor, instead walking to the window and stating, ?Of course, you would also incorrect in saying that I killed the Incredible Goose-Man, but that is another story altogether??


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 19, 2013)

Narancia placed her hands on her hips, cocking an eyebrow as she looked over at him incredulously.  "Would be friends?  What interest do I have in killing a bunch of gee-"

Then her eyes widen, and a nefarious smile takes root.  "Oh o*h, OH!*"  She seems to freeze in place, then melt, and then surge back up, transitioning into a jump for joy.  "Oh, you are so *SMART*!  I get it, I get it, that is good good good!"  She is stumbling about the room, some other incoherent phrases thrown in, and she nods enthusiastically.  "I like that.  I like you.  This is good, this is a _good _thing, you Grey Goose."  Quiet Coyote's eyes were indeed those of a crazed killer, but also flashed with moments of comprehension as she pieced together Grey's intent.  And brimmed with anger as her mind was consumed with thoughts of revenge.

She melts again, and then reforms, similar to her normal figure, but with black hair, a mask, and a costume that was a fix between a mother goose outfit, and a steampunk rendition of Cassandra Cain's classic costume.  Her freckles shimmered, and then morphed, and spread out to take the form of a small one piece mask that covered the portion of her upper face.

"You can just call me...the Marvelous Goose Girl, loyal sidekick to Goose Man."


----------



## Bringer (Nov 20, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_What The Fuck_

The events that unfolded surprised the fuck out of Mike. His fist freezing upon contact, her man voice[he fucking knew she was a transvestite], and the fact she was shooting her tears to assault him. What the fuck was this bitch, probably some weird mystical creature that eats children, and harnesses being a bitch into power. 

Not only did he have a barrage of tears coming at him, but the barrage of knives he threw, she caught each one, and sent it back at him. This would be hard to dodge, to weave and bob away from each attack. Orrr he could always do the smart thing. Mike bursted his speed, and instead of weaving through the attacks as if he was some pink haired ninja and a old hag trying to dodge a shitload of needles, he ran around the attack.

And he kept running.

He was running in circles, looking for an opening to strike this bitch. His fist was still frozen, so while he was running he smashed it against the wall, freeing his fist. The jet black haired boy pondered this, keeping his speed active may be suicide. It could ware off all of his stamina quickly, he had to strike her, and strike her hard. As he was running in circles, he leaped across the training room, his feet making contact with a wall he spiked his strength, and used his feet to ricochet himself towards Lillian at high speeds, planning to ram his head into her stomach. For safety measures he also raised the durability of his body.

Maybe if he hit her hard enough, all of her intestines and organs would go splat! This thought made Mike happy.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 20, 2013)

Watching the boy compress his body in preparation for a solid ricochet towards her, Lillian prepared herself, taking precautions with reads from his body language as needed.  The lighting was dimmer in here, but it didn't bother her; in fact, she was using that to her advantage.  It wasn't her intent for Mike to get a good look at what she was capable of.

With a sudden burst of speed, she inserted herself to Mike's left.  Just as he began to rocket forward, she transitioned her interception into a cartwheel dodge, weaving her way around his tackle, and tapping him on the thigh with a precise strike to his pressure point there; kyūsho-jutsu.  The young man jerked as his leg refused to move correctly, and his trajectory was thrown off.  Lillian watched as he collided with the wall on his right, all the force having come from his right leg alone.  She leapt over towards him with all the grace of a drunken monkey, and began to grapple him.

"You can yield now, Mike.  You're not trained in how to wrestle; I don't expect you to get out of this.  It's ok to back down."

"Can you kindly fuck off for once?  I'm in the middle of kicking your ass."

Obviously she _was_ a tranny, Mike reasoned, and attempted to kick her in the balls on account of this.  Unfortunately, she anticipated through reading how he was moving, and the hit fell short of its mark as she turned off her pain receptors in that area.  It was a wild misconception that a solid blow to the nether regions couldn't down a woman as well as a man; that blow would have hurt all the same for her.

Mike retaliated with a blow to her eyes, spiking his strength.  Although she hadn't seen it coming, the woman didn't even shriek in pain, simply taking the hit in stride, and heightened her sense of smell, hearing, and touch to get a better idea of where he was.  He had to keep his strength continually up as he wrestled with her, which she was counting on, and taking advantage of.  Slowly she gained the upper hand; his constant strength spikes _were _more potent than hers, but he had no formal training in grounded combat.

Then, Lillian pressed her advantage.  Her optic tissue was already beginning to weave itself back together, and as it did so, her hair grew in length, durability, and tensile strength, wrapping about Mike's arms and legs as she used this leverage to gain the upper hand.  Taking the appropriate form and grip, she then hurled him over her shoulder, delivering a powerful dragon suplex, a solid crunch resounding as he was rammed right onto the training room floor.

As the dust from the simulator cleared, she stood above him, breathing calm, and her eyes finally forming themselves correctly.  His own spine and body were working themselves back into place as well, but she knew that healing himself of the head shot he'd sustained earlier from Kimberly, and the use of his powers to take out half a dozen guards had put him in a tight spot at this moment.  She didn't need to wear him down for much longer, Alvin's subconscious calculations reassured her of this fact.  

"How much longer would you like to continue this, exactly?  At this rate I'll kill you once your regeneration reaches its limit."


----------



## Bringer (Nov 20, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_It Ain't Over Until The Fat Mayor Sings_

Once Mike has finished healing completely, he stood. She/he/it... Lillian. What were her powers, how the fuck was she doing all of these things. No matter what he did, she had a counter. Despite all his efforts to conserve his stamina, he was all out of gas. Using any more spikes would result in him being unconscious. His breaths were ragged, he turned pale.

"I..." 

He paused.

"I WON'T GIVE UP JUST YET BITCH!"

His final move, his final gamble. In a sudden movement he pivoted 360 degrees while taking off his jacket, this was to build up momentum for his throw. As his pivot came to a end, he tossed his jacket, hoping for it to not only block her line of sight, but for it to go over her head.

The jet black haired boy, right now currently powerless, went for it. He took out one of his pocket knives, and lunged. He was wildly stabbing as he came running into Lillian, hoping to tackle her down and get on top of her as he continued to wildly stab.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 20, 2013)

Lillian raised an eyebrow, shutting her eyes as she felt out Mike's position through hearing, smell, and calculating his position through shifts in air currents against her skin.  He really did have a chance of taking her down at this point; if he'd been allowed to stab at her in succession with her nerve endings so heightened, she'd have fallen unconscious herself from the sensory overload.

But Lillian hadn't gotten to be one of the most dangerous people on the planet by falling for simple tricks.  She sent her fist forward, catching the knife as it pierced her palm, and draining the body heat from her hand to rapidly evaporate the fluid percentage there and freeze not only her hand, but Mike's.  The jacket fell limply after that moment, and she watched her coolly from a few feet away, their hands frozen together solid.  

"Done?"


----------



## Bringer (Nov 20, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_............................_



*Inside Mike's head*

WHATTHEFUCKINGFUCKJUSTHAPPENEDDIDTHATBITCHSERIOUSLYFUCKINGHAVEMYKNIFEPLUNGEINTOHERFISTANDTHENFREEZENOTONLYTHEKNIFEBUTMYHANDWHATTHEFLYINGFLIPPINGFLUPPINGFUCKISTHISBITCHWHOISTHISBITCHWHAT!

*Back To Reality*

"Done... you win."

His face was still in shock, and maybe just maybe, you could see just a bit of fear in it. Just a bit.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 20, 2013)

The heat from her arm came to life, and she released her grip, the fingers of both their hands snapping, but fixing themselves in time.  Alvin's visual perception caught the glint of fear in the boy's eyes, but Lillian saw how his shoulders slouched.  It wasn't an emotion that came easy to him, nor one he revisited with zeal.

"Wonderful.  Consider me your direct superior until further notice, then.  And understand that there are a few rules that will be put in place now.  You will engage in daily, hourly long meditation with me, followed by one on one combat, where I will instruct you on how to perform my own personal martial arts style.  Your diet will be strictly regulated, so as to discourage misuse of your power, and you can no longer use your powers for any knowingly malicious acts.  And you may only engage in the use of lethal force, or the full extent of your powers under 3 individual conditions.

1. The lives of innocent civilians are on the line.

2. You believe it will make the difference between seeing a dangerous criminal escape, or apprehending them."

And before she could say the last, the lights came back on, or at least the dimming effect vanished, and her form seemed to have...changed since the beginning of their fight.  She seemed at least a year older now, and her white hair was lined with faint strands of silver.  The odd mismatched colors in her eyes seemed to hold untold depth; one a deep, dark blue, and the other a somber, inky black, speckled with gold.

"And three.  Permission granted you honestly fear for your life.  Furthermore, do not engage in any actions you do not believe I would condone, and I expect a well thought out explanation of anything you learn about yourself, or the world about you, daily.  This is effective now, Mike Williams.  Go clean yourself up, consume the pre-made rations I've set down for you in the mess hall for energy, and meet me in the meditation room in an hour.  Dismissed."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 20, 2013)

*James and Maria*
Central Saint Haven

_After Mike versus Lillian._
_________​
The team gathered around Alexander Fortis in the training room after making their preparations, the combat instructor carrying a sabre in each hand as he watched James finally enter the room, a red muffler wrapped around his neck. "Sorry I'm late." The demi-god smiled. 

The suited man acknowledged his arrival with a nod, then turned back to face the team as James joined the semi-circle that had formed around him. "Alright," Alex spoke up, his loud voice echoing across the steel walls of the training chamber, "the combat simulation is very simple. You will all fight against me, and try to survive for as long as possible without me disabling you. This is to test your individual combat ability and your team-work." He explained, then paused for a brief moment. "Any questions?" He asked. 

"U-um, wouldn't it be dangerous if we all fought against you?" Maria spoke up nervously. The man definitely looked impressively strong to her, but could he _really_ take on a whole team at once? Maria was skeptical, and didn't want to feel guilty if she ended up heavily injuring him with her abilities.

Alexander looked at the new girl, sizing her up and down, then finally answered. "No." Came the simple reply, then he gave a small smirk. "Now, let's get this started." A bright light filled the room, and the last thing James saw before his vision disappeared was a faint red glow.

Slowly, the white film receded from James' eyes, endless white melting away into a complete shift in scenery. "Whoa." He muttered, his eyes widening. The steel chamber had completely gone, being replaced by an almost exact replica of the town hall of Saint Haven, the omnipresent skyscrapers expanding all around him. Maria gasped quite audibly, then quickly removed the bandage wrapped around her hand, blood flowing out before crystallizing and solidifying into a sword, as her body and stance shifted lower not unlike one a tennis player might take. 

In front of the team, around a hundred metres or so away stood their combat instructor, casually advancing towards them with both sabres already unsheathed, his right eye closed while his left  glowed an intimidating red glare. A single blink, and he disappeared from their sight in a blur of black and red, re-appearing directly in line with the sun. With a subtle move of the wrist, the blade of his sabres twisted, reflecting the rays of the sun into the team's eyes as he dove in towards them, the glowing blades spreading out from his body like a pair of wings.

Instinctively, James shot out a hand, forming a barrier around the team...


----------



## kluang (Nov 20, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

In front of the team, around a hundred metres or so away stood their combat instructor, casually advancing towards them with both sabres already unsheathed, his right eye closed while his left glowed an intimidating red glare. A single blink, and he disappeared from their sight in a blur of black and red, re-appearing directly in line with the sun. With a subtle move of the wrist, the blade of his sabres twisted, reflecting the rays of the sun into the team's eyes as he dove in towards them, the glowing blades spreading out from his body like a pair of wings.

Instinctively, James shot out a hand, forming a barrier around the team and Rinoa closes her eyes and she tries to remember Alexander movement from his first move to his last. The secret behind her accuracy isnt her training, but her power.

Numerical Precision. The power to be precise with numbers and view the world as a numerical system. For someone who is bad at math, she can tell how many bullets there is inside a gun and how many have been shot, the measurements of areas or coordinates without having data of it or any information. Most of the time she use it to enhance her accuracy to be precise and always hit the target. 

"James, open the barrier 60 degrees to your left." She aims her gun at that spot and James nods and opens it to her instruction and Rinoa shoots her gun at that opening. A barrage of bullet flew pass the barrier towards Alex, who easily parries Rinoa's bullets.

"Ok, frontal assault didnt work...." Rinoa remembers what Squall once told her. Practice your power and Enhanced Marksmanship will be one of many ability you can do with Numerical Precision.

"Guess that man was right after all..." Rinoa opens her pocket dimension and took out two guns loaded with explosive bullet.

"James, make the call."


----------



## Chronos (Nov 20, 2013)

Merkava​
The lighting bathed the streets in dimly coated gleam, the hooligans and demons dressed in human clothing prowled the streets of East Saint Haven, manifested around the area was a incandescent flare of energy swirling through the underground upon the city's most criminal districts, a beast whose stomach had already called upon for flesh, while the instinct of a human conscious battled the thought, a monstrosity beget the creature, a growl escape the mouth, as if recognizing his own debilitation. With the fathom of a darkened hallway all that could be seen was a surge of power swirling beautifully, the gleaming eyes of the beats, that laid upon a pile of bones and rotten flesh the cold fused with his flesh, coated in metal that gleamed, and surged through it's body, signifying life. 

A faint sound reached his ears. Humans, they were above, while the growling of his stomach called out of human flesh, his mind was reluctant.

"...Humans... above... I-I-I must... feed!!"

Lifting his large body, his large arms that were formed in shape of whips were being dragged on the earth beneath it, the stench of corpses crowded the atmosphere, and while his instinct began to intensify, his gleam in his eyes did as well. The growling that escaped his lips increased as well, and his body began to twitch as the sounds began much more present. A sensation, a burst of energy surged upwards, equal to that of a bomber, his quenching for blood was at it's apex. 

"WWWRRRYYYYY!!!!!"

His arms mutated into wings,and the beats, unable to withstand a building desire propelled itself upwards, breaking through the earth and exposing himself to the world, without a total of a second man twisted their visions ans viewed a silhouette replacing the existence of the moon.  A quick flap of his wings and he rocketed towards the earth at a speed equaled to a bullet, his jaws meeting the neck of on of the many bystanders...

It was there that he began to press down his teeth, the woman beside began to shout, scream and back away. As he sense the bone shatter under the might of the pressure being implied to his neck, the tissue began to split, rip and tear. The eyes of the man was becoming widen, through each second that occurred he could sense that his life was at an end, and that nervousness, that excitement, that blunt reaction of raw emotion brought a joy to Merkava, the Creature of the Styx. While the hopelessness cowards through endlessly, he could feel, Merkava trembled and he swung his head, lifting it towards the sky, the edge of his mouth began to expand beyond the normal amount, stretch, twist and form, gulping down the entire man, before releasing a large scream that soon was replaced by silence.

"WWWWWRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!"


The countless men and woman began to run, but as long as he was alive, anything and everything was his nourishment for the night.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 20, 2013)

_Intermezzo._

Deep in the sewers, not all parts of the sewers were the same. This room was well-furnished and pleasant, far more so than back when the city government actually ran things. It made it possible to try and pretend that the two men were in a hotel on the surface, that if they stepped out they would not immediately be assailed by the sight of murky water and the smell of rotting sewage. Sadly, Mr. Caldi – alias Hotshot, Firebrand, Tough Guy, Trapper and many others – suffered from a deadly combination of claustrophobia, imagination and pathological sincerity (at least towards himself). He could feel the concrete mass bearing down on the little room from outside. An oppressive feeling, to be sure. But despite this, he was still the best man for the job, and he would not leave the sewers before it’s done.

Having failed at self-deception, he tried to make smalltalk. “Are you sure it was the right idea to send her out again so soon, doctor?”

A sigh – the Mafia man couldn’t tell whether it was weary, irritated, or both. “Mr. Coldy, I respect your professionalism and I ask you to respect mine.”

All the hair on Mr. Caldi’s face was gathered in his bushy eyebrows. They made up for the lack of anything else. Right now, they were deployed in a frown. “It’s Caldi, Druzhbin.”

“I do not mind you calling me doctor,” the Slavic man finally deigned to look back at his current co-worker. “After all, that is my proper title. And besides, I like the sound of it. If your daughter had a toothache, Mr. Caldi, you would listen to the dentist, would you not?”

“I have a son, doctor,” Mr. Caldi pointed out, his frown unmoved, but a slight trace of curiosity showing in his cold blue eyes – too minor for anyone less skilled than the doctor to detect. Where was he going with this?

Dr. Druzhbin smiled slightly, not showing his teeth, his early wrinkles moving in such a way as to make him seem suddenly genial and friendly. “The so-called mutants that your higher-ups have placed in my care are my patients, Mr. Caldi. I care little about _what_ the Mafia wishes to use them for, to tell the truth, and whether or not those goals are achieved. I am, however, concerned with the _how_, and with the consequences they endure.”

Bold words, but the man’s usefulness was such that he could speak freely. The big man nodded slightly. He didn’t mind honesty in principle – especially when the right to speak freely was well-earned. “So you don’t care whether she gets results or not…”

“Precisely,” Dr. Druzhbin interrupted him, then nodded, as though approving of a clever student. “What I do care about is what this outing tells me. I imagine it would tell me more about her than cooping her up in the lab for further study.”

“But… aren’t you concerned about her safety? If she has only just recovered, sending her out again so quick might seem…”

“…irresponsible?” the doctor asked, keeping a straight face for about two seconds before breaking out in a slight, raspy laughter. “Mr. Caldi, this is precisely what I meant. You should trust your doctor; the doctor knows best,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. Realising then that the Italian was not going to leave it at that, he sighed again and started to explain: “Ms. Italiani had restored her physical shape perfectly. In fact, I would venture to say that she is faster and stronger than before. And her survival instincts are in excellent form as well. The only real concern is her mental stability.”

“That seems like a big concern to me, doctor,” Mr. Caldi shrugged. “If she goes crazy and gets into trouble…”

“She’ll escape just fine, I assure you,” the doctor replied, wagging his finger chidingly. “What I am curious about is how well she’d be able to operate on the surface. Whether her… newfound eccentricity will be more of a hindrance or a boon.”

“I get that, doctor,” the other man said, suppressing a slight shudder. “But still, aren’t there some tests you can run, in a more controlled environment?”

“Tests!” Druzhbin snorted in derision. “Mr. Caldi, those controlled tests are no substitute for real experience. And besides, those tests have not been made for people like her… or you. Plenty of things that would be crazy for a non-modified human are perfectly reasonable for someone who can turn her body into water at will. Where would you draw the line?” he smirked.

“That is all good and fine,” Caldi said after a pause. “But those on-field tests just to see what happens are an awfully reckless business. Remember the thing that we came here to track?”

“I doubt Narancia would appreciate your analogy,” the doctor said, getting up, the humour slowly fading from his face. “Besides, there is another reason I agreed to send her up already.”

“Yes, doctor?”

“One of the reasons for her instability is that she lost so much of her human experience. The explosion tore apart both her mind and her body. But when we regrew the latter, we also restored the former. What she needs is some new memories, new experiences, interactions – and she needs them as fast as possible, before her personality ossifies in a new and impaired state. Going on missions for the Mafia will have to do. Your leaders would surely wish for her to identify more with their cause, as well,” he added after a slight pause.

“I thought you didn’t care about such things?”

“They’re not a first priority. My patients’ state is paramount, but if in helping them I also help the ones that give me my paycheck, then it’s a welcome bonus,” the doctor smiled.

“But…” Mr. Caldi looked up, puzzled. “Do you think she would go back to normal after this?”

“Not a chance,” Druzhbin shook his head. “Even if you had some definition of what normal is for her, I don’t think she would ever be rid of the consequences of that explosion. But if she doesn’t get violently dispersed like that again, and if she is kept busy and on task…” he mused with a wistful tone. “Then I suppose that she would grow more stable, consistent and easy to control. Otherwise, it’s back to the drawing board,” the doctor shrugged. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened. “Now let’s go back to the observation post. I have a feeling something is about to start.”


----------



## Island (Nov 21, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Playing Hero*
East Saint Haven​
_There ain’t no rest for the wicked._

The sun had long since set, and the monsters had come out to stalk the night. Specifically, a lumbering beast appeared, as if out of nowhere, and became ruthlessly attacking the denizens of East Haven. Who could stop this monstrous creature? Who was going to stand up for the little man, defend him, and win the night? Was it going to be Alexander Fortis, or even the fabled Lt. Justice? No, it was going to be another monster and his equally frightening sidekick, a combination of two of Saint Haven’s darkest and most twisted souls. Under the guise of the Incredible Goose-Man, Grey motioned through the crowd of fleeing humans, approaching what appeared to be a hulking black monstrosity from the depths of Hell itself. He had no idea where this thing had come from or what it’s purpose was, but he intended to stop it.

Why?

He intended to draw out the real heroes. Shortly after his encounter with Narancia, the two became formulating a plan where they would create a scene somewhere in Saint Haven. They would stop some kind of crime in progress, whether it be a simple bank robber or even something greater like a rogue mutant or some other abnormal or supernatural threat. When the real heroes showed up, they would be praised for their efforts and recruited into their organization. After all, who would turn down the Incredible Goose-Man and his sidekick, the Marvelous Goose-Girl, in all their glory? Were they not everything a hero team needed: super-powered beings with big hearts and an even bigger sense for justice?

Granted this was slightly more than he expected, Grey was prepared to do battle with this fiendish creature, for he had the natural superiority of a body cultivated through thousands of years of artificial evolution and a brain which surpassed the collective intelligence of most sentient beings on this little mud ball they called a planet. Combine that with the technology and miscellaneous tricks he had up his sleeve, and he, or rather, the Incredible Goose-Man would be able to save the day and win over Mayor Higgins and his pathetic team!

“Creature!” He called out, finally coming to a halt as the last few humans brushed passed him, “I will be your judge, your jury, and your executioner this evening. You will pay for the crimes you are committing against these puny - I mean - these _innocent_ humans!”

---​
_Meanwhile…_

Where had the creature run off to? What was it doing? More importantly, what was it planning? I already knew that it was up to something, but I had no idea what. Nobody just disappeared like that, especially not somebody who as dangerous as it. Over the last week, it began making affiliations with the local mafia and other criminal organizations throughout Saint Haven, many of which aligned with or supported by super-powered beings, and this worried me. I had no idea where it was going, who it was talking to, or why it was doing all of this. How did it all fit together? What exactly was the creature planning that required so many connections and so many allies? From what he knew about the creature, we suspected that it wanted to destroy the world, to trigger some kind of doomsday device or cause some kind of extinction event, and I needed to know how it and all of its new friends were related.

I would later figure out that it would be fighting this demonic creature in East Saint Haven and attempting to win the hearts of Mayor Higgins and his superhero team. I would also figure that it intended to destroy this team and kill Mayor Higgins, effectively neutering the city’s capacity to fight back against the mafia and throw the city into anarchy. With no central authority, it would continue its work in peace and carry out its plans to enslave the world. At the moment, however, I had no idea where it went or what he was doing. Last I saw it, it was heading toward East Saint Haven, and then, for some reason, it just disappeared without a trace. Maybe it was onto it, maybe not.

Again, I had no idea, and that frustrated me.

I sat in the stairway of our apartment complex, wondering what to do and how to get back on his trail. Then, suddenly, “Hello, Mary.”

That single moment would become one of the strangest of the whole operation. I later found out that, at that precise time, the creature was busying combatting the demon that wreaked havoc through East Saint Haven. It made no sense how something halfway across the city not stood in front of me, how it was no talking to me. How was it doing this? How could it possibly be in two places at once?

“Hello, Mr. Greyson.” I smiled.

“You’re up late,” it stated nonchalantly, “Surely you should be in bed by now.”

This also made my predicament much more complicated. If the creature was capable of being in two places at once, then there was no telling what it could be doing at any given moment. While it kept me busy with at the apartment, it could have been brokering deals with the mafia or infiltrating government databases. The ideal situation was to find some way of tracking it, no matter where it was, but that required more people, a luxury that we didn’t have. Marshall busied himself with gathering information on the other extraterrestrial, the one that the creature came here for, and Warren stayed at HQ, monitoring our situations and providing logistical support when needed. It was only during our most important operations, usually what we thought would be the final confrontations, that all three of us would be out in the field at the same time.

“Shouldn’t you be too, Mr. Greyson?” I replied.

“I’m a busy man,” it laughed, “It’s like I have to be everywhere at once…”

“…if only there were more of me.” It concluded.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 21, 2013)

*James and Maria*
Central Saint Haven

_After Mike versus Lillian._
_________​
Maria darted off first, her agility and speed betraying her frame and size. She wasn't as fast as James was, but she was definitely quite speedy, leaping out of the opening in the barrier James made, straight for Alexander Fortis, aiming to intercept his attacks with her sword. The man twisted his body, rotating himself then shot out a leg, stepping on Maria's head and kicking her back onto the ground before throwing a small, round object into the barrier.

"Shit, grenade!" James shouted, dissipating the barrier instantly so that everybody could get out. Unfortunately, he was still within the immediate area of the thing Alex had thrown in. Then, a bright flash and James' vision escaped him once more in a surge of blinding white. 

Though he could no longer see, James could still Alex's voice. "Lesson number one, always look out for any tricks your opponents might have and avoid grouping together too tightly." He said, and then the demi-god heard the sound of footsteps against the ground.

With one arm, he removed his muffler, the edges of the fabric shimmering with a dull glow. Then he lunged with it, the scarf shooting at Alex like a viper, parrying his blade with a loud clang just before it made contact with him. "Don't worry guys," he said slowly, the muffler dropping to the ground, "I can still see his soul." Then with a snap of his left fingers, a shimmering cuboid barrier formed around him as he shouted at Rinoa. "Now!" He called.

Rinoa shot out her bullets, aiming her explosive bullets with deadly accuracy at Alex. The  who charged directly at her, his body turning into a dark blur as it weaved through the projectiles, explosions forming behind him while a red trail of light traced his eye. A silhouette came in behind him as well, Maria holding her blood sword with both hands above her head, bringing it down on the instructor. With a single 180 degree turn, Alex reacted instantly, ducking below the crimson blade, a hand shooting out and grabbing the petite girl by the collar, before throwing her at at Rinoa, then changed the direction of his charge to Gadian and Kimberly. "*Get ready, I'm about to attack!*" He roared, bringing both sabres out.


----------



## Narurider (Nov 21, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru​*
The moment Alex had told them that they were all to fight him for the combat simulation; Gadian knew that they were all about to get completely and utterly destroyed. He hadn?t gotten a look of Alex in action before but there was something about the man that radiated with power. The shaman had almost laughed when the new girl, Maria, had asked Alex _if_ he was going to be safe. Yeah, it was his safety they all had to be worried about. They were going to be annihilated, Gadian could tell. How could he tell? Because even the spirits in the room were keeping their distance from the combat instructor and they didn?t have anything to worry about, they?re already dead!

The moment Alex made his first move, Gadian closed his eyes. Once again, he felt the spirits that inhabited the room. If he was going to have any chance surviving against Alex he was going to have to successfully reach out to a spirit. He had no choice in the matter, it was either succeed or probably have every bone in his body broken. A familiar pressure weighed down on him as James put up a barrier in an attempt to keep them safe. This time the shaman refused to allow himself to be affected and managed to keep upright as he frantically tried to find a suitable spirit.

It was as he heard James shout a warning about grenade that he felt it. The spirit from before. The one that he had felt drawn to for reasons he couldn?t understand. He didn?t panic at the prospect of the grenade as he calmly launched himself backwards and landed gracefully on his feet. He quickly reached out a tendril from his mind to reach out to the spirit but it was repelled, just like last time. That was when he panicked.

As the others made an attempt to launch some sort of assault on their combat instructor, Gadian desperately tried over and over again to reach out to the spirit but nothing would happen. He didn?t know what to do, what could he do? After all it wasn?t as if he could just reach out with his hand and grab it...

Gadian?s hand shot out to the side and he closed his hand tightly around the spirit. For a moment nothing happened and Gadian feared he had made a mistake. Then he felt something seem to pass through his arm, heading towards the rest of his body. He could feel the presence of the spirit entering his body, but it wasn?t taking over. It was merely lending him it?s power. Now this was something he hadn?t expected. His eyes shot open and he let out a victorious yell, ?Gotcha!?

He saw Maria bringing a crimson blade down upon Alex as his eyes began to give off a blue glow. His fingers began to grow and harden at the same time. His teeth became more prominent and sharpened. A growl escaped his lips as he felt the spirit inside him begin to remember itself. After a moment he heard a loud growl in his head followed by a voice. ?You helped me regain my form; I?d been trying to get you to do that for weeks now! Nevertheless I?m grateful so I?ll lend you my strength.?

"*Get ready, I'm about to attack!*" Gadian came back to reality as he saw Alex suddenly turn his attention on him and Kimberly. Gadian couldn?t help but smirk as he readied himself. He could feel the strength the jaguar possessed coursing through him. He let out an animalistic roar as he flung himself at the charging Alex, moving at an inhuman speed as he thrust his right claw at the combat instructor?s face. _This is going to be interesting._


----------



## Bringer (Nov 21, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Only Human_

She knew this wouldn't end well, there was no doubt about it. Alex was the man who trained her, and even then he restrained himself from using his power. What use would Kimberly be, weaponry would be no use against her mentor. Close combat would be suicide against someone so fast. This wasn't an ordinary battle, this was a battle between beasts.

James instinctively protected everyone with his force field, Rinoa attempted to attack but failed. Maria using an astonishing amount of agility tried to attack, but Alex dodged. Everyone's efforts was in vain. Then her teacher turned his attention on both her and Gadian, but then something happened. Gadian _changed_ and he lunged into the fray.

Although the gap in speed between her and Alex was great, for some reason she could keep up. She could sense his movements, she could predict what he was doing based off his emotional pulses. However she wasn't stupid, she knew better then just to charge at Alex, if the team was going to do anything, it'd have to be with teamwork. Right now they were simply flies annoying him.

_"I need to use my empathy to link the team, it's no telepathy, but just like with Martin... I can get them to understand what I need them to do, without a word being spoken."_

Kimberly still didn't understand how it worked, how could you convey a message without words, or even a thought. They'd simply understand immediately what she wanted them to do. Now it was time for her plan to come into action.

She connected everyone under one empathic link. They could all understand each other, without a word, without a thought. Not only that, but everyone else also gained her empathic combat perception, they could predict Alex's movements as well. They now know each others conditions, they'd know when the other is in danger and could also carry out each others commands. Now it was time to win this.

The team knew exactly what Kimberly wanted them to do.



> Gadian would continue his assault.
> 
> Once Rinoa is prepared, Gadian would retreat, and then Rinoa would shoot her explosive bullets to guide Alex to a specific place.
> 
> ...



This was her desire, what she wanted, she had shown it to them. The team knew every detail of it. Now the questions is, would they follow through with her plan? Would they abandon it and continued their individual assaults on Alex? Would it work out how it had gone in her head?

She didn't know.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 21, 2013)

Alex's eye widened slightly in surprise as Gadian met his charge head-on, his fingers sharpening into blade-like claws as they moved in for a lunge at his face. "_Interesting. He's taking on the characteristics of an animal..._" The man thought, blocking the attack with the flat of his blade, his claws scraping against the steel of the blade causing a harsh sound to ring through the air. With a smile, he moved the blade up, causing the sound to resonate louder, causing Gadian to cringe slightly with his new, heightened hearing. Capitalizing instantly, Alex lashed out with a hard roundhouse kick, pivoting on his left foot, his right crashing into Gadian's chest, sending him flying back instantly...

Just in time to move out of the way of a slash from Maria, her blade slicing the air just above Alexander. "You recover fast." He commented, "but let's see how you move under pressure." With a step forward, Alex lunged with his left sabre, then again, and again until it became an incessant barrage of rapid sword-strokes, immediately forcing Maria onto the defensive, barely able to hold off against the speed of Alex's attacks. 

James' razor-scarf whipped out again, flying just past Alex's face, who stopped his attack mid-motion. The demi-god rushed forward, wielding his garment in one hand and a glistening shield of fuchsia in the other and attacked again while Maria attempted to press on with another offensive maneuver. "Ah. I forgot to mention..." Alex said, dodging both. "I'm not left handed. And as long as the two of you around me, your friend can't afford to use her explosive ammunition either. *Plan your moves better!*" He shouted, disarming her with a lunge with the right sabre, before ducking under an attack from behind by James and sending a hard elbow into his gut. 

The demi-god grunted in pain, then felt a boot in his chest, sending him rolling backwards again. "He's too strong." He mumbled, looking at Alex in awe. The guy was single-handedly _dismantling_ the team while holding back. Then the body of a small girl crashed into the ground next to him as well; looks like Maria got thrown again, with Alex now fast approaching Rinoa.


----------



## Chronos (Nov 21, 2013)

Merkava​













~*~​
_Merkava. Bio-genetic monstrosity built upon the abandoned warehouse of unknown Saint Haven. What this demon has forge for itself it is unknown, craving a abnormal desire for human flesh, it hunts and devours humans without any source of remorse or mercy. 

Whatever have this beast installed in its belt. We can assure, he at this point. He's simply at 40% of it's actual capabilities..._

~*~​
An ominous force became apparent, haughty as it was it posed before him with intended glee and prideful joy. Two beings that held magnificent potential, the ooze of ability and power emanated from their aura, Merkava's instinct had begun to blossom, building up to the brilliance of their strength. Its stomach called for their flesh and bone. Merkava would assimilate their souls into himself, allowing his hunger to be quenched in gruesome satisfaction. Merkava's thoughts began to process this, and his breath exposed in the wicked night that engulfed the stage between the three. Merkava articulated the thought:

"Not... human... G-g-great -s-s-s-source... must..."

Trembling under the presence of its unadulterated animal instincts, under its cold metallic breath, he mechanically laughed. A natural expression to this, simply his body entirely desired the enigmatic taste that would crawl through its fabricated soul once he stomached the essence before him. Merkava eyes flashed, in an instance he had kicked the earth beneath his feet, rocketing at the pinnacle of his speed towards this force before it. The right arm, expanded several 100 meters in length, turning into a whip thick enough to shatter stone with relative ease. 

It swung, bringing several homes with him in the process, as the whip crashed on the walls and began to break and shatter what came in its way, Merkava true intention was to coil the entities before him, simply to devour their bodies and feat on their marvelous souls.

"I'll devour you!!!"

"WRYYYYYY!!!!"


----------



## kluang (Nov 21, 2013)

Rinoa Lockheart

She sees Alex moving towards her and her first reaction is move towards Alex as well.  She opens her pocket dimension and pull out two gun woth normal bullets and she shoots Alex as she moves closer towards Alex and they parries. 

"I will show you how gun kata works in close combat."

"Interesting.  Show me."

Alex's sword and Rinoa's gun strike and clash and Rinoa pull the trigger each time they clash, but the bullets barely pass Alex much to her annoyance. And soon both side increase their speed and it becomes a barrage of sword vs gun swing with bullets being shot everywhere.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 21, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_The Life Of Being Whipped_

He left the room, his pride damaged. Did he seriously fucking show fear, that wasn't like him at all! He shuddered, was he becoming a doormat like James. Also he was now officially Lillian's bitch, and had to do anything she said. What if she wanted to butt fuck him! That tranny wasn't fooling anyone! He could be fucked literally, and be unable to do anything about it! How did he get himself into this mess, it was all his fault. Impulsively agreeing to wagers like that.

Mike surprisingly had too much pride to walk out though, he was somebody who would keep his word, but rarely give his word to anyone. So there was no way out, if he had to endure doing what ever Lillian tells him, he'd do it with his ass clenched. Under no circumstance will that fucking tranny bitch ass cunt will enter him in anyway. Now, what was her first orders?

Her voice rung inside his head, he remembered it as if it was a few minutes ago. Oh wait it was.

"Go clean yourself up, consume the pre-made rations I've set down for you in the mess hall for energy, and meet me in the meditation room in an hour. Dismissed."

_"I can remember her voice in my head. I HAVE WHORE IN MY HEAD!"_

So wait, she wanted him to clean himself first and then go eat? What the fuck? Shouldn't it be the other way around. He just fucking healed from his spine breaking in two, and this bitch wants him to clean himself first before rejuvenation himself? It was like this bitch was trying to kill him.

"Rules are rules... fucking cunt."

And so Mike went to the bathroom in the boys dorm of the base, and upon entering he was surprised to see how huge it was. Why da fuck was the bathroom so huge? Oh well, he hopped in the shower, and immediately put the heat all the way up. 

Some days hot showers were needed, some days cold showers were needed. The jet black haired boy contemplated masturbating vigorously, but decided against it. They probably have cameras all over this place, Leroy may be jacking off to this for all he knew. This thought made Mike shudder. 

After cleaning himself, he went to his room to go and change. But then he realized he had no extra clothes, and the room didn't really provide anything besides a bed and a few other things. The rest of the room was up to him to decorate, and also stock. So our favorite mischievous character had no choice but to wear the same outfit, that reeked of dead bodies.

He couldn't wait to see what Lillian left out for him. He wasn't sure about the bitches cooking skills, but he was so fucking hungry he could eat a horse, a human, a titan, a giant blue and white slug, and a Gyarados. Upon reaching a the mess hall, he froze upon seeing what she had left, and a single tear streamed down Mike's eye.

_"God... if you're real or whatever. First... bring be some food... and murder that bitch Lillian."_

Disappointment.

What Lillian had left was various foods, each providing the different amount of nutrients he needs. So basically each of the food groups, but in small portions. Lillian expected Mike to only eat this? She was making this whole being her bitch thing terrible. But alas... he scarfed down everything in one minute flat. 

"Now, what was that last thing she said. Meet her in the meditation room in an hour? How long has it been?"

He turned to a clock, and sighed upon seeing it has only been twenty-five minutes. Now what, he had to wait for another thirty-five minutes.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!"


----------



## Bringer (Nov 21, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Try_

Her strategy broke apart instantly, Gadian was taken out, and due to James and Maria fighting Alex in close combat, Rinoa couldn't use her explosive bullets. Her efforts were useless. She couldn't stand by idly and watch as her peers get curb stomped, her green eyes filled with determination as her fist clenched. She was the daughter of George Barret Higgins, and the student of Alexander Fortis. She had to give it her all.

Dashing forward, she was heading for Alex who was currently in a skirmish with Rinoa. She was impressed, their close combat skirmish has been going on for about fifteen seconds and yet Rinoa was still trucking. As the silky black haired girl neared her friend and mentor who were still going at it, she did a front flip, now back to back with Alex. 

Immediately upon landing, she pivoted while activating her electric glove. Electricity danced around the glove, as it cackled. She was planning on pivot until her electric glove slammed against the side of Alex's head. She wasn't naive, under normal circumstances this would never even come close to grazing her teacher, let alone hit him. But she was feeling optimistic. Maybe he'd be too busy handling Rinoa and her close quarter pistol attacks, she might be able to land a hit.

Though knowing Alex... being optimistic while facing him would probably end with grim results.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 21, 2013)

*Agent ~ Luke Walters​*
Fuck the costume, I have to go there _incognito_. This kind of investigationneeds to be made in the shadows or, in this case, under the watching eye of the sun. And to think I wanted to stroll down the streets among the civilians in my Hero suit. Oh, how I like a good joke from time to time! But anyways, after a quick visit to the bathroom, I zipped my pants and went to take the subway.

I travelled like cattle, so in other words, it was a pretty average journey. I was received by the cold winter air of Central Saint Haven while I climbed up the subway entrance, my bagpack with all the necessary stuff for investigation hanging on my rear. My season attire consisted on a red frannel shirt underneath a grey jacket, with common blue jeans and white sneakers. Of course, a complementary scarf had been welcomed, but the beanie lying besides my bed didn't get the honour of protecting my unruly reddish black hair. But, to this investigation, my attire was of no matter.

I finally reached the City Hall. It was still a mess, but the municipal workers were already taking care of that mess. That was no good. If I wanted the slightest clue as to what happened, I was to act fast.

Luckily, intelligence was a big asset of mine.

I hid myself behind a column of the old building, and I put my bagpack before me as I sat. From it, I took a rounded black object that was hollow in the centre, but as I passed my hand in front of it, the hollow part was covered by a hologram and a screen appeared above it. It was a creation of mine: the Energy Disk. I'll have to work on a better name, I know. But for the time being, that's the name it gets.

I used the device to scan the area, throwing it in different directions but, much like a boomerang, it always came back to me. After enough playing around, I collected something that intrigued me: it was a faint signal of an unknown source. However, it irradiated great amounts of radiation, and that only meant one thing: "Supers...", I said, narrowing my eyes in utter contempt. I must follow the signal; Wherever there was a large amount of radiation, there was a large amount of Supers.

I had found a lead on the Saint Haven team.


----------



## Advocate (Nov 22, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Martin was still feeling disoriented and confused as he rejoined the team in his usual unobtrusive and barely noticeable manner - just in time for combat training to begin. Once again, he felt the shameful sting of uselessness; all he could do was keep out of the way of more experienced combatants and duck or hide behind James' barrier.

As their combat trainer clashed with the young female named Rinoa, Martin finally decided to make his move. Taking a position at some distance behind her, he reached into Alex' mind. He would have liked it if he had the time to search for any weaknesses or secrets that could be used to distract him.

But right now his best option seemed to be to simply transmit that horrific sensation of fear and pain he got from Quiet Coyote during the fight. It wasn't nearly as strong as it was when it knocked out both him and the thugs - but it was still fresh in his mind, and perhaps it might make Alex miss a move. That was the best the alien could hope for at the moment.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 22, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 3 - The Emergence - 5th Part_

Soul. Will. Machine. King. Assigned. All these words were uttered by that masked man, Aeon, the Right Hand of God. His speech was not that of a common man or, at least, according to what Bach had in her database. But, then again, he could shoot strange beams of light from his hand, so the words 'common' and 'normal' were rendered useless. She, on the other hand, had the power of science and technology at her disposal. However, that didn't make her better or worse.

But, returning to his speech...Aeon was a man who believed in Kings and knights in an era where capitalism and globalization were strong powers and democracy was the word of the day. It was a moment where monarchy and royalty were obsolete, and yet...He kept on thinking of himself as a true King, one who would rule over everything and take what he was due one day.

He also preached her about her life after the completion of her task. It was true that she hadn't given any thought about that. So focused she was on killing Mr. A that she had forgotten about the miracle that was her own life.

But, wait...She had a choice now: _Him_. That man had freed her, and without him, she probably would never fullfil her task, her Creator's revenge. What if she stayed with him, after everything was over? After all, wondering around without a purpose was the same as being dead.

"Your purpose...", she repeated, just when the door opened and the other blond, he who had slept through the entire journey and had probably woken up because of them, entered the room. Bach tilted her head to stare at him more attentively. "Your stress in the word 'fuck' implies that something is disturbing you, and the word 'here' implies that the cause of your annoyance is in this room.", Bach analyzed in her methodic, calculated tone. "Was our demonstration the cause of such ire?"


----------



## Chronos (Nov 22, 2013)

Aeon​













The boy had awaken, storming through the doors with quite the outrage, a chuckle had escape the lips of the King, while he stood before the two, the woman birthed from man, the boy of blonde with a mind sharpened with the finest whetstone. 

"Such burning passion, knave. I ought say, thine anger equals that of ruthless Kings of days gone past." 

He said, beaming with a slight glee, envisioning a future, a world held by the tip of his fingers. Where he would grasp humanities future and would form the lands at his leisure. He furnish the lands with a staple, one of which he would recite for coming generation, men would sing tales of this, he would reach the apex with these two.

"I meant not to disturb, your slumber, knave. But neither do I wish to mince words now that your mind in not floating among the clouds. I, Aeon, dully note that you lad are my savior. I thank thy for choosing wisely at the battle at Piccolo's fortress. Thine mind's is sharp, tactical, drenched in solid wit. I won't mind words, knave. I desire your mind."

He turned his gaze towards the lass, towards Bach. The young woman whom seemed to still be confused of the situation. While he broke her speech the lad and told:

"Lass, I see you are begging to understand human patterns. Thy soul is becoming strong. But now, I must keep hold to my word. I must tell thy the truth of who I am. Of what my birthright in this world is. As the Right Hand of God, it's simply my duty as humanities King that I would guide them through a path of utter balance." 

Spreading his arms wide, the moon that gleamed in the foreground. While it's radiance just empowered his will, he felt his soul resonate at the thought of this calling. As if standing in a the spotlight, handed down by the heavens themselves, there stood a King without the crown. A necessary asset to any King, to any form of royalty. He bathed in moonlight, as the surge of his powers began to emanate through him, as lightning began to become eminent, the moon tonight functioned as a battery, he needed to proceed as he would soon become a higher man that he was before. 

"Blonde. Lass. I request from thou unity between the three. I have a birthright you see. I dremt of lands kneeling their feet to my will, a world where I, Aeon: The Right Hand of God, ruled before men and woman, child and animal in this broken earth. A land where I make things prosper. What are heroes? What are villain's. Men like these are under a guise. Heroes wrought of villainy, who are them to be above the law? What are villains? But a simple mass of collective evil that must be halted. I, Aeon no--"

​
Pulling his mask, he revealed his mien, turning, as his flesh had become pale in luminescence, eyes gleaming through the resonance of his power. An aura of strength had become apparent. The jaded blue that pierced the with an uncommon amount of will oozing from his soul. The pigment of his hair began to 

"Ulric Belric, am birthed to rule over Saint Haven! Are the angels, martyr of God, above his own rule? Why should heroes and villains suggest otherwise!? I offer you not a world where mankind's ilk stains the earth no longer. I offer balance to a broken existence. And I, as the heir to the world, will grant thy wishes in full. Matters not the obstacle, I will become the beacon that will shine towards your goal." 

Looking at Bach he utters the word: _"Strength"_ 

Turning to Temple he says: _"Mind"_

Turning to the radiance of the moon, as speaking as if he was the last piece of the puzzle "_And will."_

Centered his soul, the new soul, The King's Power was eminent in him. This was simply the reaction to it. A mass of energy swirling in his system. A power that was the manifestation of Kings.

"The pieces needed to form a nation. What say you two, would you join become mighty knights? And I will become yours. Together, we will succeed out purpose, and with it, gain strength in the process." 

​


----------



## Island (Nov 22, 2013)

*The Ballad of Bloody Mary*
An Undisclosed Location​
_A few years ago_

Everybody wanted powers. Powers brought fame, fortune, and everything else that one could ever desire. If you had powers, you were somebody. It didnt matter how smart or strong you were before because, now, you had a gift held by less than a tenth of a percent of the population. Maybe you could fly, or maybe you could read minds. Maybe you could control the elements or manipulate energy. No matter what you could do, you could use it to make you famous, or even infamous. You could be the greatest hero the world had ever seen, or alternatively, you could be the most wicked villain to ever walk the Earth. No matter which path you walked, you were immortalized. You were the next stage of human evolution, the children of tomorrow in todays world.

Nobody ever considered the downside to having powers. They never stopped to think about what it was like to constantly be in the spotlight and how heroes always had to be brave and strong. Even villains had to keep up appearances, or else they risked becoming laughing stocks. For me, it was more than just being brave, strong, or being ridiculed in the news. It was about being human. My powers, the ability to survive any injury and being able to regenerate from any blow, came with one of the worst weaknesses one could imagine

There I sat at a barstool in some shady bar in a faraway town.

Last call! The bartender announced.

No matter how much I consumed, no matter how much alcohol I drank and no matter what kind of drugs I did, my body would simply filter them out. There were no substances in the world that could escape my bodys detection, and there was no amount that it could not remove. What else was I supposed to do when there was nothing left? With no friends, no family, or anybody at all, I couldnt even drink myself stupid. I couldnt turn to a bottle or to a pill. Instead, I was forced to sit there, contemplating my failures and all of my shortcomings as well as the tragedies that had befallen me.

Give me another. I stated to the bartender as he passed.

There was no escape from rock bottom. I could put a gun to my head and pull the trigger, but nothing would happen. Bullets were not strong enough to pierce my skin, and if they were, my body would regenerate from the wounds. I could jump into lava, and my body would regenerate faster than I could burn, eventually forming a hardened layer of skin, impervious to the effects of extreme heat. I had no idea what would happen if I threw myself into a vacuum, a place devoid of oxygen or anything else a normal human needed to survive, but I suspected that my body would find a way. Even if there was some force in the universe that could end me, how could I find it and how would I reach it?

History tells of mythical figures and miscellaneous individuals who lived for hundreds, even thousands of years. These men and women were immortal beings, impervious to most forms of damage and completely unaffected by the spell of aging. I suspected that some of these beings, if they existed, were the first super-powered men and women, freaks of nature, evolutionary mutations that existed long before science developed the Human Adaptive Virus.

Was that my fate?

to live forever? They say that humans with extreme regenerative powers such as myself were also immune to aging. My body pulled all the stops and cut away out of its inefficiencies, the defects and flaws that plagued normal human bodies. No longer did it need food and water, no longer did it succumb to disease, and no longer did it age. Instead, it simply was. It met every challenge with the determination of a bull and combined the adaptive traits of almost every plant and animal.

I was, as somebody once told me, the pinnacle of human evolution.

My powers made me the envy of the world. I could not dehydrate, starve, succumb to disease, or be permanently harmed in any way whatsoever. When somebody hurt me, body regenerated almost instantly, and there was nothing that they could do to inflict permanent injury. No matter what they struck or how hard they struck it, my body would simply regrow that damaged part. Again, I was a combination of every plant and animal. I had the regenerative powers of a salamander or a starfish with the durability of an elephant or an ox, all commanded by the brain of a human. When I wanted something, I could get it without cause or concern about what stood in my way.

Still, my powers neglected to protect me from one thing: the psychological trauma that came with being one of the only ones left.  While everybody around me suffered from the effects of the radiation, most dying, and others maimed and scarred for life, I was the only one okay. When my friends and family dropped one-by-one, again, I was the only one to walk out without a scratch on me. They talked about the sudden shock, the intense heat of the explosion and others about the cold, lifelessness of radiation sickness. I felt none of that, no pain, not even a tickle.

Since my body regenerated every injury, it became unnecessary to feel pain, and in order to maximize efficiency, my body simply shutoff my pain centers. You could stab me through the heart, and although I had an acute awareness of this action, I felt nothing, not a thing. No matter how damaged I was, there was nothing that you could do to make me hurt. Gun me down or drop me in a vat of acid. I would simply recover from my wounds and go about my business as if nothing had happened.

In a way, it made me feel like I wasnt even human anymore. Everyday troubles like getting a cold or spraining an ankle meant nothing to me. Combine that with a lack of close personal relationships, and what do you have? There was nothing nor anyone to make me feel human, and no matter how much I wanted to drown away those facts, they were there, and nothing could change them.

Hello, there, somebody took a seat next me, My name is Marshall, and I-

I dont care. I answered flatly.

I know who you are. The man suddenly changed his tone. I know what you have been through, and I am here to help you. I would like to discuss with you an initiative that-

I dont care. I interrupted, standing up and beginning to walk away.

We can help you, Baylee. He shouted.

Dont call me that. I stopped, snapping back at him.

For some bizarre reason, I ended up accepting Marshalls invitation. Apparently, this man was part of an international organization dedicated to restoring order to a now lawless world. With the widespread use of powers, governments across the globe were finding it increasingly difficult to maintain stability. Local villains would rise up and wreak havoc, and the governments could do nothing to stop them. Eventually, the major world powers came together and founded an organization dedicated to containing and securing all those deemed threats to world peace.

What did I get out of it?

Was it a chance to bring justice to the world?

To step into my fathers shoes and carry on his legacy?

Or maybe it was revenge against all those who would misuse their powers in the same way Havoc did, those who would reap misfortune and suffering upon the innocent like Havoc did to those poor inhabitants of Neptune City to me.

Or possibly the close personal relationships I longed to establish, ones I had not felt since the destruction of Neptune City.

No. All I wanted was escape, and this was the closest means I had to achieving that end. I hoped that one day I would encounter a being, whether it be man, monster, or otherwise, that would be strong enough to take me down. I desired to fight as hard as I could and put everything I had on the table in hopes that somebody could best me and put an end to the internal strife and suffering that plagued my spirit. Maybe part of it _was_ a need to bring justice to the world or some deep-rooted psychological desire to carry on my fathers legacy, both of which influenced my decision to fight rather than just lay down and die but neither of which my primary motive.

Unfortunately, the extraterrestrial that I now faced would not bring me that escape. It was nowhere near strong enough to deliver the end that I so desperately wanted.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 22, 2013)

Alexander Fortis was a seasoned and skilled warrior, and if his years of fighting had taught him anything about battle it was that one could never truly fight in the absence of fear. However, that _didn't_ mean they couldn't conquer and suppress it. Alex had a lot of experience with terror. He had both inflicted it and experienced it during his days in Neptune City, and after. As such, it came to him as a bit of a surprise when the familiar, icy sensation of alarm pierced him mid-clash with one of Rinoa's guns. It was unfamiliar. He certainly felt little fear against the team or Rinoa, yet the feeling was almost overwhelming. Alex quickly calmed himself, but not before getting scratched on the cheek by a stray bullet shot from Rinoa, who quickly capitalized on the momentary loss of composure.  "_It must be one of their abilities._" Alex thought to himself, instinctively lashing out at Rinoa with a sword-strike, disarming her of her gun with the sheer aggression of the strike. "Not bad." He commented, taking out his other sabre. 

And that's when Kimberly came, rushing from the forward with an electric glove. Even without his eye, Alex could tell what was coming next. Kimberly wasn't stupid enough to try and attack straight ahead, and was fairly proficient at acrobatics - as he had personally taught her. The most likely course of action, in that case, would be an attack from behind. As Kimberly took an acrobatic flip to strike from behind, Alex spun around 180 degrees, fist already swung ready to meet Kimberly's face, while another hand grabbed her by the wrist, before throwing her away, dislocating her shoulder. 

Based on what he had gathered, there were four people who were adept at close combat: Rinoa, Maria, James and Gadian. Where Rinoa and Maria seemed to have some sort of fighting style and skill, James and Gadian seemed a lot more messy in their approach. That would need addressing. On the other hand, Alex still wasn't sure as to the full extent of Maria's abilities, and James' ability to form barriers could be invaluable if used correctly. He wasn't sure what Gadian could do either, but based on what he just saw, he definitely had some skill as well. Of course, there was Kimberly as well, whom he had personally taught a while ago. It was definitely an interesting set he had here.


----------



## kluang (Nov 22, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

Rinoa is pushed back and her guns flew off. She spins in mid-air and landed on the ground. He's good. One blade vs dual gun kata. Very good. He manage to avoid all but one bullet, that one bullet only graces him. Why? She looks at Kimberly and Martin. Maybe they did something. If that's true, that mean she couldn't hit him at all.

Damn, she feel like she just graduated from Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy. She clenches her teeth and opens her pocket dimension taking out four more guns with normal bullets and toss two of them at Kimberly. "Kimberly, remember what I taught you about Bullet Hell?"

"A curtain of death raining from the gun barrels. So many bullets at a time your eyes can't keep up."

"Good. Let's rain on him. Martin, try to distract him."


----------



## Fedster (Nov 22, 2013)

*Agent ~ Luke Walters​*
The plan was going smoothly, or at least, I would say that if what I was doing was a plan. I was actually following my gut or, well, the track of radioactivity that made me walk to the library. How weird. The trail stopped there. Why in all damn Hell would it stop at the all-peaceful, all-knowing library? I decided that this investigation was not to stop there. Therefore, I breathed deeply, and I entered the _biblioth?que_.

The atmosphere was silent and opressing, so yeah, much like your everyday library. I scanned my surroundings only to discover that this library was absurdly normal: books lining on shelves and stacked in piles on the tables, teenagers with dead eyes due to school pressure and with no real motivation in their lives to move forward, and the librarian, stern and uptight, as though she had never seen male genitals in her life, let alone letting them enter her.

I took a seat on one of the tables. In the table opposite there was a girl cramming for finals, her expression of absolute terror, distress and social expectations. I asked the librarian as she passed what was the wi-fi password, and she spat out that there wasn't any wi-fi. No wireless Internet connection in a public, government-funded facility?

Something was fishy.

I took out my Energy Disk and hid it under the table. Upon turning it on, a message popped up, asking that I should update my system and that a reboot was compulsory. I simply rolled my eyes and got it over with. Half an hour later, the system was back up. I obtained a blueprint of the building and well, who would know? There was nothing abnormal. But then, what was that signal that came from under my feet? Was the government hiding something? Something like...

Heroes?

Well, if my theory was correct, then, I was standing above a secret base for heroes, generously funded by the government of Saint Haven. The question now was, how would I enter this secret base?

"Hmmm..."; I mutter as low as I could. "If I wre a secret entrance...Where would I be?" Somewhere where I was guarded and at everyone's field of vision at all times, of course. Namely...The door behind the librarian's desk?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 23, 2013)

Leroy hated a lot of things. Children, dogs, affection, optimism and loiterers. As such, when he first saw Luke somewhat covertly lurking the library, his first instinct was to take out his gun and shoot him. But that would be ungentleman-like, and Leroy was nothing if not a gentleman. So instead, he walked up to the pink haired intruder, not even bothering to hide the sound of his heavy footsteps. There was, after all, no need to be stealthy against a single opponent. Besides, Leroy was hardly one for subtleties. He found it overrated and cowardly. He seemed far too concentrated in his thoughts to notice anyway. Stopping just behind Luke, the dark skinned man placed a firm, heavy hand on his shoulder. "*What the fuck do you think you're doing here?*" He growled, applying more pressure and digging his fingers into the boy's shoulder blades.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 23, 2013)

Alexander felt the chill again, but this time he was ready, suppressing it completely as soon as it appeared. "So many bullets my eyes can't keep up, eh?" He arched an eyebrow. It was doubtful they had enough ammunition to overrun his precognition, but even if they did, he still had another trick up his sleeve. "In that case, let's try and end this." With a flick of his hand, Alex twirled his sabres into a reverse grip, then shot forward.

That was when the team struck.

Rinoa and Kimberly jumped up, taking out their guns and unloading their ammunition into a rain of gunpowder, explosions and ammunition. Alexander, for his part, zig-zagged through these without much problem, his eyes highlighting the best route to take to avoid getting hit by the shots. He was moving much faster than before now, his body turning into a dark blur while after-images formed behind his steps. The curtain of smoke from Rinoa's explosive bullets did little to hinder him either; Alex had already memorized the positions of the team.

Then a barrier formed in front of him, courtesy of James. Alex grunted slightly in irritation and changed course, zig-zagging around the gradual maze of soul constructs the demi-god seemed to be forming around him. Meanwhile, Maria leaped up, raining down petals of blood with a swing of her sword, the liquid burning away at the ground as it landed. "_This is getting annoying now..._" Alex ran up to a barrier, jumping up to it then wall-kicking off, launching himself at Maria, a hawk swooping in for it's prey. A hand reached out, then in a blur, the two were on the ground once more, Alex holding the girl in a lock with a blade next to her throat. "Your enemy has a team-mate as hostage," Alex spoke up again, looking at the team as the smoke and steam of the assault dispersed, "and you have two choices. Abandon her and take the shot, or try to save her, risking death and failure?"


----------



## Fedster (Nov 23, 2013)

*Agent ~ Luke Walters​*
I didn't know it yet, but since I sat down in the library, I was being observed. I was so engrossed on my research, I couldn't hear _him_. However, there was a signal: the heavy footsteps behind me. I thought it was the librarian, trying to call my intention so she could scold me again, so I ignored her, planning to just lift my head and apologize in a proper manner to the uptight woman for my 'inapporpiate' behaviour. But no. And I noticed it when a huge, black hand grasped my shoulder. It startled me big time and when I looked up, I found that an equally huge and black bald man was talking, questioning me about what I was fucking doing there. Well, I got busted. But this one-eyed baldy confirmed my theory: _It was there_. I cringed a bit when he pressed my shoulder tighter.

"I suppose," I start, measuring my words, "you could say I'm _researching_."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 23, 2013)

Leroy smiled; an ugly, more sneer-like movement of his mouth rather than one of amiability and warmth. His dark, leather-like skin creased even further into small crevices as he smirked at Luke. "*You know,*" Leroy started, still not releasing the pressure on his shoulders, "*there are many things in this world I don't like. But you know what I really hate?*" He asked, then continued, not bothering to wait for a reply. "*Researchers.*" He spat. "*Now, are you going to tell me properly, or am I going to have to fucking beat it out of you?*" The sound of bone was heard behind Luke, as Leroy cracked his neck.

---

James froze, his body tensing, the ends of his muffler falling back onto the ground harmlessly as he deactivated his attack mid-way through. "Shit." He muttered, staring at Alex, whose sword was held up against the new girl's throat. The demi-god looked at the rest of his team. "How are we going to get her out of there?" He asked instantly, without giving the question any thought. The answer was obvious to James. They were a team, and team-mates didn't abandon each other. The demi-god had longed for friendship for as long as he could remember and this was the closest he'd ever been to having actual friends. 

Maria stayed silent, her eyes utterly fixated on the steel blade inches away from her throat. Alex, for his part, relaxed, the glow in his eye disappearing.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 23, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_To Bluff Or Not To Bluff_

Kimberly reached for her gun, that was currently in its holster, her hands stopping as soon as she had a grip. She intensively watched both Alex and Maria, her green eyes unblinking. The team had a tough call to make, attack and let Maria die, or do nothing and let the swordsman win.

She could literally feel the killing intent radiating from her teacher. It filled the air, the room felt heavy. She could probably dig more, and to see if he was truly bluffing or not, but she wasn't skilled enough, it'd take her a while to dig through it. So she had to rely on her mind, more than her powers.

She looked at the facts. Her father wouldn't stand for this, killing wouldn't be condoned. Alex knew this, and he had respect for her father. Plus this was a simulation, if Alex wanted to kill he would've have done so by now. She lifted her gun, aiming it.

"I call you on your bluff, _Alex_"

She couldn't take the shot, not yet. Even if she could accurately aim it towards something that Maria wasn't blocking like his arm, he could easily just move Maria around to take the shot. Even if she knew Alex was bluffing, the team still couldn't do anything without the risk of harming their peer.

Kimberly was puzzled, how would they work their way around this one?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 23, 2013)

Alex arched an eyebrow at Kimberly. Well, this was a pleasant surprise. Inwardly,  the Italian smiled a bit; she'd grown and developed a lot since they first met last year. If this was the old Kimberly, she'd have broken down in a fit of panic. "Interesting." Alex said, his voice cold and steely, it's neutral tone unrevealing. "You're calling me on my bluff?" He asked. "_Now let's see the extent of her growth..._"

Bringing the blade closer to Maria's neck, just short of drawing blood, he looked directly at Kimberly now, his onyx eyes drilling into her, analyzing her every movement. "But could you live with the life of someone on your head?" He asked, his tone serious.

James looked at Kimberly. "Don't take the shot," he spoke, his breath heavy with fatigue and exhaustion, "he's definitely serious about this.  The soul doesn't lie." He gulped, looking at Alex's soul with his eyes once more. The killing intent it exuded still hadn't changed, and just looking at it gave the demi-god chills.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 23, 2013)

*Ryan Williams-The Warrior*
_Just Another Night_

It's been five years since then, since the explosion that destroyed Neptune City killed Ryan's mother. He remembered it as if it was yesterday, the false sense of security he had. The mission failed, the team wasn't in sync for some reason. You see, the obstacle in the way of stopping the team from stopping the bomb were others with superpowers, just like themselves. They were hired to make sure the bomb wouldn't be stopped. Oh and they were so fucking hax, and thrashed the team.

For some odd reason the team wasn't working together well, Ryan couldn't explain it but the team wasn't on their A game. It was then Masaru, the team leader who made the decision to have the team split up and take on each villain individual, while he teleported Kevin to go and stop the bomb. Somewhere during Ryan's fight, his opponent not only cornered him, but used strategically attacked the skyscraper behind Ryan, causing it to collapse. It was the end for the boy, until his mother came to the rescue.

Ryan's mother also gained powers during the chemical explosion in the school, when she had entered and ran inside to go and save Ryan, she had inhaled the gases as well. Her powers were greater than Ryan's, she had more strength, she was more durable, and she could heal faster. She stopped the huge building from crushing her son, and told him to run. Ryan stood in awe as he saw it, his mother preforming such an amazing feat. He remembered what she said.

"R-Ryan! Go and get out of here! Kevin failed, the bomb will go off any moment now! Run! I'll be okay!"

*Boom!*

The ground shaking sound, as green clouds began to envelop the entire city. Hangaku, Ryan's mother dashed forward, letting the skyscraper collapse. She approached Ryan, grabbed him, and threw him. The boy went flying into the sky, she had thrown him far, very far. He escaped the radius of the explosion. But what of his mother? The gasses engulfed her, and she died.

Liar. 

What ever happened to you'll be okay? 

Weeks later, Ryan and the rest of the team, even Leroy and the Mayor relocated to Saint Haven, a city nearby Neptune City. Which was one of the reasons why Saint Haven's citizens developed powers, they were effected by the gasses. Leroy had instructed everybody to not say a word to the press, but Ryan didn't listen. Their attention, he ate it all up. It made him feel good, it helped him forget.

He left the team, no more would he be bound down. He talked to the media about the team, his deceased peers, what he'd do now. Soon Ryan was everywhere. He did guest appearances on talk shows, and made lots of money in the process. Years went by, and Ryan proceeded to pursue fame. He did pro wrestling, some acting, various things just for fun. But honestly he didn't really need to do much. The whole being one of the first superheroes, and the Neptune City disaster was already enough to get the windmill blowing.

In no time, Mike became, and still is a full blown celebrity. Ryan, now nineteen years old, just exited the one of the best clubs with a group of his buddies, and two girls, each one having their necks around Ryan's arm.

"Sorry girls, I have a date with the new episode of Adventure Time today."

He retrieved his arms, he and a few of his close friends entered his extremely expensive car.

"Why didn't Kevin ever tell me how fucking awesome it was to be famous."

"Who?"

"Oh... no one."

Ryan had forgotten, that Kevin now dead, was now just a person of the past.

"Ralph, floor it. Drop off these bastards and take me home. I can't miss Adventure time today!"

"Yes sir."

"Sirrrrrr"

His driver sighed.

"Sir Super Duper Awesome King Of Everything Ryan."

Reactions: Funny 2


----------



## kluang (Nov 23, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

A test of will and character. Attempt to rescue Maria and potentially killing the team; or abandon Maria, potentially killing Alex.

She reloads her guns. Her last magazine. The only bullets she have left are tracking bullets.

"I call you on your bluff, Alex"

"You're calling me on my bluff?" 

"Now let's see the extent of her growth..."

Bringing the blade closer to Maria's neck, just short of drawing blood, he looked directly at Kimberly now, his onyx eyes drilling into her, analyzing her every movement. "But could you live with the life of someone on your head?"

James looked at Kimberly. "Don't take the shot," he spoke, his breath heavy with fatigue and exhaustion, "he's definitely serious about this. The soul doesn't lie." He gulped, looking at Alex's soul with his eyes once more. The killing intent it exuded still hadn't changed, and just looking at it gave the demi-god chills.

"This not about bluff. It's about character." and Rinoa throws down her guns on her feet and raise her hand.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 23, 2013)

*Riley Roth-Spirit*
_Change_

This was it, Saint Haven. The place she had swore never to return to. It was four years ago when she had made the decision to leave the team after Neptune City had been destroyed. The most important person in her life, Masaru had been killed. He was like an older brother to her, he had given her the love and compassion she longed for ever since her parents died, and her wretched foster parents were arrested.

His death impacted Riley, she went into a deep depression. She didn't talk to anyone on the team, she barely ate. She lost a lot of weight, her eyes had bags under them. She didn't go on missions anymore much to Leroy's annoyance. Sometimes she'd wander the halls in the new base that was identical to the old one in every way, and find the room that Masaru would've have been in only to find it empty. She wasn't greeted by "Hey kiddo." She was greeted by silence.

 A year went by quickly, and the team began to go their separate ways. It was now just T.A.N.K agents, Leroy, and her. The only reason Leroy let her stay was because the Mayor requested it. It was one day Riley decided that she wouldn't sit around, mope, and feel sorry for herself. Masaru wouldn't have wanted this. So she left the city, and began to travel the world to go and find herself.

Her long journey has come to an end, and she's had many experiences, has met new people, and made her own story. But that story has ended, and it was time to return to an old incomplete story. Riley, now Eighteen years old walked around the streets of Saint Haven, thinking about the old team. It was all she could think about, she had thought if she went to a new place she'd forget everything.

It hurt so much, so fucking much. All she was doing was reopening old wounds. She looked up at the starlit skies, and the moon's hypnotic gaze. Her hair was blowing in the midnight breeze, and she clenched her fist. She had made her decision. This is what she wanted to do, and even though she had no idea where to start, she would do it.

She would bring the team back together.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 23, 2013)

Kira Fujisawa
Owner of a Lonely Heart

Kira had watched with baited breath as the fight began to unfold, having long since taken a defensive position a ways away, bow in hand, and arrow knocked.  The young woman's sharp eyes paid especially close attention to how her friends and allies had attacked.  Why had Alex dodged the bullet Kimberly had fired in a manner that escaped its blast radius, when that bullet had been a dud?  That got her thinking...was it possible that his eye couldn't discern the exact nature of an attack, simply that it was aimed at him?

She was about to take her shot, but went through a few calculations quickly in her head.  Arithmetic had been one of the most important things the Professor had instilled in her training.  And right now, she held no emotion in her face, and she made no assessment of the situation beyond what she had to do in order to pass Alex's objective.  His eye was deactivated...so her moment presented itself now.  She aimed her arrow straight up, lacing it with a bit of her shadowy essence, and then disappeared into her own shadow to begin.

As Alex's blade drew closer, a voice came from behind him, Kira standing centered right at the head of his shadow.  She waved a little, her solitary delving into emotionless stalking gone.  "Alex.  Look up."

Though the illusion had done little when the arrow had been shot up in direct sunlight, as the arrow arced, and now entered the shade, what Alex saw coming at him was not a single arrow, but an entire barrage of quilled death being rained down upon him.   Even with his eye, she was sure of it.  He couldn't tell which was the real one, and so would more than likely evade them all in order to avoid getting taken out.  And that's when his natural reaction took over, and Kimberly sped into action.

Alex pressed his blade closer, but felt an oddly ductile hand, if a bit tender, pressed against it.  Jerking his head down, he noticed that sandwiched between him and Maria, was a 2D, shadowed rendition of Kira, staring right at him with cold, bright white eyes of light.  'Her' hand was keeping Alex from cutting deeper, but the opening was going to be lost soon.  The illusioned arrows fell useless around Alex, the true shot having missed completely.  

"Go!  I can't keep this up!" Kira yelled, mind straining over keeping the instructor from cutting into her teammate.  Hell, she didn't even know the girl's name, but it'd be a while before Kira allowed herself to lose someone else.

-----------------

Temple looked quizzically between the two of them, both speaking in rather outlandish tones.  They were ripe with hooks for his ability, but he couldn't think on that now.  At this moment in time, he was being offered what seemed to be the beginnings of an alliance of some sort.  It was anyone's guess what he meant by the Right Hand of God, or Kings, or knights; Temple wrote that sort of over dramatic bullshit, he didn't act it out.  That was the part to play for victims of his power.  But in plain terms...he wanted to ally himself with the writer.  And that, he could get behind.

"I'm not going to deal with being called a knight and all of that...but as long as you don't go around busting into mafia strongholds, we might be able to _talk _about the _beginnings _of an alliance.  There's simply no way I'll simply step into one so freely otherwise, unless of course there is something _very _pressing in it for me."

------------------

Meanwhile, in the base, Lillian took a step around a corner.  The kid would have to work on the hair; that was a dead give away, and certainly not the norm for entering a top secret library base undetected.  But in him, Lillian saw a bit of herself, in a way.  How long had it been since she'd started breaking into libraries?  Those had been some of the best days of her life.

But she didn't have much time to waste, either.  Steps needed to be taken to start repairing her spy network, and also giving Mike more pointers.  At this rate, she wouldn't be able to do much more than give a short distraction, but she respected the kid's guts.

Around the corner from Luke and Leroy, there was a powerful crash, as one wall was crashed down, by someone...or something.  Then the incoherent yelling of Mike and Lillian.

-------------------

A man, and his horse, silently trotted through the streets of downtown city in modern day China.  It wasn't such a strange occurrence, to see a horse in some of the more run down portions of the country, and this happened to be one of the more rural areas.  Normally, Hol Horse only traveled in order to conduct business.  And normally, business simply meant tracking down artifacts, swindling those who held them previously, or beating those who were aiming to take one he'd heard of in a natural state before it was possible for them to do exactly that.  And...typically, he and his 'partner' were more than a match for those who were in their way.  But it just so happened that China was a lot different than any other place he'd ever been, and his limited Mandarin and nonexistent Cantonese were turning into very prominent deterrents in terms of progress.  But when God set a perfect solution to your obstacles or problems in your lap, or in this case the middle of a rural Chinese dirt street, you didn't look away.  No, you embraced that goosey miracle like the godsend it was.

Hol stopped behind this odd, strangely energetic man in a goose costume, and dismounted, smirking to himself.

"Well, howdy partnah, I don't mean to interrupt you none, but it sounds to me like you got yourself in a right fine mess at the moment."

-------------------

The Marvelous Goose Girl watched the creature that now stood before herself and her partner warily.  While under this guise, she had to be extremely careful how obvious she was with her 'powers'.  She did have a few tricks up her sleeves, but it was impossible to hold the guise with any appreciable amount of honesty to it, if she used her powers freely.  So for now, Goose Girl was exceedingly skilled with a whip, a talented swimmer, had a habit of letting blows glance off her, not a bad detective (through the use of many mafia contacts, the eyes and ears of the city for the crime syndicate) and was good at getting back up after being seemingly knocked out or completely dismantled.  And of course, Narancia had also begun reading that book by that odd author, Letur Lefr...but how that'd pan out was anyone's guess.

She rushed the creature in front of them, with little to no regard for her own safety, and found that to be the shortest route to finding its tendril cut across her chest and send her flying to its right.  She banked off a car and found herself limp on the ground as a result.  The creature then turned to Goose Man, advancing silently with its arms going through a myriad of forms as it contemplated in what way it'd combat the next opponent.  But then!

A blur of movement, and the creature evaded a blow from the side.  The...hubcap of a car being tossed at it, with surprising accuracy, in fact.  It turned, and saw none other than Goose Girl, holding her trusty whip taught, and looking around for more debris to pick up with her whip and fling.  She might not have had the strength to inflict powerful blows on the creature through just a mundane whip, but she was capable of thinking outside the box.  She smiled a playful grin at it from behind her thin mask.  This'd be fun.


----------



## Island (Nov 23, 2013)

*The Grey Man - The Ancestors*
Central Saint Haven​
_Sometime in the recent past?_

?We know almost nothing about our ancestors. We don?t know who they were, what they did, or how they did it. All we really know for sure is that they constructed one of the largest and most advanced civilizations in the history of the known universe, and at some point in their history, they discovered something that they referred to as the Source. Similar to our knowledge of our ancestors, we know next to nothing about the Source and can only speculate as to its nature. Some say that, as its name suggests, it is some kind of near-infinite energy source. Others say that it is the source of all life in the universe. Still others say that it is not a thing but rather a _being_, the creator of this universe, omnipotent and more powerful than anything imaginable. Regardless of what it was, our ancestors were split on what to do with the Source. Some sought to use its power to conquer the known universe. Others wanted to merge with it and become something something? more.? Grey spoke.

?To the former, the latter was committing the ultimate betrayal, and to the latter, the former was committing a heinous crime against the universe. Unable to come to a consensus, the ancestors began fighting, and for the next thousand years, they tore the universe asunder. Only after trillions were dead and their civilization was laid to waste did one finally vanquish the other. Ultimately, those who sought to become one with the Source emerged victorious. However, just before they ascended and moved onto a higher state of being, they destroyed all traces of their former civilization and exiled the defeated, my immediate ancestors, to the far corners of the universe. They hoped that nobody would ever gain access to the technology and weapons they would have otherwise left behind and instead restored the worlds they once inhabited to their natural states. Only then did they move on? leaving nothing left.? He continued.

Grey stood atop a huge building overlooking Central Saint Haven and stared out onto the cityscape. He looked down at the people traversing the streets, observing their every movement.

?Or so we thought.? He stated. ?When you returned to the material world, you shared with us knowledge of the ancestors that we thought were lost forever. Indeed, they did not destroy everything. They had hoped that some lesser civilization would one day rise to greatness and discover what they left behind. They wanted to share with that civilization everything they had learned and to show them how they may prosper as an interstellar entity. More importantly, however, they wanted to warn this future civilization about the dangers of the Source, how it divided them, and how they fought a thousand-year war over what to do with it. Maybe, they thought, if other civilizations knew, they could prevent the mass-destruction of their own and come to a more peaceful solution as to what they would do when met with the decision that ultimately tore them apart.?

Grey then turned his attention to the sky.

?You promised us access to those archives, the vast databases that slept, waiting for somebody to access them,? it spoke as if speaking to somebody in particular, ?We wanted to use the knowledge locked within those archives to build something even greater than what our ancestors had. We wanted to combine our ancestor?s knowledge with the power of the Source to build something that would dwarf anything previously built and re-establish us as the most powerful force in the universe??

He sighed.

?But you betrayed us.? His voice grew harsher with each passing word. ?You took our hospitability and everything we did for you and spit in our faces. You not only broke your promise, but you also turned our kindness against us. You destroyed what little we had left and fled our burning facility, thinking that you can just take what you wanted and go. You thought it would be that easy?! You thought you could just deceive us and _not_ suffer the consequences?! You were wrong. No matter where you go, and no matter what you do, I will follow, and I will know. I will pursue you to the ends of the universe, and I will not rest until you are groveling at my feet. You _will_ take us to our ancestor?s archives, and then you _will_ give us access to the source??

?Then,? he began laughing, ?Only after we have destroyed everything you know and love, desecrated everything you held dear, will we use the power that you hid from us to destroy you. You will only know the sweet touch of death once you have begged for it, _pleaded_ for it??

?I _will _find you!? He shouted out to the world.


----------



## Island (Nov 23, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Monsters versus Aliens*
East Saint Haven​
After observing the creature for a couple minutes, the extraterrestrial concluded that he could match it in raw physical strength and was probably more accurate and more intelligent than it could ever hope to become. However, it looked especially durable, which would make this fight difficult unless the two super villains found some weakspot to exploit for _maximum_ damage.

?It?s two against one,? Grey stated aloud, ?We are also faster and smarter than it, so if we coordinate our attacks, we should be able to bring this thing down. I suspect that your feeble human body is not nearly as durable as mine, so I suggest that you follow my lead and provide support.?

With that, the Grey Man cracked his knuckles and slowly stepped forward for a direct confrontation with the creature. 

If it charged, he would match it blow for blow, and if it transformed its arm into some kind of web of tendrils or any other kind of abnormality, then he would rip those tendrils or whatever else apart with his bare hands. Then, of course, if it captured him, the real fun would begin, because Grey, being the intellectual that he is, would never come into battle without having some kind of contingency plan. The way he saw it, Grey could provide a distraction for his ally, and so long as the creature focused on him and not her, he could soak up whatever damage it could do while she provided much needed cover fire. Alternatively, if it decided to ignore Grey, the extraterrestrial would rip the creature apart with its bare hands and not stop until it was a black mess on the pavement.

Of course, he recognized that the two also didn?t have to _win_ this battle, just survive, so if the creature had some kind of hidden power, they could switch into survival mode.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 23, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
Saint Haven

____________​
The team attacked at once upon the opening Kira granted, eager not to let go of the opportunity granted to them. James brought his muffler back, then lunged forward again, shooting it like a blade at Alex in a blur of silver. Gadian darted after it, bearing his sharpened claws as he advanced. Maria slipped under and out of Alex's hold, her petite frame allowing her to move quickly and fluidly, then jumped up, bringing her blade down in a hail of burning blood. The next few moments happened in a flash of red and light blue, the events barely registering to them as they happened.

A single instance, and James' scarf was sliced to ribbons, while Gadian was on the floor, the blood from Maria's attack splattered across the ground around him, steam and smoke rising from the heat of the attack. "*Training over.*" Alex sheathed his weapons, clapping his hands as the scene faded back into a bright flash of white. The glow receded quicker this time, taking only a few seconds for the white film to melt into the scenery of the familiar steel walled training room. 

"You performed excellently." He nodded in approval. 

James frowned. "We did?" He asked, staring down at his ruined scarf. "But we got owned, didn't we?"

Alexander placed his two weapons at his side, then looked at the demi-god. "Quite. But your goal wasn't to defeat me. It was to simply _survive_, and you accomplished that.Your teamwork exceeded my expectations, and your individual abilities are adequate for the moment. But above all, you showed loyalty to your team-mates. As a unit, your lives are tied together now. Accomplishing a mission is important, but it should never come at the risk of a friend's life." 

His voice was neutral, but his expression softened slightly as he spoke, the lighting of the room highlighting the sadness in his face as he looked at the team gathered before him. It was almost like old times; reminiscent of the first training simulation they did with Lt. Justice back in Neptune City. The thought filled Alex with a sense of nostalgia and pain, but for now, he ignored it, shaking his head. "In any case, you should all get some rest now. I'm sure you're all tired now." With a wave and a turn, Alex exited from the training room, leaving the team to their own thoughts and devices.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 23, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
Saint Haven/Neptune City

____________​
Lieutenant Justice lived up to his name, Alex had bitterly thought, as another one of his attacks was effortlessly parried by the large man. Nothing he tried seemed to work, and even his precognition failed, as his body was seemingly unable to keep up with the veteran's effortlessly efficient counters. One by one, the hero quickly dismantled the entire team, his movements flawless and precise. 

None of them could touch him. 


____________​
The situation back then was similar to the one he had just given the team, albeit with slight modifications. A survival task against a superior foe, then the crossroads of a different choice. 

He'd changed a lot since then. Back in Neptune City, when he had first joined, he wasn't aware of the value of teamwork or friendship. In hindsight, this is what had made Masaru superior to him as a leader. He was no less intelligent or capable than Alex, but was able to look at the bigger picture and operate as a whole unit rather than move as a single soldier on a battlefield like Alex. He had always assumed that everybody else was useless and a liability, whereas Masaru played to everybody's key strengths and abilities, incorporating them into his strategies. 

It'd been a while since the explosion at Neptune City. Five years, to be precise. Yet, in those five years, Alex had never gotten over what had happened. Baylee, Masaru, Kevin - three of the only people he had ever considered friends - were all dead. Riley had disappeared, while Ryan drowned in indulgence. Lillian's powers were starting to take their toll on her too, and he could see that. Her hair was slowly turning white, when years ago, it had been blonde. Meanwhile, Aiden had become more machine than man.

And then there was Megan, but Alex refused to let memories of her enter his head. It deeply saddened Alex to think that this was the remains of the Old Guard.

Looking at the team filled Alex with a sense of nostalgia. Of the days back in Neptune City. It was, by no means, an easy time, but they were some of the happiest times in his life. Alex enjoyed serving as a national hero - it was what he had been brought up to do - but what was the point of all this glory if he had nobody to share it with? At the very least, this team seemed to be more friendly with each other than his had been five years ago, but how long would it be until something tore _them_ apart too?


----------



## kluang (Nov 23, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

"That was tiring." and she pick up her guns and place them back in their holster. "I need a way to hold more then two gun simultaneously." She waves at the team and left the training room and walks towards the dorm. "I need a shower."


----------



## Island (Nov 24, 2013)

*The First Superhero*
Arlington National Cemetery​
_Five years ago…_

_“John Jamison Allard, 1958-2008,”_ the inscription read, _“Better known as Lt. Justice, the first superhero.”_

A crowd of friends, family, and miscellaneous associates of the late John Allard gathered around a small tombstone in dedication of his him and his life. At the very front was a small wooden podium for speakers to address the crowd and remember the deceased hero. First spoke a pastor who praised John for his religiosity and then spoke a government official that praised him for his service to his country, and then came a man nobody expected, somebody who, although he was a close friend to the deceased, would not normally be seen at these kinds of events…

“Throughout his career, John Allard, better known as Lt. Justice, overcame many challenges and defeated many foes, from Anarchy to Havoc to Red Menace. More importantly, however, he brought together a global community of heroes and established, for the first time in history, an alliance of heroes that, for the first time, transcended borders and worked for the good of not any one nation or power bloc, but rather, for the betterment of humanity. From Miss Maple to Rule Britannia to Arabian Knight to Red Dragon, John established a network of friendships that paved the way for this international organization of superheroes in a world increasingly wrought by evil masterminds and miscellaneous super villains who would stop at nothing to shatter the stability of this world and bring the collective world governments to their knees.”

The speaker paused, “After ten years in retirement, Lt. Justice returned to nurture and raise the next generation of heroes. Through hard work and determination, he helped establish a team that would ultimately sacrifice themselves in an attempt to prevent the disaster that destroyed Neptune City. When everybody else ran away in fear, he stayed to fight. He stood strong in the face of adversity, refusing to yield no matter what. He fought bravely until the very end, and, well…”

 “That man, John Jamison Allard…” He faltered, “You know what? _Fuck this speech_. John Allard…”

“Was the baddest friend I ever had the pleasure to meet in my whole damn life.” Leroy suddenly changed tones, slamming his fists in frustration into the podium.

“John Allard gave every god damn thing he had,” Leroy went on, “When the world needed a hero, he gave them a fucking hero and a damn good one at that. When the fucking world asked for more, he gave them fucking more. Even when that friend ran out of shit to give, he kept on fucking giving because that’s the kind of god damn person he was. If any of ya’ll can’t respect that, then get the fuck out of here, because to me, that’s the most commendable shit I can imagine.”


----------



## Chronos (Nov 24, 2013)

_Merkava_
Curse of The Black Beats












​
Within the glint of a second it seemed the battle against the girl had turned, his instinct gave it a sense of danger approaching, something which told it to be wary, before long his tendril had made contact, witnessing the girl become rubble before him, he directed his attack towards the man before him, not long was his path barged when sounds of a metal being ruggedly held, soon thrown at it. Merkava, simply leaped and witnessed a piece of a car had just been thrown, forming it's hands to wings, it's glaring eyes mode their way towards the side. The girl seemed to be alive still. Which caused his instinct to boil under the raw emotion, gliding among the sky he witnessed the girl know as Goose Girl throw yet another weighty object at it with only the aid of her whip. A flap of its wings and he rocketed towards her, the items being yet another small vehicle part, one that was soon sliced into two pieces by the very wings that kept it afloat. Wasn't long until a swung of her arm followed, the whip coiling around a stop sign that had been torn in Merkava's initial attack, stomping, he towered above the child, opening it's jaws readying to devour her.

To soon be met with a powerful blunt object in his face, sending him hurling towards the building beyond the three, impacting the concrete walls and causing dust and rubble to veil the impact zone. Soon a flash, a silhouette emerged, with unknown object at mouth it closed the gap between the it and this time, he gunned for the Goose Man, a swing of the object and ultimately a miss, it quickly retaliated and made it's way father. Opening the gap once again. Leaping with utter strength and flair, the night made out the gleaming particles on it's flesh as it's anger was eminent at this point. Merkava had morphed once more this time, veiled in black with intricate marking covering it's... fur. Embellished tendrils floating along it's neck, this now symbolizing the energy hold. 



A panther had replaced the creature they were once battling against. Swift on it's feet, it's powerful jaws gripping the sign in it's teeth, the glare in it's eyes still as menacing as before. The aura of hunger coiled within it's artificial Soul.

_-Adapting-_


----------



## Bringer (Nov 24, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Training Session Over_

She knew he was bluffing, why couldn't Rinoa see that? Even James had his doubts, but in the end he went for it. It didn't take much to know Alex was bluffing, the team had to look at the circumstances. Though maybe she was being to hard, they didn't know Alex the same she did. But then she wondered, did she even know her teacher? He trained her, and they've bonded, but even so, maybe that bond was one sided. Kimberly saw Alex as family, but did he feel the same way?

Regardless, she had something she's been meaning to ask Alex about. She followed him out of the room, lightly jogging after him. But that's when she felt it, his feelings. She wasn't even trying to sense anything. It was just radiating from him, what was he thinking about. No, she wouldn't dare invade his privacy. Not out of fear, but out of respect. She finally caught up.

"Alex wait up!"

She placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"I have a question about the other mentor... Lillian. Something seems off... I sensed she had two personalities. Is it really wise to let someone with a mental disorder aid the team?"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 24, 2013)

*Steven Stone*​Headquarters, Mafia Hideout

____________​
A silver haired man sat alone in a dimly illuminated room, in the highest floor in a large building overlooking the city of Saint Haven. The footage of the assassination attempt played out in front of him on the screen, the man carefully taking in every detail, analyzing each move made on the display with stone cold eyes. A delicate hand reached out, carefully clasping around a glass of wine from underneath, as the dark liquid danced in his eyes. He'd watched the video numerous times now, imprinting it into his mind. 

"Not bad, are they?" The other man, Stone's partner asked. 

Steven smiled. "They're not bad. Their teamwork seems to be good, and there's a wide range of powers in this little ragtag bunch of misfits the lovely mayor has assembled. I'm particularly interested in James, Kira, Mike. The former two seem to be the more powerful members of the team, and the other boy seems to be at odds with the rest of them, if his lack of participation is anything to go by. Perhaps we can sway him, somewhat. When the time comes." Moving his hand, the scene switched to a picture of Martin and Kimberly. "Keep an eye on these two, as well. They don't seem very powerful, but are potentially one of the deadlier members if their abilities are used correctly." 

"There's one other thing as well. There's a whole boatload of crap we've got to deal with in Saint Haven if my contacts are correct." The voice spoke, not bothering to hide it's irritation. "There seems to be a group outside of the little team Higgins assembled which is also causing us trouble. Caused a huge fuss quite recently and took out one of your guys, before escaping. Tracked 'em down to an abandoned chateau and detected some pretty high energy readings."

"I'm well aware of them." Steven affirmed with a gentle nod. "A certain Temple Lea Soriente was looking for someone among our ranks to heal his illness. I'm not sure what's occurring at the chateau right now, but based on the signs of conflict, it could be he's been taken conflict. In which case, I can just as easily attempt to extract him from there. He's a very valuable person."

"Sure." The voice replied curtly, and Steven got the impression that the person just gave a shrug.

"In any case," Steven continued, "I will have my men deal with the outside threats and retrieve Mr. Sorienete while you handle the team. We're preparing to dig a mole into the team right now, so that should aid you in your endeavours. He's an extraterrestrial being, posing as The Incredible Goose Man while the real one has been dispatched to China for an indefinite period of time. He's an interesting being, but I suggest you keep your guard up around him."

"_Obviously._" The voice came back. "Anyway, if that's all, I'll be taking my leave." Abruptly, the call disconnected itself, leaving Steven alone in the office once more.

Reaching into his drawer, the man produced several nine files, labeled in order: Alexander Fortis, Lillian Masters, Aiden Adams, Baylee Allard, Riley Roth and Ryan Williams, Masaru Zimmerman, Kevin Terrez and Megan Lothwell, their pictures and sheets sliding out of envelope as he placed them on the desk. Alexander, Lillian and Aiden had been recruited by the mayor to serve as mentors for the team, which was somewhat worrying for Steven. All three were individually very capable, but the assassin had a spy network already present in the city while Aiden could surely dig up data, if he knew where to look. Alex was the only one whose information gathering skills didn't worry Steven, but his combat skills, on the other hand...

Steven narrowed his eyes. Measures would need to be taken to avoid getting him in the important places or in the thick of the action. He was far too dangerous, even alone. If he was with the team - especially with his military experience and leadership abilities - then the mafia would be faced with a truly genuine threat to it's previously uncontested power in the city.

He moved his eyes to the other files. Baylee was almost certainly dead, but even so, Stone had heard some worrying rumours recently. Steven wasn't one for gossip or myths, but it was still worth paying attention to them. Especially when they involved someone as powerful and dangerous as _her_. If _she_ entered the field as well, then things would truly get chaotic. Riley and Ryan were of no threat. Based on what he had seen, Riley had long since left the country, and Ryan had severed all ties to the team. He was still in the city, but it was unlikely he would heed the call. He would also be quite easy to take advantage of, Steven noted, noting that his files mentioned a low level of intelligence.

As for Masaru, Kevin and Megan, Steven finally allowed himself to smile. They were definitely not an issue. The former two were caught right in the epicentre of the Neptune City explosion that happened five years ago - the chances of survival were literally nil. Megan, on the other hand, had fallen into a deep coma even before the team's final mission in Neptune City, having exhausted her powers to the point of her mind just breaking. Even so. Three out of the original nine. Steven certainly had his work cut out for him.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 24, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
Saint Haven

____________​
Alexander looked at Kimberly, turning around. Her empathy powers were surprisingly strong, but he wasn't sure if he should be pleased or annoyed about this. At the very least, she seemed to be bringing up pertinent and relevant questions, which showed that she was thinking ahead, but her worry was misplaced. Lillian was, after all, the least of the team's worries. He'd fought with her for the best part of a year and got to know her very well during that time. She wasn't particularly reliable to start off with, and back then, Alex also had doubts as to her allegiance. The assassin was cold and distant, generally keeping to herself at first before she gradually warmed up to the rest of the team. Kimberly's concerns, while understandable, irritated the instructor a bit, but he didn't let that show, carefully concealing and blocking his thoughts of to ward off Kimberly in case she decided to pry into his mind. "Don't worry," Alex reassured, "Lillian is one of the most reliable people I know, and I would trust her with my life. There's nothing you need to worry about with her. I'm well aware of her duality, and it's no cause for concern." He replied calmly, then gave a smile. "Besides, you should worry about yourself more. I avoided using too much strength, but your shoulder is still dislocated. You should go get that checked out before it gets any worse and rest up for tomorrow. I myself have some business I need to take care of, as well."

And then he continued walking, moving past Kimberly and heading deeper down into the corridor.


----------



## Narurider (Nov 24, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru​*
Gadian rubbed his chest tentatively where Alex had kicked him. That guy had one hell of a kick, Gadian was sure he?d have probably have been broken in two from that attack in Alex had been going full force. It stung to touch his now bruised chest and the pain only got worse as the jaguar spirit left his body. He was going to have to be careful that he didn?t let anything touch the bruise or else he?d most likely be in tears from something as simple as a poke. He was still baffled by the fact that Alex said that they?d performed excellently. As James had pointed out, they had gotten completely and utterly mutilated by the combat instructor. Though at least he?d figured out how to use his powers without having to take a temper tantrum.

?Hey kid!? Gadian?s eyes flickered over to the jaguar spirit that had helped him. It was ?sitting? on the floor, licking its paws while staring at him. He wasn?t sure whether or not it was going to berate him for not using its strength more efficiently but then it spoke. ?That was nice work out there. You did well considering you were pitted against an opponent who was way above your level. That was also quite quick thinking on your part to ?grab? me, though it was a little unexpected. I think I might just stick around for a little bit, make sure you don?t get yourself killed.?

?Wait a minute, are you saying you want to stay with me?? Gadian couldn?t help but find this strange. The other shaman he knew never had a spirit stay by their side after the first possession. Granted this spirit was also the first one he knew of that gave the shaman control during a possession. This spirit was obviously a little different from most. ?Are you sure? We don?t even know each other?s names! Do you have a name??

?What, you think just because I?m an animal I can?t have a name?? The jaguar had stopped licking its paws and had started padding its way towards Gadian. Once it had gotten within arm?s reach of the shaman, it shook its paw at him in a fashion similar to an angry old man waving his walking stick at the kids playing on his lawn. ?I?ll have you know that I do have a name. My name is Onca! And as for your name, I was literally part of you during that fight you little brat! I already know your name, Gadian Enjeru! Now I?m sticking by your side whether you like it or not, boy!?

Gadian smiled at Onca. It was clear to him that he was a very old jaguar spirit and he?d already felt that he was a powerful one as well. He would be a very dependable ally, Gadian was certain of that. So the shaman turned on his heel and moved towards the training room?s exit. Then he looked back at Onca and motioned for him to follow. ?Well are you coming or not??


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 24, 2013)

*Kira Fujisawa*
Central Saint Haven

____________​
After the team had disbanded for their various after training activities, Kira had showered, read over a few diaries she'd kept from her first contact with the Professor, and sat in her room, attempting to think of a way to get the team out of their shells, and acting a little bit more like friends than simply teammates, or allies of circumstance.  She tinkered with the automated interface the kitchen was armed with, getting a few pointers from Aiden, and then set up everything she needed.

The result was amazing.

After a few hours of prep mixed with the actual cooking, and even gaining a couple of agents around the base to pitch in, she'd gotten the automated kitchen ware and all her ingredients to work in tandem.  And her ability to blink from the shadow of the stove over to the one cast by the counter allowed her a greater degree of freedom when directing the entire ordeal.  The Dining Hall was laid out with a vast array of food, from finger sandwiches, to roast, different sorts of soups and salads, pastries, carved fruits and vegetables drizzled in honeys, melted chocolates, or dressings in the case of the latter, and much much more.  Cakes, pies, Kira found the intercom, and then made a widespread announcement.  "Attention everyone.  Dinner is now being served in the Dining Hall.  Please report within the next 10 minutes."

Combat was a great team building exercise, but so was getting to know one another over some good food.  A thin dusting of edible debris covered her for her troubles, and her forehead beaded with the beginnings of a thin film of perspiration, but she was proud of it.  Hopefully they'd enjoy it to.  She thanked the agents she'd borrowed for their help, and went off to get clean.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 24, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Heading Out_

Alex's words were somewhat reassuring, though the girl wasn't completely convinced. She was aware Lillian was one of the first superheroes who fought along side the old team in Neptune City. But... it wasn't Lillian she was worried about. It was the other personality. However the green eyed girl decided not to press her teacher on, she could sense that he was irritated, and he tried to hide it, but Kimberly's empathy has grown far stronger. You couldn't just think about something else to hide from her anymore.

After Alex left her, she heeded his advice, and went to the infirmary. She knew this was going to hurt a lot, she has dislocated many body parts. Rather it was from cheer leading accidents from high school, motorcycle accidents, training with Alex. The girl was prone to injury considering she's done risky things without the aid of superpowers. It's not like she could bat her eyelash as a bulldozer hit her. 

The doctors offered her sedatives, but she decided to work without out them. Sedatives were such a drag, because not only would she be asleep for a few hours, but once awoken she's still feel the effects of it. Kimberly would rather feel the pain, than go through that. One thing not many knew about the young adult was that she hated being unproductive. She hated excessive sleep, because it'd shave away the day from her.

So she took the pain.

She left the infirmary ten minutes after entering, her shoulder sore as she applied pressure to it with her hand. Today has been an interesting week. Last minute preparations for the hero project, meeting the heroes, the assassination on her fathers life, the training session. Its been exhausting. So it was normal Kimberly forgot something.

_"I forgot... Kira asked me to do her a favor."_

She remembered that Kira asked her to bring back some groceries, because she was apparently making the team one big meal.

 "Attention everyone. Dinner is now being served in the Dining Hall. Please report within the next 10 minutes."

The girls stomach growled... maybe getting something for on the run wouldn't hurt. She'd make it fast. The girl walked to the mess hall, entering to see the wide array of food. It was like heaven. Varieties of food. She saw Kira.

"You made all of this."

The girl had to look slowly from left to right, just to see all of the food. Soon the aroma filled the whole entire base.

"I'm impressed Kira, I wish I could stick around, but I have that errand to run. If you don't mind, I'll like to take something for on the road."

After getting Kira's approval, Kimberly grabbed something light. After picking up a sandwich, the girl exited the mess hall. So looks like Kira was not only a individual who could manipulate shadows, but a god in the kitchen. She made her way to the secret base exit, and on her way out of the library she saw Mike and Lillian... arguing or something. But as she was going, she saw Mike eye her sandwich, and look back at Lillian, eye her sandwich, and look back at Lillian. She couldn't make out what was being said, but she saw the most disappointed look she's ever seen.

As she exited the library, she took out one of her capsules, dropped it on the ground, and her motorcycle appeared after the puff of smoke cleared. Kimberly quickly ate her sandwich, and then hopped on her vehicle and drove off. The grocery store wasn't far from her. As she was driving, she noticed something, six men surrounding an elderly women.

"Sorry Kira, those groceries will come a little late."

She turned her motorcycle, and drove inside the ally way, before coming to a complete stop. Kimberly got off her motorcycle, as the muggers looked in confusion.

"That's enough, leave her alone."

*"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What da fuck did you say little bitch! Did you hear her boys?"*

*"Yeah I heard her, she thinks she can take us on?"*

*"You know, she's kinda cute, wouldn't mind riding her."*

*"Hey sweetheart, you should ride me instead of that motorcycle. Vroom! Vroom!"*

"Ugh!"

She muttered in disgust. The silky black haired girl got in a fighting stance as the men began surrounding her. Each had a weapon ranging from a baseball bat, to a golf club, and even a metal pipe.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"


----------



## Axelthewanted (Nov 24, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum

Evaluating strengths

Located at the Rockwood residents, in a small guest room with lime-green painted walls, white colored ceiling, a wooden desk in front of him as he sat on a stool chair, having a twin size bed to his back and an open window to his right letting the wind flow into what he now calls his room sealed in with his closed shut and locked. Placed on top of his desk were various objects which he stared and was experimenting with for a while now. He's thought and ideas circled within his head as looked for further advancement in his abilities. He would need to do this if he ever wants to keep everyone safe and with more efficiently. He took a deep breath and started to determine his capabilities. 

"Ok let's start over."

With no effort he levitated the various objects up in the air simultaneously and observed them noting the difference between himself then to now. He used to hardly even bend spoon with his most tenacious efforts and now he's picking up bricks and many other items at the same time with ease. Talk about a big breakthrough, but that's not all. He at first thought he could only move solid objects but lately he has discovered that his TK abilities where not bounded to this. His mind was literally over matter. Laying on his desk was a cup of water. With only slight focus he was able to levitate the liquid as well and manipulate its movements just as he could with any other object. He circled around until  creating a ring of water. He recalled a time back in gym class after running a 1 mile circuit. He was thirsty and tired, so he desired a cup of water though he did not speak it he was able to tell his friend to bring him water. Lucky for him his buddy didn't noticed the difference of his voice and thought that he had spoken to him. Then came the ability of sensing emotions. This came to surprised to him when walking by his school and walked across a very well known couple. They had been together for three years now and there love and affection towards each other hadn't ceased at all sense. He sensed, he felt, he knew what they were experiencing has he went by, nothing he had ever felt before. Their love for each other were at complete equal yet growing greater. It was no longer why is it that those hands have always themselves together. 

Soon he was interrupted by the sound of knocking on his door room, where then heard the energetic familiar voice of a girl call out for him.

"Yo Axel, we rented some movies to watch together in the living room."

"Ok, give me a sec Natalie to clean up my room."

He quickly let everything fall gently on his desk and the spinning water ring turned into a thin stream the coursed its way back into the cup. He then spent the day with his cousin waiting till his time to get to cape mode. 

===========================================================================

Later that day he flew around the city. Well not flying more like floating no... Levitating. The city at night was real beauty in the night, looking as if stars of many different color were beneath him. Signs sponsoring market products and neon letter were the only thing that made it look like a city. As he descended closer to the  streets his attention was taken by hostile conversation on a nearby  alley way. As he grew closer to it he saw a parked motorcycle on the side way which was the source of the voices. Unable to ignore it he went to the opposite side of the vehicle, flying in and saw a young woman with long black hair talking towards a gang of men that seem to be molesting an elderly woman. He could irritation emanating from her essence and fear from the elderly. 

"That's enough, leave her alone."

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What da fuck did you say little bitch! Did you hear her boys?"

"Yeah I heard her, she thinks she can take us on?"

"You know, she's kinda cute, wouldn't mind riding her."

"Hey sweetheart, you should ride me instead of that motorcycle. Vroom! Vroom!"

"Ugh!"

Due to the situation he could tell what was going on. He flew behind the men and then with a single thought he mentally lift the men and through them against the alley wall, using his hand as guide as he moved them, keeping them stuck against it and unable to escape. 

"Didn't anyone taught you not to harass or molest women." 

He said lightly and looked over the others beside him while keeping his hand pointing at the men. 

"Are you two alright?"
​


----------



## KizaruTachio (Nov 24, 2013)

Brad Stroker- Sending a Message 
​
We arrive to see a high scale Italian restaurant in a part of West St. Haven called Amici Nero. It's frequented by many of the mafioso in the city. Luckily our hero....well hero isn't the right word, our person of great interest is looking for a certain man in just that area of work. We arrive to see him in the shadows in an alley across the street looking at the customers going in.

"Falcoon Madesi, the nephew of Ravioli Madesi. Today's the day I make myself known." He quietly slinks back into the shadows.

Falcoon and several of his enforcers gather him in a large circular booth in the back of the restaurant."Things are going great Fal, we managed to get a shipment of the material from Neptune City that gives people powers. If we start giving some of the officers in our division that stuff your uncle will probably give ya betta position." Falcoon scoffed he was a big man with slick black hair and a clean shave. He had a surprisingly young looking face for being as stocky as he was. "As nice as it is to hear that I affta admit I hate this science crap. I mean back in da day we used ta break heads with lead beams not laser ones I don't know the times a changing I guess. He sipped his wine and silently but it back down on the table.

"Hey ehh waita why does it take 20 minutes to get a loaf a fuckin' bread ? Let me find out what's keepin ya so long !" The waiter comes out of the kitchen with a sickly look on his face wheeling out a meal cart with a silver lid and plate. "If that bread ain't hot I'm gonna shove it down ya pencil neck throat. The waiter sweat prefusly clenching his eyes and he revealed what was under the lid.

It was a blond woman's decapitated head, with "you're next" scratched into his forhead. "THAT'S MY GODDAMN WIFE !" Falcoon exclaimed. The group of mean pulled out there hand guns and unloaded on the waiter, Falcoon continued until he ran out of bullets.

"Ahh Falcoon don't be to sad I saved you some trouble. You'll never guess what I found her doing with your pool boy, it's a shame your daughter will have to grow up without a Mom...or a Dad." 

A figure walks out of the kitchen matching the direction of the voice. He was adorned in a black clock and purple mask. He was about 5.11' This person was our "person of interest." He was Brad Stroker, Shadow Mask.

"You freak you did anything to my fucking kid I swear I'-" "Falcoon you hard of hearing ? I said she's gonna grow up an orphan, you can't grown up if your dead. I left her alone. To wallow in the pain of true loneliness like your  family did me. She's gonna have a pretty fucked childhood thanks to your family's actions. Good Job."  Falcoon scowled "Boys take care of him."


Brad pulled kitchen knives from his cloak and threw them at his men before they could draw their guns. He managed to get them all inbetween their eyes. Falcoon the only one that Brad didn't hit, he buckled down and Tackled Brad. But Falcoon realized he could only move him a few inches. "I should be able to trample you scrawny ass !" Brad grabbed Falcoon by the sides and threw out of the glass into the street. He pulled a Knife from out of one of the enforcers heads and calmly walked out of into the street. Falcoon was able to stand up as he held his broken ribs. He pulled out a pocket knife and pointed it toward Brad.

"Don't come near me ! You kill me you'll have one of Saint Haven's biggest families at your head ! You won't last a week !" Brad quietly laughed "That's what I'm hoping for." Brad swung the knife at Falcoon's neck. 

I bet his blood isn't even worth drinking Brad thought to himself as he looked down at the mafioso's body bleeding out on the side of the street. "Let it be known people of Saint Haven ! I am declaring war on the Madesis ! After I kill each and everyone of them I plan on taking this shithole of a city over. If you plan on taking me out I suggest doing it now." He waited for a response. "No takers ? Good ! Well I'm sure you'll be hearing about me again very VERY soon ! HAHAHAHAHA" He let out a maniacal laugh as he ran back into the shadows.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 24, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 3 - The Emergence - 6th Part_

"Mister," Bach turned around to the blond, her voice not denoting a single pinch of emotion. "your reasoning is agreeable. I must say my task has made me careless." And then she turned to Aeon. "You are also very incongruent, Mr. Aeon. It is impossible that someone can be a knight without a King to name them. It should be on everyone's database." Wait, these men had database? Or was it brains? But, what was the difference? They both stored information for later use and, through a stimuli, the information was obtained and released. Then, that mean...An android was a human as well?

__________________________________________________________________________

*Aiden Adams*

"Don't just stand there, Aiden! Do something!"

"You're just like Princess Bubblegum!"

"He's becoming a burden to us."

"Are you sure we can't take him out?"

"No wonder you don't talk."

"Aiden! AIDEN!"

Aiden woke up in the dim light of his monitors, protecting him from the darkness of the room. He had fallen asleep, and had heard the voices of his former teammates. His glasses had fallen, and now he was blankly looking at the screens, one of them occupied by Pear, who was also sleeping soundly. She had always took him as an example, and the only one who had always rooted for him. Well, her and...Masaru. He was probably what made the team stay together for so long, and when he died, the team just deteriorated, until, one by one, they parted ways. Aiden was the first to leave, but his presence was not missed.

Before turning 17, he graduated from high school, ace-ing Junior and Senior year in months. Part of his motivation was to prove that he wasn't a burden, yet in what was left of his school life, Aiden didn't attend to classes once.

College was a different matter. He got a scholarship at Saint Haven University. Everybody knew he was studying there, yet nobody ever saw him. After all, Aiden was a master of avoiding people. So it was a shock when he finally appeared on graduation day, earning with honours the degrees in Technology and Physics. Unfortunately for him, that day the agents were waiting for him, and they made him an offer similar to the one he was made five years ago, one he wasn't able to reject: to help the government with the superhero matter, or be targeted as a national enemy for life.

"Maybe if I stay here...Forever...", he muttered, resting his chin on his knees and embracing his ligs with his arms, assuming a fetal position in the chair. "I won't be a burden..."

*Agent ~ Luke Walters*​
An explosion? What. In. Actual. Hell? Why there would be an explosion in a _library_? It was just so weird, but not as weird as what happened next. The black baldy practically crushed my shoulder blade and threw me to the other side of the room, and my back crashed on the bookshelves, throwing books here and there. Thank God the shelf didn't got knocked over, or that would have been the end of my story. However, my new position was closer to the back entrance. I cursed myself for not bringing my beanie to hide my extravagant hair. Why, oh, why did I decide to dye my hair reddish black? Oh well, not much use crying over spilled milk. I just tightened the grip on my Energy Disk and ran to the backdoor. But another hand trapped my shoulder, the one that hurted like hell.

And it was the same black hand.

After that, my head hit the floor, and everything became blurry, until it became absolute darkness.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 24, 2013)

*Leroy Steel*
Interrogation Room, Team Hideout

______________​

Leroy was a bit of an old fashioned man, preferring simple, classic set ups as opposed to the fancy stuff of the modern age. The interrogation room was one of his favourite places. Here, he could inflict physical harm upon people for just for his own amusement, but for a greater purpose as well. And nobody could complain about it, as Leroy always got the job done. Such was the bliss of his job. It was little moments like these that made life worth living, Leroy had always thought.

The layout of the room was fairly simple. Little space for movement or escape, with a single window faced behind the prisoner in case he tried anything funny. A desk separated the dark skinned man from Luke, the latter tied down to a steel chair with cuffs, a bright filament lamp glaring into his eyes. "*Alright, son.*" Leroy finally spoke, placing a fist on the table. "*I'll cut straight to the chase. You're going to tell me what I want to know. At the end of the day, it's just a matter of how much you want it to hurt. Either way, I don't mind. In fact, I might prefer it if you refused to answer the question. Whereas for you, it's probably not in your best interest.*" Leroy paused, giving his threat a moment to sink into the boy. Never let it be said charity and benevolence was absent from his character. "*Now, first things first. Who the fuck are you, and what the hell were you doin' lurking around here?*" He _did_ say he was going to cut straight to the chase, after all. Leroy was an honest man.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 24, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Damsel Not In Distress_

She was about to give them hell, and not with her words. She was far too classy to settle things with words. Kimberly was a woman of action, and although she seemed sweet she could be cruel and cold. That was something she learned from Alex. Words do nothing, actions speak. 

She waited for them to strike, so she could unleash her fury.

Nothing came, to her surprise all the men got sent flying into a brick wall. The girl was puzzled, how did this happen? The answer came to her, dressed in a costume. 

"I'm alright, thank you."

She calmed her self down.

"If anything, I think you saved them more than you saved me."

Suddenly, both Kimberly and the mysterious hero both got pulled into a hug by the elderly women. Her grip surprisingly strong. 

"I could say the same!"

The elderly women transformed, both Kimberly and her new acquaintance being released as the elderly women's hands shrunk back into her body until they were no more. She grew taller and taller, as her skin color changed. Her hair vanished as well, and the women appeared to become a giant snake.

"*Hisssss*"


----------



## Bringer (Nov 24, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_The Second Wager_


The brown eyed boy stood before the interrogation room door. He stretched a bit, before getting ready to bust in.

*Flashback*

"So let me get this straight, if I free that... guy who Leroy took in for interrogation, I get to eat some of that food Kira made!"

Mike watched as Lillian nodded. How did things get like this? He had to answer to her now, which was so fucking shitty. He rather have to answer to a fucking old lady who could transform into a snake than Lillian. But due to their previous wager, he now had to do whatever she said. In short, he was her bitch. Technically speaking she didn't even need to offer Mike food, she could've just asked. Though this definitely gave the jet black haired boy some incentive to actually try.

*Back To Reality*

Mike charged forward, spiking his strength and tackling the steel door down. He ran inside the room like a mad man, flailing and swinging his arms around.

*"What the fuck!"*

"BEE! THERE IS A FUCKING BEE!"

Mike ran towards the table, and lifted it up into the air. 

"BEE!"

He kicked the table to Leroy, and quickly turned around, spiking his strength once more to karate chop the handcuffs that held Agent bound to the chair in half. Agent was freed, but the cuffs were still attached to one of his hands like a bracelet. 

"BEE!"

He kicked the chair, sending not only it, but Agent flying out of the room. A loud thud could be heard from the hallway.

"BE-!"

Leroy had gotten the jump on Mike before he could finish and make his leave. But he didn't give a darn, any amount of torture was worth it if it means he gets to eat some good ass food after it.


----------



## kluang (Nov 25, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

He arrives at the Radiant Bastion Mercenary headquarter, a large building in the West Saint Haven. He enters the headquarter and head towards Cid's lab and as expect Cid is there. The cyborg notices Squall and approaches him. 

"Squall. Nice scar."

"Not really."

Squall unsheathed his blade and handed it to Cid. "I need it to be better, stronger."

"And why is that?"

"I need power, to protect all that is dear to me." Cid nods and smile at Squall's answer and he took the blade to his lab.

"I'll see what I can do with this."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 25, 2013)

*Leroy Steel*
Interrogation Room, Team Hideout

______________​

Leroy moved quickly, taking a large stride towards Mike as soon as his mind had processed what had gone on. With a single fist, he rapped at the boy's chin with his knuckle, slamming and digging it in to disorientate and shock him. Based on what he knew, the kid's powers were activated by thought. A rattle to the brain would disrupt that. Capitalizing on the opening, he slammed his boot against his knee, before grabbing him in the arm and pulling him into a chokeslam, slamming his head straight through the table and into the ground.

When his head impacted against the floor, he had already blacked out. "*Huh.*" Leroy raised an eyebrow. "*Didn't put up much a fight this time.*" He commented, slightly surprised that he was knocked out so quickly by the attacks. Lililian was probably up to something again. But, deciding not to dwell on it further, he hoisted the boy up onto his shoulder like a ragdoll, carrying him out of the room. "*Masters!*" He roared, his voice echoing through the corridor. "*Get the fuck over here now!*"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 25, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
Neptune City












____________​
The rain everywhere, surrounding Alexander's vision. Rain on the ground, collecting in the crevices of the ground, forming rippling puddles; rain in the sky; on the tip of his blade, meeting the layer of red and dripping off into small petals of blood, washing away into the ponds gathering by the seventeen year old's feet. 

His father lay in front of him, his body cold and lifeless, the blood of the wound in his chest seeping through and staining through his shirt, spreading into the water around him until he was laid in a bed of crimson. Alex stayed silent, the grip around the hilt of his sword loosening until it slipped out of his head, clanging on the ground as it hit. The torrential deluge dripped down his dark hair, down the sides of his face and down his fringe, forming a thin curtain of water behind his dark expression as he stood without motion. "Sorry, dad." He murmured, then everything went black, darkness filling his vision.

____________​
The scene melted away into a familiar white room, people scattered around the halls, not unlike the way a homeless hall might be. Some were unconscious, sleeping under fabric, while others were walked around the facility, wandering around the room and talking to fellow patients. The main hospital of Neptune City had been destroyed, and this refuge had been the result of one of Havoc's experiments on the people of the city. 

A familiar voice called to him. "Hey, Alex." It was Megan. 

Alex turned around to face his friend. Her face was covered in beads of sweat, her complexion turning pale and strained with effort, stained a light gold as she continued healing her next patient. Her brittle appearance worried Alex, but he didn't let it show at the time. All their powers mentally taxed them to some degree, but her and Masaru's abilities were the worst, being the most powerful of the group's. Megan had gotten a lot better at using her restoration ability, but healing so many people at once was clearly pushing her to her limit. Pensively, Alex responded. "Yeah?"

Megan slowly turned around to look at Alex, her hands still hovered above her patient's chest, strands of brown hiding her face before she finally looked up. "Can you tell my parents I'm sorry?" She smiled, a melancholic look etched onto her features, her smile a thin veil hiding that. In hindsight, it was obvious. But Alex was just a fool back then. 

Alex's eyes widened in shock. "What?" He barely managed. He'd known she was exhausted from an entire 48 hours of continuous power usage, but he had no idea it was this bad. Opening his mouth, he tried to speak again, but Megan cut across him with a light laugh and a smack on the back.

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding. I just wanted to see your surprised face. That's all." She gave another smile in an attempt at reassurance, but it looked fragile now, as if the smile could crack and shatter at any moment. Alex wasn't convinced. "I'll be fine, Alex. It's going to take a lot more than this to tire me out." The golden glow on her face dulled, and then she got up, her pale legs shaky from the effort. "Onto the next one, then~" She whistled, starting to walk.

Alex got up. "Megan, wait." He called out. "You can take a rest, you know. There's no need to tire yourself out like this..." His voice trailed off.

The girl removed a strand of hair from her face, tucking it in behind her ear as she looked at Alex. "Do you remember what you said to me on the first day we met? You told me that the reason we were put together in this team is because we had abilities that made us special, and that each of us could contribute to the team in different ways. I nearly gave up that day, but you stopped me. Just like you and the others get yourself beat up as part of your job, it's _my_ job to fix you guys up when you're injured and anybody else who's hurt." She continued moving, heading over to the next patient. A small girl with short looking brown hair, neatly cut, her body carefully placed in a crib-like bed. Her parents noticed Alex and Megan approach, nervously getting up to give them room as they sat down.

"Please..." The mother pleaded, beads of tears forming in her eyes. "We've tried everything we can, but..."

Megan nodded. "It's okay, your daughter will be healed right up." She looked at Alex. "This is my last patient, anyway." A smirk, and then the same familiar golden light. 

But something was wrong this time. The light of restoration seemed dim compared to before, and Megan would keep wincing in pain every once in a while. She tried to hide it from Alex, but she underestimated his eye for detail. Megan _was_ never that good at stealth or being subtle. The glow then stopped and Megan got up, smiling weakly at the couple. "She'll be fine now." She spoke and then grabbed Alex's hand, dragging him off to a distant corner of the hall. Alex blinked, but went along with it, making no effort to resist. Her hand felt cold, though. Delicate and weak, just like before, but now it felt almost like glass, as if it could break with the slightest force. 

After a few minutes of walking, they stopped, in a corridor outside the main hall. "What is it?" Alex asked, confused, a hint of concern seeping into his voice at last. Why did she drag him out here alone? 

"Could you let me do something reaaaaally selfish? It'll be quick, I promise." She smiled somewhat sheepishly, but her eyes betrayed her. There was a sad, melancholic look in her eyes, Alex's face reflecting in pools of watery brown. At the time, Alex should have seen that. No, he _did._ He just didn't want to acknowledge it. 

Alex nodded awkwardly in response, then stumbled backwards slightly, as Megan walked over and gave him a tight hug. Her small arms were surprisingly strong, though the boy didn't try to resist. "I'm sorry for everything. For being so useless to you guys, for being so awkward sometimes. And... I'm sorry for not being there with your dad and failing you when you needed me the most. I'm sure you hate me for that, but..." Her voice was an uneven whisper now, cracking up. "I'm really glad I met you guys. Baylee, Lillian, Kevin, Masaru, Ryan, Riley, Aiden and especially you. But, you know, good times come to an end sometimes. And I'm glad you're here with me right now. Thanks for going along with my last selfish whim and..." The next words were faint, almost inaudible from her gasps. "Bye, Alex." Her arms fell down, lifeless like the limbs of a doll and her eyes closed.

The Italian froze, his own arms propping her body up from simply falling onto the floor. "Shit. Megan? *MEGAN!*" The scene faded away again, this time into white.

____________​
And then Alexander Fortis awoke, his body covered in cold beads of sweat, breath heavy and erratic. "Fuck." He swore quietly.


----------



## Axelthewanted (Nov 25, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum

Damsel not in distress

Sensing the false fear of the old lady turn into a fierce and evil gluttony after feeling her within her arms he was rather confused of how could a person change so quickly and dramatically of emotion and desire like that, but all his doubts were answered as the elderly woman started to morph, noticing her arms as they started to shrink into her body, her hair decayed and disappeared from her head, she grew large, her body turned slim and scaly, her eyes sharpened glowed yellow and her mouth distorted into one much larger containing two huge fangs and a two pointed tongue that hissed at them as it revealed its true form. A snake. A big one too and could talk. It must have been animal instinct that allowed to completely hide her true motion from everyone and also how it changed so fast all of the sudden. Large it was, colored grey that reflected the smooth light of the moon. Quantum responding quickly, trying to keep everyone away from danger he threw the gang men over to the roof in which they failed to land accurately. He without a moment of thought he screamed at them. 

"Leave and don't ever come back!"

The men drench in fear and shock they stood up and ran panicking taking the boy's command.

"S-Sure no problem."


"They're all freaks m-man... all of them."


"Monsters that's what they are!"

They dismissed from the area in no time but the final words troubled the boy. The thought of being consider freak or even monster lead him to doubt himself as to wonder if he would ever be accepted by those he tries to protect bringing him to a slight depression. He then shook it off, this was no time to beat himself up. He directed his sight over to the young woman beside her.

"You should go to. I can take this beast. just call the police I don't think having a talking morphing giant snake lady roaming around the city is a great idea."
​


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 25, 2013)

*James Brooklyn*
Dining Hall, Team Base

________________​
James headed straight over to the dining hall after getting changed into more casual clothes, switching from his suit into a pair of jeans and baseball shirt, switching to a light blue pattern muffler around his neck area. Following the smell of food, and basic directions, the demi-god headed over. 

The smell of the food hit him like a warm wave of nostalgia as he entered the room. The dining hall itself was nowhere near homely looking, but the table and the food felt like a distant memory. The same large table, filled with vast quantities of dishes in a fatherly attempt to compensate for the broken family. More precisely, the same _empty_ table. How long had it been since he'd had a proper meal like this? The last time was when his dad still cooked for him...

Giving a shake of the head, pushing those thoughts out of the way, he moved to a nearby chair and grabbed a bowl of soup, along with some salad and sandwiches. The soup was delicious, but hot, burning his throat slightly as he took a sip. "Ah..." He let out a content sigh. "It's like I'm back home again." James muttered, allowing himself a faint nostalgic smile, watching his distilled reflection in the soup, then looked around the dining hall.

_Crack._

In an instant, James' attention snapped around, turning to face the source of the sound.

But it was just Maria, her face stuffed full with sandwiches as she stared back at the demi-god through her glasses, an awkward moment of silence passing by before she turned a tomato red. "I-it's not like what it looks like!" She shouted instantly, shaking her head rapidly, her hair flailing in a wild mess.

James gave a polite smile and shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."


----------



## Bringer (Nov 25, 2013)

*Riley Roth-Spirit*
_Chapter 1- Ryan Williams_

He was the first person on Riley's list, the first person she would find. It's been a few years since she saw him, and she had no idea what has become of him. If her calculation were correct, he'd be nineteen now. Curiosity filled her mind, if she were a nineteen year old with the mentality of a child, where would she be? 

As she continued walking through the streets of Saint Haven, she began thinking of the old team. The memories left her with a bittersweet feeling. When she was younger, she saw herself as mature and grown, as if she knew what she was doing was right. The raven haired girl thought she knew best, and that she understood the world. Riley regretted every last bit of it, pushing people away should never be the answer.

Ryan was the only one on the team that rooted for Riley, other than Masaru. For some unknown reason that Riley never understood, the idiotic boy had a huge crush on her. He was completely infatuated, and always tried to get her attention. However Riley only responded to that infatuation with hate and ridicule. She wasn't like that anymore, she was a changed person. 

Memories of her and Ryan's date filled her mind, she smiled. The only reason she accepted his offer was to get him to stop bugging her about it. She remembered her exact reply.

"If I let you take me on this date, will you *leave me alone!*"

She mouthed it as she remembered it. Another thing Riley couldn't forget was Ryan's response. The boy had a gleeful look, he yelled a big "YES!" and proceeded to jump up into the air with his fist up in the air punching through the ceiling. It was priceless, but she didn't let that show.

As for the date, it went surprisingly well. She remembered she went to Kevin to ask him for some money. Riley wasn't the type to borrow money, but she didn't want to owe Ryan anything, thus she didn't want Ryan paying for her. The gloomy girl asked Kevin if she could borrow a twenty... and he gave her a twenty alright.

Twenty thousand dollars.

____________________________________________












"Don't worry shortcake, you don't gotta pay me back."

Where does he get all of this money from? Who carries twenty thousand dollars with them? This baffled Riley, and the teen billionaire left before she could even correct him. So what was a fourteen year old boy and thirteen year old girl going to do with twenty thousand dollars? 

First they went to the movies, and watched some lame horror movie. Ryan was more afraid of than Riley was. Ryan was the one jumping into her lap, and throwing the popcorn into the air. After that they went to some food joint. She got pizza, while Ryan got a steak. They then got some desert, Riley getting some chocolate cake, and Ryan getting ice cream. Next was Riley's favorite part of the date.

They went to the mall, one memorable thing that happened was on the way to the mall was both teens encountered a break dancer, with a hat on the ground. People walked by dropping change as he preformed some cool dancing tricks. What happened next... well the break dancer and Ryan got in a dance off. 

The two trying to outperform each other caught some attention, and a few more people watched and dropped even more money into the hat. Riley, not wanting people to recognize her and Ryan decided it'd be best to stop it. She grabbed Ryan by his arm, dropped five thousand dollars, all tightly stacked with a rubber band into the break dancers hat, and dragged Ryan off.

While at the mall, both teens went to various places. They went to the arcade, played some whack-a-mole. Ryan also won Riley a stuffed animal using the claw machine. Then she spent an half an hour playing dance dance revolution. After the arcade, they went into some stores trying on different hats and outfits. Laughing at the comedic combinations they came up with. They even ended up buying most of the stuff they tried on.

Finally the date came to an end, after Ryan ticked off a mall cop. The two got chased around the mall, and found shelter inside a photo booth. The usually gloomy girl hated to admit it, but she was enjoying herself. She decided that she wouldn't open up anymore at this point. Ryan had inserted some money into the photo booth, and multiple pictures were taken. 

The first few shots had Ryan doing simple stuff, like a thumbs up, a big smile, his tongue out. However throughout all of the picture Riley remained emotionless, trying to appear bored, trying to conceal how she felt. The spirited boy noticing this began to make a bunch of funny faces, some of them were hit and miss, while some of them were hilarious.

But again, Riley remained emotionless.

Finally, as the last picture was about to be taken, Ryan had given up hope, and frowned. Riley couldn't hold it in anymore, and giggled. The last photo had a giggling Riley and shocked Ryan.

________________________

"I'll have some coffee please, no sugar."

Riley asked the waitress. While she was thinking about the past, it had began to rain. She took refuge inside of a small diner, sitting down lost in her thoughts. Could she do it, bring the old team back together? Masaru, practically the glue who kept the team together was dead. Kevin, as aggravating as he could be was a good guy. It was a shame both died. And Baylee too...

No, she wouldn't think about them. She had to worry about the living. Ryan, Alex, Lillian, and Aiden. She needed to unify them again. As for Megan... Riley... no the team would find a way to wake her from the coma. They'd find it. Looking at the TV in the diner to distract herself, Riley's jaw dropped.

"Hello, we're here today with Ryan Williams, one of the few survivors of the Neptune City incident five years ago."


----------



## Bringer (Nov 25, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Damsel Not In Distress II_

"That won't be necessary. I can help."

The giant snake, who was previously the old lady they had tried to save swept the end of her long serpent body in a attempt to trip the two heroes. Instinctively Kimberly jumped, dodging the swipe of the serpent. However this freak of nature was persistent, and began swinging it's tail from multiple angles and directions at a quick rate. The silky haired girl began jumping, bobbing, and weaving through all of the attacks, before breaking out into multiple backwards somersaults to get some distance. Quantum also avoided the attacks by his own means.

As Kimberly's somersaults came to an end, in a instant she pulled both of her guns from her holsters, their settings on low. She began pushing the trigger in rapid succession, a purple like laser coming forth each time she pressed the trigger. The snake began avoiding each blast, using it's keen senses. The shot, no matter how accurate, proved hard to land due to the creatures serpent like body. Each laser hit a random spot, the wall, the dumpster, the ground, leaving a small explosion in its place.

"I can't seem to get a shot on it!"

She yelled out to Quantum, as she continued to press the trigger, in an attempt to keep this monster at bay and on the defensive.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 25, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
Saint Haven

____________​
As Alex walked across the corridors of the team base, he recalled his first meeting with Kimberly two years ago. Initially, he didn't want to train her. He didn't want to admit it, as he had nothing but the utmost respect for him, but a part of him still resented the mayor. It was him that sent Megan to heal all those wounded. Him that put Megan in that state. Alex had known it was wrong, and was ashamed of himself for blaming a good man for his _own_, somewhat ironic, lack of foresight but still, he couldn't help it.

Even so, he eventually caved in and accepted. 

Progress had been slow at first. The girl wasn't very skilled, fell for feints and had little aptitude for combat outside of her acrobatics. She wasn't interested in swords, so Alex mainly trained her in martial arts. Specifically, how to throw, pin and lock. An aggressive offensive style didn't seem to suit her. Above all, though, Alex found himself surprised at how naive she was. 

____________​
"Kimberly," Alex sighed, rubbing his forehead, "when you're fighting against an enemy, you can't afford to let your guard down. Not until you're sure they're completely disabled. Everybody's nature is different, and not everybody is as good natured as you. Your opponent will seek to exploit this and you can't take the risk of letting your guard down when they beg forgiveness."

She looked back up at him, seventeen years old back then. Her face was grimy, and was clearly exhausted from the training, bruises trailing her arm. "So, what's your nature then?" Kimberly had asked curiously. 

The Italian frowned, taken off guard by this question then closed his eyes. He thought about everything that had happened within the past few years. The murder of his parents, the death of Baylee, Masaru and Kevin, and then Megan. He opened his eyes again, re-assuming a combat stance. "My nature is a dark, twisted thing." And then he launched a kick.

____________​
Alex smiled, giving his head a little bit of a shake as he head over to the dining hall. That seemed like such a distant memory now. Why was he remembering all of this?


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 25, 2013)

*Lillian Masters*
Central Saint Haven​
Lillian glided from around a corner, and tapped Leroy on his shoulder, the one that didn't have her protege draped about it.  

"Yes, Leroy?"

One little known application of her power (more than likely only known by Alvin) was that it could grant her complete control over her body’s nonverbal and subconscious communication and social cues, even when she was in a somewhat stressful social situation.  Facial expressions, body language, eye movements, fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure, and even control over sweat glands, all of these were within the purview of her ability, making it difficult to gauge her emotional state and truthfulness.  

And while she habitually used this to appear unreadable 99% of the time, in some cases, it paid to capitalize on more creative applications.

"O-oh!  Leroy!" she sputtered, avoiding eye contact as she nervously ran a hand through her grey hair.  "You found Mike..."

*"What the fuck was that just now?  What the fuck is going on here?  Why is this backwards shit eating ape dicking around again?  I thought you had this under some fucking control, Masters!"* he barked at her, the tiny assassin shrinking under the weight of his inquiries with each increase in volume.

She bit her lip, contemplating how exactly to approach it, and then sighed.  "I guess...I'll just have to be honest.  I'd sent for a package for you, Leroy...I know your birthday's coming up.  The courier was under orders not to disclose it to you before I could retrieve it from him."

Her cheeks reddened a bit, and she was shaking a little from how nervous she was getting, and embarrassed.  "I asked Mike to try and retrieve the package as best he could without alerting you...to your birthday surprise.  But we see how that turned out.  I just wanted to do something special for you, is all."  She turned her gaze down, ashamed of how stupid this had turned out.  

And that shame, though not exactly aimed at what Leroy might've thought, was completely sincere.  She was ashamed Mike's approach had gotten her into such a demeaning situation, and but reasoned getting pummeled by the bully of a cyborg would be punishment enough.  For now.


----------



## Island (Nov 25, 2013)

*Baylee Allard - Heroes*
Outside City Hall, Neptune City​
?Baylee!?

?Baylee!?

?Get up, Baylee!?

Somebody kept shouting my name, but I had no idea who. Everything sounded like dull echoes, and no matter how much I concentrated, I simply couldn?t make out what they were saying. When I looked up to see who was yelling, I only saw a blurred silhouette, the outline of some mysterious figure reaching down for me. At some point, what might have been a couple seconds or even minutes later, that person, or maybe somebody else, grabbed me by the arm, lifted to my feet, and began pulling me away. I had no idea where I was or what was going on. Who was this person, and why were they doing this?

Then, suddenly, everything came rushing back.

Havoc.

The bomb.

The team.

Neptune City.

Though I still couldn?t see all that well, I knew that whoever was pulling me along was an ally and wanted to take me away to safety. I wasn?t ready to give up, however. I wouldn?t leave. I still had hope that we could make this work. Even though Havoc countered us at every opportunity, somehow knowing and exploiting all of our weaknesses, I knew that there had to be something we were missing, something that we could use to turn this around. We were the heroes, after all. Heroes never gave up, and heroes never lost. No matter how bad things got, heroes would preserve, and eventually, they would come up with a solution and save the day. At least, that?s how it worked in the comics. No, that?s how it worked with Lt. Justice, with Miss Maple, and everybody else I grew up idolizing.

I suddenly resisted, pulling back and stopping the mysterious figure that pulled me along.

?No, we have to stay!? I shouted, feeling redness in my cheeks and water in my eyes, ?We can?t give up now! We can?t abandon these people!?

?We have no choice!? The person, Alex, tried to be the voice of reason. ?Either we cut our loses now, or we all die, each and every one of us. Kevin and Masaru are already staying behind and are doing what they can, and unless you want their sacrifice to be in vain??

?No!? I insisted. ?No! This is not how that works! This is not what heroes do!?

?Heroes are strong!?

?Heroes _fight_!?

Of course, I was dead wrong, and I knew it.

At that moment, I recalled the words of my father, _?Baylee, being a hero isn?t about rushing into battle and hoping that everything works out. It isn?t about taking unnecessary risks and recklessly endangering yourself or others on the chance that you will come through in the end. It?s about combining your strengths with the opportunity to use them in a way that is beneficial for humanity. In other words, it?s about having the means and  theopportunity, and sometimes, you simply don?t have the opportunity. What made Lt. Justice a hero wasn?t that he rushed into gunfire or that he narrowly escaped explosions. It was that he knew that he could take the heat and resolve those kinds of situations, applying his unique skillset at the right places and the right times.?_

_?Lt. Justice was just a man behind a mask.?_ My father went on. _?His bones broke and his muscles tore the same way they would in any other man. He recognized the weakness of his human condition, and therefore knew his limit...?_

_?Look, Baylee,?_ he concluded, _?What I?m trying to say is that a good hero knows his weaknesses and therefore knows when to stop. There are situations that even Lt. Justice knows are hopeless, that there are things that can?t be won and people that can?t be saved. No hero wants to bear the responsibility of a mother, father, brother, or sister not returning home, but sometimes, that hero needs to cut his or her loses and accept defeat. Again, not even Lt. Justice was invincible??_

Still. I couldn't bring myself to let innocent people die like this. More importantly, I couldn't bring myself to let my friends and family die like this.

What happened when the same man who gave me that speech was the one whose life was at stake? Before, I found it easy to conceptualize the villain as a man in a flowing black cape and his victims as helpless women and children. Now, however, the situation was much more real. My own father, Kevin, Masaru, and hundreds of thousands of other people were in danger, and I had to decide whether my life was worth the risk. I knew I couldn?t do it, and I knew that even as a team, were outclassed in every respect, but wasn?t it worth trying? Wasn?t my life worth risking when weighed against the lives of everybody I knew and loved? 

Against all odds, I had to push forward.

I couldn't give up.

I couldn't quit.

I was a hero. I was Survivalist.

?Alex, you?re right,? I sighed, ?But these people are my family, and this place is my home. If I let Havoc win, he will have destroyed everything that has ever mattered to me. You, you are smart, witty, and you have a lot going for you. You also have somebody who cares about you and loves you very much, but what about me??

?That?s my father and my boyfriend about to die.? I concluded. ?I will die before I let Havoc take them from me.?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 25, 2013)

*Leroy Steel*
Interrogation Room, Team Hideout

______________​

Leroy scrunched the bridge of his nose with a single hand. Morons. He was surrounded by morons. "*You... think I give a shit about my birthday? Do I look like a god damn ten year old to you? Do I? Do you think this is a joke? A motherfucking game?*" The dark skinned man stepped forward, his large frame towering over the comparatively small Lillian. If she didn't know any better, she would have expected him to hit her. But, to her surprise, Leroy just sighed, turning around and dumping Mike's unconscious body in front of Lillian. 

"*Whatever. Just make sure this ass-munch doesn't get in my way again, or I swear to what ever fucking God cursed me with you idiots, I will find you and make you wish your body power bullshit could turn your hearing off well enough to withstand the shouting I'll give you. Get your shit together, Masters.*" And without another word, he left, his footsteps smashing heavily against the floor as he strode down the corridor.


----------



## Fedster (Nov 25, 2013)

*Agent ~ Luke Walters​*
Either this base was an assylum, or I was getting a bit nuts, because what happened next was off the hook. So I was sitting comfortably, with my hands cuffed to the chair. At least I could cross my legs, so no complaints on that department. The complaint was that I had a bulky, angry man before me, yelling as though I've violated the whole Constitution, which I probably did, but that wasn't the point here. The point was that I was about to get suplex'd by this human bear and I couldn't do anything about him.

But _someone_ could do something for _me_.

A jt-black hair guy dashed into the room, yelling that a bee was nearby and he was trying to lured it away. That was pretty stupid in my opinion. The not-stupid thing was that the guy knew about my condition and liberated me from this man in the most unorthodox way. He broke the chain as though it was a tweak and...Kicked me out of the room, literally. Like, chair and everything. However, that didn't mean I didn't seek the chance. As I was separated from the seating device, I ran for my life through the corridor, turning on a corner and stopping there. Where were my things?

_Without_ my shit, I _was_ shit. And if I was shit, that guy would surely kick my ass. I mean, hell, I didn't even have my costume on. "Well," I mutter, "This is awkward."

"T-there are more awkward things.", A corner said. I turned around, and I saw that the corner was a guy in his twenties. Frail, shoulder-length black hair, thick glasses and avoiding eyes. He was slightly bent towards me, as though sharing a secret with me. "I-I know who you are...Luke Walters, otherwise known as Agent."


----------



## Axelthewanted (Nov 25, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum

Damsel not in distress

He evaded swiftly as the tail swinged itself through every corner it could reach by flying through the attack as if were some kind of obstacle course, though to his surprised the woman was overly impressive, scattering through the alley, twirling between swipes and rotating backwards with amazing acrobatic skills. The emotion emanating from her were quite lively. He could sense the courage, confidence and fearlessness from. She was not a new to this kind of combat. If anything it was he that lacked experience compared to her. The flashes of purple beams spread around the area and cunningly reaching the snake's scaly body randomly. Though it was not completely piercing the reptile's hide instead the exploded leaving an electrical shock on the snake's surface. Hearing the voice call out to him he reacted to her aid. Scanning the area for ideas he could see metallic trash cans against the cement walls of the buildings that created this alley, the alley was crooked and had cracks within the granite floor and the surface of the walls. They had to stop this beast before it went out to the street or escape from them. A dark yet metal made object caught caught Quantum's attention. They were metal water pipes that conducted water in and out of the building, maybe using a water supply pipe wasn't a good idea for the city water distribution but it was for good intentions. Using his mind to rip them from the buildings' walls, they started to shower water everywhere. As the woman distracted the giant beast, he turned the pipes into a "U" Shape which, with the lead of his hand going downwards, crashed down upon the snake hide, clenching it against floor, making his in desperation unable to escape, but as it did a factor came up, the pipes were slowly cracking as the monster struggled. He screamed at the young gal. 

"Those won't hold for long! Now's your chance!"
​


----------



## Hidden Nin (Nov 25, 2013)

*Lillian Masters*
Central Saint Haven​
She picked Mike up and wrapped his arms around her neck; she didn't have the mass or frame to just toss him over a shoulder and still be able to move fast.  And this was definitely a situation in which she'd need to move fast.  If this demonstrated one thing, it was that Mike didn't work well in team environments.  At least not yet.  So she was going to need to take steps now, towards reaching a few goals.  First on the list was finding that kid.

Alvin scanned the interrogation room, and she followed his directives to get an idea of where the kid had gone.  And not even a few minutes later, he'd managed to run into someone else.  

"You've _got _to be kidding me."

Luke Walters, or Agent, was face to face with Aiden, and that was certainly the last thing Lillian wanted.  At least, if her blueprints were to be realized.  She took a step towards them, clearing her throat.

"Are you the one who was just in the interrogation room?" she asked, Mike still draped over her shoulders, but beginning to stir a bit.


---------------​
Goose Girl's eyes narrowed, though it wasn't exactly because of the creature adapting.  No, it was due to a thin crowd forming about the outskirts of the skirmish.  Witnesses.  She'd need to be careful with how she used her powers, and exchanged a glance with Grey.  Vocal filter on, time to play the part.

"Well, if you're going to dress up as a kitty, I'll just have to be your lion tamer!"  Goose Girl lashed out with a complex series of attacks in the next second, and watched as the panther weathered itself against the first few, but then narrowed her eyes again, behind the mask.  

After the initial round of strikes which provided little to no openings to strike at her, the beast then began to move in counterpoint to her flurry of strikes.  She even heard a soft voice in the back of her mind, the sound of someone making a verbal note so as to not make a simple mistake.

"Up, down, right, right, down, front, left, right, down, right, up, down, left, left, right, down, left, down.  Right, down, left, up, up, left, right, down, down, up, up, right, left, down, up.  *Back*."

The panther lunged back, coiling itself up for a sudden strike.  She wouldn't have time to move out of the way, and at this rate, she'd react naturally to the strike; dissipate into a watery mass.  The reaction was as natural to her as bleeding.  It wasn't something she had any control over, and the similarity to the hitman from the recent attack on the Mayor would blow the cover of the duo in no time.  

She raised her arms, piecing together the beasts combat skill slowly.  It was...adapting, to her attacks.  Somehow, and that meant consecutive attempts at using certain abilities wouldn't work.  She knew for certain she was quicker, even if her attacks did little to pierce its hide.  Closing her eyes, she prayed, as silly as it was, that this thing wouldn't tear her into a watery mess and expose them.

And to think, her prayer was answered.  By a feathery god.

Narancia opened her eyes, looking up to see that the creature had been stopped just short of pouncing on her, held in place by the Incredible Goose Man, who held its maw a few inches from his sidekick.  He was standing triumphantly in front of her, flexing a little in the midst of it.  Merkava snarled angrily, biting at the hero's fingers to little effect.  Narancia agreed to work with him, but reasoned they were both monsters, just in deceptively indirect skins.  She was stuck in the middle of a melee between titans.  

Goose Man threw the panther towards a nearby building with a mighty swing, and the creature landed on the side of the building on all fours, a crater forming from the impact.  The Goose Man flexed once more, yelling a boastful expression to illustrate his bravado to those who were watching, even if it was one of the most foolish uses of their time given the situation.

"Time for a _true _display of *strength*!"


----------



## Bringer (Nov 25, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Damsel Not In Distress III_

"I'm on it!"

Aiming both of her guns, both carefully aimed at the creature, she pressed the trigger, and held on it. Instead of rapid small laser blasts shooting out, two long continuous beams shot instead. The beams collide with the beast, and purple electricity danced around its body, and then an explosion. A loud groan could be heard, obviously coming from the snake. It seems that the old lady kept her ability to speak even after transforming into the huge serpent.

Suddenly the snake slithered forward at high speeds, it's mouth widened, large enough to swallow both Quantum and Kimberly whole. Kimberly's colleague took to the sky to avoid the beast. As it closed in on Kimberly, it went for the kill, its head driving forward. Kimberly flipped to the side avoiding it. The snake's head retreated backwards, and it brought it forward to strike again, only for Kimberly to avoid with another flip the side. 

This continued, Kimberly constantly avoiding the monster. She ducked, she rolled, she flipped, she dived, it was all adding up. She couldn't avoid it forever. She needed to get out of the alley, and get some height. As the creature once again pulled its head backwards to go for another swift strike to sink its fangs into the green eyed girl, the nineteen year old jumped, her leg colliding with the alley wall, and she applied force. 

This caused her to ricochet to the other side of the wall, and she did it again. The snake tried biting her as soon as she collided with a wall, but she'd simply bounce off of it before it got her, and go to the other wall. Kimberly was literally bouncing wall to wall, gaining altitude, going higher, until she reached the rooftop. Figuring she was safe up here, she pulled out one of her grenades, removed the pin, and chucked it at the creature.

Quantum, to assure the creature didn't avoid the grenade, put up a telekinetic barrier stopping the creature from escaping the blast radius. The explosion caused debris and large amounts of dirt fly up into the air. There was so much dirt in the air, it became hard to see what was going on in the dust cloud. As everything cleared, the snake was gone. However both Kimberly and Quantum could sense it's emotions to see where it went. They could sense it's fear and regret.

They both turned to a sewer, the lid removed. They had almost missed it, but they could see the last of the creatures serpent like body slithering down the sewer.

"Let's go!" 

She jumped down, landing on the small crater that was caused by the grenade with her feet, her landing making a small thud. She ran to the the manhole.

"Are you coming?"

Was the last thing she said, as she jumped down into the sewer system of Saint Haven.


----------



## Island (Nov 25, 2013)

*???*
Saint Haven​
I had always wondered what humans were like. I always dreamed of meeting them, befriending them, and eventually integrating myself into their world. I wanted to learn what it was like to be one, to experience the joys of hello, the heartfelt sorrows of goodbye, and everything in between. From what I knew of their species, they were fantastic and unique creatures. Some were brave and bold, others shy and wary. Still others were adventurous with untamed spirits and unrelenting passion, and in complete contrast, some were callous, reserved, and calculated every step they took. Meanwhile,  some were tall, some were short. Others were slim, and still others were fat. Humans varied physically, mentally, and emotionally, and this variation excited me. No two humans were exactly the same, and there were so many to meet and so many of their creations to see and activities to do.

Only one thing, or rather, one person, prevented me from realizing this dream, and until that person was dealt with, I wouldn?t know peace. Still, I had no idea how to confront that person, what to say, what to do, or how to resolve the issue that he had with me. On one hand, I brought his wrath upon myself by turning my back on him, betraying him, in a sense, but on the other hand, he left me no other choice. What was I supposed to do? Was it better to fulfill my promise and condemn others to death, just so that I may live out my dream, or did I do the right thing by betraying him and getting as far away from him as I was able? Many human cultures held a collectivist attitude and argued that it was the group that was important, but others insisted that the individual was who really mattered. The two perspectives led me to different conclusions, but I was able to find one commonality between the two that justified my decision. According to most cultures, all (human) life was sacred and that to needlessly sacrifice (human) life was the greatest of crimes.

Was I to sell myself to that man so that I may follow my dreams?

According to my brothers and sisters, it would be wrong to deprive anybody of the right to live, and likewise, according to the humans, it would be wrong to make such a selfish decision and let others die as a means to my ends.

That, of course, raised the question of why _he_ wanted to execute this highly convoluted and extremely destructive plan of his.

I had no answer to that question, but I had time to figure it out.

If my time with the humans had taught me something, it was that I could keep putting things off until the very last minute and then scramble for an answer. It was what all the humans were doing, and part of immersing myself in their culture meant adopting these bizarre and seemingly self-destructive tendencies.

?Miss?? The receptionist addressed me.

I completely forgot that I was busy doing something and got distracted by my own thoughts.

_Again_.

?What did you say your name was, miss??

?Stelara Fjara,? I answered, ?But you may call me Stella.?


----------



## Island (Nov 26, 2013)

*The Incredible Goose-Man - Taking Flight!*
Somewhere in China​
The Incredible Goose-Man smashed against the brick wall, shattering it and stumbling backwards into the open space behind it. Then, suddenly, he felt somebody reach for his collar and pull him up with one arm, only to punch him back down with the other. Back on the ground, the Incredible Goose-Man tried to comprehend what was happening around him. One minute, he was letting all those Chinese folks gawk and take photographs of him, and the next, he was being pummeled by an invisible foe. Whoever this was, they certainly didn’t punch very hard, but they moved at speeds that the hero couldn’t possibly comprehend; every movement this opponent made looked like a blur, and every time the half-man, half-goose swung at him, he would be punching an after-image, a shadow of what was no longer there!

*CRUNCH!*

Whoever it was rammed his foot into the Incredible Goose-Man with enough power that he heard something buckle beneath the force.

The Incredible Goose-Man honked in agony, while his mysterious opponent laughed maniacally in sadistic pleasure.

“W-Who are you?!” Goose-Man squawked between breaths. “W-What do you want from me?!”

“What?” The man suddenly stopped  mid-attack, asking in bewilderment. “You didn’t get the e-mail?”

“The e-mail?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, uh.” The Incredible Goose-Man thought about it for a second. “Hold up a minute. Let me check.”

The Incredible Goose-Man slowly rose back to his feet, and his mysterious attacker gave him a helping hand. Then, after brushing himself off, the hero pulled his mobile device from his pocket, unlocked it with the passcode, and began skimming through his e-mails. After a couple moments of nothing, he finally got an update for an e-mail sent to his address approximately three hours ago.

_Click._

He read aloud, “Dear Incredible Goose-Man, if you wish to survive this encounter and return to your nest, you must defeat six villainous foes from your past. Blah, blah, blah. You will be visited by each one, one at a time, blah, blah, blah, at their discretion, time and date may vary, blah, blah, be prepared, or your goose is cooked. Sincerely, your _Arch-Nemesis_, the Indominable Jet-Plane-Man.”

The Incredible Goose-Man glanced up at his opponent, a man clad in heavy steel battle armor and wore both flight googles and two hefty metal wings on his back. Using his powers of _advanced_ deducation, distant cousin of the dreaded _advanced_ math, he concluded that this must be the Indomitable Jet-Plane-Man and that part of his power involved moving at jet speed, hence why he was having so much trouble keeping up with him. Still, there was something that was bothering him.

“Jet-Plane-Man, huh?”

“Yeah?”

“Dude,” the Incredible Goose-Man chuckled, “You are _not_ my arch-nemesis. First off, if I don’t even have an arch-nemesis, and secondly, if I did, he wouldn’t dress like the Tin Man.”

“Well, I… I didn’t really mean…” the villain stumbled on his week as he spoke, “Since I was to be your first opponent, they asked me to write the e-mail, and I figured, y’know, being dramatic and all, and that geese are the most likely birds to be caught in plane engines, it was, well…”

*POOOOOW!*

The Incredible Goose-Man delivered a swift punch to Jet-Plane-Man’s face, shattering his flight googles, and committing the ultimate party fowl… punching a guy mid-sentence!

He let out a hearty bellow as his “nemesis” stumbled backwards and eventually into the pavement,  “Sorry, buddy, but your flight plans are being postponed by the swift fist of justice!”

Unfortunately, the Incredible Goose-Man knocked the guy out cold in one fell blow, so he couldn’t interrogate him for answers. Considering that the Reds would surely be here any moment with the Secret Police, or worse yet, Red Dragon, Goose-Man didn’t want to stick around to be apprehended and brought in for questioning. The communists were notoriously sinister, after all, so it was best to fly off into the sunset and leave Jet-Plane-Man to be picked up by the proper authorities. Still, he wondered what the e-mail meant about “six villainous foes from his past…”


----------



## kluang (Nov 26, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

He enters Cid's weapon lab. Inside hundreds of unique weapon are mounted on the wall, each with different design and motif. 

Cid toss him a katana and he catches it. He looks at it and sighs. "You do know I dont roll with katana." says Squall. Cid began dismantle the gunblade slowly and he start to speak. "A year ago, one of my weapon is missing. You remember?" ask Cid. Squall juggles the katana while pondering at Cid's question and he nods. "Yeah. You were bitching bout it for a week." Cid slowly removes the revolver chamber and he continues. "I know who steal it. An assassin. Look, I want my weapon back."

"Or....?"

"For some reason this process of upgrading will get done slower. Much slower." Squall looks at Cid who continues to put the parts of the gunblade in different trays. "I'm the only one who can upgrade your blade, Squall. Deal?"

He just got blackmail. By his own boss. Damn this cyborg is lazy. Face an assassin all for getting a better item. Squall sighs. Well its not he have anything better to do. Squall spins the katana and throws it back to the wall and he took a mechanical claymore. "What kind of weapon and where?"

"I got a tip. He's after Mr. Rosebud, the sledgemaker. He lives a block away from here."

"That fat dude?"

"Something about breaking someone's snowball. Not important. The weapon the assassin stole is a swordbow."

"Swordbow?"

"Its a sword, but when you twist the hilt, the blade split into two and become the bow's limbs and a string is automatically shoots from one end to another. An engineering marvel."

Squall attaches the claymore on his back and leaves Cid's lab. "Be back in an hour."


----------



## Chronos (Nov 26, 2013)

*Aeon​*With this it seemed one was reluctant, and the other questioned his merits. The stare that resembled the enchantment that was the power of the Kings resonated from his body. Watching, calculating, his flesh brilliant like a soul the moon brilliantly gleaming, as if ushering his movement on a blatant stage. Pulling out of his pocket a shell, taken from Temple after he fainted, he rose it up above his head witnessing it's radiance under the moonlit sky, turning, examining, he spoke:

"I offer thee a better tomorrow. One where thine lungs are fulled by air rather than worms, Knave. Where your blood yearns for life, rather than death." Throwing the item towards Temple, he gripped it once in the air.

"I am sensitive to the soul, you see. The ability, the Kings power, allows my soul to be morphed, my soul trapped in flesh, could equal sentients. And thine's soul yearns, no screams for an escape. I sense death is immanent, the collector of souls himself grip you, the most feared soul had it's scythed at the read, ready to rip thy head clean off." 

Turning, he sits upon his throne once more, witnessing the two, turning to B.A.C.H as he spoke his words once more.

"Lass, no-- B.A.C.H, I request your aid, and I also will gift you with a soul. You're too calculated, I will birth a soul into you. I will make you the first machine with actual life. I will aid you in your mishaps, I wish to carry you to salvation, I will give you purpose."

Closing his eyes, he began to focus on his inner power. The resonating soul was evolving, soon he would become what he wanted. No he would soon follow the purpose in his life. 

"I have no strong feelings... one way or the other. My soul gains power through the will of Kings, I am not human, but a mutant, due the accident years back, I have morphed into not only a beast, but into a King. I don't need robes, I don't need servants, I don't need men and woman to follow me. What I need, it's the King's Crown. A power that was birthed to me, I must rule Saint Haven, so that I can obtain the crown. The gift _'He'_ promised." 

Right. This was but step one....

"Dismissed. I will give you a week. Return once you have decided. I don't wish thou would become my servants, I only wish the three would support the goals of each other, to help access a better future, not for the better of humanity, not for the better of justice, not for the better of evil. But to satisfy our own personal needs. But even so. We aren't able to achieve this on our own whim. Are we to trust those who are ready to pull the trigger, or those who share a common, selfish goal. To achieve worth, to feel alive, to be alive. To be a King."


----------



## KizaruTachio (Nov 27, 2013)

Brad Stroker-Midnight Snack
​

​
It's a cold fall night in St. Haven park. A young woman with Coal black hair and snow white skin was walking alone on a night stroll.  "What a beautiful city I live in." She thought to herself. "Even with all of the super powered battles that happen I'm glad I can enjoy times like this." She sat on a bench and took a long deep breath in.

Soon two men adorned in hoodies came up to her. "Can I help you ?" She said cautiously. One of them smiled and pulled out a gun. "Yeah ! give me all the fucking money and jewelery you got on you before I turn that bench  red !" 

"So of all the people you choose to mug you choose a defenseless woman ? What sort of coward are you ?" The assailant smirked "The kind that's about to put you in your place !" He took the safety off and pointed it at her. "You got 5 seconds till I blow your brains out. One two three four fi-" Before he could finish he saw his friend being thrown over the woman's head out into the street looking like a mummy.

He turned around and a hand grabbed his throat. He looked down to find Shadow Mask adorned in his normal costume. "Finish counting ! Cmon !" Shadow Mask said shaking him. The mans face started to turn red and he started to foam at the mouth. He managed to aim the gun and shoot Shadow Mask in the shoulder. "Argh !" Shadow Man dropped him and the man gasped for air. Shadow Mask let out a animalistic growl and kicked the man a couple feet across the park. The man could barley move as Shadow Mask rage induced kick broke a few of his ribs and he was still without air. Shadow Mask was soon over to the man. "Bullets hurt you know. Of course you don't you're a coward only uses guns on the defenseless." The man turned on his back and took aim but Shadow mask kicked the gun out of his hand breaking the mans wrist. 

Shadow Mask drove his fingers into the man's stomach and his fingers began took suck his blood. As he sucked his wound began to close and the mans body started to appear as if it was turning older. He stopped right before he sucked him completely dry. The man was gasping, barley alive. Shadow Mask nelt down next to him. "Yo I can't hear you a little louder." "p-ple-please kill me"  "Sorry mercy for trash like you isn't possible." He began to lightly kick him. "I wonder how many people begged you for their lives before you took them. Destroying everyone's lives that loved them. You know killing isn't as simply as taking a life, it's a domino effect. Thankfully no one will mourn a shit stain like you."  "That's enough !" The woman that was sitting on the bench now stood up. Shadow Mask turned around to face the woman.

"What ?" The woman stared at him. "That's enough." Shadow Mask Walked up to her. He was barley taller than her so they were about eye level a couple centimeters from each other. "You idiot you should be grateful I didn't let him kill you. And even more grateful I choose to make these trash my dinner instead of you." "What's the difference between you and them ? You're picking the weak all the same aren't you ?" Shadow Mask put his hand around the girls neck. "I could snap you like a twig you mouthy bitch." "That would prove me wrong, right ?" Shadow Mask took his hand off her neck and walked away with his back to her. "Try to stay out of trouble. Just so you know I'm not a hero. I ever see you again I'll kill you." He sped off into the night.

"I look forward to it." She received a call and picked up her cell phone. "Yes father..I just met cousin's assailant. He's weak, an easy target. I'd send the Cannoli Bros. if I were you." "....." "Will do father." She put her phone away and looked up into the night sky. "Shadow Mask, what an interesting person."


----------



## Narurider (Nov 27, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru*​
The moment Gadian heard Kira?s announcement, he dashed to the Dining Hall. Onca laughed at the boy before bounding after the hungry boy. He quickly caught up to the shaman and watched the boy as they ran together. The boy had the biggest smile on his face as he couldn?t contain the happiness he felt at the prospect of a feast. It made him look younger than he was and Onca couldn?t help but feel a little old as his gaze rested on the boy. After living for twenty-five years and floating about as a spirit for another two hundred, Onca couldn?t help but feel ancient as he ran with the fifteen year old. It reminded him of when he was alive and he used to hunt with...it reminded him of when he wasn?t alone. Technically he wasn?t alone now, he now had Gadian as a companion but nevertheless the jaguar had spent the past two hundred years alone. It was a depressing thing to think about but it was true. He wasn?t going to ruin the boy?s happiness by telling him any of this; he wouldn?t feel right telling the boy.

Gadian skidded past the entrance to the Dining Hall and swiftly reversed. He entered the room and was salivating the moment he saw all the food. The shaman didn?t know where to begin. There just so much food, even Gadian couldn?t eat all this much on his own._ Kira made this all by herself?_ As Gadian grabbed a plate and started shovelling large quantities of food onto it, he let a single comment slip, ?I think I might have to marry that girl.?

Suddenly Onca burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter beside him. Gadian stared at him with a look of bewilderment until Onca pointed behind him. There were other people in the room, James and Maria. As Gadian?s face turned red and he hoped they hadn?t heard him, Onca continued to laugh. The shaman tried to pretend that nothing had just been said and walked over to the two; thankfully that they couldn?t see or hear spirits so couldn?t hear Onca?s snide comments, ?That was real smooth there, shaman. Real smooth.?

Gadian planted himself near his teammates, shooting daggers at Onca as the jaguar continued to make comments. The jaguar merely shoot a smile back and the boy shook his head as he sighed wearily. He returned his attention to the others, trying his best to ignore Onca. The boy shovelled some of the food from his plate into his mouth and almost wept it was so delicious. He gazed at James and Maria for a few moments before fixing it on Maria, ?I don?t think we?ve been properly introduced. I?m Gadian, nice to meet you!?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 27, 2013)

*James and Maria* 
Dining Hall, Team Base

______________________​

?I think I might have to marry that girl.? Gadian said, staring at the food on the table in awe, completely oblivious to the presence of James and Maria, then began to rapidly stuff his face in with all the food in sight. James, for his part, tried to stay quiet, resisting the urge to burst out laughing, while Maria turned red. 

Then he finally seemed to notice the two, brushing profusely as he realized that the two most likely heard what he said. Giving a sigh, the boy attempted to pick up his pieces of broken pride and sat down near the demi-god and Maria. ?I don?t think we?ve been properly introduced. I?m Gadian, nice to meet you!? He said.

Maria looked up, startled that the new person suddenly decided to talk to her. "U-um, I'm Maria. I-it's nice to meet you too!" She stuttered, stumbling over her words, before realizing what was going on. In embarrassment, the girl faced down again, digging her face into the plate in front of her. 

The demi-god, for his part, just sighed, facepalming slightly at the awkwardness of the situation. A silence filled the room as the three began to eat, then James decided to break the tension. "So," he finally said, looking at Gadian, "how you holding up? Alex got you pretty bad back there with that kick."


----------



## Axelthewanted (Nov 27, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum

Damsel not in distress












The crimson girl had responded with perfection as two strings of purple colored beam impacted the body of the snake directly, creating a aura of lightning surround it's body just before turning into a powerful explosion that caused a loud scream of agony roar out upon the area. It seemed that the elderly had been able to keep it's humanity even in its transformed state. It then launched itself towards the woman in a killing attempt having its mouth wide open to swallow her whole. Though it was quick attack she was able to evade the attack with no difficulty what so ever. The boy truly amazed by her, it's like she did this every day. He looked up at her as she grew in altitude, in the sky she looked like a fierce owl about to snatch the snake as it's pray. Right at that moment a grenade was thrown at the snake from above. It spun like a ball as it reached its target though this did not the stop the beast from pursuing the woman. It slither its body against the brick wall to get to higher ground and reach the her. Quantum face turned into a frown . He wouldn't accept the beast to claim it's prize nor let it satisfy it hunger. 

"Oh no you don't!"

He raised his arms up towards the snake creating a telekinetic barrier trapping the beast within the blast radius.  Chunks of granite and other debris scatter across the place creating a mist of dust that looked gray colored do to the moonlight around the snake. Moments later the dust cloud started to fade slowly reveling what laid inside it. To the two heroes surprise the snake had vanished from its place though its regret, hunger and frustration had not disappeared with it. They traced the snake through its emotions to a man whole nearby where a glimpse its tail was seen slithering into it trying to escape. The boy then saw the woman running towards the hole calling out to him. 

"Let's go!"

"Are you coming?"

Right after her last sentence she jumped into her sewer having her hair raising up as gravity pulled her down to the hole. He shouted out to her and said.

"Wait up!"

He flew over to the hole and entered floating down softly into the whole. Inside was almost in darkness but could be visible by the vague lighting of the underground sewer light plates, the air reeked of discomposure and rotten trash that made the boy a bit dizzy on its first whiff of it, the color the walls and floor surface was a dark old green that seemed that hasn't been recoated for long while now, having crack here and there and the water was brown of waste that traveled in it. Very disgusting indeed. He would then hover just above the water to keep himself in the center of the hallway they traveled as the woman on the platform path on the side. They kept their guard up, cautious and keeping an out for the monster that now lurked within these sewer. they could sense it nearby after reaching a crossroad.  The look at the three tunnels round them in search of the monster. In the water beside woman he could sworn he saw something moving creating small waves. All of the sudden the monster reveled itself sneaking up on the woman with mouth ready to eat her at once. Quantum used his telepathy to warn her without letting the serpent know of her awareness.

"Beside you! SHOOT!"

She had heard the familiar voice in her head clearly not questioning how he did it she reacted as command, pulling out her gun, moving her arm to the side and placing her arm aiming point blank at the snake's mien and shot her powerful electrical laser, creating a sound of boom in the space around them that echoed within the tunnels, causing to flinch and scream out.

"How did you...!"

 She then jumped back to create distance between them. 

"Bullseye!"

The boy spoke congratulating her. He then place a telekinetic force on the snake head and by moving both arms to the side, the snake's head crashed against the sewer's wall, forming a crater of the same size as its head. The boy smirked and with a cheerful tone he said to the woman.

"Ready for round two?"



​


----------



## Fedster (Nov 27, 2013)

*Aiden Adams/Luke Walters​*
As Luke found himself trapped between two experienced heroes, or at least, more experienced than he was, and the guy who saved him from that horrible, horrible man and was now unconscious, he felt sweat climbing down his face. He was now a trapped animal, weaponless, costumeless, and slighty scared shitless. He could hear his lungs filling up with air and his nostrils expelling it, his calculated heart beat pounding against his chest, his blood flowing through his veins. Being around these Supers, alien to him, unpredictable, made him stay alert.

In Aiden's end of the stick, however, the situation was different. Upon the sight of Lillian, any kind of visual contact was denied. He looked stubbornly at the concrete floor beneath him, not wanting to relive Neptune City's memories. It was a mistake coming here. Just the sight of Alex or Lillian brought him back to five years ago. If only he would have stayed in school instead of darting to save the day, he would be safe in his home. He would've never met Pear, though, and he would've never experienced the world that were feelings.

In his opinion, though, he could have lived happily without them. The only thing he wanted was to guide Luke Walters out of the base. He wanted to convince him that being in a hero team wasn't fun and games, but pain and suffering. But apparently, Lillian had been faster. Everyone had always been faster than him. "L-Luke Walters...", he said, with his usual voice.

The powerless Hero came back to reality as he was called out. "How do you know my name?" It was the only thing that troubled his mind.

"I...K-know how to connect the dots." And, suddenly, he turned around, not even tripping. It was rare of Aiden not to trip. "Stay alert for suspiscious behaviour." And he set off. When he disappeared on a corner, Luke turned to Lillian.

"Who are you, and who was _that_ guy?"" He asked warily. These heroes were weird as hell.


----------



## Bringer (Nov 27, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Saint Haven's Icon_













Ryan sat down in a comfortable red sofa, that faced the talk show hosts chair. On that sofa sitting beside the star, was none other than his best bud Dante, or should he say "Dash". Originally, Dash was a villain who caused the old team problems. He first appeared that same day Riley attempted to rob a bank, and it was as if out of thin air villains began to emerge. Both Alex and Aiden were sent to handle Riley, as Masaru handled Dash, and Kevin, Baylee, and Ryan restrained Seemore, the massive man, who was a living tank.

Dash being a villain, he obviously crossed paths with the Neptune City team time and time again. Sometimes he faced the whole time, sometimes he faced a few members, and sometimes he faced a single member. On one occasion, both the one man army Ryan, and the speedster Dante went at it. Their fight caused lots of collateral damage, and they ended up in a dangerous predicament somewhere along the way, however using each others help, they got out of it together. However that is a different story for a different day.

Ryan had the jitters, even after all these years he still hasn't fully got used to doing such things. This was one of the reasons why he had Dash join him after all. The black haired boy found himself more comfortable among friends. His sweaty palms reached for his water bottle, as he began to take a sip.

"So you used to be a villain?" 

"WellyeahyouseeIwaspresentindetentionwhenthechemicallabexplosionthatgrantedtheneptunecityteam'spowersandthepowerIgotwassuperspeedandwhenIdiscovredmypowersIoriginally-" 

*Flick*

"Owwhathefuckwastha-"

"You're doing it again. I don't think you're supposed to be talking as fast as my fangirls dude. Speaking of that, I wonder why they call it fangirls for everything. There could be fanboys, fanwomen, fanmen, fandogs, fancats, fan-"

*Paff! Paff! Paff! Paff!*

The sound of each slap colliding with Ryan's face . Dash, who didn't have strength like Ryan, had super speed. He'd use that speed to gain momentum to increase the impact of his strikes. Fortunately for Ryan, not only did he possess strength, but durability. Although his head turned with each slap, he didn't really feel it. Plus, it seemed like it hurt Dash more than him, considering he began rubbing his hands, now red from slapping the star.

"You're doing it again!"

Suddenly the talk show host interrupted.

"We're going live."

Moments passed.

"Hello, we're here today with Ryan Williams, one of the few survivors of the Neptune City incident five years ago."

The live audience went wild, all of them were clapping and stomping, and even began yelling his superhero name, "Warrior" at the top of their lungs. From the crowd, much to his disgust, he could pick out people with shirts that said things such as "Ryan ♥" and insert random hero. It seemed that people has taken a liken to shipping the young man to multiple heroes, rather male or female. He even saw a teenaged girl wear a "Warrior ♥ Dash" shirt. He shuddered. God forbid he ever find fanfiction about himself. He'd probably need therapy for months.

Time went by, and the interviewer started off with some basic questions, like if was going to do any guest rolls on movies, or if he was going to do some more pro wrestling. Dash also put in some input when Ryan's answers were too short, or if Ryan needed someone to bounce off of. Finally, due to the Neptune City destruction anniversary, where the people of Saint Haven will honor the people who died in the explosion was coming soon, the reporter got into some more juicy questions.

"So, Ryan. Have you made any contact with your previous team?"

"My answer is still the same as last time."

The talk show host, who seemed a bit disappointed at his answer, moved on. She asked her next question.

"So, now that we're on the topic of your old team, why don't you tell us about them. So far, you've been the only one devoted and caring enough to share anything with the press. So let's start with... Megan."

"She was OP as hell, every time I gave the team a slap down she'd just heal their wounds, and they'd be in tip top fighting condition!"

"Shhhhhhhhhhhh. The star is talking Dash."

The audience broke out into laughter, and Dash simply put his arms around his shoulder, and stayed quiet. His job was done, Ryan had seem to have things under control. Ryan noticed a slight smile on his friend, as he muttered "go get em". He pondered for a bit, how did Ryan feel about Megan? Honestly now that he thought about it, the team hadn't been very close. Megan was a awkward individual, but in a different way from Aiden. Megan's awkwardness was more endearing, while Aiden's awkwardness was pitiful. However despite the healers awkwardness, she was kind and sweet. The star sort of regrets never getting to know her. Even on missions they've never interacted much, due to Megan not going on the front lines, and Ryan almost never needing medical treatment. Shit, he had been thinking too long, say something you idiot!

"Well... Megan was the nicest sweetest girl ever! Sure she could be awkward at times... but she had a bigggggggggg"

He let his last word drag on, as he outstretched his arms where his chest was. The audience knew what he was going for.

"Heart."

Suddenly they all broke out into hysterical laughter. The audience, Dash, the TV reporter, and even Ryan.  A picture appeared on the screen of Megan from five years ago, slightly zoomed in on her chest. It was captioned "Megan's big heart". Okay... that was successful sort of. Though wait until the media backslash, he had made fun of a girl in a coma. Oh god, Ryan's agent would have his balls for this. Hopefully everyone knew all of this was in jest. Though he couldn't think about it now, he had to get through this, he had to keep it going.

The TV reporter asked the same question, but moved on to Aiden. This was going to be hard. Aiden was the exact definition of antisocial. He wasn't approachable either. Any attempts Ryan did make at friendship was either returned in silence or confusion. It also didn't help in the past that when Ryan's nintendo died while on a mission, he chased Aiden around trying to plug his charger into the scrawny kids neck, not only knocking him over, but also jeopardizing the mission. Ughhh... what was something he knew about the kid! He talked to technology, and was always with that laptop!

"I'm 98% sure Aiden was dating a Pear laptop. How hilarious would it be if he actually made a Avatar for it."

He did win some more laughter, and next the reporter moved on to Baylee. Ughhhhh... another person Ryan wasn't really close to. In fact, did he ever get close to anyone? Well let's see, how was Ryan's relationship with Baylee? Well... he knew for sure that the blonde thought he was annoying. Could he do something with that? No, he doubted it. What else? Well, something Ryan never admitted is there was a one sided rivalry between both him and Baylee. It all started when the adapting hero's body not only received super strength, but regeneration while fighting robots. This made Ryan jealous, Baylee was shining with the same abilities he had. And she may or may not have been using it better than him. Ugh he couldn't say that, it'd make him look bad. The only other thing that came to Ryan's mind was her relationship with Kevin. He knew that they had the hots for each other from the beginning... so one little white lie wouldn't hurt.

"When it came to Kevin... Baylee be like." 

Ryan picked up his water bottle, and began chugging it as if it was the last bottle of water on earth. He continued sucking it even after all the water was gone, thus all the air was sucked out as well. Once he was done, he wiped his mouth with the sleeves of his suit. Oh god, Ryan hadn't thought about all the gifs of him doing this on tumblr.

"Come on, it was obvious Baylee had the hots for him." 

A few more heroes left... man this was exhausting. Why didn't anyone tell him being famous was hard work. Talking about people is so hard, he had no idea what the poor and middle class were talking about. This was the real hard work! The talk show host asked about Alex...who Ryan had honestly forgot about. But the name brought back the memories. Both him and Alex were the polar opposites, and his mere presence annoyed Ryan. He took on robots with precognition and a sword, while Masaru had to jump in and save Ryan while the latter possessed martial arts and super strength. How could someone with such... inferior powers accomplish greater things. He would enjoy this one. 

"Alex's sexuality? Well I don't think he likes guys or girls. I honestly think he just loves his sword. I imagine the sex with it would be painful."

Then came Lillian... another blank. Honestly he couldn't even think of anything. She had some complicated powers that celebrity never grasped, and she was sort of silent. Ryan wasn't really one of the people she warmed up to, and honestly they were nothing else besides teammates. She always had a blank expression though, and for some reason it always came off as bitchy to Ryan. 

"Lillian... had a disorder. It wasn't fair for her to have it."

Ryan became serious. Dead serious, almost seeming troubled.

"You see... what Lillian had made her different from the others. She had bitch resting face since birth. No matter what she did, she always looked like a bitch, as if a bug crawled up her ass. It's truly tragic."


----------



## Bringer (Nov 27, 2013)

The celebrity had taken shots at everyone, except Kevin and Masaru, the two who had died. He left them out purposely. However... he found it ironic that the people who he felt closest to were the ones who died. While Megan, somebody who he could've have possibly have become friends had the opportunity arrive. Him and Masaru, they had a special bond due to their fathers. Ryan's father, who was a cop, was partners with Masaru's father, who was also a cop. What were the chances? The fact that both of their dads died while doing their job also strengthened their bond. They could relate to each other.  

"Masaru... was the most awesome, intelligent, and skilled leader any team could ever ask for."

As for both Ryan and Kevin, sure they didn't have much similarities when it came to background, but both there fiery personalities could clash sometimes. April fools between the two of them would end in mayhem. That one time Ryan destroyed a portion of Kevin's mansion, and his mother Hangaku forced Ryan to be Kevin's slave for the day. Plus in combat, both of their powers would always get in the way. Ryan, despite being well versed in martial arts and trained by his mother never had Alex's and Lillian's finesse. Ryan would always get in the way of Kevin's shot resulting in the teen getting blasted, and sometimes Ryan's strikes would throw Kevin off balance causing him to fall. These multiple clashes have actually created a bond between Ryan and Kevin.


"And we can't forget Kevin fluckin Terrez. He may not seem like it, but that guy had more heart than anyone in this room. Plus his butler made the best pancakes."

But now came Riley, the girl he lov-... the girl he had a crush on. It was nothing more than puppy dog love. Come on, he was fourteen, it was just a phase, and he had moved on. He hated to say it, but out everyone he had felt closest to Riley. Although the team didn't really admit it, they had always looked down at both their younger members for their inexperience and age. This had made Ryan felt closer to her. But she was still vile, how could he even develop a crush on such a bitter person such as herself. They weren't compatible, his crush was most likely based on looks.

"Annnd Riley. Man could she be a real bitch, but..." 

He paused. Bitterness formed inside of him, he would let her have it. How dare she always reject him like that... but now look at him now. Both famous and rich, more so he doesn't need to do much to maintain both his fame and wealth. He had figured out the perfect thing to say, but memories of their first date flooded  his mind. He smiled.

"Her dance dance revolution skills were fucking awesome."


Now that he finally sat down and thought about it, everyone he actually cared about on the team was gone. He had always had memories that the team was one big happy family, but it was more dysfunctional than his mothers cooking. The rest of the team members didn't care for him, and he didn't care for them.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 27, 2013)

*Leroy Steel*
Battlefield, East Saint Haven

______________​

The journey to east Saint Haven hadn't been long, but it had been unpleasant. The government agent who drove him there decided it might be a good idea to make small talk with Leroy. Among Leroy's ever growing list of things he hated, was small talk. Naturally, he had declined all attempts at conversation with amiability and professionalism. When they had arrived, Leroy couldn't get out fast enough. "*You can leave now.*" Leroy ordered, inhaling the fresh, polluted air of the cesspool that was east Saint Haven, before beginning to walk towards the sound of fighting. 

When Leroy had initially been informed that there was a fight that had broken out between two weirdos and a monster in east Saint Haven, he had two reactions. One was of bloodthirsty glee, and the other was of irritation. Admittedly, he'd been itching for a good fight, but _now_, of all times? "*When I have shit to do?*" Leroy grumbled, stepping onto the wreckage of the battlefield. It was an empty, abandoned street filled with craters from impacts, with holes chipped away at buildings. Small-time stuff. "*Pussies.*" Leroy commented, watching the three fight. One of them was a fish-like purple monster, while the other duo was a small woman in a costume and grey looking one in a cape.

Putting a series of complex calculations and algorithms through his head, the dark skinned man assessed and analyzed the situation, before finally coming to a conclusion. The man with the cape was most likely a hero of some sort, while the smaller woman was his sidekick. Meanwhile, the thing they were fighting was probably the cause of the chaos. 

With a mighty burst of speed, the cybernetics of his legs whirling into action, Leroy closed in between Goose Man, Goose Girl and Merkava, a smirk on his face. "*Just what I was looking for,*" Leroy said, looking up at the latter, "*victims.*" Smashing with the force of a sledgehammer, Leroy swung his arm and planted his fist into Merkava's face, sending the abomination sliding back with the sheer force of the strike, a red blip forming on it's face...

*Booom!*

A rumble, and then an explosion engulfed the immediate area in a blanket of smoke and fire. Then, through the smoke and fire, a dark silhouette appeared before Goose Man and Goose Woman, slowly melting into form. Not unlike that of a military leader, the cyborg's arms were tucked behind his back, the tail of his long-coat fluttering noisily in the wind, drowned out by the thunderous footsteps of his great strides. The light of the fire seemed to cast a sinister glare on his face, his lips curling up into a cruel smile as he finally stopped. "*Hello. I'm Leroy Steel.*" He introduced himself. "*What do you say to an opportunity to make this shit hole a better place?*"


----------



## KizaruTachio (Nov 27, 2013)

Brad Stroker-A Road to Kill on
​

(I've been looking for leads for the past three days, sufficive to say it's difficult follow up on any information in the day-time as a vampire without my cloak and helmet. Even if I just filled myself with blood I have to totally cover my exposed body in prescription strength sunscreen or I'll get horrfic blisters. Luckily I found out Another one the Madecis is opening up a restaurant. Martino Salo Madeci. I've been given a description of him. Short.Black Hair.Pudgy. In his 40's He's been shunned from the rest of the family, supposedly he works part-time as a volunteer as a Boy's Camp counselor and take frequent trips to Taiwan on _business._ In fact this grease-ball is on his way to the airport now. Little does he know I need information from him.)

Shadow Mask began to run on the roof tops as he saw the man he was after get into a limo and make his way into a road ramp leading onto the highway. It was rainy cold day in Saint Haven, almost cold enough to snow, the wind made it feel worse than it was. Shadow Mask jumped off a building and used the wind to glide him above the high way cars. He was about 4 cars behind his target. He was make his way toward Martino's car till he heard a wizzing, it was a baseball coming toward him. "What th- 

BOOM


"Haha I nailed him James!"

*Spoiler*: __ 





Name:Vincent (Vinne) Cannoli
Age:25
Gender:Male
Size [XL/L/M/S]:M
Race:Human
Personality:Idiot 
Health:15
Power: 05
Strength: 20
Durability: 15
Accuracy: 35
Speed: 15
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 10
Powers / Abilities: Super Accuracy 
Since childhood Vincent has been been gifted with super human accuracy. Darts,archery,bb guns. He had proficiency in all these things. Even to the point where his older brother would show off his younger brothers skills and as he grew older would take him with him on assassinations. 

Vincent always had the dream of being an all-star pitcher. But due to the nature of his family's work he was unable to fulfill this dream. As a tribute to his broken dream he uses specially made baseballs filled with all kinds of different ammo. 

​



Vincent Cannoli was talking to his brother, the pair were inside of Martino's Limo with Vincent poking his head out of the sun roof. He plopped down into the black leather seat in satisfaction.

"Don't pat your self on the back so soon dummy ! If it was that easy they wouldn't have called us in !"


*Spoiler*: __ 




Name:James Cannoli
Age:32
Gender:Male
Size [XL/L/M/S]:L
Race:Human
Personality:Loud
Health:25
Power: 00
Strength: 35(Drug Induced)
Durability: 25
Accuracy: 15
Speed: 20
Charisma: 15
Intelligence: 15
Powers / Abilities:Super Strength

 During one of his jobs he came into a large shipment of super strength drugs made by an evil doctor to combat the influx of Super Heroes in Saint Haven. He managed to pay someone to reverse engineer the super drug and has been taking them ever since.

Before that however he was world contender boxer. His father allowed him to start it as a hobby but he soon blew up in the world of boxing. All the fights he had resulted in his opponent having to retire and his championship fight he ended up beating the world heavy weight champ to death in the 10th round. He was banned from boxing and took his skill to the family business of assassination. 





"See Vinne, look !" James rolled down the side window and pointed to Shadow Mask who was covered in smoke and clinging to the top of a speeding truck his cloak was in tatters and his masked was slightly cracked.











"URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY !"

Vince Cannoli smirked. "Looks like we got ourselves a big one James !"


----------



## Bringer (Nov 27, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Damsel Not In Distress End_

She had sensed the snakes attack using her empathic combat perception. It allowed her to not only predict her enemies movements, but to also understand her enemies fighting style as well. Besides, even without it she could still sense the serpents emotions, and know where it was going to strike. However to say that Quantum's telepathic warning didn't help at all would be ludicrous.

"You're a telepath!"

Pulling out her gun she aimed it at the beast, and pulled the trigger. The purple beam collided right. Purple electricity danced around the snake once more, the brunette knew that the snake couldn't take much more of this. The laser exploded sending the snake flying backwards, and Quantum also followed up with a telepathic lift, making the creature fly into a wall head first. While Quantum's move had been done, Kimberly retreated back to her acquaintances side using flips. 

"I'm always ready. Let's finish this off once and for all! The snake shouldn't even be able to move for a while, just one blast of my gun while it's on its low setting could stun a regular human, temporarily paralyzing them. I don't think this snake will be able to- " 

It dashed forward, damn it! She had gotten full of herself, arrogant. She put her guard down, and had a false sense of security. The snake dived into the sewer water, and swam across like a speeding bullet, reaching behind both the Mayor's daughter and the telekinetic hero within seconds. This was impossible... no way this creature should be moving this fast after all those shots it took. Then again... this wasn't no ordinary giant snake. It was a magical creature, no doubt coming from South Saint Haven.

The words of her mentor Alex rang through her head.



> "When you're fighting against an enemy, you can't afford to let your guard down. Not until you're sure they're completely disabled."



Quantum, despite being more inexperienced than Kimberly, didn't make a rookie mistake of letting his guard down. He avoided the creature by levitating away.  However Kimberly on the other hand wasn't so lucky. She was still shocked, and she had thought this was over. But now... she was completely wrapped by the snake, as it began squeezing the life out of her. 

_"I-I won't... give in!"_

She managed to turn her gloved hand forward, and then grabbed tightly on the snake. She needed to breathe quickly before it was to late. Quantum could not help her here, the snake had her hostage. Levitating the snake would result in the chance of Kimberly getting injured. The same risk would happen if Quantum tried hurling things at the serpent with telekinesis.

"Awww. Don't cry deary, it'll all be over soon enough."

Kimberly began turning blue.

"N-not... *yet*"

Her glove activated, sending high volts of electricity through the giant snake. It once again screamed and pain just like the previous times when they managed to harm it, and it released Kimberly. She fell to her knees, grabbing her neck, and coughing relentlessly. She needed to catch her breath before she could do anything else... but the snake had other plans. It jolted forward in a attempt to engulf the vulnerable women.

However Quantum, seeing as how he could use his powers without the fear of harming Kimberly, used his telekinesis to pull her forward towards him, and away from the beasts range. The old women, who was still in the form of a giant snake grunted in irritation. 

*Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!*

Kimberly had finally stood up, still a little light headed.

"No more games!"

The costumed hero used his telekinesis to slam the snake downwards, as Kimberly aimed both of her guns at the ceiling above the snake. The laser blasted, and the sound of two explosions echoed throughout the sewers as debris landed on top of the creature, trapping half of its body. It wouldn't be able to escape on its own from now on. Both the silky haired girl and costumed individual slowly walked towards this beast, it's fear growing with each step. The serpent immobilized, stared at both of the heroes.

And it reverted back to its small, elderly form.

"P-please! Take pity on a old women. Let me live! Please! I promise not to do this again."

Kimberly's gun had already been pointed at the women's face, and her lies didn't fool any of them. Their empathy could detect it's lies, and although it's fear was genuine, they could tell it was still a malicious thing. But could Kimberly really do it? The threat was neutralized, but for how long until this creature escapes? You could be saving many by taking the lives of few... but killing was never the answer. That's what her father taught her. The gun was still pointed at the creatures face. The words of her teacher echoed again.



> "Everybody's nature is different, and not everybody is as good natured as you. Your opponent will seek to exploit this and you can't take the risk of letting your guard down when they beg forgiveness."



What would she do?
_______________________

Kimberly knocked on her fathers door, and after a few moments it opened. Both her and Quantum entered. After the events in the sewer, the green eyed girl made sure to retrieve her motorcycle, and also get what she had planned on getting, the groceries. Of course her new friend tagged along as well. 

"Dad... this is Quantum. He saved my life, and I think he could be a great asset on the team."

"Is that so Kimberly? Well then young man, consider yourself on the team."

She smiled at her new friend.

"Welcome to the team."


----------



## KizaruTachio (Nov 27, 2013)

Brad Stroker-A Road to Kill on Part 2
​
Shadow Mask shielded himself from the blast by cross blocking the baseball, his arms taking most of the damage. Due to his vampire physiology he was able to survive the blast had he'd been a regular human he'd either be dead or left armless. He clung on to the top of the shipment truck with all his strength. He saw Vincent Cannoli beginning to throw another pitch. Shadow Mask ran to the front of the truck and jumped into it with the driver. "RAM THAT CAR !" "But the" "DO IT !" Shadow Mask let out a unhuman hiss at the truck driver, causing him to jump back. Suddenly a baseball covered in nails came flying through the winshield at the Truck Drivers head causing him writhe in pain "OAWWW GOD MY EYES" 

Shadow Mask grabbed the wheel and tried to control it as it swayed in the road. Suddenly another baseball flew into the truck and started letting off purple gas. Shadow Mask or rather Brad Stroker used to be an avid reader of comic books and manga alike, anyone that read those types of books knew that purple gas meant poison gas. The gas had already incapacitated the truck driver and caused Shadow Mask to cough uncontrollably.

"Oi Vinnie ! Stop playing with ya food ! Finish this _Figlio di Troia !_" His older brother exclaimed. 

"Iight Bro you got i-" "DUCK, YA RETARD!" James pulled Vinne down into the car as and a loud crash could be heard o top the car that caused it to dent and crack the windows. "That fucker just threw the trucker at us." 

Shadow Mask left Truck behind and began jumping car to car until he landed on the hood of Martino's limo. "WHERE'S MARTINO !" He screamed his voice still raspy from the poison gas adding to his dark persona. Right then James Cannoli ripped the top of the roof of the car off and drove his fist into Shadow Mask stomach sending him flying into the back of a pickup truck in front of the limo.

(That man with the glasses, his punch...actually hurt me ! More than bullets even !) 

"VINNE !" James' brother understood the reason behind his brothers calling his name. He threw a baseball at Shadow Mask. "Shit !" Shadow Mask once again threw his hand up in a blocking motion. The ball actually curved into the driver seat window and exploded, causing the truck to flip. As the limo drove under the now flying car. Shadow Mask grabbed James Cannoli and took him with him down to the street below.

"JAAAAAAAAAAAAMES !" The younger brother called out for his brother. "Turn the fucking car around, now !" "Listen your job is to protect me !" "TELL THE DRIVER TO TURN THE GODDAMN CAR AROUND BEFORE I THROW YOU OUT ON THE ROAD YOU LITTLE FREAK !" 

--------



Shadow Mask picked his damaged body up, "Ugh, never again Bradley." Before he could pick himself he was punched into a street light by James. His helmet was now dented with fist mark. "You've caused us some big trouble today you little shit, but your head has a nice payday on it. Messin with the Medici was a bad decision boy." "T-the only bad decision here was the one your mother made when she decided not to swallow you." "Heh, heh a comedian eh ? I hope hell's got an open mike for ya." James took his shirt off revealing his barley damaged body and his grotesquely sized muscles and walked toward Shadow Mask who could barley move.

"I don't know if it's the adrenaline in you or a side effect of the drugs I smell in your blood but you seem to not notice pain at all." "Ya point ?" "I put a fishing hook in your mouth when the truck flipped over." James opened his mouth to reveal that nothing was in it. James thought that Shadow Mask had lost it ,but before he could close his mouth. Shadow Mask threw a fish hook into his assailants mouth getting him by the tounge. "Wow, I can't believe that actually worked." He pulled the fish hook he had grabbed from the back of the pick up truck with a quick snap ripping out James Cannoli's tounge.

He burst out with the little bit of strength he had left. He jumped at James Cannoli and started to pummel him with his fists. But James wasn't finished and punched Shadow mask in his shoulder and ribcage shattering both. Shadow Mask managed to grip the back of Cannoli's head and rammed his knee into his head and breaking his nose. He drove his fingers into his skull and started to suck blood out until James Cannoli stopped struggling. The blood being drugged however made shadow mask ill, his stomach turned and his vision got blurry but held on to his consciousness knowing he needed to act out the last part of his plan. "W-where's your phone ?" "Front Pocket"


James grabbed the phone and scrolled through the contacts until he found Vincent Cannoli's number he called it and waited for an answer.

"LET GO OF MY BROTHER RIGHT NOW !" 
"Ah,ah _cough cough_ Now now Vincent that's no way to talk to the guy that's about to break your brothers neck."
"I got you in my sights, I ain't using baseballs no more either I got a sniper rifle aimed right at ya fricken head."
"Listen cough Luigi I'll give you ten seconds to reveal yourself before I leave Mario's deadbody to soak up rain in the middle of the street."


----------



## Fedster (Nov 27, 2013)

*NORTH SAINT HAVEN​*Saint Haven First Church










​
"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." A man, head down, fingers intertwined as a sign that he was praying, begging for forgiveness, sat in the right botth of a confessional. He was speaking to the window where a priest could be seen. He was dressed in black and purple priest attire, and on the neck he bore his cross, a very opulent object. He turned to the desperated man.

"My son," he said, "everyone who seeks for forgiveness shall find it. Now, tell me what burdens you."

"Father, I've done something terrible." The man was disgusted by himself, his voice denoting his utter self-repulsion and his urge to be saved from punishment. "I've stolen money!" He covered his mouth with one of his hands. "It was a moment of weakness! I'm a honest man, I swear! But when I wanted to return the money, i thought: How would I explain it? They'll put me to jail!", He looked at the priest through the hole that was the window. "My research can't be left alone!"

The priest's interest was suddenly piqued. In a calm, soothing voice he asked: "What is your research about?", and then he added, half-lying, "The Lord is fond of those who work for a better society." The man's face lit up, as his possibility for forgiveness was assured.

"I...am investigating how bacteria evolves, and implying my theory to the beginnings of time!" He rejoiced. "I may be able to discover how the world truly began!"

"_Interesting_...", the priest said, taking a hold of his cross. "I do believe The Lord has guided you to me, and for that, I'm thankful." The beggar smiled widely, while the begged's face darkened as he separated a golden dagger from its scabbard, formerly a cross. The man didn't react fast enough. "However, he can't guide you to the Gates of Heaven. Your kind is not welcomed there."

In the blink of an eye, the priest grabbed the man's hair and pulled his head back, and with he sliced his throat horizontally and vetically, forming a bloody cross. The man died within seconds.

"Requiescant in pace.", he muttered, as he signaled the sign of the cross and walked out of the confessional, his dagger sheathed back into the golden cross. He approached a fellow priest and whispered in his ear: "There's a sinner in my booth. Go see to him."

"Please, be discreet this time...Mr. H. Don't make me demote you again."

"I-I won't, Mr. A!", and so, he hurried to the confessional.

"...Good."


----------



## KizaruTachio (Nov 28, 2013)

Brad Stroker-A Road to Kill on Part 3
​
"Listen Vinne take the shot" "How the fuck are you still able to talk without a tongue ?" 

"James....I can't." "Do it for mama Vinne." "Listen I feel like I've just crashed two cars and had the right side of my body broken into, so yeah the faster you can finish this is great. Also SNAP  your brother is dead."

Shadow Mask could hear small whimpers over the phone. "Ciao James" 

Vincent Cannoli took the shot nailing Shadow Mask in the back of the head. Vincent told the driver to take Martino to the airport while he collected Shadow Mask and his brothers body. About 20 minutes later he arrived to see two bodies layed out on the street. He walked over to his brothers corpse knelled next to him and began to cradle him in his arms. "Don't worry James we finally made it, I'll be the best damn hitman you ever seen....I should have said it alot more but, but I love you James thanks for everything bro.

"Isn't that sweet ?" Before Vincent could turn around he felt a leather belt around his neck, and immediately felt the pressure around crushing his neck. "Your brothers mud blood messed up my appetite.So we'll have to do this the old fashioned way" Shadow Mask said as he chocked Vincent out with his brother Versace Belt. "How-how did you manage to live." Vinne managed to squeeze out as his face started to swell turning his olive skin into bright red. "It's simple really. Back when you threw that poison gas ball I took the opportunity to put his country CDs I saw it on mythbusters that anything like this can save your life. I'm pretty sure my skull is cracked though." Vincent Cannoli's face was now purplish blue his eyes had rolled in the back of his head. "Oh I guess that was pretty boring huh ?" 

In the distance sirens could be heard, shadow mask limped into an alley. (I need blood good blood or...I'll die...an.and I can't do that...not yet) He told himself this as he faded in and out of consciousness. He passed the homeless in the alley but he could smell the alcohol and other substances in their system any blood tainted like that would kill him in his current condition. He almost gave up, until he saw a fire escape leading to a open window. With his very last ounce of strength he manage to climb it up to the second floor where the window was. 

He entered a small apartment, small kitchen small living room probably no bigger than 5 rooms. He came into the bed room where an elderly coupe slept. "I-I'm sorry." Shadow Mask limped over to the couple and started to feed.

-------- 

With just enough blood to seal his wounds not completely heal them he was able to make his way back to his apartment. He took his busted helmet off and layed on his bed with his costume off. He decided he would lay low for a while and enjoy west St. Haven's stormy weather.

He contemplated his failure, he let his number one lead get away and feasted on two innocent people. All he managed to do was kill two flunkies. Bradley shook the guilt he felt. "You only have one goal,kill the Madeci don't forget that Bradley. Anyone who gets hurt as a consequence of that is nothing to you."  As soon as he recovered he would go out to find more leads he decided. For the time being though, he slept.

--------

Martino was now at the airport in his private jet only to be met with a man sitting in the shadows.
"Sorry Martino your an embarrassment to the family. Ravioli wants you dead."
"This is ridiculous I haven't been involved with any of my Father's affairs." 
"Yeah thing about that is, well he don't care." 

The man in the shadow put his finger through Martino's skull in one motion. Killing him instantly. 
"So uhh who is this Shadow Mask guy ?"


----------



## Island (Nov 28, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Alliances*​​
East Saint Haven​
?It would be our pleasure,? the extraterrestrial spoke, ?The Incredible Goose-Man and his valued partner, the Marvelous Goose-Girl, would be honored to help our beloved city in any way we can.?

Of course, the extraterrestrial had other intentions. He hoped that with becoming part of this team, he could gather intelligence on them: learn their strengths, their weaknesses, and everything about them so that he and his allies could one day use all that information against them. He hoped that together with the local mafia, he could destroy the team and crush the city?s hopes at restoring order. Then, with no central power, nobody to keep the peace, he could take over the city and use it as a launchpad for his conquest of the world!


----------



## kluang (Nov 28, 2013)

Squall 'Tribal' Strife

He walks into the neighborhood where the shop is located. The scenery is the same as always.  The flow of life seems to be normal but underneath it people are afraid. They are force to pay protection money and in some premise, they have gambling rackets operate in their basement. 

Squall looks up and sees a man squawking at the rooftop opposite of the targeted shop. 

"....."


He activate his power and jumps to the rooftop and sees a blue hooded holding the swordbow peeks at the shop.


"So you're the assassin." says Squall as he approach the man who seems shock to see him. His expression changes from shock and into a smile when he sees Squalll. "I know you.  You're one of the mayor's hero squad. If I take you down my rep will sky rocket. "

"Not gonna happen. I'm not just part of the mayor's squad,  I'm alsp part of Radiant Bastion. " and he pointed at the swordbow. "That weapon belong to us. "

"So?"

"So, you now have two options.  Option A, you return the weapon and surrender yourself to the authorities. Option B, I will take that weapon and drag your half dead body to the authorities. "


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Nov 28, 2013)

*Central Saint Haven*

The lofty buildings, the bustling streets, and the busy people, all trademarks of Saint Haven's central area.  The attempted assassination of the mayor shook the residents of the city, of course, but eventually life resumed its course.  But who knows how long this normalcy will last?  The thing about Saint Haven is that you never know what disaster can happen next.  Despite all the trappings of the central area, it's no more immune to catastrophe than the other, more crime ridden areas.  In short, Saint Haven couldn't even do a good job of masking its ugliness.

Unlike Isaac.  He would not mirror the failure of this city.  He would be its hero, or at the very least, one of its heroes.  A shining example for others to follow.  Yes, a hero.  The perfect image for him to wear.

According to the letter, the place is supposed to be somewhere inside the public library.  It is an unassuming looking building, completely at odds with the other grandiose structures that are spread across Central Saint Haven.  Isaac merely shrugs, and walks towards the entrance.  After walking in, he sees that the inside is just as unimpressive as the outside.  It makes sense that their headquarters would be so plain, he supposes.  No use in drawing attention in a city out to kill you, after all.

A few paces in front of Isaac is an old, bespectacled old woman sitting at her desk.

"Hello, I received an invitation.  This is where I'm supposed to be, right?" he said to her.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 28, 2013)

*Leroy Steel* 
The Library, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

As Leroy returned to the library with his two latest recruits, he noticed that they had a guest. A quick examination and scan revealed the build of the stranger; an average looking kid with a long-coat and mask. "Hello, I received an invitation. This is where I'm supposed to be, right?" Leroy picked up with his hearing, walking up the staircase leading up to the entrance with careful, slow deliberation. What the hell was up with all these people knowing where the team base was? The construction was meant to be a _secret_. The hideout was meant to be _secret._ It's covert, the mayor had said. Subtle, he had reassured. Bullshit. Leroy felt like hitting someone.

Back inside, the librarian opened her mouth to speak and answer the query, looking up from the computer at her desk. "Well..."

"*An invitation? Are you kidding me? You think this is some kind of fucking party you just show up to?*" Leroy said, opening the door, his loud voice echoing across the hollow library as the light of the library shone off his naked head, reflecting light into Isaac's eyes. Briefly, he glanced angrily at the librarian, who turned away immediately, then faced the new arrival, his one unpatched eye examining him, as if sizing him up to see which was the best way to take him down. "*Identify yourself.*" The dark skinned man commanded.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Nov 28, 2013)

Isaac jolted back in surprise at the bellowing voice and subsequent appearance of the large black man standing in front him now.  It lasted but a moment however, and he immediately regained his composure.  

"I'm Isaac Wilson, sir," he answered without a waver in his voice.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Nov 28, 2013)

*Leroy Steel* 
The Library, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

Isaac Wilson.

Leroy had already known who he was. His identification process had already brought his profile up from his database of potential hero candidates, but he felt like fucking around with him. Moreover, Leroy was also of the opinion that anybody who wanted to join the team needed _guts_, and while he agreed that he was very imposing - benevolent and charitable though he may be - Leroy wasn't looking for cowards as his soldiers. In this regard, the kid's steady answer and composure gave him a pass in one of his tests. 

"*I see.*" Leroy nodded, then turned back to face Goose Man and his sidekick, gesturing for them to follow. "*Come on, I'm taking you three to the team base. Once you're down, one of the administrators should give you one of the access keys to the elevator. I'll add you onto the team list, and from there, you can do what ever the fuck you want. Take a shit, eat, masturbate, what ever. I honestly don't care. Just make sure you don't annoy me. Simple enough?*" The lift stopped moving and Leroy removed his card from the slot. Thin rays of light seeping in, the metal doors of the elevator opened up, revealing the glossy, modern looking entrance hall of the team base. "*Welcome to the team base. Now get the fuck out.*" He said, sweeping the three into the team base with a casual swing of his arm.


----------



## Island (Nov 28, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Feces*
Team Base, Central Saint Haven​
The extraterrestrial listened carefully to everything that Leroy told him and the other newcomers, figuring that it would not be a good idea to get on the human?s bad side. However, he made a special note that when he became powerful enough and was ready to commence the extermination of this team, Leroy would be the first to die. After listening to this man for the past hour or so, from East Saint Haven all the way down the elevator in the library at the heart of Central Saint Haven, he concluded that this man was the least likable human he had ever met, though, that in itself was like saying that one particular pile of feces was the least smelly out of every pile of feces an individual has ever excreted from his or her anus.

One day, however, the Grey Man would have his day.

Leroy would be flushed like the big black pile of, well, you know, that he was.

Finally, the man let them free to roam the base, and in-character, the extraterrestrial announced to the world, ?Greetings, fellow humans, it is I, the Incredible Goose-Man, here to deliver a swift fisting of justice to all those in need of it!?

Grey hadn't quite mastered the Incredible Goose-Man's unique style of speaking and wasn't all that familiar with things like battle cries, but as far as he knew, this was something that the real Incredible Goose-Man would say just before punching out a wrongdoer.


----------



## kluang (Nov 29, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

"I choose option C. Your death." cackles the hooded man and grab a pellet and it transform into an arrow and he draws his bow and aim at Squall.

"Seriously man, there is no option C."

The hooded man shoots the arrow and quickly Squall draws one of his gun and shoots the arrow, deflecting it and lands harmlessly on his side.

The hooded man grits his teeth and took out three more pellets and it changes into arrows and shoot all of them simultaneously, but Squall took out his second gun and shoots down the arrows. He put his gun back in the holster and runs at a supernatural speed towards the hooded man who quickly twist the bow and transform it into a sword.

Squall grabs the hilt of his claymore and swings it at the hooded man who quickly blocks it, but the impact and the strength of Squall sends the man knock the man down and he quickly kicks the sword bow away. "Now I know why you always take low risk target, you're weak."

 The hooded man looks at the sword bow but before he can react, Squall slams the flat side of his claymore  at his head, knocking him unconscious. 

Squall rehook the claymore and grab the swordbow and the hooded man and slowly walks back to Radiant Bastion headquarters.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Nov 29, 2013)

Island said:


> ?Greetings, fellow humans, it is I, the Incredible Goose-Man, here to deliver a swift fisting of justice to all those in need of it!?



Isaac looked directly at his soon-to-be teammate, and returned his greeting with a slight, polite smile, then responded, "Greetings to you too.  I'm glad you're, uh, enthusiastic about justice."

_Who the hell talks like that, seriously?_

He assumes this goose thing isn't a telepath and even if he is, the mental barriers Isaac raised around himself would prevent any psychic probing.  He isn't stupid enough to assume he'd be the only mind reader around, after all.


----------



## kluang (Nov 30, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

"That is one strange way to introduce oneself. And a goose no less." Rinoa shrugs her shoulder and continue eating.

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

He handed the hooded man to the Bastion staffs and he handed the sword bow to Cid who happily inspect it. Squall look at the gunblade and still in pieces. "You said you will repair the blade once the thief is apprehended."

"Bah, forget about the gunblade."

"But you build it."

"When I was five. Now if you needed a weapon for the battle today, you need cutting edge weapon. Follow me." Cid gesture Squall to follow him to the back of the room and there a large heavy titanium door blocks their path. Cid places his hand on a screen next to the door and a loud thump can be heard and the door slowly opens.

"Come inside."

Inside there are a dozens of weapon, with various design. "I want you to have this." Cid points to a metal box with a large chain. It look almost like a coffin. "A metal coffin?" Cid press the top of the box and five individual compartment opens, revealing five different swords. "Five sword, each made from different material. Go on test them." Squall approach the metal box and sees five sword, the middle compartment have the largest sword,  an exaggerated silverish two-handed sword in its shape and appearance. It consists of a long hilt wrapped in a red material, a distinctively large handguard, a wide length of blade, the edges are locked apart and the sword's complex inner portion is visible.

He pulls out the sword, its lighter then expected and he swirls the blade around before he effortlessly throws it in the air and enter the compartment easily.

The second blade is crimson in color and it have a pair, a blue color blade. They are mirror images of each other, with the blue one having a straight edge and the red one a saw-toothed edge, with a long black hilt for each. Below them are two small compartments with identical mirror image dagger-like swords. One is gold in color another is white.

"This is nice Cid, but five sword?"

"You can combine them."

Cid took a wrist watch and gives to Squall. "This watch not only tell time and make good alarm, but also act as a remote for the Sword Coffin and its compartment." 

Well new and better stuff, and its free, no reason to complain. Squall can imagine the possibility of this new weapon.

Squall closes the compartments and attach the box on his back. "See you soon boss." and he salute his boss and activate his power and quickly leaves the headquarters and head towards the library.


----------



## Byrd (Nov 30, 2013)

*Cold Hard Case Part 2*​

A man was fleeing from the shadows after witnessing another horror... this mysterious entity had consumed a child that wander too far into the darkness and thus gain another soul... for each soul this demon devours its intelligence increases.... in total it had about nine souls in its collection. 

_"I have to warn the people... I have to get help, this beast needs to be slain"_

He frantically took out a notepad and begun writing all what he witness from initial contact up until now. He needs to escape from this abomination and fast too if he wants to live. Just then he heard a loud bang as he looked behind him. There was a shadowy figure.. The man panic even more as he continues to write... hoping that someone would read this...

_"Jesus, help me.... This looks like the end right here..."_ 

He removed the paper from his notepad as the figure approach him.. ball it up and threw it as hard as he could... hoping that someone could stumble unto it... He then prayed as his body and flesh was consumed by the entity. 

This would make the 10th missing person


----------



## KizaruTachio (Nov 30, 2013)

Brad Stroker- Coffee & a Girl
​
Brad was still recovering from the fight he had a week ago. He had be unable to move his body until the day prior, he then was able to feed on an unsuspecting car jacker. Regardless his body still required rest so he had been taking a break on his crusade of vengeance. 

He was able to get some extra money from the car thief's' wallet so he decided to go to his favorite coffee shop downtown. Thankfully it was snowing in Saint Haven so Brad didn't have to apply to much sunscreen or deal with crowds of people walking in the streets. Still he wore sunglasses and a large pea coat whenever he went out. 

In a few minutes he arrived to the coffee shop. The smells of roasting coffee beans and different spices were therapeutic to Brad. His love of coffee  started from a younger age than most so his enhanced senses only added to his caffeine induced euphoria . He even liked the loud sounds of tinkering baristas as they used the various machines to create all the different types of drinks. 

"Yo Mitch I'll have the usual." Mitch was a 20 something with scraggley hair and glazed over eyes. He looked like he came right out of the 70's. "Sorry Brad man I like JUST sold the last Cranberry Muffin." "What ? I'm like the only person who eats those." "Exactly that's why we only make one a day dude, look you want something else on the house ? We got a lot more than those Granny Muffins dude." "I'd rather eat dog food than eat any of those overly sweet pastries that pollute this store. Just a coffee. black." "Jeez Brad, with an attitude like that I'm sure your always the life of every single party in Saint Haven." Bradley smirked "You should see me at Funerals." Mitch gave a sarcastic laugh and poured Bradley his coffee and Bradley gave him the money. 

Brad began to walk out of the store until he felt someone tap on his shoulder. "Um, I'm sorry did you say someone took the last muffin ?" He turned around and was met be a familiar face. A gorgeous girl with skin as white as the snow outside and hair as black as the coffee in Bradley's hand. It was the same girl he had saved that day at the park. He was stunned for a moment, until he realized he had been staring at her not saying a word "It's uhh not that serious I can get muffin somewhere else don't worry about it." "Well I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach, I didn't realize how big these things were. We should split it !" "Uhh I have something to go d-"  "In minus -10 degree weather on a Sunday Evening ? Stop being shy and sit down !" The girl pulled him by the arm and forced him into a chair then she sat in the chair in front of him.

She broke the muffin in half and gave him one of the halves."I didn't think anyone else ate these besides me, hehe." "Ahh same here. I don't really like sweets but this has a really mellow taste." "I know right ! Whenever I order stuff like this I feel like the cashier or waitress thinks I'm an old person in a young girls body." "Yeah I hate that people seem to think eating different things makes you somesort of an introvert." She raised an eyerbrow. "Well you do seem like one." 

_(What direct bitch. I can't say I don't respect that a quality like that though. Wait what ? Why am I thinking of what qualities I do and don't like about her ? I should be plotting my next course of action against the Medici right now ! For all I know she could have discovered my secret identity and working as a spy! I should leave right now !) 
_
The girl made a surprised face like she realized what she had just said. "Oh I'm sorry I can't believe I just said that ! I'm a bit anti-social myself so I tend to speak my mind when I find I have anything in common with somebody." Bradley blinked. "Oh uhh no don't worry about it. You were spot on actually, I'm a total shut in haha." _(What the fuck are you doing Bradley ?!)_ "That's good to hear they say acceptance is the first step. So I guess we're both one step closer becoming social butterflies. By the way my names Isabella." She reached out her hand to shake Bradley's "Oh My names Bradley. I go by Brad" "Ha well Brad, it was nice meeting you." "You're leaving ?" _(Why are you asking this dumbass question ? What does it matter to you ?)_ "Yeah I have to go meet with my Dad in a few." "Oh." "We should meet here tomorrow morning I doubt school is going to be open in this weather." "Yeah sure thing" _(Idiot) _

He waved to Isabella as she left the store. She returned it with a wink and she walked down the street.

"Well well well. Bradley's got himself a 10 out of 10 babe." "Mitch unless you want a fork where your colon used to be I suggest you stuff it." "Whatever you say Cassanova." 

Bradley finished his coffee and walked home thinking about what he had just agreed to.


----------



## kluang (Nov 30, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

He arrives at the team headquarters underneath the libary and head straight towards the training room. "Training room activate. Urban Environment Level 3. Multiple enemies. Weapon various. Combat ability, Level 3."

"Understood. Creating environment." the Training Room AI response to Squall's order and the room began to shift and before long Squall is standing in a middle of an intersection of a city block.

"Commence training."

Squall looks around and sees a thug with a machete walks towards him.  "Nice VR." says Squall and he press a button on his new watch and the middle compartment opens and it ejects the large sword out and landed next to Squall. He then grabs the blade and inspect it. "Anastasia."  he read the name of the blade inscribe on the hilt. From the coloration its clear this blade is made of true silver also known as mithril.

Squall runs towards the the thug and both of their weapon clashes. Squall activate his power and pushes the thug back before cleaving him in two.  He spins and juggle the sword effortlessly before sheathing it back. "Perfect balance for a large blade."

Squall looks at the alley and sees four thugs each arm with chains and nail bats.  He press two buttons this time and the two upper side compartment opens and he grabs both blades. "Brotherhood and...Avenger." says Squall as he reads his weapon's name. The thugs surrounds him and he quickly flips over one of the thugs and slice off his head. 

He looks at the Avenger and Brotherhood as the blade coloration changes. Clearly the Avenger is made from Darksteel and the Brotherhood is forge from Bright Steel.  He twirls the Brotherhood in a reverse grip and dashes forward and slams both weapon on two thugs at the same time,cleanly split their heads. He swirls and slams his blades on the rib cage of the last thugs and with little effort, cleave him in two.

"How many left?"

"1 more. Should I dispatch more?"

"No."

He press three buttons and ejects Anastasia and the two dagger like blades. "Lustrous and Zwill." Lustrous is very smooth and forge from Minovsky and Zwill is made from Orichalcum.

 Squall grabs Anastasia and combine it with Avenger who easily clicks to the lower blade and Brotherhood on the top. Squall took Lustrous and click it to the left side of the blade and Zwill on the right side. Squall looks at his new sword, he reads the name of the blade that's inscribe on the blade. "Braveheart...."


----------



## Island (Dec 1, 2013)

*Bloody Mary - Interview*
Somewhere in Saint Haven​
There I sat in a lonely diner in an undisclosed location somewhere in Saint Haven. I sat by myself at a booth, not really hungry or wanting anything in particular. I just wanted to get out for a change, go somewhere, and see different faces doing different things. Ever since the Neptune City Incident, I holed myself up, far beyond anyone’s gaze. I focused on my work with the government and interacted with virtually nobody outside of those involved with my present mission. After a while, it would get boring, and I would need to go someplace fresh and do something new for a change. On this particular outing at this random little dinner, I saw wearing a dark hoodie, the hood itself draped over my head and my face obstructed by my bangs.

I mindlessly stirred a cup of coffee, not really having a taste for the beverage and only really consuming it out of formality.

Then, something caught my attention, a voice on the television on the opposite side of the room.

_“Neptune City.”_

_“Ryan Williams.”_

Then, I heard _my_ name, of all things

It sounded weird hearing those things together, hearing Ryan’s voice, and listening to him talk about the old team and our misadventures. Nobody really wanted to discuss us and what happened. Nobody wanted to bring up the topic of what was and what could have been. The destruction of Neptune City was one giant sore spot for everyone, no matter who they were or what they did. Humanity’s collective ego had been bruised today, and we had been knocked down a couple pegs after being slapped in the face with the realization of our fragile our society, the culmination of ten thousand years of development, actually was.

I really didn’t have an opinion on Ryan himself. He was a fourteen year-old boy, and I was an almost eighteen-year old young woman. We were completely different people living entirely separate lives, and it probably would have stayed that way had the accident not occurred. He had his interests, and I had mine. Likewise, he had his friends among the group, and I had mine. I always considered Alex and Megan to be close friends, as well as Masaru, but I always felt that Alex didn’t like Ryan and Megan was sometimes weirded out by his antics. Our only real connection came through Masaru. However, as his responsibilities became greater, we began socializing and having fun with him less and less. Thus, we never really hung out together, and outings of the entire group were a rarity.

The waitress approached. “May I get you anything else, miss?” 

“No,” I didn’t make eye contact, “I think I’m done for today.”

Sometimes I wondered where we would all be if we were successful that day. What would have happened if we defeated Havoc and saved the day? Where would Ryan be? What about Riley? Would we still be part of a team with Masaru as the head, or would we have dispersed? Would Alex have finally gone off to lead his own team with Megan by his side? Would Aiden have finally opened up? Could we have helped him in the ways he so desperately needed? What about me? Where would I be? Would I be with the team in Neptune City, attending Neptune City University, and building both my superhero career and a higher education on _my_ terms?

What about Kevin?

Where would he be?

Where would _we_ be?

None of that really mattered, however. What was done was done, and these idle thoughts were best left well enough alone. Sometimes I would entertain these ideas, however, thinking about what everybody was up to, what they were doing, or, alternatively, where they might have been and what they might have been doing if things had worked out differently. This would happen when I heard a name or a story or even just remembered something out of the blue about my time on the team. If Alex was on the news, I would wonder how he was doing and what he had been up to since that day.

Today was the first time, however, that I had heard anything about Ryan, though. At the very least, I was curious to know what I had missed over the years.

Of course, I also wondered where we would be if things were different. Would we have become friends? Would Kevin and Masaru have brought us together and show us that not matter how different we were as people, it was still possible to sit down and have some fun together? Maybe we could have learned from one another, grown as people, and entered adulthood together, side-by-side, not just the two of us specifically, but _all_ of us. Riley and Ryan could have seen us graduate, and then we could have gone back to do the same for them. We could have helped each other in school, in training, and everywhere else, developing that kind of team synergy that you see in comic books and movies.

I decided to discard these thoughts for another time, paying my bill and leaving a generous tip to the waitress before heading out.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 1, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
Team Hideout, Saint Haven

____________​
Alex sat in his room, quietly polishing his sabre as the sound of the television behind him filled the empty silence, the voice of his former team-mate as loud and obnoxious as it used to be. Perhaps even moreso, now that he was 'famous' in the eyes of the media, which annoyed him more than anything else. Simply because he was more willing to tell the world stories about the team than anybody else had been, he'd been allowed to live a life of luxury and glamour. Far more than what he deserved. It saddened Alex to think that this guy was one of the few of the Old Guard left.

"Hello, we're here today with Ryan Williams, one of the few survivors of the Neptune City incident five years ago."

He had been tempted to switch the television off as soon as that name was mentioned. Alex didn't want to recall memories from his days back in Neptune City, and he most _certainly_ didn't want to hear it from Ryan. What little respect he might have had for him back in his days on the team shattered when he left to pursue stardom and use _their_ stories for fame. But at the same time, Alex couldn't help but keep it on that channel, the curiosity clawing away at him even more than his disgust. 

"So, now that we're on the topic of your old team, why don't you tell us about them. So far, you've been the only one devoted and caring enough to share anything with the press. So let's start with... Megan."

Alex's ears perked up at this slightly. Instinct. The hero paused the polishing of his blade and turned around minutely so that his ear was now faced towards the flat screen. "Well... Megan was the nicest sweetest girl ever! Sure she could be awkward at times... but she had a bigggggggggg," the boy paused, gesturing towards the chest area, before finally saying, "Heart." He finally said, the crowd breaking into feverish laughter and hysterics.

His grip on the blade tightened and he turned around again. He was wrong to have expected that moron to say anything productive or interesting. The audience was just as bad as him as well. They had no idea what had happened in Neptune City five years ago; no idea what everyone went through. What _Megan_ went through. It wasn't _their_ place to laugh at _her_ expense. 

Then Ryan continued talking, and Alex gradually grew bored of hearing his voice. Taking the remote by his side, he gestured it at the screen and switched it off and moved onto the next blade, tossing his sword onto a pile next to him and meticulously moving onto the succeeding one.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 1, 2013)

Greetings & Salutations​
Lillian didn't even bat an eye as Aiden departed, straightening to her full height as she readjusted her balance to keep Mike propped up properly.  She ignored the fact that Luke didn't seem to recognize her as one of the first second generation heroes, and simply shook her head, taking a step forward.  He was definitely scared, she could tell that much even without her knack for reading body language.  So she knelt, smiling up at him, just a little.

"I need a favor from you, Luke.  In exchange for...well you're aware."  She glances up at Ryan on her shoulder.  "I like you, in a way.  You remind me of myself.  And I find I can trust people who remind me of myself.  I'm going to be going away for a while but...I still need eyes and ears.  But eyes and ears not tied to me.  Someone who's new to this ecosystem.  Someone like you."  She swipes Ryan's key card from his wallet with a quick shift of movement, and hands it to Luke.  "Ask the man you just saw to make you an ID card as well; that should get Leroy off your back.  We'll be in touch," she said finally, rising, and then stepping down the hallway to leave the base for good.  How she was going to keep in touch was unknown, or even if Luke had agreed, but planted somewhere in her confident stride one could just see that she assumed compliance from the young man.

-----------------------------​
Narancia had never been one for introductions.  In fact, she kind of hated them, as she preferred to remember people by face, rather than name, and so she tended to just lose focus or attention when meeting someone for the first time.  But, sometimes it wasn't possible to avoid giving introductions.  This was one of those times.

Slinking off to the Mess Hall as she caught whispers of some sort of feast on the lips of some passing agents, Narancia's eyes widened as she came upon the grand display.  It wasn't as if she was a foodie, or anything, but it was difficult for such a diverse sprawl to not even get a passing reaction from someone.  She stacked her plate and took a seat not far from James, Maria, and Gadian, clearly not giving any sort of indication that she'd noticed them, and promptly beginning on her meal.


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 1, 2013)

Brad Stroker-  Martian Madness IV: Attack of the Rocks
​
Brad walked toward the shop that he had met Isabella yesterday. It was a beautiful snowy morning the sky was white and quiet. He walked inside and saw her sitting where they had sat yesterday. "Oh am I late ?" Isabella was sitting down with a off white cap and a large brown leather coat. She had a matching pair of black boots to say the least she was stylish. "No not at all I had nothing better to do so I decided to come a little earlier. Bad news though." "What is it ?" "Apparently due to some fight in Central St Haven the truck that usually brings this place it's coffee got destroyed" _(Another wonderful job done by the dunces down at T.A.N.K)_ "That sucks." "I know, but I used the extra time I had by coming here early to think of an alternative snowday activity." "What did you come up with ?" "Well it's before 11:00 and there's a movie theater a couple blocks from here. Wanna go see a matinee ?" "Uhh sure."


----------

Bradley and Isabella decided to go see Martian Madness IV: Attack of the Rocks. The theater they were in was totally empty. Just him and her. Alone. The lights dimmed and the previews came on. Bradley had stared at Isabella everytime she looked away. He took all of her features in, her immaculate  skin, perfectly manicured nails, her long pitch black hair. Isabella was 18 but Bradley swore she looked like she was twenty. And her neck, her long elegant neck. Bradley wondered what it would be like if just bit into it, what would it taste like, could he stop himself from killing her by drinking to much bloody, would she like it ? Would she stop him ? "Bradley, uhh you okay" Brad had realized he had been staring at her for a good minute now. "Oh sorry you have something in your nose." She covered her face in embarrassment "Really ? Don't look !" Brad laughed "Naw I'm just fucking with you. Hehe." Isabella playfully hit him "You jerk haha stop messing around the previews are coming on."

A series of trailers came on that were the normal range of movies. The pair made jokes about them until a preview for a Romantic Comedy came up. "I hate shit like this." Isabella turned her head to him. _(Good one Bradley I'm sure girls love guys that hate on movies with love and all the shit that makes up 14 year old's dreams.) _"Oh wow did I say that out loud ?" "Haha we really do have a lot in common. I hate stuff like this with a passion. Those movies are cheap cash grabs designed to make people feel guilty about not being with someone. By the end of the movie some shitty pop song comes on and somehow all their problems are resolved." "Wow." "Yeah....well umm the movies starting so shut up and hand me the popcorn." Brad playfully dangled it infront of her face. "Oh this popcorn ?" "Bradley stop Haha." 

------

The movie was almost over and Isabella had fallen asleep on Bradley's shoulder. With her head so close to his he could smell her perfume and shampoo in full effect. She used blackberry scents for both her perfume and shampoo, Bradley thought that it was funny. He looked down at Isabella, she truly was a sleeping beauty he thought. Her exposed neck was only a few inches from his mouth he thought. What if he took a little nibble ? Would she be able to tell if he did it quickly.

As soon as that thought passed through his mind the lights turned on and with it Isabella awoke. "I'm sorry Brad did I go to sleep ?" "Yeah and I was your pillow, don't worry about it the movie stunk anyway." "Noted. Well I guess we should get to going." "Yeah."

They walked out of their theater into the lobby and finally outside. "Well that was fun Isabella thanks for-" "Hey Bradley can I see what you look like without your sunglasses ?" "Uhh right now ?" "Well yeah" "Why ?" "I realize you've had sunglasses on since we met, you even keep them on in the movie theater." "I don't know Isabella." "If you do I'll make you dinner or something" Bradley's diet these days consisted of Pizza, Chinese , Coffee and Cranberry Muffins. A homecooked meal sounded nice, and one cooked by Isabella sounded even better. 

"Okay then." Bradley took off his glasses revealing his crimson red eyes. "Wow" "Yeah I know pretty freaky huh ?" "No not at all  I think they're beautiful Bradley." Brad could feel himself blushing, he rubbed his head earnestly. "Uhh thanks." Isabella kissed him on the cheek and handed him a slip of paper. She quickly ran away and did the hand signal for call me. 

"Wow. I just got a girl's number."


----------



## Narurider (Dec 1, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru*​
The moment the words had left Gadian?s mouth, he realised it had been a mistake to attempt to start a conversation with Maria, at least not so suddenly. As the girl seemed to stumble over her own words, Onca merely shook his head at the boy?s mistake. When Maria had finished her response, an awkward silence filled the room and Gadian stared at his plate, embarrassed by the chain of events that had just transpired. He didn?t even make a response when Onca made a single comment, ?Nice going there, genius.?

?So,? Gadian eyes snapped up as James broke the silence. He was unsure whether or not the boy was going to be able to get rid of the tension that Gadian had caused. The shaman was relieved when he realised that James had given him his chance to have a proper conversation, he just had to make sure he didn?t screw it up. ?how you holding up? Alex got you pretty bad back there with that kick.?

?Well I?ve got one hell of a sore bruise on my chest, but I think I should be fine.? Gadian?s hand wandered back to the bruise and he wondered how long it would take to fully heal. Probably a long time, but he was sure it would heal and that was the important part. He was thankful that Onca had possessed him at the time or else the pain from the actual kick would have probably been too much for him. The shaman thought he heard somebody take a seat close by, but ignored it. ?If I hadn?t been possessed at the time, it would be a completely different story. Luckily, that wasn?t the case so I?m happy. What about you two? I had my eyes closed for most of the fight so I didn?t really get to see if Alex got any good hits in on anyone else.?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 1, 2013)

*James and Maria* 
Dining Hall, Team Base

______________________​

James shrugged. "Nothing major. A few bruises here and there, but I'm more tired than anything else, I guess. It took a lot of effort to keep up with that guy, and I think he was holding back as well. Wonder how long it's going to take us to get that strong." Finishing off his soup, he moved his plate away and took a piece of bread, taking a quick bite out of it. Now that he thought about it, Alex didn't seem to really take any of them seriously. For one thing, he only really used his swords to parry and block, sticking with mostly grabs and kicks to attack instead. James sighed inwardly. It would be a long time before he'd be strong enough to find his mom if he couldn't even take down a single man. But he _would_ do it. He travelled across America to get to here, and he'd be damned if Saint Haven of all places didn't find him some answers about his mother.

Maria gulped down the last piece of chicken and frowned, the heat from the food causing thin layers of condensation to form on her glasses. "W-well... I rushed in a lot, so I got thrown about a bunch of times. A few cuts and bruises l-like James..." She suddenly paused, catching her words. "B-b-but it's no big deal! I swear!" She shook her head rapidly. Kimberly got hurt worse from what she saw, anyway but she'd missed the opportunity to bring that up and it'd probably look silly if she just randomly brought up how she dislocated her shoulder...

... right? Maria wasn't sure. She was never too good at these social situations. Maria cursed herself furiously in her head, her lips pursing. "_Dammit, Maria! What are you doing? You're embarrassing yourself in front of all these people! Alright, next person that comes in, I'll try and become friends with them!_"

Then another person entered. A young looking girl - about their age -  in a bizarre looking costume coming through the entrance to the cafeteria, grabbing a plate full of food then moving to a seat not far, but not near, to James, Gadian and Maria, before starting to eat without any sign that she'd even noticed them. James frowned. That was weird. He wasn't used to getting ignored and wasn't sure if he liked it all that much. The demi-god opened his mouth to greet the new person, but was imminently cut across.

"H-hi! I'm Maria!" Maria blurted out in an attempt to socialize.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 1, 2013)

*Narancia Lospaluto & Kira Fujisawa* 
Dining Hall, Team Base

______________________​
Narancia glanced up from her food to mirror Maria's smile at once, shaking her hand profusely, then hugging her suddenly.  She gets a look at Gadian and James and her smile disappears, replaced with cold, almost dead stare.  But then as she pulls back from the hug she's all smiles.

"Hi!  I'm Goose Girl! It's nice to meet you all!"  She begins shaking the other's hands, all smiles, and then returns to her seat.  "Now kindly fuck off as I try to enjoy my meal!"  Giggling a little, she returns to eating, stuffing more food in her mouth carefully.  "Who made this anyway, it's-"

At that moment Kira skipped in, a veritable bundle of sunshine and smiles, taking a seat across from Gadian.  Behind her thin mask, Narancia's eye twitched, and she set down her current spoonful.  "How's everyone enjoying everything?" Kira asked as she glanced around. 

"It's terrible," Narancia finished, moving to sit next to Kira.  "But I love your hair!"  Kira blinks, and appears visibly shaken by the woman's greeting.  "...thanks.  I guess."  She gets her wits, but still appears a bit thrown off.  "I'm Kira, by the way.  Kira Fujisawa.  I haven't seen you around here much, I don't think."  

"Goose Girl!  Nice to meet you, Kira.  That's a pretty name."

Kira avoided the waterwoman's gaze, and turned to Gadian as Narancia whispered something to Maria.  "Was it something I said?"

"And you!  Where's my ring, mister?" she said with a faint, teasing smile to the shaman.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 1, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Nightmare_

Leroy circled Mike, who was restrained by chains. No matter how much the boy struggled, he could not break through the restraints. No matter, no amount of torture would get to him. The man could beat, stab, taze, shoot Mike to his hearts content, but it wouldn't mean anything to a teen who could turn off his pain, raise the durability of his body, and regenerate. 

"Let me the fuck go. If you do... I'll get you KFC... or watermelon... or gold chains."

*"I'll let your dumb ass go once you tell me why you freed the boy." *

"I don't fucking know. I told you already that a bee was chasing me, I stumbled upon here, and I guess after I accidentally freed him the bee ran away because it saw your black ass."

*"You really expect me to believe that."*

"No not really, I honestly don't give a shit rather you believe my bullshit or not.""

The teen could've have swore he saw a twinkle in Leroy's eye, as he made a small smirk. The large man continued circling the boy.

*"No matter, I have my ways of making you speak."*

He crept up behind Mike, placing his hand around the boy's neck.

*"I'm going to show you why they call me steel."*

_____________________

"AHHHHHHHHHH! LEROY!"

Mike began flailing wildly. He then brought his arms up, spiked his strength, and brought it down, the strikes going downwards to crush Lillian. However immediately the white haired girl threw Mike into the air before his fists could collide with her back. As the jet black haired boy was midair, she kicked him sending him flying into a wall. The boy shuddered.

"It was just a dream... thank god." 

He examined the situation, seeing three people in the room. First was the bitch ass Lillian with her white cunt hair. Next was some pale glasses wearing ^ (not the meaning of the word "respect".) haired kid with terrible posture. And finally that other kid he saved.

"Well you three have fun being stupid cunts... or whatever it is you're doing. I'm going to go eat."












And in a blur, by spiking his speed Mike was gone. It didn't take long for him to reach the mess hall. As he opened the door, the orgasmic smell of the food entered his nostrils, and he deeply inhaled.

He spiked multiple things such as strength, speed, and reflexes. He preformed a mighty leap towards the plates grabbing two. He then began to gracefully leap from table to table, stacking his plates with multiple foods. Without his powers he wouldn't be able to move around with out spilling the food off of the mountain stacked plates. After he stacked the plates to the point where he couldn't stack anymore he sat down at the table near him at the moment, which so happened to be next to the others.

"Sup ^ (not the meaning of the word "respect".)." 

He then began scarfing down his food.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 1, 2013)

*James and Maria* 
Dining Hall, Team Base

______________________​

Maria blinked, startled by the new girl's response. She _seemed_ nice enough, but awfully quirky at the same time. But then, who was she to judge other people? Maria tried to talk again, to answer Narancia's question, but was quickly cut off by Kira's entrance. "How's everyone enjoying everything?" Kira asked as she glanced around. 

Narancia got up immediately, then moved to sit down with Kira, her plate in hand. "It's terrible. But I love your hair!" She complimented randomly, and this caused Maria and James to frown slightly. The girl was certainly eccentric. Even moreso than the others. 

Kira avoided the waterwoman's gaze, and turned to Gadian as Narancia whispered something to Maria. "Was it something I said?" 

A sparkle shone in Maria's bespeckled eyes as the new girl seemingly gave her another opportunity to introduce herself. "I-I don't think so. B-by the way, my name is Mari-" She spoke, before getting cut short as a dark shadow burst in from the entrance, leaping from table to table, food rapidly disappearing into a small plate on the boy's hand before he slammed down on the seat next to the others. 

"Sup ^ (not the meaning of the word "respect".)." He gave a greeting, then set back on course for his meal in a way that could only be described as a vacuum sucking up everything in sight, his hands indiscriminately grabbing at every food in sight and throwing it into his mouth, chewing noisily and without concern. 

Maria's frown deepened, her head tilting down. "Nevermind..." She muttered and went back to eating her food. 

The demi-god looked at Mike, finally removing his attention from his salad. "Where were you during training?" He asked, genuinely curious. The training simulation seemed like something that would have been his speed.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 1, 2013)

*Mike Williams*
_Bitch Do You Not See Me Eating_

Mike had barely caught what James had asked due to the fact he was too busy stuffing his face. He stopped eating, but waited before answering. He was still chewing, and it took him a while before he swallowed. If this was any normal peasant food he would've have spoken with his mouth open and allowed all the food fly out of his mouth and land on his peers, but the brown eyed boy actually wanted to savor this. 


It was sort of hard to swallow, and he looked around for a drink to help him put everything down, but there was none. If he didn't know any better, Kira was trying to kill everyone. Lay out delicious food, but no beverages? She was just asking everyone to choke. If Lillian hadn't given him such strict rules, he would have shoved down food into Kira's throat.

"Well Lillian and I made a bet, which was more or less who ever loses in a fight becomes the other persons bitch. After the close fight, which Lillian was the victor of, she told me to go and wash up, eat some shitty food she set out, and then meet her in the meditation room. I had time to spare, and walked around the base. Lillian found me and told me I could eat some of this."

He noticed Kira was in the room.

"Shitty dry ass food as long as I freed someone from Leroy's interrogation room. Here I am now."

He resumed eating. Suddenly the sound of a door opened, and Kimberly walked in. She walked near everybody.

"Hey guys, I'm back. Kira I restocked the kitchen just like you asked. Oh and this looks delicious by the way."

The black haired girl casually walked to get a plate and place some food on top. Each step she took were elegant, graceful, and sophisticated. Mike scoffed, who was she the queen of fucking England? Why did she always have to be so prim and proper. Again... if it wasn't for Lillian's strict set of rules, he would've have thrown something at the girl... like a plate... or a chair... or Maria.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 1, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
Dining Hall, Team Base

______________________​

James nodded. That made sense. If he had to fight with Lillian, then he'd likely have been too tired to take part in another fight - against Alex, of all people. Still, the thought of Mike getting owned or having to obey Lillian's orders was amusing. The demi-god resisted a smirk.  

"Shitty dry ass food as long as I freed someone from Leroy's interrogation room. Here I am now." Mike shrugged nonchalantly, then went back to devouring his food. 

Man, what was up with everyone and saying this food was bad? James noted that, more specifically, it was the people who seemed to have the most food on their plates as well. Mike alone had a small mountain on top of his, though it was decreasing rapidly by the second. "Well. I like the food." James muttered, then quickly dug his face into his muffler, feeling his face burning slightly and a small, not-controlled, smile creeping along. It wasn't ideal, and Mike was still a dick, but for the first time in years James actually felt like he was at home.


----------



## kluang (Dec 1, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

He arrives at the Dining Hall and sees his teammates eats their food. He smiles warmly at the sight and and as he descent to the dining hall, he notices  Goose Girl. " Nice costume." but then his scar began to ached and he unshoulder the Sword Coffin and place it next to Rinoa who keeps staring at her food ignoring all the conversation. Squall pats her shoulder, "Give it a try." and he nods and smile at James and Gadian before getting his food.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 1, 2013)

*Narancia Lospaluto & Kira Fujisawa* 
Dining Hall, Team Base

______________________​
Narancia smiled at Maria, squeezing her shoulder.  The woman's palms were just a little moist, but she grinned.  It wasn't exactly inviting, and had a certain degree of instability clearly displayed, but it was still a smile.  "Don't worry.  Maria right?  It'll pass once you get used to them."

Kira smiled as she watched Mike not just stack his plate, but also seem to savor the food as he stuffed his face.  He had a weird way of expressing it, but she knew his words weren't sincere.  Gauging what Gadian meant, and Kimberly and James' compliments, she beamed inwardly at the compliments, but otherwise kept a straight face.  "Oh!  There's nothing to drink, a moment."  She left to go find them things to wash the food down with.  It seemed everyone was happy...besides the weird new girl.  She glanced over at her, and how she seemed to have taken a liking to Maria.  

She was probably a bitch anyway.  She returns with a pitcher of iced tea, nodding to Kimberly.  "Thanks again Kimberly, couldn't have done it without you."  Sitting, the shadow adept pauses a few moments longer and then glances around.  "So...where exactly are all of you from?"


----------



## Island (Dec 1, 2013)

*The Grey Man*
Dining Hall, Team Headquarters​
Finally Grey entered the dining hall. He saw many of the team members from city hall gathered around a large table, consuming what appeared to be a feast of various meats, potatoes, and vegetables, all native Earth foods. In one corner, he saw his partner speaking to some young woman. Then in another corner, he saw that James Brooklyn character talking to another young woman. He also saw a handful of other individuals, but he didn’t recognize nor care about them, since they seemed to be periphery members of the team.

“Greetings, pu- fellow humans.” Grey announced, opting to take a seat near James and Maria. “I am the Incredible Goose-Man.”


----------



## kluang (Dec 1, 2013)

*Squall/Rinoa*

He grabs his food and sits next to Rinoa. He smells the food and begins eating it. "This food is good." and he looks at Rinoa who is poking her food.  "Seriously Rinoa, its good. "

He looks at James and Kimberly.  "So what happen when I was away? "


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 1, 2013)

After greeting the goose-themed hero, Isaac walks down the corridor, takes the first right and sees two staircases.  According to the directions, the right one leads to the rooms for all the males.  Naturally, he goes to the right and continues walking down the hallway until he spots his assigned quarters.  He opens the door, and flips the switch for the lights.  Isaac sees a bed, a television with a basic cable set, and a small shelf of books in the corner.  Obviously not a luxury room, but it's adequate enough.  He takes off his gas mask and coat, seeing as he won't be needing it here of all places.  He didn't need a colorful gaudy costume like some of the heroes he's seen; simplicity is often the best approach.

Isaac finds the TV remote on top of his bed and turns on the TV.  The first thing he sees there is a man on his knees, pleading at a woman who seems to be leaving him.

"You can't be with him!  We're destined to be together!  I'm your reality, not that nobody!" the man said.

"If you're my reality, then I'd rather live in my delusions," she coldly responded.

Isaac winced and immediately switched the channel.  That's not his kind of television, to say the least.  How those shows make it on the air, he'll never know.  The next channel he flipped to has the show _Hannibal_ on.  Ah, now _that_ is quality TV.  The titular character is someone Isaac can somewhat relate to.  While not as monstrous as the good Dr. Lecter, they do have some basic characteristics in common.  Both hide a facet of themselves from society, using the guise of benevolence to do so.  The protagonist, Will Graham, is also of interest to him.  His constant trips into the minds of society's worst is costing him his own sanity and Isaac wonders if he'll suffer the same fate.  He isn't feeling particularly unstable now, but he hasn't been memory diving for that long either.  Well, time will tell, he supposes.  Isaac lies on his bed and watches the show.

*About an hour later...*

After finishing the episode, Isaac turns off the TV and gets up off the bed.  He gets out of his room, leaving behind his coat and mask, wearing only his plain clothes.  It would be strange for everyone else to be in costume here, seeing as this is their secret base, with data on their secret identities anyway.  Even if they are, being out of costume would be a good way for Isaac to show his trust of the team and reinforce the image of his friendly nature.  Last he heard, the team members were in the dining room.  He makes his way there, hoping they're still around.  He needs to know what he's dealing with, after all.


----------



## Island (Dec 2, 2013)

*The Grey Man*​
Dining Hall, Team Headquarters​
Grey picked up a chicken leg and brought it close to his face, as if examining it with the eyes that he does not have. After a couple moments, he glanced around the table, and then placed the piece of meat on his plate. Unfortunately for him, he did not have a use for this food and was only really there for formality’s sake. Being the enhanced being that he was, he did not consume food and therefore did not require a mouth to do so.

_“Feeble humans,”_ he shook his head, _“I do not require sustenance to sustain myself the same way that you do. I do not dehydrate, and I do not starve. My body is much more efficient at processing the various chemicals that enter it, and therefore, it is not necessary for me to constantly shove things into a hole in my mouth and then excrete it from another because my body is not advanced enough to make use for everything that enters it.”_


----------



## Advocate (Dec 2, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Martin took his time in getting to the Dining Hall. Partly it was because he still felt woozy and disoriented, a feeling that was not helped by the strains of his mental attack on Alex. While it seemed to have actually worked, he knew that he would definitely need to work on his abilities. In some ways, the prospect was exciting. In others it was frightening - the price of failure might be more than mere defeat or death. He could do grievous damage to his own mind - or those of others.

Also, while looking for a quiet spot in which to rest and recover, the alien could not help but notice a number of people he had not seen here - or anywhere - before. First there was some adolescent male with red hair, who seemed like he literally wandered off the street; he was trying to flee from the interrogation room. Martin took cover and prepared to scan him, but was interrupted by the arrival of two people he had recognised as their other trainers. As they had the situation well in hand, the alien decided not to exert himself further.

A few minutes after finally settling into a small, quiet corner, he saw not one, but three new arrivals: a big, bulky gray humanoid with no facial features, a somewhat more human-seeming person in a trenchcoat and a gas mask, and a young woman in a costume and a mask, who still seemed strikingly familiar in some way he could not quite place...

Trusting in his alien instincts, Martin made a stealthy retreat before any of them (or Leroy, who was escorting the group) could notice him. He continued to spy on them from afar, seeing the Magnificent Trenchcoat Man go to his quarters, while the other two headed to the dining room. Realising this, he went to his own quarters, to pray and compose himself, before emerging to spy on Mr. Gas Mask.

As it turned out, the man had already removed his post-apocalyptic paraphernalia and was engaged in watching some gruesome TV series. This offered an opportunity, however. Having made sure that he is carefully hidden, Martin subtly reached into the new hire's mind...

...only to recoil and withdraw. The shock wasn't as great as earlier; the last few encounters had taught him something. Of all the luck, though! The man clearly had some kind of mental barriers up. Whether he was a full psychic or not, it was clear that Martin had no chance of getting into his head uninvited, especially if it remained shielded even when he had no obvious reason to expect an intrusion.

As the man finished his murdershow and headed down to the dining hall, Martin got up, made sure his human guise was put on straight and wasn't out of synch, and then went after him. Very unobtrusive-like. There's more than one way to spy on suspicious new arrivals.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 2, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Something Isn't Right_

Kimberly had sat down, deciding to enjoy the food. Everything was delicious, she really had to hand it to Kira. Not only was she a crime fighter but an awesome cook. The girl simply observed everyone, preferring to stay quiet while she was eating. She observed everyone with her green eyes, and allowed everyone to chitchat as she just listened and focused on her food.

Then she felt it, a lie coming from Goose Man, right around the moment when he announced his identity to everyone. At first, the silky black haired girl contemplated speaking out and staying quiet. But maybe this small lie could lead into something more, what if he wasn't who he said he was? What if he was a wolf in sheep's clothing? It didn't help his cause that his speech was extremely obscure. The way he spook...

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt." 

Her eyes gazed at Goose Man.

"Let's go back, you said you were the "Incredible Goose-Man", correct? Well sorry if I am mistaken, but that's a lie. Care to explain?" 

The girl picked up her cup, and took a sip of water. Little did she know that it had been spiked by someone in the room. 

"You see, my powers al-."

She stopped, in just mere moments she got woozy and disoriented. 

"W-Where was- I need a minute."

The girl sat up, and began to walk towards the door, stumbling a bit here and there. She couldn't think straight, and her empathy began going haywire. Everyone's emotions felt weird, she couldn't tell who was who. She stormed out of the door.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 2, 2013)

*Leroy Steel* 
Cafeteria, Team Hideout

______________________​

The footsteps of Leroy Steel, like lightning, were heard before they were seen, resonating heavily through the corridors and into the cafeteria as he strode his way there. Even Kimberly, disorientated and shot as her senses were, could hear him, and her eyes widened as he saw him approach. With a large hand, Leroy grabbed the girl, and shoved her inside again. "*Get back inside. I have important shit to say and you don't want to miss it.*"

With a thunderous clap of his hands, the dark skinned man immediately caught everybody's attention, heads turning around to face him. Leroy looked over the team briefly, then began speaking again. "*Alright, now that I've got your attention. You've all had time to recover from your little training simulation with food and the like. Now it's time you all started doing your jobs and actually get crap done. Your mission is in North Saint Haven, where you're going to stop a small group of rogue cyborg guards from blowing more shit up. The guys in the area aren't taking it very well and some of them have actually taken to violent rioting. Needless to say, they're not really winning against the heavily armed robots. Amusing as it is to watch, I want you all to also get those idiots to safety so they don't actually get killed.*" He explained. "*I've had one of the staff email the rest of the team about this, so they're all briefed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got important shit to do. Try not to get killed too much. Those robots are a lot more dangerous than they look.*" With a nod, the cyborg promptly turned around and left the room. 

James frowned. "Cyborg guards? This city has _cyborg guards_?" He repeated, as if to make sure he heard right. If the city had robots guarding it, then how was it such a mess? Then again, from what Leroy said, it seemed more like they were only concentrated on the north.

______________________​
The cyborg entered a darkened room, illuminated only by a wall of glowing computer screens, each monitoring an individual member of the team while a large one at the top showed the area in northern Saint Haven. Taking out a cup of black coffee, Leroy took a sip and set it down, leaning backwards, intently watching the screens. "*Let's see how well those brats do...*"


----------



## Island (Dec 2, 2013)

*The Grey Man*​
Dining Hall Team Headquarters​
A young woman approached, first apologizing for her interruption, and then accused him of lying about being the Incredible Goose-Man. At first, Grey didn?t know what to say, unaware what this woman was or what kinds of powers she had, but then, she paused, becoming pale and losing her balance.

Somebody must have poisoned her drink, that somebody probably being his partner.

_?Feeble human.?_

Grey turned to his partner, Narancia, hoping for some kind of explanation.

?Oh, poor girl,? she stated aloud, ?She must have had an allergic reaction to the cooking, or something. It must be interfering with her powers??


----------



## Advocate (Dec 2, 2013)

_Meanwhile, back in the sewer._

Abruptly and without warning, the underground room went quiet. The frantic flashing of lights died down, though a few of them continued to flicker. The buzzing of machines and the whirring of the cooling fans likewise ceased or dropped to normal levels. The men’s shoulders sank; their lungs emitted sighs, of relief or frustration, as they tried to catch their breaths; their hands moved to wipe off the sweat from their brows. Their headphones, nonetheless, stayed on. They liked them.

The first one to break the silence was Mr. Caldi himself, his face red and sweaty (for once he looked as though he matched his nickname). He frowned impatiently as he asked: “What happened?”

A few seconds passed before one of the operators answered in a quiet, somewhat wispy voice: “The target went to the surface and was engaged by two superhumans…”

“I know that part!” Caldi shouted. Then he immediately composed himself: “What happened just now?”

“A third fighter, likely another superhuman, entered the fray,” a different operator deigned to speak.

“And he attacked the target too?”

“Yes. He – or she – finished the fight in one blow.”

“Fantastic. And we really don’t have any idea of who any of them were?”

“It can’t be hard to find out once we go back to the surface,” the first operator opined cautiously. “There is bound to be plentiful footage of it on the Internet…”

“I need to know this now!” Caldi shouted, getting even redder, tiny specks of frost appearing on his face. While he knew that not leaving any trails of the operation on the Internet was important, right now this security measure was only getting in the way.

“The first two were the Gray Man and Narancia,” Dr. Druzhbin pointed out casually, looking up from his black handheld device. “The Gray Man, as you know, is a special Mafia contact, and Narancia is one of my patients.”

Caldi glared at the doctor, then at his device, then back at the doctor’s face. Nonetheless, he seemed somewhat calmed by this. “And why were they fighting Merkava?” he asked, his voice suddenly letting his exhaustion slip through.

“The plan was to show off for the public and to infiltrate the Mayor’s team,” the doctor shrugged.

“The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. And the right hand uses it to stab the left hand from behind,” the Mafia lieutenant shook his head in aggravation.

“If it helps, that plan did not originate with any of the bosses,” Druzhbin added, smiling serenely. “Also, I imagine the fourth combatant was probably from the Mayor’s team, which means their ruse must have worked. There has been no further abnormal activity up there.”

“I see,” Mr. Caldi said blankly, before turning towards the operators again. “Well – what is the target’s status now? Is it alive?”

“Yes, currently. Unconscious. We have no idea of the damage…”

“Where is it?” the overseer pressed them.

“Still in the area. There was a big explosion…”

“It didn’t get very far from the nearest access point, then,” Mr. Caldi nodded.

“Mr. Caldi, you don’t mean to go after it right now, do you?” Dr. Druzhbin asked, a half-gray eyebrow raised.

“What’s the problem, doctor? I thought you were eager to work on Merkava.”

“Oh, I am,” the Russian smiled. “But I thought you wanted to keep monitoring it for longer.”

“I would rather have acted after getting the containment facility fully set up,” Mr. Caldi admitted. “But this is an ideal opportunity. And besides – we can’t risk it falling into someone else’s hands, or being destroyed.”

“They seem to have left it alone, for now,” one of the operators chipped in again. “But we think that may give it time to wake up…”

“If it wakes up, what would be its first priority?” Mr. Caldi asked suddenly after picking up his gun and his radio, and turning to face Druzhbin.

“Just like Narancia, I imagine it would flee back to safety. It is a beast, after all,” the doctor mused. “Yes, I see what your idea is. I don’t doubt _you_ could seize it, weakened as it is, even with our inadequate facilities.”

“Planning to come with us, doctor?” Mr. Caldi asked, an uncommon enthusiasm apparent in his expression. He seemed much more content now that he had settled on a course of action.

“Afraid not,” Stanislav Druzhbin smiled apologetically after looking over Mr. Caldi and the guards. “If all goes well, you should be able to handle it on your own. And if it doesn’t, I don’t think my patients would forgive me for throwing my life away so needlessly. Good luck, though! I’ll be watching.” And he sat back down, pressing a button on his device.


----------



## kluang (Dec 2, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife
*
"Cyborgs huh..." he looks at Rinoa who forces herself to eat the food and he look at Goose Man. Kimberly just call him a liar. He knows Kimberly and knows she would never accuse someone without proof. Maybe her empathy showed her something. And then Kimberly becomes woozy and disoriented. The lady in the weird costume says she had an allergic reaction to the cooking.

Maybe. Rinoa knows her better though.

Squall gets and takes Kimberly's drink. "I gonna take this to medlab for analysis. Meet you guys at the entrance."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 3, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
North Saint Haven

______________________​

The mayor was surprisingly efficient and well prepared in regards to transport. When they had been told they had a mission in north Saint Haven, James had wondered how they would get there. By walking? Running? Taxi? As it turned out, Kimberly apparently had a personal vehicle given to her which could fit the entire team into it. A large, heavily modified and armoured car with fourteen seats. Actually, in hindsight, it looked more like a mini-bus than a car. James frowned when he saw it. A minibus screamed 'school trip' more than 'hero team', but he didn't bother complaining and just got in, taking a seat at the front.

It was in this journey, that James realized how segmented Saint Haven really was. Despite a supposed robot uprising happening in the north section of the city - which would be a pretty big there - traffic in and out of it was flowing relatively normally, like the rest of the city was completely unaffected. The drive was quick, though the group sat mostly in silence, save some odd chatter and Mike's complaining. 

The car stopped, just short of the epic-centre of the riot and the team got out, James putting a hand on his scarf. "I'll take care of the civilians. My powers are probably best suited for that." The demi-god stated, his eyes turning gold as he looked onward, detecting a huge clump of unrest in a nearby street. James looked down at his hand, a small flicker and swirl of energy flaring and then dissipating. "They're in the streets a few blocks away, I think. Can you guys keep the robots and stuff occupied while I try and evacuate the civs?" He asked.


----------



## Chronos (Dec 3, 2013)

Merkava

Without a moments notice its body had sustained enough damage to take on several tanks, the source of its power, the mane had been shorten a substantial degree, although the adaptability was working at its apex, Merkava's still wasn't nearly prepared to withstand such a barrage, at this point, it began to.. think. Now, naturally, it had never encountered beings which held powers that were beyond its own, the meal that once stood before him was powerful, yet it held something different that common folk didn't, other than an immense amount of power, it held--

Sparks began to fly through his limbs, causing his train of thought to had been halted, as it's stood and its body slowly began to adapt, tendrils began to spread, coiling at anything physical, be it a tree and piece of metal, anything and began to pull it in. Before long, it met with its flesh, mending the open wounds with the alloy he had captured, the bodies of the humans who were still prowling around the earth were also captured and swallowed instantly. Merkava's mane began to grow, several minutes passed, and when it decided that it was functioning well enough, he retreated amongst the darkened alleys, morphing into its panther form in process. He made its way towards the whole he formed during his attacked, getting back towards its lair.

The stench grew, the patterns on its flesh illuminated the darkness of the sewers, turning its gaze, limping, it released a growl under its breath, as it reached the end, where bones laid and the walls were adorned with stains of blood. Laying down, the radiant gleam of his eyes glared at the distance, recuperating for its next target.


----------



## Fedster (Dec 3, 2013)

*Agent ~ Luke Walters​*
Suddenly, I calmed myself. Well, actually, the grey-haired woman who was talking to me calmed my shit. I don't know why, but I could take a wild guess. I think it was her voice. But how come a person could have such an impact on me? Maybe...Because of what she was proposing to me? To this date, I still don't know. But let's return to the main topic. This woman asked me if I could be his eyes and ears on this place, while she take care of some business outside. Well, spying and gathering information was my field of experty. Without information, a Hero like me couldn't work properly, and would probably get killed.

"I will." I accepted before I could realize, and I took the card given to me. It was from the guy being carried away by the woman. Should I assist her? No, it would be bad if I'm caught by _that_ man again without any kind of identification, so my best course of action was to visit the man who I saw earlier, dutifully following the woman's instructions...

...
...
...Wait.

She was Lillian from the Old Guard, wasn't she? Fuck, I should've asked her for an autograph.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 3, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Making My Way Uptown_

Finally the heroes arrived at their destination, thanks to the vehicle that was given to the team. The vehicle was large, larger than Kimberly had expected. But considering the size of the team... this was necessary. One thing the green eyed girl noticed was that there were multiple buttons all over the front of the car, each one having a symbol on it. The agents did say it was heavily armed.

"Just... don't touch anything."

She told whoever was sitting up front with her. Last thing she wanted was a missile blasting a random civilian. The girl wiped the sweat from her forehead, she still felt horrible. Unfortunately her powers weren't working properly yet, and she wasn't at her best condition to fight. It was a miracle she even managed to drive the team here without any accidents.

"Sorry everyone... I don't think I'll be able to fight, I'm just not feeling it." 

"Like I said in the past. Useless.Ass.Bitch"

The jet black haired boy exited the large vehicle, as did the other heroes to face the threat. These were the coordinates that Leroy had given Kimberly, but where were the robots? It was obvious they were here, destruction and smoke plagued the area. The team, not  counting Kimberly had all exited the vehicle.  It didn't take long for the group of robots to spot the team.

"Finally! I get to kill something!"

Mike spiked his strength and speed; and then in one mighty bound he was in the air, and came crashing down like a bomb downwards to the robots.


----------



## kluang (Dec 3, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*


 "They're in the streets a few blocks away, I think. Can you guys keep the robots and stuff occupied while I try and evacuate the civs?" James asked.

"Understood." reply Squall and he looks at the rest of his team. "Kimberly,if you're still woozy stay here with James. The rest of us will engage the cyborgs. Mike you will be the point man."

"Finally! I get to kill something!"

Mike spiked his strength and speed; and then in one mighty bound he was in the air, and came crashing down like a bomb downwards to the robots.

"Like I said, point man." sighs Squall.

Rinoa looks at the area and she looks back at her map. " We pass the the Singa Door to come to his area which means, those cyborgs belongs to Yutani Tech."

"Anastasia." and the huge mithril sword pops out from the coffin and Squall catches it as falls. He then activate his power and lead the charge towards the robots.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 3, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
North Saint Haven

______________________​

James moved at top-speed, disappearing in an instant from the team as they set to work on keeping the robots occupied, taking the next corner of the street towards the source of the group of souls he detected earlier. Then, the sound of gunshot filled his ears, a rain of bullets flying towards him as he turned. Instinctively, James snapped his fingers, a turquoise barrier forming in front of him and deflecting the ammunition. He took a moment to breathe, and then looked from the direction the bullets came from. Rolling towards a now dispersed crowd of men and women was a single monowheel robot, arms outstretched; one aimed at James and the other aimed at the crowd. A large screen was installed into it's chest area, blurred and frizzed in a myriad of reds, pinks and white patches. 

The sound of gunshot exploded in the air once more, a hail of lead raining on a small group running into a nearby store. James darted forward, disappearing from sight while his hand reaching for the tuff of his muffler. Coming in between the attack and the target, the demi-god swung his garment, catching the bullets with it, hardening it with his soul. "Get away, it's dangerous for you guys to be sticking around here!" He shouted, sending a small shockwave of soul at the robot with a palm thrust, sending it stumbling backwards before it could shoot again.

Apparently, they didn't need telling twice, and had already ran off. 

Waving his hand, James weaved a small wall of his essence to barricade off the street and close it off from the robot's further advances then turned to look at the rogue. "Alright big guy, it's just you and me." He said, smiling, then swung again - this time at the arm, to try and slice it off.

The robot wasn't fast, and didn't dodge, but the slash didn't do much damage either, cutting into the metal a bit but not completely maiming it as the demi-god had hoped. Unperturbed, it raised it's arm to fire again, and James, likewise, rose an arm, forming a small barrier around the gun of it's arm and trapping the bullets in as they shot from the gun.

James moved again, keeping the barrier focused on it's hand, and concentrated on making the edges sharper. Visibly, the soul construct cut slightly deeper into it's hand, and James jumped up into the air, taking his scarf once again and focusing the sharpness on only the tips of it and shot it forward once more, the garment flying at the arm like a viper, cleaving through the 'wrist' of the arm at the edge of the barrier, the trapped gun hand falling onto the ground. The machine rose it's other arm, and fired once more as James begun to fall back onto the ground.

"Oh shit."


----------



## kluang (Dec 3, 2013)

Squall 'Tribal' Strife

He attacks a tripod like robot who began charging its large red and it glows intensely before unleashing it at the group.  He blocks it with his blade and is knock back by the laser's impact. Rinoa jumpsand use Squall as spring board and unleashes a barrage of explosive bullets that destroys the upper half of the robot.


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 3, 2013)

Brad Stroker-Night Fight
​
Coming off his date with Isabella, Shadow Mask was in more than a good mood. He had decided to go on the hunt for the run of the mill loan sharks and low level mobsters that had plagued West St.Haven. They were the perfect source of information on the Madeci...and blood. The night was young and Shadow Mask was hungry.

He took to the rooftops jumping from each to each. He spotted some mobsters throwing a man in a warehouse probably some poor sucker who owed a family money Brad figured. One of them looked around and went inside the building more than likely it was their look out. 

"Well I guess that's my-BAM" A kick sent Shadow Mask Rolling into the corner of the roof top. His helmet was dented from the Kick.

"Halt Villian ! This is where your killing spree ends !"


*Spoiler*: __ 





Name:Alex Bash
Age:25
Gender:Male (if it wasn't obvious)
Size [XL/L/M/S]:M
Race:Human
Personality:Hardass
Background:Was left in a unknown part of Thailand as a child. Learned a bizarre form of Muay Thai from the animals that raised him
Health:20
Power: 35
Strength: 25
Durability: 20
Accuracy: 25
Speed: 20
Charisma: 15
Intelligence: 20
Powers / Abilities: Master Thai-Fighter




"You idiot I was about to go stop those loan sharks fro-" SWISH Alex through a interrupting kick that Shadow Mask barley dodged. "As if the ramblings of a serial killer mattered."Flashes of the old couple Bradley fed on beamed through his head "I'M NOT A KILLER !" "As if it mattered ! Tree Top combination !"

A bizarre series of punches and kicks were thrown at Shadow Mask each one barley missing, each hit getting closer, grazing him, slicing his costume with every  near-miss. "Fuck this. Hyah!" Shadow Mask finally attacked throwing a kick that was sent straight into Alex's ribs. "Hnnngh." Alex kept his mouth closed and withstood the kick him eyes bulging while he ignored his cracked ribs. He grabbed Shadow Masks leg while being kicked and flipped him off the building. 

Shadow Mask's back hit the West Haven's metro tracks. He could see the train coming. Bradley jumped up and landed on top of it. "That fucker actually tried to kill me ! This is the type of people T.A.N.K is entrusting the protection of Saint Haven to ? What a joke."  "I'm not done yet ! Monkey Riser !" Alex came from out of nowhere and flip kicked Bradley on to the 2nd train car, leaving another dent in his helmet. 

Alex jumped after him Shadow Mask hung off the side of the train and crashed into it through a window. Alex went after him doing the same thing through the entrance Shadow Mask made but only found a few frightened passengers. "Where is he ?" One of the passenger pointed up and Alex found Shadow Mask clinging to the top of the inside. Shadow Mask hissed at him and brought down his hand in a chopping motion and Alex threw a kick straight up. Which of them would hit first ?


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 3, 2013)

*A Shadowed Fist Full of Feathers* 
North Saint Haven

______________________​
Narancia rolled her eyes as Squall trotted off towards the medlab, excusing herself to use the bathroom soon after.  Shifting her form with her mercurial powers, she donned a new shape as she approached the nurses office.  It was the generic appearance of one of the agents; suit, generic haircut, shades, the whole nine.  Not long after Squall had left, she sang a song, giving instruction as she had to the guards during the initial attack, though simpler.

_"Hurry up, don't by shy, open this door and come on by~"
_

She took care to stay away from the cameras, and watched as the nurse set the cup down by the door, and walk back to her station as if nothing was wrong.  Then, in the form of the agent, she knelt, took the drink, and swallowed, depositing the former contents, and internalizing the remaining traces of poison into a small pill.  Then she rushed off to rejoin the team, shifting back to her normal form.  Meanwhile, the nurse regained control of her thoughts, and backtracked her way to the door, picking up the cup.

"That was strange.  Anyway, back to work..."

------------------------------------------​
One worry Kira had for this team was that they were incapable of working together.  She kept quiet about her concern for Kimberly, sincerely believing it might've been her cooking that had gotten the girl sick.  No one really looked out for the others; Squall and Rinoa did their own thing apart from Mike's charge, and no one went to go back up James.

Wait a second...where did James go?

Kira watched in alarm as James recklessly charged for the rogue robot that had been displaced by the citizens.  She blinked over to the bot's shadow, hands quickly dialing what any amateur hacker would recognize as an automatic shut down protocol for most basic android operating systems.  A quick, 3 digit code she entered directly into the control panel on the bot's back.

This situation was slightly different, however.  For a moment, the gun, and all of the robot's arsenal, powered down.  As the robot tried to understand what was happening, it quickly coded its own override for Kira's shoddy one trick pony.  It turned on her, aiming its gun at a new target, and firing, her shadow moving in a blur of motion as it caught the bullets, and then dropped the shells to the ground uselessly.  It wavered from absorbing the kinetic energy that went into the firing, the force of the attack already cutting into the set amount of punishment it could handle in a certain time period.

"James!" she lectured over the din of the gradually unfolding chaotic situation, moving from her own shadow to his as she was shot at again.  "Stop trying to be so casual!  We're here for you to rely on us, not to work independent of you!  If you keep trying to do your own thing, you'll get hurt!"  She then frowned a little, drawing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear as she lowered her voice.  "Just don't forget we're a team, ok?"


----------



## Platinum (Dec 4, 2013)

*The City of Saints
-Noel Bellerose​*
The plane landed at around nine that morning; and among the throng of humanity that rushed every direction to the meetings and commitments that awaited them was a nameless man waiting patiently to pick up his bags. He was nothing out of the ordinary; a dark skinned man in his mid thirties. Articulate and polite to those who stopped to ask him questions or just to chat a moment; he tipped his cap to each and every one as he went on his way to the parking lot where a chauffeur was waiting to take him to the metro station. From there he would arrive near the hotel he would be staying at for the next few days until he had organized a more permanent residence for himself. 

The man entered the metro, purchased his ticket, and sat down on one of the empty benches that he saw to wait for its arrival. For lack of anything better to do, the man began to watch and study the people that walked past him. It kept him sharp, focused. He surmised it was better than just staring at the ceiling, after all you never knew who you'd spot in a crowd in a place like St. Haven. 

Five minutes after the man began people watching, an Asian women in her early twenties sits down next to the man. The women rummages through he purse for a mirror, and after finding it gives herself a quick look over. It wouldn't be terribly difficult to pick her out of a crowd. The blue streak that ran through the left side of her hair was an easy enough give away, and that goes without mentioning the two piercings on her right eyebrow.

"Hello there", the woman beamed in an attempt at starting conversation. 

"Greetings miss", was his reciprocation. The man didn't bother to lock eyes with the woman, he was still focusing on the passerby's. 

"So.... uh, quite the city huh?", the woman half spoke, half stuttered.

"Not another one like it in the world miss", he replied in agreement.

"You come here often I take it?", the woman inquired which finally got the man to turn and face her.

"My first time actually miss" was his reply. 

"Mine too...", she sighed and began to rummage through her purse looking for nothing in particular. "You see i'm supposed to be meeting someone later, but they have this really annoying ability to never be found unless they want to be. And even worse, they will see you clear as day, and still not approach you. It's just so irritating, and Noel can we please stop pretending that it isn't you i'm talking to!?"

Almost immediately, the man's cadence and posture changed completely, a brief flicker passed across his entire body and disappeared just as quickly. "What gave it away this time?"

"The way you looked mostly.", the woman stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "You were giving off some strong predator vibes the way you looked at some of those people, felt it half way across the station. Anyways", she spoke in a blatant attempt to change the subject, "How was the flight?"

"Dull and uneventful. Though the flight attendant; the flight attendant was.... something, to put it light. That's a story for another day I suppose. The three of you followed my instructions right?"

"Affirmative", the woman replied with a nod. "I took the metro and overland routes, Alannah, for some reason, decided to book a bus ride into town and had a cab finish the rest, and then Vincent.... well I think he just rented a car and drove here. He's in some traffic though and won't be able to make the scheduled meet which is why i'm here. Three separate paths, three separate times of departure just like you said."

"Good work", which was about the highest level of praise Noel would bring himself at this moment of time. "And the names?" 

"I still don't see why we need to change our monikers", the woman groaned. "I was used to mine you know? It was second nature to me; might as well have been my real name all things considered."

"New city, new names", Noel repeated as he had so many times to her. "That's why we came out here is it not, for the fresh start? From the ashes of our old lives The Phoenix rises. Remember that. We can't have people tracing our aliases down, it can compromise everything we are trying to do Naomi. So have the three of you finally decided?" 

Naomi nodded again. "Yeah. I ended up going with Luna."

Noel gave her a look of approval. "I like it. Symbolic, poetic, mysterious... fits you like a glove. And what did Alannah and Vincent end up deciding on?"

"Alannah really was set on Cassandra from the start, and Vincent thought Revenant sounded imposing and ominous enough so that was he went with, typical Vincent." 

"Good. Keep to the aliases in all formal discourse from here on out, you know the drill Naomi", Noel glanced down at the watch on his wrist and noticed he only had five minutes before he had to board, it was time to wrap this up.

"So Luna", he began. "Find Revenant and Cassandra and tell them that we will meet up tomorrow then. The source I have established wants to meet today; I might have our first operation ready before the week is out. In time Luna, we will finally have what we all wanted: power, respect, the freedom to live a life that is actually worth something" He gave her a final acknowledgement before turning and moving towards his destination. 

Noel couldn't help but feel the strut in his step. He had been planning this since he had first met Naomi, and subsequently Alannah and Vincent, and what he was planning was something special. Fortunes were made and fortunes were lost every day in this city he had heard in the past. Well it was time his was made. He would fight and claw for every scrap, he would earn what was rightfully his for himself and their family, The Phoenix, would rise proudly above the ashes. The game was on, the die was cast. And Noel Bellerose never played the game to lose. He gave a knowing smirk to no one in particular as he boarded and began to silently ponder his ever growing to do list.


----------



## kluang (Dec 4, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife/Rinoa*

He looks behind and sees Kira help and saves James from the robot and he gives a thumbs up at Kira. "We really need  to get the group to move as one unit."

"You want me to help Kira and James?" ask Rinoa and Squall silently looks at the approaching cyborgs.  "Stay with Gadian, Quantum and Espejo. I'm not sure how their power will fare against machines." 

Squall looks at Maria and signals her to stand next to him.

"Howbout those Goose people?" ask Rinoa. Squall didnt response to her answer. The lie that Kimberly spoke off still bothers him, but if they need to complete their mission, teamwork is priority and he decide to keep what Kimberly said a secret until he can confirm it himself.

"Maybe they can aid Mike. God knows he wont listen to nobody by Lilian."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 4, 2013)

*James and Maria* 
North Saint Haven

______________________​

I land back on the ground casually, wrapping my muffler around my neck again as I looked at Kira. "Thanks for the help." I give a smile, then appear next to her in a burst of speed, forming a small wall between us and the robot as another wave of bullets fire towards her, a single arm outstretched. I pause briefly, thinking of what to say. A part of me wanted to fight the machine on my own to show off how strong I was, but the other, more sensible, half agreed with Kira. We were a team, which meant teamwork. I conceded."I guess you're right." Levelling my palm so that it covered the cyborg facing me, I ball it into a fist, then flick out a single finger, sending the wall flying into it like a heavy battering ram, forcing it to stumble backwards.

"Can you make sure it's other arm can't shoot at me with your shadow thing? I could probably do it with some barriers, but this way..." I say, a hand reaching for my scarf, my eyes turning gold as I looked back up at the securiton, which had now started moving again. "I can focus entirely on cutting it into shreds."

Truth be told, I could probably take the securitron out on my own. And probably could have defended myself in the air earlier. But, my eyes flickering towards Kira briefly, I didn't _mind_ being saved by her. Though, at the same time, I wanted to avoid revealing all my cards here. As much as I disliked it, I still couldn't bring myself to fully trust my team. 

______________________​
I jumped, just barely evading a hail of bullet fire, a branch of blood forming out of the wound on my hand and crystallizing into my sword. Everyone else had already started moving, and I didn't want to be left behind. I charge at one of the securitons, bringing my blade up to deflect a round of bullets just in time, then slash at it's chest, heating up the tips and edges of my weapon, the scimitar tearing and burning through the machine's screen. "Sorry!" I apologize, static and electricity cackling out of the injury I inflicted. 

Then it moved again, unperturbed by the damage, and swung an arm. Somehow, I managed to move out of the way of the attack and retreated, slicing my weapon through the air and firing my own round of pellets. Pellets of corrosive, heated blood.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 4, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Teamwork...Nah_

Upon making impact with the ground, he had spiked his strength causing a huge crater to form below him. The gang of robots had scattered, but some were pelted by debris from the attack, albeit the debris didn't harm them much. The jet black haired boy scanned the area, he had no idea which one to start with. There was so many to choose fro- the sound of gunshots echoed throughout the area, as a spray of bullets were shot at Mike.

"Holy shit!"

He immediately spiked various capabilities as he jumped backwards dodging the barrage of bullets. He hated to say it, but if it wasn't for Kira's feast he'd probably have to conserve his energy. The food that Lillian had given him was enough to sustain himself and use his powers, but with the feast Kira had prepared he could use his powers as recklessly as he wanted without the fear of getting fatigued.

He charged forward, towards two robots. With his speed spiked he closed the distance, and threw a punch, his fist tearing into the robot's chest like paper. He continuing running, with his fist still lodged inside the robot, until he reached a building which the robot was slammed into. The boy felt electricity surge through him and winced, right before turning off his pain receptors. The second robot had turned around, and began rapidly firing it's gun, unfortunately for Mike, the robot he had just assaulted was still functioning.

_"Not enough time to dodge!"_

Pivoting one hundred and eighty degrees with his fist still lodged inside the robot's chest, the spray of bullets made contact with the currently damaged robot. By turning the brown eyed boy had used the robot as a shield. Luckily it was sturdy enough so the bullets wouldn't travel straight through, but little by little the bullets did it's damage and the light in it's eyes dimmed until it was gone. Finally after the other robot ceased fire, the teen pulled his fist out of the robot.

"One down. A shitload more to go."

He dashed into the fray once more.


----------



## Narurider (Dec 4, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru​*
As Gadian got out of the car, James had already decided he was going to run off and protect the civilians by himself. Gadian was unsure whether or not he should go after him but his attention was quickly diverted when he heard Kimberly telling them she couldn?t fight. His eyes scanned her over for a moment and he glanced at Onca, who was also assessing the girl?s condition. The jaguar seemed to frown, while as much as jaguar can frown, and he let out a low growl. Gadian stared at him for a moment before whispering to him, ?What is it??

?I think I know what is wrong with the girl.? Onca padded over to Kimberly and circled the girl until he was satisfied before rushing back to Gadian. The shaman frowned at the spirit?s behaviour and was glad that none of the others could see him or else they would have found it quite unusual. The jaguar looked up at Gadian with his fangs bared. ?That Incredible Goose-Man...you must be careful around him, Gadian. I know he?s not who he says he is and he certainly isn?t friendly. I can tell he is up to now good and Kimberly noticed as well. She went to confront him and that is around when she started to feel ill.?

?Well I?ll make sure to keep a close eye on him but for now, we need to fight.? Onca nodded at the shaman?s statement and let Gadian ?grab? him like he had done so before. Once again Gadian felt the spirit enter his body, not as an invader but as a visitor. He grinned as he once again took on the properties of a jaguar. His fingernails turned to claws; his teeth became fangs and along with the more subtle changes such as heightened hearing came the usual blue glow that seemed to emanate from his eyes. Before he went charging off, he turned to Kimberly and spoke, ?If you get attacked or something just give a shout and I?ll come running. Wouldn?t want you to get hurt, now would we??

And with that, the boy shot forward like a bullet, leaving James to his own devices as he noticed Kira had followed the demi-god. The shaman noticed Maria fighting by herself and, partly out of concern and partly out of curiosity of what the girl could do, he charged off after her. He skidded past her and pivoted his body just as he stopped, slamming his foot into one of the robots? chest. It seemed unfazed by his attack, but he swiftly followed it up by thrusting his claws straight through the robot?s shoulder. His claws slowed to a stop halfway through and he watched as the robot aimed its gun straight at his face. He merely smiled as he withdrew his arm and gracefully span out of the way just as bullets began flying through the air.

The shaman cracked his knuckles as the robot readjusted its aim. Gadian threw himself to the ground, landing on all fours, and felt the bullets as the whizzed past him, missing his head by centimetres. As soon as they had passed over him, he shot forward, springing up from the ground and he dug his claws into the slight hole they had already made in the robot?s shoulder. As the robot once again readjusted its aim, he used his other hand to grab the other side of the hole. A grin crept onto his face as he wrenched his arms apart, ripping the robot?s arm off. He plucked it out of the air as it began to fall and he swung it full force at the robot. The severed arm smashed into the robot and parts of the robot merely fell off. Despite this, it was still alive and the shaman barely managed to avoid its next barrage of bullets. He threw the arm to the side and pulled both of his arms back, waiting. He thrust both of his arms forward and both sets of claws pierced through the robot?s chest. He kept on pushing and after a small electrical shock, his arms burst out the robot?s back.

With it finally dead, he swung his arms forward, sending it barrelling through the air and straight into another group of the robots. Gadian began to laugh and let out a loud cheer before dashing forward. _Onto the next one._


----------



## kluang (Dec 4, 2013)

Squall/Rinoa

Rinoa and Squall looks at how their teammates are doing and a smile appear on Squall's face. "Seems we underestimate the capability of our teammates."

They move forward unto a  humanoid robot armed with gatling gun mounted on its left shoulder. The gatling gun started to spin and unleashed rains of bullets to the pair. Rinoa avoided them with her speed and her gun kata knowledge while Squall spins his sword to deflect the bullets.

Rinoa aims at the building next to robot and calculate the angle needed for a ricochet shot. She fires twice and both bullets ricochet of the building and hit the spinning mechanism of the gatling gun causing to stop. Quickly Squall runs to the robot and decapitate it.


----------



## Advocate (Dec 5, 2013)

*El Espejo*

Once again, events developed too quickly for Martin to keep up with them. This time, however, he was determined to do what he could to help. Overcoming his fear and his hunger, Martin exited the minibus...

...and immediately followed James.

It wasn't as though there was much he could do against robots, right?

Unluckily, this extended to fooling them in any way, or even simply keeping them from paying him too much attention. Luckily, a few close shaves aside, Martin soon found that he could generally count on the rest of the team to draw the robots' attention away from him.

Taking advantage of whatever cover he could find and continuing to move to avoid the stray projectiles, the underfed alien caught up with James just in time to witness him confronting a particularly big and dangerous robot (though a somewhat ridiculous-looking one at that, what with its single wheel). Martin didn't even know they came in such varied shapes; though, of course, there wasn't a lot of them in what was until very recently _his_ part of the town...

But he had no time to gawk. While James engaged the robot, Martin followed the fleeing crowd. While they had enough of a presence of mind to flee while the demigod gave them the opportunity, some of them still seemed oddly hesitant. One did not need to be a psychic to guess why. One _did_ need to be a psychic to figure out where they last saw the friends and loved ones they were forced to leave behind without the unnecessary delays that simply asking them would entail.


----------



## Advocate (Dec 5, 2013)

_Monstrum._

It was too easy. Someone else might have found it disappointing. But the hunter was not in this for the thrill of the chase. He was a professional and he was glad to see that things panned out more or less as planned. And yet, he could not help but worry that there was some hidden trick.

The beast was caught on the way back to its lair. Luck or instinct let it avoid their first trap, but the Mafia granted Mr. Caldi significant resources for his operation. The guards tracked down the wounded monster within a minute of it returning to its lair. They weren’t going to take any chances.

First they threw grenades, and then they opened automatic fire. It felt like overkill, but Mr. Caldi knew in his head that it really wasn’t. And in any case – he wasn’t about to waste lives senselessly. They needed to daze their prey, knock it off balance before it could strike – even in its weakened form, it was best not to take any chances.

Seconds later – just in time for the beast to start to feel nervous and begin to get up, but before it could react in any other way – the Mafia’s top monster hunter stepped forward and held out his hands. He didn’t speak. Dispassionately, he stared at the creature in front of him, horrific and magnificent all at once, and at its lair, decorated with bones, and skulls, and blood. When he was on the job, the demanding, but fair overseer, the genial, reliable drinking buddy and the caring father disappeared entirely. His build made him seem just a little bit like a golem, a clay man, while his icy blue eyes resembled those of a hypnotist. Sometimes he could browbeat his prey with those eyes. But as he looked at the creature’s beautiful, powerful eyes, he realised that, weakened though it was, this was not going to be one of those situations.

Just as well. He had already activated his gift. It worked rapidly, like a machine gun, with a sound like glass breaking – over and over again. _Frost, frost, frost, frost_. A simple incantation, and the only one he knew – the only one he really needed.

The beast prepared to lunge – only to find its limbs frozen. Layer after layer of frost appeared on its skin. And it was freezing from the inside at the same time, fluids turning into ice.

Once again, it felt like overkill. Once again, it certainly was not. A normal animal, or a third-rate monster would have certainly been killed by such an exertion. If they had come upon Merkava at its full strength, Caldi mused, it may have slowed it down for a bit. But as it was, the creature simply stopped.

The electrical restraints were already prepared, as was the giant sack. They had little time to practice this, but the guards managed to finish it up swiftly, getting the creature ready for transportation to the containment facility. There, many more measures were being prepared – holy, magical, mechanical, energetic and above all, _human_. By the time it woke up, Merkava would be as secure as Mr. Caldi could imagine. Even with more preparation time, they could not have pulled this off better.

And yet, deep inside, the cold man knew a dull, animal-like fear. In his gut, he felt a dead certainty that the monster would escape again. And the next time they meet, the shoe would be on the other foot.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 5, 2013)

*North Saint Haven*

It's unfortunate that he never had a chance to eat, but he couldn't refuse a mission.  Now here in North Saint Haven to back up his team, late though he may be, Isaac readies himself to be of assistance.

The scene before him is, predictably, a mess.  The sounds of gunfire fills the area and continues to reverberate throughout this section of the city, ringing the ears of most.  People are panicking as they should, but at least they're being guided out of the area instead of them haphazardly running around in desperation.  

From what he can see, the team did a fairly good job of keeping the berserk automatons busy.  Not as coordinated as they could be, but passable enough for this instance.  Isaac saw a man with a scarf, along with a woman, engaging one of the machines.  While it seemed like they can handle it, he still ran towards them with the intent of helping.  He has to be eager to contribute, eager to be part of the team.  He has to be a hero. 

However, from the corner of his eye, Isaac saw two robots advancing to him, with their heavy caliber weapons raised to fire.  He turned to them and fought in the way he always did.  Robots aren't all that different from humans.  They have memories and experiences that shaped them into what they are.  While not as complex and intricate as a human's, their web of thoughts are still present in his eyes.  Programmed combat routines, with strands leading to different actions and protocols, he saw it all.  

Isaac surgically targets one of the robots' main memory of its conflict resolution programming.  He eliminates it instantly with the psionic equivalent of a laser, burning away its installed need to fight.  The effect cascades throughout its entire memory structure, causing strands of accumulated data to decay away to nothingness.  The robot now stands like a statue, clueless of what to do with the weapon it possesses.  He does the same to its partner, subduing it instantly.  Isaac then resumes running towards his two teammates, making it look as frantic as possible.  Again, the appearance of eagerness is beneficial.


----------



## Axelthewanted (Dec 5, 2013)

Axel May - Quantum
Desperate Launch & The True Face 

It was a day like any other. The sky was painted by the soft color of cyan, the clouds slowly traveled with patience and complete harmony, the wind blew the trees and grass softly, causing the leaves and grass sway to the side, creating a continues wave pattern on the grass of school yard outside. On the other side of the glass windows was a chestnut straight colored haired boy with deep blue eyes, wearing casual clothing, a black hooded jacket and blue jeans, that sat on a desk alongside many other students in the classroom attending the chemistry class, the walls were painted pale white but were decorated buy science facts posters and a model of the H2O atom composure and a big white board that had been written by the science teacher in front of it, who continued to talk about the today's subject. The boy of the sapphire like eyes was Axel May, known by others as Quantum, he attended school on Thursday like everyone else. though he couldn't quite focus  at what teacher was saying. He was remembering the day before. The day in which he fought against a giant snake with a blacked haired girl of emerald eyes, he admitted to himself that yes he found her pretty but quickly disregarded the matter. It was surprise to him after the battle was settle, he discovered that she was the mayors daughter. Not just that, he was accepted by the mayor himself to a team of heroes. A exciting day indeed it was. He was asked to stay with them and go to their base to meet with the others, but he had to postpone it for another day. He couldn't had stayed. He would have caught unwanted suspicions from his cousin's family. He didn't think they were ready to know what he has been up to when absent. He had kept his Identity a secret from everyone including the mayor, even when he was told that the others pretty had nothing to hide, yet he didn't think that it would be so simple for his family to take just yet. So the face of this heroes was still a mystery. Soon, he felt his cell phone vibrating, alerting him of an incoming email. He sneakily open the mail to read the text. It was mission from the base of a robot riot occurring at North Saint Haven. Reading over it the situation involved endangered civilians and out gunned police.

_"Damn. Bad timing."_

He thought to himself. He had to think of a way to sneak out of school without anyone catching him. So with no other options he lied. The boy raised his hand to get the teacher attention.

"Yes Axel? Need something? A question about the subject perhaps?"

"No Professor. I just wanted permission to go to the restroom."

"Oh, I see. Go right ahead then."

"Thanks."

He exited the classroom and shut the door behind him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up at the schools rooftop, the boy was getting ready to leave school, but there was only one problem.  He had not brought his disguise to school, no way of hiding his identity. He would leave at home under the bed and mattress for safe keeping, but now he didn't have time to get there and risk a person's life just because he was late. It wouldn't be right. 

"Screw it. I just hope no one there recognizes me."

He spoke to himself before he got to ready stance, looking as if he were about to run. Then the boy took flight by rocketing out of the roof top creating a small dust cloud where he used to be standing after using telekinetic impulse to push to give a boost to his launch and flight speed. He flew towards North Saint as fast as he could, but habits die hard and his hair spiked up once again.

It didn't take long for him to reach his destination. Something was off  though on the way over everything seemed fine and calm, like as if the rest of the city were oblivious to this cybernetic riot. He could see multiple heroes fighting of the robot rebellion. He could describe one below him as a boy of dark hair and with a scarf as an attire along to other heroines that accompanied him. They seemed to be in control so he looked for where he was most needed. Then his eyes glanced on a police car, surely unable to move due to its extensive damage being surrounded by robot guards from all sides. Inside the car was two civilians that seemed to had into the car for cover. Without hesitation, even putting aside and forgetting about his identity crisis, he jolted to the car, making his hair and clothes flap around widely because of his speed. He couldn't sense the emotion from the robot guards making it difficult to know what they're about to do, so as he quickly started to fly down on top of the car he focus his mind and centered his will with much determination. When the boy's feet touched the car's ceiling, he extended both arm to his sides, and with a force of his mind he released a telekinetic shockwave in a complete 360 circle, pushing everything around him back except the car below him, sending  the surrounding robots flying, also making the glass windows from the stores around shatter from the pulse, causing a big echo of shattering glass to cross around area.

"Oops... I still have some improvement to do."

The boy said to himself feeling as he had done a little too much force to what he's used to causing him to feel as if he just had carried something heavy. Quantum then ,after confirming the safety of the civilians, sended a telepathic shout to the heroes around him by sensing their emotions.

"This is Quantum. Yes I know most of you might not know me but I'm here to help. Right now I'm able to respond to aid any of you by mental thought. Whoever needs help let me know now while my telepathy is still up."​


----------



## Advocate (Dec 5, 2013)

*Lavinia*

By the time the woman in white arrived at the island, it was already evening. The driver her father had so graciously provided her with took her past the city limit, but past that point she decided she should walk the rest of the way there. The woman shivered from the cold. She had plenty of time to regret her decision. Still, there was no mistaking her end destination. Huddling in her thick white coat, she walked towards the ruined castle.

It was a weird place. Somehow, Lavinia had no idea it even existed before she got the tip from Dr. Druzhbin. There was the slightest touch of wonder in her gaze as she looked around and tried to imagine how it must have looked back when it was intact. Very impressive, that’s how, she concluded to herself. But now it was broken into pieces, neglected and overgrown. Those were picturesque ruins, but ruins nonetheless.

At least, that was one half of the castle. The other half, while still obviously undermaintained, was more intact. There were no signs of life there, of course. But then, it was a big place, and she hadn’t even begun to look.

They moved silently amidst the ruins, melding with the shadows and hiding behind old walls. Two of them stalked the young woman, watching as her apprehension grew and as she began casting around a suspicious look. The ones in the shadows knew that she could not see or hear them. But she either knew they were there – or at least, suspected as much.

A barely audible hiss went out from one of the bigger remaining walls. The one that clinged to it from behind was at once frustrated and concerned. But the group’s leader, a surprisingly bulky man dressed in all black standing at the back of the chateau’s courtyard, was not shaken in his confidence. He conveyed this and the updated instructions with a series of rapid hand gestures.

Giving up on trying to find the Mafia’s spies, Lavinia went in to parley with whoever she would run into inside the castle. Simultaneously, the people in the shadows moved into position, preparing to infiltrate the structure and kidnap their quarry.


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 5, 2013)

Brad Stroker-Night Fight Part 2
​
The two hit each other at the same time. Shadow Mask broke Alex's coller bone and Alex's kick had dented the top of the train but didn't do any serious damage to Shadow Mask.

Alex held his shoulder as he tried to run away buy Shadow Mask had recovered to quickly. "Where do you think you're going ?" Shadow Mask grabbed the back of Alex Bash's head and smashed it through the glass of the train's exit. "What's the weather like out there ? Still chilly ?" He threw Alex out of a side window out on to the street he ended up snapping his neck on the concrete below. Shadow Mask walked out on to the top of the train by ladder. 
_
(That was more annoying than anything I'm pretty far from home too) _Bradley looked at his watch. He had 6 hours to Sun Rise he could make it home safely as long as he didn't have any more detours. Unfortunately for him this was going to be a long night.


----------



## Platinum (Dec 6, 2013)

The Best Laid Plans
- Noel Bellerose: West St. Haven​
Luigi's was for all intents and purposes your average italian resturant; nothing to phone home about, but the food was good and the prices were fair. That was all Franklin Donovan needed to make it his favorite place to grab a bite, possibly a drink as well considering what he was about to do. He never liked the families, nothing but a lot of self-righteous assholes. He would enjoy seeing them squirm a bit; and of course the pay would be good too. 

He entered the resturant and gave the staff a series of greetings (he knew most the staff on a first name basis). They proceeded to show him to his favorite table, where a young arab male in a cobalt blue business suit was already seated, absent-mindedly poking at his salad with a fork. The two shook hands, Franklin seated himself and asked for his usual from the waitress. The woman nodded, scribbled down a few words on her notepad, and left the two alone to deliever the order to the chef. 

"It is nice to finally meet you in person Mr. Donovan", the man began. "My people and I are eager to begin working as soon as we can."

Franklin smirked, "As am I Mr. Hakeem". He leaned in a little, eyes glancing both directions to make sure no one was paying attention to the two of them. "I heard from one of my men something that could produce a pretty big score. You'll have to move fast on this one though, you got a couple days at best." 

Now that got his attention. "Go on Mr. Donovan". 

"You see the Romanos have a couple warehouses in this city where they like to store hot goods. When they feel the pressure has cooled off a bit, they transfer the goods to stores they have under their 'protection' until a deal is finalized; that way they can smuggle it a little less inconspiciously out of the city and into the buyer's hands. I know where the drop happened and I know it happened earlier this morning." 

Hakeem nodded his understanding. "Seems straight forward enough. You got any idea the  value we are talking here?" 

"About three million in assets give or take", Franklin replied. "I am asking for a 20% cut."

"That figure is reasonable. I have a man who can safely transport whatever we seize out of St. Haven, and best of all he pays upfront. He takes a 30% share, and i'll pay you 20% of whatever is left over." 

"Very well.", Franklin handed Hakeem a folded, handwritten note which Hakeem discreetly placed into his suit's pocket. 

"Everything you need to know is on that note.... I suggest you move within the next three days."

"My people will move tomorrow.", he rose from his seat and left a small collection of bills on the table to pay for his, and his friend's, meal. "I will be informing you of how to procure your payment shortly thereafter." 

'Hakeem' walked out of Luigi's and onto the streets of West St. Haven, his mind already racing about his next move. He would do some recon on the target, formulate a break in plan, and then tell Naomi and the gang the score. This would go a long way in getting their little operation up and running and Noel would make sure it was a flawless operation.


----------



## kluang (Dec 6, 2013)

*Squall/Rinoa*

Squall jumps above a robot and using his full might, cleaves the robot in two. He sees Rinoa jumps over a robot and landed on the back of its neck and unleashed a barrage of bullets on the expose neck and the robot falls down and its head rolls away.

Rinoa reloads her guns and Squall sees more robots approaches the group. "This going to take a while."


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 6, 2013)

*Temple
*
Temple coasted outside the walls of the castle, slipping a cigarette from his breast pocket and lighting it.  Taking a long drag, he exhaled the smoke, sighing.  He'd die a lot quicker if left to his own devices, so it didn't matter to him either way, at this point.  Lung cancer wouldn't outpace his illness' progress, and anything that could save him at this point would simply erase anything incurred from smoking without contest.  The conversation he'd just had had been all sorts of interesting, but something concerned him about Aeon and Bach's inward mentality.  It was difficult to put his finger on it, and he'd wished he'd been in a position to excavate their minds.  Perhaps in time.  

A few minutes passed, and he found himself looking up at the stars.  He'd have enjoyed his life, even if he'd been left without this illness, or these powers.  Ignorance wasn't bliss, and simplicity wasn't perfection, but it would've been easier.  He began to trace something out in the loose earth with the tip of his shoe, smiling wistfully to himself.  If only.  How was he supposed to get out of here anyway?

Then his ears flickered as he registered a faint sound, and a spot of white on the otherwise dimmed background that stretched wide around him.  Right along the edges of his peripheral vision.  He looked up and saw none other than...Lavinia?  Temple blinked, almost taken aback by the site of her.  How long had it been?  They'd met all the way back at Neptune City High.  In the absence of words, he simply waved weakly.  

"Hello, Temple.  What are you writing there?"

She glanced down at the small 'Hi' he'd written, and the young man instantly activated his powers.  She fell forward as her face unfolded into the form of a book, and he caught her.  It was only a natural reaction, he reasoned with himself, at this point.  Taking a moment to examine the fruits of his paranoid reaction, the shadows that had crept along after Lavinia slowly advanced quicker, catching up to the position the mafia heiress had achieved with her brisk pace.  They were in a position to strike long before he'd gotten a chance to actually read any pertinent memories of hers, but the man in the back, stringing them along with commanding gestures, halted their progress.  It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a look at what he could do now, if he chose to be resistant in the future.

As Temple flipped through her pages, his expression went through stages of nostalgic melancholy, vague curiosity, overwhelming alarm, blissful relief and excitement, and then once he read her recent surface thoughts he sighed again, carefully setting the pages back in place.  He wouldn't resist.  There was no point, in this situation.  Perhaps Aeon and Bach would arrive to try and put up a fight.  Or just maybe he'd resign himself to this fate.  It took too much out of him to edit and rewrite his own story so constantly.  This could be the one time he might be better off not fighting the flow.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 6, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_The Battle Draws Near To The End_

Each member of the team fought fearlessly against the robots. As time went on the robots numbers had begun to dwindle. Everyone played a role in this fight. James, Kira, Mike, Rinoa, Squall, Martin, and everyone else. Sure some didn't kill as many robots as others, but in the end all that mattered was the threat was neutralized. However some robots did remain, but there wasn't much left. Soon it'd be all over.

Kimberly hadn't sat around doing nothing the entire time. She refused to be useless even while her health was in such terrible state, so she used the vehicle as her weapon. It wasn't heavily armed and sturdy for nothing. The silky black haired girl turned the car, and drove forward as she rammed a robot against a building, pressing the gas pedal until the light in the robots eyes faded. A second robot had jumped on the back of the car and hung on, and the girl immediately took action and reversed the car.

She began turning in circles until the robot was shook off the car. The robot immediately recovered and began shooting at the vehicle. The vehicle took no serious damage as the bullets impacted. This wasn't any ordinary vehicle, this was the vehicle the team would be taking on missions, it was prepared for many things. She floored the gas pedal and drove straight towards the robot, and immediately turned, allowing the rear of the vehicle to smack the enemy away.

"Now let's see." 

She pressed a button, and a small missile was shot from the vehicle. It collided with the robot she had just hit, and then a boom echoed throughout North Saint Haven as smoke filled the air. The team was winning this, just a few more left. Suddenly something landed on Kimberly's windshield, and she flinched.

"Man this is fucking fun, just took out a bunch of those motherfuckers, and not a scratch on me."

"Mike... you have bloodstains all over your shirt, half of your jacket is torn, and you have something lodged into your back."

"Wait what?"

The boy examined himself, and then pulled out what appeared to be some kind of glowing saber from his back. She noticed some of the robots had been carrying them as weapons. He then threw it backwards without looking, and his wounds began to close. Usually by now he'd be fatigued, but it seemed that Kira's feast really helped him out here.

"Well time to go kill more robots. IT'S MORE FUN WHEN I NAME THEM AFTER THE TEAM!"

A horrifying grin appeared on the boy, as he jumped away.

"....."

"This is Quantum. Yes I know most of you might not know me but I'm here to help. Right now I'm able to respond to aid any of you by mental thought. Whoever needs help let me know now while my telepathy is still up."

_"Quantum! Everyone this is the new member that I invited to join the team... who I forgot to mention. Sorry about that."_


----------



## Chronos (Dec 6, 2013)

Merkava ​
It wasn't long. Counted, not a minute had passed before a barrage of explosions, bullets, and powers were thrown. Most connected, and any attempt of retaliation was rendered useless, before long his body was pinned into a corner and a shiver began to run up its feet, normally, its adaption would be quick enough to help the creature flank these humans into rubble, or so it believed, while it's glare met the man whose power resonated around the casting of frost, a menacing growl escaped, and before it was trapped, it looked a man who seemed familiar to it, a man it knew, something that helped stir an inner instinct, tapping into it's mind it yelled

"Y-YOU!!"

It wasn't long before an electrical trap had been placed upon him, loosing power, the mane that swirling relentlessly had halted, and subsided leaving only faint traces of energy emerging upon the space. A final stare before it eyes shut down, and the lights in it's body went faint. Darkness enveloped the its lair, and soon everything had become dark.  

*-Adapting-*

The familiar smell of steel emanated from the room, Merkava's energy had been restored, amazingly to it's apex, while it's eyes turned, it's head had smashed the ceiling of the area it was contained in, several meals stood before him, behind a glass that, however tempting their flesh seemed, its mane flourished, wiping out of his energy receptor in its back, while its eyes keen on these researchers, these coated being were doing. It thought, once more, something he became wary of recently.

Human's fight...

With the mind...

_*-Adapting-*_

Yes, the mind, as an aura began to circle around him, he began to trembled under the sheer force of the animal-like hunger. He witnessed humans before him, obviously, its memories told him of the events 20 years ago, the prototype he was. The one who would bring the world to a new perspective, he would've ushered humanity to a glorious path... if in the hands of others rather than the mafia it self.

'WRYYYY!!!"

It released an angered screech, smashing the wall in order to escape, it's help by an electric shackle. The walls made of some prominent alloy. Something not easily breakable. Something that only caused it's anger to become more vivid. 

*-Adapting- *


----------



## Platinum (Dec 7, 2013)

Surveying The Score
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven​
Entering the store, Noel spotted another security camera to the right of the front door alongside a security keypad on the far wall near the cashier who make he was very familiar with. A pretty low security operation all in all, pretty surprising considering the sheer value of the assets they had to be hiding in the store room. It told him a lot about the Romano family; they valued keeping a low profile over being secure. They were arrogant, believed no one would deliberately mess with them. It was the type of mindset he found in most men who had no idea their world was about to go crashing down around them.

Noel smiled as he walked up to one of the sales clerks and asked if he could talk to the owner about a special order he was hoping they could fulfill. She told him to wait a moment and jogged off to what Noel assumed was the man's office. Five minutes later, a balding man in his mid forties came to enthusiastically greet him. His cologne reeked, its strong scent betraying its cheap cost. He wore a polo shirt a size too small for his out of shape body, and his body language told Noel that he was a man of little to no character. A classic two bit scam artist, even at a glance of a few price tags Noel knew that this man was charging for far more than what his product was worth.  

The two exchanged greetings and Noel got him talking for a bit; he already got what he came for but it never hurt to pick up some additional information. Noel inquired about a rather expensive table set he had been after that he knew was far above this man's level of merchandise. After the man said he had nothing like it in stock, Noel used that as an excuse to take his leave and scope out the back of the store for any surprises (he found none). 

Visual confirmation of the owner, a grasp of the security, and the knowledge that he wouldn't have to deal with any necessary surprises. He almost wished that his first job would have been something a little more memorable... almost. All he had left for the day was to get a new phone and to get a truck ready for tomorrow. Noel sat down on the nearest bench to wait for transportation of some sort to pass him by...


----------



## Bringer (Dec 7, 2013)

*Riley Roth-Spirit*
_Chapter 1- Ryan Williams_

She couldn't believe her eyes or ears. Was she dreaming, or was she actually seeing Ryan on the TV screen? So while she was away he pursued fame... she would've have never imagined this, not in one hundred years. Not only that, but she couldn't even recognize him. Not only physically, but mentally.

She watched intently and the screen, and payed attention trying to catch every detail. She was so focused on her former teammate that she didn't even pay attention to the fact that one of the team's old villain Dash was sitting right next to Ryan. Riley stayed frozen, not moving an inch until the interview was over. This Ryan... wasn't Ryan.

She could still see it, traces of the old him still there, but the rest of him... this couldn't be him. He became a whole new person all together, is this what fame does to people? Or is this simply a facade he puts on for everyone? As soon as it was over, she placed some money on the table, and headed for the door. The waitress saw her.

"Miss your tea!" 

She kept on going, the search for Ryan Williams was on.


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 7, 2013)

Brad Stroker-Night Fight Part 3
​
Shadow Mask jumped from the top of the train down to the roof of a nearby building. He noticed how different setting was compared to West Haven. Full of Windows & tall. There were no longer street vendors and performers like there were in West St Haven. Those things were replaced with Red Box movie machines and chain restaurants. Tons of ATMs and the like. Shadow Mask knew he was in Central St Haven. Good for him it was the dead of night, he knew tons of Heroes were located in this part of Saint Haven. He had to be careful.

He began to acrobatically jump from building to building he had to admit he loved jumping across like some sort of monkey in the jungle, it made him feel alive. A sudden burst of pain in his arm stopped him his tracks. He fell over looking at his arm there was a hole through his costume and it was bleeding as if he had been shot and it was still smoking. Shadow Mask held in a scream he didn't want to risk alerting anyone. 

He held his arm and got up. He looked around but couldn't see or smell anything but he knew someone was out there. Before he could continue moving away a burst of light hit his chest and sent him flying to the edge of the roof he was standing on. It hurt him just as bad as the attack on his arm did he determined if he took another direct hit like that he'd be unable to make it home.

Suddenly a strange man appeared in a burst of light. 

"Your being brought in on the murder of Alex bash and several other people Shadow Mask. Don't resist if you value your life !"

*Spoiler*: __ 





Nameupid Arrow 
Age:45
Gender:Male (
Size [XL/L/M/S]:S
Race:Super Human
Personality:?
Background: Cupid Arrow (Formally known as John Messenger)  used to be a overweight 45 year old man who developed doujins for popular anime and sold them over the internet. The Neptune incident transformed his body into that of a young boy's. It even altered his mind into thinking he was a emissary of Aphrodite. The explosion gave him the power to manipulate particles into beam constructs. He calls it Aphrodite's love magic. He failed to become a part of T.A.N.K's super hero team due to him failing the psychological portion of the exam.

He acts as a vigilante hoping T.A.N.K will take him within their ranks.
Health:30
Power: 35
Strength: 15
Durability: 20
Accuracy: 20
Speed: 20
Charisma: 05
Intelligence: 20
Powers / Abilities: Energy Manipulation&Teleportation



"Why do his flashes of light do so much more damage to me than regular bullets ?" Cupid Arrow put his hands in fists and put them together. He slowly separated them creating a sword of light in his hands. He pointed it at Shadow Mask. "So Shadow Mask....will you yield ?" Shadow Mask kicked the sword in the air and swung at Cupid with his good arm but Cupid was able to teleport away at the last second to a building just above where Shadow Mask was. Cupid pointed at Shadow Mask with both fingers.
_
"Double Light Bullet !" _

A rain of shining bullets came down at Shadow Mask, he ran off the building avoiding the bullets into the window of an apartment building and ran down it's hall way. (I'm not sure if I can actually beat this weirdo. I need to get away and plan something.) He smashed through the door at the end of the hall leading to a staircase he quickly ascended. He smashed through another door reveling a family of 3( Dad Mom Daughter) eating pizza in front of the TV. "What the ?" 

_"HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"_

Shadow Mask hissed at the family and ran into the kitchen he grabbed some of their knives and stashed them within his cloak and jumped out of their window into an alley. He walked out of the alley way and tried to make his way back to the subway station but before he knew it he was clipped in the shoulder by one of Cupid Arrow's light bullets. Shadow Mask crumpled on the ground. "How did you manage to follow me ?" "Aprohdite's Blessing has given me the light of love. Which I shall use to vanquish it's foes. I used her light to form brilliant wings giving me flight comparable to Hermes himself. I saw you run through that building from the air above." Cupid pointed at Shadow Mask and his finger started to glow. "I shall end this in one concentrated attack Shadow Mask. It will be over fast."  

"CUPID'S ARROW !"

​
What would Shadow Mask do with the Cupid Arrow's strongest attack heading right toward him ?


----------



## Island (Dec 7, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Goosin' Around*
North Saint Haven​
The extraterrestrial found his mechanical foes to be less than worthy opponents. For somebody as knowledgeable and worldly as he, the machines appeared primitive and weak, and he was certain that he could construct war machines much more dangerous given the chance. Even when compared his own fleshy form, they lacked the strength or durability to compete. Thus, with one swift grapple, he grabbed his opponent and pulled its arms off and delivered a forceful kick into its stomach.

*SMAAAAASH!*

His foot tore through the mechanical being?s torso and came out the other side. Still, the machine did not die, so Grey quickly pulled out and delivered a hard fisting.

*CRAAAAACK!*

The machine?s face buckled inward, and the extraterrestrial reached through the steel, pulling out its computerized brain. Again, the extraterrestrial shook his head at what he found.

?Feeble creatures,? he announced, ?Your primitive technology is Stone Age technology compared to what I am capable of constructing.?

?I am the ultimate being,? he began a monologue, ?The pinnacle of evol-?

*SMAAAAACK!*

A robotic fist collided with where Grey?s face would be, and the extraterrestrial stumbled backwards.


----------



## Advocate (Dec 7, 2013)

*Lavinia*

Standing up with Temple’s help, Lavinia blinked in confusion, then looked up at him. “Thank you...” she started, gratitude quickly giving way to apprehension and then to a resigned, sardonic smirk. “Hm. I guess there’s no need for me to explain this after all.”

Eight dark silhouettes flashed through the entrance to Aeon’s great hall. For a moment it seemed as though they did not notice Temple or Lavinia, or decided to ignore them, instead going further in. But as soon as Lavinia recovered her balance and looked around the ruined walls, she spotted four figures standing still around them. They separated from the shadows and approached in silence. Covered in black from head to toe, they were obviously human in build, if uncommonly lithe – and yet, there was something decidedly off about them, the way they could make themselves unseen up until now.

The fifth figure approaching from behind was altogether different from his subordinates. With a snap of his fingers, the shadow he wore like a costume fell off him, revealing a big Mediterranean man in a tuxedo. He rubbed his tiny, well-trimmed moustache as he approached. “Mr. Temple, I trust you won’t be making this difficult for us?”

He glanced briefly at one of the walls, where a somewhat less human silhouette sat, crouching. The man’s bemusement gave way to a slight smile. “Not that it _would_ be that much trouble, I am sure you understand. But I’d rather we kept this civil.”

His other eight subordinates, meanwhile, prepared to corner Piccolo’s would-be killer and his robotic guest. In addition to their own athleticism and ability to meld with the shadows, they had a variety of interesting devices to help in their task. But they didn’t expect to run into them quite this quickly...


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 7, 2013)

*A Shadowed Fist Full of Feathers II* 
Outside Saint Haven

______________________​
Temple smiled, scratching his head.  In the distance, he heard the howl of a wolf, and his eyes narrowed.  "Mr. Soriente works a lot better, actually."  He didn't move just yet, and the clouds above seemed to disperse, revealing a full moon.  The author's knees buckled, and he fell to his knees, holding himself up as the sound of hooves could be heard thundering in the distance.  

"I do business with Piccolo.  So I believe that in this situation you're a duplicated asset."

The tide began to pick up, and the narrow strip of land that connected the isle to the mainland slowly was submerged under the waves.  Temple's wheezing picked up, and he then coughed up an unhealthy quantity of blood.  A second sound, a low rumbling, began to surface as the heavy falling of hooves continued.  Those gathered began to move, but the Mediterranean man raised a hand, holding them in place.  His smile began to fade.  Behind them, there was a cavalry of perhaps a dozen armored men on horses approaching, banners raised high. 

"Lo'!  What business have ye' on the land of the King?" yelled the one at the forefront, presumably the captain.  Temple closed his eyes as he struggled to hold onto his consciousness, pleased with the results of his two step plan.  There...there wasn't going to be a silver lining to this one, he was sure.  It'd work without backfiring, for once.  But then, there was certainly a reason he was coughing up blood.  If the first effect had been accompanied by a cruel twist of fate, then chances were the knights also had their mirror.  He'd felt it getting colder, but his poor physical health had allowed him to stave off thinking about it.  But chilled to the bone as he was now, it was blatantly obvious something had gone awry.  It was winter, but this was too cold.  Something was coming.

He'd done it again.

And that was when, bursting from a drawbridge that hadn't seen use in centuries, came a feral roar, and a massive, white scaled drake lunged forward, looming above Temple and Lavinia.  Temple brought his hand to his mouth as he began to cough up more blood, sweat beading on his forehead.  "Lavinia..." he choked, before spurting up more.  As the reptilian monster touched down on the disgusting murky water that made up the moat, the entire body of water froze solid.

The brotherhood, meanwhile, began to circle into formation as the mafia scattered in response to a frosty burst of air from the dragon's maw.  "To arms, brothers!  Slay these men who'd see the castle of our King sacked!  Bring down this terrible beast!  For King Aeon!"  The men yelled in sonorous concert, and their formation took form as they began to charge forward.  Temple's grip on reality wavered just a bit more, and then was cut entirely, and he fell into the dirt on his side beside Lavinia.  

"F-fuck.  Not again..."


----------



## Fedster (Dec 7, 2013)

*4th Sonata - Neutral*​










​
*Bach*
Aeon's Castle - 1st Part

One week. Bach had that much time to decide whether she wanted in or out of that group Aeon talked about. How could she decide in that much time? She already had her response. Yet, Aeon wanted her to think it through the week. Bach insulted her processing speed. She should try and be a slow-thinker like her fellow humans. Yet, she could not help but think: what was that strange sound?

It seemed like...Footsteps. Was that Temple? He went to 'have a smoke', as the slang went, but he probably left to the mainland by now; he did not seem _that_ decided to join Aeon, but did she, anyways? Well, she did not know how to _look_ decided in the first place, so that meant Bach could not really tell Temple's feelings.

This time, Bach did not hear something, but _felt_ people who were not the blond guy. In facct, she could also see them. They were eight, they were surrounding them, and with some...Intention of doing something.

"Visits?" She pronounced, as the creatures in black surrounded both she and Aeon. Eight in total. They had seemed to divide in two groups of four; four for her and another four for the King. They seemed friendly enough...Until they tried to attack her.

A punch almost hit her, and for that, her self-defense mechanism was activated. She tried to grasp the 'hand' of her assaulter, yet...The extremity melted, and from the shadows, another one arised. How strange...So they were not humans...Or maybe...

The android's made a 360? backflip in the air, and it was 'rad', as the slang goes. As she landed, her hand repeated the last attack protocol and transformed into a flamethrower, thus 'incinerating' the creature. Unfortunately, it did nothing...Expect from provoking an explosion.

"Interesting...Burning them make them explode..." She observed, as the creature reassembled itself on the shadows.


----------



## Island (Dec 7, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Honkin' Around*
North Saint Haven​
The extraterrestrial finished with his next robotic opponent, quickly dispatching it with a combination of his superior physical form and unparalleled mental prowess. Before he could move onto other things, specifically the destruction of other robots and building relations with ?fellow? team members, he spotted something in the rubble that caught his attention. Kneeling down, he stopped to pick up this peculiar object: a small cubical toy divided into 27 smaller cubs.

Grey had heard of an object like this before. Traditionally, the goal of it was match the colors on each face of the smaller cubes so that the large cube had the same colors on each side. However, this particular cube appeared different from what he remembered being described to him. Instead, this cube had numbers on it, making this not only a traditional puzzle but also a number game?

He held the object up to his face, .

?I do not know what manner of puzzle you are,? Grey addressed the inanimate object, ?But your mechanisms are feeble compared to me; I will solve you post-haste and make a mockery of what you are attempting to be.?


----------



## Chronos (Dec 7, 2013)

Aeon










​
Placing his mask back, he reacted as quickly as he could, the moon began to emanate, the clouds had been moved, it sudden, his power grew to it's maximum, that would mean Temple knew of the current situation. A flick of his tongue, he had admired this man's intuition. Turning he witnessed as Bach began to engage the enemy. A large collision was heard, was this also the work of Temple? How far ahead did he see? Turning, this haughty creatures stood defiantly before him, as he felt the surge of his soul emanated through the canals of his flesh, behind the mask a vibrant grin had been exposed, while his gaze turned, watching as one of this men exploded as the mere touch of the soles of his feet began to flicker a radiant gleam, a kick and his speed had scaled to unbelievable levels. Extending his arm, he held Back from the waist and blitz through towards the hall. There awaited even more of these. Halting in his pace, he clenched his teeth in regret, he wouldn't be able to blitz through these, there were tightly guarding the hallways, not before long, others came from behind. 

"Bach. Are you willing to follow?"

Pointing the right hand towards the sky, he released his powers, breaking the ceiling, forming a gape on it solid surface. A kick and with Back still in arms, he leaped towards the sky, turning, his feet meeting an invisible surface on the space. Stepping on a the void with only a sigil to replace the emptiness that's the sky. Soon noises were registered on his ears, a second emotion began to swept him, was Temple dying. 

"The fool had used his powers. Impudent knave!"

Kicking, his speed grew to mach levels, reaching where the boy laid, next to a young woman whom seemed to have been speaking with Temple. Placing Bach next to him, at the courtyard they stood, not before long these ninja's had picked up on their trail. Much like cockroaches, these were persistent. However, as long as the moon is full and exposed, he would fight at the apex of his powers. Meeting the eyes of the young lady, while his radiant jaded blue ones turned back and forwards towards temple, he seemed to have leaned.

"I ought to kill thee where thee stand. What had brought upon thine all to think that thine could trespass my castle and hope to live?"

He noted, her efforts seemed to suggests she wanted to help Temple whatever she was doing, it was beneficial to Temple's health, his soul was rejuvenating, however how long would this last. As Knight and dragon's engulfed everything, hidden glee had evoked, a great sense of empowerment, what he envision had been coming to flourish, however, pulling the arm of the girl he flicked his fingers and a burning flames began to form in her hand soon shifting into a key which one at the mercy of her palm Aeon closed her finger and spoke:

"If you wish to save this man, hurry thine-self towards the east wing. There will be a barrier that this key shalt open. Inside there will be a bottle, with powerful soul energy radiating from it. Pour a single drop of on this foolish knave's tongue. Do so and destroy the bottle, that power one it touches stained blood will become spoiled. However, he will stand once more."  

Turning, he walked next to Bach.

"I'll speak frankly this time. No haughtiness involved... Fight. Don't let them catch Temple."

He said, as he pointed his finger towards the distance, and a surge had been released towards the enemy before them.


----------



## Island (Dec 8, 2013)

*Bloody Mary - Just Like Before*
Saint Haven University, Central Saint Haven​
I sat there, reading my organic chemistry text book and studying for an exam I had coming up, confident in my abilities but nevertheless nervous about the consequences of failing. I wondered to myself what would happen if I failed. What would I do? How would I explain it to my father? I would need to retake the class and spend an extra semester at college, ultimately pushing the start of my career even further back. Well, at least that?s what I liked to pretend. Sometimes I got caught up in those delusions, pretending that this cover actually mattered, that I was actually a young college student trying her best to pass her exams and make her way in the world. Still?

It didn?t hurt to imagine.

What did it matter if I took a few minutes out of my day to imagine what I?d be doing and what I would be worrying about if everything was the way I knew it should have been? Who would have cared if I dozed off for a while thinking about what it would have been like for all of us to still be together, living our lives during the day and defending the city by night?

Nevertheless, my attention shifted to the television screen on the other side of the room, and I caught sight of the news broadcast.

Everybody in the room surrounded themselves around the television, listening to how robots were attacking the city and that the mayor?s team was responding with full force: destroying the robots and defending the innocents. It brought me back to our first day as a team when we were in a similar situation. What was an ordinary day quickly turned into a battle for our lives. Na?ve and inexperienced, we had no idea what we were doing, just that we needed to stop those robots from destroying Neptune City. With almost no control of our powers and without any experience, we managed to beat the odds and destroy the robot menace.

On that day, we became a team. It was the first day of a long two years together, adventuring, fighting crime, and of course, being high schoolers.

I would have liked to revel in these memories, but then, I saw something.

I saw the creature.

The extraterrestrial appeared on-screen with the mayor?s team, and my eyes widened in shock?

?Fuck.?


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 8, 2013)

Brad Stroker-Night Fight Part 4
​​
Shadow Mask ran right towards the beam. He combined his Speed and Accuracy in a sudden burst the beam grazed the shoulder that had been shot before, but Shadow Mask fought through the pain. "How in th-" "IT'S OVER" Shadow Mask hit Cupid Arrow in the head with his good arm with all of his might, he split his temple open and sent him flying into a tax cab on the other side of the street. 

Shadow Mask laughed. "Heh..eh.pant..I was right..pant..for you to use an attack with that much strength I thought that maybe the speed of it would be reduced. I noticed when you used your other attack it did good damage to me but barley did anything to the rooftops. So I figured out two things, energy based attacks do extra damage to me and your light bullet attack had great speed had but also had low power." 


Cupid Arrow used the Taxi to keep himself up. "You cretan I could care less about your villainous exploits. I can't feel my arm dammit !" Cupid Arrow slumped down, he was now sitting on the ground with his head against the taxi cab's door.

"I'll take aim and end this !" He started to charge another beam Shadow Mask pulled out a knife from his clock and threw it in Cupid's arm pinning him to the car. "Arrgh !" Shadow Mask ran over and kicked his head into the taxi door. "OI OI You caused me alot of fucking greif tonight ! You think it'd be fine for you to get out of this walking sugar cup ?" Shadow Mask rammed his knee into Cupid Arrows face making it only more bloody and bruised. He only continued to ram his foot into Cupid's face until it was an unrecognizable arrangement of flesh. 

Shadow Mask rose the glass part of his mask a little bit so he could get some fresh air. He felt his wounds, they had stopped bleeding as bad as earlier but he knew if he got into bad fight they'd re-open. Along with that his left arm was unmovable. And Shadow Mask didn't want to risk drinking a Meta Human like Cupid's blood to recover anyway, no telling what the mutated nature of it could do. Besides Cupid had been dead after the 8 kick to the skull. Shadow Mask kicked him 30 times, dead blood to vampires is like flat soda. 

"Well well well this is....disgusting."


*ALL STATS UNKNOWN*​
"Don't move or I'll blow your fucking head off."

"Who are yo-"

The man shot Shadow Mask in his foot. "GOD DAMGTGNERTGN!" Shadow Mask fell down in pain holding his foot.

"Sorry my finger twitch, what are you gonna do ? Holotip bullets too, umm gotta be more careful." The mysterious man placed his foot on Shadow Mask's neck and pointed his gun at him.

"What's this ? No more Super Powers ? Ohh I get it ! Your tired, well you see that was the plan." The man started to kick Shadow Man in the head cracking his mask, if it took anymore damage his identity could be revealed. 

"I put those decoys in West St. Haven as in decoys I knew you'd be out to kill or interrogate there you creepy little prick." He drove his foot into Shadow Mask's chest where Bradley cried out in pain. The man pointed his gun at Shadow Mask's head again. "I called the heroes, made it seem like I was a concerned citizen reporting a wanted criminal. They ate it like a fat kid eats twinkies. Now listen up_ Shadow Mask _I want to know who the fuck you work for before you end up strawberry jam on peanut butter street !"

(Think of something NOW ! )

"The Romanos ! I work for The Romanos !" "The Romanos ? I told boss those fuckers were building up a super human ring." The man picked Shadow Mask up by the neck and carried began carrying him to his car. "I should have known that fucker Donovan and the rest of those bottom feeders had something planned. Shit !" 

Bradley Smashed his helmet into the back of the mans head imbedding glass into the mans face and followed up by sinking his teeth into the mans neck. 

He began to suck the struggling man's blood out of his neck until he stop struggling and died. Bradley picked pocketed the money and cell phone from the man's pocket. 

He moved to an alley his faced was now exposed and he couldn't afford to be seen. He called the contact that said Madeci and began his message......


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 8, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
North Saint Haven

______________________​

I exhaled a deep breath, landing on the ground softly as pieces of metallic limbs rained from the sky after me. I had a few cuts from where the bullets grazed me, but for the most part, Kira had managed to keep me safe and undamaged from the robot's attacks. Though, she looked somewhat exhausted as well, her long hair partially tangled into knots, sweat lining her features as she allowed herself to relax slightly. "Thanks." I said, tossing the scarf back around my neck, while the index, middle and thumb fingers of my right hand gestured to dissipate the barrier I had set along the street. I gave her a brief smile then moved to sit down on a nearby bench, slightly exhausted and not fully recovered from the explosion back at the mayor's speech. 

Unbeknownst to me at the time, the rest of my team had finished repelling the cyborg threat as well. But as I would soon learn, things would rarely be as easy as that. 

*Booom!*

The air rang with a deafening explosion, the towers and buildings around me quaking unsteadily and uncertainly as the street rumbled. "What the hell?" I shoot up.


----------



## kluang (Dec 8, 2013)

*Squall/Rinoa*

*Booom!*

The air rang with a deafening explosion, the towers and buildings around me quaking unsteadily and uncertainly as the street rumbled. "What the hell?"shout James.

"One of the PS robot I assume." says Squall as he slowly gets up and pull out Anastasia from the ground.

"The Protect and Serve series you mean?" ask Rinoa and Squall laughs at her question. "Protect and Serve my ass. Those beast are more like Pulverize and Smash. Seriously who need a robot that size with those armaments to guard a doorway?"

The rumbling is getting louder and the team can see a giant silhouette approaching them.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 8, 2013)

*The Doctor - Metal Knight*
Northern Saint Haven

____________________​

The Doctor would have liked to taken more time to admire the scenery, but there were more important things that needed to be done. He hadn't expected the team to dispatch of the securitrons with such ease or speed. Alas, not all data was perfect, and the few bits and pieces he had received on the new hero team was glaringly incomplete and scarce. Nevertheless, despite knowing that, he had still allowed himself to place too much stock on the database of the team, subsequently underestimating their response time and capability in the process. The Doctor sighed, silently cursing himself for not conducting proper research as he drew closer to them, encased in the shell of a large armoured robot. The robot was large, significantly larger than that of the securitrons and far more advanced in both hardware and software. Layered in a chrome exterior, the creation he had dubbed 'Metal Knight' stood at three metres tall, with a turtle-like container on it's back containing it's weapons. 

Flying through the sky, the Doctor kept himself fed with videos of the team in action through a feed installed in the securitrons, updating his data as he observed them. As the familiar skyscrapers and utopian-esque towers that represented north Saint Haven came into his sights, Metal Knight stopped, the ominous dark shape of it's body looming over the street the team stood on as it arrived at it's destination, it's glowing red eyes locked on them.

"*Interesting group we have here. I would have preferred it if you took a while longer to disable the securitrons so I could concentrate on the real task, but...*." It lowered it's arms, it's black chrome fingers morphing into long cylindrical objects, a metal tube forming out of the arm and connecting to the shell on it's back. "*I can always get back to it after killing you all.*" Then twin streams of flames burst out of it's hands.


----------



## Advocate (Dec 8, 2013)

*Lavinia*

Frowning at the sudden complication, Papa Fotos ? for that was the ninja commander?s name, at least as far as anyone in this city knew ? sunk back into the shadows, to avoid the drake?s attack. His subordinates followed suit ? hiding, only to reemerge around Bach and Aeon. A dark figure flew through the sky, jumping onto the castle proper from one of its ruined outer walls.

Lavinia stared the somewhat haggard-looking young man down. So this was the man who attacked Uncle Piccolo? He seemed unimpressive at first glance ? and yet, even before his little demonstration, she had no doubt as to his power. ?...very well,? she said, accepting the key. ?I?ll do that.? The young woman pondered if she should tell him to surrender. But a glance at Ulric?s arrogant face persuaded her that it would be a waste of effort. Grunting slightly, she grabbed Temple and began to drag him away.

She did not really intend to do as the fair-haired man suggested. At least, it was not something she was keen to do. However, she knew she needed to get Temple away from the fight if she was to have any chance of helping him. Frowning, the lady in white began to carefully reduce his (already not too great) body mass. She could restore him before it caused any lasting trouble. And besides, his body was enough of a mess already. Can?t get much worse.

While the fight between the dragon and the knights raged on outside, the ninjas cornered Aeon and Bach. Two of them were already down ? their brief efforts at healing from the damage inflicted having already failed. The remaining ten jumped around like circus acrobats, evading the attacks and occasionally tossing smoke bombs or moving in close to punch, kick or stab at the defenders of the castle. They weren?t doing much damage, though, and it became increasingly apparent that their tactics were designed to distract and tire out their opponents. And they certainly succeeded in the former ? even at the cost of two more ninjas getting injured and fading back into the shadows, they filled the cramped corridor with smoke and darkness...

...and by the time it cleared, neither Aeon nor Bach could see Lavinia and Temple.

Having lightened her load, the mafia princess proceeded towards the east wing of the castle. Her old friend was an even worse mess than she thought; at this point, she would not turn down a magic bottle or whatever it was that Aeon was talking about. The man stirred and mumbled incoherently. Despite her initial worries about getting lost, the shimmering barrier proved easy to identify. Sure enough, the key had opened it, and she poured a drop from the bottle into Temple?s mouth, having set him down and propped him up against the wall.

?Ms. Italiani, I hope you?re not going to delay us,? Papa Fotos said, rising from underneath the floor and shaking off the shadowy tissue. ?You realise that we do not mean him any immediate harm, of course??

?Of course. Which is why you are going to take both of us back to my father, without further shenanigans??

?Hmm, I?m afraid I can?t promise you that,? Papa Fotos replied melodiously, rubbing his fat neck. ?I?d rather wait for his little spell or whatever it was to wear off first. Besides, there?s something else I want to try.?

?And what might that be?? Lavinia asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

?Haggling,? the Greek answered with a smile. ?His new friends are almost here. Let?s see what I can get from them.?

He waved his right hand, and shadowy tendrils reached towards Lavinia, wrapping around her torso. They weren?t exactly solid, but she nonetheless felt paralyzed and unable to move her arms. Jerking her head to the right, she saw a hideous, inhuman creature come out of the shadows. It was like a humanoid spider; six arms and no legs, dark gray in hue, no visible eyes in tiny eye-holes ? and sharp fangs dripping with poison. It stood over Temple, as the young man looked around in confusion, then bit him and grabbed him with four of its limbs. While his eyes continued staring and if anything he seemed altogether more aware of what was going on now, his whole body went limp ? again.

?Good pet,? Papa Fotos said approvingly, before turning to greet Aeon and Bach, the remaining six ninjas still circling around them. ?It looks like I beat you to it. Your two new friends are in my hands. I suggest that you make no sudden movements, and that we negotiate peacefully. Believe me, I have no desire to waste more of my men than I already have.?


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 8, 2013)

*North Saint Haven*

Isaac immediately runs to his left as the flames head towards him.  He barely gets out of the way and feels the heat of the blast as it passes by him.  Isaac felt like he was going to be cooked alive for a moment, even though the flame stream missed him.  For all his psychic power, he's still as fragile as a normal human.  The other two heroes Isaac was about to assist can likely fend off the giant robot for him while he memory dives and takes care of the problem.  However, more help is always better and he broadcasted his thoughts, hoping the psychic that contacted them earlier is still around.

_Hey, are you still around?  Make yourself useful and distract that thing while I try to shut it down!_


----------



## Island (Dec 8, 2013)

*The Grey Man - Donkin' Around*
North Saint Haven​
The extraterrestrial continued staring at the puzzle, periodically flipping it around to view its different sides but otherwise doing nothing to indicate that he was _actually_ trying to solve it. In reality, however, he busied himself with precise calculations and simulated movements in his head, deciding that physically twisting the pieces around was far too slow and arduous of a process when he could solve it first in his head and then apply his solution to the real world. Before he could do so, however, a cinder suddenly ricocheted toward him, hitting his cubical puzzle, and melting it instantly. As the now gooey hot plastic slid through his fingers, Grey shouted out in anguish, displeased that he no longer had the opportunity to discredit the most complicated of human puzzles. 

He looked up from his now-empty hands, searching for the perpetrator and quickly discovered it to be an even larger mechanical being, this one occupied by a human.

?You feeble _worm_,? Grey growled, ?You are not even worthy of being the dirt beneath of my feet, and yet you dare defy my will?! I will tear you limb from limb and listen as you beg for me to end your life. Only once I feel you have appropriately growled to me, your clearly superior tormentor, shall I deliver the sweet solace of death!?

The extraterrestrial approached slowly, looking to rip into the mechanical being with his fists like a can opener, and remove the feeble human contents!

Of course, over the last few minutes, Grey memorized the puzzle, so technically, physically solving the now non-existent cube was a formality. Still, he sought to actually solve the puzzle and have a finished project to serve as a tribute to his superiority over the puny humans and their simple little puzzles!


----------



## Axelthewanted (Dec 8, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum












The boy's telepathic was sent around the area. Time passed, the sound of cranking the resonated from the movement of robot guards reduced over time, things started to sound more peaceful, the civilians were taken somewhere safer, the tables had turned for the better. Though the streets showed noticeable signs  of battle, having building broken open, vehicles rendered useless, smoke emanating from stores and other building structures. Who could be the cause of this? Could it have been some kind of malfunction or some kind of virus maybe? Whatever it was, it seemed as the worse had already passed or so he thought. A large boom echoed across the area that caught the attention of many. Wondering  what could have been the hero took flight once more. Though quickly before he let down his telepathic link he heard the voice of another calling out for him for assistance.

"Hey, are you still around? Make yourself useful and distract that thing while I try to shut it down!"


He traced him by flying over to the source of the disturbing sound. Upon reaching his destination he found a large man operated robot, shining with a bright silver chrome coating the reflected the light of the sun and the light that shined from the fire he created, it seemed to have a more resistant armor than the conventional robot guards and had a turtle like shell in its back. Could he be the cause of this crisis? He also saw a youngster that seemed a bit older than him, having opaque hair. He must have been avoiding the enemy's assault while he was arriving and the one who called out for him. Whichever the case he had to put a stop to this. He landed on the concrete floor of the side walk behind the robot boss.

"Stop! I don't know what is your reason of doing this? If you're the one who cause all this damage I will do everything in my power to stop your destruction."

The boy spoke with much determination and devotion to  his cause. The man had listened to the boy but did not surrender to him. He was not going to let some stupid kid tell what he can do. He turned his back from the ebony haired youngster and set his glanced to him. The robot body then extended his arms towards Axel and shot him with a stream of flame, but the boy was not faced he extended his own arm towards the robot, opening the palm his hand as is saying "halt"  and created a telekinetic barrier in front of him causing the roaring fire to go around him. Keeping the barrier protecting him, he started walking towards the robot but he could still feel the heat of the burning inferno, causing to break a sweat. When he got close to the mechanical body, he extended his other arm with his palm open but as if he were to hit it, using his telekinesis he forced the robot to crash into the building behind him, creating a sound a rubble and a cloud dust to appear. He looked closely and noticed the robot trying to get up again. He had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy but it was always good to hope for it. Quantum then used his telepathy to communicate with the black haired boy.

"Hey, I can sense a feel of confidence in you. I'm guessing that you have a plan waiting to shine. I'll keep him busy, so you just do your thing, but we should the others know about our status."

He then created another telepathic shout into take the massage to the others about the situation to keep them inform.

"We have a large robot from where the explosion emanated. It is piloted by a man and it considerably more durable than the robot guards we were fighting. It is possible that he is the one behind this chaos."

He then set his sights back to robot man and prepared himself for the upcoming battle.
​


----------



## kluang (Dec 8, 2013)

*Squall/Rinoa*

"That's not a PS robot."

"Yup. I believe we just found the cause of the robot problem."

"More likely he found us."

Twin streams of flames burst out of it's hands and Rinoa quickly jumps out of its way and at the same time shoots the robot only for he bullet to be deflected by its plating. Squall also jumps and he press a button on his wristwatch. Two blades pops out and he sheathed Anastasia and grabs the two blades, one is red another is blue.

"Avenger, Brotherhood."


----------



## Island (Dec 8, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Saint Haven University, Central Saint Haven​
I packed by books, threw my pack over my shoulder, and bolted out the door. On my way out, however, I stumbled into somebody, only lighting hitting them with my shoulder but knocking them over nonetheless. Although I had much more important matters to attend to, I thought it equally important to help this poor person up. After all, I knocked them down, so it would only be fair to help them back up. Leaning over with my hand outstretched, I grab them and helped them as they got back on their feet.

The person, a young woman, stared at me with the most bewildered look.

?Baylee?!? She questioned.

My eyes widened in surprise. I didn?t recognize this woman. She looked like a stereotypical American woman with silky blonde hair, shimmering blue eyes, and a somewhat delicate-looking frame. Still, she appeared average in almost every respect, form her height and weight to her most basic proportions: bust, hips, everything. Meanwhile, she bore an innocent expression, almost as if she was oblivious to the world around her, much like a newborn baby?

?I?m sorry??? I pretended not to know what she was talking about.

I thought it impossible for somebody to recognize me. Since the destruction of Neptune City, I took great care to conceal my identity. I wore brown contact lenses and became a brunette. Likewise, I took time and effort to concentrate my powers to change many basic facial characteristics about myself, including the height of my cheekbones, the curvature of my jaw, and even the pronunciation of my chin. Even things like my height, weight, and fingerprints varied ever so slightly. Though I still appeared to be an ordinary twenty-something-year old, it would be difficult to place me as Baylee, especially if one only knew me from a Google image search.

?Baylee!? She repeated, this time leaping forward and embracing me.

I accepted her kindly embrace, still not knowing who she was or why she assumed I was Baylee, regardless of the fact that she was correct in doing so.

?I-I?m sorry,? I lied, ?I think you have the wrong person??

She frowned in disappointment, again, like some kind of baby or even a small child.

?Again, I?m sorry, but I really have to get going.? I turned away and began to leave.

Then I stopped.

?Wait,? I asked, ?What?s your name??

?Stella.? She answered. ?Don?t you remember me from-?

?Sorry, I don?t know anybody by that name.? I interrupted, being truthful this time. ?I really have to get going though.?

I really had no idea who she was or, more importantly, how she knew who _I_ was, but I figured that could wait until later. In the meantime, I had to head up to North Saint Haven and stop the creature before it was too late.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 8, 2013)

*North Saint Haven - A Most Timely Arrival*

The newcomer did his work well.  He caught the machine's attention and even sent it flying backwards with his telekinesis.  The time he spent talking at the beginning could've been put to better use, but Isaac couldn't complain about the end result.  He approached closer to the robot, which was currently struggling to get up.  The other psychic expected a plan "waiting to shine" and Isaac wouldn't disappoint him.  The others shouldn't be needed at this rate, but it's good to know that his help isn't enough of a foolhardy idiot to not consider backup.

He initiated his memory dive and, to his surprise, the robot is actually piloted by a human.  Isaac sees a latticework of experiences and recollections, an interlocking crystalline structure forged through years of living.  No mere machine can replicate something as complex as human identity.  He may hate the duplicity of people, but he could not deny the beauty of their inner selves.  Every action they took and continue to take creates new threads of memories, adding to an already complex structure.  Connections upon connections form the jewel of their self-identity and truly, it is quite amazing.  The only thing Isaac likes more than seeing it is breaking it, or at least irrevocably altering it. 

He searches for a vital point in this doctor's life, something that if erased, the entire battle would be finished.  Sifting through the strands of his memories, Isaac finds it.  It's the very moment the doctor began to take an interest in mechanics, leading to the events where he continued to build and build, eventually leading to this moment.  Isaac then proceeds to sear away this moment, which would cause a chain reaction throughout this web of memories, obliterating all learned knowledge of robotics, including how to pilot the giant machine now in front of him.  Isaac allows himself a satisfied smile beneath his gas mask.  Doing this somehow never gets old.


----------



## kluang (Dec 9, 2013)

*Squall/Rinoa*

Both of the mercenaries jumps and flips to avoid the robot attack. Rinoa continues to shoots at the robot but her bullet prove ineffective. She opens a portal and took out two guns loaded with explosive bullets and began shooting, but to her dismay the explosive bullets couldnt even dent the robot's plating.

"Its not working!!!!" shout Rinoa and Squall nods as they ran into an alleyway. Squall looks back and sees the robot continuing its rampage on the street, ignoring them. 

"Plan B. Does the robot have plating that covers its joints?"asks Squall and they jumps from their hiding place and landed on a rooftop. There they sees there are no plating at the robots joints and wires and tubes can be seen, but the joints are only few inches expose from each plating. The most expose one is on the back of the knee and at the back of the feet, at the achilles tendon.

"Achilles heel."

Squall presses his com link. "I know how to beat this guy. The robot plating is hard, so we need to hit it where it works, the joints. James, Maria I need the two of you to attack the expose joints. The rest of us will act as a decoy and bait. Any question and suggestion?"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 9, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Turn Back the Pendulum I_
Hospital, Neptune City

____________________​

The bed felt cold and solid as Alex woke up, his back aching and his head feeling as heavy as lead. It took a while to come to his surroundings, his eyes slow to open at first as he had trouble adjusting to the lighting. When they finally opened, he became aware of two things: he was in a hospital, and beside him was Megan, fast asleep. The boy blinked for a moment in confusion, and then smiled. "Good morning." He greeted. 

Immediately, the girl jumped up, startled. "O-oh gosh, hi." Megan replied, moving a hand to quickly try and sort out her brown hair, which had become tangled and messy while she slept. 

Alex looked at her. There was something wrong, but it was as if a deep mist had shrouded his thoughts, and the harder he tried to think about it, the thicker the fog became. Maybe it was just his headache. "What happened? I don't remember getting wounded again..." He asked, deciding to shift the issue aside as to why he was in hospital. Why couldn't he remember anything? He would have at least liked to remember _how_ he got an injury. Though, upon further examination, as Alex stretched his body slightly, there didn't seem to be any specific injury or at least none that he noticed. His whole body just seemed _tired_ and battered, weathered by fatigue. 

Megan smiled, the light of the sun radiating through the windows dancing off her hair. "Ah..." She said slowly, carefully considering her answer. After an awkward moment of silence, she finally replied. "You got injured on a mission we went on. Though, I'm not sure why you can't remember..." The girl replied, her words trailing off into a faint mumble. Though, Alex ignored this. 

He nodded. "I see." Came the reply as he attempted to slide off the bed, his frown deepening as he noticed the dull pain in his body from before was gone. The boy turned around to face the wall, Megan hearing an audible sharp - but nervous - intake of breath. And then Alex turned around. "Right." He said, taking a pause again.

Megan tilted her head to the side. Alex didn't usually have trouble articulating his thoughts like that, so it came as a surprise to her when he actually needed to take breaths and pauses between words. 

"Sometime this weekend..." Alex said, scratching his head, his eyes suddenly very interested in the hospital floor, secretly grateful that the lighting of the room helped hide his now reddening face. "Do you, er, want to do something? There's a movie I want to see, and everybody else on the team is busy." He quickly added on the last bit, hoping she'd buy it.

She probably didn't.

*CRAAASH!*

In an almost impossible combination of supreme clumsiness and poor coordination, Megan's legs slipped on the floor, her body tossing back, causing the chair she was sat on to toss over and crash against the floor. "Ow..." She muttered, rubbing her leg. 

Alex burst out laughing, placing a hand on the wall while he doubled over in hysterics. "Oh my God, how on _Earth_ did you manage that?"

Megan pouted. "Hey! We can't all have precognition or stuff, you know. Some of us just have _normal_ human bodies." She said indignantly.

"Right, right..." Alex said, slowly calming himself down, a faint smirk forming on his face as he looked at Megan. What was it about her that made him smile so much? "Though, I don't think precognition has much to do wi-" 

"Do you want me to go or not?" She turned her head.

The Italian sighed. "Sorry. Instinct."

Apparently the sigh was infectious, as she looked back, attempting to form a glare on her face before giving up and just sighing in resignation instead. "Don't worry about it. I would have gone anyway... the question just, um, really surprised me, is all. I never thought you'd ever ask me out." She muttered, then looked down, her next words faint, utterly eluding Alex's hearing.

"_Why'd you have to do it now?_"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 9, 2013)

*The Doctor - Metal Knight*
Northern Saint Haven

____________________​

The Doctor gestured his hand to make the arms of the Metal Knight move again, but his arm suddenly froze in place, a cold sensation spreading across his body as if suddenly submerged in a frozen lake. His mind felt limp, the cogs within his ingenious mind frozen in place by an invisible hand reaching within the mechanisms and sliding it's cold fingers within, the viscous force of Isaac's mental invasion branching through the glass-like layers of his mind and then . . .

Shattered.

The feeling lasted only an instance, striking him like a bullet through the head or a lightning strike. The icy chill quickly gave way to a burning pain, as if his brain had melted. The Doctor's body twitched into a spasm, then fell limp, his eyes glazing over.

The Metal Knight took a step forward, it's red visage glowing a bright red. "*ENGAGE AUTO-PILOT MODE. ELIMINATING ALL HOSTILE PRESENCES WITHIN THE AREA IMMINENTLY.*" With an almost deafening whirl, moving with unexpected precision and speed, the mecha lashed out with an arm, intercepting the attacks of James and Maria, sending the duo flying backwards.

"Shit." James muttered, retracting his hand and dissipating the now cracked barrier. "Maria, are you alright?" He shouted, sliding back as he landed on the ground.

The girl looked back up at the robot, taking a hand off the guard of her sword to remove her glasses as her amber eyes stared at the robot, her concentration sharpening like a knife. "Yes. But it seems faster than it was before . . ." 

Metal Knight moved it's metallic limbs once more, directing them in the direction of Isaac, the arm morphing shape once more as several more cylindrical shapes melted out of the stainless steel. The containers formed and set instantly, droplets liquefied metal trickling down the side of it's wrists and onto the street. "*INITIATING ASSAULT STRIKE.*" A brief roar traced through the air, then the canisters shot themselves off of the limb, the outer steel shell carving off and giving shape to missiles as they zoned in on Isaac.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 9, 2013)

*North Saint Haven - Robot Rumble: Round 2*

Isaac's satisfaction quickly turned into shock and ire as the three meter tall automaton regained its function, even without its pilot.  The machine quickly attacked the two people Isaac wanted to help and sent them reeling back.  Its arm then instantly turned into another weapon, which launched high-speed missiles.  The elements of surprise and the robot's unexpected speed would've done in Isaac, if it weren't for the fact he can count on assistance of his own.

_Barrier! Now!_

Hopefully the telekinetic psychic responds in time to Isaac's thoughts.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 9, 2013)

*Mike Williams*
_In My Time Of Need_

In a blur, the boy dashed forward, laughing softly to himself. After taking out fodder, it was time for the boss battle. A barrage of missiles was about to rain down on his supposed teammate that he's never met before. Man these heroes were popping out faster than babies from a Hispanic women. Sure Mike had the time to rescue to the teammate, but he was too dead set on getting in on the action. 

As he got closer to Issac, he jumped(Mike sure does jump a lot) going not only over Issac, but the barrage of missiles. He was soaring across the air, closing in on the mechanical structure, and then finally.

*Bang!*

Spiking his strength; his fist collided with the machine, leaving a dent. A creaking noise could be heard, as the machine tipped over and fell. A loud thud could be heard, as the ground shook a little. The jet black haired boy turned to the rest of the team, brushing his hands together.

"All of you are a bunch of pussies. Was that so hard?" 

Suddenly the robot used it's giant mechanical arms to push itself back up. This was no silent process, the metal construct made a lot of ruckus getting up, but the boy stood still. 

"It's standing... isn't it."

A giant arm wrapped around Mike's body, and it began squeezing.

"F-fuck."


----------



## Axelthewanted (Dec 9, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum 
Autopilot Engage!

The presence of the man inside the robot started going on an overload, changing from fear to agony in a matter of seconds, then the robot just freeze in place all of the sudden and the emotion of the man inside faded. He didn't wasn't sure if it was ebony haired youngster's doing but that was something he does not want to sense again. Then the robot itself started to reprogram itself and started to move again, but how? He couldn't sense the man in it. The robot started to speak on its own saying that its auto pilot had been self activated. It then directed its lock on to gas masked hero shooting missiles towards him. The boy cried out for assistance. He ran towards the hero and stood before him with his arms  in front, he then created a telekinetic barrier to protect them from then incoming blast. Though a boy with a scarf also created a barrier around the one he had created, morphing to one of higher potency. Upon impact an explosion covered the area, creating force of air and fire spread. When the smoke had cleansed, both Axel and gas masked hero were unharmed. 

"Thanks scarf dude. Now let kick some robot ass!"​


----------



## kluang (Dec 9, 2013)

*Squall*

"Ah shit." says Squall when he sees Mike is squeeze by the robot. He and Rinoa moves towards their teammates.  " I go high, you go low." and Squall jumps and landed on the robot's right shoulder and proceed to stabs his dual sword into the shoulder joint and he twist the blades around causing the right arm's grip on Mike loosen.

*"ENGAGE DEFESIVE PROTOCOL. TORNADO SPIN LEVEL 3."*

The robot torso begins to spin and it quickly gaining speed, and Squall grabs on his blades as his feet flew of the ground. He's now is like a flag on pole and the spinning speed continue to rise. Squall strengthening his grip on the blade knowing if he let go or the blade fly off, he's gonna fly far far away and will be in one hell of a pain.

Rinoa who is on the ground decide not to shoot the leg joints, fearing the for the safety of her partner should the robot lose its balance.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 10, 2013)

*The Doctor - Metal Knight*
Northern Saint Haven

____________________​

"*TORNADO SPIN, ENGAGING LEVEL FOUR.*" A small whirlwind of dust collected around the Metal Knight and Squall, rotating around into a small brown cyclone as the robot accelerated it's spinning, until the swordsman's weapon slid out of the shoulder joint. Instantly and viciously Squall was thrown off the steel body, uncontrollably ragdolling through the air. Coming to a stop, Metal Knight gave the black haired boy in it's predatorial claw one more squeeze, then threw him as well, Mike turning into a human javelin. 

"Shit. Someone distract the robot for me, I'll save Mike and Squall!" James shouted, running forward with a palm extended, the tips of his fingers shimmering, the traces of a cuboid shape lining the air around Mike and Squall as they span through the air, before coming into shape, softening the impact of their fall, as they smashed against the ground. He didn't care much about Mike, but despite that, he was still a valuable fighter here, and he actually liked Squall.  

The ground around him turned dark, Metal Knight's shadow slowly forming as it advanced towards the demi-god. The robot raised a hand, the alloy covered hand momentarily blocking out the Sun as it extended upwards. With a sudden twitch, the arm swung down, like a hammer ready to smash down a nail. James looked up, his hand reaching for the fabric of his scarf to try and block it. He probably wasn't going to be able to make it.


----------



## Narurider (Dec 10, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru​*As Gadian untangled himself from the remains of all the cyborgs he had ripped to pieces, he saw the robot. He also saw as Mike rushed forward, hurtling through the air towards the behemoth and he watched as the boy?s fist slammed into the machine, actually managing to cause a dent. Gadian watched as the metal behemoth tipped over and crashed into the ground. The shaman had to admit, he was impressed. He disliked Mike with his entire being, but he managed to knock something that big down in one hit. That was pretty damn awesome. If only he wasn?t such an asshole. ?That was actually pretty impressive, don?t you think Onca??

?Keep watching.? The jaguar?s words seemed to reverberate around inside the shaman?s mind as Gadian?s eyes darted back to the metallic colossus as it slowly, and loudly, pushed itself back up off the ground, while Mike stood completely still. Gadian tightened his grip on the sharp piece of metal that he had torn off one of the cyborgs and he felt blood trickle down his fingers as he cut himself on the metal. He watched speechlessly as the robot?s right arm closed around Mike and started to squeeze. It was weird seeing the boy be so helplessly trapped, especially since he didn?t make any attempt to run or fight. _I would have expected him to at least start swearing at the thing._

?Well I suppose I better help him. He is my teammate after all.? Gadian?s grip on the large, sharp piece of metal that had once been part of a cyborg?s arm tightened again and it cut into the palm of his hand, turning the trickle of blood into something more like a river, albeit a calm one. He shot forward and he let the piece of metal scrape against the ground for a moment, leaving a thin line across the ground, before lifting it slightly higher. It was as he was hurtling towards the colossus that was trying to squash Mike as if he were a bug that he saw Squall jump onto the goliath?s shoulder. The shaman quickened his pace as he watched Squall bring his swords down on the robot?s shoulder, twisting them and causing the robot?s grip on Mike to loosen slightly. Of course, the metallic behemoth couldn?t just take this laying down and began to spin it?s torso, rapidly gaining speed. The shaman watched as Squall was forced to grip his sword?s tightly so to not go flying off of the robot and to his death. No matter how Gadian looked at it Squall was screwed. Gadian?s eyes were scanning the death machine as he ran and he noticed the exposed joints on it?s legs. It had a weakness but if anybody were to take advantage of this, Squall would be sent to his inevitable doom. Maybe if someone were to focus on the leg joints then somebody else could be ready to catch Squall when he was sent flying but who would be able to be that quick? Gadian, possibly. But only if he was using every shred of energy in his body and even then he wasn?t sure. So the conclusion was simple. ?We?re kinda fucked.?

That was when James sprang into action. Gadian barely realised what was going on until the colossus raised one of it?s hands. He watched as it swung down in an attempt to crush the demi-god. Gadian could tell that James wasn?t going to be able to stop it. So Gadian did. The shaman increased his speed again, the pain in his legs almost unbearable but he ignored it. He skidded to a stop beside James and swung the large piece of metal in his hand upwards. It slammed into the goliath?s hand, and Gadian pushed on it with both hands, using all of his strength to hold it up. The hand stopped, Gadian?s strength barely enough to stop it but he would hold it for as long as he had to, at least until James was safe. He looked over his shoulder at the demi-god and tried to replace the wince on his face with a smile. ?You okay there??


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 10, 2013)

*The Doctor - Metal Knight*
Northern Saint Haven

____________________​

James prepared himself for the end, a faint barrier beginning to form around him, but he knew it wouldn't be able to intercept the attack. It would finish solidifying far too late to be able to block the blow. The demi-god closed his eyes and waited for his body to be smashed into pieces, but the moment never came. ?You okay there?? A familiar sounding voice asked.

Gadian.

"Just barely. Thanks, man." The demi-god breathed. He wasn't sure how he felt about being _saved_ - it wasn't a feeling he was used to. Part of him was irritated at looking weak in front of the team, while another was happy that he had comrades he could rely on to bail him out. James shifted those thoughts aside; he was _grateful_ that he had been saved. 

"_What are you doing? Destroy it, James. You're not gonna get *anywhere* just using your soul constructs._"​
The steel pillar that kept the steel titan's hand propped up wobbled dangerously, cracks forming along the edges. "It's gonna break! Get out!" James shouted, the two dispersing from the spot instantly as the former cyborg limb snapped and smashed against the road, Metal Knight's hand finally breaking through without the support of the Shaman. James jumped up, removing his muffler, a coat of fuchsia wrapping around it as he swung it across his back. The demi-god concentrated, the aura giving off a final malefic shine as he swung it. Petals and shards of his soul formed from the fabric of the garment, glowing momentarily in the sunlight before collecting together and forming into a crescent shaped shockwave that began to fly towards Metal Knight. Colliding against the metal, the fabric of energy exploded in a bath of fuchsia, briefly dyeing the immediate area in that colour. A small smirk crept up on James face. "I've got you now."


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 10, 2013)

When the smoke from the missiles' explosion parted, Isaac could see that the man with the scarf also aided with the barrier, and added to its potency.  Then some swordsman came in, stabbing the huge robot it its shoulder joint.  In response, the machine spun its torso to knock him away and sent him flying into the air.  Isaac faintly sighs to himself.  The man should have kept his distance and used guns like his partner.  The robot then throws the one in its grip, the one who knocked it down earlier, and launches him like a missile.  The one with the scarf made a cuboid construct of sorts to soften the fall of the swordsman and the other one.  A useful ability, that.

In response, the robot advances towards the scarfed man and swung its fist down to crush him.  As Isaac was about to memory dive to save his life, another one comes into the picture and holds up the metallic hand with a large piece of steel, sparing the scarfed man from death.  The latter then used his scarf as a weapon, imbuing it with whatever ability he has, and created a shockwave to repel the steel titan.  Their abilities are potent, he can give them that and Isaac supposes they're trustworthy enough in a fight like this one.  But he knows he can never be apart of their team, not truly.  All of this will just be another facade for himself.

It's now time to complete the creation of this mask.  Isaac memory dives once more, and enters the robot's programmed identity.  It isn't any more complex than the other two he eradicated and certainly not any more protected either.  As he did before, he erases its memory for combat, rendering it ineffective for battle.  

Isaac approaches the scarfed man and says to him, "Thanks for the help back there.  I'm not sure you know, but I just returned the favor a moment ago.  That thing isn't going to fight back anytime soon."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 10, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Turn Back the Pendulum II_
Hospital, Neptune City

____________________​

The two exited the hospital, and onto the street, which was eerily empty. A line of cars were parked outside, but there didn't seem to be anybody else around aside from the doctors and various assistants inside. No patients, no civilians, no anything. "_Weird._" The Italian thought to himself silently, scanning the immediate area around him for _any_ sign of people. Megan looked around curiously, though there was something else beside her usual inquisitiveness in her bright brown eyes. Nervousness? 

*BOOOM!*

The cars shook, a bright explosion of smoke and light enveloping the air in the distance. "What was that?!" Alex's head spun immediately to the north, facing the source of the sound with such speed and suddenness that Megan found herself kind of surprised he didn't get whiplash from it. 

Megan frowned, her expression turning serious. "I'm... not sure. Let's go check it out. The team will probably already be there. They're with Masaru." She explained quickly, and the two began to make their way towards the source of the explosion, Alex's grip around his sabres tightening. What was this sense of foreboding he felt? 

____________________​
The source of the sound, as it turned out, was the team fighting against a group of robots, one of Kevin's laser having hit one of the grenades and causing an explosion to ring out. "Oh hey man, you recovered! The Prince missed you bro!" He beamed, jumping out of the way of a punch, shooting a laser from his hand that tore through the cyborg's arm. 

"_Focus_, you idiot!" Baylee chided, thrusting out a palm to block a similar attack from her own cyborg, the steel fist crumpling on contact with her hand as it adapted to the assault. 

Two cyborg's moved towards Alex and Megan, their heavy mecahnical steps causing the ground to shake slightly. The two nodded at each other, then initiated their counter-offensive. Megan raised her hand, a ring of gold forming around the section of earth the cyborgs were stood on, and then it crumpled, the machine's stumbling slightly as they lost their balance. Then Alex disappeared, moving into a dark blur as it trailed up and around one of their arms, a glint of light flashing as the boy unsheathed his sabre and cut cleanly through the neck, the adamantine blade tearing through it like a hot knife through butter, before he landed on the ground and looked behind at Megan. The girl closed her hand into a fist, the golden circle zoning in on the cyborg which now took another step towards her. It raised it's arm, and then stopped, patches of rust forming on the steel plating of it's body. 

The rest of the team dismantled their own opponents: Riley ripped through one with an energy construct while Ryan ripped an arm off of one and started beating it to death with it's own arm before it exploded in his face. A dark blur danced, then moved behind one of the cyborgs. A slash was heard, and then it fell. That was Lillian. Masaru teleported onto one of their heads, then teleported away, removing it's head while the rest of the body soon collapsed. Alex walked up to Masaru. "What the hell _was_ that?" He asked. 

Masaru scratched his head, looking at the smoking ruins of his former opponent. "I'm honestly not sure, Alex. They just appeared out of nowhere when we were walking over to visit you. Nice to see that you've recovered, though." He said, giving his friend a pat on the back. 

Alex frowned, sheathing his sabre as the team gathered around. "Doesn't this feel really familiar?" He asked; he could have sworn they'd done this before. The robot attack thing _definitely_ happened before. 

"What you talkin' about, man? I think I'd remember if we'd had a freakin' robot attack before! That was _awesome_!" Kevin laughed in glee. 

Ryan pitched in. "Do you mean it was like that Teen Titans episode where Sta-"

"No. Shut up." Alex cut across him impatiently. Something was wrong here. They'd done this before. It was the first time they found each other as a team... the day after Alex woke up in the hospital with Megan. The boy narrowed his eyes, turning around slowly to face Megan as his left eye turning red, and the scene faded away into grey; the bodies, his team-mates and the city itself, leaving only him and Megan in the ruins of the Neptune City hospital.

The girl sighed, looking down. "Looks like the jig is up." Megan said, looking back up, tears welling in her eyes.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 10, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
North Saint Haven

______________________​

James exhaled as he landed on the ground, that one attack exhausting him almost completely; far more than all of the constructs he had made up until now. Metal Knight, at least, had been left a state in the wake of the attack, it's body battered and parts of it's arm torn off. But it was still left standing, a machine gun forming in it's hand ready to shoot at him. "Damn it. That wasn't enough?" The demi-god complained. 

And then, much like before, the robot stopped moving dead in it's tracks. Did his attack have a delayed reaction and fry it's circuits, or something? Then the boy from earlier - the one with the weird gas mask on - approached him. "Thanks for the help back there. I'm not sure you know, but I just returned the favor a moment ago. That thing isn't going to fight back anytime soon." He explained. 

The demi-god blinked. So did that mean this guy was the reason the robot stopped moving earlier? What did this guy _do_ to it, anyway? "Oh, no problem I guess. What happened to the robot? It looks like you just waved your hand at it and..." His voice trailed off, another one entering his head. 

_"Be careful around this guy, James. He's a dangerous one. Far more potent and deadly than anybody else on the team. Trust nobody, and only yourself."_

_"Shut up. He's thanking me."_​
"... hey, a whole bunch of you guys have psychic powers and stuff, right? If so, could we try and use this guy to find out where he came from, who hired him and where he manufactured those robots?" James suggested, gesturing at the inside of the robot.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 10, 2013)

Isaac turns to the direction where he is gesturing, and sees a man inside the husk of the metal colossus.  Ah, the one who piloted the thing.  Well, he's not going to be rampaging anymore, not after what Isaac did.  He smirks at the sight of the undoubtedly broken man and replied, "Well, I suppose I can tell you all that, actually.  I did sort of look into his memories during the battle."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 10, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Shatter the Pendulum_
Hospital, Neptune City

____________________​

Like a cold dip in a river, the memories came flooding back. The last thing that happened was them being at the hospital, assigned there by mayor Higgins after the other ones were exploded by attacks from Havoc. Megan was tasked with healing the wounded and helping them recover from the effects of the chemicals, and Alex had stayed with her. She ended up taxing herself and falling unconscious. "What the hell is going on, Megan?" Alex demanded. 

The girl didn't answer at first, then waved her hand, and the scene melted away again, this time so that they were on their old school rooftop. The sky was stained a bright orange, a row of scarlet lined clouds spread across as the sun set in the horizon. The girl walked over to the railing and sighed, looking over. "Remember when we watched the sunset together that one time? That was one of my favourite moments ever. I was still a nervous wreck around you, back then." She recalled fondly, smiling melancholically while still not facing Alex. 

"Megan, what happened to you?" 

The brown haired girl stayed silent for a few moments, the wind blowing her hair back. Bringing a small part of her hair behind her ear, she finally responded, slowly. "When I healed all those people, a part of my mind shattered. Healing all those people strained it to the point where it overheated. I'm in a coma right now." Megan said, pursing her lips, her voice turning quiet at the end. 

Alex dropped his sword, the weight of her words smashing into him like a truck. His insides felt cold. But if she was in a coma..."Then in that case, who are _you?_" He asked, his voice nervous, unsure of how to word it at first, and unsure of whether or not he wanted to even know the answer. But this wasn't a case of 'want'; this was something he _needed_ to know. 

Megan took a deep breath and finally turned to look at him. "Alex, you still haven't regained consciousness from when you blacked out. This... is all a dream. I imprinted a part of my consciousness inside you when I gave you that hug, and... I'm causing you to have this dream. I'm using my powers to cycle through your memories so I c-can... live through my favourite moments one more time." She suppressed a sniff, wiping away a tear with her sleeve, and then walked closer to Alex, resting her head on his shoulder before continuing. 

"My first proper meeting with you back at the hospital, our first mission together as a team... the time we watched the sunset together. Those are all things I didn't want to forget. But... this dream is about to end now, and my consciousness is fading away. Alex, you're going to wake up soon, but before you do... I want to do something selfish again. I h-hope you'll forgive me for this." Megan took a small breath and tugged at Alex's shirt, pulling herself up towards his face, getting on her tip-toes, and then stopped, pulling back and looking away.

"I thought I could do it since it was a dream..." Megan muttered, giving a shy smile - the one Alex hadn't seen for almost a year and then a small laugh. "I guess I'm still the same loser I always was before. Thanks for staying with me, but this time I'll be leaving for good. Goodbye, Alex."

Alex stepped forward and moved his arms to grab her, then Megan's body dissipated into little petals of light, his hands passing through the air while the rest of him stumbled forward. The scene faded and...

____________________​
The boy woke up in hospital, the rest of his team surrounding him.


----------



## Axelthewanted (Dec 10, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum
End of Robot Riot

The battle was fierce, intense and brought the team to work together. The robot had ceased its assault all of the sudden again, looking like a statue after the boy wearing scarf had created some kind of shockwave that seemed to have burned the metallically made body's circuits by gathering a sort of energy that then was exerted from the scarf, creating a glowing wave, but it wasn't him who finished the robot assault, it was the gas masked hero, so he claimed as he spoke to the other saying something about repaying a favor. The was left damaged by burns, black marking of ash and explosion, the windows of nearby buildings where either shattered or cracked that with the slightest gust of with would just make it collapse. The man inside the robot was still out cold. Axel started to analyze the gas masked youngster, looking back on his previous action during the battle compare to the odd effects that occur to both the robot and its pilot. If he was psychic just like the scarf boy had said and adding up his change of confidence and state of calmness as the enemy started to go on a overload, specially the pilot, the terrifying feel that he could sense from just before he passed out. it was all coming together. He was close but he only needed one more piece to finish the puzzle. He then herd the boy talking.

_"Well, I suppose I can tell you all that, actually. I did sort of look into his memories during the battle."_

After those words the answered rushed into Quantum's head. It was obvious but it couldn't had been figured out just by looking at him. He didn't seem like one to do so either. His telepathic level was not one of communicating but for invasion. He must have the ability to look into a person memories and eat it out of them by force. That explained the sense of agony that he sensed from the robot's master. A most dangerous power indeed. A person unaware of this could meet his doom without ever realizing or ever remembering at all. Yet even though how horrible it was, he wasn't going to judge his now comrade for his methods especially after it having stopped the problem, But he didn't seemed to have any plans on returning the man's memory, we can't let a man with no memory of his skills, talents or roots of his knowledge that led him to what is the present lost and we couldn't arrest him either for something he couldn't remember. The boy of azure eyes started to walk towards the memory diver with a concerned expression upon his mein .As he grew closer he started noticing that the gas masked hero was a bit taller than him. When he reached the youngster he spoke.

"Return his memory... He's not going anywhere now that he's captured... Let him explain his reasons to us."

He locked his eyes onto the others not even sure if he was even looking at him, showing great determination and sincerity. He knew that maybe the man didn't deserve getting anything back but it wouldn't be right for us to take something from him as he had probably done to us, we must not stood his level. 
​


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 10, 2013)

When he reached the youngster he spoke.

"Return his memory... He's not going anywhere now that he's captured... Let him explain his reasons to us."

Isaac turned to his fellow psychic.  His eyes raised slightly in disbelief at what he said and responds, "With all due respect, I think this is the best course of action.  He's harmless now and all he lost is his knowledge to build dangerous machines like the one we just destroyed.  Everything else is intact.  Why add another risk by giving all of that back to him?

"Besides, I have the information James wants.  We don't need him."


----------



## Axelthewanted (Dec 10, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum

He was still concerned about the man, but he's probably right. Maybe the mayor will figure something out. To his discovery he now acknowledges the guy wearing a scarf as James. He then submitted to the gas masked hero idea and just let higher ups deal with it. It's probably for the best. Axel then let out faint smile towards the hero in front of him nodded in a friendly jester showing him that he came to an agreement with him. 

"Very well I guess it's for the best. Whichever the case I'm pretty sure the man will be handled appropriately. Oh and its was nice fighting along side you."

He ended with a positive note. He let go of any doubts towards the past problem and let the boy speak his information.​


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 10, 2013)

"Thanks, same for you as well," Isaac replied back.  The person is still obviously uncomfortable with leaving that man in such a state, but thankfully he just nodded and smiled even though it went against his way of thinking.  Even in the superhero business, that remains a constant.  Nodding and smiling to get through the day as smoothly as possible, pretending to get along with others to avoid any needless drama.  Life is all about keeping up appearances, regardless of what you feel inside.

Isaac then turns to the one with the scarf and explains, "From what I gathered, the so-called doctor was using his robots to infect the securitrons with some sort of virus.  After that, he'd remotely control them from a distance and when that's done, he'd have complete control over North Saint Haven.  As far as I can tell, he was working only for himself.  He also has a laboratory south of where we are, which is where he made these things."


----------



## Bringer (Dec 10, 2013)

*Mike Williams*
_To Spare Or Not To Spare_

The battle over, the boy stood up and began stretching a bit. He went through more reserves than he would have liked to go through, but hopefully he could just refuel himself with the leftovers back at the mess hall. Mike walked forward, he didn't dash, he didn't jump, he just walked forward. Finally he reached the man behind it all, in such a vulnerable pitiful state. He frowned, he liked it better when the people he killed were alive, so he could hear them beg for mercy and scream in agony, but this would do.

What would be Lillan's input on the matter? The brown eyed boy wondered. He was sort of making a guess here, since one of the rules she gave him was don't do anything she wouldn't allow, or something along the lines of that. Though this was definitely confusing territory because quite frankly Lillian seemed to be the type of bitch to get off on this shit. So he was going to go with she'd be totally okay with killing the guy.

"Great you have your information, now for the best part." 

He pulled out one of his many pocket knives, and kneeled down right next to the unconscious man. Mike rose his knife high, and just as he was about to stab where the man's lungs would be, a voice was heard.

"You guys did it!"

Oh yeah, the useless skank was still alive. He could've of swore she was off... dying of poison or something. As he watched her, the silky haired girls began to shake, her eyes slowly closed, and she fell forward, flat on her face. She mumbled something as she was falling.

"You guys did it."


There it goes.

"Did this bitch really come right here to congratulate us and faint?"


----------



## Axelthewanted (Dec 10, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum

The plan and reason for this cyber riot crisis was finally revealed to the heroes. It was just for greed, the desire to take, to have it all, it was to conquer Saint Haven. In a first instance he would get a feeling of nostalgia. He remembered, back when his mom was still healthy that when he would watch super hero cartoons in the small TV there would always be a villain that wanted to take over the city or the world. He would be sitting with his legs crossed sipping on a zippy cup filled with orange juice that Emily gave just before the show started, the living room was basically part of the kitchen, walls painted green maybe having smudges here and there but it was always kept clean, there was light bolb incase in a cylinder case to expand its lighting throughout the room, but those were happier times within the family. So the "Doctor" was creating a virus to take control of the robot guard in North Saint Haven which by the looks of it he did a pretty good job of it and his lab was south from where they were standing. Next step would be to investigate and make sure no weapons or dangers are left behind in that lab to fall in the wrong hands. He looked at the fellow heroes before he spoke. 

"Very well then, I'll go on ahead to take a look and make sure nothing is left unguarded. Maybe we'll find something that might actually help us someday. Meet me there."

The  boy turned his back towards the other heroes and launched to flight pulsing himself with a telekinetic push to have quicker heads start creating a small gust of air like force behind. 

__________________________________________________________

The boy arrived at the lab, entering with caution to avoid  any surprises. Inside both wall and flooring were painted in a white color coating the shined as he started switching the lights on. There were study tables with robot parts, limbs, chips, wire, nails and tools, while others had several computers placed on top that were deactivated, rectangular headlights hanged on to the ceiling by thread which was the light source in the room and some other things he couldn't identify. 

"So this is where he worked. For madman he was really smart. Unfortunate that all that talent went to waste and was corrupted by greed. I should wait here for the others to come I guess. Wait what is this?"

He stumbled upon a case filled with yellow colored chips. Maybe that's what they were looking for, the virus. He lifted it up with telekinetic will and just held it up closed floating in the air while he awaited the others to either arrived or contact him.​


----------



## Bringer (Dec 11, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Surprise Guest_

Ryan exited his car, as he continued talking on his cell phone. Sometime after the interview he got a phone call from this top movie producer who pitched the idea to Ryan. Apparently the idea of a Neptune City movie has been thrown around quite a bit, and they sort of want to start production and film it right away so they could attempt to get it released around Neptune City's anniversary.

"Of course I'd love to help, this sounds pretty fucking awesome. We'll talk more about this later, I'm exhausted."

Closing his phone, he entered his key into the door, and unlocked the entrance to his mansion. Man how things have changed, five years ago he was living with his mom in your everyday ordinary house, and now he had a fucking mansion. The boy couldn't fathom how awesome it was for Kevin, who got to live like this ever since he was born. The brown eyed boy headed for his living room, so he could watch some The Walking Dead on his flat screen TV, but upon entering he was surprised to see somebody else in there.

"Waaaaaade."

He called for his butler.

"There's a stranger in the house."

"Hello Ryan."

"Do I know you?"

"You don't remember me?"

"Should I? I mean... I've met a lot of girls thr-"

"It's me idiot."












The sudden realization hit him, it hit him harder than when Tsunade punched Orochimaru. It was... Riley. How much she changed in the five years. She was taller, more developed, her hair different, the bags under her eyes were gone, the list goes on. He remembered the last time he had a conversation with her, right before she couldn't take it anymore and stayed locked in her room. This was days after the accident.

___________________

Ryan walked around the new base, exactly identical to the old base in Neptune City. Hell it was still under a library. Whenever Ryan needed to think, he couldn't sit still. He had to move when thinking, it was just something he had to do. The teen couldn't go outside, Leroy had forbidden it for the time being. 

He continued walking, more or less going in circles, passing by his peers doors. The team felt so small, and so broken. Masaru, Kevin, and Baylee... they were dead. As for Megan, she was in a coma.  Riley surprisingly held her own, she didn't seem as broken. Then again she could be holding up a facade just like Ryan. As for Lillian, Aiden, and Alex... he had no idea how they felt. The team didn't really talk much after what had transpired. The distraught boy had to remember that he wasn't the only one who suffered loss.

During his mothers funeral, which was pretty much held in the same room at the same time as the other heroes loved ones funerals, Ryan hid behind his facade more than ever. Although he stayed quiet when it came to honor the others loved ones, he was loud and obnoxious when it came time to honor his mother. Hell even played his nintendo throughout it. When they started burying his mother he didn't cry, even if he wasn't trying to hide how he felt he wouldn't have. Men don't cry.

The young teen who was so lost in thought came crashing down as soon as a opening door hit him. 

"Sorry."

Riley had exited from her room as soon as he came walking by, thus leading to Ryan being smacked by the door. The boy shrugged and got up.

"How are you holding up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid Ryan... you know exactly what I mean."

He tried to hide behind his apathetic facade, even though Riley could see right through it. Something Ryan failed to remember was Riley was there in the past, she was in the same exact situation as him when her parents died.

"I'm doing good."

His voice shook.

"You're doing good? Your mother died saving you from the toxic clouds from the explosion, and you're just peachy?"

"Stop it."

"I know how you feel, and what you're doing right now... isn't going to get you anywhere. You think by pretending nothing happened, all of this will go away?"

"I'm..."

There was a sudden pause.

"I'm not okay!"

Tears streamed down his eyes, as Riley embraced him, her grip tight. 

"This isn't how it's supposed to be! In the movies... the heroes get a happy ending! Havok was supposed to be stopped!"

Ryan's arms wrapped around Riley's, returning the embrace. This was flipped, shouldn't he be comforting her? 

"I-I break stuff, half expecting my mom to yell at me! But she's gone! I used to hate how strict she was, I used to hate how much she'd yell, and most of all I hated her terrible cooking!"

A small moment of silence passed, and the boy was shaking.

"But now I miss her forcing me to sleep early, I miss her yelling, and I miss her cooking! "

He hated this so much, he felt so weak, so vulnerable. 

"And this god damn feeling! I feel so hollow... so numb! It's like when your favorite show ends or gets cancelled, but worse!"

___________________

"You know, I've had this dream a lot. Except you were naked."

"I don't know rather to scoff or laugh."

This definitely wasn't the same girl from five years ago, she definitely changed. Normally Riley would've have made some kind of noise in disgust, and probably even hit him with a energy construct.

"Ryan... I'm here to talk."

"I'm all ears."


----------



## Platinum (Dec 11, 2013)

*Getting The Crew Together*
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven​
Noel had no idea what he thought of this city yet, but at least it had a large enough variety of quiet places for a man to discuss a theft in. It was scarcely past six in the morning and the park he had found for their get together remained near empty. He didn't like being this exposed out in the open, but it was the best option until they had a more permanent residence to keep out the rabble. He adjusted the scarf around his neck with one hand as he retrieved his new phone from his coat pocket with the other to make some final preparations before the meeting.

Alannah was the first to show up, she always is the first. It is something that Noel always admired in her in the relatively short amount of time that they had been acquaintances. A consummate professional, she treated every meeting as important; always dressing the part and coming prepared. Yet for someone so dutiful, Alannah was remarkably mellow when compared to others with similar habits. Always cool under pressure, Alannah carried herself like she could never be surprised by anything, which was pretty much exactly the case. Precognition can do that for some people. 

"Noel", she remarked as she approached the bench he was at and took a seat. "Glad to see you are still in one piece."

"I should be the one saying that of you Alannah", Noel quipped. "After all, you were the one that opted to arrive via a bus of all things." 

"Charter buses are remarkably comfortable and productive when compared to a plane, I was able to catch up on many things I had been procrastinating on." 

Noel remained unconvinced, "If you say so Alannah."

Vincent arrived more or less on time, he had made bordering on late for everything a consistent habit of his so it was an improvement Noel surmised. He was dressed in a brown coat about one size too large and slacks that were just a little too baggy to truly be considered formal wear, yet for all his carelessness when it came to his attire, he was immaculately groomed and accessorized with a designer made pair of sunglasses. 

For all that you could say about Vincent, he had a personality almost completely unbecoming of his profession as a seasoned user of blood magic. While most people instinctively imagine blood mages as either lecherous, hedonistic monster or nihilistic psychotics, Vincent was the type who would spend the tail end of his afternoon going out to the beach to collect shells and watch the sunset. While anyone on the receiving end of his craft could plenty attest to the fact that Vincent had a dark streak if he was pushed, at the end of the day he remained an easy going person who was fine just being along for the ride. He never questioned orders, and could always be relied on when it counted. 

Naomi followed ten minutes later, she waived goodbye to some random stranger she apparently got caught up talking to and then half sprinted to where the rest of the group was waiting for her. Noel had come to expect it of her so he was only slightly irritated. The only time Naomi was not the last to arrive was when he lied to her about the time to be there. 

Noel took a few steps forward and motioned with his hand for them to gather around him. He brought out his phone and loaded a few pictures he had taken the day before. 

"This is Old World Designs", Noel began. "It's a furniture store being used as a front by the Romano family to ship stolen goods ready to be sold out of West Saint Haven. Three million dollars worth of . Tonight we are taking it all."

Vincent gave his opinion with a whistle, "Damn Noel you are starting us off in style, I approve."

Alannah dismissed Vincent's excitement with a cutting gesture of her hand. "What kind of security are we looking at Noel?"

"Almost non-existent. They are trying to keep this a low-key operation, so nothing above expectations. I noticed a blind spot in the camera sweeps that Naomi can use to set up and break in wirelessly to loop the footage. The alarm system is a standard Nysus model; Vincent picks the lock and I walk in and disable it without tripping the alarm."

"That is all well and good, but are you sure about this Noel?", Alannah inquired. "The Romanos will react with extreme prejudice when they discover their stock has been seized. I am not sure we can take the full brunt of a major family at this point in time."

Noel cracked a devious smile, "They will never look too deep into this when we make the culprit glaringly obvious to them", Noel's form flickered for a brief second and then stabilized into the visage of the store's owner Steven Vespucchi. "The Romano's will be shocked when they discover their trust was abused after reviewing security footage that clearly shows the owner letting in a group of thieves into the back to steal everything that wasn't his." 

Vincent chuckled. "So we are setting up an innocent man to take the fall, that's cold Noel. Brilliant, but cold."

"I will need you to follow this man Vincent, find out where he lives", Noel continued. "It should go without saying that you cannot let this man see you under any circumstances. If you can track him using your abilities that would be optimal. When you find out where he lives, try to see where he parks his car and if he has any security of his own. We can incriminate more definitively if we get him leaving his own house on footage."

Alannah was still unconvinced. "If they torture him to find the location of their goods Noel they will know he is completely oblivious. You run the risk of revealing your ability to them before you can use it to maximum efficiency." 

He brushed her concerns aside. "Come on Alannah you know i'm not an amateur. The mafia will be aware that their goods are long gone by the time they suspect him in the first place. We will plant some evidence in his car, detailing an alliance he made with a psychic detailing his intent to wipe his memory and restore it after the heat has died down. They'll assume he was a sucker who got played, and they will tie up our loose ends for us as a result."

"Okay.", she nodded her head in agreement. "The plan is solid."

"Glad to have your approval", Noel remarked dryly. "Alannah I will need you to pick up the truck I have acquired for the evening, I will text you the directions to the depot later on once we exchange numbers. Naomi I need you to acquire some data on a few persons of interest, and I need you to find a place that we can purchase as a safe house without it getting noticed. This initial take will be primarily spent on getting us a place where we can plan a little more... discreetly. It needs to be big enough for all of us to stay at in case of emergency. We can't all live there without attracting attention, so we will have to work on buying up some more real estate when we have the assets. Remember we are only getting about half the take for ourselves, so nothing more than one point two million Naomi. I would like to give you each a cut of at least a hundred k so you can all live with some degree of comfort until we are better established." 

"I'll have a place ready to be purchased by tonight, oh this is exciting", Naomi had an unmistakable gleam in her eye as her mind was already racing with possibilities. "Oh and i'll look for some condos as well for Vinny, Allie, and myself."

"Remember I don't like living next to roads", Alannah remarked. "Somewhere gated and isolated would be optimal." 

"And i'm fine with wherever", Vincent added. "Though if you can find something next to a theater or a museum I would be grateful."

"So we all know what to do. Exchange contact info with one another if you haven't already and we will discuss the final details when we meet up later in the day."

With that their meeting was over. Noel told them all to expect a text later in the day about where to meet and then he walked off to go get himself a coffee and a bagel at the local coffee shop.


----------



## Fedster (Dec 11, 2013)

*Bach*
_Ch. 4 - Neutral - 2nd Part_

Aeon grabbed Bach by the hip and took her with him for some reason unknown to her. She felt like she was flying, even though the masked man was firmly carrying her at her side. Bach looked upwards as the man asked her if she was willing to follow, before blowing a hole on the castle's roof and jumping through it. "Yes." Was her sole answer. She was placed besides Temple. He was looking bad, as though he was dying, and probably was. And then there was another woman Bach did not know, but, then again, she knew next to nothing about Aeon or Temple, so if she was in their side, she had no other option than to not attack her. The other woman moved with Temple in her arms after Aeon's instructions about a magical potion and so, him and Bach were left to fight the shadow creatures.

"Very well. Temple will be outside their reach."​ She said after the 'King' ordered her to prevent Temple's capture. They were both of them against ten enemies. Aeon shot his power, as the android grew springs beneath her soles and jumped nearly 15 metres in the air. Her jump was calculated to land on the spot the ninjas were. After the beam ended, Bach fell from the sky, her feet transformed into big hammers. She fell right above one of the ninjas, but that was all she could do.

Even if they were stronger, the enemy had a trump card.

 ?It looks like I beat you to it. Your two new friends are in my hands. I suggest that you make no sudden movements, and that we negotiate peacefully. Believe me, I have no desire to waste more of my men than I already have.? _'Prevent Temple's capture.'_ The order resonated in her mind. She had failed.

But now, what was there to do?

*Luke Walters & Aiden Adams​​​*​

A knock on the door. _'Who could it be?'_ Aiden asked, standing from the swivel chair and facing the door, the monitors irradiating their light behind him. The former hero opened the door with his powers, and a reddish-black haired person entered the dark room. He did not know him. "Hey." Greeted the person. He seemed slightly younger than Aiden. "I was told to talk to you about an ID to fool _that_ guy from earlier. Isn't it a bit too dark?"

At his complaint, Aiden switched on the lights. The room was almost empty, were it not for the computers and scrapes of metals scattered through the floor. He had not brought his belongings here, because he did not intend to stay in that base. "Uh, yeah. Could you help me, please?" Luke asked as politely as he could. This guy gave him the creeps. He held Mike's card to Aiden, who took with disinterest, looked at it with disinterest, and produced Luke's ID in the same fashion. 

"The picture is your driving license's. Mr. Williams' card won't work now." Aiden said, barely audible. He sat back before his monitors, bidding Luke a silent good day.

"Er, thanks. I'll be going now."

"Be careful." That was the second time he had said that. Why was he so worried about Luke's safety? Maybe he was aware of some danger unknown to the boy? But, what could it be?​


----------



## Island (Dec 12, 2013)

_?Why do they call you Bloody Mary??_ Somebody once asked.

The answer? Well, I didn?t know how to answer them. I told them that it was just a nickname, and that I really didn?t know where it came from. The truth, unfortunately, was a lot more complicated than that. In the early days, just after the destruction of Neptune City but sometime before I became an agent, I did some vigilante work in Midgard, Canada. I patrolled the night, hunted down criminals, and brought order back to a lawless city. The advent of powers meant anarchy and lawlessness. Police and other law enforcement officials found themselves increasingly overwhelmed. Not only did many of these criminals master the extraordinary and mysterious abilities given to them by the Human Adaptive Virus, but there were simply too many of them and so few people to stop them.

In other words, Havoc continued to his reign of terror, even from beyond the grave. When he blew up Neptune City, he didn?t just destroy a city. He condemned humanity to anarchy and lawlessness. The bomb he detonated released the Human Adaptive Virus into the atmosphere, and many of those within a hundred, maybe even two hundred mile radius were infected. Most were unaffected; others suffered violent and excruciatingly painful deaths. A small minority evolved, developing extraordinary and magnificent powers, the same way that we did a couple years ago?

Havoc knew what he was doing.

His goal wasn?t _just_ to destroy Neptune City.

It was to break humanity by showing it how twisted people could be.

Most people weren?t like us. They saw no reason to work for the betterment of humanity, for a greater future, or even just to do the right thing. They sought fame, fortune, glamor, and everything that came with being on top. For many, these ambitions began with robbing banks and stealing valuable artifacts, technologies, and anything else that could make them a quick buck. Others sought to disrupt the status quo, topple those with power, usually the local governments, and then seize that power for themselves. This involved attacking police departments, recruiting stations, and other symbols of government power.

I thought that if I could stop these criminals, if I could reverse the damage that Havoc had done, then maybe your sacrifice would have meant something. Maybe if I stopped this madness once and for all, you wouldn?t have died in vain. We killed Havoc, but we condemned Neptune City and all of its inhabitants to death and the world to a fate even worse.

Is that what you died for?

So that Havoc could have the last laugh?

No, I refused to let that be my reality.

Thus, I began a personal crusade against those who terrorize the innocent and carry on Havoc?s legacy?

On one occasion, I set out in the dead of night to stop a local gang from terrorizing the community. A number of thugs, maybe six or seven, discovered that they had powers, and had since been using them to rob convenience stores, grocery stores, liquor stores, pharmacies, and other nearby businesses. At that point, they had killed at least twelve people and injured many more. The police found themselves unable to do anything, unable to stop their reign of terror, and there was nobody around who would stand up to them.

That night, I heard the drunken laughter of a number of individuals, the South Street Seven, as they called themselves, who frequented one of the alleyways of South Midgard. I heard one going on about the face of some innocent woman he robbed, her expression as he lifted her from the ground with just one hand and smashed her into a concrete wall. Then, I heard another share a story about some police officer he killed and how he cooked him alive inside his own squad car. According to the story, he melted the door handles and heated up the interior, turning it into an oven, _?roastin' that fucker like the pig he was??_

Without even so much as a word, I entered the alley. Screams of horror deafened the sounds of a bustling city, and the smell of blood overpowered all others. The next day, papers described in length about how police happened upon the savage murder of seven known criminals, noting the brutality of these ?revenge killings? and how the murderer, whoever he or she was, spared them no mercy, leaving in his or her wake puddles of blood and mangled body parts.

This continued, first with the South Street Seven, then with the Night Slasher, and finally, I moved onto larger organizations, local mafias and other groups who hired out super powered criminals. Witnesses eventually identified me as a young woman in her early-twenties, a nameless vigilante, brutal but effective, and thought to have cut crime in Midgard in half.

Another night, I headed out to a warehouse where the De Satigny Family from Northern Quebec was leading a shipping operation of illegal weapons across Lake Ontario and to the United States. Apparently, they had been doing this for some time, hiring thugs to attack military transports, sometimes even armories and bases, and then sell whatever they found to the highest bidder. From what I understood, this particular shipment was headed to some mafia family from Saint Haven, and though I'd never been there myself, I heard that crime was getting pretty bad down.

That particular night was a full moon, making the night sky otherwise empty except for a gigantic white orb illuminating the cityscape below. When I arrived at the facility on the dock, I found that they expecting me, locking the huge warehouse doors behind me, and caging me in with huge men armed to the teeth with weapons. _Good_. Without hesitation or remorse, I ruthlessly slaughtered each and everyone of them, turning the warehouse into a swimming pool of blood and leaving no man or woman left standing.

_*SPLAAAAAT!*_

A man's head collided against the floor was then promptly crushed beneath my boot. Another came at me with brass knuckles, but I twisted his arm until I heard a loud snap. Then I smiled sadistically and continued turning until I ripped the whole thing right off his torso. Only after a couple moments of that man shrieking in utter agony did I deliver a swift punch to his upper torso, my hand piercing his ripcage and my fingernails clawing at his heart.

*RIPPPPPPPP!*

In one clean motion, I pulled the man's heart straight from his chest and watched as he collapsed onto the ground in front of me, somewhat hoping that he got a glance of his still-beating heart as he lost consciousness. At the door behind me, I heard a loud thud but chose to ignore it, instead, turning my attention to my remaining opponents.

_?Y-You?re a monster!?_ Somebody shouted as I slowly made my way towards the group.

I paused, considering what he had said, but before I could reply, I heard another thud, this one resulting in the huge warehouse door behind me collapsing inward. Light shined into the previously dim warehouse, and I heard the sound of men from outside, but not more goons, police officers, probably called in response to suspicious activity, blood curdling screams, more than likely, down at the docks.

They were just in time for the show.

I held the now-dead heart to shoulder level, displaying it to the men in front of men, and proceeded to crush it between my fingers. Then, with the police as my audience, I unleashed my fury upon the remaining goons, merciless and unrelenting, not stopping until each and every one of them was dead. To an outsider, it must have appeared like some death goddesses, covered from head to toe in blood, extracting divine retribution on those who would do harm to her people, and of course, to one of those men, it must have felt like those many years of cold, ruthless murder finally catching up to them, as if Death himself descended upon him.

_?Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.?_
- Genesis 9:6​
Granted that I wasn't exactly a man, it's how I justified it to myself. I saw myself as an avenger and a harbinger of vengeance. I saw no reason to show mercy or relent. These individuals sought to destroy, to shed the blood of man, so I responded in kind, viciously and violently massacring each and everyone of them.

The police who had been sent in to investigate simply stared wide-eyed as I finished my business, leaving not one of the possibly fifty or sixty men left standing. I turned to them afterwards, blood-soaked and smelling of death, but only making brief eye-contact before fleeing into the night.

That night, I became Bloody Mary. News outlets across the city talked about Bloody Mary, a masked vigilante who cut down over fifty thugs and shut down an illegal arms operation in Midgard.

Funny thing was?

Havoc was right.

Humans _are_ twisted fucks, and I was quickly becoming a prime example of that fact.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 12, 2013)

*Leroy Steel* 
Team Hideout, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

The room was fairly large, reminding James of a sort of war council room. It was dark and spacious, with a row of lights lining the room, but all turned off with one large monitor at the far end of the room being the only source of light, separated from the team by a large looking, sleek table, a large chandelier looking light hung above it. The team walked across to meet Leroy after he had called them to return to the base after Metal Knight was defeated. 

Leroy paced up and down the room as the team stood and watched the dark skinned man, waiting for him to speak as he tried to find the right words to articulate himself with. To say that he was angry would be an understatement, and he wanted nothing more than to yell at each and every one of them. But that would take time, precious time that he did not have to dispose at the moment. And the mayor told him to 'take it easy' on the team as well. He took a deep breath, then paused, turning to finally face them, his voice quiet - though still resounding all across the room. "*You idiots. Do you have any idea how much you've cost the city by frying all those securitrons? Do you think those things are fucking CHEAP? They're not TOYS, god dammit. I told you to disable the fucking things, not MASH THEM INTO PIECES. I give you one task - one simple task of repelling a bunch of robots, and you manage to go and cock it up. Well done, you guys saved some people in the north, but now we've got to choke out something billion dollars to replace them all! Fan-fucking-tastic, time to throw a motherfucking PARTY.*"

James waited until Leroy paused until he started speaking, deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to try and cut across him during his rant. "Bu-"

*"But nothing, scarf boy."* Leroy cut across, glaring, then turned away to face the screen installed into his wall, the bright light casting a green hue onto his skin. *"You're all dismissed. Get back to your fucking rooms and leave me to bash my head against a wall until further notice."*


----------



## Island (Dec 12, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Central Saint Haven​
I made my way uptown as fast as I could, sidestepping pedestrians and dodging traffic, attempting to get to North Saint Haven as quickly as possible and warn the mayor's team about the extraterrestrial, at least I was _trying_ to do until I bumped into a familiar face. Unlike my previous encounter, I recognized this individual, and upon doing so, my eyes widened in surprise and the color ran from my face. In front of me, walking through Central Saint Haven?s business district, stood Mr. Greyson, in a suit and tie, looking like it had just left the office for the afternoon. I didn?t know how this was possible. What was it up to, and how was it doing all this?

?Oh, hello, Mary.?  It greeted fondly.

?Uh.? I had no idea how to answer.

?Is something wrong?? He tilted his head in bewilderment ?You look like you?ve just seen a ghost.?

He paused.

?Or maybe,? he chuckled, ?You?re seeing _double_.?


----------



## Chronos (Dec 12, 2013)

Aeon​
Turning his vision it seemed their mission was brought to naught as a man had captured Temple within seconds of the woman's escape. Turning his gaze towards the lady known a Lavinia, a glare was thrown towards her, one fulled with disappointment, but nevertheless he rose his hands and all the coming knight were brought to a halt, the dragon itself calmed and stood behind him with it chilling breath fulling the air. Aeon paced a few steps forwards and delivered a cold stare towards this enigma of a man who stood triumphantly before him, as if he had caught Aeon at an impasse, switching his view towards the moon, still brilliant, was his power still radiant as it? 

"Right. I suppose even Kings need to acknowledge defeat..."

Stopping mid-pace. The vibrations in this body began to statically increase, running through the earth, causing friction with the ground, soon his power began resonating, lightning began to accumulate around his body, rapidly coursing through his muscle tissue was an abnormal amount of electric energy that was condensed during a small period of time, pain began to course in the entirety of his body. A tight clench of his teeth before a pained grin escaped his lips.

"Shame though. King's don't accept defeat...!" 

A click and his speed had instantly scaled to it's apex, within a second his image blurred blurred instantaneously and a large blast had emerged from the background. Aeon's mask broken due to the fissure his body was causing, the gleam of his brilliance of his power left a trace of lightning behind, within his right arm Temple had been captured, the beast tendrils held in the other. His speed seemed to have scaled to beyond the normal capacity, Mach 12 levels of speed were met in mere seconds. The rapid vibrations were causing his body to strain rather rapidly, his muscle tissue would soon break if he delayed any longer. Within a split of a second he had managed to break the blonde free of the creature's grasps. Now, time to recover the rest... He wouldn't win, he couldn't at this point. But then again, if he sacrificed, he still might delay the checkmate. 

Kicking, he turned towards Lavinia, who he held with his spared hand, turning one more time he, headed towards Bach this time. The vibrations exceeding the healthy capacity, placing temple on the floor, he quickly beckoned B.A.C.H to come, making her hold his neck, grasping with all her strength almost causing him to lose his breath, he picked Temple once more and stared at the man before them, the Mafia. The electrical surges ragging uncontrollably upon his muscular tissue, slowly destroying it. He should hurry, with his girl, Lavinia, he could hope for some closure out of this. With the bottle no longer useful, he couldn't rely on it's healing properties, why would something like this happen? Things seem to never end up like he wished... However, he wasn't a man with a plan after all.

"Checkmate."

The dragon and knights began to strike once more, before Aeon air walked through the void, away from the castle, in an instant, his image vanished much like smog, dispersing into the void. Soon crossing the districts, once he reached North Saint Haven, he placed the bodies upon a roof, easing the vibrations and loosing all balance, he feel towards the ground. Pained, unable to move. 

"Fuck... No King should witness such foolish torture..."


----------



## Bringer (Dec 12, 2013)

*Mike Williams-Paragon*
_Farewell_

Mike just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as Leroy lectured the team. He was tempted to just smash the monitor, but he was sure Lillian wouldn't like that. As Leroy ended his transmission, the boy wanted to mock Leroy. Really... he called James... scarf boy. Was that really the best he had? Leroy sure wasn't living up to Mike's angry black man stereotype standards.

"Well after hearing that, I've got some good news." 

__________________


"What da fuck do you need bitch-sama. Me and the team of dumb fucktards have a mission."

Lillian like always, ignored his rudeness. The jet black haired boy was thankful for that, how would he live if the cunt had banned him from cursing or being disrespectful.

"I swear to god, you better not make me wear a spiked collar you sic-"

She cut him off.

"Mike, I'm here to inform you that I'll be taking a leave of absence. However, I still intend on training you, so you'll be coming along with me. Do you accept?"

This certainly caught him off guard. So what, they were going to have their own spin off series? The adventures of Mike and Lillian? The brown eyed boy decided to think about this seriously for a bit, since this was a big decision. He hadn't made a attachment to any place, nor any of the team members. Plus he's never been outside of Saint Haven, so a certain curiosity loomed over his mind.

"Sure, why the hell not."

____________

"That's right bitches, I'm leaving! So with that I'll be saying my goodbyes."

He cleared his throat.

"Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you."

He pointed at a different team member each time he said it, until finally his finger reached Kira.

"And you bitch, don't you fucking dare die. Not until you write down some of your recipes, even though your food is gross as fuck. But no seriously... if I don't get that fucking brownie recipe, and you end up dead, I will follow you to the depths of hell, cut off your tits, and make it into a sandwich."

And with that, it was off to the jet that awaited both Lillian and Mike. This jet was most likely prepared by T.A.N.K. It appeared that being allies with the organization had it's benefits. As he entered the aircraft, a tear streamed down his eye.

"Oh god... I'm back to eating Lillian's small ass portions."

Moments later, the jet took off. Little did Mike, Lillian, the pilot, or any of the agents Leroy could spare to go along with the duo know that something was lurking in their transportation.

Spoiler alert, it's Mike's pet blob.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 12, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Outburst_

She regained consciousness, waking to the sound of the heart monitor beeping at a steady rate. Kimberly remained laying for a bit as she tried to piece everything together. The team was enjoying a meal prepared by Kira, she questioned Goose Man, then she had some sort of supposed allergic reaction to Kira's food, and finally the mission. She sat up; the mission! 

"Wow slow down there Kim." 

That voice... she recognized it.

"L-Leo... Leo!"

The man leaned down, and the two of them hugged. The man standing before her was extremely close to her, more close to her than Alex, Rinoa, or Squall. You see, as a child Leo was her caretaker and bodyguard. Kimberly's father has always been a protective man, even then. Sometimes, she thought Leo as more of a father than her own dad. She couldn't blame her father, he was a busy man, but Leo was always there for her. Attending special events, buying her gifts.

"You had me worried girl, your father too. He's on his way right now."

"Leo... you didn't tell him... did you!"

"He's your father, he had to know."

"You do know what's going to happen now. I've worked so hard to try to convince him to let me on this team, and now..."

The door opened, and her father came running in, and immediately embracing her.

"Kimberly dear, I came as soon as I could. Are you okay? Are you feeling well, do you need anything? Talk to me."

"I'm fine dad."

She could sense the worry radiating from him, seems like her powers were working properly now.

"I knew it was a mistake... letting you on the team. The first mission and you could've died. Kimberly, I know you may resent me for this, but I'm pulling you off the team."

"You can't do that."

The silky black haired girl pulled the sheets from the bed off of her, and stood up. One by one she pulled off the chords that connected her to the heart monitor.

"You can't make me leave the team dad."

"Kimberly... forgive me. This is my final decision."

Normally she was never the one to lose her cool, after all Kimberly was raised to be well mannered and respectful, but anybody could see the anger in her green eyes.

"You're selfish dad."

"Kimberly, calm d-"

"You don't want me getting hurt right? What about the others, what about James, Kira, Rinoa, Squall, all of them! You're okay with them risking their lives for the city you hold dear?"

"Why do you twist my words?"

"I don't want to hear it dad... I can't even be in the same room as you."

The young adult stormed off, leaving both her father and Leo in the room.

___________

"Leo... please go after her. Follow her, make sure she stays out of trouble, but avoid confrontation."

"I'm away ahead of you, but before I go we need to address something. Kimberly wasn't injured, she was poisoned. Unless these securitrons carry poison around, it was someone on her team who did it." 

"I see... I'll inform Leroy about this right away, he'll know what to do."

____________

Kimberly stopped at a red light, she had been driving around for a few minutes now. Sometimes a long drive at night helped her calm down and relax, though it wasn't a frequent thing for her to get furious at her dad. Now that she looked back at it she felt like a child, however she still had a point.  The green eyed girl reached for her cell phone, and dialed a number.

"Dakota... call Anna and Amy, it's been a while since we hung out."


----------



## Bringer (Dec 12, 2013)

*Riley Roth*
_Chapter 1- Ryan Williams-End_











It wasn't hard for her to get inside his house, honestly it was a bit harder to track down his house. However one thing Riley knew is almost every famous or rich person lived in North Saint Haven, the wealthy section of the city. To get in, all she needed to do was make a energy construct key that fit his door.

The raven haired girl decided to start off with some small talk, to try and catch up with Ryan. She mused this for a bit, what could she ask about? Riley recalled that he liked a variety of shows, but settled for something else.

"So, are you still a "top notch" martial artist?"

He grinned.

"Why answer when I can just show you?"

Seemed fair enough, both adults stood facing each other. He asked her to make the first move, he specifically said "hit me". Complying with his request, Riley brought her fist back, and her eyes began glowing. A energy construct shaped like a boxing glove appeared on her hand, and she brought the punch forward.

Ryan was quick on his feet.

While it was true Riley could be quick with her constructs, physical combat just wasn't her thing. The man outmaneuvered her, and before the brown eyed girl knew it she was pinned to the wall.

"That was pretty bad... but I can give you some."

He leaned in closer.

"Private lessons."

Riley smirked, as her fingertips began glowing and she pointed them forward, and from each finger a giant construct shaped finger emerged sending the boy flying back into a couch. She sat back down with a smile, amused by the outcome. Despite being sent flying backwards, the black haired boy was a good sport about it, and began laughing.

She stared at the man sitting before her, the former hero couldn't believe how much Ryan had changed. His hair reached to his neck, he stood at 6'2, and furthermore he had developed muscle. Could this man really be the Ryan she knew from five years ago? The interview that she saw showed traces of him, but he has changed.

"I'm here to bring the team back together."

Riley answers, getting straight to the point. This was the reason why she came back, to rebuild the old team. Even after the years of traveling, there was a hole in her heart that nothing could fill, no matter how many people she's met, no matter how many places she's been. The old team was her family. 

"My parents are dead. My foster parents, I wouldn't even call them family. The old team is all I have left. So what do you say? Would you like to bring the team back together with me?"

"No."

His response caught her off guard.

"May I ask why?"

"Riley... things aren't how you remember it. The team wasn't a big happy family like you thought it was."

Riley couldn't hear this, she refused to. If he was right, and the team wasn't how she remembered it, what was left for her? 

"You're wrong."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? Even if you were right, look at the team. Alex, Aiden, and Lillian has never cared about you. Masaru, Kevin, and Baylee are dead. Megan is in a coma for god's sake, and me... I've moved on."

She noticed a bit of bitterness in Ryan's last few words.

"And you...what did you do? You picked me up when I was at my lowest point, and then the next day you fell down! The team separated, and you vanished! You really think that you can just push everyone away, leave, and comeback as if nothing happened? That's pathetic Riley."

It hurt, everything he said hurt.

"Even if am I wrong, even so... this is what Masaru would've wanted. For the team to remain a whole. So I may be pathetic Ryan... but at least I can honestly say that if my parents, or even Masaru saw me right now they'd be proud. Could you say the same about your mother? Would she be proud of what you've become?"

The tension in the room weighed down on them.

"We're done here."

"As you wish."

Their eyes locked on each others for a few more moments. What has been said could not be unsaid. What they had once shared, rather it be a friendship or something more was long gone. Thoughts had invaded Riley's mind, of what could've have been, what they could still become, but they were gone. It was apparent now as she left the house.

Ryan Williams was a lost cause.


----------



## kluang (Dec 13, 2013)

*Squall*

That night he returns to his room. Leroy's words ringing in his mind. If he wasn't so weak and his headache wasn't this bad, he will retort to at Leroy.

As far as he's concerned he sign up for this to clean the streets using any means necessary, either by the book or not. Squall is a man of ethic, not the law.


----------



## Axelthewanted (Dec 13, 2013)

Axel May-Quantum
Hero Base, Enter Quantum

After investigating the lab and collecting the chips into a case he left the building by flying way, holding  within his arms  the silver colored case. He was headed towards the base that the mayor had told him about, the one in which the heroes used to regroup. Now is a good of a time as ever to finally visit the place sense going back would mean explaining many questions to the teachers. He thought it would be better off to say that he felt to sick and ditched school. Not the best option but it would have to do. He just hope no one recognized him without his costume.  He thought back on the battle that concluded in the city, it felt really good to have saved many people as well protecting them. He kept flying throughout the grand city that is Saint Haven, below him the people worked, cars were driving through the city, other trapped in transit, buildings that pop out of the ground, skyscrapers that reach far beyond of where he was flying each branded and owned by big industries know by practically everyone, having many glass windows in its exterior, divided by a metallic linings and grids that incase the glass in a square shape. It is a very lively city, always busy. Could he be able to protect all them, all of these people? Does he has it in him, the potential or is he way over his head? These thought continue to roam within his mind as he grew closer to his destination. Mid-day had already passed  when he finally arrived. It was a library, not what expected a base to be but he was sure this was the place. He was then greeted by a young librarian with blond hair, very well kept , clean, shiny, she was wearing a typical black suit that every librarian would have with a white shirt inside. She spoke to him, letting him know that he was expected, but they were expecting someone with some odd disguise. The boy face turned red as a tomato feeling embarrassed but regardless the woman told him where to go.

 Ok he was told that once he entered he would need to find the elevator. He walked through the corridors  holding the within his arms looking as he were hugging a pillow at times, but he was really nervous. He wanted to give a good impression to the others and not mess up in the first day. In the end of the hallway he found the elevator door.  He pressed the circular button causing it to the glow a peachy like color to call the elevator, making the little humming sound that all the others would do, growing louder as it got closer. He patiently waited staring at the door, more distracted by the lineal gap that separated the two parts of the door, then seeing a source of light within it followed by the sound of a bell going "ding", the elevator had arrived. The azure eyed boy entered the platform, hearing it close behind him, but he felt lost not knowing what to next. Was he suppose to just stand there? Then all of the sudden the elevator lights change from white to blazing red. He got startled at first but then he heard the sound that originated from the button floor panel. The button that said "GROUND FLOOR" turned to "Ground X". An echoed voice appeared out of nowhere.

"Hero classification analyzed. CODENAME: QUANTUM"

He looked for the source of the voice but all he saw was the camera above in the right corner. They must have been watching him. Seconds later he felt the elevator descending. Upon reaching the destination the doors slide open and the boy exited the platform. 

"Never judge a book for its cover."

Speaking to himself and feeling the irony of the fact that he was under a library. He then proceed along the long unknown hallway where then hear angry voice shouting in the distance, it felt like the voice of a thousand warriors ready for war. He traced the emotions the resonated as he grew closer guiding him into the room where the whole team was. From the sounds of the only voice talking it didn't to be in a good mood. Arriving to the room, there was the whole team listening to a tall, buff, dark skin man, wearing a black trench coat, its leather texture created a white gleam of the reflection of the lights around him and an eye patch. Axel didn't need his empathy to know that he was furious. The man's glare spread intimidation across the room, able to break any man's will and courage, though the only person he didn't saw was the girl from yesterday, the mayor's daughter, Kimberly. He hoped he would find her among these people that way he wouldn't like such a stranger or lost among all the others. He could recognized James, the boy with the scarf. When the room turned into silence the boy decided to walk in holding the case with his right hand and spoke with nervous and somewhat shy tone behind his words.

"Uh... H-Hi. I'm Ax.. I mean Quantum. I'm the new member of the team. I brought what was left of the laboratory where the scientist worked in."

The boy swallowed his saliva forcefully in stress gulping it down as he directed his blue eyes towards the tall man.​


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 13, 2013)

*Leroy Steel* 
Team Hideout, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

Leroy looked at the new guy; he remembered seeing the footage of him helping out the team, flying to the battlefield. *"I know who you are."* He said dryly, staring down at him with his one exposed eye, not appreciative of the introduction he had now deemed unnecessary or the fact that he had returned late. However, the mention of him bringing back something from the scientist - what appeared to look like a chip - helped alleviate some of Leroy's anger. With a quick swipe, the chip was suddenly out of Quantum's hand and inbetween Leroy's dark gloved fingers, holding it with surprising delicacy and care while he examined it. A small smirk curled into his face, which he quickly suppressed and battered away; if this was what he thought it was, then Quantum had found something _very_  valuable indeed. 

Pocketing the chip, Leroy nodded at Axel, looking him up and down for a moment as if looking for the best way to fit his hand around his neck or place his fist in his face. The glare held for what seemed like several hours to Axel, the wrinkles and chasms in the leather of his skin accentuated by the lighting of the room, until Leroy finally spoke. *"Good work."* He said with strained reluctance, the words foreign and unknown to him. *"Now get out. I have research to do."* Leroy decidedly walked away, the new hero's audience over, then sat down in his chair on the opposite side of the room.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 13, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Girls Night Out_











The music roared in the club, as Kimberly and three of her friends sat on a few stools near the bar region of the club. Personally to the young adult, loud music and hundreds of people weren't her thing, but she didn't care. All that mattered was she got together with a few of her friends. A smile formed on her face as she watched Dakota tell a story, while Anna took sips of her beer, and Amy complained about not being able to drink.

_____________

Dakota was about the same age as Kimberly, maybe a little older. She was one of Kimberly's first friends in high school, and were extremely close. Unlike Kimberly's more voluptuous frame, Dakota was more muscular, but she was still extremely attractive. Dakota lived in East Saint Haven, a place tormented by gang violence. Now Dakota usually does everything in her power to make sure her little brother stays out of trouble.

*Dakota:* 

______________

"And that's why I fucking dumped his sorry ass. Sometimes men fucking suck."

Dakota concluded, her fist clenched after finishing her story of how she broke up with her boyfriend. 

"Hey, if I turn lesbian I'll definitely give one of you a call."

The dark skinned girl put her arms around Anna, and Kimberly began laughing. Surprisingly Anna even smiled, and she was somebody who rarely ever did that. 

"Pleeeeease Anna! Just one sip! You don't have to tell mom!"

"No."

_______________

Now for Anna and Amy, the two sisters who also had a hard life growing up. This story starts with their mother, a women who had the perfect life, and the perfect marriage. However soon after Anna was born, her marriage crumbled and she was kicked out. With no relatives, no money, and no where to go she had to raise a child on her own. A few years later she was raped, and that's how Amy came into the picture. Both sisters lived a majority of their life in South Saint Haven, the poor part of the city, until the destruction of Neptune City.

We all know the stories, the gas clouds spread out, and lots of people were empowered. Their mother developed the ability to manipulate pheromones. She used her powers to seduce a man into marrying her, more specifically one of the richest men in Saint Haven. That's how they went from being dirty poor, to one of the richest families in Saint Haven. 

*Anna:* 

*Amy:* 

_______________

"You know, it's nice seeing all of you again. It's definitely been a while."

"I was starting to think you abandoned us."

Kimberly sighed, she had been so busy these past few weeks. She never intended to completely forget about her friends, but sometimes life came in the way. Dakota slapped her on the back.

"Don't worry about it Kim, we're all still friends to the end."

"Kimberly, why aren't you drinking!"

"Oh I don't drink."

"Always so fucking prim and proper, ay miss goody two shoes?"

The silky black haired girl smiled as Dakota nudged her shoulder. Everything was going great... until everything went south. A man approached the four girls, and began flirting with Dakota. The bad part? He had a girlfriend... who showed up moments later to see both her man and Dakota flirting.  Then when Amy went to look for a bathroom she accidentally knocked some drunken guy's drink to the ground, and he wasn't happy about it. Needless to say, chaos was inevitable.

"ANNAAA!"

Amy fled back to her group of friends, as the angry drunk man chased after her, yelling something incomprehensible. Anna who was usually reserved, could become extremely terrifying if something threatened her sisters safety. Soon after, Dakota and that one guys girlfriend began to brawl, as did Anna and the extremely intoxicated man. These few fights... triggered absolute chaos, as everyone in the bar began fighting. The worst part?

Kimberly wasn't the only one with powers. 

In fact even her friends had powers.

"My dad... is going to... kill me."

She muttered as she dodged a flying beer bottle. Knowing Dakota's temper, and Anna's willingness to go to any lengths to protect her sister, and the fact that they had powers... blood was going to be shed tonight. The green eyed girl watched as Dakota grabbed the girl by the hair lifting her up, and delivered multiple punches to her face. She watched as Anna slammed a beer bottle into the man's face.

A large figure approached Kimberly, a man who towered over her. He charged forward, full intent on slamming into the girl. Quickly the young adult used her feet to kick a stool into the air, and with a second kick sent it flying into the man's face. She then did a back flip, landing on the bar table. 

At this height she could see over people, and it wouldn't be a exaggeration to say everyone here was fighting. She winced as there were so many emotions, she could feel it all. Her empathy was a weird thing, it took more of a effort to not use it then it did to use it. She had to concentrate to keep it off. Kimberly pulled out her two guns, but then spotted multiple cameras set up from multiple areas. She hesitate, the green eyed girl thought for a few moments.

"Fuck it."

She pressed the trigger of her gun multiple times, each shot unleashing a purple laser, all aimed at the multiple cameras until there was none left. The girl than spotted her friends. A man pulled a knife on Dakota.

"Give me that you little shit!"

His knife was snatched from his hands, and Dakota began to repeadiatly stab the man in the stomach. She then spotted Anna.

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

The dark eyed girl conjured up a ball of fire in her hand, and sent it hurling at one guy. Finally Kimberly turned to Amy, who was crouched down and covering her head.

"Leave me alone!"

In a instant, three tree's sprouted from the ground and made a wall to protect Amy. This was impossible, even if their powers there was no way they could fight their way through the chaos. Kimberly began shooting her gun, the lasers connecting with multiple people sending a surge of purple electricity through them, with a small follow up explosion sending them flying, successfully stunning them. But despite her efforts there was still too many people.

"Dakota, Anna, Amy! We have to get out of here!"

The silky black haired girl yelled as she continued to rapidly fire her gun. Dakota, who was now using a chair as a weapon, fought her way through back to Kimberly. Amy, seeing that the coast was clear ran to Kimberly's side.

"Where's Anna!"

"Right here."

Anna spoke with a stern voice, as she threw another fire ball; this one much bigger than the last at two men with broken beer bottles who followed her to the group of girls. With the girls now unified, they had to figure out how they'd get out of here safely.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 13, 2013)

*Team Base, Isaac's Room*

Isaac sat on his bed, with his gas mask held in his hands.  Leroy's tirade against the team is of little surprise to him.  He already had an idea of what the man is like from his first encounter with him.  The young psychic left that short-lived team meeting with nothing except indifference.  It isn't his fault that the others were too incompetent to disable them.  He actually did just that; targeting their memories while leaving the shell intact.  Of course, Isaac voiced none of this to the others.

He then stares down at his mask and thinks of the event that lead to this new life of superheroics.  Isaac remembers it like yesterday.  His mother, brother, and himself were getting ready for dinner, waiting for the man of the house.  The television was on and his mother just happened to turn to the news channel.   It showed his father's arrest for leaking company information to criminal organizations.  The report went on to detail that this was occurring for years.  Like his brother and mother, Isaac had an expression of wide-eyed shock on his face.  Unlike them, his hands were balled into fists, shaking with anger.  Isaac actually bothered to keep himself concealed, to restrain himself from lashing out at the world around him.  He actually bothered to be their perfect son, and then his father has the nerve to get himself caught?  Fuck him, he thought, let him rot.

Now, when he thinks on it, Isaac joined this team almost as much out of spite as it is to preserve his image.  He wanted his father to feel shame as his son becomes more well-known for his heroics.  Isaac then chuckles to himself.  Thoughts like these were unbecoming of a hero, yet that too is an act.  Right now, he wore a mask like the one he holds in his hands, it just happens to look friendlier.  He then places the gas mask on the nearby bookshelf, and lies down on his bed.


----------



## Advocate (Dec 13, 2013)

*El Espejo*

In the end, Martin was useless, again.

Try as he might, he could barely pull anyone from under the debris. He wasn't nearly strong enough, and even the people he could awaken and force to try and free themselves could not be of much help. He stopped doing that almost immediately, upon realising that it only hurt them further. He did, at least, find someone with a cellphone and make her call the rescue services, but in this city, the effectiveness of such an action was dubious.

Having moved on, he came across a group of people who were free, but too afraid to move. They were hiding in some kind of office building, which seemed to have taken some shots from a robot earlier, but remained otherwise intact. There were no robots there now, but it was probably for the best if they used this moment to evacuate. Martin tried telling them as much, through each others' mouths - only to be interrupted by a rude blow from behind.

Turning around, he saw that his attacker was not a robot, but a young man in a bandana. He was not alone, either. For a moment, Martin panicked, as he scrambled out of the way, dodging their attacks. _Who were those people?!_ But the answer came clearly when he finally put himself together for long enough to take a glance at the young man. _Of course. Looters._

Deciding that he posed no threat to them - he looked entirely too poor to have a cellphone, which also meant he had nothing worth stealing - the gangers passed by the office building to hit the more thoroughly wrecked and abandoned structures nearby. Engrossed in their search, they didn't even notice a silvery robot hover down the street. Martin's psychic screams - sent as they were from the other side of the street - did nothing except from frightening the office workers into huddling.

In desperation, the alien leaped across the street to try and warn the looters. "Run, get out!" he shouted.

Briefly confused by the voice that seemed to come from both outside and inside their heads, the young men glared at the Mexican. "What the fuck do you want, you beaner?"

"Get out of here while you can!"

Their bandana-wearing leader walked up to him, an eyebrow raised, and punched him in the face. "Didn't get the message the first time? Get out of the way!"

One of his comrades looked outside the window and froze up. "Uh, R-rob, I think we should..."

"What?"

But by then, it was too late. A bright purple beam cut down the looters where they stood. Hiding just out of the way, Martin watched helplessly as the robot moved past him. It suddenly hit him that it was already retreating. There were no more sounds elsewhere, which meant the battle was over.

Sighing as he struggled to compose himself, the alien waited for the robot to leave and then headed back for the bus, to see if anyone still needed help there. The only problem was that he was way too shaken up to offer it.


----------



## Island (Dec 13, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Girl's Night Out​
?Another.?

?Yes, ma?am.?

As far as vodka went, I enjoyed Grey Goose immensely. High-quality, smooth, premium vodka, it was relatively inexpensive for what one was getting. When compared to what one could find at the local bar or liquor store, it was definitely one of the better-tasting vodkas, and when compared to classier, ?connoisseur? drinks, it was inexpensive and easy to find. For an 80 proof drink, or 40% alcohol by volume for those non-drinkers at home, again, I thought that it was smooth going down and well worth the cost per shot.

_*SMAAAAASH!*_

Something flew by me, narrowly missing my head and shattering the bottle of Grey Goose that the bartender was pouring from. Glass went everywhere, and alcohol stained both the bartender?s hand and the wooden counter that separated us. I frowned, disappointed that I wouldn?t be getting another drink and also somewhat frustrated that it wasn?t even eleven and somebody was causing a ruckus. Thus, I turned around from my seat at the bar, looking to see what was going on.

?What the _actual_??

I sighed.

Beyond all logic and reason, what probably began as something small quickly turned into a bloody bar brawl with a number of people unconscious on the floor and at least one laying in a pool of his own blood. Toward the center of the room, I saw four young women, standing up against a large drunken man. I noted that at least two of these women had powers. One possessed to have arborkinesis and another pyrokinesis while a third, for some strange reason, carried a laser gun that shot purple energy beams.

I had no idea what the fourth could do, if anything.

I didn?t quite understand what was going on.

?Mr. Henry,? I spoke to the bartender, my back still turned to him, ?Call the police. I?m going to take care of these troublemakers in the meantime.?

At that moment, I saw the pyrokinetic produce a fireball in her hands, and without hesitation, I leapt in between her and her target as she launched it. With my right arm bent in front of me, I took the brunt of the damage, the flame melting the skin right off my arm and producing some nasty third-degree burns.

No matter.

My wounds quickly closed, regenerating at rapid speeds, and my power, reactive adaptability, hardened my right arm, increasing its durability to super human levels and making it all but impervious to damage.

?Stop right there!? I commanded. ?You could have killed that man, and I?m not letting you leave until the police arrive.?


----------



## Bringer (Dec 13, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*


He exited his car, he had to get out, he just had to. After his meeting with Riley, he felt like complete utter shit, and he had to distract himself. Ryan couldn't let her get to him, he had another interview tomorrow where he'd reveal the Neptune City movie, and he couldn't afford to keep thinking about it. So, he decided to go and have a night out in the city. 

To Ryan's surprise, he got more than a simple fun night at the club, a lot more. Upon arriving, there was chaos everywhere, and everybody was fighting. This was... fucking awesome! Just what he needed, he wanted to hit something so bad, and then god pretty much says "Here Ryan, here's all these people fighting! You can hit as many as you like!"

"Yo Dash, check it out!"

"Yeah... these people are going at it."

______________

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Night To Remember_

Kimberly and her friends turned around to meet a brunette women, with brown eyes to boot. She carried a very commanding voice, and seeing as how she healed from the burns almost instantly the women possessed powers. The silky black haired girl inhaled and exhaled, while staring at the women intently with her green eyes, as if she were observing her. 

"Bitch, who do you think you're talking to like that!"

"Neither me or my sister."

Anna paused, her expression emotionless and mundane changed instantly to one of blood lust and killer intent.

"Are going with the *police*."

"Anna... I'm scared!"

"Just stay back Amy. Kimberly, you take her home."

"I'm not leaving any of you behind."

"Enough talking!"

Dakota grabbed the chair she used as a weapon, and charged Mary with a battle cry. The dark skinned girl has been storing kinetic energy ever since the entire fight broke out, and had enough stored to knock someone's head off literally. Following up with the attack, Anna propelled herself into the air with a stream of fire, and soared across the bar until she was behind Mary, and then a wall of flames covered Mary from all angles except the front where Dakota was charging. The flames threatened to incinerate Mary if she dared dodge.

"DON'T GET HURT!"

Amy covered her eyes, not wanting to see the outcome. Subconsciously her powers acted on it's own, because she desired her sisters safety so much. Tree roots began emerging from under Mary, to wrap around her feet.

Kimberly simply observed the scene.


----------



## Fedster (Dec 13, 2013)

*The Listener​*Aiden Adams​
"H-hello." A 16-year old guy with thick-framed glasses greeted as he closed the door of a room occupied by a sleeping person. "I'm sorry for being late." Even though he knew he would not receive forgiveness, he still wanted to express his apologies. Aiden sat on a chair next to the bed. He waited a couple of minutes before he resumed his talking. "I-I know I said I was going to be here at three o'clock, but...I-I got distracted. Sorry...Megan."

The former superhero laid on the bed, covered with a white sheet up to the neck, and all sorts of machines supporting her life. Her eyes were closed, her lips pursed and her breathing was weak but constant. Aiden regarded that lying figure, letting the silence dominate the room. This was their second meeting, which Aiden called Socialization Training, for they were to help him to speak to other people. And since Megan was in a comatose state, which meant that she may or may not be listening, making her the suitable partner for this experiment. "I've been...good." He said, after he imagined Megan asking him how he was doing, in her usual, cheerful voice. "A-a lot of things happened since we last talked."

_'Really?'_
"Yes."

_'Like what?'_
"It is hard to explain. E-everyone's so...Distant. T-they don't even try to be nice to each other. I...I..." Aiden gasped for air. He had spoken too much.

_'Don't force yourself!'_ Megan scolded. He could even see her face pout as she did. One may wonder how Aiden knew how she would react, but the answer was very simple. He had been studying the team's behaviour patterns from the moment they had arrived to the base, and he had enough information to 'predict' the team's reactions to virtually any situation. Therefore, he could know what Megan would say, even though she could not say anything.

"I-I'm sorry."

_'You don't have to apologize to_ me_.'_ Giggles. Then, another silence and back to talking.

"The team is separating." He said, abruptly. Actually, _too_ abruptly.

_'Oh no!'_ Megan exclaimed. She would cover her mouth with a hand and then add, mouth released: _'You guys can't do that! Who will defend the city?'_

"I don't know." He admitted. He had been owned by an unconscious girl. "I wonder if there will be another team..."

_'Aiden, don't do this! Please, tell everyone we have to stay together! We're...We're a family, dammit!'_ In that moment, a tear would roll down Megan's face. This was getting too emotional. Aiden felt he was about to explode.

"I-I'm sorry, Megan! I can't d-do it!"

He got up and left the room, almost running, sweat trickling down his forehead.


----------



## Island (Dec 13, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Girl's Night Out​
_“How sloppy.”_ I frowned.

One of them came at me with a bar chair while the other unleashed a funnel of fire at me from behind. Then, the third, the arbokinetic, produced tree roots that broke through the floor and wrapped around my feet. Although it appeared as if they had thought this through by attacking me from multiple directions _and_ trapping me in place, they missed one key detail. If I simply ducked, the young woman with the chair would not only miss but also be incinerated by her pyrokinetic friend.

However, I didn’t want to condemn some young woman to death.

Thus, as she approached, I ducked, but instead of simply letting fate take its course, delivering an empowered punch with my right fist to her stomach, causing her to buckle forward. Then, with my other hand, I swung upward, uppercutting her in the chin with enough force to send her flying above the pyrokinetic’s attack. Once the column of fire died down and the young woman made her way back down, I grabbed her by the ankles and swung my torso, releasing her like I was doing shot put.

*BAAAAAM!*

The young woman collided with the pyrokinetic, knocking them both over.

I began tugging at the roots that wrapped around my ankles, and after a few pulls, my body began to adapt. My legs became stronger, and a few moments later, I lifted my legs with enough force to rip the roots straight from the ground, beginning to walk forward as I did.

I quoted one of my favorite movies, “Normally, all your asses would be dead as fucking fried chicken right now, but you happen to pull this shit while I’m in a transitional period, so I don’t want to kill you. I want to help you.”

“Surrender now.” I demanded.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 13, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Escape_


Kimberly watched as Mary effortlessly countered her friends attacks; as a end result Dakota went flying into Anna, and the mysterious woman easily got rid of the roots that kept her in place. The younger girl screamed in worry for her sister, and wanted to run to her side, but Kimberly stopped her. 

The silky black haired girl could sense the worry in Amy, but in order for her to run to her sisters side she'd have to get past Mary. A drop of sweat rolled down Kimberly's cheek, if they were going to get out of this, they'd have to reason with the brown haired woman. Alex has taught Kimberly that you don't go charging into battles you know you can't win, so the young adult would use her words.

"You're making a mistake, you don't know who you're dealing with. I'm Kimberly Higgins, the Mayor's daughter. Furthermore do you see those two."

Kimberly looked at Anna, and then back at Amy.

"They're the daughters of one of the richest men in the city."

If Mary wouldn't let them go, the silky black haired girl would have to resort to combat, which could very well be her downfall. Despite how skilled and armed she was, the girl knew she couldn't overcome overwhelming power. From the looks of it this girl was not only proficient in hand to hand combat to some extent, but she had the ability to harden her body, and probably even super strength.

Suddenly screams could be heard, and from the distance it felt as if something was pulling the girls towards it. To her surprise, as she turned, there was a miniature tornado inside of the club, sucking people inside, and launching them the opposite direction. That tornado was heading straight for them. However, if that wasn't weird enough, the tornado ceased and inside of it was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. 

"Man that makes me dizzy."

He began rubbing his head, and as if this couldn't get any weirder, a celebrity, more specifically Ryan Williams was right behind him.

"Annnnd I think you took out way more than me. Holy shit... Kimberly?"

"Ryan?"

Yes, Kimberly Higgins knew Ryan. Not only from TV, but they've met in the past. In fact she's met the entire team in the past, five years back when she was only fourteen. She never actually talked to them, but she's met them in person. Well that certainly was a distraction, and both Dakota and Anna were already back on their feet.

"Well this is a fucking surprise."

The celebrity turned to Mary, and began stroking his chin. His eyes squinted, and he began thinking, he obviously remembered this girl.

"I feel like I know you too... Becky? Yeah you're Becky right, you sucked my dick back at my palce while I watched Teen Titans."

The green eyed girl could've have went on with living without knowing that, and man this certainly broke the tension. It's almost like Kimberly and her friends weren't about to get taken to jail. Suddenly, the young adult smelled smoke, and turned back to Dakota and Anna.

They started a fire.

"We can't leave any evidence behind."

"Amy, we're going."

The two who had started the fire, and Amy made a run for it.

"Come on Kimberly!"

"Dash, you go with them, I have some catching up to do with Kimberly... oh when did the place catch on fire... uhh I think we should get going."

Kimberly turned back to the mysterious woman, and then back at Ryan. If she went with him, someone who was once a competent hero, her chances of escaping would increase.

"Yeah let's go."

The two ran, and even if Mary pursued them, there was no way she could subdue both her and Ryan, right?


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Girl's Night Out​
?You?re disgusting.? I roared.

?If you think that having money means that you can do whatever you want,? I honestly didn?t know how to word this. At this point, I was so infuriated that I contemplated killing each and every one of them on principle. Everything that we stood for and the world we wanted to build, this young woman opposed. Even _you_ didn?t throw around your money without cause or concern about who got hurt in the process. Even you stopped to think that somebody might get hurt by your actions. Kevin, no matter how arrogant you were, no matter how obnoxious you acted, and no matter what you did with your money, you made sure that nobody got hurt in the process.

You did questionable things with your money.

You bent the law and even outright broke it on many occasions.

Still, you had a heart, and you wouldn?t let people get hurt just because you wanted to have some fun. This contrasted starkly with what this young woman just told me. She said that I should reconsider my course of action because her and her friends were from wealthy families, implying that the law doesn?t apply to them because they had money. She thought that with enough money, her problems would just go away, and that every bad thing that she did wouldn?t matter in the long run. I had to wonder, though, what about the people around her? What about that man who was bleeding out on the floor or the man that almost go incinerated by that pyrokinetic?s inferno?

Just because this _?Kimberly Higgins?_ had money, those people could die, and their murderer didn't have to face justice?

I couldn?t just kill people because I disagreed with them, however.

Then, suddenly, somebody else appeared on the scene. They spun so quickly that their movement produced a small tornado around them, and the force they produced sent bystanders and other innocent people off their feet and into nearby structures. When they stopped, the individual revealed himself: Dash. I remembered that Dash was a super villain we faced back in Neptune City. Not only was he a speedster, but his powers came from the same place as ours. He was present that day at Alexandria High School when the Human Adaptive Virus infected us all. It gave him super speed, and unlike us, he used his powers to commit crime. Behind Dash and probably more importantly, stood Ryan Williams, the _?celebrity?_ who decided to capitalize on his status as one of the Neptune Nine.

I despised Ryan almost as much as I know despised the mayor?s daughter.

He treated the deaths of Kevin and Masaru, Megan?s coma, and the destruction of Neptune City like some kind of sick joke. He spit on their graves and laughed at Megan?s predicament. Everything seemed like some long joke to him, like the only reason all that death and destruction was important was because it made for ?hilarious? punch lines and landed him interviews on popular television stations.

In other words, he used the death of over a million people, including his friends, family, and almost everybody he knew, to propel him to fame and laughed about them afterwards. It made my stomach churn, and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn?t bring myself to forgive him. It was my boyfriend, my father, my friends, and my city that he was laughing at, and no matter how much time had passed, there would never be a day when that was acceptable.

Then, the pyrokinetic torched the structure, and I heard one of them say:

_?We can?t leave any evidence behind.?_

I had no reaction.

I didn?t have words.

Was this some kind of game to them?

Were all these lives meaningless to them?

Was the owner?s livelihood worthless irrelevant?

Did all of that just get in the way of their _?fun?_?

?You are monsters.? I finally stated, turning to see a number of people fleeing, others trying to help unconscious comrades, and the bartender attempt to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher.

?You would sooner let these people die than face the consequences of your actions.? I shut my eyes. ?That sickens me, especially you, Ryan. You?re no hero. You?re a sociopath masquerading as one, and if I ever see you again, I will kill you on sight.?

I turned my back the group as they escaped, opting to help the people who would have otherwise died in this fire.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Aftermath_

Well... that was over. The entire ordeal done, the girl couldn't believe any of that happened. She couldn't remember it well, it was like a dream. It's like when you wake up, and recall glimpses of the dream, but the more you try to remember it, the more it begins to deteriorate from your mind. In the moment, she thought every thing she did was right, but if she could go back she would change everything.

The young adult was conflicted, people died tonight, but was it alright for her to be okay with it if she wasn't the one who shed blood? It was Dakota and Anna who killed, not her. Even if she tried to stop it, how could she. They were separated by a crowd of people fighting each other, so it wasn't like she could have intervened. No... this wasn't what was upsetting her. It was the fact that she defended them, for the sole fact that they were her friends.

Someone kills, and they face justice? Right?

Her friends kills, and what does Kimberly do? She tries intimidating the person who tries turning them in. How could she be a hero with a strict set of morals, when she'd make a exception for the people she cares about? The only right thing to do would be surrendering, and turning herself and her friends in.

No, she wouldn't do that.

It was at this moment she realized she's been doing the same thing as her father. Hours ago, she exploded and yelled at him, calling him selfish. Scolding him for the fact that he was okay for others to risk their lives for the city, but not her. Yet here she is being completely okay with her friends breaking the law. What kind of monster was she? What kind of selfish, disgusting, vile thing was she?

She was human.

Being so lost in thought, she was finally brought back to reality by Ryan's voice. The green eyed girl found herself sitting in the back of a car, right next to the celebrity. She turned to see who was driving, and realized it was a driver. Kimberly recalled what happened to her friends, they went along with the speedster, after Ryan instructed Dash to escort them back to their homes. She had just realized she had ignored the question she was asked.

"So how is your father?" 

"H...He's okay."

"Are you okay... you seem sad."

It was as if he wasn't even there, did he not recall what had just happened in the club, did he completely forget?

"I'm fine."

"Ughhh I hate when girls do that."

The silky black haired girl raised an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean, they're clearly upset and whenever someone asks them what's wrong they say they're okay."

"Well I'm fine... Ryan can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Can you tell me about the Neptune Nine, and also what it was like being a hero?"


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Riley Roth*
_Paying Respect_

There Riley was, sitting on a tall skyscraper, admiring the view. It was amazing how much you could learn about the city just by looking at it. From here you could see each section of the city. North Saint Haven had giant buildings with a bunch of shining lights. While Central Saint Haven was bustling with life. South Saint Haven was complete darkness, but strangely enough as Riley stared at the darkness, she felt compelled to go there. 

East Saint Haven was also dark, but it didn't have that strange feeling South Saint Haven had. However if one were to venture into the East section of the city, it'd be filled with sirens and gun shots. While West Saint Haven seemed like any ordinary city, however she knew what was there. Nothing but Mafia. It was as if each part of the city was it's own place, with it's own story. They were each pieces that made Saint Haven.

The raven haired girl also admired the stars and moon, as the cold night breeze made her hair dance in the wind. She looked back down, and thought about Ryan said. He was right, she was pathetic. Her goal of bringing the team back together was hopeless, impossible, and stupid. But without the team, what else did she have left? They were the only thing that could fill the void inside of her, so she was basically nothing. If she jumped right now, nobody would care except the poor sap who would have to clean the mess.

___________

"I didn't agree to join the team to be treated like a child. This is stupid! It's both a waste of my time and yours."

Riley, who was thirteen years old vented her angers towards Megan, as it was her turn to watch her. After the bank robbery, Leroy had demanded that Riley be watched, so each member of the team took shifts to make sure Riley didn't do anything detrimental to the city. This angered her greatly, she felt like a caged animal, and all they were doing was advocating her to do it. Testing her patience until she snapped.

"You have pretty eyes."

"Don't change the subject."

"I wasn't. I just didn't have a reply to what you said. Riley I understand how you feel, but neither you or I have power over this. I'm just doing what I'm told. This doesn't have to be a bad thing you know, all you have to do is think positively!"

Megan smiled, and Riley had to resist not smiling back. She didn't know what was this quality Megan had, but it was as if she could reach into you no matter how many barriers you put up, and bring out the best in you. 

"Sometimes it isn't so easy to be positive."

The older girl shook her head.

"Sure it is, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a girl named Megan, and she was bullied constantly for the way she acted. Megan faced a real hard hard time, and was ready to give up on life, but then she saw the bright side of things. She had a roof over her head, a loving family, and a super adorable cat named mittens! She learned not to care about what others thought of her, and she embraced the positives."

Riley stared the girl into the eyes, could this be true? Could this girl... really have been as miserable as she once was?

"If I could talk to Megan, I'd tell her not to hurt herself anymore, and that she's perfect in every way."

_________

Riley clenched her fist, she was disgusted with herself. How could she even consider jumping, that was never solution. One thing the light brown eyed girl realized was that Megan's words have carried over all of these years. The raven haired girl has faced so many hardships in her life, so she wasn't going to give up now. 

Her mind wandered back to Megan, how was she? Was she still in a coma, had she awoken from it? Riley sighed, never before has she envied Megan this much. Megan had this warm quality where she'd get along with everybody. If one thing was for sure, if Megan was still awake she'd have no problem bringing the team back together. 

All of a sudden Riley felt much better, as if something was lifted from her shoulder. She tackled her feelings, and she felt better. Ryan was right... she did run from her problems. But no more would she run, she wouldn't give up on her goal to bring the team back together. However before she could resume her mission, there was one more thing she had to do. For how could she glue the broken pieces that is the team back together

If she isn't glued back together.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_What Time Is It? Answer Time! _

The man pondered about what would his response be for a few moments. This was one of those questions where it seemed like the answer was easy to come up with, but in all honesty it was quite hard. Well for starters, he'd start with the Neptune Nine, the old guard, or whatever the fuck they were called. 

"Well... what is there to say? I mean we were just a bunch of kids who developed superpowers, and your father and T.A.N.K decided to weaponize us."

He shrugged, what more could he say? Sure he could talk about the team's relationships with one another, but honestly that's a territory he didn't want to cross, due to his lack of understanding. Ryan was sort of a hit and miss, at times he could be empathic, while at other times he could be completely apathetic. He had no idea how the majority of the team felt about him, and went off assumptions.

"Now... what was it like to be a hero."

This was a tough one for sure, how was it being a hero? It was fun and awesome, and he got to kick a lot of butt, but what else was there?

"Being a hero... it was awesome I guess, but it was also a huge responsibility. I know this sounds like I pulled this shit out of some random cartoon, which I probably did but it's all true. You see, we have to follow a strict moral code, and make sure we don't harm others in the process. So that's why I'm rich and famous and do whatever the fuck I want now. Freedom fucking rocks!" 

Silence loomed overt them for a moment, until the green eyed girl asked one more question to the man child. Ryan had thought the last two were hard to answer, but this one blew those out of the ball park.

"If someone you cared about did something extremely terrible, would you follow your moral code, or let them carry on."

He inhaled, and blew the air out expressing how he felt about this question. How would he even answer it? Wait... he knew how he felt about it, even if it was the wrong thing to do. He was sure many would feel the same way, even the older members of the Neptune Nine.

"There is no right answer to this, but personally if it was someone I truly cared for, then I'd let them go. I'd tell them it was wrong, and try to encourage them to stop, but I wouldn't put them in prison. I'm sure that's the choice everyone would make."

He could tell by Kimberly's expression that she felt much better about herself. Ryan smile, the celebrity was glad to help. Suddenly the car stopped, sirens could be heard, and before they knew it there was a police officer asking them to step out the vehicle. Ralph, Ryan's driver complied, and both Ryan and Kimberly could barely hear what was being said. Ralph entered the car once more to deliver some somber news.

"He's looking for you Kimberly."

"Why is he looking for her?"

Kimberly immediately exited the car, with her empathy she knew exactly why he came, to arrest her. While Ryan's input on the matter was comforting, that doesn't mean she didn't have to face the consequences of her actions. Her green eyes stared at the officers, as her silky black hair was blowing wildly in the wind. 

*"Thought you could get away with it, huh? Well you fucked up, don't think just because you're the Mayor's daughter you can just do whatever the fuck you want."*

Obviously someone recognized her at that club, and also described the vehicle she left in to the man.

"I-"

*"You have the right to remain silent, now put your hands behind your back."*

The young adult complied, as she was roughly handcuffed, and taken away in his car.


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Stelara Fjara*
Somewhere in Saint Haven​
“What is this Grey Goose?” I inquired.

I stared at the miniature glass placed in front of me, peering into it quizzically. Then I sniffed it, but instinctively withdrew my nose upon discovering how badly it smelled. I looked up at the friend who offered me the drink, his face blank but looking as though he was expecting me to drink it. I had so many questions, but I felt that asking them may bring embarrassment to both myself and my friend. For instance, why would humans drink something so horrid smelling, and likewise, why would they only drink such a small quantity at a time? Was this some kind of poison that could only be taken at limited doses?

“Down the hatch, like this.” The burly man saw that I was confused, giving me a demonstration. He took a glass of his own, tilted his head back, and downed the beverage in one go. It seemed fairly simple, though I did not understand his idiom. As far as I knew, humans did not have hatches, unless the man speaking to me was some kind of advanced artificial intelligence wearing a skin suit.

I doubted this, however. The chances of this being true were minimal.

“Very well.” I hesitated.

I mimicked his movements as exactly as I could, tilting my head back and attempting to down the drink in one swift motion. Much to dismay, the drink tasted awful and burned my esophagus, prompting me to spit it right back out. I did not understand why somebody would drink something so foul-tasting. My olfactory preceptors, I noted, were correct. A foul-smelling liquid was equally foul-tasting. However, this did not yield an answer to my previous question. Why would humans consume something so horrid? It smelled terrible and tasted equally as bad.

The large human let out a hearty laugh.

“Why is such a thing consumed?” I wiped saliva from my mouth, having brought some out when I excreted the liquid from my mouth. “It does not taste good at all, and it burns my throat. I do not understand.”

“T’is alcohol, my alien friend.” He explained. “T’is a thing of wonder, openin' the door to many new opportunities and adventures. We don’t drink it because of the taste. We drink it because of what it does, ye’know, fer the effects and all that. After a while, ya start to get used to it. You start likin’ it, even, though, eventually, yer body, ye’know, builds a tolerance, so ya gotta drink more to get the same effects.”

I still did not understand.

“It gets ya drunk.” He clarified, probably seeing that I didn’t quite follow.

“Drunk?” I tilted my head.

“Aye,” he shook his head in disappointment, “Ya gotta lot to learn ‘bout the wonderful world of alcoholism, my dear friend.”

“But what does being drunk encompass?” I asked.

“Ye'know, intoxicated,” he stated, “Inebriated.”

“So this drink _is_, in fact, a toxin?” I wondered aloud.

My friend sighed. “Maybe ya should just stick to water fer now.”

I slumped down, seeing that he was clearly disappointed in me. “I suppose you are correct, Mr. Wilhelm. Maybe we may attempt this again on another occasion, but I must ask, when will you be here again?”

He bellowed loudly, “When will I be here, you ask? I am _always_ here.”


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Kidnapped_

Kimberly sat alone in her cell, tortured by her regrets. There was nothing to do but think about what she's done, what mistakes she's made. Sure she could get one free phone call, but why would she call her father? She was nothing but dirt, not even worthy of having his last name. How did things get like this, how did she get like this? Suddenly the cell door opened, and the police officer told her she was free to go.

"Wait what?"

*"You've been bailed, you're free to go."*

A dreadful feeling overcame the girl, as she felt a chill in her spine. Who could've have bailed her out, was it her father? How could he have learned about this so fast? Or perhaps it was Alex... oh god please don't let it be Alex. There was even the possibility of it being Leo. As she walked out of the holding room, she was surprised to see that it was...

"So how was prison? I hear you've been there for five minutes... tough stuff. Got any tattoo's while you were in there?"

The girl was baffled, so it was just that simple? Any random person could bail her out? She didn't even think the crime she was charged with was even bailable, but somehow he did it, but how? The young adult walked back into the celebrity's car, and they drove off.

"H-How did you do that?"

"By being rich."

He answered nonchalantly.

"So you can ju-"

"Don't act so oblivious Kimberly, you should know this more than me. No seriously, you should, all I do is party and watch cartoons. We both know that the legal system here is questionable, and that most of the cops here have given up on hope, seriously they can't handle the crime anymore, which is why the new hero team was formed in the first place. Plus some of them are pretty damn crooked, and a good bribe can take you very far."

The green eyed girl didn't know rather to be surprised at the fact he used the word oblivious or how corrupt everything here was. So you could just get away with doing anything as long as you were rich? That was terrible, sure she used fame, power, and money as a threat towards that mysterious women, but that was to intimidate her. Kimberly wasn't one to flaunt her money and benefits around, and use it to her advantage.

"Oh look there goes Saint Haven Par-"

A lighting bolt hit the car, not from above however, from the side. The car swerved to the opposite direction and flipped over, finally  stopping at a tree in the park. Immediately Ryan ripped open a entrance in his car, and pulled out both Ralph and Kimberly, who were luckily still conscious.

"Ralph, Kimberly you get out of here! Leave who ever did this to me. I'll beat them faster than Levi can take out a titan!"

"Understood!"

Both the driver and the Mayor's daughter went their separate ways, leaving Ryan behind to deal with who ever did this. Normally Kimberly wouldn't dare abandon her comrades in battle, but this was Ryan, one of the members of the Neptune Nine. He may not seem like much, but Kimberly was sure he could hold his own in battle.

______________

Ryan watched the two people stand before him, one was a women who looked to be in her mid twenties while the one was a man, who looked to be in his early twenties. The celebrity simply dusted himself off as the two people responsible for this had a conversation.

"Tre Tre, I'm impressed. You didn't fuck up this time you little disgrace."

"I told you never to call me that! My name is Travis!"

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Forget it, father gave us a mission to do."

"Yeah yeah, take on this oaf while he captures the Mayor's daughter. Think if we capture him we'll get a promotion. It's no fun how father has a high rank while we're just mooks."

"Don't underestimate him he's-"

"Standing right here you know... so are we going to fight or?"

Suddenly in a instant, the man who's body cackled with electricity charged Ryan, sending volts of electricity into him with a palm thrust, however due to Ryan's durability besides his hair frizzing up it didn't have that much of a effect on him. 

Suddenly a hand came out of the ground, it was the women's hand. She apparently had the ability to stretch out her body, which she used to burrow her hand into the ground. The hand wrapped around the celebrity's ankle, and with one upward movement he was sent flying into the sky, and slammed back down into the ground.

"I thought he was strong?"

"You know they never live up to hype, brother."

Ryan got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and there were no visible injuries on him. He was completely unharmed from their attack. 

"What!"

"Huh?"

"Well.. that happened. So are we ready for the real fight yet?"

_____________

Kimberly found herself standing before a group of men, who were from the mafia. Why did they want her, was she to be a bargaining chip? It sort of made sense, they wanted to get to her father through her. In fact they were probably behind the attack during her fathers assassination. She got in a fighting stance, as both side initiated combat. 

The first man's strike was effortlessly sidestepped, and he was immediately zapped unconscious by her electric glove. The second man came at her, and just like before she dodged, this time by barrel rolling to his right, and palm thrusting her electric glove to his side. Just like that he fell unconscious. The third man tried taking advantage of the fact that Kimberly was kneeling after the barrel roll, but he simply fell as she sweep kicked him.

One by one she took them out. One got a kick to the side of the head, a other tried blindsiding the young adult, only to be unaware of her powers. Her empathy not only informed her when they were going to strike by sensing their emotional pulses, but it also allowed her to understand how they fight. He was elbowed in the stomach, and then the silky black haired girl preformed a back flip to get behind him, and tossed the man at another opponent. While a other man was punched in the gut, and then the face, and finally knocked unconscious when Kimberly did a back flip once more, but the tip of her foot collided with his chin.

However after the group of men was dispatched, another wave arrived.

"Bring it on."

She replied coldly, as she picked up a baseball bat that one of the fallen mafia men dropped.

___________

Ryan admired his work, as one foot was rested upon the man with the electricity manipulation, and the women who could stretch her body was tightly knotted into a tree.

___________

The young adult panted, after finishing up the second wave of men. She dropped the baseball bat, and just as she was about to walk off, she sensed someone behind her, actually two people behind her. One of those people were Leo, and the other... she figured he was behind all of this.

"Leo!"

Her caretaker was on his knees, while his arms were tightly bound by rope. There was a gag in his mouth, but Kimberly could sense it, he didn't want her to come and save him. Even so... even if she knew it was a trap she couldn't sit still and do nothing. A sadistic smile was on the man's face.

"Breathe and I kill him."

"What?"

The man instantly slammed Leo to the ground, so he would be laying flatly instead of on his knees. And after that, with one mighty stomp, he crushed Leo's head.

"N-No! LEO!"

The girl ran forward, apathetic to the fact that the man who had just killed Leo was still right next to him. As she was running, she heard the man mutter something.

"Elephant."

He immediately collided with Kimberly, and she was sent flying ten meters back. She groaned as she tried getting up, she felt like she was hit by a truck. 

"Do you have any idea who I am? I am-"

"Bastion The Animal Tamer!"

The man wiped the blood and brain matter from his shoes on the ground, and began walking forward. Although his steps were steady, there was a hint of eagerness in the way that he walked. Kimberly's eyes watered... Leo, her caretaker, her bodyguard, her godfather... was dead.

"The way you fight... I recognize it. You were taught by Alexander Fortis, correct?"

"What of it!"

She noticed he had a eye patch, perhaps he had a injury there?

"You being Alex's student makes it all the more sweeter."

"What do you have against Alex?"

The man chuckled, before abruptly shouting.

"He was the one who did this to me!"

He pointed at his eye patch, but quickly put his arms back down and regained his composure. 

"However this isn't about any vendetta, I'm here for a certain reason. I'm here for you. Your fathers little project has proved to be detrimental to the Mafia, so they sent me to fix that."

The animal tamer got in closer and leaned down. Kimberly wanted to hit him so bad, but she couldn't. After that blow she received earlier, she couldn't move, her body ached too much. So she settled for spitting on him, in which he replied with wiping the spit off his face, and knocking the silky black haired girl unconscious. Everything went black.

__________

"Now then, time to get home."

Suddenly he heard a beeping noise coming from the girl who was knotted around the tree. Curious he walked forward, and found a communicator device. He pressed the button, and his eyes widened in shock.

*"The capture of Kimberly Higgins is successful."*


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 14, 2013)

*Lillian Master - Comedown Machine*

_"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
_​
I know everyone else took you arriving pretty...lightly.  But I have to be the one to ask.  How _did _you get in here?  The entire process of events just sort of swept us all up."

Lillian blinked, and turned to face the individual addressing her.  Her eyes narrowed on the form of one Masaru Zimmerman.  They stood with their eyes locked for a moment, and then she began trying to explain herself, though a prolonged sentence, without Alvin's help, was a bit much for her.  She started to stumble on the words as she gave a shot at explaining.  

That was how it'd started, between then. She respected him. Out of everyone, he'd been the one to confront her. The seeming leader of the group, and confident besides. She saw it all in how he held himself. But she wasn't going to make a fool of herself, or submit to someone else. If the words were choking up, she'd just speak to him another way.  

Darting forward, she wound up and swung, though it did not land true. After a moment, Lillian felt someone holding her arm from behind. The strike hadn't been in defense, but rather frustration. Who was he to goad her into mincing her words like that? Why did she have to answer to him? Being raised without verbal communication made her wary of expressing herself too freely; and her inability to do so cemented her decision to let her actions speak for her.

"You're lucky I understood what you were just trying to say," he began, letting go as Lillian pulled her arm away and scowled at him.  "Otherwise I might have had to-"

"Try without teleporting." she blurted out suddenly.  Masaru blinked, not quite sure what she was getting at, and then canting his head with folded arms over his chest. "Huh?"

"Beat me. Without teleporting."

Masaru was caught off guard by that. His intuition told him that it was undeniable that she wasn't an actual threat to the team, but it was difficult to get a gauge the reason for her speaking like that. He smiled. It wouldn't be bad to have her around.  She knew how to hold herself in a fight, at least. She was definitely stubborn, he could tell that much, but used to being alone.  

Just like him.

"I'll tell you what. I know for a fact, based on how you move, you'd probably get the better of me if I stopped teleporting. But I also can tell you don't really know how to express yourself verbally. How about a you help me, I help you sort of deal?  Since you're not really supposed to be here _anyway_...I figure it's a good compromise for you, until we get to feel each other out.  What do you say?"

She could hardly comprehend how he was addressing her, much less give an immediate response.  Needless to say, after an interim of silence, she shook the hand.

___________​
That had been how it started.  They'd stay up, on some days, he helping her stop struggling with her psuedo illiteracy, and subsequently letting her beat him up a little under the guise of light sparring. It wasn't that he was bad, or not trying, but Masaru knew her pride wouldn't let her submit to someone's tutoring like that without compensation, even if she didn't realize it herself. And as she grew with the team, she slowly ferreted out his true intentions when he'd given the offer originally.

Oddly enough, Lillian came to appreciate the gesture. If it hadn't been for it, she might never have grown to organize herself properly, past a few words to a sentence.  And sparring with Masaru wasn't at all similar to dealing with masked instructors in the dark, under caves in God knows where. She could lighten up, take it easy.  And even enjoy herself a little, fighting with him for fun.

Losing Alvin presence in her mind as quickly as she'd gained it, and the sudden departure of the Tristans (in an effort to research for their next tandem novel) had left Lillian more than a little shaken, even if she'd preferred not to admit it. Whenever she woke up in the night, startled awake by her own dreaming, it was Masaru who'd teleport in, quick to ask what was wrong. And it'd gone on like that for a while, until one day she'd stayed up for a bit to test a theory. Lillian was the only one in the base with hearing acute enough to hear the young man's jagged breathing when he still wide away, kept awake by the heavy thoughts that came with the tasks asked of the team back then. Lillian was the one to sneak into his room to inquire as to what was keeping him up. It continued like that for a while, a nebulous sort of relation that was kept from the eyes of the other seven. And it was fitting, for a girl as distant as Lillian and someone as reserved as Masaru. They were both calculating, sullen individuals when apart, but made an effort when alone. It was a strange way to open up to someone, but Lillian didn't mind it.  She lacked a basis to compare it to otherwise normal ways of getting to know someone. When she screamed, even if it was faint, he'd always be the one to make sure she was ok.


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 14, 2013)

_Dante looked down at his masterpiece, content with the style and flourish of it.  Out of all of those that Havoc had gathered under his banner for his attack on Neptune City, he was the most enigmatic, and eccentric.  The sardonic South African had been born with the rare knack of being able to illustrate precognitive paintings with his own blood.  He beckoned his partner, Riot, to come and take a look.  "See?  We're both smiling, with her down and out on the ground.  Even someone from the Neptune Nine can't stand up to my predictions.  It's figurative, of course, but we're destined to both stand tall, with Lillian down.  We're clear; confirm the object with Havoc."

"Wait...me?"

"Uh...obviously.  It's my painting."

"I've yet to notice your mecha, though..."

"Alright, not this shit again, how many times have I told you if I confirm the success, you make the call, Riot...."_

___________​
The street was paved with gore, grime, and splattered brains as a single blur of white blonde tore through hordes of zombies.  At the end of the street, Riot, in some sort of emerald green mechanized suit, was still bickering with Dante, the artist's fingers still dripping with blood.  Lillian was tearing through the sea of undead goons that separated her from the two, who had been left by Havoc to perform some sort of task, but were too busy arguing with one another at the moment to accomplish it, let alone notice Lillian.  Tears or raged welled up in her eyes as she came closer and closer, dispatching the mindless dead all about her with a ruthless economy of motion, silent and intent locked on the two ahead of her.  

If they didn't survive...she'd never speak to the others again.  How could they have left those idiots to act like two selfless heroes?  There was no way to stop that reactor, not worth throwing away their lives.  Not her brother, Kevin. Hell, they'd practically only just found out they were half siblings.  And now this?

She burst through the barrier of lurching death and walking decay, intent on not only murdering the artist and pilot, but also one other goal.  She didn't know how Dante intended to survive the last imminent end of Neptune City, but she knew what the mecha the other was piloting was made of, thanks to a parting piece of information from Aiden.  A highly unstable isotop of uranium, matched to a adamantium lining and plated with vibranium, to form an alloy highly resistant to radioactivity.  And as far as she knew, it was powered by the souls of the undead she'd just mowed down to reach the two bickering shits.

Riot didn't bat an eye, sending a huge fist rocketing towards her, but her momentum had been set since she'd hit that street and spotted them.  There was nothing to stop her progress; she'd take the mecha, and she'd stop at nothing until she'd saved Kevin and Masaru.  That was how this would end, and in her mind, there was nothing either of these shitheads could do to stop it.

A blur of motion, and she disappeared as the fist impacted, landing on the wrist lightly.  She darted up the length of its arm, dismantled the joint holding the head to the shoulders with one colossal strike from her katana, and launched it at the man on the roof with uncanny aim. The pilot sat up, having ducked to avoid the head being severed, and looked up to see Dante hadn't dodged at all.  Wait...but the painting..._what_?

Riot stared in disbelief. Dante couldn't have survived being crushed like that. But his power wasn't capable of showing false divination, either.  The cogs of his mind slowly began to turn in the split seconds between Dante being crushed, and Lillian turning her attention towards Riot.  They'd been so cocky, a moment ago, not paying any attention to her.  So content that the painting meant they could not die before she fell at their hands. 

Was this woman...capable of defying destiny?  Would she actually kill him, and take his mech, and go on to even save the two who'd attempted to stop the nuclear reactor? The image of he and Dante standing above her lifeless body shrank in his mind. She was going to kill him.  Lillian stalked forward, katana dragging, and raised it silently, looking down at the pilot with dead eyes.

But that's when she stopped moving, and fell forward into the cockpit, her body _actually _lifeless.  And behind her, standing on the frame of the robot, was Dante.  Riot nearly screamed in ecstatic joy. "Dante!" Lillian didn't move on his lap.

Dante smiled coyly, shaking his head.  Slowly Riot moderated his joy to more dubious paranoia.  The man's body was still partly mangled as if it had been crudely set back after being crushed.  And oddly enough, he could still move properly.  Riot sprang into action, arming his mech.

"No.  Alvin." Riot's hands flew into a furious attempt at operating his controls to kill whatever it was that stood before him. Alvin drank in the movements he made to try and pilot the machine, and then there was a flash of emerald light. 

And as the light settled, Riot's body was gone. In its place, a smoking husk of roughly his size and shape was dissipating quickly into a miasma of dust.  Alvin looked down at the temporary vessel he'd taken, and sighed, as Dante's body too, began to fade into vaporous dust.  

And then Alvin, whatever he was, inserted his mind into Lillian's body again, and 'she' reoriented herself in the cockpit of the mech. Time was running out, he could feel it. It'd been a while since he'd established this bond with her; he'd have to move quickly.

"Oh Lillian.  You're so silly, sometimes." He hadn't planned on ever coming back, but to think she was this reckless? From this point on, he'd have to make sure he kept an eye on her. Make sure she _lived_. But at this point in time, they had to get out of there. With a glance, he gained the basic ideas of how to pilot the machine from Riot's brief try at combat. The cries of the tormented souls that powered the eldritch horror shrieked in concert as the thrusters came to life. And then Alvin was gone, just before Neptune City in its entirety was changed forever.

___________​
When Lillian woke up, she could feel the ebb and flow of a body of water dictating her movements.  She sprung up, and found herself in the cockpit of Riot's giant robot.  In the distance, the ruins of what was formerly Neptune City hung low to the earth.  It was gone.  Her chance to explain herself, to truly express what she'd felt.  Tell him everything, pour out what she'd kept inside for that long.  But no, not now.  Not ever.

Lillian threw back her head, and screamed louder than she ever had in her life.  Raw, bestial cries, pure vocalization, filled the air, louder than any human was capable of shouting.

But he wasn't going to answer this time.  Tears streamed down her cheeks, cutting through the grime, and she cried, screamed, raved, and ranted, in the empty cockpit of a broken machine, Alvin's mind looming in the back of hers.  

_"You know, it gets a thousand times colder when you're not around.  Yea, they said I howl when you're not home."​_


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*The Grey Man*
Team Headquarters​
“Foolish humans.” The extraterrestrial conveyed his displeasure. He stood in this bedroom, wondering what he should do with this bed. Unlike the puny humans, he did not need to devote seven to eight, even eight to ten, hours per day to rest. In fact, he did not need any rest, as his enhanced physical form and his superior brain performed all the required maintenance during consciousness that would have otherwise been required during the sleeping period. “I have no need for this bed. It is a simply a waste of space, for I am of a higher caliber, a superior form, if you will. My species has evolved beyond the need for sleep, as we are the pinnacle of evolution, and we laugh at your inferiority. One day-”

He paused, hearing somebody knock angrily on the wall, saying something about how people are trying to rest.

Grey shook his head in disgust.

“Sometimes I wonder how you feeble creatures even made it off the treetops much less developed civilization, no matter how primitive it may be.” He stated.

Suddenly, Grey paused.

_“Rest is a time for recollection.”_ The Ancestral Mother’s voice echoed through his thoughts. _“It is a time for rejuvenation of the mind, body, and spirit. Though we have evolved passed the biological need for sleep, it is an important element of mental rejuvenation, again, not just because of the organic processes but for the spiritual ones. One must take time to gather his or her thoughts and to recollect on what has past. He or she must consider where he or she has been, where he or she is now, and also, where he or she is going, even beings such as yourself. Though you do not need sleep, it would be wise to consider rest and relaxation, if only for the comfort and ease of mind.”_

Once more, the extraterrestrial shook his head in disgust. Grey thought that the Ancestral Mother, the eldest and most powerful of his people and also the only one of his kind to predate the discovery of the Source, had no idea what she was talking about and that she had lost her mind over the course of the thousands of years she had been alive. He suspected that the Ancestral Mother might even agree with some of these primitive behaviors and ideals, going as far as to say that she was a _“human sympathizer”_. She failed to see the usefulness of using the transcendent to tap into the Source and condoned any and all activities that would result in the harm of other sentient species.

Still, Grey knew that the Ancestral Mother was the greatest of his people and possibly one of the most powerful beings in the known universe. Defying her, he figured, would be unwise, though, since her arrival at the secret facility orbiting Necron IV in the Necose System, she had never once harmed a living being, refusing to reprimand or punish any of their people for their actions, but instead giving “moral guidance” to those who would listen – though, as one might expect, nobody ever did. Grey and his people had dreams, dreams of the reconstruction of their empire and the conquest of the known universe.

He recollected on his last conversation with the Ancestral Mother, shortly before departing for Earth.

“It would be unwise to pursue the transcendent.” She warned. “This course of action, this plan of yours, is something that I do not believe you should follow through with. You will only know failure if you follow the transcendent to Earth, if not because the transcendent is more powerful than you could ever imagine but because the people of Earth, the humans, are even more so. They may not be advanced, and they may not be strong, but they are clever and innovative. They are developing cures for their diseases and discovering ways to rewrite their genomes, to delete their flaws and give themselves powers beyond anything you have ever seen. One day, I suspect, they may even become like what we once were: masters of this universe and beings with a near-omniscient understanding of existence.”

“Ancestral Mother,” Grey addressed her, “Guardian of our people and protector of us all, you are the wisest and most powerful of our species. How can you not see what the transcendent has done to us, done to _you_? It manipulated us, used us to attain a material body, promising us that it would tap into the Source and give us access to its unlimited power. Then it betrayed us, fleeing to that backwards spec of space dust, and you do not wish for me to pursue it? If not for the unlimited power and the reconstruction of our empire, then for principle, for _revenge_?”

“You are motivated by greed and lust for power,” she snapped back, “You and your ilk are hateful, violent creatures, and you bring with you destruction wherever you go. However, it is not my place to stop you, only advise you to walk a different path, to change your ways and pursue a peaceful coexistence with the life forms that inhabit this universe before it is too late. Again, this course of action is… inadvisable. The consequences I have foreseen will be regrettable at best and catastrophic at worst. Do what you wish, but know that I will not protect you from the transcendent’s – nor the human’s – wrath when they inevitably descend upon you.”

Grey had nothing left to say to the Ancestral Mother, instead deciding to leave her in the silence that she surrounded herself in. He left her chamber, turning back to her momentarily and considering her role, his role, and even the transcendent’s role in the events that have and are going to transpire. The Ancestral Mother worried him, and as with the rest of his people, he was deeply suspicious of her, especially when she opted to meet with the transcendent in private, demanding that they leave her to speak alone with the being. For somebody who claimed to be the guardian of his people, she was… less than forthcoming about everything, so much so that she kept her chambers black, shrouded in darkness, and wore a thick veil that kept her appearance hidden from us all.

_Foolish mother_.

_Feeble humans_.

Grey did not understand why the Ancestral Mother sympathized with them, or why she believed them to be anything more than monkeys who mastered agriculture.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
Bar Ruins, Saint Haven

____________________​

To say that Alexander Fortis was furious would be an understatement. By the request of the Mayor, he had decided to track Kimberly and her movements down through a monitor installed in one of the rooms of the hideout. He watched carefully as the scenario developed from a night out, to a bar fight, to murder, then to a kidnapping. Indeed, Alexander was _seething_. Furious that his student lacked such restraint, furious at how she just stood there while her 'friends' killed people, and above all...

Furious at Ryan Williams for letting her get away with it, only to let her get caught by the Mafia. He wasn't technically the enemy, but if he was, Alex would have taught him that there are far worse fates than death, and that regeneration can only get you _so_ far. And to top it all off, a person he identified as Bloody Mary was in the city now. What was she doing here? She was meant to be in _Canada_. The whole thing was a mess. "Fucking idiot." Alex cursed in a rare moment of anger, picking up one of the charred remains of the bar in his hand. Closing his left eye, he activated the powers. It wasn't one he used often, and he rarely needed to use it with his precognition in battle, but it was invaluable in this case. He didn't want to waste time trying to look for clues.

Images and mirages formed in the immediate vicinity around him, the figures of Kimberly, her friends and the other people in the bar manifesting in a swirl of red. The battle played out again, followed by Ryan's appearance, then the confrontation with Mary, leading up to the kidnapping. Ryan and the other two were at the park.

And that's where Alex went.

When he arrived, Ryan was standing with the two people who had attacked him. One of the, a female, was knotted into a tree, while another was out cold on the ground, with Ryan about to leave the two. "Hold it, Ryan." Alexander spoke, his voice calm with a steel-like quality as he approached them, his adamantine sabre in hand. He had the right mind to cut him down, here and there, but he held his blade. This wasn't the time for that and while Alex was sure he was the better fighter, he wasn't someone he could just kill on the spot.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Riley Roth*
_Old Scars_











She crouched down, looking at the tombstone with the name Kevin Terrez carved in it. She had came here for one reason, she didn't want to runaway anymore. She came here to confront her harbored feelings. Her hand touched Kevin's tombstone, and she smiled. Sure she didn't have any memorable moments to think back on, but she knew exactly what she wanted to say.

"Kevin, I know we're not particularly close, we never were, and I wish that was different. I know I always hated the way you acted, but I knew deep down you were a really great guy. Who knows... maybe if circumstances were different we could've have been extremely close. Oh... and thanks for the twenty thousand dollars five years ago, I really appreciated it."

The girl moved on, saying what needed to be said. She took a deep breath, now it was time to face Masaru's grave. Out of all the wounds, this would be the deepest one. Sure the loss of Kevin, Baylee, and Megan hurt her... but Masaru's death stung the most. After the incident she stayed strong for a few days, and even brought Ryan back from his lowest point, but she couldn't suppress anymore and broke down. And after a year of being a ghost and being broken, she decided to runaway.

But Riley Roth has returned.

"Hey Masaru."

She spoke sincerely, even though this was nothing but a tombstone, and what remained of Masaru was nothing but a rotting corpse buried six feet underground. The raven haired girl continued.

"I know it's been a while."

She held back the tears.

"And I've finally returned back to the city, I'm going to bring the team back together! Isn't that great? It's what you would've have wanted, right?"

She paused to bite her lip, was this really going to help her. No... she had to continue.

"Sometimes I wonder where my life would've have been, if I haven't met you. I would've have continued my life of crime."

Her fists were clenched so tight, her knuckles were white. Tears streamed down her eyes.

"And... I miss you!"

She fell to her knees, and her fingers dug into the dirt.

"Without you I feel so small and insignificant... and it aches in places that I didn't know I had inside of me! A-And it doesn't matter how many people I visit or how many places I go, I still go to bed every night thinking about how much I miss you! I go over the day you died over and over again in my head, trying to see if there was something I missed, something I could've have done to save you..."

The warm brown eyed girl stood, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She inhaled and exhaled.

"But time has passed... and I'm here now. I'll move on, and find people who make me feel significant again.  And all of those fuzzy memories will begin to fade... but don't get me wrong Masaru."

She paused.

"I will always love you, you were like the brother I never had."


Now it was time to resume her quest of reforming the team back together. Not only for her, but for Masaru.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Reunion_

With the two villains subdued, he was off to locate the base of the new heroes. It was going to be tough to figure out where the base was located, it'd probably take hours of google searches or something. Though one thing he knew for sure was, no way the Mayor was stupid enough to continue using the same base the Neptune Nine relocated to after the destruction of Neptune City.

Then he heard it, someone call out his name.

"No time for autographs." 

He turned, and then he saw it. He couldn't believe it, were his eyes deceiving him? Moments of silence passed.

"You'd be perfect to play the role of Alex Fortis in the upcoming Neptune City movie."


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Reunion​
The left the charred remains of the club as soon as I knew everybody was safe. I didn’t want to attract any unnecessary attention to myself, though I doubted that anything would come of it regardless. After all, what would they do? Attempt to recruit me into that superhero team the mayor put together? Anyone who knew anything about heroes these days knew the tale of Blood Mary, the vigilante woman who stalked Midgard and put down those who would use their powers for nefarious purposes. It would have been nice to have somebody like that on a team, at least in theory, but I doubted anyone of notability would want to be associated with somebody with such questionable morals, somebody who delivered justice through blood rather than going through the court of law.

I realized upon leaving that I didn’t know where to go next. Usually, I’d hang around a bar or something for a while and then walk the city. My powers put me in an unusual situation: I didn’t need sleep, for the physical and mental reconstruction that was done during rest occurred automatically while I was conscious. In other words, my body maintained and rejuvenated itself in the moment rather than gradually wearing itself down during the day and recollecting itself at night. On one hand, this meant that I could go almost indefinitely, so long as I didn’t strain myself _too_ much. On the other, it meant that I had an additional eight to ten hours that I simply had nothing to do with.

I made my way across the city, and by happenstance, I heard something unusual a few blocks over. Heading to investigate, I discovered the aftermath of a scuffle, a battle between two or more empowered individual at Union Park. At the center of this former battleground, I vaguely made out two shadowy silhouettes. They stood several feet apart from one another, and I could vaguely make out what they were saying. As I drew closer and my body adapted, my vision became clearer and my sense of hearing became more acute. Much to my surprise, I saw Alex conversing with… Ryan.

I still felt infuriated over what had transpired earlier, though I figured that Alex intended to put a stop to Ryan and all the trouble he was causing. Still, it was probably too late by now. I stood just outside of the park, and there was no doubt in my mind that at least Alex had already spotted me.

I went with it.

“Ryan.” I called out, eager to continue what going on earlier, eager to teach him why exactly they call me _Bloody Mary_.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Maybe he should have just attacked him while he had the element of surprise. Again, just like all those years ago, Alex found himself astounded by the level of stupidity that Ryan possessed and he was left wondering once more: did his tremendous physical strength and regeneration come at the cost of brain cells and IQ points? It was a distinct possibility, since recent research suggested that the Human Adaptation Virus - with some individuals - had adverse effects on the brain. Unfortunately, Alex knew this wasn't the case. Ryan may have gotten dumber over the years, but he was stupid from the moment he met him. His powers had nothing to do with it. "I _am_ Alex." He replied and took a step forward to say what he came here to say to Ryan.

Then, another individual popped up, coming through the park entrance as if for a normal night-time stroll. 

_"Oh, for God's sake."_

Alexander identified her as Bloody Mary, a famous vigilante who was usually in Midgard, brutally tearing apart the crime rate in the Canadian city with little regard for the law. In some respects, Alex wished he could do the same thing. There were times when he had wished he could just let his bloodlust and wrath take over; that he could just go crazy and cut down every discriminator in sight. But this wasn't possible. It went against his personal code of honour, and the promise he'd made to his father. "Ryan." She called out.

Alex's hand instinctively drew the blade slightly, moving it in a way that the light of the moon wouldn't shine off the slight of revealed metal. She tried to hide it, but her voice was dripping with bloodlust and killing intent. Alex knew this well. After all, he'd done the same thing before many times. "Bloody Mary. I've heard of you. Don't do anything rash here." The man said, keeping his voice even.


----------



## Platinum (Dec 14, 2013)

*Burning Rubber
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven ​*
Few people in this whole damned city could find a man better than Vincent Lacroix. Around nine o clock that night, he texted Noel to inform him he had the man's current location, confirmed he had security cameras on the premise, and best of all the fact that Mr. Vespucchi parked his car on the street that night. There was nothing wrong with keeping an advanced schedule.

"Is target asleep?", he fired off the text from his phone as his rental car slowed to a stop at a red light. 

"Lights off. No movement, pulse indicates relaxed state. 95% sure?", was the reply back. 

"Send me the location. We'll do this now." At the following red light Noel dialed up Naomi's number to inform her of the change of plans. "Luna this is Veles."

A voice cut in over the static, "What is your situation Veles?"

"No situation Luna, I am calling to inform you that we are moving up tonight's scheduled events a bit. No meeting; call Cassandra and have her pick you up. Revenant and I will be there shortly." 

"Acknowledged Veles; Luna out." Seconds after getting off with Naomi, Noel's phone received another text from Vincent with the directions to Vespucchi's residence. He set the address into the car's gps and got on his way. 

He arrived nearby twenty minutes later; Vincent came seemingly out of nowhere to greet with a shoulder bump. 

Noel tossed him the keys to his rental which he caught with a kind of lazy ease. "I need you to drive that out of here when I get the car."

"Hey it's your credit card on the line so sure", he said with a grin. "The back of the place is hardly covered at all Veles...and I was bored so I already picked the lock for you; so just enter real quiet and i'll wait here for you." 

Noel nodded as his form shimmered to mimic that of Vespucchi. He walked about a block to get behind the house, took a cursory glance over the wall to make sure there was nothing watching him, and then hopped over. He slowly opened the back door and walked carefully and deliberately through his unremarkable abode to avoid making any noise. Noel creeped out the front door and walked out in a manner that was sure to be camera's field of view. 

The type of sedan Vespucchi had was easy to pop without triggering the alarm, so Noel was able to do it without having to call in Vincent's help. When it came to hot-wiring however, Noel was one of the fastest around; he had a friendly sergeant in his military days to think for the talent. He eased on the pedal to avoid making too much noise, and slowly drove onto the main streets with Vincent thirty feet behind.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Reunion... with Alex and Becky_

He was slightly disappointed, he had thought he found the perfect person to take on the role of Alex Fortis in the movie. Or maybe... he would genderbend Alex in the movie, and call him Alexandria... nah. The celebrity pouted, a bit disappointed that this was the real Alex instead of some look alike. Because one... he realized that he didn't really like anyone from the old team, and they didn't like him. And two... he was really hoping it was a actor who would play Alex on the upcoming movie.

"So... does that mean you don't want the part?"

The black haired boy who was totally unaware of the newcomers arrival heard Alex say it, the name "bloody mary."

"You mean like the drink?"

The man turned around, and then he saw it.

"Ohhhh, you mean Becky. Hey Becky!"

He waved, man Ryan was so stupid you'd almost think this was a act, but no, this boy was truly oblivious to it all. But then he remembered, he's been sidetracked. Right now poor Kimberly could be tortured at the moment, from things such as pulling out her teeth to watching My Little Pony!

"Alex, Becky, listen up! Kimberly has been kidnapped, and we have to find out where she's been taken. So far there's no leads."

He turned to the women who was knotted in a tree, still conscious, and also the unconscious man who was laying on the ground.

"Oh look, a lead."


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Reunion​
Becky, he called me. I vividly remembered the person I associated with that name, one of my best friends back in Neptune City. I met Becky Patterson in elementary school, and we joined the hockey team together when we entered middle school. We spent a lot of time with each other and did a lot of things together, so much so that I would consider her one of the best friends I had ever had. I doubted that Ryan knew what he was saying, since it would require him to not only know who I really was but also remember the name of somebody so insignificant to his life. Still, the fact that he was throwing her name around like that bothered me immensely.

?What exactly do you plan to do with him?? I directed my attention towards Alex. ?He breaks the law with remorse for his action, not considering and probably not even caring about the consequences. Demand his surrender, and he?ll make some dumb joke, dodging the question entirely. Defeat him and detain him, and he will break free. Somebody like him is only going to cause the death of more innocent people, and yet again, show the world how destructive our kind can be.?

I turned back to Ryan, stepping forward slowly.

?You aren?t going anywhere.?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Alex considered the question carefully. Were he a normal person; one not super-powered or loaded with influence and money, Ryan would have definitely been arrested by now. He helped Kimberly's friends escape, then bailed out Kimberly while she was in the process of being arrested only for her to get caught by the Mafia instead. He didn't particularly like Ryan: he was dumb, annoying, and above all, a remnant of the previous team who didn't deserve to live. The only reason he had all that fame in the first place was because he spat on the memories of the team, stepping all over their graves and passing off things like one big joke. With his adamantine sword in hand, Alex was very much tempted to deliver a personal punch line to Ryan.

"He _does_ break the law." Alex finally answered, turning to face Mary, decidedly not letting his thoughts surface. 

The man kept his blade unsheathed. "But that doesn't mean you should kill him. A battle between the _two of you_ would cause far more deaths and destruction than anything this moron has ever done before in his life or can do alone. I've read about what you're capable of, and I've _seen_ what _he's_ capable of. I don't care how powerful you think you are, Mary, but this isn't someone you can fight without destroying a good portion of the surrounding area in the process. There are ways to restrain him without killing him, but for now, he's necessary."


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Reunion... with Alex and Becky_

What was Becky talking about, he hasn't killed anyone, well if he did it was never intentional. Why was it Becky wanted him dead so bad, was it because he never warned her when he was about to- oh yeah Kimberly. They could be forcing her to watch My Little Pony as they spoke, and no sane human should endure that kind of punishment.

"Becky! I don't care if you want me dead or not!"

He yelled, putting both hands on her shoulder, and slight shaking her. Over the years, Ryan has learned how to control his strength, so he wouldn't accidentally harm people or break things that wasn't supposed to be broken. As he shook Becky, he yelled

"Kimberly could be being tortured with terrible TV shows that grown men like for some odd reason!"

He let go of her, taking steps back as Alex explained why he wouldn't allow her to kill him. The collateral damage would simply cause too much destruction, and then the blood of countless innocent lives would not only be on Ryan's hand, but Becky's as well.

"Why do you keep calling her Mary? Wait a minute... you aren't Becky. Annnnd I'm going off topic again, let's um... interrogate the bad guys?" 

He walked up to the women who was stuck to the tree, Ryan who was unable to harm the woman who could stretch out her body using elasticity defeated her by knotting her up. She laughed as he approached.

"Where's Kimberly!"

Her laughing grew louder.

"You're never going to get shit from me, I'd sooner die than tell any of you pathetic, ugly, inferior, insignificant fucks anything. You'd have a better chance of breaking my little bitch of a brother."


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Bloody Mary*
Reunion​
?Then what?? I asked. ?You let him run free? You let him go wild, doing whatever he pleases, whenever he pleases? You let him wreak _havoc_ across the city, with him and his friends doing whatever they want? I don?t know about you, Alex, but I work towards a building a better world, one where we use the Human Adaptive Virus as a tool for peaceful coexistence and expansion, not chaos and destruction, and certainly not as some child?s play toy. You see what see what he does with his power and status, you especially, I?m sure you saw that broadcast and what he said.?

?He is a monster,? I went on. ?A sociopath who spits on everything we hold dear, not just friends and memories but also tangible human lives.?

?A monster that you?re letting run free because you believe it?s too costly to stop him.? I concluded. ?If this is how you run things around here, then it?s no wonder Saint Haven is like this.?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Alex sighed, taking out his sword, the adamantine blade brandished, the green of the park reflected in the stainless, gleaming metal surface. Not turning his back on Bloody Mary, he addressed Ryan this time, letting the wind carry his voice over to him. "I'm not going to let Mary kill you, but I'm not going to let you get away scott-free for what you've done either. Kimberly can handle herself, and _I'll_ be going to find her later. Alone. You, on the other hand, will be in a special detainment unit designed specifically for people with your kind of powers. Ryan, you're a nuisance we've been far too liberal in handling and it's time I finally addressed that."


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Reunion_

He had been so caught up in trying to locate Kimberly, on what seemed to be his own concern that he hadn't properly addressed the situation. The two of them, his former comrade Alex, and the Bloody Mary were literally discussing his life. Rather he should be killed or locked up. Did they really think they got to decide his fate?

"I'm sorry, I didn't know the two of you were gods who got to decide my fate. I also _love_ how you fail to address any actual crimes I've done."

So far if he remembered correctly, she accused him of wrecking havoc in the city. Since when was getting drunk and going to clubs a crime? Okay, sure he's may or may not been in a few bar fights, but no one was ever killed or permanently injured. The brunette also accused him on spitting on friends and memories and thing they hold dear. Since when was talking badly about someone; rather alive or deceased, or something; rather joyous or tragic a crime? Rude yes, a crime, heavens no. 

She also mentioned how he had no regard for law, but besides a few petty laws such as drinking and driving or maybe even speeding, what other laws has he broken? The way Mary made him sound, she made it seem that he was creature who murders people just for the thrill. Some person who destroys buildings just because. All of it, all of her accusations were far from the truth.

"I'll admit I have my faults. I didn't help people in need, but there isn't a law stating I have to help people in need. In case you haven't noticed I'm done with being a hero. What else is there? I gave Kimberly a ride, and I'm suddenly a monster. I didn't kill, I didn't destroy, no one was harmed by my hands.  I've done no serious crime, so I won't be going nowhere."

He crossed his arms. Although he didn't inherit his mothers talent or intelligence, there was one thing he inherited. Her stubbornness. He wouldn't submit so easily, it went against his very nature, the only place he was going was home.

"Now, if I do murder countless innocents, or destroy a building for the hell of it, I'll happily go in that detainment department... thingy cell you mentioned."


----------



## Platinum (Dec 14, 2013)

*Noel Bellerose
- The Score: West Saint Haven*​

Naomi and Alannah were already in position by the time the duo had arrived. They were all decked out in fully black attire, as were Noel and Vincent, and covering their faces with black bandannas. The material of their clothing helped trap particles and hair follicles to leave less evidence at the scene, it was specially acquired for them a while back by a friend of Naomi's who has since passed. It was their equivalent of the cape in a way, a uniform in which their individuality was pushed aside upon wearing. When adorned only thing that mattered was The Phoenix; they fought as a unit and won as a unit. 

"Okay I have the footage looped, we are good to go", Naomi cried over the sound of her fingers furiously clattering against the keys of her laptop. 

"Revenant pick the lock so I can disable the alarm, get the truck in position Luna and Cassandra so we can move immediately." 

"Uh, Veles?", Naomi interjected in between the other twos nods of acknowledgement. 

"Yes?", he inquired.

"Since we are ahead of time... I was wondering if you would let me image the hard drives in this place. I should hopefully be able to find some notes or e-mails that may give us some other targets; it's worth a shot right?"

Noel usually wasn't one to diverge from the plan... but he had already diverged from this one so he had no place to say. "You got thirty minutes after I disable the alarm; don't leave any traces behind." 

Naomi smirked, "they will never even know I was here."

It took Vincent seven seconds to pick the lock, and Noel 35 to walk in and disable the alarm system. From there Naomi darted to and fro from each of the two desktops with the speed of a bat, trying different crypto-sequencers on one while searching near the other computer for any notes that might hint at what the password might be. Noel had no idea what the hell was going on so he just sat back with Alannah and Vincent for the five minutes it took her to gain access. From there, it was nothing but waiting so they waited for the devices Naomi plugged in to finish imaging the hard drives while Alannah went to stand watch. Once the data was compiled, retrieved, and her digital footprints erased, they closed up and walked out to begin their real work. 

Noel assumed Vespucchi's appearance once again as he backed up his car out of the parking lot and next to the moving truck. "Okay Luna, break the loop on three. Final gear checks everyone, make sure you aren't showing anything that can be traced back to you on camera."

He counted to three and drove up to the entrance while the others circled the back. He knew the general layout well enough to find the storeroom, it took him a few tries to pick the lock, but he managed just fine in the end. After that all that was in his way was throwing open the steel shutter to let his crew in to grab the goods. 

Quickly surveying the score, Noel saw a couple things that stood out. A collection of paintings that looked about two to three hundred years old, a few antique jewelry boxes piled on top of one of vespucchi's low quality rosewood tables, and various other curio that combined to make over three million dollars of product. Quick and efficient, they cleared out everything of value in a little over a quarter hour and were driving off five minutes after that. Noel planted what the evidence that would lead the mafia to the obvious conclusion in Vespucchi's car as he parked it where he found it and entered the house to leave out the back, completing the final piece of all the incriminating evidence that would be needed for a clean getaway.  

Vincent picked him up in his rental a block down the road and the two met back up with Naomi and Alannah near a 24 hour dinner tucked away on the corner of garden street and fifth. 

"The first of many", Noel couldn't help but feel a small amount of satisfaction as the words rolled past his lips. Few people could claim to have made a million dollars in a day, Noel made several million in an hour. Vincent and Naomi also took the moment to bask in their success with a collection of sighs of relief and happy smiles; Alannah was content to stare off into the distance. Noel opened his wallet and pulled out a small assortment of bills that he then pushed into Vincent's hand. "Go get yourselves something to eat, i'll take the truck to the buyer and be back in an hour." 

"Sure you don't need backup?", Vincent inquired. 

"This is the easy part", was his reply. No need to concern them with the details after all when he didn't expect the situation to turn sour. "All i'm doing is accepting the payment, so just relax and enjoy the moment."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

"You're not understanding my point, Ryan. You seem to be under the impression you have a choice in this matter. You don't." In a blur of motion, Alex disappeared from Mary's and Ryan's sight, his body turning into an untraceable shape of black and red, crimson light trailing behind Alex's movements. With a quick flick of his wrist, the adamantium weapon turned so that the surface reflected the lighting of the moon, shining it in Ryan's eyes like a flashlight as the spots began to dance in his vision, the dark silhouette of Alex appearing before him.

Alexander Fortis would have liked to say that this wasn't personal, but...

It was. Very much so.

With a quick swipe, Alex brought his blade out, swinging it at Ryan's legs. He didn't care how thick his skin was; the adamantine blade would definitely cut through it. If he took out his arms, his other one would move to attack him, or he'd go for a kick. He didn't even need his precognition here to tell him that. Years of combat experienced against Ryan and vastly more skilled opponents taught him how his current opponent would react with a missing arm. With his legs gone, his balance would be put off, and that would give Alex an extra opening to disable his arms as well. His attack executed, Alex's left hand reached in behind his coat, pulling out his other sword.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Reunion_

He closed his eyes, as the light from the moon reflected off of Alex's blade, temporarily blinding him. No matter how strong Ryan was, no matter how skilled he was, it was simply impossible for him to overcome Alex's speed. Furthermore he had underestimated him, the celebrity thought he was impervious to all damage, as bullets would bounce off of him and he could effortlessly survive grenades. But somehow, the swordsman had a weapon that could cut straight through him? With his logs chopped off, he fell forward.

Alex didn't think it'd be that easy?

Before Ryan landed face flat on the ground, he used his arms to stop him from falling;with such strength he could effortlessly support himself with arms alone. The man lifted himself up, preforming a handstand, and by bending his arms, and pushing forward he was propelled into the air. His legs had completely regenerated by now, and he had landed one top of a tree, balancing himself on a thick tree branch. 

"These past few years, I've always had to hold back, so I wouldn't accidentally break something, or so I wouldn't accidentally break someone!"

He paused.

"So you want a monster? Fine I'll be a monster."

He jumped off the tree branch, soaring across the air, before finally going downwards with a punch, that had the force of a meteorite. Even if Alex dodged this, the shock wave or even the debris of the attack would throw him off. If anything his speed would be a downfall, since he'd be moving so fast it'd be easier for him to lose his footing.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Leroy Steel* 
Team Hideout, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

Leroy rubbed the temples of his forehead with one hand, while his other hand reached to bring the cup of freshly brewed coffee to his lips, before settling it down. *"Fucking ridiculous. Gets herself poisoned, gets involved in a bar fight and then kidnapped by the Mafia. Fuck it, Higgins. I don't give a shit if she's your daughter or not, this is god damn ridiculous. She clearly doesn't give a crap about the team and where it stands in the city's eyes, so why the hell should I give two shits about her? She's a disgrace and a mockery of everything this shitty excuse of a team is meant to stand for!"*

The mayor sighed, looking down at his own drink, his sullen face distorted by the dark liquid, ripples of white sugar distilling the reflection. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. His own daughter getting caught up in a bar fight then burning a building down with her friends? "Leroy, please. She's my daughter." He pleaded, finally looking back up.

The dark skinned man simply glared back. *"And that kind of thinking is precisely what got her into this shit in the first place, Higgins. She thinks she can do fucking anything because she's your daughter. It's about time she learned that life isn't just some pissy shopping trip with her 'friends'. When you throw shit at the fan, expect to get hit back."* He replied coldly.

Higgins' eyes flickered slightly, but didn't relent in its gaze. Leroy hated those eyes of his; those pitiful orbs of pale blue reflecting Leroy's own face back at him, drilling into the heart and taking away your ability to make proper, _rational_ judgments. Endless blue oceans of stupidity. Oh how he wanted to tear them out. *"Fine. But let me tell you this, Higgins. If she fucks up one more time, she's out of the team. I don't have the time or patience to baby sit. Are we at an understanding?"*

The mayor exhaled, palpable relief untensing him, his shoulders and the rest of his body slackening. "Thank you, Leroy." He said gratefully, getting up. When a reply didn't come, the mayor simply left.

Producing his microphone, Leroy placed it neatly on the table and pressed the red button at the base of the device and spoke into it: *"Brooklyn, Fujisawa, Walters, Herandez and Enjeru, report to the briefing room immediately."*


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Bloody Mary* - _Reunion_
Union Park, Saint Haven

---​
My powers didn?t allow me to rush onto a battlefield and challenge whatever superhuman I sought to take down. Instead, they required me to stay calm and strategize. If I attacked first, I would be unable to harm most superhumans with super durability, and likewise, I would probably be unable to even hit ones with super speed such as Ryan and Alex, respectively. If they struck first, however, or if I at least saw them in action, I could adapt to whatever threat they posed, evolve to counter whatever unique power they possessed.

This was Bloody Mary?s secret.

Strike me down, put your fist straight through my stomach, and I come back even more powerful than before. No matter what you did, I would regenerate, and when that happened, I would have also adapted to whatever threat they posed. In this situation, I watched Alex move, bring out his blade, and slice Ryan?s legs clean off. However, Ryan landed on his palms, regenerated his legs, and then flipped himself up onto a tree branch, preparing his next move. Then, he descended upon Alex, swinging his arm downward and bringing it down upon the swordsman.

Now was my chance.

Although I wasn?t nearly as fast as Alex, I noted that I was somewhat faster than Ryan, and definitely fast enough to intervene. Over the years, my body made minute and otherwise insignificant changes that allowed me to achieve peak human status, then eventually enhanced human status, and finally, I become a lesser super human. I possessed low super human statistics across the board, as well as enhanced regeneration.  This allowed me to dive in between the two, blocking Ryan?s strike with my body, and giving Alex enough time to escape. I figured that Alex would have been otherwise able to dodge Ryan?s strike, but the danger in his attack was that his fist would have crashed into the ground, causing damage to the park and throwing off Alex?s footing, leaving him open to another attack. Therefore, not only did my body serve as a deterrent to Alex getting hit but also as a sponge to absorb the shockwaves that would have been produced by Ryan?s fist colliding with the ground.

I worried that if Alex got hit, he would be down for the count.

*SPLAAAT!*

Even my super human durability was no match for Ryan?s immense strength. His fists went straight through my guard, shattering both of my forearms and then ripping straight through my chest. Blood and body parts went everywhere, and undoubtedly, Ryan?s forearm became covered in gore. This went all according to plan. To say that I selflessly dove in front Alex would be mistaken. While I still concerned myself with his well-being, still considering him a friend, albeit a distant and long-lost one, I had alternate motives. Upon having my arms smashed and my torso plowed through by Ryan?s fist, I body would not only regenerate but also adapt, increasing my durability to greater superhuman levels.

Until that point, however, my body hit the ground hard, and I began bleeding out on the ground.

I imagined that at least Alex would know what was coming next. Again, most people heard the rumors of Bloody Mary. They described her powers in many different ways, but a commonality involved being brutally struck down. The bloodier a battle became, the more powerful Mary got. The more one battered her and knocked her around, the stronger she would become. Most accredited it to her regenerative powers. The more her body regenerated, the stronger and more durable it became, like some kind of vampire, zombie, or something else out of a classic horror story. In reality, my reactive adaptability allowed me to respond to threats, but I kept the true nature of my power under wraps, specifically hiding the fact that I didn?t need to actually get injured to adapt.

After all, if people knew I had reactive adaptability, they might get suspicious as to my true identity.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Ryan's attack came into Alex's vision clear as day, first the silhouette of his motion forming, followed by the rest of his body, the phantom-like image swinging a fist at Alex while he maneuvered himself in the air to avoid the shockwave of the boy's attack on the ground. The attack was slow, and Ryan was underestimating him if he didn't think he could at the very least counter something this simple. Alex moved his hands, twisting the handles of his blades in between his fingers as he reached to twist himself around Ryan and evade the attack. Then Mary suddenly moved in the way, her body coming in between him and Ryan's fist with a single hand extended to block the punch. 

Alex landed back on the ground, the husk of Mary's battered body landing beside him, bleeding profusely from the injuries it took. The Italian's right eye then glowed as well. He'd heard stories of Bloody Mary. How she would take on entire gangs by herself, get her body nearly destroyed, then come back even stronger in the process and utterly annihilate the gang. But never, were her powers any one specific set, or detailed in the description bystanders gave. The only similarity they had was the adjective given in her moniker: bloody. The phenomena was something Alex wanted to personally witness with his own eyes, to file away into his mind for future research.

Then the body twitched, the woman removing her formerly lifeless body off the ground, the wounds from where Ryan's attack landed sealing up and the blood flow stopping as new limbs formed. _"Regeneration?"_ Alex thought to himself as he watched.

No, there was something else too.

Why did she jump in the way of the attack to save him? For all intents and purposes, the two were enemies here fighting _over_ a mutual individual. It would have definitely been in her best interests to let the attack connect, rather than taking the blow herself and letting part of her body get destroyed in the process. It just didn't make any sense. But then, if the infamous Bloody Mary operated in a simple way that anybody could figure out, her powers wouldn't be such a mystery, would they?

Nevertheless, Alex's enemy here was Ryan, not Mary - for now, at least. Thundering against the ground, Alex shot towards Ryan once more, dragging the tips of his blade against the ground, the adamantine tearing through the surface like a hot knife through butter. Upon close proximity, Alex sliced his right blade up just short of Ryan, throwing up a slight of dust and mud into his eyes, before turning around a hundred and eighty degrees with his left foot as a pivot point and dragging his other blade horizontally across his upper body, aiming to cut his arms off from the shoulder-point.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Reunion_

The boy was soaked in Mary's blood, his expensive designer clothes ruined. But not as ruined as Mary's body. He didn't intend for this, his target was Alex, however both Mary and Alex were his opponents, so at least he could say he took one down. However to the celebrity's surprise, the mysterious women began to regenerate- no he couldn't worry about her at the moment, there was still Alex to worry about. Immediately Ryan jumped backwards, taking off into the sky once again, getting distance from the swordsman and the brunette.

In this fight, he couldn't afford to get put on the defensive, if he did he'd lose. After every attack, he'd have to retreat into the air where he'd be safe, where they'd be unable to reach him, and then follow up with an attack. Ryan may have been stupid, but he knew that he couldn't fight on Alex's terms. He had to keep moving, he had to keep jumping to avoid getting chopped to pieces. Eventually one of them would give. Landing near a tree once again, he picked it up with one hand, and threw it at the duo like a spear. 

"This. Is. Sparta!"

Even in serious moments, Ryan Williams was still Ryan Williams.


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Bloody Mary* - _Reunion_
Union Park, Saint Haven

---​
?As always,? I slowly got back on my feet, nonchalantly remarking to Alex, ?That was unpleasant.?

I stretched my regenerated arms, twirling my shoulders and then cracking my knuckles before noticing that Ryan had uprooted a tree and launched it at Alex and me. As the tree approached, I considered my next course of action, briefly looking at my now-empowered hand. With enhanced durability, this tree meant nothing, and I could probably punch straight through it without a problem. In fact, that?s almost exactly what I decided to do. Without hesitation, I sprinted forward and leapt at the tree, the enormous wooden spear splitting right in half as it collided with my torso and only partially slowing down my momentum. Then, still in the air and with a combination of my superior durability and speed, I descended upon Ryan with my fist, planning to plant my fist right into his face.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 14, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Alex watched intently as the tree moved towards him and Mary. To him, Ryan's attack was moving almost in slow motion; a projectile that Alexander could cut in half or dodge at his leisure. Instead of doing that, though, he remained still, watching Bloody Mary's next move. To his surprise, she just charged at it, the tree shattering in a rain of bark as it made contact with her. Then she leapt up in a large movement, moving her fist to punch Ryan square in the face. The small details, however, didn't escape Alex. They rarely did. Previously, Mary's hand had shattered on contact with Ryan's fist as she moved in to block it for him. And now, that same fist was being used in an attack on Ryan. If Alexander didn't know any better, Mary was just _dumb_, but he _did_ know better. There was clearly some kind of trick going on in here. If her hand was strong enough to damage Ryan now, it would have been able to withstand his punch; at least enough so that half her body wasn't blown into pieces in the aftermath.

Still, this was an opportunity to strike. While the vigilante attacked from the front, Alex capitalized, with Ryan's attention momentarily fixated on his new attacker. Disappearing again, with an after-image left in his place, Alex appeared behind Ryan. As the boy raised his arms to counter, Alex took a step forward then moved his right arm in a simple horizontal swipe, aiming to cut his hands off so that he couldn't react. The least he could do for Mary was repay the favour, right?


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Stelara Fjara* - _The Professor_
Somewhere in Saint Haven

---​
?A job?? 

?Aye, a jerb.?

From my understanding of human societies, individuals acquired jobs to earn monetary compensation that could then be exchanged for material goods or services. In other words, individuals exchanged labor for physical compensation, some kind of currency, and then exchanged that currency for desired commodities, everything from food and shelter to luxuries such as electronics and games. However, I had no idea how to acquire one of these jobs since, as one might imagine, I had no particular skillset, and in human societies, in order to ?land a good job? as the humans often said, one needed the skills to do so. The more specialized an individual was, the higher-paying their job was, but conversely, in order to acquire such specialization, humans needed to be certified after years of rigorous training at accredited institutions.

?What about this one?? Wilhelm pointed to the computer monitor.

?Laboratory assistant?? I read aloud.

?Aye, yer a smart one, so why not that?? He noted.

?Yes, I am good at both assisting _and_ being in laboratories.? I stated.

?Aye.? The burly man confirmed.

Although I did not possess many unique skills, I had familiarized myself with the basic laws of the material universe, learning science and mathematics, as well as briefly studying a variety of other fields considered universal to most societies. I understood the basic mechanics behind this ?scientific method? that most industrial and post-industrial societies adhered to. From what I remembered, it was a method for the systematic study of the universe, a pursuit of knowledge through empirical study. If I became employed in a laboratory, I figured that I would be using this method in research.

?The address says?? I continued reading from the monitor.

?North Saint Haven.? Wilhelm confirmed. ?Just beneath Docking Bay 3.?

_?Look for the inconspicuous hatch and enter. Don?t worry about knocking! I?m always here! Even when I?m not, but don?t worry, because I am!?_ The special instructions at the bottom of the listing read.

Wilhelm instructed me where to go, stating that he knew the ins and outs of Saint Haven, and there was neither a nook nor a cranny within the city that he was not familiar with. I wished to probe him on the specifics on his knowledge of the cityscape, how he was so knowledgeable and where he acquired such knowledge, but he insisted that I hurry out before somebody else _?lands the jerb?_ before me. Thus, I left, saying farewell to my friend, leaving the proverbial nest, as the humans often said, like a?

I did not remember how the humans worded this.

?A goose taking flight?

---​
I arrived at the inconspicuous hatch at Docking Bay #3, twisted it open, and followed it downward towards some kind of underground facility. I had no idea why a laboratory would be located in such an isolated and faraway place, initially assuming that most respected members of academia preferred to work at institutions or within private laboratories where other members of their field of study would congregate to discuss and collaborate on future research. Nevertheless, I dismissed those thoughts and continued following the steps downward, going at least thirty meters before arriving at the bottom.

I arrived at another hatch, this one horizontal like a door in contrast to the previous one which laid on the ground. I recalled that the note said not to knock, so I simply twisted the handle and entered into a room that was much larger than I would have initially suspected. This room, I noted, was decorated with a combination of cultural artifacts and a seemingly contrasting amount of technological wonders. Both the culture and the technology appeared non-human, as I did not recognize any of the designs or symbols, and likewise, the technology appeared far too advanced for anything humanity had thus far developed.

Nevertheless, I called out, ?Hello??


----------



## Bringer (Dec 14, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_Reunion_

Ryan was still sticking to his strategy, after every attack he'd jump, and then attack, and then jump. So as Bloody Mary was coming at the celebrity like a speeding bullet, ready to give him a gruesome painful death, but the boy had prepared to leap backwards as soon as he threw the tree. However Alex had caught on, Ryan using the same strategy over and over again wouldn't work, and as a result his arms were caught off before he could even jump.  The celebrity quickly pivoted to face Alex, as blood squirted out of his gushing wound. Maybe if he was lucky blood would get into the swordsman eyes, but he doubted that. As his arms began to regenerate, the boy attempted to tackle his former comrade. Even though this was impossible, Ryan was one who always challenged the impossible. Besides, Alex was extremely close to him, literally a sword swing away.


----------



## Fedster (Dec 14, 2013)

*The Listener​*Aiden Adams​











"They are just...Doing their own thing." Third session. Same place. Same hour. Aiden had his headphones on, listening to Linkin Park. The song that was playing was strangely accurate to his current situation. "Alex will apply for T.A.N.K., from what I could gather." He sighs. The mention of any team members made him do so. "Riley is locked in her room." He sighed again. "I do not see Ryan anymore. I think he is gone." And finally, the third sigh came. Megan had asked how everyone was doing. She had watched him, full of curiosity, only to be disappointed by what Aiden told her. Or she would, if she was awake.

"I will return to school." He replied to _'What are you gonna do?'_ "In fact, I went yesterday. Everyone is asking me for everyone." It was clear that there was a knot in his throat he could not untie. Megan inquired for what questions the people asked. "Where is everyone? Why are they not coming? Why am I the only one?" His hands tightened their grip on his tighs. "It is annoying."

_'Don't worry, Aiden! Soon, I'll wake up and take that pressure off you!'_ She would say, her smile bright, honest and full of life. She could talk to people, and everyone at the school missed her. In fact, they said in front of Aiden that she should have survived instead of him. Actually, they had told him that _everyone_ on the team should have survived and come back to school instead of him.

_'Aiden...'_
"Yes?"
_'Tell me I'm gonna be ok.'_
"You will be ok."
_'Not like that! Do it like...Like in the movies, you know?'_
"Like...In movies?" Sadly for him, he knew _exactly_ what she was talking about. He felt her nod, and so, while gulping, Aiden stretched a hand, and kept stretching it until...Until it met Megan's.

"_You'll_ be okay, Megan." Said a red-faced Aiden, while he saw himself caressing Megan's hand. "Time is up!" He exclaimed finally, and escaped through the door, but not before hearing Megan's amused and joyous giggle.


----------



## Island (Dec 14, 2013)

*Bloody Mary* - _Reunion_
Union Park, Saint Haven

---​
Alex came at Ryan and slashed his arms clean off. However, this only deterred Ryan, as the young man?s arms began to regenerate. As they did, he went in for a tackle, apparently deciding to focus more on Alex than me. This left me with an opening. As Ryan dove at Alex and I landed from my previous attack, I dove at him again, this time to put my foot straight into the young man?s side and send him flying out of Alex?s way, though, I suspected that my temporary comrade would still be able to dodge.

I figured that whatever damage we could do to Ryan would be worth the risk. As with most individuals with enhanced regeneration, their bodies could only regenerate so much before tiring out. After some time, I recalled, their regeneration would start slowing down. Then, instead of stopping entirely, their body would become fatigued so fatigued that one would start seeing noticeable differences in their combat performance, as it would be necessary to devoting more and more energy towards regeneration, thus taking away from what would have been otherwise used to exert oneself physically. Finally, after some time, such an individual would lose consciousness, no longer having enough energy to support both regeneration _and_ the strain of combat.


----------



## kluang (Dec 15, 2013)

*Squall "Tribal' Strife/ Rinoa Lockheart*

He wakes up in the morning and stretch his body and perform some simple exercise. He looks at the calendar and smile. He walks to the dining room and sees Rinoa is already there and already finishes her breakfast. He take several slices of bread and honey as his breakfast.

Both of then leave the headquarters and take a ride on a jeep and heads towards the West St.Haven. After a while they arrives at their destination, West Park.

"I use to come here when I was a kid." says Rinoa as she exited the jeep and she slowly walks to the park and Squall follows her. "This place used to be such a beauty, kids playing here, people takes a stroll, and now..."

They enter the park, once fill lushes of green now, the park is fill with burned trees and the park equipment is either destroyed or vandalize. "This place got fuck up badly."

Then they notice a woman being harass by two men and she runs towards the duo."HELLPPP!!!" Rinoa quickly moves to the woman and she kick both of the harassers down. 

"Who the fuck are you?" shout one of the harasser and Squall points his blade on the man's neck. "Leave." Rinoa quickly moves behind them and smack their head with the back of her gun.

"Are you ok?" ask Rinoa and the woman nods. She still shivering from fear and Rinoa hugs her to calm her down.

"Thank you." says the woman and she begins to calm down. Rinoa hands her a cup of coffee and she takes a sip from it.

"My name is Pena Louise, I'm here to visit this park. Its been a long time since I came here."  Squall stares at the woman and he recognize her."Pena Louise? The wife of the late Sully Louise, the former agriculture and park advisor of St.Haven."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry about your husband." Rinoa apologize to her and Pena nods. "Thank you." and she looks at her surrounding, her eyes sadden on the state of the park. "This park was his pride and joy."

"This park was the West pride and joy too. Whats with those men that attack you?"

"They want the deed to this park, saying they want the land to built something profitable."

"Heard that argument before, I believe that some people wants to built a casino here. I bet they too are behind on what happen to your late husband. Sqy Squall wanna storm a mob HQ?"

"No. We don't have proof...."

Squall and Rinoa looks at each other and they decide on their next action. "Come let us take you home." offers Rinoa and she grabs Pena's hand and smiles warmly at them. As they escorted her, a black car appears and stops not far from where they are.

"Squall and Rinoa. I believe they are the mayor's lackies. Part of the so call heroes. I call the boss to tell him what happen."


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 15, 2013)

The Professor - _The Help_
Somewhere in Saint Haven​
There was a sound of footsteps, and from Stella's peripheral vision, there was something similar to a flickering light.  But when she set her gaze firmly on the individual standing there, he took solid form.  

The Professor wore a tattered labcoat with an insignia denoting a secret fellowship of interplanetary researchers, scientists, and cartographers.  Otherwise he had on a snug fitting turtle neck, some plain slacks, and a pair of slightly cracked glasses.  His skin was a strange mix of sea green and icy blue, and his eyes were glowed with a powerful, almost supernal light. A single streak of white stained his otherwise completely black head of hair.

"Ah, you didn't knock. Excellent. Overwhelming chance that you're here for the job. Name?"

Turning on his heels, he didn't wait for an answer and instead led her further into his laboratory. "This is rather simple work, but please try to keep up." The Professor went through a quick tour, pointing to things as he went, but clearly having something else on his mind as he did so. They moved through a space that seemed much too large to contain a facility of the size he was strolling through; there was an entire mess hall, an empty warehouse, numerous residential rooms set aside, and of course, his Lab. He seemed unconcerned with what she saw and didn't seem, as if giving the tour to himself to maintain mental acuity. The entire place contained a great deal of oddities and technological enigmas, but chief among them was probably a body identical to the Professor's floating in a vicious looking clear jelly.  A series of sensors and tubes were connected to the floating organism, whatever it was, and a series of other tubes of similar construction were lined up all throughout.  None of the items in the lab seemed to follow a coherent pattern, though, and plenty of the workbenches appeared as if the experiment or project had simply been abandoned in the middle of a process and forgotten.  A library, study hall, and performance stage rounded out the entire area known as the Professor's Lab. If Stella had been speaking while he gave the tour, he didn't hear it, or respond. And suddenly, he took off with a brisk pace towards the testing area they'd just passed through. 

"This is a minor portion of the propulsion engine required to power a hadron cannon," he murmured, attention almost entirely on the task at hand. "I don't expect you to know what that is, no, that'd be silly, but as for your tasks while in the Lab, and working as my assistant, well-"


----------



## Island (Dec 15, 2013)

*Stelara Fjara* - _The Professor_
Somewhere in Saint Haven

---​
“A hadron cannon?” A titled my head in bewilderment. “Propulsion engine? Are you attempting to construct some kind of interstellar drive? If I had to speculate, I’s say that you are attempting to produce micro-black holes within your engine, reverse the gravitational pull on them to produce white holes, and then draw energy from those white holes. Given your use of hadron particles and that you probably plan to smash them, black holes are the only logical outcome and then knowing that this is an engine, you would want white holes over black ones, so…”

I blinked a couple of times.

“I did not realize human civilization has advanced so far.” I stated.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 15, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Alex's feet shuffled to side-step Ryan's armless tackle, then stopped, as Mary's foot came into view and then into the boy's side, the motion lifting him off the ground and sending him rolling onto the ground as he flew through the air. _"How did she get so strong suddenly?"_ The Italian wondered incredulously as he watched. Still, the fighting style Bloody Mary had was familiar. Moving second in battle; always reacting instead of acting, and coming back stronger after taking a lethal hit. It was a bizarrely reactionary fighting style, one that seemed distantly reminiscent of something else. 

Then Ryan got up, seemingly unharmed by the attack, his arms fully regenerated from Alex's previous attack, with only his now exposed arm and cut off sleeve to show for it. His regeneration made him hard to properly put down, definitely, but it had limits. His former team-mate's recovery prowess was near peerless, but it still had limits: he could only put his body back together so many times because his stamina got shot and shut down, unable to handle the strain of fighting and regeneration at the same time. Alex was also fairly certain that he could slice his limbs off before he could regenerate too, if he went at maximum speed, but neither of those were options he wanted to actually go for here. "Ryan, just give up and hand yourself over. There's no chance of you winning here, so why even bother resisting?" Alex stated, droplets of Ryan's blood dripping from the tip of his blade from where he had cut. 

At this point, the entire park had become a wreckage. A single crater lay behind them, large mounds of debris scattered around it as if a bomb had gone off. Pieces of uprooted tree peppered the area around them, with the scar of where it had once been on the ground behind Ryan. Alex scanned the area with his eyes, making sure to take every last detail in.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 15, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
Team Hideout, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

When James once again entered Leroy's room, the others behind him, he was immediately hit by the dark smell of coffee, the scent washing over him like a flood; it smelled strong, but nice. His eyes traced the room, finding the source of the smell, and next to it, Leroy Steel, looking even more displeased than usual. "You wanted us?" The demi-god asked.

Leroy looked up, his head rested between his gloved hands, a single eye peering out of a cave of darkness to glare at them. *"No, I just called you here for a fucking chit-chat. Of course I wanted you here for a reason, Brooklyn. Now quiet down, I'm about to brief you."* Producing a remote; a sleek, silver looking object, the dark skinned man tapped at one of the buttons on it and the wall behind him lit up, a map of the city forming.

The man continued speaking. *"Your mission will be in south Saint Haven, right in the middle of the shit hole that is the Mafia territory. 'Unfortunately', your friend Kimberly got herself captured by them a few hours ago and now she's being kept in one of their safehouses. The warehouse isn't heavily guarded; the Mafia have bigger worries than some idiot who can't take down two losers, and it seems this was some kind of private smack-down. Maybe they had a grudge against her for something? I personally don't give a shit, but it basically means you won't have to worry about the others clipping on you when you enter." *

James felt a lump in his throat, recalling back to the first day in the office when the mayor had asked him to take care of his daughter. He should have been more careful; first he let her get poisoned, and now she was kidnapped? By the Mafia, of all people? A thorn of guilt prickled him, but at the same time...

_"Why should we care if she got herself captured? It's probably her own damn fault."_ The voice rang inside his head; the voice James had since dubbed 'subconscious'. It was an annoying presence, always pitching in when James didn't want it to speak. And it came in with judgments and thoughts that made it seem as if it cared about nobody but himself. The most disturbing thing, though, was that in the recesses of his mind, far underneath the facade he had set up, he almost agreed with it. Still, James ignored it. He made a promise to the mayor and he would uphold it.

Leroy removed his hands from his chin, one of them reaching for his mug of coffee and bringing it in for a sip. With another quick movement, he brought it back down onto the surface of the table, slamming it with such force that James was afraid it didn't just shatter. *"One more thing, though. Don't blow shit up or do anything that might attract the attention of surrounding families. If you do, you might as well just kill yourselves right there. I picked you five for a reason. Don't make me regret it anymore than I already have done in the past few minutes."*


----------



## Bringer (Dec 15, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_The Battle Wages On_

The celebrity went flying, until finally colliding into the ground,; a crater forming where he had landed. The dust cleared, and Ryan had been standing, his wounds completely healed. While it was true regeneration could tire him out, he still had plenty in him. Regeneration to him was as natural as breathing or his blood flowing, so it obviously required energy, but not nearly as much as some thought.

Seeing as how there was no way he could win this, due to the fact the Bloody Mary seemed unkillable, and Alex Fortis was unhittable, there was only one thing to do. With one mighty bound, he was propelled into the air, and was soaring across the sky. Sure there was no way he could outrun Alex, or get far by running, however by jumping he could travel long distances. He landed with a thud, and once again he took off into the sky with a jump, being long gone from the park.

Catch him if you can.


----------



## Fedster (Dec 15, 2013)

*Agent ~ Luke Walters​​*
*"Brooklyn, Fujisawa, Walters, Herandez and Enjeru, report to the briefing room immediately."* That voice...It could only meant one thing. That man, whats-his-name, was calling me, along with other four individuals whose surnames were unknown to me. Man, just when I finally got my stuff back, this guy wants to sent me flying out of the base. Well, at least I was not going to be alone. Also, I got my passcard now, so if anything happened, I could show it and prove its authenticity, probably much to the eye-patch guy's annoyance.

"Wait, but...Where's the briefing room?" I said to myself. Oh shit, I only came to realize now that this secret base is _huge_. If I had not had my Energy Disk, I truly would be lost. So I took it out and turned it on. _'Do you wish to download...?'_ No. _'There is a big job offer...!'_ No. _'Hot singles in your area...!'_ Nope. _'Building Scanner'_ Yes!

When I finally reached the briefing room, everyone was gathered on the door. Apparently, they knew each other. Of course, there was the Mayor's speech and all to present, so the fact they were already acquainted was obvious. And here I was, the 'new kid on the block'. I was about to greet them, but a bowl-cut hair dude with a scarf opened the door and everyone got in. Well, that was rude, I thought, but I shrugged it off. It was not like I will not have time to introduce myself.

The actual problem was that I had _that_ man before me. I entered last, closed the door, and I placed myself among the others. He was not expelling us, thank God. It was a mission. Wait, a mission? And he chose me? He either wanted my ass dead by midday or he actually considered me a member of the team. Well, I should better play the part, then. But, who was this Kimberly he was speaking about? Oh God, would he be referring to Kimberly...Higgins, the Mayor's daughter? I was not surprised she had been targeted, taking into account her position. But the Mafia usually stayed in their territory and only messed occasionally with the government. Two attacks in less than 48 hours...What were they after? I took off the room first, trying to widen the distance between eye-patch guy and myself. "Well, I guess it's a good time for introductions now." I told to my new comrades. "Name's Luke Walters, former freelance hero 'Agent'. Well, still am, but not freelance for now." I scratched the back of my head. Yeah, that was enough introduction. "So yeah, nice to meet you all."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 15, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Alex gave a sigh as Ryan leaped away from the park, the force of the jump kicking up a cloud of dust in the area as his body soared through the night sky, the shape of his body gradually fading further and further into the darkness, but never completely gone. "Idiot." The Italian muttered, bringing his right sword back. Did he honestly think he could escape him just by jumping away? His back was exposed, and there was no way he could maneuver in mid-air. Ryan Williams had just made himself a target waiting to be shot down, a duck waiting to be shot down by a hunter. 

His precognition traced a rough line of the trajectory of Ryan's improvised flight while his other eye created a simulation of possible scenarios that could happen. Most people would have been sliced clean in half by an attack like this, so in this regard, Alex was bizarrely thankful for his opponent's durability and regenerative prowess. It significant reduced the risk of him accidentally killing him, after all. Adjusting the slight of his wrist and the angle of his blade accordingly, Alex patiently waited until Ryan was just above an empty street and then swung diagonally across the air in a blur of motion. A small, almost explosion-like sound was heard as the wind roared, the grass splitting with fresh dust and blades of green tossed up in the air as a wave of compressed air pressure formed out of Alex's blade, precisely flying towards Ryan's navel area.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 15, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_The Star Born From Abandonment_












The air slash collided with Ryan, hitting its mark, and the boy came crashing down. There was a thin long cut on his stomach, but it immediately closed. Almost instantly Ryan was pinned down firmly in place with the adamantium sword held against his neck; as his dark brown eyes lost focus like someone who was hopelessly lost. The celebrity looked up at Alex for a moment, his gaze going through cycles of different emotions, before everything seemed to break, and everything made sense.

"I guess that comment about Megan really did cut deeper than I thought. But what do you really think you're doing here, Alex? Would the Mayor have let Kimberly sit in jail? One way or another, she wasn't going to be locked up. I got her away from that fire. I was the one who tried to get you to listen to reason and follow the lead we had. Meanwhile, look at what you've accomplished. Pinning one of the only people in this city who's aim is to save her. And if you think you're doing anyone in the city any favors with the fight that just broke out, then you'll need to think again like Beastboy when he realized he was wrong. How much do you think it'll cost this already impoverished city to repair what you did to that park, in a fight you started with me? Or just this crash into a residential area. And for what?  To bring me in?  For what I've become, a celebrity born from abandonment?  Drunk on my own ego? When my mother died, did you, Aiden, or even Lillian ever talk to me about it? But.. the reporters, they talked to me about it, they made me feel better!"

His fans cared more about him, than the people he lived and fought alongside with for two years.

The celebrity glanced around the scene, observing the watching pedestrians and stopped cars. Everyone watching the swordsman and star intently in awe. If Ryan were to continue this fight, they would get harmed. He heard people say things, people say his name. "Look is that Ryan Williams!" "What's going on!" "Mommy why are they fighting?" They were all so innocent, weren't they the ones Alex vowed to protect? Yet here the swordsman was, prepared for everything to get destroyed if it means Ryan would be subdued. The celebrity knew what had to be done, sure some might say he's a sociopath, sure some may say he didn't give a care in the world about the life of others, but what did they know? Well... this was fun while it lasted, but now it was time for him to be locked away for god knows how long. He'd miss his fans, Dash, and even Riley. 

Ryan shook his head.  

"I guess it's better to become a monster born from Wrath than one born of Gluttony, right Alex?  You win... are you happy now? You're the hero. You always were. While I'm just the monster.."

He spat in the Italian's face, the spittle landing on the swordsman's cheek as Ryan Williams closed his eyes.

"I surrender."


----------



## kluang (Dec 15, 2013)

*Squall "Tribal' Strife/ Rinoa Lockheart*

Squall drives the jeep, while Rinoa and Pena is talking in the back. He have no interest in their talk, his only interest now is why the park is targeted again. Sully was killed two years ago and despite several investigation and trial, no one is caught and the whole thing quiet down. And now, Pena claim they've been harassing her for a few months, wanting the deed to the park.

Squall looks at his rear mirror and he notices something. "Rinoa." and she stops talking to Pena and looks at Squall. "We're been followed." she peek at the back mirror and sees multiple black sedans following them.

"What should we do?" ask Pena and she started to shiver again and Rinoa hold her hand. "All in good hand. Squall, loose them"

"Like airline luggage."

Squall steps on the pedal and the jeep speed up and caught the sedans by surprise. They also step up their speed and a high speed chase between them and the mob started at the heart of West St.Haven


----------



## Island (Dec 15, 2013)

*Baylee Allard*
Neptune City

---​
Suddenly, I shot back into consciousness. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, not knowing where I was or what was going on. I couldn’t remember the last time I slept. My powers changed my physiology such that I no longer needed sleep, I could go longer without food or water, and most notably, I rarely fatigued. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get to sleep. I couldn’t just knock myself out for a few hours and then wake up to an 8:00 AM alarm like an ordinary person. This felt suspicious, not knowing how or why this happened but decided that maybe it would be best to figure other things out first.

I looked around.

My room.

I saw my bedroom at the team base just beneath the Neptune City Public Library. I saw all the usual stuff, my books, my equipment, and everything else I brought with me from home. The room smelled just like I remembered it, a combination of that clean smell that every government facility had and my usual perfume. Slowly, I moved out of bed, my muscles sore and also somewhat stiff. When my feet hit the floor, they instinctively landed on and slid into my bright blue slippers. Now standing, I automatically reached to my nightstand for my phone, opening it, and seeing I had a bunch of text messages.

_“Good job, girly!”_ One read.

Another went, _“Congrats, babe. I knew you could do it!”_

Then, one from Becky read, _“Thanks, Bay! You’re the best!”_

I couldn’t quite remember what these concerned, so I placed my phone back on the nightstand and headed out to the common area. Everything felt hazy, and I couldn’t remember anything from the day before. It all seemed like some distant memory, a dream of a world that wasn’t. Not only that, but it felt terribly wrong, like something terrible had occurred, and that I had just awoken from an awful nightmare. Specifically, it felt like one of those moments when you’re getting ready in the morning and are thinking about on the night before, then, suddenly, you remember a terrible dream you had, a nightmare that you couldn’t quite remember. You just knew that it was bad, and at the time, it frightened you, jolting you awake in a cold sweat.

“What the…”

I entered the common room. My jaw dropped at the sight of broken shot glasses, empty beer bottles, and smelly pizza boxes everywhere. Alex sat on the couch, rubbing his temples and breathing heavily while Kevin held a plate up to his face, quickly consuming the triple stack of pancakes that was on it. Then, beneath the coffee table in front of the couch and just before the TV laid Ryan, passed out and drooling all over of expensive fur carpet.

“Rook rhose rup.” Kevin greeted, his mouth full of pancakes, syrup dripping from his open mouth.

I looked to the right to the doorway that led into the kitchen. Aiden walked out, juggling both his laptop and a plate of breakfast. Though he wore his pajamas, he had already attached himself to his computer, putting on his headphones and letting the charger drag at his feet like a tail. He nodded at me, not making eye contact but at least acknowledging me, which, considering who this was, was a feat in itself.

“Rere’s rood rin da ritchen.” Kevin tried to say.

Alex sighed aloud. “He means to say that there’s breakfast in the kitchen.”

“They’re finally giving us the recognition we deserve.” Kevin spoke, his mouth now empty. “Full breakfast, eggs, bacon, grits, oatmeal, pancakes, sausa-”

“Kevin, please.” Alex interrupted.

“Oh. Right.” He apologized. “Sorry, dude.”

I nodded, deciding to check this out for myself. When I entered the kitchen, I discovered everyone one could possibly eat plus more. Full plates of eggs, bacon, and everything else Kevin described plus gigantic bottles of milk, juice, and other breakfast drinks. I even saw a full cornucopia of fruits, everything from apples and bananas to pineapples. Lillian stood in front of the cornucopia, holding one of three pineapples with a confused look on her face. “Who eats pineapple for breakfast?”

I shrugged, changing the subject, “What… is this?”

“A congratulatory gift from the mayor, apparently.” Lillian explained, extracting a note that was on the cornucopia and reading it aloud, _“Just a small token of our appreciation for your service to both your city and your country. We look forward to seeing you later at this week’s ceremony…”_

Lilian continued reading while I went to assemble a plate for myself. Not really interested in what else the letter said, my ears tuned into a conversation going on in the other room:

“So, did ya hit it?”

“I hit a lot of things yesterday.”

“Ya know what I mean…” I could practically hear Kevin nudging Alex with his elbow, “Did ya, y’know, show her your _sword_?”

“I…”

“Eh? _Eh?_” Again, I could practically see Kevin tapping Alex with his elbow.

“Shut up.”

“Aw, c’mon, spill the beans,” he said louder, “I _know_ I heard things go thump in the night after everyone went to bed, and unless Aiden is getting’ some on the side…”

“H-hey!” Aiden spoke up. “I- Uh, please, don’t involve me in this.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Going out to the living room?” Lilian asked, interrupting my focus and shifting my attention back to her.

“Uh, yeah.” I nodded.

“Alright.” She put the pineapple back, opting to walk out with me once I finished getting my food.

When I re-entered the common room, Masaru now sat between Alex and Kevin, probably to diffuse some argument they were getting into, or, more realistically, to stop Kevin from antagonizing Alex. Like Alex, Masaru seemed to have a headache, except, instead of rubbing his temples, he had a large icepack held against his forehead. I wanted to question it, but as fate would have it, Kevin had an answer before I could even ask.

“That was some killer party last night, right guys?” He announced, placing his arm around Masaru’s shoulder and clenching inward.

“Shame ya’ll can’t hold your liquor like the prince.” He continued.

“Shot for shot, ya’ll are _pussies_.” He teased.

At that point, I concluded that both Alex and Masaru must have been _severe_ hungover, and considering how little I imagined them drinking, it must have been a terrible experience, like one of those _“Why did I do this to myself? I’m never drinking alcohol ever again!”_ kind of experiences.

“Urgh.” Alex groaned. “I swear to-”

“What happened to him?” I quickly changed the subject, pointing to Ryan who was still passed out beneath the coffee table.

“You dun’ remember, babe?” Kevin spoke. “He thought he could handle my little princess and got drank under the table, literally.”

“Me?” I raised an eyebrow, knowing if he was referring to me or somebody else.

“No, I mean Alex.” He jested.

I imagined Alex’s patience was wearing thin. Then, as if on cue, he snapped, “Jesus Christ, _shut up_.”

Kevin burst into laughter, and Masaru shook his head in disappointment.

“To be fair,” Masaru, again, changed the subject again, “I don’t think anyone could outdrink you, Baylee. You literally can’t get drunk. Not sure why _he_ didn’t know that, though.”

“What is all of this, though…?” I didn’t understand.

We never got together like this, and I could never imagine people like Alex and Masaru actually agreeing to get drunk with Kevin. Both seemed like incredibly straight-laced individuals, after all.

“Oh! Oh!” Kevin ignored my question, apparently distracted by something on the television. He fiddled around with the remote for a couple of seconds before turning up the volume as high as he could. “It’s us! The Prince and his subjects! On _television_!”

I walked over to the couch to get a good look at the television. A newswoman spoke, _“Good morning, America, and what one it is on this beautiful Sunday morning on May 30, 2010. This morning we’ll be discussing those rascal kids that everybody loves! The Neptune Nine do it again! When Havoc strikes, the Neptune Nine are there to stop him, and yesterday, they did just that! A government report was released yesterday detailing that the team not only disarmed a thermonuclear weapon and contained a dangerous, genetically-engineered bioweapon known as the Human Adaptive Virus but also captured Havoc alive. The latter will face justice at an international court for his crimes against humanity.”_

My jaw dropped.

“Booyah, bitches!”


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 16, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis* - _Reunion_
Park, Saint Haven

____________________​

Alexander's anger flared. "Don't paint yourself as the victim here, Ryan. You lost that right long ago, when you sold the team out for fame and money. You spat on everything we stood for, everything we worked towards all towards just selfishly making yourself feel better and danced on the graves of our friends. Do you think you were the only one on the team inflicted by loss? I had to kill my own dad and watch the one I love fall in a coma _right in front of me_, for fuck's sake. Do you not think that haunted me afterwards? When I let three of my best friends _die_? But we all carried on the fight anyway, as we'd always done. What the hell do you think gives _you_ the right to lecture me, when you've been indulging yourself so magnanimously for the past five years?"

The Italian kept his sword on Ryan's neck, his eyes turning into a lethal glare as sharp as his blade as the rest of his body seemed to expand as it loomed over him. "The park can be repaired, but note that _it _was destroyed by _you_. And don't pretend this was a fight started by me. I offered you the choice of just coming along."

Alexander moved his wrist, so that the gleaming surface of his sword was directly faced to Ryan, the boy's reflection staring back at him as the blade pressed against his neck. When he next spoke, his next words were cold and callous. "Equally, Kimberly would be safe in a prison right now, if _you_ didn't bail her out. She might have been captured by the Mafia, but these were small-time idiots and any student that I've personally taught would be able to handle herself appropriately. I'm just indulging myself here, Ryan. Just as _you_ have done for the past five years. Don't talk to _me_ about heroics when all you've been doing is moonwalking through life. Wrath? You haven't even begun to scratch the _surface_ of how I'm feeling right now."


----------



## Bringer (Dec 16, 2013)

*Kimberly Higgins*
_Almost_

Kimberly glared at the man who was told to guard her, practically looking into his soul. If she weren't restrained by this blasted rope, she'd be beating every last one of them and be on her merry way. But no, here she was powerless, bound by rope to a chair. How could she have been so reckless, sure she was in shock, but wanting to run to Leo's lifeless body while the man who had just killed him was standing there was so stupid. Kimberly did not deserve the honor of being called Alex's student.

Even though she was powerless at the moment, the silky black haired girl hadn't given up just yet. She still had one trick up her sleeve, she still had her empathy. Sure she was still experimenting with this power, but if she could tame that peculiar creature that always tried eating Mike, then maybe she could influence other people. Her Empathy allowed her to understand people, and if she willed it to allow people understand her. With this, she could win any debate with the most baseless contrived argument. She could literally make people see her views, and if pushed hard enough, agree with her.

"Let me go." 

"Shut up kid."

The man who was supposed to watch Kimberly took another puff of his cigarette.

"You don't understand what you're getting yourself into, my father will send someone to save me. Maybe he'll send _Alex Fortis_." 

Usually under any normal set of circumstances, this would never work. But with some empathic meddling, there was no resisting this. The man eyes widened, and threw aside all logic. He legitimately feared for his life.

"I-If I let you go, I won't get killed right?"  

The green eyed girl nodded, and he immediately untied her, and as soon as she was free she stretched, and then sent a powerful kick to the side of the man's head, knocking him unconscious. Finally the young adult was free. Kimberly couldn't worry about retrieving her lost weapons which were kept away somewhere, she had to get out of here. She cursed silently to herself due to the fact the door was locked from the other side.

Only one way to get through.












Kicking down the door, she dashed out of the room, and began running through corridors and hallways. She ran into a few mafia men, but couldn't waste any time dealing with them, so she simply knocked them down and continued running. Finally she saw it, the front door that would lead her to freedom. The green eyed girl sighed in relief, as she opened the door, and was met with the cool midnight breeze. She ran out, a sense of relief filled her, as she escaped.

Suddenly Kimberly was pulled back by her silky black locks, and found herself lifted by her waist. The girl struggled, kicking the air, wildly moving her arms so she could grab the face of who ever was holding her and dig her nails into them. 

"LET ME GO!"

"Yell all you want, no one will save you."

After what seemed like a minute of struggling, she was released. Now was her chance, she could-

The man karate chopped her neck, and she fell to the ground. Before losing consciousness, she saw Bastion chuckling softly to himself, and then saying

"Thought you could escape."

___________

Kimberly was tied to a chair once again, however this time she was still unconscious. Someone was holding a camera, recording her. Bastion was in the room as well, but out of the shot. The man smiled, lifting up a big meaty hand to give everyone the signal. You see, the mafia had many resources, and those resources could hack the team's base, broadcasting what was being recorded to every monitor the base had, rather it was turned on or off. 

Everyone in that base would be seeing this.

For about twenty seconds, the shot was just of Kimberly unconscious, restrained to a chair. Then that's when Bastion walked into the shot, a grin on his face.

"Hello Higgins. Leroy. I'm here to set my conditions, here I have your daughter."

The man began caressing Kimberly's hair, eventually moving it so that he'd be caressing face. He didn't do this for any sexual pleasure, oh no, he did this solely to infuriate the Mayor.

"Your little _project_ is a thorn in the mafia's backside. So here's what I want. I want you to pull the damn plug, and to end your pathetic little team. If I hear that they're still causing us any trouble, your daughter dies, and I'll broadcast her death on all the TVs in Saint Haven. But before I kill her, I'll torture and humiliate her in every way I know. You have been warned Higgins." 

Just like that, the transmission has ended. Little did Bastion know that the Mayor had his own resources, and that Aiden could trace the transmission right back to his hideout.


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 16, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
Team Hideout, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

James turned around to face the new guy. He _had_ been wondering who he was, actually. The demi-god didn't recall seeing him back in north Saint Haven, or back in the assembly room when they got shouted at by Leroy... again. He seemed like a nice enough guy, though. At least, nice enough to introduce himself to the rest of the team.

"I'm James Brooklyn." He introduced himself back with a smile. "I don't really have a cool sounding nickname yet, but it's nice to meet you too."


----------



## kluang (Dec 16, 2013)

*Squall "Tribal' Strife*

"This is Stephanie Brown from SHNN reporting live from West St.Haven. A high speed chase have occurred in the main road of this peaceful side of St.Haven."

Squall looks  at the monitor and sighs. "We're in live tv. You know what that mean?" ask Squall and Rinoa gleefully nod. "Radiant Bastion and the Mayor Heroes will be more famous!!!" Squall laughs and nods. Rinoa innocents and her dedication to the team can be cute sometimes. "That, and Leroy will chew us." Rinoa cheerful smiles turns sour when Leroy's name is mention. She just got chew for destroying the robots at the North and now a highway chase in the West?

"Take the wheel." says Squall and he opens the door and climb up to the roof. "What are you doing Squall??"

"Take the client to safety. I'm going to look cool on camera, and gives you some  distance." Squall reach to his pocket and took out a capsule and shows it to Rinoa.

"Isnt that Prototype C? I remember the mayor shows Kimberly sixteen prototype bike and ask her to pick one."

Squall press the capsule and after a few seconds a cruiser bike shows up. A large-displacement V-twin engines and four silver muffler with a large round front light and the bright red paint with yellow flame vinyls. Squall rides on the bike and twist the throttle, and the bike fly off from the jeep and heads straight towards the incoming black sedans.

Rinoa girt her teeth and took control of the steering wheel and press the pedal hard.

Squall looks at the incoming black sedans and he smiles. He jumped up from his seat and stood up straight with his right foot on the handlebar and his left foot on the back end of his seat, controlling the bike like a surfboard. With his arms free, he press his watch and Anastasia and Zwill pops out. He combines Zwill with Anastasia and the silver blade turn gold and he can feel the blade vibrates. He press his watch again, and this Avenger pops out and Squall grabs it with his left hand.  Squall looks at sedans and spin his blades in anticipation. 

"Lets give Leroy something entertaining to watch."

He used the sole of his boot to push down on the full throttle lever, and the bike went into one final burst of acceleration while gushing out flames from its muffler.


----------



## Island (Dec 16, 2013)

*Baylee Allward - What Could Have Been*
Team Headquarters, Neptune City

---​
Did we really win? Did we really defeat Havoc and save the day? Slowly, it came back to me, and I recalled Leroy discussing the implications of Havoc?s plan. He told us that if we didn?t stop him, he would destroy the city, killing over a million people and doing trillions of dollars in damage. Likewise, the Human Adaptive Virus would enter the atmosphere and infect anybody within reach. Though some peoples? bodies would simply kill the virus, many would die, and others would mutate. The katter would develop powers the same way we did, anything from elemental control to shape shifting to kinesis. Unlike us, however, the government would not know who was infected and who wasn?t, so it would be like handing out weapons of mass destruction to random people and hoping that the bad guys gets their hands on one. Agent Leroy also warned us that if this happened, society itself could break down. Lawlessness would spread, and unless the government acted quickly, or better yet, we stopped Havoc before he could follow through with his plan, people would undoubtedly begin abusing their powers and wreak havoc on the world.

I couldn?t imagine living in a world like that, and I felt fortunate that we were able to stop Havoc.

?This room is disgusting.? I heard somebody say. ?Beer bottles, pizza boxes, a kid passed out on the floor? I haven?t seen anything like this since college. Not only are all of you underage, but I worry about the implications of having so many pizza deliveries inconspicuously sent to the mysterious bookcase in the back of the Neptune City Public Library. I won?t harp on that today, though. You kids deserve a day to let loose and celebrate, especially after yesterday. Ya?ll saved the world, and if you want to pop open a bottle to celebrate, well, I won?t tell nobody. Though, as your new director, I want this place spotless by this afternoon and all of you ready for a briefing at 3 PM on the dot No excuses.?

I turned to see who it was, and at our door stood my father, Lt. Justice, also our trainer and now the director of T.A.N.K. in Neptune City. Since Agent Leroy resigned, my father decided to take his post and return permanently as a member of T.A.N.K. For our new director, however, he looked somewhat rundown. He bore a large bruise on his forehead, several cuts on his face, wore a sling over his right arm, and walked with a crutch beneath his left shoulder. It looked like he hadn?t shaven this morning, so he had a 5 o'clock shadow growing, and it wasn?t even 10 AM. Still, I didn?t judge him for that. I imagined that after the beating he took yesterday, he was probably pretty sore.

?Dad!? I spoke, leaving my friends and walking over to him.

?That?s Director Dad now.? He teased.

I rolled my eyes.

?Or Director Justice.? He began listing. ?Or maybe Lt. Director? Agent Justice? Lt. Agent? Or maybe just _Agent_. No, that?s a silly name.?

?Dad, I?m serious.? I raised my voice somewhat. ?This is important.?

?Hi, serious.? He greeted. ?I?m dad, Director Dad, in fact.?

At first, I didn?t know what to say or how to react. On one hand, this _was_ serious, and I thought that he should be taking it more seriously than he was, but on the other, I really just wanted to see him again after what happened yesterday. Thus, after a moment of hesitation, I decided to go for it and embraced my father, knocking him back somewhat when I came in. He accepted me, putting his arms over me and pulling me inward. When I looked up at him, however, I saw that his face changed from one of playful goofiness to total solemnity.

?I?m so sorry.? I began. ?I didn?t mean what I said the other day. It was stupid, and I was angry, and I was overreacting. I don?t know what I would have done if something had happened to yesterday. I don?t think I would have been able to forgive myself??

I began to tear up, my eyes watering, and my voice starting to crack.

?I?m sorry too.? He sighed. ?I should have told you beforehand. I knew from the start that you would be upset, and I just wanted to protect you.?

I said nothing, simply laying my head against my father?s chest and holding him closely.

?The important thing is that nothing _did_ happen.? He stated. ?We?re both still here, and I plan to keep it that way for a very long time.?

?I just?? I tried to say.

?What if something happened to you?? I articulated. ?What would I have done? You would have died, and my last memory of you would have been-?

?Hush.? He interrupted. ?That?s behind us now.?


----------



## Hidden Nin (Dec 16, 2013)

*Kira Fujisawa* 
Team Hideout, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

If there was one way to describe Kira lately, it was quiet. When they'd taken down the robot, when they returned, as Leroy yelled at them, watching Mike depart and (in his own way) give her a special goodbye, hearing Kimberly had been captured, and being called down to report. The entire time she'd wilted, shirking her formerly cheerful demeanor as she went on quiet, off to the side, and impassive. As Leroy introduced their objective and mission, she only sighed, and sank back into the shade of the room as the others began to converse. Glancing out the window, she began to wonder what the Professor was possibly up to at that moment...

______________________​
The Professor froze in place as he heard Stella say that, and he slowly turned in place to face her, the outline of his image flickering faintly in the pure lighting of his lab.

"Statement. Your knowledge base goes well beyond what I'd consider a human's average or most likely intelligence; and besides that your phrasing implies you are a subset apart from human civilization. Inquiry: Are you not from Earth miss..."

He pushes his glasses up, closing the interface panel for the engine. "I don't believe I got your name either."

The Professor's glowing eyes flickered a little, and he turned, not waiting for that answer either. "Come, I must test this theory. Consider yourself hired. Two 25 minute lunch breaks, more efficient than a solid block. You can touch anything, just don't let some of them touch you. Come, come! There's much to discuss."


----------



## Island (Dec 16, 2013)

*Stelara Fjara - * _El Profesor_
Somewhere in Saint Haven​
?Why yes, I am also an extra-? I started to explain.

?Ah, yes, my name is-? The professor interrupted once more.

I wanted to explain this man who I was and where I was from, specifically that the humans called me Stella and that I was an extra-dimensional energy being from an extinct civilization that had already mastered interstellar travel long before most others even had cave drawings. Unlike many humans I had thus far encountered, I imagined that this man would be more accepting to what I had to say. He seemed like a relatively intelligent individual and considering there was an increased likelihood of him also being an extraterrestrial being, I figured that he might be more open of what I had to say. Again, humans tended to look at me funny when I introduced myself like that?

I wasn?t quite sure why.


----------



## Island (Dec 16, 2013)

Bloody Mary - Reunion
Union Park, Saint Haven

---​
I crossed my arms, listening to Alex and Ryan go back and forth at each other. Much to my surprise, Ryan decided to surrender, but, as one might expect, also decided to shift the blame for his actions onto someone else. Instead of him being responsible for the things we did, he seemed to think that it was _us_ who were at fault for not being there. Alex articulated what I wanted to convey, mostly my anger and frustration at what Ryan had done with himself and his powers since the destruction of Neptune City.

No matter how serious the situation was, however, I couldn?t help but chuckle to myself at the phrase _?moonwalking through life.?_

?You know,? I began, ?It won?t be long before he gets bored of prison and decides to escape. Even if you have the facilities to contain him, he?s clearly not going to realize that he?s the one who?s in control of his actions and that those actions have real, tangible consequences. Somebody like him Is just going to keep blaming others for his problems. First, he blames your team for why he sold his soul to the media, and now he?s blaming for what happened here. Next, he?s going to blame you for imprisoning him and then all the destruction he causes when he tries to break free. In my line of work, we put down people like him.?

?Though,? I shook my head, ?Considering how passionate you feel about this, I guess I?ll step aside and let you do your job, but when he escapes and you have to put him down once and for all, don?t say that I didn?t warn you.?


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 16, 2013)

*James Brooklyn* 
Team Hideout, Central Saint Haven

______________________​

Something had been bothering James ever since the mission in north Saint Haven. He hadn't noticed it at first, being unable to pin it down, but as Leroy gathered and then dismissed the unit, James finally realized what felt weird: Kira had been silent the entire time compared to her usual self. Did something happen to her? Or was she just tired? Either way, James decided to ask. Turning around, he looked at the black haired girl curiously. "Hey Kira, something wrong? You've been awfully quiet."


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Dec 16, 2013)

*Alexander Fortis*
T.A.N.K Facility, Outer Saint Haven

____________________​

The journey to the T.A.N.K facility didn't take long. For someone who could move at mach speeds, a trip outside the perimeter of the city into the mountainside surrounding it took only a few moments when moving at maximum speeds. With Ryan's hands and feet bound with special binding bracelets made to restrain people with super strength, there also wasn't a chance of him resisting either, though Alex had been unsure how effective it would be against someone of Ryan's level. Nevertheless, it seemed to work fairly well, keeping his former comrade quiet and subdued for the entire time. Silence with Ryan wasn't something Alex was used to, but it wasn't something he'd complain about either.

From the outside, the building wasn't visible, the whole area a plane of barren stone and forestry. The facility itself was actually kept hidden inside one of the smaller hills, the interior hollowed out decades ago to fit the base. That was the main section, though. Where the daily operations of T.A.N.K were carried out, among a number of other things. Alex was headed for the containment unit, a separate part of the entire facility. The entrance was a small steel gate on the ground near the hill, camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding. Entering through there, Alex was led through a series of tunnels into a bunker surrounded by cameras and heavily armed guards.

"Who's that?" The head of security asked, raising an eyebrow as he entered the corridor to face Alex. Jonathan Blake was a tall and stocky man with skin tanned a permanent shade of brown and red from exposure to the sun and slid back brown hair. He was a few years older than Alex, and also one of the few friends the Italian had in the unit, having been in the same squad as him when he still actively served them. 

"Ryan Williams." Alex replied simply. 

Jonathan blinked. "Ryan Williams as in the guy who used to be on your team in Neptune City? What are you arrestin' _him_ for?" 

The dark haired man sighed. "Obstruction of justice, reckless use of powers and resisting arrest, among other things. It's not safe to let him run around as he pleases."

The head of security frowned. "You know his fangirls are gonna go crazy over this, right? What are you gonna do about _them_?"

Alexander Fortis gave a shrug. "If they want to continue following a criminal, let them. I don't care. But while I'm here..."

Jonathan nodded in understanding. "You want to see _her_, eh?"

A nod. "Yeah, I'll be quick. There's some other business I have to take care of later."

"Alright. Well, you know where to go, man. I'll take Ryan off your hands, I guess. Unless he wants to go see Megan t-"

"No." Alex cut off coldly, leaving Ryan by the head of security's side as he left the facility.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 16, 2013)

*Ryan Williams*
_“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”- Some deceased guy_

He couldn't believe it, was he talking to a wall? There was no need to rebuttal, there was no getting through Alex, his mind was set. Reasoning had no effect on prejudice, just like electric types had no effect on ground types in Pok?mon. What did the swordsman mean by selling the team out, when all the celebrity did was talk about their adventures, and make jokes about them. How was this detrimental to the team in anyway? Another thing, Ryan drowning his sorrows away by surrounding himself with reporters may have been selfish.

But he was human.

Human's do selfish things.

And why did Alex twist his words? The celebrity never said the others didn't face their losses, he was very well aware. Sure Ryan could've argued why he did what he did, and exploited his status for fame. His mothers death was his fault, and he watched as the clouds engulfed her seconds after she promised she'd be okay. With no open arms there for him, that was the only way for Ryan to cope. Though Alex wouldn't understand, he didn't need to cope obviously, he didn't have his moments of weakness, because he was so damn perfect.

However that wasn't the message Ryan wanted to convey.

That wasn't the celebrity's intention.

Honestly this whole mess was ridiculous, there was no way he would allow himself to be arrested with no resistance when he didn't even break the law. Rather Alex liked it or not, he had no right to arrest Ryan, and him making the first move which triggered the fight means the destruction of the park was his doing. And this whole thing about Kimberly being safe if Ryan had never bailed her out. Logically him sticking around Kimberly prevented her from being kidnapped, which is the sole reason why they decided to separate the Mayor's daughter from the celebrity in the first place.

And this talk about her being okay for the sole fact that he trained her was ridiculous. Alex expects her to magically handle herself in mafia headquarters defied logic. If she couldn't handle them when she got kidnapped, what makes him think she could handle them when she's in their base?

These are all the things Ryan wish he had said.

But there was no point, Alex wouldn't hear a word of it.

As for what Bloody Tampon said, it wasn't even worth rebutting in his head.

It didn't take long for the swordsman and celebrity to reach the facility. After Alex had sheathed his sword, he had put some sort of steel restraints on Ryan, which truth be told he could have broken through them if he had put any effort, but alas he hadn't surrendered only to escape. Ryan scoffed silently to himself as Alex had explained why he was arrested for. Shortly after, curiosity loomed over Ryan as he heard Megan's name, so this is where she was kept? Before he could reminisce, Jonathan butted in, showing the star to his cell. 

Ryan was offended.

So what, the containment rooms that T.A.N.K used to lock Seemore in wasn't available. Sure the technology was more advanced, some sort of force field that absorbs kinetic energy, but the room and bed was small as fuck, and where the fuck was the mini fridge. The celebrity sighed, and waited for Johnathan to leave before breaking through the bracelets, and then ripping them off. After stretching a bit, he realized he was bored, so reaching into his pocket he pulled out

his cellphone.

He was tempted to post the location of this place in every social media network he had, for millions of people to see. But he didn't. He went on twitter.

"lol I was arrested by alex for trying to rescue the mayors daughter from mafia + self defense next time someone chop my leg i wont fight back im locked in a secret facility"

If Ryan Williams stays locked up.

They riot.

He then called his friend Dash.

"Yo Dash, I need you to look after my mansion while I stay in this... holding facility place. Feed my dogs, and if I don't have a dog buy one and then feed it. Wade will handle everything else."


----------



## Advocate (Dec 17, 2013)

*El Espejo*

"I am called Martin Hernandez," the Hispanic teen introduced himself, shaking the new arrival's hand.

His focus, however, was on the mission briefing. It was a chance for him to make himself useful. "I have lived in South Saint Haven, sir," he said cautiously. "I think I know how we could get to that warehouse without being noticed." Martin looked over the rest of the team, pondering whether they and their clothes would stick out in South Saint Haven. Either way though, it did not seem like a good idea to annoy Leroy with such details...

"Is there any other information that we can use against them? Have they asked for a ransom, or..."


----------



## Narurider (Dec 17, 2013)

*Gadian Enjeru​*
Gadian almost jumped at the sudden introduction from Luke. He hadn't even noticed the guy until he'd started to speak. The shaman regarded him curiousl and so did Onca, who performed is usual investigation of padding his way around Luke and trying to sniff something of a dubious nature off of him. For a jaguar, Onca was a lot like a sniffer dog in that respect. After he was satisfied that this Luke was not actually some sort of cyborg from outer space or whatever he was actually expecting to discover, he gave an approving nod to Gadian.

"I'm Gadian Enjeru, nice to meet you Luke." Gadian, not being one for handshakes, gave Luke a two fingered salute as his own lazy excuse of a greeting. His attention quickly turned to James, who had noticed that Kira had been unusually quiet. The shaman had noticed it himself just moments before James questioned the girl on it. He felt bad for not saying anything himself but he figured that James probably had it covered for now. So he listened to Martin as he brought up the very excellent point of whether or not there had been a demand for a ransom. _Well surely there would be. I mean its not as if there is any other reason for them to capture Kimberly...is there?_


----------



## Bringer (Dec 18, 2013)

*Mike Williams*
_Stowaway_

It hasn't been long since Mike, Lillian, and a handful of agents had set off in the private jet prepared by T.A.N.K to go... around the world or some shit. Speaking of that, what was the point behind this again? Did Lillian have some sort of mission she had to do, or maybe she was bored as fuck and decided to go and party around the world. Regardless the jet black haired boy eyes were glued to the window. 

Mike has never left the city, hell he didn't even know anybody who has left Saint Haven. What was the outside world like? Did they scream and bleed the same way as others did when Mike stabs them? Logically speaking the entire world wasn't empowered, because the gas clouds from the Neptune City explosion didn't travel farther than a few hundred miles. Maybe the world empowered themselves through experiments? Also there was always the possibility of mystical creatures or aliens being in other places; albeit they prefer Saint Haven due to the fact that it has others who share unnatural abilities. 

Holy shit!

Saint Haven was a haven for freaks! Was that why it was named Saint Haven! No... pretty sure the city was named that before all of the weird shit went down.

Yawning the boy put his arms around his head, and tried going to sleep. Then he felt it, something engulf his foot... it was that fucking blob again. He was seriously getting tired of that things shit! But to his surprise it wasn't hostile, and it wasn't growling either... it was purring. The... whatever the fuck it was slithered up the blood stained black jeans, and rested on Mike's lap.

Suddenly the blob formed into a sword and became... solid.

"Holy fucking shit!"

Yelled Mike as he lifted the sword, with a shocked looked in his eyes. He began examining it, but suddenly it began moving on it's own until it was pointed at Mike's neck.

"You fucking wouldn't."

Before it could lunge forward and kill him, the brown eyed boy threw it, and as it landed on the floor it returned to its original goopy, liquidy form. The creature began screeching and quickly slithered toward the teen, and engulfed his foot again. Immediately using his other foot; he pushed off the shoe that the blob had engulfed freeing himself.

"You want my fucking shoe, you can have it!" 

He got sat up from his seat, and angrily marched off, looking for a different seat to rest in.


----------



## kluang (Dec 18, 2013)

*Rinoa Lockheart*

The jeep speeds on the highway before quickly it turns into the middle of West Haven. Rinoa grew up in West Haven. She knows the street, alleys, every shortcut there is and she knows where's the perfect place to hide. She slows down and enter an alleyway before taking a right turn and she looks around. and sees the Bastion graffiti on the wall. She moves her vehicle and hon twice. The garage door opens and the jeep went inside.

Rinoa steps out of the door and sees a small boy with a large computer. "Squall is making one hell of a mess."

Rinoa looks at the screen and sees debris cars, slice in half, radiators flying and Squall flips two cars over his head.

"Yeah he is."

The boy stands up and offer his hand to Rinoa."The name is Tech Boy. I have the powers of technology and Soldier. Second Class."

Rinoa looks at the boy, a seven maybe eight years old, a Samoan like skin and a big nerdy glasses with a unruly hair. He wears A blue sweat shirt and a lab coat, probably he gets it from a store somewhere, the pockets is fill with screwdrivers and many gadgets.

"I check the mob that was attacking you. Well it's the Gralic family. Not as big as the great families but ambitious as one." and he shows a file on them. "Three years ago they are the suspect on the murder of Mr. Sully, the city advisor on plant thingy."

"Actually, he's the agriculture advisor." says Ms. Pena and Tech Boy look at her with surprise and started to nod like he figures out everything. He grabs his bubble pipe and began blowing in them, acting like some detective solving a crime.

"Now everything make sense. Its' elementary my dear Watson." and he looks at Rinoa, whose puzzle by the name Watson. "Uhhh....What?"

Tech Boy grin as he acts more like a detective. "I have concluded that the mafia chase the both of you because of her!!!!" and he points at Pena who looks dumbfound by all this.

Rinoa walks to Tech Boy and whispers at his ear. "We have figured it out when we're being chase."

Tech Boy looks at her and back at Pena and he quickly regains his composure. "Well she's being chase because of the burn park deeds!!!"

"Already know that."

"Grrr... Well her husband wont let it tore down because they want to built a casino!!!!"

"Know that."

"Well the Gralic family office is near the park."

"I didnt know that." says Rinoa and she pats Tech Boy head. "I didn't know they were so close."


----------



## Platinum (Dec 18, 2013)

*The Red Merchant
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven​*
Noel thought it best to keep from the rest of the crew the fact that he had never seen, nor even heard the voice of tonight's buyer. Very few had if the information Noel had picked up was any indication.

The so called Red Merchant is an enigma that resides in the darkest corner of the West Saint Haven criminal underground. He deals in everything from drugs and stolen property, to facilitating contracted hits between interested parties. In what almost feels like another life, Noel inadvertently saved a man from death who had prominent connections in the criminal underworld of Saint Haven. The man set Noel in contact with one of the merchant's liaisons as repayment of the debt he owed him a month ago. It was foolish to blindly trust someone without a shred of proof, he knew that, but something about the liaison led him to believe that he was genuine. Most people betrayed their inner character by the way they carried themselves, and the man he met possessed the type of understated importance one would expect from an agent of such a figure. 

Noel pulled out his phone and searched his contact list until he found the number of Geoffrey Blaine. It was time he met this Red Merchant personally.

Two rings later and a voice  broke through over the silence. "Hello?"

"Geoff", Noel began. "It's me Noel. You know that score I told you about yesterday? Well, I collected. Can you get me that meeting with the merchant that we spoke about? I need to move this take fast."

A second of silence before he heard his answer. "Yeah we'll do this now. Text me your location and i'll be there shortly."

Geoffrey Blaine was a man who wore the years on his face. His hair and beard, already tinged gray, attested to the stressful life of a man who negotiated with dangerous men every day of his life. In spite of this, he carried himself with perfect posture and an imposing demeanor that demanded respect. He may not be the one in control, but he was not a man to cross lightly.  

The two shook hands and Geoff began to explain that procedures had to be followed before Noel could meet the Red Merchant. He brought out a strange looking pair of handcuffs and motioned for Noel's hands. 

"You have got to be shitting me", Noel remarked with an incredulous stare. 

Geoff gave an indifferent shrug. "It's one time standard procedure Noel. The Red Merchant doesn't trust anyone until he meets them himself. I'm sure you can understand such precaution."

Noel paused for a second to consider his point before sighing. He relented and folded his arms behind his back without saying a word. 

Geoff nodded his appreciation and fastened the cuffs to Noel's hands. About a second later Noel felt a sharp sting on his right shoulder; the sensation of a syringe piercing the skin. 

"F...fuck", Noel gasped. His vision was already being eaten away at by darkness, his muscles could barely keep him standing. Whatever it was, it acted fast. 

"Once again", he heard the voice of Geoffrey assure him. "Standard operating procedure."

... 

A ringing noise drowned out whatever else Geoffrey was saying to him, and his vision faded completely shortly after. He lost the will to struggle as he fell to his knees, and then the floor a second later.


----------



## kluang (Dec 20, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

"You know where's their lair is right?"

Rinoa cross her arms and look at Pena who is staring at ground and she simply nods. "Why?" and tears began falling from Pena's eyes.

"We dont have proof, and we can't beat them. They will tortured you!!! Humiliated you!!! They always watching!!!  Always....alwa...y..ss....." and Pena broke into tears and she falls on the ground and her body shakes uncontrollably. Rinoa walks and hugs her tightly. "You've been through a lot...."

"I can't lose my friends anymore...."

"You're not losing anyone or anything ever again." and Rinoa tilt Pena's face and both woman looks at each other. "We can never get your husband back, but we can sure avenge him. You got that Squall?"

"Loud and clear. No beautiful woman cries under my watch." Squall voice boom from the computer. He manage to destroys all the sedans and now he rides his bike towards the Gralic family compound.


----------



## Bringer (Dec 22, 2013)

*Riley Roth*
_Mad Of Madness_

She walked through the busy streets of Central Saint Haven, her goal clear. She would locate the team, or what remained of the team. She'd find Lillian, Aiden, Alex, and then she would try to make amends for Ryan. Even if what he said hurt her, she shouldn't have mentioned his mother. Even with Riley's new found confidence of reassembling the team after she got closure while visiting Masaru's grave, her mind wandered. What if everything goes south the same way it did with Ryan?

"Don't worry Riley! I'll help you talk to them."

"We're right behind you."

"That's right, as soon they get a glimpse of the king, they'll have no choice but to reform the team."

The raven haired girl ignored them, she couldn't allow herself to reply back. These voices, these illusions, they would be the end of her. Sometimes she considered it, giving in to all of it, but she wouldn't... couldn't allow herself to. The brown eyed girl remembered when all of this started.

_____________

The black melted away, and the girl slipped back into reality. Her eyes opened to the white room,  as the sound of the heart monitor filled the silence. Immediately girl was embraced by two adults... her parents. They told Riley how much they loved her, and how glad they were that she was okay. Suddenly the illusion was shattered, as Riley heard the nurse's voice. Her parents were gone, their voices were gone, and Riley was alone.

Soon after she wept to herself, why was life so cruel? She lost her parents, but now she was tormented by them. It was like... having a dream that you think is real, and in that dream you don't want to go to sleep because you fear the next day it will all be gone, and then you wake up to the harsh reality.

____________

Sure there was treatment for Riley's condition, her schizophrenia, but that just dulled her senses and left her numb. It was no way to live, so instead she decided to endure it all. 

"Riley is something wrong?" 

She kept on walking.


----------



## Platinum (Dec 22, 2013)

*The Makings of A Man 
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven*​
Noel had been shit-faced drunk several times in his life; what he was feeling right now was awfully similar to the day after. Consciousness pulled him kicking and screaming out of the murky haze that he desperately wanted to crawl back and sulk in. A strong part of himself strongly preferred empty sleep to his current situation, blindfolded and being propped up by a man on each side because his legs were still refusing to fully respond to his commands. 

"It'll wear off soon enough", he heard the voice of Geoffrey say from somewhere in front of him. His words were followed moments later by the sound of hollow footsteps and the opening of a door. By the way the grips on his arm immediately became firmer, he could hazard a guess at who exactly it was that just entered the room.

"So is this how you treat all your guests?", Noel loudly inquired. "Because it runs counter to the common belief that any successful relation is founded upon mutual trust and respect." 

The room went silent for several seconds before Noel got his reply. "Respect and trust, like all commodities, must be bartered for. And in all bargains, the one in the superior position has the right to attach stipulations." There was an odd metallic tinge to the man's voice which gave it a disconcerting quality, almost like it was echoing off walls that weren't there. 

"I can see why they call you the Red Merchant", was the only retort Noel could muster. He didn't want to appear rattled after the man had truthfully pointed out the fact that he had all the power. An indirect challenge was the best way to demonstrate that he wouldn't be strong-armed, while also hopefully not angering the man.

"I am a fair dealer Mr. Bellerose", the merchant continued. "It is just that a lifetime of experience has taught me to never trust anyone until I have looked at them eye to eye." Noel felt the blindfold slip off his face as it fell to the floor, and as his eyes slowly came into focus, he got his first look at the Red Merchant. 

His face was hidden behind a white mask streaked with red lines that branched out like veins on its surface. Several spots were cracked or dented; testament to the kind of life the man lived (and perhaps lingering examples of why his trust was so hard to win). He dressed in a black business suit and a red dress shirt that were each perfectly pressed and immaculate in design and fit. The feature that stood out the most about the Red Merchant however were his eyes; a cold steely grey that held no hint of warmness. They say the eyes are windows to the soul, and if that was the case he felt sorry for any psychic who had ever tried to prowl those depths. 

The merchant motioned to the two men holding Noel up and on cue they dropped him and freed him of his restraints. Whatever drug they used cleared up as quickly as Geoff said; Noel found he was now able to stand on his own power once again. The Red Merchant extended his hand to Noel, and knowing that he was in the clear, he shook it. 

One of the merchants servants came out of the shadows to hand Noel a collections of envelopes as the merchant explained how they had already unloaded and evaluated the cargo he had brought them. "I have taken the liberties of preparing your payment in the form you asked of Mr. Blaine", he continued. " Three million one hundred and fifty thousand; two million two hundred thousand after deducting our fee. Each envelope contains a check book and a card linked to a separate offshore account. The money has been passed through a variety of shell corporations and foreign proxies that it is completely untraceable. Until next time Mr. Bellerose."

Noel nodded his gratitude as he began to look for the way out. As he found it, he felt an arm grab his shoulder. 

"One last thing", the merchant declared. "To apologize for the circumstances of our first meeting I will give you some information for free, no strings attached." 

"I'm listening", Noel replied.

"In the moment when eyes gaze upon one another, the astute will gain insight where others would just see color. I will not ask what you saw in my eyes, but I will tell you what I saw in yours." 

Noel said nothing, but he was pretty surprised all the same. Not many people would give you their honest first impression, especially in a business that revolved around managing egos. 

"Your eyes betray you as a man who died his personal death a long time ago. And yet... I see desire and ambition, uncommon in most who have an experience like yours. You are a curious case of contradictions; a setting sun that shines bright. I can see why you chose this life. It fits you in a way that it fits few others."

"I don't want _this_ life", Noel retorted. "I don't want my life either. What I want..... What I want, is something greater. I want _everything_."


----------



## kluang (Dec 23, 2013)

*Squall 'Tribal' Strife*

Gralic Compound. A mansion in front of the burning park, the Gralic Compound is the headquarters for the Gralic Family. A relative small family, they have rose to power quickly, so quickly they have caught the eye of the other family.

The compound is in Squall sight and he can see multiple sedans and mobs blocking the front gate. Squall twist the thruster and the bike roars as it apporach the compound.

Hundreds of bullets fly towards him and Squall press his watch and the Avenger pops out. He then let the blade's tip to scratch the road until the blade is on fire. He then throws the blade at one of the sedan, right near its fule tank and the sedan explodes, causing a chain reaction that cause the other sedans to explodes, the mobs are either burned by the fire or thrown away by the explosion. 

Squall pass the barricade and grab and sheath his blade as he makes his way into the compound. He parks his bike at the main entrance and he kick down the main door, causing the big and heavy cedar door to fall.

Inside around fifty  fully armed mobs pointing their AK-67 at him, and on top of the third floor he notices an old man who spit at him, Squall easily move to dodge it. "We have no quarrel, now you just step on my business. If you just let us have her, you might live, hero."

"Mr Gralic, I suppose?"

"Yes, I know who you are, Squall, one of the mayor's pet. Are you going to give me an option?"

Squall laughs as he heard that and he looks at Mr. Gralic with a stern eyes. Option? There is no option here. Giving these people an option never cross his mind.

"No. Mr Gralic, you will not get any option from me. Because you make the biggest mistake ever."

"And that is?" ask Mr.Gralic in an amusing tone.

"You make me witness the tears from a beautiful, innocent woman." and Anastasia, Zwill and Lustrous  pops out and he combine both daggers to fit in Anastasia. The blade glows and vibrates and he swings the blade 180, cutting down the mobs in front of him.

"KILL HIM!!!!"


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 23, 2013)

Brad Stroker-The Phoenix and the Bat
​​
It had been a week since Brad had been attacked by St Haven's heroes and Madeci assassins, he managed to get a cell phone with 100's of important mafia numbers. Unfortunately for him the phone exploded the instant he called someone. Bradly was now back to square one, he decided to go from bar to bar breaking fingers and toes for information.

Everyone pointed to an Informant Raspi Gimanto, one of the only people to testify against  large family of West St Haven and live to tell the tale. Bradley figured that this person would be able to tell him the best way to strike at the Madeci. The only problem with that is he's under protection with TANK, he always has two super powered Guards with him at all times. They also changed every week so he would have no idea he was fighting.  

He managed tail Raspi to a club he frequented. Raspi was a 30 year old man out of shape with a pompadour, his hair was a mud brown and his skin was greasy and badly tanned. Brad didn't get a good look at his body guards. All three of them walked inside of the club. Bradley walked into an alley and entered the club through the back.


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 23, 2013)

Brad Stroker-The Phoenix and the Bat Part 2
​ 








​
The restaurant was large and dimly lighted it smelt of smoke, expensive wines and extravagant foods. The foggy air that surrounded the inside was suffocating yet busy, people going in and out of the kitchen serving all kinds of dishes to the various customers. 


In the midst of the customers were definitely people who wanted Raspi's head. One little day in court made him one of the richest men in West St. Haven and destroyed one it's biggest families, people wanted revenge, they wanted to show what happened to anyone dumb to run their mouths. But they couldn't, not with two T.A.N.K sanctioned super heroes guarding him. 

"Stuck here in some smokey restaurant guarding a coward. This is not what we signed up for." 


*Spoiler*: __ 






Namean Rodan A.K.A: Heat Major
Age:18
Gender:Male
Size [XL/L/M/S]:M
Race:Human
Personalityontray to his powers Dan Rodan is a mellow individual who prefers to do things fast and without flash. His stoic attitude and disdain towards extravagant fights lead his allies to wonder why he became a Super Hero in the first place. Though this attitude lends itself toward Heat Major's effectiveness in battle using no wasted movements finishing his opponents in mere moments.
Background:Him and his sister got their powers from the Neptune event. Being the son and daughter of two police officers they followed their parent footsteps and vowed to protect the innocent no matter what. 
Health:20
Power: 30
Strength: 20
Durability: 20
Accuracy: 20
Speed: 20(Base)35(Molecule Dance)
Charisma: 15
Intelligence: 20
Powers / Abilities: 

Heat Manipulation: Heat Major can accelerate the molecules of things creating a combustion effect burning or exploding things instantly. He can also speed his own molecules up to move at Mach 3 speeds.

Burn Ball: A ball of condensed super heated air used to blast through enemies. The bigger it is the longer it takes to prepare but it also does more damage.

Example:

Dynamite Air: A weak explosion is created withing 10 meters of Heat Major does small damage but can be used consecutively

Heat Hand:Accelerating his hands co create deadly burning hands to attack the opponent physically.  

Example

Molecule Dance: For 2 minutes and a 5 minute cooldown between those 2 minutes Heat Major can accelerate him self to Mach 2 speed



"Danny- Uh, Heat, stop crying. We get a free meal and a easy job stop complaining." 

*Spoiler*: __ 






Name:Rachel Rodan A.K.A(Cold Front) 
Age:16
Gender:Female
Size [XL/L/M/S]:M
Race:Super Human
Personalityool and collected at all times. Rachel always goes with the flow and often goes well together with her brothers stern stoic attitude. She feels she must dominate a target completely and show the difference in their strength rather than taking them out efficiently. This often gets her and her brother into fights.

Though if her life is in danger she switches to her brothers style of fighting quickly and without wasted movements, and if in great anger or sadness, she'll lose her temper and brutally attack the enemy. 

Background:See Dan Rodan's

Health:20
Power:20 
Strength: 20
Durability: 20 35(Molecule Marriage )
Accuracy: 20
Speed: 20(Base) 00(Molecule Marriage )
Charisma: 25
Intelligence: 15

Cold Manipulation:She can do the opposite of her brother manipulates molecules to slowdown. She often uses this on  water molecules to create ice. She can also slow down attacks and her own body to create a more durable one.

Ice Maker: She can slow down the molecules in the air to create weapons of ice they only have the durability of ice though.

Freeze Now: She can slow down attacks to the point where it appears they arent moving  but only within 2 meters of her hand and she must be able to react to the attack.

Molecule Marriage:She makes her molecules in her own body slow down the point where they form a sturdy wall protecting her body from most attacks. There is no cooldown for this but she cannot move during the duration of the move.  


​"Oi shut up will ya ?! I'm trying to enjoy my goddamn Veal ! Sheesh tell T.A.N.K to send some less talkative body guards next time, hehe." The brother and sister nearly closed their eyes and bit their tongues they knew if they said anything they'd both rather avoid.

It was so busy Bradley managed to sneak in through the back without anyone noticing he toward Raspi's table in his black cloak still unoticed by the preoccupied patrons. He grabbed bottle of wine off a neighboring table. Before the customer and his wife could protest Bradley back handed him knocking him out instantly and shuting up the wife. Bradley grabbed a napkin and stuffed it in the wine and lit the napkin on fire. And threw at Rapi's as a test to see how his body guards were. 
_
FREEZE NOW !_

Cold Front but her hand out and stopped the bottle in mid air and it's flame. Her brother got up from the table and stood next to her. As Cold Front put the bottle down they both looked in Bradley's direction ready to fight. 

Bradley dashed back a couple feet and assumed a fighting stance. _(Something tells me those two our powerful ! And somehow she stopped not only the momentum but the flame at the same time...just who am I fighting here ?)_


----------



## Platinum (Dec 25, 2013)

*Dinner and A Show
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven​*
*Several days later...*

Noel awoke to the sound of his cellphone vibrating on the stand next to his bed. He groaned as he rolled over to answer; another terrible night of sleep. He just couldn't relax in these hotel bedrooms, and it was still at least a week until the deal for his new home went through. He knew there was no point in being sour about it, so he tried his best to suppress his annoyance as he answered his caller.

It turned out to be Mr. Blaine with an offer of a job with a lucrative payout. Noel told him that he was always up for well paying work, and Blaine replied that he would have the details sent to Noel as soon as possible. No more than thirty seconds later, a courier knocked on the door saying he had an envelope for a Mr. Bellerose; he knew he would accept the contract and had already made all the arrangements. Noel tipped the man and sat down to inspect the contents of the large brown envelope. 

Inside was a typed out memo and a collection of photographs of his target. 

"_Not going to bullshit you, this won't be a walk in the park. The pay is good though, two million dollars; all yours. The target is the city's most famous snitch, Raspi Gimanto. The families don't want to set a precedent for traitors being able to flaunt their status and want to see him taken down. Would be an easy job except for the fact that T.A.N.K. has two capes guarding him at all times. I'll leave that up to your discretion, but be careful to avoid kicking up a hornet's nest. Attached below is a list of known locations Raspi frequents:_" 

Noel went over the information a final time before he fired up a conference call with the rest of his crew. It was time to plot out a plan of action, do some recon. Once he had a few days of surveillance under his belt, it shouldn't be too hard to find a spot to take him down cleanly....

*In the present...*

"Well the hornets are a buzzing", Noel remarked dryly as he had suddenly discovered that he was in a front row seat to a cape super-show. 

"What was that?", Vincent asked obliviously still looking down at his menu. This was supposed to be some simple recon, but it was obviously no longer so simple. Some other hitman, who appeared to lack all forms of subtlety, had thrown a Molotov and gotten into a straight up brawl with Raspi's guards. This was bad. If Raspi got away, it would be almost impossible to try again with the added security T.A.N.K. would pile on. He had to act now, and act fast. 

"Luna!?" Noel half-screamed into his cellphone to make sure he was heard over the cacophony in the restaurant. "An unexpected party has turned things sour down on the ground. Do you got a visual on target? Can you take a shot?"

"Negative Veles", Naomi replied. "Our line of sight is obscured."

"Shit. Okay, stay there with Cassandra to provide cover incase we need to fight our way out of this. Revenant and I will think of something else." 

"Keep an eye on Raspi Vincent", Noel spoke cautiously to his friend as he moved from the table. "I'm heading to the kitchen, and  will try to blend in before rushing out again. If I get an opportunity to get in close, i'll take care of Raspi."

"And if not", Vincent added. "I'll be right here." In one swift motion, Vincent grabbed the steak knife on his table and ran it horizontally across his palm. He let the blood pool for a second or two before forming it into a large, crystalline needle. Noel nodded and slinked away into the back of the restaurant.


----------



## kluang (Dec 25, 2013)

*Squall "Tribal' Strife*

"This is Stephanie Brown from SHNN reporting live from West St.Haven. The hero known as Squall have entered that large house, the Gralic Family Compound. Mr. Gralic is a well knows business man and a public figure here in West St. Haven where his no gun policy......" before she can finish her report the an explosion occurred, tearing a third of the main compound roof and Squall jumps out of it with Mr. Gralic himself along with his men shoots him with rifles.

The cameraman continues to film this event live while hundreds of St. Haven residence glued to their tv set, seeing one of West St. Haven benevolent  figures who hates fire arms, curse and went apeshit with a rifle. 

Then Mr. Gralic sees the helicopter and he looks back at Squall who landed gracefully near the tear at the roof.

"You.....you....."

"No gun policy huh? Benevolent defender of the weak? Now the whole world can see who you really are. Mob boss." 

Squall landed before Mr. Gralic and tap his shoulder and he leaves the old man. "YOU THINK I WILL BE LOCKED?? I HAVE MONEY!!!! I HAVE PROTECTION!!! I HAVE PEOPLE WHO WORKS FOR ME!!!!" he looks at his mobs and they began to move away from Mr. Gralic and toss away their weapon.

"You will be the main families fall guy." and Squall looks at Mr. Gralic with a satisfactory grin. "The mayor's office and the West St. Haven people has always looking for a mob boss to hang and you just volunteered. The main families wont touch you with a ten foot pole, meaning no mob lawyers will represent you. You're days are numbered."

Then hundreds of cops enters the compound and nearly a dozen climb up the stairs and surrounds Mr. Gralic. The police lieutenant took away Mr. Gralic rifle and cuff him. Squall looks at them with surprised. That was fast., Guess the main families really need their scapegoat.

"Mr. Gralic, you are under arrest. Anything you say and do can be use against you in the court of law." The lietenant nods and the police handcuffs the remaining mobs and take them to the trucks and cruiser that awaits them. The lieutenant takes Mr. Gralic and he  nods politely at Squall and Squall nods back. He puts Mr. Gralic in the back seat before purposely let the gathering media that just arrives to takes a good  look and pictures of the fallen mob boss for their respective newspapers and channel.

Squall slowly make his way down and sees Rinoa and Pena waits for him by the gate. "Now no one will touch that piece of land."  Tears falls from Pena's face as she realize the nightmare is over.


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 25, 2013)

Brad Stroker-The Phoenix and the Bat Part 3
​
Heat Major got up from the table and walked toward Shadow Mask. "Coldfront I think you should escort Raspi out of here. This could get ugly." Coldfront had a small laugh. "Don't you think you're giving him a little to much credit ? All this guy has done was murder two bit mafia and some un registered Heroes. He should be easy picking." "Rachel" Heat Major said sternly "Escort him out of the building. Now."  Coldfront sighed "Cmon you slob let's get out of here. Raspi got up from the table trying to stuff more food in his mouth before they ran towards the back. 

"Oi don't go the party's just getting started !" Shadow Mask sped after his target but was intercepted by Heat Major. 

_Molecule Dance_

Heat Major speed blitzed Shadow Mask with a flurry of open palm to the chest. Each hit was at the same place the. The attack normally wouldn't do much damage but the speed at which he got attacked added to the damage piling up. He was pushed back and lost his breath. 

He quickly regain balance and rushed at Heat. Shadow Mask reacted his claws and slashed at Heat Major's neck but all he hit was an after image. "What ?" Heat Major appeared behind him and dashed back. _Dynamite Air _ four small explosions hit Brad in his back. He yelped in pain but caught him self from falling down by putting his hand to the ground and front flipping away from Heat._ (Close range isn't an option and I have to catch up to that girl and Raspi before they get to far. Let's change things up.)
_
Bradly reached into his pockets with both hands and pulled out eight pocket knives four in each hand resting between his fingers. He threw them toward Heat they were amazingly fast with pin point precision but heat Major dodged them and seemed to disappear  out of thin air. He appeared under Shadow Mask with his hand next to Shadow Mask's ribs. _Burn Ball_ A ball of red energy came out of Heat's hand. Shadow Mask dashed back but mid dash he was shot by the ball of energy. It sent him flying half way across the restaurant crashing on top of a large 16 seated rectangular table. Shadow Mask started coughing up blood. _(This guy is definitely stronger than me at every range...what do I do ?!)
_
Heat Major started breathing hardly and sweating._ (Molecule Dance's time is up...but he doesn't know that and  I can end this with another Burn Ball...but T.A.N.K's files said he's fast....I need to make him think I still have the same movement speed, if I stop now he'll know somethings up. I'll walk towards him..but when I get there what do I do ?)_

As Shadow Mask stared at the ceiling think of his different options he smelled something he was all to familiar with it. To an injured vampire on the brink of death it was as if he caught a whiff of a big Christmas dinner and he was a being starved for several days. Even with all the smells of spilled food and wine that his extra acute nose picked up he knew what this distinct smell was. A flash of a drop of red liquid hitting the floor reverberated in his mind. _ (That is...that's blood...good blood and a good amount !)_


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Dec 26, 2013)

*Team Base*

Isaac enters his room, holding his coat and gas mask by his side, and then throws them down on his bed.  Immediately afterward, he lets himself fall down on his bed and exaggeratedly exhales.  Every muscle in his body aches with exhaustion and are practically on fire due to the close combat lessons he put himself through in that training room.  Isaac lost track of time in there, putting himself through lesson after lesson even when his body began screaming for release.  Punches from holographic representations of people hurt just as much ones from real humans, and being judo-thrown around the room by them is just about as pleasant.  Still, the pain is all worth it due to the knowledge he gained from the experience.  While training can never truly duplicate reality, it did at least give Isaac an idea of what to expect.

He then glances at the phone he placed on the left side of his bed.  He forgot he brought it until he checked his coat pockets for any fragile thing he might have carried with him before going off in the training center.  Isaac grabs it and decides to make a call.  He dials the number and waits, then after a few moments, he gets a hello from his little brother, Gabriel.

"Hey, just called to check up on things.  Everything alright?"

Two seconds of silence, and then, "HOLY SHIT IT'S YOU!"

Isaac almost recoiled at the loudness of his sibling's response.  It's fine that Gabe is excited to hear from his older brother, but he didn't need to yell.  "Not so loud, man," Isaac replied and then added in a half-serious manner, "And watch the language."

"Sorry, sorry," he said with a chuckle.  "I just didn't think I'd hear from you again."

"What, you think I'd die or something?" Isaac replied jokingly, but with just a tinge of incredulity.

"Nonono, it's just that I thought you'd be too busy being a superhero and all to make a call."

"I'll never be too busy to talk to family, Gabe.  Anyway, how is mom?  You yourself sound fine to me."  Truth be told, he didn't care that much for his mother but he might as well pretend to care.

"Oh, she's fine, I guess.  I'm sure she's worried about you though, she definitely looks a bit more stressed than usual."
Isaac doubted that, but then said, "Well, don't add to it by neglecting your own work.  You've been doing well in school, right?"

"Oh come _on_, I don't need two moms," Gabriel responded in a light mocking tone.  "I'm doing alright, don't worry.  What about you though?  How's being a big shot hero?"

"I'm far from a 'big shot', little brother.  But I've done my part to help and I just did a pretty intense close quarters combat training regimen."

"Oh wow, is it like some hero bootcamp there too?  Besides, I thought you didn't need that since you're psychic and all."

Isaac took some time to think about this.  He actually doesn't know what kind of scheduled exercises, if any, come up at the base.  He did just recently arrive here, relative to most of the others.  "Well, I'm really not sure, that training is just something I chose to do myself," he said.  "I don't think it's a good idea to rely too much on one thing."

"I guess that makes sense.  Just be careful and don't be too hard on yourself, I know you can be like that."

"You know me too well," he replied with a smile.  "And I promise I won't do anything that would put me in too much danger.  I'll check back again sometime, alright?"

"Okay.  Later, big bro."

"Later."

Isaac felt less tired already.  It was nice talking to family and it eased whatever stress he might have felt for whatever is ahead.  If only he can talk to these other team members as well.  He never really interacted with them and Isaac wants a sense of they're like so he can better blend in among them.  Well, that time will come soon enough, he thinks.


----------



## Platinum (Dec 26, 2013)

*A Common Tragedy
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven​*
"Hurry up you lazy bastard!", Rachel 'Coldfront' Rodan shouted as she flung open the restaurant's back door. It took what felt like forever for Raspi to waddle his way out into the alley. She managed to get him about a quarter way down the alley before a loud scream caused her to instinctively turn back. What she saw was an injured man, clutching his stomach, stumble and fall to the floor. 

"Oh god help me!", the man pleaded, his eyes wild with fear. " I'm hurt. I'm hurt really fucking bad!"

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. 

"What the hell are you doing?!", Raspi yelled angrily as he pulled Rachel forward. "Your only duty is to protect me, and don't forget that." 

She took a few cautious steps away before the man cried out again. 

"Oh god please", he whimpered. "I-i don't think i'm going to make it. I got family, k-kids. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." 

Raspi looked at here indignantly but she had already decided that this person needed her help. 

"Don't worry", she said soothingly as she approaching the injured man as he slowly rose to his feet. "I can help you. Just show me where you were hurt." 

Coldfront was too preoccupied thinking of how to help the injured man to think of anything else. As she approached the man and got in close, she didn't see his left arm subtly move down his side, and didn't even see the blade slide in between her ribs once, and then again, in quick succession. 

"Do you want to know the true tragedy of this situation?", the still disguised Noel Bellerose remarked dispassionately as he wrapped his arm around her neck to bring her in close. Coldfront didn't react, still in shock at what had just happened to her. 

"You died protecting a man you fucking _despised_. A loathsome piece of trash that you gave your life for, all because an organization that cares nothing for you as a person told you to do so."

"No", Coldfront softly protested as blood began to pool in her mouth. 

"Yes", Noel affirmed. "It is a tragedy all too common; you wanted to do some sort of good in this miserable, pathetic world. But in the end, you were the lapdog of an uncaring paramilitary bureaucrat who assigned you to shovel human refuse from one shitpile to the other until you were broken and in need of replacement."

"I won't die here", Coldfront replied as defiance and anger began to simmer within her.

"You already have", Noel continued unphased. "T.A.N.K. has never cared about any individual man or woman; never will either. You will be a statistic in the daily newspaper and forgotten shortly after. Never remembered, never mourned. All because you had childlike fantasies of being the hero."

"No!", she roared as she pushed Noel back and assumed a fighting stance. "I am _not_ dying today, especially not to some two-bit hitman like you!"

Noel couldn't help but enjoy the moment. "And there it is! The primal will to live." Noel had a bemused look on his face as his form shimmered into another of his disguises. "Why don't you show me the strength of your resolve if you want to cling to this empty life of yours so dearly?" 

Out of the corner of his eye Noel noticed his target lumbering down the alley in a desperate attempt to escape. He quickly drew his pistol and shot him in the foot mid-step. Raspi yelled and screamed as he collapsed to the ground clutching his wound. 

"You aren't going anywhere Raspi.", Noel cooed. "Not until this is over."


----------



## Island (Dec 26, 2013)

Baylee Allard - _Christmas_
Neptune City

---










​
?Man, its Christmas time _already_??

?It feels like yesterday that we beat Havoc and saved the world.?

I walked out into the common room with my backpack and one of those rolling suitcases that everybody seems to have, ready to leave for Christmas. One would think that super heroes didn?t get time off, but apparently, we were classified as federal employees, and as federal employees, guaranteed the same holidays off as everybody else. These holidays included Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as a bunch of others like President?s Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans? Day. As a rule of thumb, my dad told me that if the mailman wasn?t delivering, then I wasn?t obligated to fight crime, though, apparently, the law also classified us like fire fighters, police officers, and other individuals who were required to be on-call at any given time. Nevertheless, we got the day off, and I was packed and ready to head home with my father for Christmas dinner at the Allard residence.

Kevin stood in the middle of the common room with two full backpacks, another two suitcases, and an additional three luggage bags full of clothes and miscellaneous necessities. What he thought were necessities, I couldn?t even begin to imagine, but I suspected that he thought that things like his miniature stereo system and his Xbox 360 were included in all of that. Still, I didn?t feel like nagging him. Even he deserved peace on Christmas, regardless of how misconstrued his ideas of _?packing light?_ were. My father didn?t feel the same way, unfortunately, and I saw the middle-aged man shaking his head in disappointment, looking like he was ready to rectify the situation before Kevin left with half of his bedroom.

I intervened before my father could say anything, ?You guys ready??

?Yes, ma?am.? Kevin stated before turning his attention to my father. ?Oh yeah, I don't say this often, but, uh, well, thanks. Thanks again for inviting me over, Mista A.?

I could feel my father?s disappointment at being called that, but I figured he had gotten used to it by now. Kevin had been calling him that ever since they first met, and he gave no indication of stopping. Even when my father vocalized his disapproval, usually by arguing that he was our boss, the Director of T.A.N.K.?s Neptune City division, it went through one ear and out the other. About five minutes later, Kevin would be back to calling him _?Mista A?_. Even in the field, Kevin would refer to him by some kind of nickname. Instead of Lt. Justice, it would be refer to him as _?Big J?_ or simply as _?LJ?_.

My father shook his head but nevertheless smiled. ?Of course, it?s no problem.?

With his aunt in the hospital, Kevin had nobody to spend Christmas with, and as the months rolled by, we became Kevin?s only family. It started with the group Thanksgiving we had two years ago where everybody and their families joined us here at the base. That night, we learned about Kevin's aunt and how he was being unofficially raised by his butler, Jeffery. My father told him that he and everybody else on the team were part of the family and the he was more than welcome to join us whenever he wanted. Unfortunately, Kevin opted out of last Christmas, and we had another group Thanksgiving this year, so this was the first real holiday he was joining us for.

?Say, what?s everybody else up to?? He made conversation as we walked toward the elevator.

?I think they all left already, but?? I recounted.

?Aiden and Ryan went home.? I listed. ?Riley wanted to stay here, and I really don?t know where Lillian ran off to??

I didn?t mention Alex, and Kevin didn?t ask. We all knew where he was and what he was doing. In the past year, his father became busier and busier, leaving for Italy on business trips and not returning for weeks at a time. That usually left Alex alone on the holidays, so he?d often join Megan and her family, starting with our first Easter when Megan invited him on that Easter Egg hunt. One would think that somebody with precognition would be good with an Easter Egg hunt, but apparently not. Still, it made for a hilarious story and marked the beginning of Alex spending his holidays with the Brown family rather than by himself?

Until this year, of course.

?Go on ahead. I?ll be with you two shortly,? my father stated, opting to stay behind when we entered the elevator to the surface.

---​
?Merry Christmas.? He whispered.

Alex sat on his knees by Megan?s bedside, clenching her hand tightly and whispering softly at her unconscious body. After a couple more moments, he stood, still keeping her hand firmly clasped between his. He looked over the young woman, probably wondering to himself where everything went wrong, how things ended up like this, and most importantly, how things could have gone differently. One could see the regret and sorrow in his eyes, and if he or she looked closely enough, he or she could probably see a twinkle in the corner of his eye, though he would never admit to anyone that he had shed any tears over the whole situation.

?I?ll find a way to help you,? He stated aloud, ?I don?t care where I have to go or what I have to do. I?m going to save you, Megan.?

?Son,? my father approached from behind.

?Mr. Allard,? Alex jumped, apparently caught off-guard by my father?s intrusion. ?I wasn?t expecting you here. Is something wrong??

?Come home with us tonight, Alex.? He got right to the point. ?Trust me, there?s no use regretting the past and wondering what you could have done differently. There?s also no use making these promises over and over again to yourself. You know what you want to do, and I?m sure she knows what you want to do. Until you make that promise a reality, continue living your life. Enjoy the company you have, and spend your time the way she?d want you to. It?s Christmas, son. Nobody should spend it like this, not you, not anyone. It?s not good for you, and, again, I?m sure she?d want you doing something you enjoy rather than being here.?

Alex remained silent.

My father approached, placing a welcoming hand on his shoulder and motioning for him to follow. ?Don?t think that you?re abandoning her, son, because you?re not. You made a promise, but that doesn?t mean you need to spend every moment of your life working to fulfill that promise. Come enjoy Christmas with your friends.?

Again, Alex remained silent.

As my father turned away, however, Alex began to follow, not saying a word.

---​
Alex, Kevin, my father, and I sat together in my father?s living room, enjoying one another?s company and celebrating Christmas. Although it wasn?t officially Christmas, I was sometime after eleven, and we were all up, so we were spending the time discussing life, the universe, and everything. Previously, I had spent the last couple hours putting up decorations, including two extra stockings for Alex and Kevin. On the mantle right above the fireplace hung four of them, one for each of us. I picked mine out a long time ago, and it was a tattered bright green stocking. Kevin chose a bright blue stocking, and my father chose his favorite dark blue one. Meanwhile, we hung up Alex?s sheathe, much to his protest, as we thought that it fit him better than some smelly old stocking.

About twenty minutes later?

?And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying?? Kevin paused, clearing his thought.

?Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.? He concluded, shutting the Holy Bible and placing it gently back on the mantle.

?I didn?t know you were religious?? Alex commented.

?Well, yeah.? Kevin stated. ?That?s why I?m only the _prince_. There?s only one true king, and I?m not him.?

?That?? Alex must not have known what to say. ?I _guess_ that makes sense.?

?Sorta.?

?It was a wonderful reading, Kevin. Thank you.? My father stated, ?Now, if only my daughter had that kind of zeal.?

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I turned back to my previous project of putting the finishing touches on our Christmas tree. We spent the last couple weekends doing minor modifications to the tree. We put it up the week after Thanksgiving, then put on the lights, then the tinsel, and finally the ornaments. Our ornaments, however, varied wildly, ranging from traditional Christian ornaments to Santa Claus to ones of the team in varying super hero poses. Apparently, people thought that Alexander Fortis belonged in the same category as Jesus Christ, Santa Claus, and Mickey Mouse and therefore deserved a spot on their Christmas trees. Though we all thought it was somewhat silly, we likewise couldn?t help entertain the fact that we had ornaments of ourselves on our tree.

?You know,? my father announced, ?I think I heard Santa?s sleigh across the street. The three of you should hurry up and get to bed before he skips over us.?

?C?mon, Mista A, we all know Santa doesn?t exist.? Kevin answered.

?And why not?? My father replied. ?You shoot lasers from your eyes, and Alex can see into the future. Surely a fat man can deliver presents from a flying sleigh.?

?Yeah, and I bet space is inhabited by faceless gray men, right?? I interjected.

?Now that?s just silly.? My father?s face suddenly became serious.

We all laughed.

?Mr. Allard,? Alex spoke up after the laughter died down. ?Thanks for inviting me. I appreciate it.?

?Yeah, Mista A.? Kevin agreed. ?You rock.?

?Oh, it's no problem.? He stated. ?Besides, it?s Christmas!?

?Merry Christmas, everyone!?


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 26, 2013)

Brad Stroker-The Phoenix and the Bat Part 4
​
A loud gunshot could be heard outside of the restaurant causing Heat Major to turn his head toward the back where the sound came from. "Rachel ?" Shadow Mask took the moment to grab a fork and fling it at Heat Major's eye. "ARGHHHHH AH !" Heat made a loud yelp as the fork stabbed his left eye. Before he could do anything Shadow Mask ran up and drop kicked him into a large fish tank in the middle of the restaurant. 

"I think it's time I pay you back for nearly blasting a hole in a my goddamn stomach." Heat Major jumped back up and reached for Shadow Mask's helmet with a glowing hand. Shadow Mask dodged it effortlessly. Heat continued to swing at Shadow Mask to no avail, he threw an over head punch at Shadow Mask but he back-flipped over a circular table. The punch burned a clean hole into the table. 

"Hot stuff, but without that speed backing you you'll never hit me."_Dynamite Ai- _Shadow Mask backhanded Heat into a booth. He grabbed a plate and smashed it over Heat Major's head. He then grabbed him and threw him out a large glass window next to the entrance of the restaurant out into the street. 

Shadow Mask calmly walked out into the street. He stomped on Heat's neck killing him instantly. "Trash." 

Shadow Mask looked to the left of the restaurant where the street led into the alley. He ran towards it and looked down the alley. 

He saw Coldfront in a fighting stance in front of a regular looking human holding a gun but there was definite aura around him. Shadow Mask instinctively knew he was dangerous. And farther down the alley way he saw Raspi's crying out in pain he had been shot in the foot. Shadow Mask figured that was the origin of the gunshot. 

"So there was a party and I wasn't invited ?"


----------



## kluang (Dec 27, 2013)

Rinoa Lockheart

They have made it back to the headquarters and like she suspected,  Leroy wasn't impressed by what they did.  They spend two hours,  lectured by Leroy on proper hero conduct but Squall keeps cutting him with his view that the heroes must clean the city without worrying about the cost of building or whatever damage that occur if life can be saved. 

Leroy and Squall's argument drags the lecture to two hours.  They ends their argument wirh Leroy overpowering Squall in authority and attitude.  They left the room with a fuming Leroy and Squall who just got owned.

Both mercenary returns to their respective room and hit the showers.


----------



## Platinum (Dec 29, 2013)

*In the Ashes
- Noel Bellerose: West Saint Haven​*
Noel could feel his left eye twitch in irritation as the kid who had thoroughly fucked up his day appeared on the other side of the alley. Interrupting at the least opportune time appeared to be this one's super power. 

"You", Noel spoke as he addressed his newest guest. "My feckless hitman friend, can you not see me and the lady are in the midst of a climatic clash of wills?", Noel waved his pistol dismissively in the boy's direction. "You lost. Your moronic approach has only served to make things more complicated for people who actually know how to be subtle. Leave and lick your wounds; leave me to my business." 

"How about you leave and I won't be forced to paint the pavement with your brain matter!", the annoyance fired back. "I just got done snapping the neck of a T.A.N.K. cape, how the fuck do you think pissing me off will end for you?"

Coldfront recoiled in horror at his words. "W-what did you say?"

"Honestly I was expecting more from you two.", the intruder continued; his every word dripping with taunting mockery. "He was trash, and got taken out like trash." 

Coldfront's eyes were wild with fury; Noel could almost feel the way it reverberated through the air. "That was my _brother_ you bastard!", Rachel roared as she charged at her brother's killer. 

"Such senseless violence", a voice sighed. Noel turned to see Vincent leaning against the alley's wall, watching a quick exchange of blows between the combatants. 

"I agree", Noel replied as he moved closer to his friend. "This job was not supposed to get this loud. A dead cape will attract too much attention from the wrong sorts. Let's make sure it's not us bearing the brunt of that attention... This battle won't last much longer, two to three minutes at most. We need to consider our options."

"Well I have some interesting information about the boy", vincent remarked as began shaping another crystalline needle with his blood magic. "The cape bled him before he died, and I was able to get a sample.... it's odd to say the least."

That piqued Noel's interest, "Odd how?"

"Well I am not an expert in this type of thing", Vincent began, obviously a bit confused himself. "But his blood is tainted. I would guess a case of vampirism, but I've never touched vampire blood before so..."

"A vampire?", Noel asked incredulously. This city really had everything, but if this was true.... it certainly made things easier. "Well if he is a vampire then that is a bad stroke of luck for him... I am going to get in close, I need you to strike when an opportunity presents itself."

"That I can do." Vincent positioned his formed needles in the spaces between his fingers, and then levitated them in the air in front of him. 

"One more thing", Noel added as he began to list off his orders to his friend. "I want the woman left alive, so don't risk a hit on anywhere but the extremities. The kid too, we need him to take the heat for this. Aim to disable but not cripple. Tell Luna to not fire unless he presses the issue. After they are both down, stop her wounds from bleeding and then get out of her immediately, you need the head start more than I do." 

"Sparing lives _and_ performing medical treatment?", Vincent almost chuckled at this bizarre change of pace for himself. "You aren't going soft on us are you Noel?"

Noel replied to the jab with a simple shrug of the shoulders. "I don't strive for senseless murder Revenant, only profitable murder." He withdrew his blade, The Seraph's Edge, from its sheathe and gripped it in his left hand. The Seraph's Edge, Noel had come to discover, was no ordinary knife. What he initially assumed was just a worthless gift from a sergeant he once served under turned out to be something so much more than a stylish mantelpiece. The blade (appropriately enough) shone with an almost blistering intensity when he channeled his light through it, and something told Noel that a vampire wouldn't much appreciate such a weapon stabbing them in the chest if it came down to that. 

Breaking into a sprint, Noel began the process of generating, and concentrating light in the palm of his right hand. When he got in close enough for the two to turn around and acknowledge him as a threat, he thrust his hand forward and released the light in the form of a searing flash. He banked right and punched the blinded Coldfront straight in the stomach and neck just as a barrage of needles sailed by on their path to the vampire; one in each shoulder, one in his side, and one final needle in his left calf. Instinctively, the dazed vampire fell back and rolled to increase the distance between himself and his attackers. 

Wasting no time, Noel grabbed the woman by the arm and threw her to the ground. Pinning her down with a knee, he took the moment to impart some final words of wisdom. "I was like you once, a soldier working for people that never truly cared about those around them. My trust was betrayed, and on that day my life burned down around me." Painful memories began to flood back into his mind, and Noel shook his head to keep them at bay. "Like you today, my life ceased to be; I was truly and irrevocably killed... But much like the proud phoenix, I rose from the ashes of tragedy. I discovered that my life had only just begun, that I could be so much more than I was if I only saw the world for what it truly was. I am sorry that this happened to you, but it has happened all the same. It is up to you now to find some meaning in the ashes." In a swift motion, Noel brought the pommel of his knife down on the woman's skull, knocking her out immediately. As Vincent came rushing to administer aid, Noel took several steps ahead to guard the two as the vampire began slowly rising to it's feet, still obviously dazed. 

"I am done playing around kid!", Noel declared, he pointed the Seraph's Edge in the vampires direction and began to channel light into the hilt, making it shine. "Up above", he jabbed into the sky with the blade, "is a not so friendly woman with an S-26 Peregrine anti-material rifle trained right on your skull. Make a move, and you're dead. Right in front of you is a man with a dagger shining like Uriel's flaming sword. Make a move, and you're dead. Finally, we have a blood mage who can reverse any vampiric tricks you might posses. You are hopelessly outmatched, and outgunned. Give up on collecting the reward on this hit lad, and live to see another day."

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## KizaruTachio (Dec 31, 2013)

Brad Stroker-The Phoenix and the Bat Part 5
​

"You idiot I don't want a goddamn reward !" Shadow Mask spat out. His skin blistering from the light attack of the hitman's knife. Shadow Mask wondered how it had managed to effect him, it's not like all types of light hurt him only Sunlight. But he was reminded of his fight with cupids arrow and how his attacks  also did extra damage. (Must be of some sort of mystical nature or something.)

"As if I would kill for money like some mafia trash. I only kill Madeci and people who get in my way. You should let me know if you're either right now and if you are you should probably kill me now."

"I'll have you know I'm not mafia, let alone Madeci. Now Vampire if you don't want the reward state your purpose before I end you." Shadow Mask could feel his anger swelling up but he knew he was a in a bad spot he had to be a little more delicate he figured. "I want answers and that fat snitching guap over there has them." "What kind of answers ?" "What is this 21 questions ?" "WHAT KIND OF ANSWERS ?!" Shadow Mask grit his teeth till his mouth started to bleed. "Madeci plans you asshole ! I need to know where to hit them the hardest and fastest." "Interesting. Go ahead then, if you try anything my associate on the roof is going to make the inside of that helmet look like the inside of a jelly doughnut."  

Shadow Mask knelt over to Raspi who was holding his foot. "I'm not telling you anything goddammit ! Stay the fuck away from me !" "Sir sir calm down I'm posing as a villain right now so we can take care of this group behind me. Coldfront and Heat Major are in on the whole thing." "Really ?" "Of course Heat Major is alive and well he's waiting inside the restaurant to ambush  and the drop of the dime." "Yo-you're lying." "Sir I promise you. I will do everything in my power to get you to safety." "What about that burn on your side ? " "Make-up sir. But TANK has reason to believe that they are working with the Madeci and they need info right now that could be of any importance." "That doesn't make an-"


"Chop,chop I need to get this money and go home Shadow Mask. Another minute and I'll just take your body along to see how much I can get for a Vampire cadaver" Whoever the person holding the knife was was getting impatient. "Listen sir time is of the utmost importance." "Ahh I think the 3rd son of the Madeci is experimenting with Neptune Material, he's trying to make a Super Powered army of mafia. I think their operation is about 2 miles out from here. Is that good ?" "Thank you sir."

Shadow Mask got up walked away. "He's all yours." As soon as he finished that sentence Raspi got a bullet through the head. "We'll we're out of here. Oh and when T.A.N.K comes don't mention us." "Oh I don't plan being here when they arrive." "About that..." A net came out of nowhere and wrapped Shadow Mask up in it. "Capture type bullets, VERY expensive. We need someone to take the fall for all the commotion today. No hard feelings." Shadow Mask struggling to get out of the net stared at the man with the dagger. "I have the scent of all of you. After I deal with the Madeci I'm going to make sure I kill each and everyone of you bastards as slowly as possible you cocky fuck." The man merely smiled. "I look forward to it." They got away in a van and the sniper fled off jumping from roof top to roof top.


----------



## Crimson Dragoon (Jan 8, 2016)

Shadow Mask struggled in vain against the net which entraps him. All his strength and rage is rendered useless. Even superpowers can be negated if the technology is advanced enough, and whatever materials comprised this net most definitely applies as such. When it was clear he couldn't ever get free, Shadow Mask merely sat still and conserved his energy, fantasizing about how he'll tear apart the people responsible. Waiting was never Shadow Mask's strong suit though, and he'd likely be waiting for a long time...


----------



## Bringer (Jan 8, 2016)

*Ryan Williams*

The young adult landed on the ground, his feet making a crater upon impact. "Hah, no force fields are holding me back." While in containment in whatever facility Ryan was put in by Alex Fortis, the raven haired superhero had trained for three years in that cell! Everyday he would do 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats, and run 10 kilometers. After that intense training, he easily shattered through the barrier, and his punch was so stronk he also wiped out the entire facility. Wait... Wasn't Megan kept there? Oh well, she was in a coma, that's pretty much dead. 

Then he saw it, a dude in a net. "You're stupid." Shadow Mask was then kicked by Ryan, and the kick was so powerful that Shadow Mask ceased to exist. The young adult whistled as he walked on. Then suddenly there stood a obstacle in his way. 

Bloody Mary.

"Honk! Honk! Honk!" Baylee... I mean Bloody Mary ran at Ryan, but before she could reach him Ryan's head was lopped off. "Honk!" Baylee exclaimed.

It was none other than Alex Fortis. "If anyone is humiliating Bringer's character, it's me." He wiped the blood from his sword.

Suddenly a raven haired girl descended from the sky on a glowing white disk made out of energy. "Ryan! You killed Ryan."

"Yeah, no one liked him. Matter of fact no one likes you either Riley." Alex said with disgust in his voice. Such a terrible character.

"O." Was all Riley said before making a sword construct, and committing Seppuku. 

"Honk! Honk!" Bloody Mary roared at Alex. She wanted to kill Bringer's characters. 

"You're dad's dead." Alex rebutted to the... Whatever color haired girl. Baylee was blonde, but Bloody Mary had dyed her hair, and Bringer doesn't remember what color it was. 

Suddenly a grey haired girl came into the scene. "Alex, you're dad's dead too." 

"Stay out of this, Lillian." Alex said with a dangerous look in his eyes.

"Suit yourself." She said before walking off. 

Kevin and Masaru didn't show up, because their dead.

Aiden didn't show up because he has a date... With his computer. 

"So, are we going to fight, or nah?" Alex pulled out a second sword.

"HONK HONK!" Bloody Mary got in a defensive stance. 

Suddenly, electricity filled the air. Alana was a fan of Ryan. Alana didn't like how Alex had killed Ryan. To Alana this was bad. Alana surged electricity into Alex and Baylee's brains, and they died. Alana then used electricity to bring Ryan back to life. ALana best in the world.


----------

