Rift Hound - Maroni's Restaurant

Joshua attempted to steal a quick glance through the storefront window, but it seemed to be covered with ice.

"Shit." he muttered to himself. It must have happened when he crossing the street or something, but it made sense. Whoever was in there didn't want people to be able to see in, get out or to take shots at them. Would the ice affect his phasing through the wall? It shouldn't, but there was no way of knowing for sure. Taking a deep breath, Joshua quickly thrust his head in and out of the wall.

The ice didn't affect him, but the action was so quick that he couldn't see much. Tables, chairs, people, the big insect that he saw earlier, a man and a few women. They had to be the hostage takers, they were the only ones standing over everyone, but apart from that he couldn't tell much else. Hell, he couldn't even recall their hair colour! He cursed silently under his breath. He was panicked and probably making all the wrong moves, but what should he do? He could open a portal in the alleyway, phase through the wall under a table ad start teleporting people out?
No. The portal would close the moment he went intangible and he couldn't teleport anyone out if he couldn't see the destina-

The restaurant shook suddenly, as if a localized quake had just struck the building. Where they attacking hostages?! Time was running out! He'd been assuming this was a hostage situation, but this could just as easily be a simple massacre! Without thinking, Joshua scurried around the side of the building, phasing through the wall and rushing under the nearest table. Then he realised what he'd just done.

Fuck that was dumb! Now I'm no better off than the hostages!

From under the table, Joshua maintained his intangibility and held his breath, hoping he hadn't been spotted.

Marconi Estate

"You did what you had to do Sixgun, but I'm going to have to leave you in some other capable hands, there's a situation that needs my intervention," Pariah signed off and Sixgun was left to his own devices, only his observation team for backup now.

The Road Kings loaded up while Fontana and a squad of mob soldiers entered an SUV, the other mercenaries getting inside their own vehicles. They drove through the streets of Chicago, where sirens could be heard all over as the police scrambled to respond to the ongoing crises. Anybody on the streets was hurrying their way back home or indoors out of fear of what could happen if the League failed to hold the prisoners inside. Soon, they made their ways to the seedier parts of the Windy City and then Fontana's vehicle stopped, the gangsters disembarking.

The group of criminals lead by Fontana advanced until they were on a street sloping down a hill looking over a the depilated remains of an auto-garage with windows and doors barred. Fontana nodded and said, "Doesn't look like much but that used to be one of the biggest meth labs in the city. Now the freaks took it over and use it make their potions or some shit like that. They poached some of our men so expect some guys with guns, maybe a super or two. Nothing too bad but we take this down and that's a big hit to their operations. Witchfinder here is our Sniper. The rest of you head on it. I'll observe from the back. Keep the meter running. You're in charge Ross." There was no sign of anyone else either inside or outside the garage but that didn't mean they weren't there.

The Prison

Zenith and the heavy-hitters kept pounding away at the monsters, cutting a swath through their numbers and holding nothing back. St. Michael's transport overlooked the prison and the Angel nodded at Abaddon, "Well we'll have a talk about that won't we. I recommend you stay out here. Your powers won't be diminished and you'll get to cut loose all you want. Arachnid you should assist the assault teams." Arachnid nodded and jumped out, rolling in the air and landing on an inmate's back in the courtyard. Michael flew out and began assisting the heavy-hitters in their assault his light and sword cutting through monstrous enemies with terrifying ease. The League's powerhouses were making a good accounting of themselves and the enemy horde was already down a fifth of it's size. In the skies League flyer's stopped inmates from taking to the sky, while the VTOL's shredded any that managed to slip the net.

Killhoy's grenade took out a fair amount of monsters and her pistol shredded through several others. Unfortunately being a pistol, anything less than a headshot or other crippling shot did little against the bigger and burlier creatures. One such creature shrieked at her, pot belly bursting with green blood and smacked her onto the ground, lifting a foot to pound her perfectly human cranium into mush before a steel fist popped through it's chest, holding a black heart in it's hand. The monster dropped and Chrome stood over her in full steel form. He picked her up with one hand and yelled, "Are you out of your damn mind Rookie! This is no place for squishy C-lIsters! Get the hell out of here before some monster rips out your guts. Help your teammates!" He turned and yelled punching another zombie's head into paste and began ripping through another horde of monsters their attacks bouncing right off his steel skin.

Hot Rod's punch sent Scorch flying and slammed him into a wall. This was pretty familiar for the pyrokinetic, except this time he had hit his head pretty good. Scorch slide down the wall in a limp pile, Morph reforming and nodding at Hot Rod before getting back into the figt sliming inmates together and sticking them in place. Boomer got shocked and he managed to cry out, "COME ON!" he yelled in pain before Red-eye hit him with a beam that chopped his arm off at the elbow, simultaneously severing and cauterizing the wound. The shock and tazing pretty much made him faint right then and there. The combined assaults of the new arrivals managed to relieve the handful of guards and draw the attention of forty or so inmates who all charged at Light, Flashbolt, and Scion with knives, clubs, and pistols those with guns firing erratically while others threw molotov cocktails. Magnetar fired his marbles through several inmate's heads and he was in the clear.

Brick was still twisting Daredevil's body laughing at his agony when he saw two heroes take down his two fellow villains. He grunted when he felt the bat hit him, dropping him to a knee, and Daredevil dropped on the ground. Brick turned around and gritted his teeth, "Bitch that stung. Come here!" He raised his hands and slammed them down in her direction hoping to turn her into a mangled bag of bones and snappy clothing. The bruiser that Olympia had slashed was dead, killed by her blade, but the aerokinetic was very much alive. He pushed off the bruiser with a burst of air and turned towards Hot Rod. His name was Vacuum for a reason. He took the air around Hot Rod and started sucking it away, pulling Oxygen from the speedster's own lungs slowly but surely while he advanced on him and cackled, "Looks like I'll bag my hero today. How do you feel man? Little short of breath? It's ok you'll be dead soon." Twister saw Volt take down Boomer and grabbed Bullseye by the leg, blocking another arrow with his other tentacle. He threw her at Volt and started running at the hero.

Maroni's

Golem's gambit paid off somewhat. When the floor collapsed beneath five of the villains three of them fell. The teleporter and his companions fell, chunks of brick falling with them until they all vanished. On reflex the acrobatic woman had flipped backward and the phaser had shifted to an intangible state. The young boy in his seat opened his eyes until they could go no wider. The phaser tracked the line of torn floor to Abe's booth and snarled flying at him, while the acrobatic woman flipped onto a family table and threw a flurry of knives at him.

Down below Bishop their leader was consulting with the other villains when the sound was heard. He gestured at Shrieker and Permafrost, the audiokinetic and cryokinetic to go upstairs when their teleporter reappeared. Bishop snarled, "What happened?" Flasher gritted his teeth, "Some dumbass seismic or terrakinetic collapsed the floor under us. Took out Ink and Vertigo. Almost flattened some civvies too." Bishop nodded, "Alright start getting the family out. You six go help," Six men with assault rifles ascended the stairs after their bosses. Flasher touched Marconi's wife and son and they disappeared, the gunslinger, girl, and insect man remaining with Bishop. They hadn't seen Rift Hound and he'd probably want to keep it that way.

Atrium

Pariah stared at MC, "We'll use you to gate in myself and our strongest when the ward is down and they've detonated the charges." Pariah looked at Killshade and threw the implant at him, "Here. We usually surgically implant these but you're going to have to swallow it. It'll allow total access to whatever you see." The bag of mini-explosives went next. Pariah shook his head at Ocean Warrior, "You're too obvious a threat they'll watch you like a hawk. You'll gate in with the assault team," Pariah nodded at Zaphkiel, "You'll be part of that team."

He looked over the crowd, "I need someone who doesn't look dangerous. Someone more subtle. Anyone who can give me eyes from the outside looking in would be needed as well."

Finding the atrium had been surprisingly difficult, but Petya had made it in time, blending in with the group of recruits. Killshade was already here, and she sent a grin and a short wave towards him, not really caring if the other noticed. She was behind him, after all. He had no chance of noticing her.

”Shifter volunteering or whatever!” the shapeshifter raised her hands in the air, pushing through a few other recruits in order to be seen better. There were already quite a few people willing to join in, and a lot of them seemed to know what they were doing. Killshade had spoken of multiple stealth missions, the fish guy just seemed like he knew what he was doing and the weird... blue energy creature riddled his speech with odd words, enough so that Petya just had to believe that he knew what he was talking about. Magic was something the she would never understand.

Still, Petya did have her own tricks, and she was undeniably confident in them. ”I don't look dangerous! I can even look pathetic, if you want me to,” she continued without pause, seeing her chance. She sent Pariah a grin, all the letting her body change, stretching and shrinking as the androgynous face and body disappeared. A wide eyed, pitiful looking man took it's place instead. The slow change was more for show than nothing else. Nothing impressed people more than a slow transformation. You could see all the nasty details, after all.
”Is this too much? I think this might be too much,” Shifter finished, her voice now squeaky but undeniably masculine.

Doppler:
Doppler, after following Psion, was on board and busy inside the VTOL. Benny was changing clothes. Why? Well, he has to have exposed skin to actually fight. Stretchy pants were also a must, but you'll see why momentarily. Now, Doppler is practically naked except for a pair of stretch pants.

From the VTOL he sprinted out, trying to reach a speed that his body could not quite reach, but forcing himself to run as fast as humanly possible. Making his way to the center of the fray he quickly spun around, trying to spot the best powerset that he could steal easily.

And then his mouth began to water, there was a perfect specimen. Usually he was opposed to physical powers, but this one was particularly strong. Already he had a super held aloft and was attempting to break him. "Oh yes, I don't even know your name but you're mine!" Benny dashed through the crowd and ducked under a few projectiles. In a beeline for the huge monster of a man known as Brick.

Ten yards.

Six yards.

Three yards.

Come on! Contact!

Frantically reaching for Brick's forearm, Benny leaped forward. Thrusting both of his arms forward, attempting to grab hold of his extended limb. "Give me! Give me your powers!" Fortunately, Benny's greed outweighs his fear most of the time. This allows him to do total flip-flops with his personality when he is particularly enamored with a powerset.

One:
"I need someone who doesn't look dangerous. Someone more subtle. Anyone who can give me eyes from the outside looking in would be needed as well."

Just about now, One seemed to fit that bill pretty well. "One volunteers." She raised her hand and tried to elevate her voice, trying to get their attention. "One volunteers, One can help." The fact that should couldn't see inside of that building was bothering her, she doesn't like being unable to see something. It's uncomfortable when the universe is accessible to you, and then suddenly there's a spot that you can't see. "Please, One wants to help. Please?"

Nikki Biyung, The Swarm Queen.

Today was the big day! Nikki was all excited to be here and become a big shot hero! By excited, she means really, really nervous. She showed up in costume because isn't that how they do things here? Holding two bags with all of her belongings she had, and a backpack. Normally the mass of arthropods would kill each other, but Nikki was keeping them at bay. They were less of messy mass of a few hundred bugs that Nikki, and more of an organized hive. The moment she came inside the headquarters, she found herself a corner out of sight of everyone else, put her bags there, and started playing on her phone. Not comfortable with integrating herself with the League yet. She could have been meeting people. But, no. She was only intent on biding her time. However... she was watching them from a distance. Several ordinary house flies flew out of. Nothing really caught her eye... Until the little situation in the Common Room caught Nikki's eye. She called all the flies, and cockroaches she could to that one spot. Apparently one loony girl came into the Headquarters with a detonator threatening to blow them all to hell. Jesus. That made Nikki want to haul ass for the exit, since she interpreted it as a terrorist that wants to get into the HQ. Fortunately, it was merely a prank... a prank that could have gotten her killed. Yikes! Really...? They let maniacs and attention whores like that into the League? Well, at least Nikki knows she was let in because their standards are low. Heh.

Then a big announcement came along telling the league that there's two massive issues going on. A super villain prison break. Nice. And a hostage situation. Also nice. But before she knew it. Everyone was quickly being carted into VTOL aircrafts and sent away to handle either situation. Nikki had to decide what she was going to do... Maybe a hostage situation would be too much for a rookie like herself. The prison break sounds like something she would have more utility in. So, Nikki got on the nearest VTOL heading for the prison. Hoping that she won't have the shortest lived career in the history of the league.

Alright, she was here no more than a few minutes and is already getting carted off on a mission? Unexpected. She wanted to stay behind to get a 'feel' for the league. That bomb threat gave her a bit of view of everything. However, before she had time to think, the VTOL had landed and the doors had opened to reveal utter chaos. Monsters, supervillains, and normal criminals going fucking crazy. This was a bit much for Nikki... But this is what she signed up for. She slowly stepped off, looking around. Nikki didn't get too close to the action, she is a teenage girl after all.

Nikki still had her backpack full of creepy crawlies, she threw it on the ground and let the swarm come out. However, this wasn't too large of a swarm, and she had to reach out a bit to get some more. She summoned every insect within range. Might fuck up the ecosystem of this area, but she could easily put them back when she's done with them. Because bugs were small, and many were slow, they couldn't cover much distance. She had to rely on the likes of bees and hornets to carry them ahead.

In less than a few minutes, she had a somewhat larger swarm ready. The first thing that Nikki did was disperse her swarm to attack the targets. She had the non-poisonous bugs attack the human inmates. While reserving the dangerous ones for the beasts. Sheesh. This might not work, but here she goes! She had the bees carry poisonous spiders and sent them after the beasts. Dropping them onto the creature's faces. She had the poisonous spiders crawl up into the monster's orifices, and inject the more sensitive areas with poison.

Crap. She probably won't do too good against these creatures. Well, given that the briefing just said that supernatural powers and the like don't work here, Nikki might be the only person who could get inside the prison and back unhindered. As, instead of a personal power, she controls a massive horde of insectoid death. Going inside the prison is not a good idea, and this extended to everyone, especially if you're alone. But, Nikki could help the heroes with scouting. It might work somewhat better in her favor if she scouts the prison with. She ordered her swarm to retreat and called them back to herself.

Nikki sent the flying insects into the prison. Scouting around the cells... It was a few minutes before they were deep inside the halls of the prison. It was surprising that it was a clusterfuck in there. But, Nikki thanked herself because she wasn't in the thick of it. The swarm did it's best to scour the prison for anything of note.

Hot Rod was pleased with helping a fellow team member, and he hoped that would serve as inspiration for the newbies to try and work together. He was able to knock four more criminals into unconsciousness before the villain known Vacuum came on him with his ability to suck away the air around and Hot Rod attempted to run away but unfortunately slipped on a puddle of blood. He couldn't get away in time and the villain's generated vacuum sucked the oxygen out of the air which extinguished his flaming aura. Hot Rod began to cough as he was trying desperately to breath and was forced onto his knees.

Unless another hero came in to help, he would slip into unconsciousness and then possibly die from a lack of air. Shit! I could really use some help right now he thought to himself as he tried to move away from the villain to get out of the vacuum that was robing him of air to breath. He was running out of time and wondered if this was really going to be the way he go out of the hero business. Hot Rod guessed it was just bad luck, life was funny in that sort of way.

"Cut loose?! Hahaha, I never thought you of all the Leaguesters would be the one to tell me that!" Abaddon excitedly said as his claws and teeth took on an even sharper look. However, looking down below at the outer areas of the prison made his initial glee turn to annoyance and disappointment. There were few humans and metahumans for him to kill... no one to make pay for their crimes, just mindless golems and abominable creatures! Abaddon growled at Michael while slamming a button to to open the VTOL's door.

"Very funny Michael... you know, do me a favor and actually do your job as an angel of light by exterminating the filth the League has allowed to live!"

With a jump, Abaddon found himself flying through the air towards the prison, leaving a trail of quickly dissipating black smoke behind him. A terrifying screech caught the attention of the creatures and conjured beings down below, and right after one unfortunate abomination found itself being knocked off its prey and be torn apart instead. Abaddon held its head up to the rest and roared.

"Dealing with you inferior creatures won't even be a challenge!"

A trio of stone golems simultaneously rushed at Abaddon, who despite hearing their stomping footsteps, stood unmoving, even after a few more abominations joined in on the charge. The crimson streaks on his body glowed brightly as they drew closer and closer, and in a controlled burst of the Devourer's Wrath, all of his attackers were blasted backwards.

"Group charge? Oldest trick in the book."

Abaddon's body still glowed red after the blast. He glanced at the monsters that had attacked him. Most of them were dead, except for the golems. They were still alive and were already getting up, but the blue and purplish energy that flowed through their body was beginning to turn red. Their stone bodies began to erode, and soon enough they began to fall apart themselves the more they moved.

"Amateur conjurings..."

Now he started to bound on all fours as he pursued different kinds and many abominations still swarming the area. A pounce on one and it soon found itself being split in half. A lunge towards another, a shadowy arm blade down its throat. Many more methods were used to slaughter them relentlessly with some occasional pauses to take a few bites out of their bodies for fun. Abaddon spotted a group of men trying to hold their own against some monsters and quickly bounded to their location once he finished off the beasts attacking him.

Light was having a fun time, though with Light sucker punching an inmate out, along with the arrival of the rest of the League starting to make a presence, more villains broke off of trying to deal with the guards and turned on her and the other League members. A couple made a dash for her, one holding an oversized club, the other a bit scrawny but holding a gun. Not wanting to get shot, Light grabbed a nearby shield that a guard had dropped, the guards corpse under it, and raised it to deflect the bullet that was going at her oversized head. Not wanting to give him another moment, Light charged at him at incredible speeds, and while the guy with the club was able to dodge, the poor marksman got slammed, forcing him to drop the gun as well as knocking him a good distance. The club guy was no slouch though, and struck Light right on her shoulder, causing her to drop the shield as her arm was dislocated.

She spun around, moving with the hit and hitting the man with the side of her leg, causing him to bend over for a second. While spinning, Light got a glimpse of Hot Rod apparently having trouble with another villain, who from the looks of it, was sucking the air around Hot Rod away. "That can't be good." Light muttered to herself as she charged at the villain who was sucking the air away from Hot Rod, the club wielder missing a powerful downwards swing in the process that shattered the shield Light had borrowed. Light stopped just shy of the villain, and not caring much about honor, hit him in the kidney three times in quick succession, paused for a moment to reset her dislocated arm, then missed her next punch as the villain dodged out of the way, turning his attention to her instead. After all, she was the bigger threat being in his face like that, fists raised and ready to punch.

---

MC nodded, conjuring a small candy and tossing it at one of the squad members. The one who'd volunteered would probably be best off, after all, from what MC could tell, their energy didn't stay in one form for long. Though what they were going to do with the people holding the hostages, he didn't really know, all he knew is that it was going to be fun.

Killshade grabbed the device, then opened his mouth and swallowed it, then took the small explosives. For now he tucked them into a pocket on his belt, he would hide them somewhere else, later, after the meeting. His mind already going over ideas to where he would put them on himself. He was eager to get the mission going, he was interested in seeing his teammate's powers in full use, along with the enemy's.

Killshade scanned the crowd of League members who were going on the hostage mission alongside him, looking over every one of them in a non obvious way. He noticed Petya change her form to that of a weak man, definitely not someone threatening. Her power seemed very useful for this type of mission or really anything in general. The ability to change to somebody else in the blink of an eye could be used for any number of tasks.

SIXGUN

"Alrighty, gents, here's the plan," the man calling himself Fletcher Ross said contemplatively. "Witchfinder, I want you up somewhere high, you're our designated marksman. Mr. President," he said to the leader of the Road Kings, "why dontcha get up with him and watch his back. Don't need any nasty suspicious folks stealin' up on ya, right?" he said with a showy wink to Witchfinder.

"La Sombra, you stay here with the Road Kings and the rest of these goons. Stay outta sight and wait for my signal."

"Fletcher Ross is gonna head on down there and take a quick look around, get a better idea what we're dealing with. Chunk," he said, pointing out the former IRA man, "you're coming with me. Everybody clear?" He got several nods and yeses, then set out on his reconnaissance, the Irishman close behind him. Staying low, his revolver at the ready, Sixgun whispered to Chunk, "So, Chunky boy, how'd you get into this line of work?" Anything he could learn about the man might be helpful.

---

SONJA

Sonja cringed as the man's massive fists fell, just barely managing to hurl herself aside as Brick cracked the pavement where she had been standing a moment ago. At least Daredevil was out of immediate danger, though being dazed and unresponsive in a battle like this wasn't much of an improvement.

Sonja blinked in surprise when, out of nowhere, someone bolted onto the scene, leaping into the air to grab Brick around the forearm. Was this insane person really taking on this mastodon unarmed and without using any powers? Jesus. There was brave, then there was crazy. At any rate, it was a vital distraction, which was exactly what Sonja didn't. Being smashed into raspberry jam didn't particularly appeal to her. Knowing brute strength wasn't an area she could match Brick in, she decided to get a little nasty. She remembered her mother giving her a few words of advice with dealing with muggers, rapists, the usual sort of thing a city girl needs to worry about.

And so, as the newcomer threw himself at Brick, Sonja swung the super-powerful bat straight upwards between Brick's legs, aiming directly for his groin.

Rift Hound - Maroni's Restaurant

Joshua's heart was racing, but it seemed that through some miracle he hadn't been spotted. He could try his luck again and try to get out? He had a pretty good layout of the restaurant and had gotten a good look at the hostage takers, so maybe he could help the cops when they turned up? Then again, if was caught trying to escape they might shoot at him and hit a hostage when the bullet phased through! His best bet right now seemed to be staying put.
It was during this time that Joshua watched the armed men run up the stairs. Apparently there was somebody putting up a fight, but there was nothing he could do to help him. If only he had a weapon... But he'd still be outnumbered. Maybe he could thin their numbers? But with what, there wasn't anything that useful in his Pock-

My Pocket!, the thought struck his mind like lightning. He could open his Pocket under their feet and trap them! It would have to be one at a time, though, otherwise he risked trapping a hostage as well. But could anything survive in his Pocket?! He'd never placed anything living inside before! And he'd need to be tangible! Perhaps if he waited for the hostage negotiators to draw their attention, he'd have a better chance of catching them off-guard? But the other problem was if he was willing to risk killing people to save others! These people certainly weren't hesitating, judging by the corpses of the guards on the floor, but did that mean he had to sink to their level?!

Joshua retrieved his physical form and closed his Pocket so he could at least sit comfortably. He'd have to wait and see when the police arrived. If he acted impatiently now, hostages could die. He'd just have to hope he reacted appropriately when the time came...

Atrium

Pariah glanced at One and said, "Psion gave me a brief statement about your abilities before she had to leave and I believe you are best served in a rear position with myself and the assault team. This team includes Ocean Warrior, Rolling Girl, MC, and Zaphkiel. Any present who wish to participate may follow if they are quick." The man nodded at Shifter, throwing another implant and pack of mini-explosives, "I recommend you take a less pitiful form. We need to maintain credulity with our members, if you look too weak they'll be suspicious. You have to hit a balance between being too imposing and too obviously pathetic. Regardless we've spent enough time here."

Pariah looked at MC, "I need you to open a portal to the coordinates I give you for myself and the main operatives. Everyone else you will arrive as soon as you can on alternate modes of transport. Our presence is essential now." The League Founder waited for the supernatural creature to open his portal and then entered, exiting onto the street outside Maroni's presumably with the rest of his team in tow. He turned towards Shifter and Killshade, "Present yourselves to the villains. We will observe from higher ground." The restaurant was surrounded by the police and Pariah lead his team into a high-rise overlooking the besieged establishment. Pariah created a holographic display showing Killshade's and Shifter's perspectives. Pariah cocked a gun and turned to One, "Can you see inside?"

Maroni's

Screams and gunfire erupted from upstairs and then the troop of villains returned with their minions in tow. Bishop arched an eyebrow and Permafrost smirked, nodding minutely. Bishop snorted and said, "Alright then. Let's get these people sorted. No phones, under guard. Oh and take what money you can. No sense in letting it go all to waste." The thugs dispersed and started taking any and all valuables from the customers, smashing phones beneath feet while their comrades watched vigilantly, looking for any sign of resistance. One man screamed and ran for Bishop with a steak knife, but the young woman next to Bishop raised her gun in a flash and put a bullet cleanly between his eyes. He stopped suddenly as his brains splattered the young woman he had sat with eliciting an endless round of shrieks. He feel to the ground. The woman aimed her gun at the young man and fired again. Bishop nodded, "Thanks Villa. Hopefully that discourages any other supposed heroism."

Villa nodded and twirled her gun in a showy manner holstering it on her belt. Bishop smirked and gestured to a few nearby thugs, "Start searching around for any stragglers. Don't want anyone spoiling this party." They nodded and a man with an assault rifle started walking through the restaurant searching for hidden customers. He was stepping closer and closer to Rift Hound's hiding place, gun at the ready.

The Lab

Witchfinder said nothing and departed to find a good vantage point, the Road King boss in tow. La Sombra and the rest of the thugs dispersed around the hill, taking positions and drawing weapons while remaining out of plain sight. Chunk followed the modern day Cowboy, drawing a beretta and walking quietly next to Sixgun. He whispered back, "Used to be IRA. Bombs, hits, y'know the fun stuff. Then the IRA starts letting in all the superpowered freaks. As if freaks like them would want a free Ireland. More like replacing the English. Couldn't stomach it and now I'm out here doing jobs to get by."

"No luxury job but it keeps me in the hookers and blow. Nice job with Bender by the way, hopefully the Bosnians don't shank you in your sleep." Chunk kept casting his eyes around to spot anyone as they approached the Lab but it was quiet and empty. Maybe a bit too quiet and empty. He sidled up the door and put his ear against it. He thought he might have heard a slight shuffling but couldn't be sure. He listened further and heard a faint bubbling sound, little wisps of mist drifting from beneath the door occasionally. Chunk whispered, "What now?"

The Prison

Abaddon saved the National Guardsmen from being overrun, then they almost shot him for his monstrous appearance but thought better of it at the last second. The League members on the field were holding themselves well enough, the mindless and chaotic horde of beasts no match for a coordinated effort by the experienced and trained heroes. Suddenly a rumbling could be heard on the ground beneath Abaddon's feet. A guardsmen looked down but was then pulled under the ground, screaming his screams choked by dirt as he fell in. His comrades cursed and backpedaled away, when a form dove from the dirt and slammed into another guardsmen the man screaming like his friend as he was pulled under. Suddenly Abaddon felt the ground give way beneath him and he started sinking down in the ground, feet first as it swallowed him.

Brick roared as he missed Sonja then his eyes bugged out when Doppler latched onto him, Doppler then copying his strength and durability. Brick roared and then slapped Doppler the hit sending him flying through the air. Brick then turned away, trusting Doppler to turn into paste on the pavement if his bones weren't already broken. Quite the opposite as Doppler slammed into a large group of charging inmates, the same charging at the Team, killing four instantly and injuring even more. The rest of the men, about two dozen in all started hitting him with clubs, stomping him with boots, and shooting him with pistols. Swarmqueen's insects and the efforts of the other heroes had thinned out the herd quite well.

Brick turned in time for Sonja's bat to catch him in the groin. His scream of pain rumbled the ground around him and damaged eardrums from it's high pitch. Suddenly Daredevil jumped on his back, latching his whipcord arms around him and beginning to choke him. Brick may have had durability but it didn't protect him from needing air. Normally the bruiser could have flexed his neck muscles but in his current state he was ill-prepared to do so. The suddenness of both attacks panicked him and he tried to reached behind him to grab Daredevil, huge arms unable to bend to grab the thin man. He started choking and growing sluggish as Daredevil shouted, "Get a Home-run!"

Vacuum laughed in psychopathic glee as Hot Rod choked on his last breaths, he kept laughing in anticipation until he was punched by Light. He grunted and fell on the ground, his control shattered and the air rushing back into Hot Rod's lungs. The man snarled and said, "You'll have to do you ugly bitch!" He punched at her with a concentrated burst of air in front of his fist hitting Light in the jaw and slamming her to the ground. He gathered another ball of air and prepared to slam it down into her head.

Swarmqueen's bugs managed to catch the utter chaos inside as fire burned in several cells and smoking corpses were everywhere, the inmates howling and fighting each other as well as guards and guardsmen. They caught a fleeting glimpse of a human fireball walking along, burning bodies alive and dead as she went, before she disappeared from view, rounding a corner. And the insects felt something in the air. An odd unnatural sense of distortion that reverberated throughout the prison, though the feeling was stronger in some places than others, the hint of a trail vibrating in the air.

Guards were screaming as an unseen assailant painted the walls with their blood, arteries bursting out blood and eyes being gouged out by someone who couldn't be seen. No doubt the work of Shade. Another yellow-skinned woman in an orange jumpsuit called Rot was spitting acid everywhere, melting through the concrete walls in a matter of minutes and through flesh in even less. Another man, an african-american prisoner named the Surgeon, whistled as his razor nails pierced through the hearts of wounded guards, a whimpering female guard his next patient. The people inside needed help.

"Boooom goes tha dynamite!" Cheered Volt, momentarily forgetting were he was as his shot connected with Boomer. His moment of self congratulation was brought to a sudden halt at the sight of Red-Eye blasting the exploding thugs arm off, the gory scene enough to make anyone remember themselves. Good thing to, as he was just in time to see Mr Twister pick up Bullseye and bodily throw her his direction.

Now Volt was quick, no two ways about it, with the kind of speedy reactions that would make a viper blush with jealousy, and so he was fairly that he could have dodged his comrade-come-missle. The only problem there would have been that Bullseye, while a tough cookie in her own respect, was still just a regular old lassie, and while he could dodge her then she would hit the dirt hard, there being a high chance that she could get really hurt, maybe even killed. Nope, only one thing for it. He set his feet wide and braced himself, throwing his arms up to cushion the archer as she crashed into him.

She thudded into him, hitting him with more force than he had reckoned for. He was tumbled of his feet, getting tangled up with Bullseye in a jumble of limbs. It woulda been mildly erotic if not for the pressing concern of impending death as Twister rapidly bore down on them. Volt rolled the archer off of him, no time for being gentle.

Now charging at someone who calls himself the 'Lightning-Slinger' while having two long tendrils of metal attatched to your arms isn't the best idea in the world, and Twister was just about to find out why. The Scotsman raised his arms and fired off another two bolts of the good stuff, his ability to aim and fire precisely hardly even being called for when shooting at a man who was wielding a pair lightning rods. If, by some bloody miracle, Twister didn't go down, then Volt would attempt to dash in close and batter the villain stupid, counting on the un-orthodox frontal approach and his enhanced physique to overpower the prisoner.

Sitting up high with the others Chris looked down at the restaurant below them caked in ice to entrap all those within. She couldn’t see much of what was going on inside from this distance apart from a few moving dark patches on the other side of the frozen glass. With a gasp and a flinch the sounds of screaming and gun shots struck her ears from the encased restaurant but with gritted teeth Chris forced the sickening churn of her stomach to the back of her mind, she had to stay focussed on the task at hand and help get the survivors out of there unharmed.

Pariah was, of course, a brilliant strategist as the two training session Chris had been in had proven to her as well as the numerous reports on his own heroic escapades so she felt in good hands knowing he’d be the one giving orders. Trying to distract herself from her heart trying to wrench itself from her ribcage Chris glanced over some of the new recruits that had joined them noting the looks of unease or big-headed cockiness they possessed.

“You ready for this?” She directed the question with a reassuring but wavering smile to a tall man with fins on his head. Ocean Warrior no doubt.

Rift Hound - Maroni's Restaurant

It was fight or flight now. No matter what Joshua did, it was clear that people were going to die. Granted, the man who'd just been killed was the result of his retaliation, but he wasn't to blame for that. These seemed like the kind of people who would kill a hostage just to prove a point and now one was headed for his table. Even if help came, it seemed like it would be too late.

I have to do something, I can't sit here and hope he doesn't look, but what do I do?! he thought, frantically. Could he teleport under another table? Assuming they didn't flip the tables, he could only do so under tables he could see under, increasing the chance of being seen. He couldn't stand up and feign loyalty to the Legion, he didn't know enough of what was going on and that only ensured his safety if it worked! No, he was well and truly cornered. Even if he went intangible and fled, others would still die...

Focusing on the ground beneath the gunman's feet, aiming for a perfect circle with a diameter of four feet, Joshua opened his Pocket.

MC made an effort to whistle at his orders, but having a hard time doing that, snapped his crystal fingers instead. "Ok, but next time, try to only request a portal to where I've been. Guesstimating portals is... tricky." He said as he concentrated for a moment and opened a portal. He stopped anyone from going into this portal however, as he noticed it was in the sky. "I mean, without knowing the place beforehand, I have to guess planetary rotation and orbit in tandem with space time physics...." MC continued as he opened 2 more portals, one leading far underground and the third leading into space, before his last portal was about a foot off the ground around the street where the restaurant was.

All MC could see of the restaurant at this moment was a hazy blur of a bubble, with echo like imprints on it, much to his annoyance. "Great, I'm going to have to figure out this ward spell. It is very annoying." he mumbled to himself, conjuring some juice for himself and whoever asked for some as the assault team watched over the restaurant from atop the landing.

---

"Why you..." Light said, rolling away from the bunch aimed at her head, spinning back onto her feet like a top, kicing the guy as she got up. "Man, that must suck. When the superpower lottery came, you got air manipulation. Its alright, but its nothing to write home about. Though I guess your thankful you didn't get Water or Heart as your power. Shame you didn't get earth or fire though, those ones are actually threatening." Light jeered as she stepped backwards as Vacuum punched at her, quickly jabbing him with playful taps when he left an opening, antagonizing the poor villain.

The club villain that she was fighting before had finally caught up to her, and being intelligent, or at least the club guy thought was intelligent, snuck up on Light and attempting to pound her into the ground with his club. Though with Light only playing with Vacuum, the poor guy unable to asphyxiate her like he had done with Hot Rod, she noticed the large guy sneaking up on her, and dodged out of the way of his swing, the club swing that was now aimed at Vacuum. "You two play for a bit, I'll fight the winner." Light said, laughing at the situation.

"So 'cooperate' with the enemy, use the explosives when I get a signal, and at the same time eliminate who or whatever is putting up that barrier, which will then lead to our assault to take the restaurant back and save the hostages?" Killshade asked Pariah, then pulled out the bag which contained the two small, but powerful explosive devices and placed them inside his right boot. In case the enemy tried to search them, which he hoped they wouldn't do. He liked the plan, a little depiction would aid them greatly in this, if they played their cards right, they could take down all of the villains and save many of the hostages.

Hot Rod was expecting to slip into unconsciousness from having all of the oxygen sucked out of the air, but to his relief another League member by the name of Light came to his rescue and he felt air come into the area. He took in huge gulps of air to regain his breath and it took him a moment to get back enough energy to get back onto his feet. Hot Rod was incredibly grateful that Light had saved him from suffocating and looked to see her engaged in battle with Vacuum. Hot Rod was mad at the villain for his attempt on his life and he rushed at Vacuum, moving at supersonic speeds. He then clothes-lined the villain in the chest with his right arm and moved to stand beside Light encase she needed back up.

"Thanks for the save" he said to her gratefully, as he kept his attention on both Vacuum and the bruiser with the club. This time he wouldn't let himself get put into a situation like that without putting up a huge fight.

---

Ocean Warrior was curious to see how this mission with a lot of new recruits would turn out. He mostly cared about helping the innocent people and seeing proper justice prevail, his people had never been given the chance to have it before they had genocide done against them. So few his fellow mutants survived the Great Purifying as Numanor had called, and Finn had spent most his life away from the suffering of his people. His attention was drawn to the speedster named Chris and he saw her wavering smile, she looked nervous, and the she asked him if he was read.

"I am ready, I hope these new recruits share a love of life as much as I do" he said to her with a nod.

Killjoy

Well what did he want her to do? Go away or help teammates? Agnes was confused for a moment, pondering the meaning of Chrome's commands. Maybe he was just so hyped up he couldn't make up his mind! Which meant the decision was surrendered to her! Perfect, she could just continue as per the norm. Still, the prospect of helping out her teammates enticed Killjoy; not only would she be more clearly demonstrating her skills to the big-shots, but she'd get extra kudos for aiding them as well. Agnes twisted the nozzle of her super-soaker and grinned wide.

"You youngin's, never seen the things that happened in nam'!" Killjoy joked. With a furious charge, she unleashed a torrent of oil-fueled flames upon the creatures, clearing a path as safely as she could towards a larger group of supers. For style points, she slid along the ground feet first, stopping just short of Hot Rod and Light. She ceased her movement in a lazy position, resting on her side and elbow as she propped up her head with her free hand.

"Hot Rod," she greeted. Quickly lifting herself up, she let loose a stream of flame at an approaching group of baddies, biting her lip in pure ecstasy as the inferno lit up upon their flailing bodies. This was the best! "Don't suppose you need any help?" Agnes pried off another grenade from her belt and dropped it, kicking it aside like a hackey-sack into the distance. Facing away from the explosion, she took a heroic pose. In her tempestuous experience, Killjoy finally succeeding in noticing Light's predicament.

Without hesitation, she aimed her pistol for Vacuum and fired, hoping honestly to critically wound, if not kill, the clearly murderous man. Sure, she was murderous here too, but for all the right reasons!

Zaphkiel

Zaphkiel listened carefully, silently, taking in the details. Lots of heroes might have been called, "Loose cannon's," as Heidi explained to him, but he knew for certain such a title didn't stick to him. He was a by-the-books kind of person, really, preferring to carry out orders perfectly and specifically rather than propose some preposterous and whimsical alternative. Zaphkiel didn't exactly like surprises, or chaos for that matter. The angel nodded as Pariah indicated his purpose in the mission, agreeing quietly with the decision. Stealth wasn't for him, but an assault -when it came time- certainly fit his style.

He felt especially useful in this hostage situation too, noting his own immense size and toughness. His very body would be the perfect moving cover for hostages if they needed to get out, moreso if he put up his shield. His only worry was the capabilities of the villains inside. He had zero clue as to their powers, and thus he doubted for a moment how effective his armored-body could be. Hope, in the end, was his tactic.

Stepping through MC's portal and following Pariah to a roof line, Zaphkiel stood further back, masking his shiny presence as best as possible.

Being called the main operative felt good. It sounded cool and important and it meant for a great start with the League. Big role right in the beginning, how nice! Pretty frigging terrifying too, Shifter realized after stepping through the portal.

She swallowed the small implant with a cringe all the while listening to Killshade and doing her best to ignore her nerves. Was he just making sure that he'd understood everything, or was he feeling nervous as well? Shifter wasn't sure if she wanted to know. The small explosives were quickly hidden inside her left arm under skin and muscle. The only visible sign of the unusual hiding place was a slightly protruding sliver of skin, and that too was quickly hidden by her outfit. Shifter was pretty sure she'd put pressure out a few of her nerves with the hiding trick. The arm would be useless soon.

”Yeah yeah, that's right,” the shapeshifter replied to Killshade, hurrying towards the restaurant. ”Come on, man. The citizens of this beloved city need their heroes!” she continued, last sentence said with gusto. Casually Shifter transformed again, the pathetic looking man giving way to a cute, confident looking woman. Was she trying to drown out her worry with played up eagerness? Was the confident smirk utterly fake? Yes, but no-one else needed to know that. In fact, she was starting to believe that she wasn't scared at all!

Sometimes, lying to yourself was the best thing to do.