Suit power is recharged enough to go mobile, ANAI claims, as one of the soldiers calls out, "I'm not putting down my gun until Blueberry Muscles calms his sh-" He is interrupted by a hand coming to rest on his arm, the left hand of Pearl as she gets onto her feet. "Stand down," She mumbles. Many vents had opened along the armour, venting heat. The men around her lowered her weapons, and even though they had visors over their faces it was easy to tell that they were glaring at Danny and Grace. "I'm sorry for what I did. It's just, she was right." She shakes her head. "Well, I thought she was. And, really, secret identity? You should know who I am."

She pops the seal on her helmet and pulls it off to reveal her beautiful face. "Pearl Rameses, the daughter of the founders of Xeaforge Industries." Pearl says. Her hand gently knocks on the side of his leg plating. She then gives a pair of movements, her thumb jerking downwards in a 'thumbs down' before it jerks toward the nearest wall that was behind them, subtly. His own hand knocks against her outer thigh armour, showing that he understood, before he moves it back to it's original position. If things were to go bad again, they were going to jump over the wall, and then back out to the vehicles. The drone vehicle was automated, so it would move by itself to head back to Xeaforge Industries when they retreated. "I'm not taking off the rest of my armour. It's simply not happening." Pearl claims, as she was doing the hand motions subtly.

Eradicator raised his cigar to his mouth, watching the situation unfold. Turns out Frankenstein was smarter than he looked, Eradicator was glad to see he wasn't just some hulking dumbass punching everything in sight. Eradicator moved to stand with Grace and Danny. Pulsecat, or Pearl, refused to take off her armour. Eradicator took his cigar between his index and middle finger before speaking.
"I don't think you understand" He spoke
"You're currently a wanted woman, you've just helped in the crime of potential theft and attempted murder. You don't have a choice in the situation" He raised the cigar back to his mouth.
"Seeing as it was completely of your own free will you don't get a 'Get out of jail free' card here. The government is generally pretty lax on heroes who turn villain and back again but seeing as you aren't co-operating with a government endorsed 'caught' like me they might not take so kindly to it." He holstered his pistol on his side.
"What I'm saying is, co-operate and maintain your public identity or don't and either go to jail or pay the fine, with the bad reputation that comes with it for you and your company."

"Yeah, and how would she be right?" Danny agreed with cigar man. "What would they eat? I mean, look at that guy." He said, pointing at one of the lions that had been marching with the supervillan. A lion that was now slinking away behind the penguin house. "That lion is super old and was rescued from a Mexican circus." He recalled from the tour he'd been given earlier. "He doesn't know how to hunt, he'd starve. Do you even know what zoos are? They're not animal jail."

He looked around at the myriad animals that were now scared, confused, and dispersing. "That doesn't mean we can just let them out, yo guys!" He called to the national guardsmen that had shown up. "We need to block all the exits so they don't leave and get themselves hurt. I'll get these guys here." He said, walking up to the arctic birds that were still milling about the entrance way to their house and throwing up his arms, going "rarggh!" This served to scare them back inside the cool building. He tried to close the doors the elephant had smashed in, but they just sort of fell off their hinges. "We also need to keep the big ones from eating the little ones." He called over his shoulder.

When Dean was suddenly quiet, his screams having stopped, she let go of his arms, and stepped off of him. Checking his heart rate at his wrist, she lightly brushed her fingers against his eyelashes. As his eyes did not twitch, she knew he was unconscious. Once sure of this, she rolled his body over onto its side, and with a jerk of his arm, relocated his shoulder. Heaving his body over her left shoulder, and Uprising over her right, she slowly made her way over to the police vehicles. The pain in her wing was almost too much to bear, though, so she called out to the nearest officer to take care of the bodies for her.

A junior officer, Carla Menendez, obliged, aiding Phoenix as she set the two men in the backseat of one of the cars. Carla handcuffed the two, seeming to be used to this. Her nonchalance gave off a vibe of her being unimpressed by Phoenix's actions- she was, as the woman had become Rose's contact with the police, as they had been trained together in the marine corps. As always, Carla would receive the credit for the arrests of the two, to keep the police from seeking out the Phoenix for her semi-illegal vigilante behavior. Thanking Phoenix for her aid with a silent nod, Carla stood guard outside of her car, waiting for her senior officer, her advisor, to come and grant her permission to take the two back to the station.

Before leaving the scene, though, Rose slipped a small brochure into the driver's seat of the car, for a psychiatric institute specializing in the rehabilitation of mentally ill criminals. After securing everything, she returned to Tess, and picked up her limp body. Carrying the teenager over to her motorcycle (as she was temporarily without the use of her wings), she set the girl down in the sidecar. Before reporters could get to her, the Phoenix took off, Tess in tow, towards her own hidden hideout. Taking the backroads, so as not to attract attention, she drove slowly, waiting for Tess to wake.

Pearl scowls at the cigar man. "I don't think you understand." She says. "I do have a choice. It doesn't matter if I'm wanted, I will not take off the armour. I will definitely not remove my pulse cannon from my possession outside of a Xeaforge Industries controlled area." She put the pulse cannon to her hip, where it attached magnetically, looking like she was carrying a small barrel on her side. "But I will pay for what I've done." She looked at the large guy, Blueberry Muscles as one of the men had called him, before she turned to Aaron. "Round up the animals, your own discretion." She turns to move after the lion that had moved behind the penguin house. "Call down the overwatch drone. Use it to help round up the animals." She says to ANAI. A few moments later, what looks like a three meter wide disk descends near the ground The bottom of it was a blueish-whiteish colour, while the top was a black colour. It moved to animals (under ANAI's control) and began to make noises that sounded like a loud version of a gaming controller's vibrations. The Xeaforge men themselves were surrounding animals and scaring them into their pens again.

Outside Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Lee immediately whipped his hand back and shut of the stream of fire. With the dragons help, they had incinerated the animal lady, once the smoke had cleared, all that was left was a charred husk. He had never killed someone before, but to appease his conscious, he told himself that it was the work of the Dragon. It was enough to to stop himself from throwing up, which was a thing that he did not want to so. Lee sighed, now all that they had to do was finish up the armor lady, and that was that.

Thankfully, the girl and her crew, who had been affected to the heat of fire, surrendered. Lee sighed a sigh of relief. He really did not want to fight that, it was annoying enough to deal with the animal lady. Her crew surrounded her, maybe trying to see if they would attack, which was a precaution he probably also would have taken in her situation.

Lee glanced the the blue guy, cigar man and the earth girl, who had argued that surrendering meant putting their guns down. But if they were in there shoes, they would have felt the they were in a hostile environment. She had turned on them, those who wished to help her in a dangerous situation. Now that the situation had diffused, and she was the only on left, she was in danger. There was always the possibility them attacking her because of the situation that had just taken place.

Lee slowly descended until his feet touched the hot asfault and transformed into his normal human self. Since the threat had been dealt with, he did not have much to worry about. That did not mean he was ready to transform back. "Well shit." Lee mumbled when he saw the armor girl revel her face. He never expected a good looking girl like her to be so, unreasonable. An argument ensued but he really did not care to much, things had been taken care of. Lee shrugged and walked away, maybe he would head to the mall, he had never been to the Cleveland mall before.

Although Drake didn't show any facial expressions, he felt guilty about what he had just done, he had killed the villain and he just stood there silently. He watched as the Ohio National Guard entered the zoo ground and pointed guns at them. Drake's body stopped being on fire and even though he wasn't for surrendering he was compliant and bowed his head in a slight bit of shame, averting his eyes.

"I didn't want her to die, I lost control. I'm sorry" he said ashamed. His tempter had gotten him to do something that wasn't heroic and criminal, some would argue that it was self defense, but he felt guilty and horrible. He had done something that was monstrous and it wasn't a wonder why people hated him and called him a monster. James' anger is what had gotten him trapped in this terrible form and now it had killed someone. This wasn't his first time killing, but he still hated it and it made him feel like he didn't deserve to ever be changed back into a human.

This was his first time working together with other heroes to fight villain and it didn't seem to have gone that well.

When Tess's consciousness finally returned, she realized that she was moving in some sort of vehicle. She could feel the wind — oh, how she loved the feeling of cool air — blowing against her, her hair had fallen out of the ponytail sometime when she wasn't awake. She found difficulty in opening her eyes, her eyelids felt like boulders that her eyesockets had the unfortunate burden of carrying. She tried raising her head up, and she banged it off the cold hard side of the minicar. That was enough to get her eyes open.

"Ow, fuck!" she cursed aloud, clutching her head in pain. She'd already suffered a concussion and clumsily banging it around wasn't helping that matter. She looked at the driver and recognized her as Phoenix. She clasped her hand over her mouth, realizing her language might not be appreciated by the adult professional. "How long have I been out? Where are we going?" she asked, looking at the trees they passed as the motorcycle advanced down the road. Hoping she wasn't coming off as disrespectful or ungrateful, she added, "Thank you. I'm sorry."

When the girl cursed, Rose smiled beneath her helmet, the grin hidden behind her mask. Tess was awake, and that meant she had not suffered any severe damages. As her mask already muffled her voice, without the further hindrance of the wind rushing past her face at 60 miles per hour, she did not speak. They were not far from her base, after all. Passing by rows and rows of trees and shrubbery, she realized that the drive was quite nice- making a mental note of that, she decided to try to enjoy the sights when time allowed for it.

After several more minutes of driving, Rose slowed to a stop behind a bush, concealed from the view of the road. Setting the kickstand, she turned off the vehicle, and stood. Helmet still on, the Phoenix offered her hand to Tess, to help her stand.

"You've only been out for ten minutes or so, which is perfectly normal. Come with me, little one. This is my base of operations."

Taking Tess's hand, and leading her gently out of the sidecar, she led her into the building by the bushes. An old military hospital, long since abandoned, the brick structure was sturdy and strong, barely affected by years of weather and neglect. Though the brick was covered by moss and spiderwebs, the color fading, the windows blackened and cracked, it still looked impressive. As she was unable to fly to the roof where her base was, Rose merely took Tess into the front lobby. The furniture was old, but nice, and Rose sat Tess down on a little vintage couch, taking a seat next to the girl.

"What is your name?"

The girl was staring blankly at her surroundings. There was something beautiful about the abandoned hospital. It was so quiet, peaceful. She appreciated the solitude, and songbirds provided a sweet melody in the trees outside. The couch was quaint and comfortable enough. She snapped out of her gaze and remembered the question that she'd just been asked. "Tess," she said. Before the possibility of Phoenix asking about a last name, she added, "That's it. Just Tess."

She rubbed her fingers on her temples, the headaches were still present but the pain hadn't subsided. "Do you have... Like Tylenol or something?"

"You know what, I'm over this. I've been stabbed by bees and nearly had my eyes pecked out by birds. I've also tried to defend your actions, but honestly I have no idea who you are. I'd have better luck searching the tabloids for information on you," Grace said.

She threw her arms up, only slightly disturbing the rocks nearby, and left. Everything hurt and she could use some ointment and new clothes. The mall was her best bet to find both and maybe a few groceries. She had a few dollars left in her account she supposed. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and the text read, Beachwood Mall, Uprising spotted. Ally contained. Requesting patrol to make sure no other people are invested in takeover.

"Work, work, work," Grace muttered as she responded with, On my way. You owe me lotion and a free day.

A response came quickly, In your dreams, Quake.

As Grace walked on, she did a quick inspection of her clothes. The birds did some damage, the vest would be salvageable but the shirt... well she could go with detached sleeves as a design choice. Or maybe she could play up the one rumor that she came from the future to save the people of Cleveland from this fate. Then again there was another one saying that Quake was proof that SHIELD needed to be formed. Needless to say, the police department ran with it. Wildly. 'This is what happens when you register. You get training and better powers.'

Grace didn't know why it had to be her that was raised to the police force's hero. There was Eradicator, Pearl, okay maybe Pearl wasn't the best choice, but her point still stood. Grace wanted to be average, blend in. She had been wanting that her whole life, but she ended up with... this. With powers that quickly taught her not to talk with her hands, and the ability to splat anyone at any time with a hunk of rock. Not to mention the lying thing she'd gotten. Lying detection and earth manipulation. What kind of grab bag powers were those anyway?

"Sure, I have some acetaminophen somewhere..."

Rose walked behind the counter at the end of the lobby, and knelt, rummaging through the drawers. After a moment, she emerged with two bottles of water, and a few little round pills. Returning to Tess, she sat beside her, handing over to her a bottle and the pills.

"You need to stay awake for the next twenty-four hours, or if you go to sleep, wake up every two. Someone should monitor your condition. Anyhow, I wanted to speak with you in private, about your abilities. And I wish you would tell me your full name in confidence, or else I will be unable to give mine to you."

Helmet still on, she raised the mask slightly, so that her lips were just barely visible beneath the helmet. She wore a bright red lipstick, which was slightly smudged, bleeding a bit into the pale foundation on the rest of her face. Lifting the other bottle of water to her mouth, she took a long, deep gulp of it, before speaking again.

"I wanted to tell you that you did a phenomenal job at the mall. You acted quickly, and you thought on your feet. However... you need to understand that it is not your job to do so. I am not saying you should not play the part of a hero. Simply put, the fact that you have powers does not obligate you to use them in such a proactive fashion. Law enforcement is a dangerous business, and no one is forcing you to participate in it. Your own safety should be your primary concern, above anyone else. Do you understand?"

CLEVELAND METROPARKS ZOO

Eradicator and Quake had a solid enough reputation to convince the first responders. Now better appraised of the situation, the Guardsmen trained their rifles on Pulsecat and her men.”You're coming back with us, at least until we can figure out what's going on,” a noncom announced. “At the moment, it looks like you might be charged with accessory to murder and grand larceny. If you and your men don't surrender immediately, this could get ugly.” The soldier was right, this standoff had the potential to spiral rapidly out of control.

They Guardsmen remained wary, still keeping their eyes on the unknown but less immediately threatening on scene- Drake and Frankenstein especially. With everything that had happened in the last twelve hours, they were unwilling to take chances.
WYOMING STREET

Ajax cringed, holding up his dissolving shield for the last time as Striker plunged the blade home. It was too damaged to do him any good, though- his mighty shield melted like butter. His armor offered very little resistance, either. Ajax Vlachos screamed once, loudly, as the attack ate through his torso, before going limp and falling to the roadway.

Youngstown's other champion stared in shock. “You killed my brother, you son of a bitch!” Teucer screamed in fury, firing arrow after arrow at Acid Striker.

THE PARKING GARAGE

Mythica did not have long to wait before the roar of powerful motors announced the arrival of the man he was meeting with. Firstly came several tough-looking bikers, all beards and leather vests and sawn-off shotguns. Their roaring Harleys were followed by a small fleet of high-class SUVs. These parked to disengage a good number of better-dressed but no less dangerous thugs.

Finally, once they had convinced themselves of the place's safety, the small army of goons gave the okay for the man they were guarding to leave the safety of his vehicle. Dennis Lynch looked like nothing so much as a family doctor- jovial, with receding hair and a comfortable suit. But his high forehead and piercing blue eyes betrayed the malevolence and intelligence that made him truly dangerous. Starting out as a small-time thug in Cleveland's Irish mob, Lynch had risen to the very top of organized crime in Ohio. More than just the Irish answered to him- the Italians, bikers of all stripes, Polish, Hispanics, neo-Nazis and African-Americans all looked to him for guidance. Even without powers, his resources and wealth made him extremely dangerous- Miss Understood and Pokerface had spent the better part of two years fighting him. He had been given a respectful name- the Chairman.

“Hi there,” the Chairman greeted Mythica with a broad grin. “Sorry about all these guys, don't think we don't trust you. Can't be too careful. I only got busted out last night, never know when the cops or the capes are going to burst in.” He smiled at the other man's cigarette, pulled out his own pack. “You know, I could get these in prison, no problem. But there's something rewarding about being able to go down to the corner shop and buy a pack of coffin nails for myself. I ain't going back in. I value my freedom.”

Lighting his own cigarette, the Chairman looked Mythica square. “So let's talk business. I got money, you got something to sell that lets me go toe-to-toe with the capes. Sounds like a win-win to me. What are you offering?”

Dean groaned as the world solely came back to him. It took him a few moments to adjust to the bumpy movements of car travel, his eyes blinking in confusion as he stared at the back of a car seat. He looked over to his side, noticing the still unconscious Uprising. An annoyed sigh escaped Dean’s mouth, followed by a moan of pain. Suddenly the memory of a woman on his back yanking on his arm became all too real. He could move it, but it was painful; that’d be a problem. He’d have to get her back for that, as well as the crushing of his gun. That firearm has been with him since the very beginning, and while it didn’t have the importance of the sword, it still had fond memories connected to it.

“I see you’re awake. Keep still back there, I can’t stand rowdy passengers… We’ll be at the station shortly.” Dean took note of the older, more male voice that responded to him. It became very apparent that there were two officers in the car, and that would be a problem. Trying to figure out how to get out of this thing, he shifted his eyes back and forth, studying the insides of the machine for flaws. His quick scan identified nothing, it was a shame that the force here kept things well maintained. “Let’s see. I if I can get my cuffs off… But wait!” Dean’s thoughts carried him to his possessions, they hadn’t bothered removing them! His submachine gun, the katana… and his utility belt. He stifled a smile as Dean’s hand clicked open one of the small pouches on the back of his belt, removing the lockpicking tool he always kept handy. He acted as cool as a cucumber getting his cuffs unlocked, and the two were none the wiser.

Now that his hands were freed, escaping the car became priority. The doors would be locked, and there was no way to get to the front to the back. The only chance he’d have was when the car would arrive at the station and the cops opened his door. Dean didn’t have to wait long, and when the senior officer reached for the handle, he had a surprise. A steady stream of bullets riddled the man’s chest when he opened the door, causing him to collapse in a steadily growing pool of his own blood. By now the younger officer attending the other prisoner would have pulled her own firearm, so Dean ducked at the side of the car. Pretty soon the whole station would be on them, so a quick escape was needed. Seeing the bloodied keys still in the hand of the dead officer, Dean gabbed them and jumped in the front seat, quickly making sure to lock the vehicle. Carla would be stumbling with her own keys when the young criminal floored it, pulling out of the station and rocketing down the road, but not without the sound of sirens giving chase.

THE SIDEWALK

"Anything helps. Anything at all."

The clink of coins in her cup made her heart jump up a few gears in speed as she looked down at it all. $5.75 in loose change and $3 in single bills. $2.50 more than just a second ago. She could feel her mouth pulling wider at the corners of her mouth. More than enough for a couple of hot meals if she played it right. She reached out, fingerless gloves tracing a long, scraggly strand of wool back into her lap, and shook the hand of the man who had just deposited the most recent donation. She shook enthusiastically and vigorously, chirping at him cheerily. "Thank you, thank you so so much, mister!"

She continued shaking until he pulled away and turned his gaze down the street, "Yeah. Yeah, no problem. I guess if I see you aga- woah." Abigail's brow furrowed in confusion as he looked back down at her and shook his head. She almost had to hold her breath when the man knelt down to her level. His jaw was chiseled and his skin was smooth. After a short silence, he asked her in a concerned tone. "Miss, are you okay? Do you need any help?"

'It happened again. Thats the third time now.' She mused, trying her hardest to suppress the grinding of her teeth. She looked him up and down as he did the same to her. If she didn't do something, he'd be here all day to ask the same question over and over again. As much as she needed the money, and she really did need the money, this man was going to be sitting next to her very soon if he didn't go about his business. Her eyes darted as she searched for a solution. "W-well, who in this crazy world doesn't, right? Thank you very much for your donation, but didn't you say you had to catch a bus? I'd hate to keep you!"

The man blinked dumbly for a moment, but his eyes stayed fixed on her. That was good. "Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me, you stay well now!" He rushed off toward a slowly braking bus and waved his arm, yelling and hooting to grab the drivers attention. Abigail smiled and giggled slightly, he seemed like a rather nice man. A voice from beside her broke her out of her trance. "Do you need some help, dear?" An older woman, in a suit jacket and long skirt. Abigail couldn't help but smile up at her, hearing the coins jingle as she shook her cup.

"Anything helps. Anything at all."

---

THE PARKING GARAGE

Star Ruby descended to the asphalt with a grunt, thick leather of her boots scraping slightly as she made a speedy landing. She threw her dark hair back, shaking it out as it lifted into the air and ignited, becoming a pulsing haze of red energy, like a constant sprite of red lightning. The haze engulfed her face and neck, stopping at her white neckerchief and leaving only a pair of white eyes and the silhouette of her head to indicate a human behind the energy. With sure steps, Star walked forward and came to the edge of the building she was standing on, placing a boot on the safety barrier. This had to be the place, after seeing the droves of motorcycling miscreants and suspicious black SUVs file in from below.

Her red and white suit stretched over her torso as she fell over the edge slowly, subconscious flight slowing her descent to a slow hover as she attempted to drift further down and see what kind of deal was supposedly going down. The information she received had been word of mouth, straight off the streets, so the legitimacy was still in question. She dropped low, dimming the light from her head to near nothing as she almost slithered down a pillar, staying out of sight as best she could.

A peek into the lower levels of the garage from the other side of the barrier gave her shock enough to fall right out of the sky. Now wouldn't that be the darnedest thing? A falling ball of red hitting some poor sap's SUV on the way around. Her shock came from the sheer volume of people present for the current deal going down. So many tough-looking lackeys that fit the criminal profile, and at their centre, an older man speaking to a taller, skinny man. A man adorned with quite a few pieces of finger-candy, she noted. Not quite fitting the profile of a pimp or a successful rapper, but who was she to judge?

Regardless, there were way too many people around for her to just jump in. She needed to be smart about this. Listen in for a little while and THEN jump in head-first, seemed to be the best plan at the moment.

BEACHWOOD PLACE MALL

Sweat glistened down Gwen's tired face as she healed the 9th injured civilian. It never occurred to her how much energy healing others required. The feeling of helping others was enough to keep her going though. She glanced up to snatch a look at Tess, only to witness her collapsing.

"Tess!!" Gwen screamed just when the room exploded with smoke, blocking her view on Tess. Looking right and left, Gwen bolted straight, hoping to find her friend. Repeatedly yelling her name, Gwen felt her eyes water. They had only met each other for a bit, but Gwen and Tess were closer than sisters. Tess understood her, knew what having superpowers felt like and was someone Gwen trusted more than anyone. Their journey together just started, and Gwen would never let anyone take that away from her. Gwen took a deep breath, Tess would be fine. Whatever was wrong, Gwen would fix it and heal her. Of course she would. Once the smoke lifted, she could only see a glimpse of Tess in the arms of The Phoenix, flying off.

"Stop!!!" Gwen screamed, begging for the superhero to hear her. Only she didn't. The Phoenix flew out of the mall, taking Tess with her and leaving Gwen all by herself. She ruffled her hair and shouted out in exasperation. How did this even happened? What was she supposed to do? Whenever someone had been injured, Gwen was always able to go their aid, but not this time. Please be okay Tess! Gwen wasn't able to dwell in her thoughts for it wasn't long before the press stormed into the mall. Flashes of light blinded Gwen and voices echoed everywhere.

"“Simon Lowell, BBC News,” one man introduced himself in an extremely polished RP accent. He politely held a microphone to Gwen. “Might I ask what happened here?”

Gwen gasped. Was this actually happening? Someone was questioning her? Gwen wasn't even sure what to say "Well, a villain by the name of Uprising suddenly took over the mall, duplicating himself into multiple copies. The Phoenix, Teen Tornado, a new upcoming hero, whose name I'm not sure of, and me were thankfully able to put his terror to an end. Cleveland lives to see another day," She smiled, proud of being able to be seen as a hero.

Wyoming Street

The acid blade entered Ajax with ease and with the blood-curdling scream the hero let out it was apparent the blade had killed the man or at the very least was tearing melting him from the inside. Striker after taking his blade out of the life less body turned around at the other hero who was firing arrows into him.

"Don't worry boy, you will soon join him in death!" He said as the arrows kept hitting him but quickly dissolving as the acid covered all of his body in a bright green tone. Striker turned his left hand after a little concentration into a crude hammer of sorts and then charged Teucer. As he made his way across the street towards his target he heard the distant familiar sound of the police sirens.

"Go to hurry." He mumbled to himself as he swung his hammer like construct at the man.

Tess wasn't sure what acetaminophen was, but it sounded like it would do the trick. She fidgeted on the couch seat awkwardly while Phoenix went to fetch the medicine. She was still coping with the dream that she was living right now. She was with a professional hero right now, in her hideout. This wasn't her imagination.

Phoenix came back with pills and water, advising her to not sleep unless she followed a certain pattern. Tess washed down the pills as Rose continued to speak. She said that she wanted to talk with her about her powers and said she wished Tess would reveal her last name. Tess hooked her hair behind her ears, she was just letting it lay on her shoulders since she hadn't decided to put it back in a ponytail yet. "It's not that I'm scared to share my last name with you... It's complicated. I don't want to be associated with that name anymore," she stared Rose straight in the eye when she said this, asserting she was telling the truth.

It wasn't because she resented her parents that she refused to be affiliated with the last name, she just didn't want to deal with that past anymore. She was her own person now. Phoenix then told her that what she did at the mall was heroic and great, but said it wasn't her duty. Tess was confused. "I have to do something with my abilities. I think it's horrible if someone isn't public about their powers. There are people out there who wish they could be like me. I have to do something," she pursed her lips. "Otherwise I'd just be wasting my gifts."

The motorcycled men were easy enough to follow. There were quite a number of them, and they were were fairly well armed-it would have been hard not to follow them through the city streets to their destination here. While such a group would have been suspicious enough on their own, such a group just after the mass criminal exodus was almost certainly for more...nefarious purposes. It was difficult for Blitz to stay hidden as he trailed the group of ne'er-do-wells, in that being stealthy certainly wasn't his strongest suits. He had to trail behind them by several blocks, and more or less stick the entire opposite end of the parking garage listening to the loud entourage make their way to their destination. There-they were disembarking! He listened intently as he dashed from behind one structure to the next, until he was just one large concrete pillar away from the meeting.

As he pressed his dark blue and gold armor against the pillar, Blitzed grinned to himself under the bug helmet. Busted out last night? Worried about the police and other upstanding superheroes? Wanting to try and fight them on equal terms? Clearly, villainry was afoot! Whatever strange weapons these men were intent on trading, it was Blitz's duty as a Masked Rider to stop all evil in its tracks! There were a lot of them, and they were armed to the teeth-but no matter! It was his job as the Rider of the Storm, the champion of love and justice, the Blitz Ranger-his great duty to stop those who subvert the law for their own gain! Besides, this can't be the worst odds he's faced before, yes? He was a hero who stands in the light, not one who hides in the dark like some villain!

Spinning around, Blitz dashed out from behind the large pillar, straight towards the group. Small sparks jumped from his feet as his long legs carried him towards the small army. Now was the time for action! He stopped in front of them, laughing the top of his lungs, voice echoing out in the empty garage. "Halt, villain scum!" Blitz held his fists up in a pseudo-boxing stance, one hand clenched in a fist and the other open-palmed, long scarf trailing out behind him and whipping back and forth as if it had a mind of its own. "Today is the day that you taste defeat! Know this to be the fate of all those who try and work in the shadows-no matter what dark deeds you may be plotting, I shall be the bolt of JUSTICE that strikes down and rends you asunder! Brace yourself, fiends, for I am the Blitz Ranger!"

"You do not have to share your name if you do not wish to, but remember, neither do I."

Phoenix lowered her mask again, once more shielding her mouth from view, having finished the bottle of water. Placing the empty plastic bottle down on one of the tables, she pondered over what to say next to the girl's statement. The girl had her own sense of obligation, believing that having her powers meant she must use them. How to convey that such an obligation is nonexistent was beyond Rose, as she had her own sense of duty. However, Rose's duty was not due to her having powers, it was due to her vow that she had made to protect her country- this girl had clearly never made any such vow, and therefore, her role in society should not be misconstrued. Phoenix smiled, beneath the mask.

"You should do something with them, that is correct. But you should not do something for which you are unprepared, for which you have not been trained. Otherwise, you might be killed. You are clearly just a kid, my dear, so you must train, and work hard, to get to the point where you can fight to protect the people around you. If you don't, and you die, then that would truly be a waste. Isn't it better to wait a few years, and fight for decades, than to fight for a few months before you meet an untimely demise? Right now, until you have had the proper training, and have decided how you are going to spend the rest of your life, you must treat your own safety as your highest priority. Losing you would be a waste."

Rose stood, and walked over to a bench a meter away. Sitting down, she expanded her wings behind her, and brought the injured one in front of her face. Unbuckling her gauntlets, and setting them down, she slipped off the gloves covering her fingers. With her bare hands, she grasped the bullet embedded in the feathers, and yanked it out. The small piece of metal fell to the floor, as she stifled a wince of pain.

"Do you understand?"