---

A few days ago.

The lights illuminating the band's corner of the venue went down. With a slow breath, Clementine cleared her mind and stilled her beating heart. Stay calm and composed, you're not just a singer, you're an icon. Or rather, you could be one day. In the dark, she turned her back to the audience. One, two, three, four. The spotlight above her head snapped into life, and she felt the heat upon her pale skin. With a quick turn, she sent the skirt of her elegant red gown whirling. The band behind her started up again in earnest as the song she was performing reached its finale. With one quick, confident movement she brought the microphone to her shining red, plump lips and let the music flow through her.

"Fill my heart with song," Her voice rang out, rich and powerful. This was her moment. The big finish. The last hurrah. The soulful solo. She had to, no, she NEEDED to nail this. Just like every other time. She needed to be perfect in her execution. With a step forward, her leg parted her dress at the slit in the side, and drew a few wolf-whistles from the crowd. The compliments were appreciated. They helped her to stay sure of herself. With another step, her expensive red pump clacked onto the floor as she made her way down the steps from the band's platform.

"Let me sing for-ever more," Yes. All she wanted was to sing. Sing for the rich, for the poor, for the young and for the old. Let her sing. Let her been heard and be seen. For as long as she lives, however long that is. Her steps grew faster as she spun again to send her dress into a twist around her hips. Careful now, she told herself, a fall could ruin the entire show. Her spin stopped at a table close to the stage, as she bent down to grab at the tie of one of the more familiar patrons to her shows. With a soft tug, she almost begged her way through the next line.

"You are all I long for, all I worship... and adore," With that line, she could feel the man's spine tingle and his skin raise like goose-flesh. She had drawn them in, and now was the time to gobble them up. To leave an impression and make them her public. Fans are made with performance, not with prestige. A final tug on the man's tie before she went sauntering off past another male patron, dragging her delicate finger along the curvature of his jawline. All these motions and actions and interactions, all tricks of the trade, taught to her and practiced over and over again. Just as always she skirted the neck with her nail, and just as always the poor sap leaned into it.

"In other words, please be truuuuuuueeee," She smiled as she had practiced before, soft but seductive. Rich red lips parting to reveal her pearly white teeth, she locked eyes with several members of the audience as she made her way back up to the band's platform. The band was having its fun too, even as the spotlight was following her. They were striking up, reaching crescendo as she strode over to sit atop the grand piano. In any other moment, Clementine would have told you that she was a simple girl, but right now, she felt like a god-damned diva.

"In other words, in other wooorrrrrrds," Her voice powered on, clear as she turned on her behind to lay on her back atop the piano. Her eyes searched the crowd, as she arched her back and kicked a leg up in the air. Her skirt fell slightly and drew another series of cat-calls and wolf-whistles. Just as she wanted, as she needed. Because now was her time. She had them baited, hooked and now all she had was pull them in for the kill.

"I."

She sat up slow, rising chest first as her platinum blonde, almost-white hair tumbled from her head like a flurry of fresh snow. She continued the performance with a crossing of her legs.

"Looooove."

She lifted her arm slowly, pointing out to the crowd as all the spotlights pointed at her. The piano hit its final few notes as she brought her finger to her lip and playfully dragged down on it. With a wink at her audience, she almost giggled through the final word, but managed to nail it.

"You~."

The lights cut out on her form as the venue erupted into applause. The dimmer lights came back up as the band stood or sat, giving out their respective thanks in the form of bows, nods or in Clementine's case, blowing kisses and curtsying. She was made for the stage, for the big lights, and it was moments like this that made her feel that was truest.

---

Present day.

"Miss Silk and the Soft Sons, everyone!" The earphones connected to her smartphone blared into her ears, calling her and her bandmates by their stage moniker. The name made her smile. Miss Silk. Picked for her by a friend. It matched how she held herself. How she thought about that side of herself. So soft and beautiful. So lush and lovely. Always dressed to the nines and keeping all eyes on her. If only she could be Miss Silk all the time.

Clementine looked down at herself and sighed. Her attire now was... less than fabulous. Grey track-pants, black hi-top sneakers, a maroon tank-top and one of her MANY oversized jackets. She looked slightly like she had fallen out of the rubbish heap, as she waited on the sidewalk for her friend to text her back. Her phone's camera revealed what she really looked like as she turned it to the front-facing camera. No makeup, dark bags under her eyes, cheeks slightly sunken and her features were a touch too sharp for her liking. Ugh. At least her skin was clear. Nice and smooth. She had spent too long working on it for her not to have AT LEAST that.

With a sigh, she put her phone away and looked over to the landscape. Los Angeles. The setting sun colored the sky a lovely blend purple, blue, red and orange. All pollution and refracted light, but the beauty of it was entrancing in its own way. She had always loved sunsets. Almost as much as she loved the stage.

One this she DIDN'T like was the barging and shifting that came with a crowd moving past her with such frantic manner, just as the crowd was now doing coming from the direction of the L.A. Center for Humans. This would have slipped beneath her notice as a minor annoyance, had the gunfire not started roaring. That held her attention and soon after, had her moving with the crowd as something compelled her forward. Now, don't get her wrong, she was not the type to discriminate, but she had lived in Metahuman central for long enough to know that there was always trouble a-brewing somewhere and it usually involved either them or those that hated them. Humans like her were just not made to tussle with gods made man, like the Metas were. The crowd surged in response to the action, and she followed suit, both wanting to not get shot and wanting to have and excuse to be away from the blasted sidewalk she was told to wait at.

But what could be waiting for her within the crowd that she waded through? And why did she feel as if something was pushing her, aside from the frightened folk around her, and urging her to keep moving with the herd?

Fletcher was concerned about these new people popping up left and right, what he had to deal with were these bomb strapped fellas. They seemed intent on running into the crowd, possibly to cause mass casualties by blowing themselves up. Fletcher acted in an instant teleporting to the dead eyed person who was the closest to the crowd, giving the man no time to react he teleported him away from the crowd on top of a building out of the way. Fletcher was no bomb genius and did not want to give him a moment to detonate the bomb. Teleporting it of his chest and off into a desolate desert. Putting the person into a choke hold he hand cuffed him. Reappearing with the hand cuffed man he proceed to engage the next bomb-man the exact same way. As teleporting back with the two hand cuffed he left them in the hands of e policemen and reappeared back at the building.

The whole scene seemed to be wrapping itself up with another meta getting involved to help clear away and take down the assailants. The Knight man was just standing their with the girl in his arms. Walking up to him he patted him on the shoulder. "Hey buddy, looks like it's all wrapping up here it's safe to put her down now."

There was no reply. "Mate? You there?"

Aiko Fujiwara was training at the Reformist Council in LA. She was not sure why they wanted something as powerful as her her at the reformists.

Aiko was happy on the island with her aunt and uncle it was a small fishing island where there were more cats than people. She at least had a good relationship with her aunt and uncle was unsure why this old woman took her to Los Anglese. The island allowed her the ability not to be inudated by mental images hitting her from all directions.

Aiko haed the instructor whomever it was he was a jerk. She was going to call and ask to be sent to island. At least the island was calm and uninteresting. She would not be able to see into others minds and alter them when she was on the island. Why was she here was the only thought she had and her reply to it was.

She did not know and she just wanted to go home.

((Collab Post between ajm8888 and Letter Bee.))

Lucas Abd-al-Yasu walked towards Aiko's room; he wasn't the instructor, but he had some questions to ask her, questions about the past and future. For, you see, Lucas, normally an idealistic soul, had broken down, and the reason for said breakdown was that things did not go his way. Why had things not gone his way? Well, basically, he got passed up for promotion to an adminsitrative position, even though he was so much better, or at least, his vision for what the world should be was.

Don't be like that, he chastised himself. That way lies hubris.

It's my emotional comfort in an uncomfortable world, his own insecurities replied, without my ideals, I am nothing.

Those were his thoughts as he knocked on Aiko's door.

"Yes?" asked the accented English of Aiko from behind the door.

"It's not your instructor, but I did come here to ask you something," Lucas then remembered to introduce himself. "My name is Lucas Abd-al-Yasu, and I need someone with your powers."

"What is it?" asked Aiko cautiously.

"Because I doubt my head's policies, and I need the help of someone who can see possible futures to see if those doubts have any meat to them," Lucas was now opening himself up. "Because I have this flaw, that I'm rigid and inflexible, while I think Auntie Sable's policies are just too...cynical and..." he looked around him, "weak. Basically, what I'm saying is: I want to know, am I being a baby, or should I oppose my head's polciies?"

"Doing that is difficult it requires energy and a lot of effort. Also I cannot control where it goes. It could be a possiblity and not the real future. So you could be preparing for something that never comes." Aiko replied through the door.

"Then show me a future where I lose," said Lucas. "Show me a future where I lose, so that I never have the pride to air such views again."

Aiko came out of her room. "Alright I will look but don't do nothing ...creepy." Aiko told Lucas.

"I won't," Lucas promised, "sorry if I gave that impression."

"You want to know the future, the bad future, so yes I think you are creepy. I mean are you really that desperate to humble yourself? Just use your own imagination." Aiko told Lucas.

"Well, this is fruitless," said Lucas.

"Yes it is because I already saw a bad future. A future where the reformists loose and the government rounds up the metas. They have killed all of them. You were shot in the bathroom at an Applebees while hiding. So it is a version of Days of Futures Past."

"I don't believe that," said Lucas, "I believe, for some reasom, that the Underground Movement will win. Sorry to be my own variety of Debbie Downer, but in my travels around the world, putting our brushfires, I've long since given up hope that my ideals, of Meta and Human coexistence, can ever be put in place. Humans and Metas have so much to gain by cooperating, but the desire to control is Sapient Nature, and I myself have it. Should I join the battle brewing at the Human Centre, I'll lose, and there will be nothing." A flash of anger appeared in Lucas' eyes, and he spoke:

"Why am I so inadequate? Why am I such a loser? I killed the 'Caliph' of IS, but when I think of fighting that 'Edge' guy, a chilling certainty tells me that (Edit: he's too strong for me.)"

"But, at the same time, I cannot kill myself, I cannot die, I want to continue on, I want to win. It's just that, I can't win, the future is already set; Edge will win, and we are all doomed."

"You think the outcome of a winning over Edge will result in an age of peace? Peace does not exsist without work. But killing Edge will just have another enemy replace him. You think I think this world is easy? Terrorsim I could stop? Possible horrible leaders. See my problem is I can't tell the difference between the true future and a possiblity. No amount of training will make the true future visible to me. The reason is I cannot see the true future until it becomes the present. I have stopped trying to see the future at least intetionally."

Aiko sighed.

"All I want is to go home and to be with my Aunt and Uncle. I's like to help but I can't tell what will be a win for you. Last time I listened to my insticts I ended up leaving the island and coming to LA. But I could try." Aiko rubbed her eyes.

"Please, do," said Lucas.

He wouldn't say another word till getting back. It seemed like the most important members have heeded the call. Oddly enough they we're all in Nancy's office, each one pissing and moaning about what should have been. He listened to each one carefully.

Do they not see it? The bigger plan, the plan that would put Metahumans at the top. Such foolishness.

"The Reformist's have shown their hands. They have no one that can stop us and the plans that have been set into motion. This is merely the first salvo in the war too come. Small and measured testing that will lead to much bigger things. War is a marathon, not sprint. What comes next will be the blood bath you've all wanted. Have no fear on that score." EDGE said as he took off his trench coat.

He special assignments for each of them, a church here, a hospital there. Chaos will rub rampant before they take over and resort order.

"Savor this small victory. What comes next won't be near as easy." EDGE with certain malice in his voice.

A smile, obscured by the helmet, spread over Alex's face as he turned this way and that, marveling at the shimmering points of light all around him. "Remarkable," he breathed. "And you can see what it all means? That is... quite a power you have, my lady."

The Paladin shook his head and forced himself back to business. A new shape had appeared next to his - someone was trying to talk to him. Add to that the fact that the fight might still be going on, the civilians might still be in danger... there was really no time to admire this girl's strange, beautiful world. "Yes. Take us back."

The knight extended a hand to grasp hers gently. "On your time."

Flashback, Earlier this Day

"Lucas, tell me," came the aged, but firm voice of George Maxwell, the US Secretary of State, "why do you want to be Head of Security for the LA Branch of the Reformist Movement? And before you say that you were the one who broke IS' back by killing Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, you did that with the help of other Metas and Normal People; you merely struck the final blow." The SoS was talking over a hologram projector.

"Mr. Maxwell," the young man, still a kid at heart, spoke, "because, with all due respect for Ms. Smoake, the current way of fighting the Underground Movement is not working. What we need, sir, is a conclusive way to defeat them, stop them, and destroy them and the threat they represent. Fact is, despite the 'high ideals' they sound out, they're just another bunch of terrorists, and must be dealt with like any other terrorist group."

"Then why don't you fight alongside the other Reformist Metas and cut off the head of 'Edge' like you did with Abu Bakr Al-Bagdhadi?" was George's even-toned question. This caused Lucas to turn his head away, and mumble somehing.

"What was that, Luke?" George asked another question, although he can already guess.

"Because the other Reformists, even our head, don't care about the same things I do!" Lucas finally cried out. "What I want to do, sir, is get both Humanity and Metas to the stars, to fulfill Arthur C. Clarke's dream of channeling Sapientkind's primal urges into space exploration, of finally dissapating those urges into the expanse of the universe, as well as finally getting them to cooperate. But Ian just ridiculed me when I broached the subject, and Auntie Sable just told me to 'get my head back on the ground'!" Lucas' frustration was a little childish now, but George had to deal with plenty of people like that in his time.

"Then your application for the position is denied...for now. I believe in the same things you do, but I will not break the unity of the Reformist movement just because you want to start a feud over your beliefs. If you want to get people interested in Space, be interesting. You're handsome, brave, and a little charismatic when you want to be, just go do some politicking; it's easier than you think."

"Oh, and go fight alongside Ian; it could just be that the reason he's not listening is because you haven't been beside him -" but Lucas had already shut off the hologram projector.

The Present Day

Sigh, Lucas had so much potential, but he could be inflexible. George was like that too, but he hid it better, so much better that he managed to get the position of Secretary of State. Either way, though, he had to tackle the problem of the Underground Movement; shouldn't be too hard, they were just another insurgency. With the recent attacks, though, he was going to have to distribute more Police into the streets, increasing the likelihood of Blacks and Metas - or Black Metas - killed on mere suspicion, which in turn would feed more discontent, which in turn would feed the UGM. A tried and tested strategy.

"This isn't any good; a reactive strategy plays right into their hands," he talked to himself. But without knowledge of the enemy, how was he going to eliminate them? And trying to infiltrate the movement would be too slow. Then it hit him. He pressed the button to contact Sable Smoak, saying to her once she came online:

"Hey, Ms. Smoak, ready to show the Underground a taste of their own medicine? Basically, I have an idea that I can implement in a few days; remember the Metahuman Peace Corps, aka the organization I browbeat Congress to make a provisional version of last year? Well, I'm sending them all to LA, swelled by young adult idealist recruits. The twist? It's all a trap for the UGM and Edgy; most of the 'recruits' will actually be agents of the Reformists, ready to spring the ambush." George was enthusaistic now.

"So, what do you think? Ready to help?" George planned on continuing with this project anyway, even without her.

An Hour Later

Once he had received Sable's reply, George would call Illegal Stuff Ptd. through a hidden, encrypted channel, saying:

"All right, I don't like going around the law, but I need your help; I'm deploying the provisional version of the Metahuman Peace Corps to LA in a few days, but it's actually a trap for Edgy. I need a trump card for this and I have a billion bucks to hire that trump card in defiance of, well, etiquette. Of course, there's the fact you don't really need or want money, so I'm hoping that the thrill of fighting the UGM would suit your whims enough."

@c3p-0h, @RoflsMazoy, @Mass City

Marcus leaped from one building to the next at speeds that seemed inhuman as well the fact that he was leaping well over a hundred with every jump. He needed to get to his target as quick as possible before they made his assassination more difficult. This job would see almost a million bucks in his pockets and to make this job even better, the women he was assassinating was a member of the British parliament. He would take great pleasure in putting a bullet in this Brit's brain. His mind for a short moment went back to the memory of his father's murder and his hatred rose up inside of him.

"Time to send this buck toothed Bure to God" he said to himself as his target came into a little ways down the street getting a vehicle that was being escorted by several guards. Once in position, Marcus quickly took out his sniper rifle and took aim at the vehicle. For a normal human the shot would have been very difficult, but his incredible senses and his fast thinking brain made the shot more easier.

"Goodnight lassie" he said and the pulled the trigger. The bullet flew its course and found its target going right through the skull of the female politician.

"Gotcha!" Marcus exclaimed and then made his escape, moving at speeds ten times faster than an athletic human. Now he needed to get away as fast as possible before he would have to fight off the authorities. After he had gotten away and made back to his safe house, Marcus contacted his contractors and received his money for his job well done. Now he was waiting for his next job and even though it didn't really matter to him Marcus still kept up on the situation with humans and metahumans. He had taken jobs for organizations who hired metahuman hit men and they paid handsomely. Maybe sometime soon they would offer him work.

"Ha!" Ellen blurted with all the sarcasm she could muster. "You think you are just sooo clever trying to analyze people but you are just trying so hard to fill that trope that you have to be some psychotic slag." She sounded irritated but the reality was that Ellen Bowers was cold and heartless at this point. She couldn't give two shits about 'Sebastian the Wannabe Lector', or his attempt at trying to size her up. He didn't know shit about her actual situation, she never told him. He was just pulling shit out of his ass and spewing the same old bullshit that the media liked to say.

"Pfft!" Ellen spat with a grin before Sebastian even had a chance to finish. "Oh please, don't give me that bullshit, Sebastian. You can put on this act all you want, but in the end you're just some shithead who jerks it in his own pool of blood. And nothing will ever cha- Ack! God!" Ellen was suddenly interrupted by Nancy's fevered attempts at sloppily waving a bag in front of Ellen's flawless face. She had even forgot Nancy was still in the room with all of Sebastian's attempts at strutting about.

With nothing held back for her colleague, Ellen rudely shoved Nancy's little forehead away. "No thanks, loser!" She added with a scowl but that would have been her reaction regardless of the chips being poisoned or not. To Ellen, there was no difference between a oily Cheeto and one laced with Ricin. "Losers! All of you!" She shook her head and threw up her hands, signalling her intent to resign. "I cannot believe I'm stuck here babysitting this lot..." She muttered in resentment as she turned and stormed out into the hallway and around the corner.

-
Meanwhile, Isaac had been taking it all in. He wasn't much for words but he would never tune out of a conversation. It was actually a scary concept to see the constant bickering among the Underground Members. There was no sense of camaraderie, it seemed, and everyone appeared to be tied together by loose string, all pulling and tugging at them to get free. EDGE, himself, was that string and there was a lot riding on him. It was times like these, and many others by unrelated facts, that made Isaac reconsider his position. The Underground promised results and revenge but it all seemed so volatile. The flips side of that was the Reformist but progress over there seemed so painfully slow and Isaac was in disagreement with their methods. But it seemed a heck of a lot safer.

Sebastian's question snapped Isaac back to the conversation. He honestly wasn't ever phased by Sebastian's taunts and always kept a cool head. He had become accustomed to taunts and insults growing up that they never penetrated the skin. In response to Sebastian's offer, Isaac merely shrugged and grunted, not really sure if Sebastian really intended on sparring. It didn't seem like his thing to do.

The sound of crinkling soon after his grunt, brought Isaac to the smaller figure in front of him. Nancy was insisting on sharing a snack in a rather gleeful manner. Gently, Isaac grabbed Nancy's cold wrist and lowered. "No thank you, Nancy." He said softly, not even realizing that he had just turned down poisoned puffs and rather said no on his instinct that he 'just wasn't hungry.' Nancy's interruption was rather timely in jogging his memory, however. He had to admit to being really curious about the official response of authorities everywhere. "Hey, Nancy. I don't suppose you know what's happening out there right now?" Isaac asked in politely, finally releasing the girl's hands.

Aya

Five times, Aya thought to herself as the knight addressed her once again. Shifting uncomfortably, she looked down as he marveled at her power. Sure it was pretty to look at, but what good was it really? Besides, it'd never been something she'd been particularly proud of anyway. She forced herself to breathe as she felt his hand on hers. All she had to do was use her power again, but the thought made her hesitate – the image of her father's face appeared in her mind. His sad eyes as he realized what his daughter was, how he tried to smile through the pain for her, as though making some false reassurance…

Aya cut herself off by snapping her and the man back into their bodies. Sensation rushed back into the world, the LA heat, the mass or colors, the sounds of the fight… The sharp metal edges of the knight's armor were once again digging into her skin. There was another man standing behind him, with a hand on the knight's shoulder. Though his voice had been slightly muffled from beyond the veil, it was now clear as day in Aya's still ringing ears. She hurried to climb down from her 'savior's' arms, swaying a bit as her shaky legs struggled to support her, but quickly finding her balance.

"Um," she started, "Right, well… thank you." Aya shifted away from him, feeling vulnerable with this man who now knew her secret. She glanced between the two strangers, then back down the block. The commotion was too far away for Aya to make out clearly, but it seemed like fighting was still going on. Something pulled in her to go and… do something. Help. But what was she supposed to do? How could she be expected to keep up with people like Edge, or people carrying guns? Besides, this wasn't her fight. But even as she told herself that, she chewed her lip in uncertainty. Wasn't this her fight? She was a Meta after all, no matter how much she hid it.

But no. Aya had no place in fights or politics or any of that. The image of Edge emerging from the building, blood and bodies clearly visible behind him, flashed through her mind and she shuddered. Giving her head a small shake, she turned her attention back to the knight.

"I'll just, uh, go then. If you need to… help over there or something, you can go. I'm fine. Thanks. Again." Her cheeks began to color as her stammering went on, and she quickly turned on her heel. She was ready to leave the knight and the bodies behind, and hide in the relative safety of her apartment. Of her normal life. Though it seemed she'd be taking the path through the ghetto home today.

---

The movement of the crowd was now readily apparent to Clem as she stumbled out into the open and toward an alleyway down the street from the L.A. Center for Humans. Sat in the alleyway was her salvation. Silver and shining dimly as it reflected the light from her entrance into the alley. So mysterious and alluring in its solitude, she felt herself being willed towards it. She couldn't stop herself, as her stomach pulled her forward toward this argent anomaly before her. She reached out her hand, quick but sluggish as time seemed to slow around her. Its surface was cool. Smooth.

With a clatter, she lifted the lid off of the trash can and promptly threw up. So much blood, so many dead in that center. It was sickening, it was barbaric. She could feel her insides churning and gurgling as she horked up the remainder of the strawberry smoothie she has been nursing earlier. A deluge of pink goop, thrown into the open trashcan as she lifted herself from the trash, and put the lid back on in disgust. At both what she had seen, and herself. A gloopy chunk of pink froth clung to her pristine white hair, like the aftermath of a bubblegum bubble-bath. The acrid smell was going to take ages to come out. The images of the dead were never going to, on the other hand.

Those people. They may have been misguided and bigoted, but they were still people. No one deserved to have their fate decided for them like that. Clementine mused to herself as she rubbed at her rumbling stomach, now empty and burning as was her throat. She spat pink and red onto the floor of the alley and swiped at her phone with one hand, as the other shook itself clean of leftover smoothie and stomach acid. Those people were just people, and the fact that they were attacked like that only meant that no one was safe, and that something was stirring up. Clementine had to protect herself. To find a safe haven, and protect herself but she's just a girl, what could she do besides buy a gun?

She paused for a second, before starting to tap away on her phone. She knew of a way to protect herself, but she would need some help. And some money.

Alex jerked his head slightly as he was returned to the world of the physical. He felt the girl scrambling out of his grasp and released her quickly - the danger, it seemed, had passed.

Someone was talking to him. "Mate? You there?"

The Paladin cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. Apologies, my friend, I was just having something of an... out of body experience." Considering the girl's timid reaction to the use of her powers, it would... probably be polite not to let slip what had just happened. If she wished to hide her nature, that was her right.

He looked around again. The scene certainly seemed to be wrapped up - the henchmen were dealt with, the people were safe, and the murderous meta was nowhere to be seen. It would have been better if he could have been apprehended, though in a situation like this perhaps it was simply better that nobody else had been hurt.

"It seems to me that the rest of you have handled matters very well in my absence. You should well be proud. I... suppose if you have no further need of me, I will take my leave." The knight turned and began to trudge off, his cloak dragging on the ground. At another thought, he turned again. "Take care of yourself, my lady. And thank you for the... invitation."

The knight replied back to him, he seemed slightly groggy. Like waking up after a good nights sleep. The woman in his arms quickly clambered out and dropped to the ground she didn't look so good. The Gentlemen inside him told him to help her, after all she had experienced today she would certainly need help getting home. "I'll make sure that woman get's home safe Knight man? You got a alias or name? You can call me Blink."

After the Knight replied he quickly teleporting in front of her he stopped her before she could move any further.

"Listen I can understand if you don't want any help for people like us. You seem like the kind of person who doesn't like to be a bother. But how could I ever call myself a man or a hero if I didn't make sure you got home safe before. I'm a teleporter you see so I can have you at your door faster then you can blink. Though the act of teleporting can seem a little weird you shouldn't feel bad at all."

Fletcher offered his hand to the woman smiling sincerely.

@c3p-0h@TheWizardLizard

Sebastian had paid little attention to Ellen, his focus entirely center on Nancy's thrown hand. He had stopped it, and all of the black gunk she called blood, right before any of it had hit him, and subconsciously controlled all of the blood she was flinging everywhere as well. He then began to play with it, making it wriggle and writhe, give him a hi-five, even played rock-paper-scissors with the floating appendage. When offered the processed cheesy snack, he had the hand pick out a singular cheeto for him, and gave Nancy a nod in thanks. He didn't eat it, however, as he was again focused on messing about with Nancy's hand before he remembered why he had bothered nancy in the first place. But as soon as that thought struck him, so did another. Turning to the two still in the room, he gave them a smile before reaching into his pockets to pull out a plastic baggie full of mushrooms and another bag filled with a suspicious white powder.

"I found this on the guy I was torturing, pretty sure it's cocaine, and I'm wondering if anyone wants to try it with me. Either that or these mushrooms, and I'll just say it now, but one way or another you'll be ingesting these at some point. I'm pretty sure you'd rather know when then have it be sprung on you. I'm partial to trying the shrooms, but if you want to go with the hardcore stuff first, I'm all for it." Sebastian grinned like a cheshire cat as he placed the drugs on Nancy's desk, before having them hand pop the cheeto into his mouth. Chewing it for a bit, he opened his mouth to say something, only suddenly fall into a fit of rather violent coughing. It started off slowly, as if the object had gone done the wrong tube, but it soon became apparent that something was wrong as he began to grasp at his throat, obviously seeming to be choking on something.

The coughing was getting worse and worse, his face seeming turning purple as his blood began deoxygenate, and soon, blood began to leak from his mouth, eyes, and nose as his body fell to the floor. It convulsed wildly, his head shaking and his eyes rolling up into the back of his head before he finally seemed to expire, his blood still leaking out in a slow rivulet. His eyes would stare up into the air, frozen in pain, suffering, and . . . mischief?

No sooner had it seemed certain that the man was dead, a groan cam from his throat as he slowly rose up from his position on the floor, hands outstretched in the classic zombie way, his head swiveling towards Issac as he kept on rising, walking towards him with a shuffling gait. "I want your brains, Issac, give me your brrrrraaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnnnnnzzzzzzz! Brrrrrraaaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnzzzzzzz!!!!" He managed two steps before he broke down into laughter, finding his faked death to be horrible entertaining, and finding it even more so if either of the two had believed it. He doubted Nancy did, as he was pretty sure whatever she put on the cheeto wouldn't do that, but isaac seemed more likely, though he doubt the giant man would care. Speaking of the cheeto, Sebastian cleaned all of the blood from him and spit out a small red pellet into the near by waste bin. He Had wrapped the processed food in a layer of blood the moment it had entered his mouth and solidified the blood to make double sure he wouldn't ingest any of it, then kept it stuck to the back of his throat while he put on his little performance.

Turning to Nancy with his signature smile, he gave her a small round of applause. "I don't know what you put on that food, but I'm sure you enjoyed the thought of me dying a painful death before you turned me into one of your Heralds. Not today, sadly, hey, tomorrow is another day." He smiled as he waved to her with her own hand, before turning back to Issac with a slightly more genuine smile. He enjoyed the man's naivety and generally quiet disposition, as it allowed him to play his shtick to death with little interruption. He had been listening to Ellen talking somewhat, and he had to admit that she was right, he was playing a role. The reason: it was much more fun to be like the Joker or Freddy Krueger than to be just a boring little psychopath. He remembered the days where he would just sit in the corner and stare at all of the other kids, having his presence ignored at all times because he just never understood them.

"Issac, should you or I break the news to poor Ellen that I'm asexual. I'd do it, but I hate to ruin her fantasies of me, oh how did she so eloquently put it, 'Jerking it to a pool of my own blood'. Anyway, lead the way to the sparring area if you want to do that, or we can stay here and try some coke and shrooms. Oh, why not do both, imagine how much fun that will be. I'll leave the choice to you, but I really would like to do the third option."

@Savato
@Pirouette



Ian had ignored the guy who had been yelling something at him, more focused on running the moment he saw the two goons pill out two pistols. Luckily, he was able to make it to a nearby parked car to take cover behind. He also took the time to curse as he saw all hell break loose, and while the other two tried their best to do something, they had only been able to save so many. Looking at the bodies lying in the street, the rage he was feeling caused his power to unconsciously activated, causing the ground beneath him to crack and break apart excessively before he got a handle in himself. Taking a breath, he launched himself into the air, using his impressive agility and kinetic lifts to help him evade the gun fire as he took brace, these holding a tiny explosives inside of them, and sending them hurtling towards the two on the ground.

The civilian one would take one to the chest, and the explosion would set off his jacket, causing him to go up, but luckily their were no living bodies around him. The cop, who was trying to escape, would take one in each of his legs, the following detonation would blow out the back of his legs, crippling him on the floor. Ian would fall to the floor a ways away from him, and if he tried to crawl away, two knives would quickly pin his hands to the ground. With him take care off, he quickly turned Light. "Here's your arm, now hurry up and get the bomb jacket off of him before he plows. Oh, and welcome back." He have a curt nod as he tossed the strange toonish figure her arm, hoping that she'd be able to reach the cop in time before he decided to off himself. He was in front of an nearby alley way, and while it looked deserted, if he went up now, that be peoples homes and livelihoods that got wrecked. Not to mention what he'd have to here from the press.

"I really hate my job."

@Archmage MC

Marcus watched as a newsflash came onto the tv screen in his safe house and the headlines massacre scrolled across in red letters. He recognized the area to be somewhere in LA and now he realized why there didn't seem to be as much police activity on the look out for the assassin that killed a politician. This massacre was a crime involving metahumans and anti metahuman protestors. His assassination work would most likely just be blamed on a normal human killer and not have any relations to metahumans. This incident made him curious and Marcus decided to go and investigate the crime scene and get some idea of the players involved in this game kill humans or metahumans, this might mean more money for him.

He left the safe house and jumped up the roof of a nearby building. Moving as fast as his superhuman legs could carry him Marcus leaped from one building to the next until his vision spotted the crime scene. He got as close as could without being noticed and even from a distance he could see the blood of those slaughtered. It was almost like a scene from a movie with brutal the killings looked and he had seen his fair share of brutality.

"By God's fury, now there's some innocent bloodshed that I've not seen in a long time" he said to himself, the reformists were already on the scene and he wondered how they would respond with this attack by the Underground. I didn't need to take sides immediately, he would watch and wait to see who would pay him the most for his services. Normally the group most desperate were the ones who reached deeper into their pockets for help.



Pixel was riding on top of a flying saucer made of pixels that he created and while on his rounds above LA he noticed the crowds of people gathered at the crime scene were humans had been killed by the Underground movement. Some people looked on with awe and some with anger as he landed his pixel creation on the ground not too far away from the scene of the massacre and made the craft disappear.

"My God, what happened here?" he asked himself as he created two pac-man ghosts, which went to have a look since they could fly and get over the blockade.

"It looks like somebody slaughtered the people at the LA Center for Humans" one of the ghosts replied as they returned to him. Sam didn't have much kindness towards the group, but no amount verbal hate would warrent such a massacre and he felt angered at the culprits who did this. He clenched his fist in anger.

"The savage idiots who did this are trying to ruin the peace that humans and metahumans are trying to maintain with each other. I can't wait to get my hands on the bastard that did this and make him pay and face proper justice" he said angrily to his pixel creations.

"You humans sure do have problems accepting each other, we ghost all agree and work together for one thing, which is catch Pac-man" the other ghost replied.

"Ok, I've got it." Light said, reattaching her arm, waving to Ian as she made her way to the downed officer, dislocating his arms while she also slashed at the bomb vest to get it off of him, storing what bits she got off inside her pocket space. the Officer tried to fight her off, but it didn't amount to much without working arms.

Not feeling threatened much at all as a few other metas nearby were dealing with the other explosive jacket guys, Light took a casual look over the battlefield. A meta in armor was carrying some girl who he had just saved or rescued or whatever, Ian was dealing with his things, and another meta was protecting the crowd of people who Light was surprised got anywhere near this place. Still, the dead bodies were not a pleasant sight, and she guessed that she was called back to LA to deal with whoever was doing these terrorist attacks on the people.

"Hey Ian, whenever everything settles down, we should catch up." Light said, tying the officer up with his own shirt. She looked at the armored meta and the girl in his arms and called out to them with a hello.

@Raijinslayer
@TheWizardLizard
@c3p-0h

((Collab post between Letter and Mass City, with some Savato))

"Lucas!" shouted out a voice from the nearby corridor, "don't scare the little girl!" And with that, a sixteen-year old young woman, with dyed-rainbow hair and wearing a T-Shirt and short shorts that left little to the imagination, ran to just beside the taller man. "I mean, seriously, don't be so miffed you didn't get a position you didn't deserve, anyway, Scrappy-Doo! Fact is, I'm interested in space, you're interested in space, but you're turning 'being interested in space' into a life-and-death matter!" Lizzie - for that was who the girl was, put her hands on her hips.

"Liz," said Lucas, "I don't like being ridiculed, simple as that. Ian and Sable can believe whatever they want; their beliefs are just...well, how do I put it, too mundane. We need to focus Sapientkind's attention on what's up there, the stars, so that we would be able to channel our energies peacefully, or at least, sort of peacefully. And I am not about to work just to make others realize what should be...So. Fucking. Obvious."

"It's my way or no way, and Ian and Sable have chosen no way."

Lizzie rolled her eyes, then turned towards Aiko, holding out a bag of dried apple pieces.

"Here, a gift," she said.

"Thanks." Aiko replied. "I still can't tell him what he wants to know." she rplied to the younger of the two.

"That's okay," Lizzie was smiling. "You don't have to answer him. Anyway, let's go to the Entertainment Room; watch some Star Wars. Or would you prefer a rom-com?"

"I'll follow you guys," said Lucas, "I've got nothing better to do except lose to Edge. I mean, seriously, I only have hydrokinesis, and while conjuring up and controlling water is powerful to you, it's still not enough, still not enough to fix the world."

"You cannot fix the world without hard work, just saying, nor can you fix the world without relying on somebody else at one point," Lizzie was already walking Aiko towards the entertainment room.

"Well, too bad," Lucas was about to admit his true feelings. "I'm too jealous of Ian - he has everything - while I have nothing at all."

"Didn't your profile say that you were kind, idealistic, and compassionate?" Lizzie had almost reached the entertainment room, "well I'm not seeing any of that."

"Well, it's because I just realized I wasn't powerful enough to change the world, and no one is willing to lend me their power without caveats - I mean, seriously, I have a grand vision - get humanity to Space. People should be flocking to follow me on the strength of that vision alone -"

"TSUNDERE KICK!" shouted Lizzie in allcaps, kicking Lucas in the stomach, but not using her super strength. Lucas staggered back, and said:

"Sorry for being delusional by all objective standards. It's just that I've been drinking a lot lately and -"

"Enough excuses, we're here," Lizzie said as they arrived in the entertainment room. "So," she turned to Aiko again, "want Star Wars, or a Rom Com?"

"Star Wars, but episode 4." replied Aiko. She wanted pizza. "I can make Lucas forget about his desire to beat Edge." She smirked.

"I want a pizza," Aiko wanted Pizza and did the sad eyes.

"All right," said Lizzie. "Hey, Lukie!" she looked at Lucas, "get us some pizza; Four Cheeses!" With a frown, Lucas went off, and a few minutes later, just as the movie was starting, returned with a Pizza.

"Well can I at least get a soda as well?" asked Aiko.

Lucas frowned, and, after setting the pizza down, went back, and got three sodas. The three would then keep watching the movie, until Lizzie said something:

"Hey," she said to Aiko, "I know I shouldn't mix business with pleasure, or pleasure with business, but what do you think of this?" The sixteen year-old then showed her iPad to Aiko, showing her the picture of a boy, also sixteen, with black hair and blue eyes and a sorrowful look. "Doesn't he look hot? Read the documentation that comes after the picture; it tells his story." Yes, Lizzie was talking about Jackson.

Now Lucas felt he was justified in rolling his eyes.

"Listen, I don't share my Church's view on Premarital Sex - it is, after all, the same Church that proclaims Reason and Faith as two sides of the same coin, yet condemned Galileo - but can you not lust after the bad boys? That kid's bad business, or at least two of his personalities are." Lucas did care for Lizzie, after all. Then he faced Aiko.

"Hey, if you cannot tell my future, can you at least warn Liz' about how her getting boy-crazy will lead to her death?"

"He looks cute but he seems a little mopey. I'd rather have a happier person. Not too happy just a person that gets cranky and actually can be happy." Aiko bit into her pizza. She did the inward blow as she cooled the hot cheese. Aiko did not want to ask about relationships it was not something she was fond of.

"Anyways lets watch this movie!" replied Aiko.

They were at the scene where Luke was dreaming about going off to explore the great wide galaxy, with Lizzie saying:

"So, Aiko, happier now?"

"Yes, but lets not talk about it." Aiko was watching the movie.

The woman's heart was pounding in her chest as she sprinted through the desiccated halls of the abandoned tenement building. It was the kind of place anyone should be afraid to be in, especially at this hour - dark, unsafe, filled with disreputable characters. But that was not why she was in such great terror.

Charles stepped after her, slowly, methodically, not matching his frantic quarry in pace nor demeanor. The woman - the creature - had seen the face of the monster, the Thing mothers warn their children about when they tell them to be good, eat their vegetables, go to bed without a fuss.

Her fear was intoxicating, and the grim faced man breathed it in and steadily willed his body to grow.

The thing in front of him stole a glance back at her pursuer, and the sight of the tall, strange, almost-human thing steadily following her drove her to new heights of terror - and speed. That was fine. He'd catch up when he caught up.

Finally, their terminal dance reached a close when the woman, the thing, rounded a corner and smacked into a cement wall. This section of the tenement had been cordoned off, and she was cornered by the beast.

Hands shaking, voice letting out small, involuntary whimpers, she turned to face her pursuer and saw only darkness, stretching into the hall through which she had run seemingly forever. As she tried to control her breathing, her eyes and forearms began to glow orange, hands generating small, sputtering balls of fire.

"I'm not afraid of you, do you hear me? I'm not afraid!"

Those were the words she chose to fling at the shadows, as so many had before. As usual, they were lies.

All was still for a moment, and then it tore out of the darkness.

It was maybe nine feet tall, sinuous and strange. It undulated like a snake as it sprinted, its foot-long claws like warped, bladed fingers dragging on the ground. It's face was a grim mockery of humanity - white, staring eyes and a mouth full of jagged fangs. It shrieked, just once, the sound of a wounded animal, of a knife in the dark, of everything the woman did not know.

And then Charles Metzger was on top of his quarry, and all that was left was the wet work. Inhuman, he thought as his claws tore flesh and bone. Insect, he thought as he sank his fang's into the screaming woman's shoulder. Disease, he thought as his prey's mortal struggling slowed and finally, stopped.

Charles stepped back from the body, already twisting back to his facsimile of humanity. He did not deserve to wear this, this mask of normalcy, of purity - but as long as he had work left to do, he would have to endure the guilt.

When his transformation was complete, the grim man pulled a smartphone from his blood-spattered suit pocket, snapped three pictures of the grisly scene in front of him, and put it back. Then, whistling no particular tune, Charles turned to exit the tenement building, making his way to where his car was parked outside.

EDGE was ready, to this point, everything was perfect. It was time to start the war against the humans. Gathered around him was the best he had. Each and everyone of them were killers and they were good at it in their own ways.

"Today is the we've been waiting for. We shall take what is ours. Nancy! I'd have you grow our ranks! Where better to do so than the happiest place on Earth? Disneyland! Send your zombie's out and let them play"

"Isaac and my dear lovely Ellen. I'd have you two work in tandem for a recruitment mission. There's a lovely lad named Mu being kept at Janus Corp. Seet poor boy free."

"My lovely brother and sister team. Kill thee fucking mayor. Let thee world know, no one is safer from us."

"Today wee grow our numbers and prove we can get to anyone, anywhere. All thee while proving Thee Reformists are nothing but our play things. Now go and do as you were asked."

He watched them leave, ones by one. Sebastian was the last one to go.EDGE stopped by placing a hand on his shoulder. He had a special task for him. "There's a little girl with thee reformists, Aiko. Bring her here, without damages. Elijah Craigh will likely be with her. If the moment seems right kill him as well." EDGE let go of his shoulders and and walked away. There were other plans too see to.



Elijah Craigh snuck into where Aiko was training. He loved her like she was his own and it shown through to anyone who was watching

Aiko liked a scuffle but she needed a break. She wanted to trick Eli into the lottery game again. She'd send him to the gas station get some lotto tickets and they'd get money sometimes up to a grand. She sometimes knew what the big numbers were but she did not play them. Only because when she saw the winning numbers it meant another person was about to hit the megamillions jackpot.

Where Aiko's future ability worked better was her ability to predict fighters moves she described it to Eli as "Like in those Sherlock movies where you see Iron Man planning out his actions."

But then there was odd quirks like her inability to predict cards, any card game she would loose, and race outcomes. Eli scoffed at her for being odd However when he wanted something from her he'd bribe her with sweets. Her favorite was peanut butter cups. She was an athlete and she need carbs. Also kicking a bag helped her train and get some anger out.

"And people wonder why I loved you so.' Elijah said dl scooping her in his arms.

"Because you like ice cream as well?" Aiko jibbed. She smiled and laughed as Elijah scooped her up.

" I love you, you little shit. " Elijah said as he happy as he could her leaching his memorial away.

Sable Smoak twirled her cigarette between her fingers, grey smoke floating around her as her mind worked. What a mess. Leaning back in her office chair, she pressed out the embers on her cigarette into her ash tray. Forty-three dead. Granted, the city was likely better off without that particular crowd. But people didn't care about that. All they cared about was the fact that a Meta had killed them, and because of course all Metas were alike in every aspect, she was automatically responsible. In the two days since the attack, they'd been flooded with letters, emails, phone calls, even the odd imbecile who thought they could just strut in and give her the what-for. She snorted at that thought. And that was to say nothing about Maxwell and other folk calling her up with hackneyed ideas, like they thought they ought to be doing her job.

But regardless of how stupid they were or how much was working against the Reformists, they all had a point. That attack had been a total sham. The Underground had up and murdered people in broad daylight, and the Reformists hadn't been able to do jack shit about it. (Then again, the same could be said about the LAPD, but no, apparently murder wasn't in their jurisdiction if it was Metas.)

They couldn't just be on the defensive at all times, waiting for the Underground to say 'jump.' They had to be proactive. But –

An idea popped into her head that made her want to drop her head into her desk, then. That Craigh brat was in town. In the building. She blew out a sigh before pressing the button on the intercom.

"Craigh," she said in her gravelly voice, "Get your ass up here."

"Well Baby Girl, seems like the old hag found out I was in house. Get your stuff together, we're going to Disneyland when I get done," Eli said cupping her face before walking away into Sable's office.

"I see the almighty has summoned me!" Eli did his best to belittle her power. "What do you want? I'm late to bang a mermaid," Elijah said plopping down in a chair. "If you wanna pass me one of those smokes I wouldn't say no."

Sable raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and blew a cloud of smoke as though she'd just taken a drag.

"Shut up, brat," she said. "Y'know I've been askin' myself why the hell I tolerate you, and I discovered the answer: no good reason." Leaning back in her chair, she gave him a once-over. "But I've been doin' some thinking to myself, and maybe you're not as useless as you seem. I take it you heard about the commotion the Underground started the other day."

"And what does that have to do with me? I'm not a member nor do I care. How does that impinge on me?" Eli demanded as he reached for the pack of smokes, using his own powers to light it.

Leaning forward, the Reformist leader placed her elbow on the table and curled her fingers up into a fist. As Eli attempted to take a drag, the smoke was pulled out, forming a hazy orb between the two before it could ever touch his lungs.

"It has to do with you if you ever want to be in this building again to see that kid you're so fond of," she said, voice stern. She relaxed in her chair again, releasing her control on the smoke. It floated up to the ceiling. "And the way I see it, long as those punks are out and about, she's in as much danger as anyone else – more, if they find out what she can do and decide they can make use of her. If you had any brains in that head a' yours, you'd see that."

"So what? You want me to kill them? Is that it you old hag? You would hire me to do your wet work? To kill shit I don't care about for minimum wage?"

"I ain't askin' ya to kill shit," she said, her patience beginning to wear thin. "But the fact of the matter is right now we're out gunned and out classed. We need reinforcements. Particularly those who can keep their ear to the ground and know how to hold their own when it comes to that. You wanna keep prancing around the world, tellin' yourself you're a wildcard with no stake in this, fine, but I can guarantee if you do, there's gonna come a time where you regret it."

"Listen here you old shit. Ain't a one gonna take that girl from me, you or who the fuck ever. Ain't no one gonna tells me what I can and can't do. I brought you this girl, anything happens to her, I'll kill anyone involved. Reformist included. Do you get me sweetheart? Now if you'll excuse me, Aiko is late for Disney, and I'm late to bang a mermaid." Elijah stated as he got up to walk out of the office.

Sable just sat in her chair, quietly watching him throw his tantrum. Just before he left the room, she spoke up.

"That pride of yours is gonna bring nothing but hurt to that little girl, Craigh. Don't come bangin' down my door when you finally learn that."

Once her office door slammed shut, she picked up her desk phone and pressed the button to put her through with her assistant.

"I want security alerted. Once Eli Craigh brings back Aiko tonight, he's no longer welcome here." She hung up the phone. Sable would allow him this one last day with the girl. But after that, she was a woman over her word.

Eli went back Aiko. He didn't once think about his conversation with the old hag. Once he got to her room, Eli spread his arms out and fell to his knees. "BABY GIRL! WE'RE GOING. TO DISNEYLAND!" Elijah shouted ready to carry her out.

"Okay lets go! Yauuuuuuuuuuuuu-Sama-Kun!" she shouted happily.

Elijah couldn't help but laugh. "Come with me now."

"Okay!" she smiled.