Somewhere in Lost Haven

"I prefer the term sexually active." Thunderbolt complained. "But sure, insult the man who saved your life." The two speedsters glanced at each other wearily as Pendragon started shouting into the air. "Who...Who are you talking to?" Boom asked. Her question was answered in the form of a woman appeared before them, seemingly out of nowhere. Thunderbolt jumped, frightened by her sudden arrival. He tried to play it off as nothing and listened as the two ladies conversed. The giant tentacled dinosaur was (apparently) something called a "Thorian Thrasher" and seemed to be some sort of magical entity. This woman, who looked like a slutty Gandalf cosplayer to Harvey, admitted to having brought the creature here. The two speedsters stood silently by and tried to piece together what the actual hell was going on. It was quite a confusing mess, but their objective was clear enough when slutty Gandalf revealed the beast's primary weakness: a gem, buried within its disgusting body. In the background, the monster was beginning to rise to its feet once more, its regeneration proving extremely annoying to deal with.

Yet, the Swordswomen started another conversation with some unseen, unheard being. Thunderbolt and Boom, standing behind Pendragon, attempted to communicate their confusion to each other through a series of ridiculous hand gestures. It wasn't until the girl abruptly turned around that the two froze, with Boom attempting to look as nonchalantly at the obviously insane woman as possible. "Magic. Yeah. Of course." Boom said with a nod. She looked over Pendragon's shoulder at her brother, and Thunderbolt gave her an assuring thumbs up. "Not that your plan isn't...workable, but I think it'd be a good idea to...expand upon it. Just a bit. I'll knock that thing on its ass while you use chop up its insides and look for that gem. Thunderbolt'll run interference for us and keep the...Thrasher...from blindsiding us. Sounds good? Alright. Here we go!"

Thunderbolt was the first to run in. He waved his hands around like an idiot and shouted at the Thorian Thrasher in an effort to get its attention. "Hey! Over here! Look at me, ya stupid lizard!" When the dinosaur turned its attention to Harvey, Laura disappeared in the opposite direction. A second and a half later, she appeared on the other side of the street, slamming into the back of the Thorian's right leg with her shoulder. But the monster only stumbled. Thunderbolt stopped dodging the Thrasher's tentacles and jumped up, punching it right in the nose. While the lizard was temporarily stunned, Thunderbolt dashed over to its other leg. He rotated his hands at mach 600, effectively turning them into superheated plasma chainsaws. Harvey then plunged his arms into the Thorian Thrasher's leg and sliced it in half. The behemoth fell to the ground with a loud crash. Boom went to work ripping into its stomach in a similar fashion to Thunderbolt's earlier attack, hoping that Pendragon was doing the same somewhere else. Thunderbolt stayed near the front of the creature's maw, pulling off its rapidly regenerating tentacles at lightning speeds. Once its face was turned to mush, he raced to the back of the monster and sliced its tail off.

"I found it!" Boom shouted. She grabbed the bright crystal from its place in the moving, contorting mass of flesh, attempting to pull it out. But the thing wouldn't budge. "Thunderbolt, I need-" She began; but her brother was there before she could finish speaking. He grabbed Laura by her waste and tugged with her. The two speedsters fell backwards as the gem became dislodged, a giant tentacle still attached to the shiny, slim covered rock. The moment the 'master tentacle' left the Thorian Thrasher's body, however, all hell broke loose. Tentacles shot out in all directions from its writhing corpse, latching on to anything it could and pulling it into the center of its fleshly mass. "Holy crap!" Thunderbolt shouted as he batted away a hundred tentacles a second. Boom tried to do the same, but she wasn't quick enough to fend them all off and found herself being dragged by dozens of tentacles towards what remained of the Tyrannosaurus Rex wannabe. Her screamed alerted Harvey to his sister's peril. The speedster rotated his arms as rapidly as he could, creating hurricane-force winds and throwing the grabbers off of Boom. "I've seen enough henta-" He began to quip, only for Boom to smack him upside the head. "DON'T. YOU. DARE." Thunderbolt blushed. "Sorry. I got carried away- Hey, where's Pendragon?"

The two speedsters turned, hearing something that sounded like "Bloody" and "Pay attention" and a possible "twats." Thunderbolt climbed over the Thrasher's body, dodging its tentacles to find Pendragon struggling toward the gem. She sliced a good chunk of flesh off the master tentacle, but couldn't finish the job before the tentacles wrapped around her and dragged the teenager away. Thunderbolt danced around the monster's graspers and yanked the gem off the tentacle where Pen had done the most damage. Everything stopped. The tentacles fell to the ground, lifeless and dead. Thunderbolt tossed the gem to Pendragon and gave her a salute before going to check on his sister. "Are you-" He began, but she stopped him with a wave. "I'm fine. Really. How's Pendragon?" Thunderbolt shrugged. "No worse for wear; but she looks pretty pissed."

The two speedsters regrouped with Pendragon after a moment's respite. Harvey placed his hand behind his head and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry about earlier." He said. That looked to be the end of it, but one super-speed glance at Boom told Harv that he wasn't done yet. "You're just..pretty stunning. Well, both 'pretty' and 'pretty stunning,' but- Uhhh. You look older than you sound. So I'd like to apologize for making advances on you. Didn't know you were so young. It was really out of place. And. Uhm." Boom stepped in at that point. "If you're ever in trouble, give us a call and we'll be there faster than you can say 'Help.' That's a guarantee." Laura handed Pendragon a business card with their superhero names at the top and a phone number across the bottom. The cellphone it connected to was a specially made, untraceable phone they had designed specifically for contact with other heroes.

"Oh, but don't use your real phone unless you absolutely have to. Try a burner or a public phone. We don't want to know who you really are." Boom added.

"We gotta go. Like, now. The world still need's saving. We'll see you around." The two speedsters gave the girl a wave before disappearing in a flash of bright light and a cloud of smoke.

---

Undisclosed Location
A Few Minutes Later

The speedster's timing was less than impeccable. They were the last two to arrive, almost a full minute after Iron Knight had said "we." They came running in, a trail of torn up dirt and grass rocketing into the sky behind them as they attempted to stop. "There was traffic." Thunderbolt quipped, strolling forward confidently. Boom, however, was leaning over with her hands on her knees. "Never ran...so fast...before.." She wheezed. When Laura recovered after thirty or so seconds, she joined the rest of the team surrounding War-Pulse. She tried to look as passive as possible. But on the inside? She was winded and nervous. Perhaps even a little frightened. Her usual confidence and aggressive behavior was not as evident as usual. She'd just finished the most taxing run of her life, right after an intense battle with a tentacle monster and an entire night out with Brooklyn.

To add to all of that, she might have to fight a mercenary as strong as Icon. The rest of these clowns were at least on par with this 'Winter Soldier' guy. But Boom? She wasn't even on their tier. Her only hope is that War-Pulse would focus on the rest of them while she hung back, only intervening when entirely necessary. Even then, she wouldn't be much help. And if War-Pulse decided to attack her, she didn't doubt that he could put a hole in her chest.

In conclusion: Today sucked.

SuperIOR Inc., Lost Haven

"Why are we besieging this glass tower, friend Chike? What do you hope to gain?"

Chike Baatul poked his head over the cubicle he was using for cover. A dozen security guards were scattered around the room, pistols in hand. They were firing non-stop on Thune; who didn't seem to notice the barrage at all. Chike pulled his assault rifle over the top of the wall and let loose a hail of aimed shots at a pair of guards with their heads stuck out. The two men collapsed out of sight in a spray of blood and brains. The rest of the guards turned their weapons on Chike and opened up on his cubicle, forcing the vigilante to duck. "Why are you just standing there?!" He yelled over the cacophony. "Do you require my assistance?" He asked nonchalantly. "I would appreciate it, yes!" Thune nodded and took a step out of the cubicle and into the open. "Very well. Consider it done!" Then he vanished before Chike's enhanced eyes. Bewildered, Chike turned to look at the security forces. By the time his head was over the top of the cramped space, the opposition forces were all sprawled across the floor.

"Nice work. Now come on."

"You have not yet answered my inquiry." Thune reminded his new companion, refusing to move.

Chike took a deep breathe and sighed. "If anyone knows where this Pax Metahumana guy is, its Edward Cunningham. Even if he doesn't, SuperIOR has some of the best tech on the planet! We'll find some way to track the bomb before it goes off. Trust me, Thune. This is the best way. Now, follow me. His office should be this way."

The motley pair jogged through the office space past the corpses of their enemies. Blood stained the workplace and bullet holes were scattered across the windows. There was a similar scene in the lobby, where Polemos had gunned down a number of security personnel and terrified the civilians until they ran. He'd given them ample time to escape via the stairs and fire exits while he and Thune took the elevator to the penthouse floor. "You know, on my world, such an action would be seen as treason. Attacking targets with such a significant innocent presence is strictly forbidden." Polemos glanced over at Thune. The big guy wasn't hard to read. He let his heart hang on his sleeve for all to see; which usually wouldn't be a problem. But Chike had begun to question the morality behind his every action ever since he broke free from Ares' influence. But doubt lingered in the back of his mind: what if the touch of Ares had never truly faded? The old Chike would never have stormed an office building, guns blazing. He must look like a bloody terrorist!

But Baatul steeled himself. He knew the truth. SuperIOR was an evil corporation led by a sinister man. There was nothing "morally questionable" about his actions so far. He hadn't harmed any innocents. The security guards knew what they were getting in to when they took this job; and they shot first. Even still...

"I had a feeling you would try to pull something." Chike whipped around and immediately opened fire on the familiar voice. The rounds bounced off Captain Liberty like they were made of tissue paper. "But I hadn't imagined you would be so bold as to attack our headquarters in broad daylight! And so soon? You're either complete moron or out of your mind!" Abrams chuckled. The AK-47 clicked multiple times. Chike released the empty magazine onto the ground and retrieved a second one, gritting his teeth. "You're a monster. I'll kill you!" James smiled beneath the helmet. "I'm the monster? Lost Haven hates you. They're afraid of you; I'm their hero. What I have done to be called a monster, eh?"

"You killed t-those innocent people. My friends. Almost crushed those office workers."

Captain Liberty merely scoffed and waved at the bloodshed behind him. "We're not so different."

"I'm nothing like you."

"Sure, sure. Who's your girlfriend, by the way?"

"How dare-" Thune started. Chike placed a hand against his chest. "This guy. He's dangerous; and one of the bad guys. Don't hold back." Thune only nodded, a solemn look crossing his face. "I shall vanquish this armored knight, as I have thousands like him. Have at thee!" Thune exploded forward in a blinding display of speed, striking Captain Liberty straight in the chest. A shockwave burst forth behind Thune's speeding fist before metal and flesh made contact for the briefest moment. With a single punch, Thune Xavier sent Captain Liberty soaring backwards. James' battlesuit looked more like a steel coffin as he smashed through multiple walls and eventually shattered a wall of glass, falling out of sight. Chike rushed to the edge of the building, leaning out to get a better look. Captain Liberty sat in the middle of a sizable crater, perhaps twenty meters in diameter, unmoving. Chike could see the damage from up here; it was quite extensive.

"Y-you only hit him once." Chike stammered. "You said he was dangerous. I don't understand; I thought your people were formidable? I was told there was much potential here." Thune's eyes held only contempt and disappoint as he turned and walked toward the CEO's office. "One punch..." Chike muttered, following behind him.

The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival to the final floor. A pair of oddly dressed men rushed out, wielding weapons. "Who-" Thune began. He was interrupted by a feminine voice from behind him. "Hey! Which one of you assholes knocked the tin can out this window?" A woman, dressed in street clothes, asked. Her arms were crossed and she looked pissed. "Who art thou?" Thune inquired. "The name's Skyquake. Leader of the Vanguard. Who are you supposed to be? Super Saiyan Thor?" Chike took in a gulp of air. "I've heard of them. The Vanguard are the ones who defeated Umbraxis-" Thune's head shot towards Chike at nearly the speed of sound at the mention of Umbraxis. "Are you sure?" Chike nodded. "Oh yeah. Not everyday-"

Thune tackled Skyquake out of the window. The two supers disappeared out of sight, leaving Chike with the rest of team Vanguard. "If she's Skyquake, then you two must be Supercell and...?" Who was the other one? Bone Breaker? Face Caver? "That's Skull-Thrasher, ya dickhead!" The armored one yelled, waving a fist. "Drop your weapon and surrender. There's no need for further violence; you are outmatched. "Aban attempted diplomacy, his gun trained on Chike. "Pfft. Me? Outmatched?" He tossed his firearm to the side. The two superheroes looked at each other wearily. "I am Polemos! I AM WAR!" Polemos sprinted towards his attackers and kicked the gun from Supercell's hands. Skull-Thrasher blocked Chike's followup kick. "Gaahhh! Son of a bitch almost broke my arms!" He yelled. Skull-Thrasher and Supercell retrieved their melee weapons and charged at Polemos. "I'll take you both on!"

Thune backhanded Skyquake through a nearby skyscraper. "Is Umbraxis fallen? Have you slain it?" He screamed, bull-rushing the falling heroine and hitting her again before she could recover. Skyquake crashed into the middle of a busy street, throwing up chunks of concrete as he skidded to a halt inside a trench of her own making. "What are you on about?" Skyquake rapidly pounded on Thune's face, using her strength and speed at maximum power. Thune merely stood there, his head unmoved. Shockwaves exploded around the two of them every time Skyquake hit him.

"Enough." Thune grabbed Skyquakes arms and slammed her into the ground. The entire block was damaged. Cars were thrown into the air. Windows shattered. Foundations shook and hairline cracks formed. Visible damage appeared on the nearest structures. Skyquake went limp in Thune's hand. "Answer me or suffer the consequences." He growled. "No." May squeaked weakly. "It's still alive. We hurt it though." Thune looked at her quizzically. "You had help. Not just your friends inside; I could sense your power, not theirs. Who helped you defeat the Destroyer?" Skyquake's lips pursed. Thune squeezed her throat, causing May to scream- if she could breathe, that is. "WHO?!" Thune roared. "Icon! A-And a couple of speedsters named Thunderbolt and Boom. Please, that's all I know. Don't-" He tossed the girl to the side with enough force to knock her unconscious. A single drop of blood fell from Thune's nose. Then another. It wasn't more than a moment before blood streamed from Thune's nostril. A small smirk crossed the giant's face.

"Your people have...potential. I will need to test these other heroes you spoke of. Perhaps your kind can help me after all."

Name:
Y00-17 or 'Metalhead'

Age:
10 (Since activation)

Gender:
N/A; Prefers the pronoun 'he'

Race:
Faera-designed Multi-purpose Naval Droid

Homeworld:
Liorea

Position:
Fighter Pilot

Personality:
Y00-17 is formal and well-mannered, much like the Matriarchy he was created by. Metalhead was built to be fiercely loyal to the Faera people; his loyalty emanates to his new crew and associates as well. When Y00-17 first came off the production lines, he had the bare minimum of information installed in his primary memory storage unit. He was given only what was absolutely necessary for the completion of his duties. This lack of knowledge led Y00-17 to develop a sort of curiosity. He's constantly asking questions, seeking out others opinions on subjects as well as the objective facts on anything and everything he encounters. Metalhead's thirst for information is not without its drawbacks. With little to go by, he'll often accept information on new material without bothering to fact check. This naivete has led to more than one confrontation (such as the time someone told Metalhead that alcohol kills people, and Y00-17 proceeded to burn down a local bar.)

Metalhead is inherently protective of innocent life. He has no problem ending an enemy combatant who refuses to surrender; however, Y00-17 would rather go offline than kill a prisoner or a civilian. His staunch moral code has led to numerous quarrels with more morally ambiguous commanders.

Appearance:
Y00-17 stands at exactly 6'2 and weighs 710 pounds. His exoskeleton is made mostly up of Feerilesh, although Metalhead's body also incorporates other, tougher metals for increased protection. Y00-17's design was inspired by Faera myth. Most of Y00-17's most important components are located in the chest region, where it is most heavily armored. The primary and secondary memory storage units are built inside the head, right behind the sensory package. Metalhead's claws and talons are quite sharp, able to pierce most flesh rather easily. When the sheer sharpness of these weapons proves not enough, Y00-17 can revert energy into superheating the tips, allowing the blades to cut through more durable materials.

Abilities: (Includes magic and other talents they currently have)

Equipment:
Y00-17 wields the IG Defender, an Elzion full-automatic machine pistol with a 35 round magazine. The weapon possesses an extremely fast rate of fire and is incredible light and compact, allowing for ease of use in the commonly compact corridors of a spaceship or a spacefighter. However, the Defender's accuracy drops off considerably after 50 meters. Y00-17 carries around an attachable barrel which extends the range up to eighty meters and decreases recoil, but makes the weapon heavier and more cumbersome.

Y00-17 is equipped with a personal shield generator, designed to protect against energy weapons and explosives. Kinetic ammunition is able to pass through the cling shield; however, Y00-17's exoskeleton is tough enough to protect itself against most small arms. The biggest threats to Metalhead are armor piercing kinetic rounds, especially in shotguns or sniper rifles.

Metalhead also carries a temporary self-repair kit on his person, as well as a number of magazines for his IG Defender and backup power cores for his primary exoskeleton.

Biography: (anything else of note about them, mainly their history. You can keep a lot about them a secret to build up over time if desired)

Undisclosed Location

Boom shifted uncomfortably on her feet. Her muscles tensed as War Pulse scanned the two speedsters. He was trying to get a read on them, she'd wager. That wouldn't be difficult; at least not for someone of his caliber. Laura wiped the sweat from her brow and tried to stand straighter and appear a bit tougher. The way the merc's eyes moved...the way he observed every motion she and her brother made...It was disconcerting. Like he was staring right into her soul. Laura made note of War Pulse's stance. She'd studied martial arts, particularly American kick boxing, since she was a little girl. And Laura recognized the bent knees and wide movements instantly. This guy knew how to fight; better than the speedsters did, she imagined. But that wouldn't save him, not when he was faced with a four on one situation where everyone (well, almost everyone) involved was on his level. It was the criminal's confidence that gave Boom pause. The way he looked Icon and Thunderbolt and everyone else right in the eye, unflinching, was damn frightening. Laura couldn't imagine standing up to a guy who can hold up a space station and his three allies who were just as intense without the least bit of concern.

The 'Winter Soldier,' as Arthur had code-named the terrorist, paced in front of the heroes. He spoke nonchalantly, as if he was among friends. Again with the confidence. He was manipulating the audience, as any decent speaker does. War Pulse wanted them to believe he was invincible. Untouchable. It was working. Boom questioned herself. Pull it together, girl. He's just acting. The guy's probably sweating bullets. 'Sides, you've got Icon to keep you safe. What's the worst he could do?

Icon and Iron Knight's attempts to appeal to War Pulse's humanity backfired. The mercenary saw right through what they were trying to do and shot the plan down right quick. It wasn't until he questioned the team's motives for even being here that Boom stepped forward and addressed War Pulse herself. "Listen, dickhead." She started, her voice solid and her eyes denoted her staunch will. "Frankly? I don't give a shit about you 'seeing the light.' I just want another big gun and I don't care how we get you on board. But Icon and Knight here? They're genuine. If they say you can be redeemed, then I believe it too." Boom paused before smirking slightly. "I would've paid you, personally. But Iron Knight's a Scrooge." Thunderbolt offered his sister a subtle thumbs up when War Pulse's attention shifted away.

"You don't need to be a Good Samaritan to be a hero." Thunderbolt said. "Not all of use cape and tights types are as perfect as Icon. We don't ask that you are, either. Just as long as you point your guns at the bad guys, you're a hero in my book." The speedster interjected when the mercenary claimed that they had 'pegged him for someone else.'

"I'm fine; really." Boom replied whilst suppressing a giggle, waving off War Pulse's concern. She'd had long enough to rest and would be back to full in a few minutes. The pretty young lady comment hadn't gone over her head but she chose to ignore it. Harvey would have a hissy fit if she flirted with a terrorist/mercenary. Thunderbolt was already giving her the evil eye.

The conversation continued for a couple more minutes. War Pulse was in, if only to get back at the Pax Metahumana freaks for kicking the crap outta him earlier. Iron Knight wasn't done and continued to preach. He droned on for awhile; long enough for Boom to space out a few times. All of it was directed at the mercenary anyway, so there wasn't anything significant she could get out of the conversation. Thunderbolt did his civic duty and absorbed every word that was said, as he always did. He had gotten used to it, what with all of the garbage he puts up with working for the Lost Haven Police Department. A whole lot of talking with nothing getting done.

What Boom did notice, however, was Iron Knight's refusal to shake War Pulse's hand. The heroine's brow furrowed in frustration. Prick. Laura grumbled mentally. Was it really that hard to be diplomatic about things? Sure, Chris disagreed with the guy's reasons for joining them. But what does it matter if his heart isn't in the right place? The merc agreed; it should have been left at that.

Before long Iron Knight led the rest of the team to the side and left War Pulse to chew on what he'd said. Arthur went over the next phase of his master plan. Icon would be splitting off from the rest of the team to go and find another hero, some sort of spider/girl hybrid, and recruit her as well. Meanwhile the main squad would head back to Lost Haven and search the city for the bomb as well as the bad guy's hideout, which he believed would be in different locations. Boom nodded her head in understand of the plan and prepared to head back to the city with her brother. Before she left, Laura turned towards the mercenary. "Hey War?" She called. "You made the right choice. Now let's go kick some ass!" The two speedsters sped away in a cloud of smoke, a trail of blue light behind each of them.

Name:
Wally West
Age:
21

Species:
Human
Gender:
Male

Personality:
Wally West is a clown and a goof ball. He's swift to quip and joke when the situation allows for it. Kid Flash is infamous for his constant barrage of lighthearted comments and inquires, usually bringing his team's morale up through sheer wit whenever the circumstances appear dire. The wisecracking speedster's behavior has proven a liability on occasion. A handful of poorly worded one-liners at an inopportune moment prove distracting and cause others to make mistakes. Wally's teammates have complained that his joking manner has threatened the success of multiple missions.

Aside from his goofy nature, Kid Flash is a highly intelligent young hero with an affinity for cutting edge science. His fellow heroes have even gone so far as to call Wally a 'near genius' when it comes to such things as biology, physics and chemistry as well as a number of other fields. His love and devotion to science is so complete that, in the past, he refused to accept the existence of magic; instead, he tried to debunk and refute the thing's he saw with theories and cold, hard facts. Upon meeting Doctor Fate, however, Wally soon changed his tune. He's still skeptical, of course, but has an open mind when it comes to the mystic arts.

Kid Flash has been described as impatient, impulsive and reckless. He runs head long into danger and often finds himself in life threatening situations that could have easily been avoided if only he had an ounce of restraint. Wally's rashness peaks when someone else's life is in danger. He is driven to make irrational choices by his overactive emotions, usually in the defense of others he cares about.

As he has grown older, Wally West has somewhat matured. He is able to take things more seriously and knows (ordinarily) when to hold his tongue. Kid Flash puts more forethought into his processes and plans out encounters more thoroughly prior to running head long into combat.

Bio:
Kid Flash died saving the world. He vanished after adding his kinetic energy to the other Flashes', allowing them to deactivate the final Magnetic Field Disruptor that had entered its chrysalis form. The whole planet had mourned Wally's passing, and went so far as to erect a memorial in his honor. But Wally West, the Kid Flash, had not fallen. He was alive and well. The MFD had not erased the speedster from existence but instead teleported him across the Multiverse. Kid Flash found himself in the middle of a warzone. He didn't know it at the time, but the forces of the Resistance and the Reign of Chaos were clashing for control of all of creation. Wally retreated a safe distance and observed the battle until he was attacked by a massive stone golem. A group of human warriors rescued the estranged traveler and informed Wally of the present conflict. The speedster was instrumental in winning the battle for the Resistance, using his incredible speed to recon enemy artillery positions and key command structures as well as disarm various threats.

With the battle over, Kid Flash was transferred to a new universe to receive help. He was desperate to get home. When Wally arrived at Resistance Command he realized how common his problem was. People from all over the Multiverse had experienced the same event that Kid Flash had; that is, being forcefully brought to this sector by unknown forces. Resistance scientists were hard at work trying to track down the origin of this phenomena while other members were attempting to escort the refugees back home. When it came time for Wally to be taken to his earth, the Resistance discovered that the Reign of Chaos had occupied the universes surrounding Kid Flash's own. The fighting in that sector was the fiercest. It was then that Wally knew that he would not be returning to his family any time soon; not with this war raging. Hopefully Artemis doesn't grow to miss West too much while he is away.

Abilities:



Organization:
The Resistance
Universe of Origin:
DC Comics' Earth-16 [Young Justice verse]

Other:
Theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkime9M4z34

---

The LAAT gunship shook violently as it plunged into Eldritch VI's atmosphere. Wally West tightly gripped the safety harness, his eyes glued to the metal ceiling of the craft. Fear gnawed at the edges of the speedster's sanity. It was all so surreal. He was heading into battle on a spaceship from Star Wars. He'd never imagined something like this would happen; not in a million years. Yet here he was. Wally took a deep breathe through his nostrils. He tried to calm himself down but his nerves would not allow it. He was all alone in a strange universe fighting a war for the liberation of the Multiverse. Despair threatened to set in as the realization of his impending doom slipped into Wally's mind. It wasn't that he feared being shot at. No, Kid Flash could handle bullets. It wasn't even death that he feared. No, he was terrified of the all encompassing loneliness, knowing full well that he might never see his family or Artemis ever again. Wally took in another gulp of the the stagnant air contained in the gunship. The other troopers glanced idly at the mortified young hero and wondered why he'd been assigned to such a high stress mission in the first place.

"Get ready. We'll be landing in approximately five minutes." The pilot informed the squad over the ship's internal com system. "Alright Epsilon Squad. You heard him. Gear up and get ready to drop." A soldier in all black armor carrying what appeared to be a laser rifle ordered. The red stripe on his right shoulder pad denoted his position as Squad Leader. Activity in the compacted space rose. Soldiers checked their weapons and equipment, slinging bags and backpacks onto themselves. They were motley bunch. While their uniforms were all black in color, their choice of dress and armament was drastically different. Some carried conventional firearms while others wielded more exotic weapons. One of them wore armor akin to that of a Medieval knight and held within her hands a massive two handed broadsword. Another was draped in a flowing robe and carried a staff. The strangest of them all was the gigantic blue turtle with a pair of cannons poking out of its shell, who was escorted by a teenage boy in a blue baseball cap.

"Hey, kid." The knight said. Wally looked away from the ceiling and stared blankly at her helmet. "This is supposed to be a stealth ops. What's with the bright spandex?" Kid Flash glanced down at his uniform. He was still wearing the armored version of his costume. The colorful red and yellow suit that had become an iconic part of his superhero career. "Sorry." He muttered. Wally tapped the crimson lightning bolt on his chest and the material shifted and changed until it was mostly black. The woman seemed to notice Kid Flash's frightened manner and moved to his side, taking a seat next to him. "There's nothing to be worried about. I'll have your back the whole time we're out there." Wally offered the stranger a small smile and a nod. "Thanks. I'm Kid Flash, by the way." He offered her his hand, which she shook. Wally winced as she did so; the lady had quite the grip.

"I am called Saint Mary." The knight said. "That is Aquila." She motioned towards the squad leader, who nodded in Wally's direction. "And this is Nahum." She pointed to the wizard, who merely grunted in response. "My name's Gerald." The boy in the blue cap said. "This is my Pokemon, Blastoise." The blue turtle-like creature turned and looked at Kid Flash. "Blastoise!" Wally gave them all a an awkward wave. "Thirty seconds to landing." The pilot informed them. The squad positioned themselves closer to the blast doors. Saint Mary helped pull Kid Flash to his feet and pulled him over to the door next to her. "Where's the-" Wally began, only for one of the grunts to toss a satchel to him. Kid caught it and tossed the strap over his shoulder. "Thanks." He flicked open the flap and looked inside, checking on the explosives held within.

The doors to the LAAT gunship pulled back and revealed the expansive desert environment. Epsilon rushed out of the ship and dropped into the sand below. The squad spread out, forming a defensive perimeter around the landing zone. "Clear!" Aquila called. Two more LAATs appeared over the horizon and landed next to them, spilling their occupants out in a similar manner. Aquila placed a hand on the side of his black, featureless helmet. "Epsilon Squad is in position." He informed them. The leaders of the other two squads (Gamma and Delta squads, respectively) performed the same task. "Kid Flash, scout the ridge for enemy patrols!" Wally slid his ruby goggles over his eyes and dashed up the side of the huge dune, looking out over the ocean of sand. Kid's eyes widened for a moment before he jumped backwards off the ridge. Moments afterward, a huge explosion rocked the formation. "Mech!" Kid Flash shouted.

Suddenly, a towering construct of metal appeared over what remained of the ridge. The monstrosity of steel pointed its long-barreled energy weapon down at the squads and opened fire. One of the LAATs exploded in a ball of fire. The other two tried to take off but were destroyed in quick succession. The squads of infantry scattered in all directions towards any cover they could find. "This is Epsilon leader to fleet! We need heavy fire support on my location immediately! Target will be lase'd." Aquila shouted into his communicator as he, Saint Mary and Gerald dived behind another sand dune for cover. Aquila grabbed a black box from his belt and pointed it toward the rampaging mech, a beam of bright green light landing on its back. "We've got to take the base's power out. The longer its on, the more time we give their AA to shoot down our air wings." Aquila said between gritted teeth. Another explosion rocked the immediate battlefield as the mech let loose a barrage of missiles on Delta squad.

"I'll take care of the power. No one else could make it to the base without being blown up by the Iron Giant over there." Kid Flash informed them. "Go! Blastoise will cover you." The blue skinned turtle turned towards the base and pointed its hydro cannons in that direction. "Blastoise!" It shouted. Wally tightened the satchel's strap before taking off across the desert at just below the speed of sound. Breaking the sound barrier would announce his arrival to anyone without a one mile radius. The speedster looked on as the enemy structure loomed in the distance. He'd be arriving shortly if there were no complications.

---

Wally West tried to keep his head down. Everywhere he looked, the world was burning. A Chaos knight stepped forth from the inferno and summoned his monstrous allies who proceeded to attack the Resistance. The notorious Lieutenant Roy Mustang appeared to be among the foot sloggers, using his immense power to melt the opposition. Walls of earth and stone burst from the ground and gave cover to the ground troops, allowing the grunts to move up and open fire on the charging Reign of Chaos forces. Wally turned his attention back just in time to avoid a barrage of fire from a fire team of Stormtroopers to the southeast. The speedster narrowly dodged around a scarlet demon, who's insides had just been cauterize by a plasma bolt. A glance backwards told Kid Flash that the attacker had been Doomguy. From what Wally had heard, Doomguy was a psychotic space marine who had literally been to Hell and back. Not someone the hero looked forward to meeting; but at least he was on their side, right?

"Woah!" Wally shouted in surprise. The speedster caught himself not paying attention once more. Wally dug his right foot into the sand and shot up a cloud of the stuff into the air, stopping himself from slamming face first into another mech. The giant mechanized robot boosted to the side and knocked Kid Flash off balance in the process. I've been spotted. Kid Flash thought, panicking internally. Move, Wally! Move! But the pilot didn't have his machine's weapons trained on the terrified little soldier. No, he was moving out of the way of oncoming missile. Kid Flash jumped backwards just in time to avoid the chain gun fire from the mech, but the shockwave from the object's landing threw Wally off his feet. "Crap!" He yelled. His ears were ringing. The muscles in his legs ached. Wally should be dead. But the missile hadn't exploded- No. It wasn't a missile. It was a...girl?!

"Hey, watch it! You almost crushed me!" Kid Flash growled at his presumed ally. The sinister look on the rapidly regenerating assassin's face, however, told Wally that something was wrong. "Uhhh." He started. Before the speedster could continue, the mech was opening fire on the girl once more. Kid Flash sprung to his feet and moved. This time Wally chose to get the Hell outta Dodge and sprinted as quickly as his legs would carry him toward the enemy encampment. The sound barrier exploded around Kid Flash, knocking up a enormous screen of sand into the air behind him. This caused enemy marksmen scattered about the battlefield to lose track of the speedster, at least temporarily. But it lasted long enough for Kid Flash to reach his destination. The sidekick crouched next to the wall and opened up a holographic map of the structure on the monitor installed on his left arm. A pulsating red dot marked the primary generator room. There were numerous blue dots placed around the map, revealing the location of the backup generators. The ex-sidekick was specifically meant to hit the highlighted generators, although he had a secondary objective of destroying them all.

The front door slid open as a team of fish people armed with tridents rushed out to join their comrades. Wally slipped between the sliding gates moments before they closed. The speedster broke out at a run down the dark, steel-plated hallways, following the holographic map to his goal. He avoided as many patrols as he could; however, the pre-programmed map only accounted for regular security checks. There were always any number of individuals roaming the halls, especially during an assault like this one, that could not be tracked. So Kid Flash took it slow; he stayed at about half speed and checked for activity before he rounded corners.

Eventually, Wally stood in front of a nondescript metal door with a keypad lock. The hero quickly calculated the most likely passwords and began rapidly trying dozens of different combinations. Eventually the lock clicked and Kid Flash was allowed inside. The speedster dropped about half of the explosives contained within the satchel around the reactor. He'd need the rest of them for the backups. Once that was done, Kid Flash dashed out of the room and down the halls. He soared past a well-dressed man with bright green hair, tossing a mock salute to the guy at super speed before disappearing around a corner. Wally whipped out the detonator and pressed down on the button, causing the explosives he'd primed to go off. The reactor's destruction caused a chain reaction throughout the facility, knocking off all systems for roughly 13 seconds until the backup generators kicked in.

"Security is down for the next 10 seconds. Do your thing, Spec Ops." Kid Flash announced across the communications channel, klaxons screeching in the background.

Kid Flash sped around the facility blowing up critical backup generators for a full minute and a half before a squad of Chaos forces were able to pin him down in the mess hall. Wally West took cover behind an overturned lunch table, lasers and bullets impacting its metal frame and threatening to cut right through. Luckily, it held. For now. "Uhm. If there's any Resistance members in the base, I could use some back up. I'm pinned in the Mess Hall!"

---

The seemingly relentless hail of bullets suddenly ceased. Wally risked a peek over the shield he'd erected for himself. There was the man in the suit and fedora again, smiling like a maniac. He was moving slowly forward, like a hunter whom had cornered his prey. Kid Flash gulped. Not the best analogy. The boy contemplated. It wasn't until the green-haired guy insulted Kid's uniform that Wally West chose to step out from behind the cover of the overturned table. He held his hands loose down by his sides, but kept himself ready to move at a moment's notice. Wally ignored the dude's empty threats, but took great offense to the Halloween comment."Uh, it's not a Halloween costume, Mmmkay? It's my uniform. I'm a superhero." He placed his thumb against the lightning bolt on his chest, accidentally shifting out of stealth mode and back into the yellow and red version. "Oops." Kid muttered, pressing it again to reverse the effect. "They call me Kid Flash." Wally introduced himself, a casual smirk plastered on his freckled face. "You've probably heard of me." The RoC soldiers standing behind Hazama glanced at each other and shrugged. Kid Flash frowned. "Sidekick to the Flash? The guy who saved the Multiverse from the Anti-Monitor? Ring any bells?" The reaction, or lack thereof, from the enemy combatants told Wally that his efforts were truly in vain.

"Eesh, what's it take to earn some renown out here?" He muttered, followed by a short sigh.

Kid Flash raised his fists towards Hazama who continued walking forward and spewed some nonsense about the Anti-Christ and Blazblue. It wasn't until the green ring around him turned to chains that Wally realized who he stood before. This was Captain Hazmat. Or..Hazmuna...Or something. Whatever. He was supposedly a big deal among the Resistance soldiers. They were terrified of the guy. He didn't pay them much mind; but Kid knew enough to avoid those chains. So when the snake-hooks came'a flying at the speedster, Wally pushed off his right foot and dodged out of the way. As the chain flew back to Hazmat, a brilliant idea entered Kid's mind. He reached a hand into the satchel and pulled out an explosive, quickly he put it on a timer and tossed it toward the man faster than any normal man could, nearly at the speed of sound.

It was likely that Hazmat would defend himself from the attack. But it was more of a distraction than anything else. The green-haired man was now less likely to notice the trio of explosives he'd attached to the flying chains that Kid Flash had expertly dodged using his incredible speed. Wally pulled the detonator out and was moments away from blowing Hazmat sky high when an android girl stomped her way through the ceiling. "AAAHHHH!" Kid Flash cried out in surprise, dropping the detonator in the process. The entity was quick to introduce itself (herself?) to Wally, who was trying to get oxygen into his lungs after nearly dying of a heart attack.

"H-Hi. Name's Kid Flash." He panted. "No! He's one- of..of the bad-Oooh boy. Bad guys. His name's, like, Captain Hazmat or somethi-" Suddenly another chain wrapped itself around the distracted young hero's throat and rapidly began pulling him toward the enemy forces. "HEEEEELPPPPP!" Kid Flash cried out, desperately motioning toward the detonator on the ground next to Penny. Out of the corner of the panicked and exasperated Wally's eye, he noticed a chicken floating nonchalantly into the room.

What the heck was going on here?

---

"He's not my boyfriend!" Kid Flash cried in frustrated protest. "I'm engage-" He was about to add, before a movement from within the smoke caught his eye.

Hazama was quick, Wally would give him that. Anyone else wouldn't of known what was happening before it was too late. But Kid Flash was a speedster who had spent most of his life honing his senses and perceptions. It was the only way he survived his encounters with the enemies of his mentor, Barry Allen. A vivid memory of his first encounter with Eobard Thawne, better known as Professor Zoom, appeared in the boy's mind. The Reverse Flash had nearly killed the teen. Since then, Kid Flash had trained his body to its limit; to the point of breaking himself. At this moment, with the RoC captain flying through the air toward him at impossible speeds, Wally West realized that his conditioning had been worth it. Kid Flash threw up his arms into an X formation and held it in front of his face. He set his feet in a wide stance and absorbed the kick. The kinetic energy from Hazama's butterfly kick flowed over Wally's tense muscles and strong bones. The speedster felt his feet slide against the tile floor of the mess hall, perhaps a yard, before slowing to a halt. Moments after the kick was delivered a trio of throwing knives pierced the air with a shrill screech, flying toward the surprised vigilante.

The ginger haired boy was already moving to attempt to intercept the razor-like projectiles when Penny knocked them out of the air with a blade of her own. A second knife sliced the chain from around Kid Flash. The metal rings fell to the ground with a clang and Wally nodded his thanks to Penny. The speedster's aching body protested his every movement. Hazmat's earlier strike had done more harm than Kid Flash had first realized. Hazama was certainly not human, that much West had realized. The robot and the suit-wearing ninja continued their banter. Penny's naivete worried Wally. She'd shown she could handle herself this far, but she reeked of inexperience. And Hazama was one of Reign of Chaos's top agents. Kid kept his hands up and looked from Penny to Hazama, bouncing on his toes in anticipation.

Hazmat struck first. He launched a series of chains at the android-girl. She danced between many of them and batted away the ones she couldn't avoid, moving with grace only a highly advanced machine could manage. The main attack chain impacted straight into her armored stomach. It was some sort of ruse, apparently, because Penny pulled Hazama in and held him in place by his leg. By the looks of things, Penny was planning to snap the man's kneecap in half.

"Don't kill him!" Kid Flash shouted. He hadn't even given the order a second thought; heroism was second nature to the young speedster. "-We need to bring him in alive. F-for, like, questioning. And stuff. Yeah." It hadn't occurred to Wally that he might be speaking to a superior, led alone one of the highest ranking members of the Resistance.

The standoff at the other end of the room was of little concern to Kid. Bayonetta could handle whoever this was, though the guy's arrogant manner was of some concern. Arrogance and an air of superiority seemed to be common traits of RoC leadership and this guy was practically oozing the stuff. Suddenly a section of Chaos soldiers rushed into the Mess Hall and opened fire on the small contingent of Resistance fighters inside. Wally weaved between the energy beams unleashed by the strange alien Space Pirates. Their firearms were much quicker than bullets and harder to dodge; luckily, Kid Flash had fought against Black Manta's minions enough times to learn how to predict the firing patterns of energy weapons such as these. Alarm filled the hero when he noticed the aliens begin to put together a mobile turret. That just wouldn't do. Single fire beam weapons he could handle. But a rapid fire, machine gun version? No thanks!

MC was already engaging the enemy infantry using her elementals and spells. He didn't know the being very well, but from what Wally had seen, she knew her stuff. A smile crossed Wally's face when the strange wizard chose to cast an enhancement spell on the little speedster. Energy beams slowed to a crawl. Penny held Hazama, suspended in the air like a statue. Even Bayonetta, who was dancing around the other RoC officer, was moving slowly. Not wanting to waste a moment of the boost, Kid Flash took a single step toward the turret and broke the sound barrier nanoseconds before he shot toward them like a missile. Wally smashed the turret to pieces, using his own body as a high speed battering ram. He turned his wrath on the aliens manning the gun and knocked them both out with a swift combination of dozens of super powered punches. Kid Flash rocketed across the Mess Hall at massively hyper sonic speeds, disarming and punching out the enemy foot soldiers before they could react.

The room was cleared in less than a second.

Kid Flash came to a halt in the middle of the room, his hands on his knees as the enhancement wore off from overuse. Wally panted, sweat dripped down his face and pain racked his overexerted body. "Thanks MC." Kid offered the sorcerer a thumbs up between rasping breathes. Kid Flash took another breath and stood to his full height, pointing at Yzeira Yezia. "You're outnumbered and surrounded. Surrender, and maybe I can convince command to give you a cell with a window."

---

NAME:
Cole MacGrath
AGE:
26
SPECIES:
Human
GENDER:
Male

PERSONALITY:

BIOGRAPHY:

ABILITIES:

ORGANIZATION:
Reign of Chaos
UNIVERSE OF ORIGIN:
InFAMOUS

OTHER:

Y00-17 stood motionless in the center of his dormitory. The Artificial Intelligence did not require sleep. However, his exoskeleton's power core needed to be removed and recharged every forty eight hours for an extended period of time, so that it could operate at peak efficiency. If necessary, Metalhead's physical body could continue operation for up to one hundred and sixty eight hours at sub optimal efficiency levels before its power core forced a shut down of all systems. But while the machine was situated as a statue in the midpoint of the sleeping compartment, the AI that controlled it was quite active. Y00-17 busied himself by downloading gigabits of information from the Exeralune's data stores while simultaneously conversing with the ship's own AI, ANI. She was pleasant company; the two of them got along quite well. Still, Metalhead was subtly watching the other AI's every move. The organic members of the Exeralune's crew had expressed their distrust of the Artificial Intelligence on numerous occasions, which prompted the ever-loyal Y00-17 to begin observing his fellow synthetic life form. He had, so far, not witnessed any suspicious behavior by the machine. It was possible that this marked ANI as innocent of all charges; however, it could also mean that she knew Y00-17's intentions and was purposefully going out of her way to avoid suspicion. Subterfuge was not Metalhead's primary area of expertise, so he had little to go by except what he had picked up from public networks and verbal exchanges with organics.

A shrill siren echoed throughout the bridge. Y00-17 questioned ANI of the sound's purpose, and she informed him that an unknown object sat in the path of the Exeralune. An image of the mysterious ship appeared in his mind's eye, implanted by ANI. This was the object that blocked their warp path. The vehicle was of similar size and make to the Exeralune itself. From what Y00-17 calculated, the chances of meeting such a vessel at this interval were quite low. It was likely, then, that their assailant was here specifically to block the UNT ship's path. ANI seemed to agree with Y00-17's calculations. The mathematical possibility that this encounter was completely random was so minuscule that it warranted little to no observation by the pair of Artificial Intelligences, which had begun rapidly shooting messages to each other as they questioned the event.

ANI was distracted, however, by her duties to the crew, and responded 0.0021 seconds slower than usual. Y00-17 announced his departure from the network in the most formal way possible and installed himself into his personal VW-11c "Bokite" Spacefighter, as ordered by Captain Hidden Eagle.

Y00-17's Bokite was equipped with the single fire long range variant of the elzion cannon. The small, expendable fighter was not the type of craft Y00-17 was used to flying. His last Spacefighter had been better armed and armored, as well as larger and more durable. It had been an extension of Metalhead's programming. But this Bokite would have to do; at least until Y00-17 could convince the captain to purchase a better vessel for the AI's personal use.

The other miniature carrier had launched four of its own spacefighters, which appeared to be escorting a much larger boarding vessel. Y00-17 successfully downloaded himself into the Bow Fighter and launched the small spacecraft from its hangar. The floor underneath the ship opened up and the Bokite fell into the vast darkness below. Y00-17 activated his propulsion systems and entered a holding pattern around the Exeralune. He awaited the arrival of the other spacefighters, as well as further orders from Captain Hidden Eagle. Y00-17 also set to work scanning the approaching enemies, hoping to find out more about them before he was forced to engage.

SuperIOR Inc., Lost Haven

Chike Baatul had taken care of Skull Thrasher and Supercell with impunity. They were still heroes, after all; misguided heroes to be sure, protecting scum like Cunningham and Abrams. But heroes nonetheless. With those two unconscious and restrained, Chike interrogated SuperIOR's personnel until he was able to locate what he had come to SuperIOR looking for: a prototype energy detection device designed to track even the most invisible energy sources. The machine was a hybrid of the most cutting edge tech humanity had to offer, as well as equipment that was obviously not of this world. How the Hell'd they get their hands on a thing like this? Polemos had wondered.

No matter. There was work to be done.

A few minutes later and Chike had arrived at the rendezvous point, where Thune was impatiently waiting. The inter-dimensional traveler explained that he could no longer assist Polemos in this matter, despite his desire to see this villain put to justice. Apparently, Xavier had learned valuable information from his battle with Skyquake that he needed to act on at once. Chike couldn't exactly argue with the immensely powerful stranger and allowed Thune to be on his way. But questioned nagged at the back of the vigilante's mind. What, exactly, could Thune have learned that was so critical to his mission? It had something to do with Vanguard's fight with Umbraxis, that much was certain. Thune's reaction to Chike uttering of Umbraxis's name had been exaggerated and obvious. It was a name he recognized. This Destroyer was well known, even in other universes.

That begged the question: What was Thune planning to do with this knowledge?

His aggressive handling of Skyquake and impatient, driven speech, combined with what little Chike already knew of Thune's character...none of it matched up. Even when Thune had mistook Chike for a bitter enemy of his, the giant had been relatively jovial. Defensive and violent, sure, but jovial none the less. But after the SuperIOR incident, he was stone cold and serious. Something more is going on here than meets the eye. Chike thought gravely. But there's no time for that. Thune will have to come later. I don't have much time before that bomb goes off and the entire city is overrun by Supers. The blaring of approaching sirens echoed softly in the distance. Chike pulled his torn and stained jacket into place on his muscular shoulders and took off at a jog down the sidewalk, clutching his AK-47 to his chest. He followed the handheld tracking device to the largest unidentified source of energy consumption in the city.

---

Chambers Building, Lost Haven
Later

"Another bloody skyscraper. Fan-freakin'-tastic."

Chike Baatul was starting to hate these things. Towers of metal and glass, extending high into the clouds. They were kindred to monoliths dedicated to human greed and corruption; at least in the narrow view of morality that Chike prescribed to. He'd never been a fan of corporations or bureaucrats, even before he was recruited by the God of War. The Chambers Building was the tallest structure in all of Lost Haven. It was a glorious one hundred and ten stories tall, only fifty stories behind the world record holder in India. It was a few blocks from Sherman Square, if Chike could recall correctly. An impressive sight, to be sure; a testament to human ingenuity. Not that humans deserve any praise-

The warrior stopped. He blinked twice and allowed that to play through his mind once more. He'd heard his own internal discourse correctly.

Where did THAT come from? He asked. Chike held no contempt for humanity. Not as a whole, anyway. There was just as much good as there was bad. Even if the bad appeared to out way the good, that was never truly the case. Good usually just rode under the vigilante's radar, seeing as how he focused his life on taking out the maniacal and corrupt, not the selfless and generous. Polemos shook the thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time for this. Chike required perfect inner tranquility and unity if he wished to excel in the fires of combat.

Chike removed the AK-47 from its hiding place in his jacket and crossed the street. People glanced at him wearily and began to move faster. It wouldn't be long before the police were contacted; he only had perhaps five minutes prior to the entire building being surrounded by officers of the law. More than enough time for Polemos to find and disable this 'bomb' and kill the giraffe-necked asshole who put it there. Chike shoved past a group of suited office workers and walked with a purpose in his step inside the lobby. He was on the hunt. Polemos didn't notice the slender figure draped in white that had been hunting him ever since he drew his firearm.

"Everyone clear the building! Now!" Chike screamed at the top of his lungs. The entire room froze, their eyes glued on him. With a roll of his eyes Polemos pointed his rifle at the single and fired a handle of shots. "NOW!" The room's occupants were quick to obey the armed man's commands and swarmed out of the exits as quickly as they could. The secretary behind the front desk attempted to run as well, but Chike grabbed her and threw her back into her chair. "Pull the fire alarm first." He growled. The woman obeyed and immediately made a break for the exit once she was finished. Water poured from the sprinklers installed in the ceiling and a twinge of guilt ate at Chike's conscious. He knew they wouldn't listen if he wasn't rough; he'd learned that much from Ares. But the fear in their faces always brought doubt.

No time for that. Chike thought. Gotta keep moving.

Polemos briskly jogged toward the stairs (the elevators would be out after the fire alarm stunt, he reckoned), double checking the scanner. Yup. This was the right place. The device placed the bomb on the roof, so he'd have to move quickly if he wanted to deactivate the thing before the cops showed. They never were very understanding of the vigilante's methods, despite his intent.

---

Wally West was no stranger to the odd or unusual. He could run at the speed of sound, after all. But few things in life compared to being washed away in a flood of enraged magical chickens. That was most certainly a new one for the young speedster. At first, Kid Flash attempted to merely toss the feathered hooligans to the side, hoping that the move would dissuade them from continuing their assault. But that only succeeded in attracting the attention of even more of the birds. "In what way could this possibly be helpful?!" He raged, striking one of the cuckoos with a swift backhand. Kid made a hasty retreat to the back of the Mess Hall to avoid the pecking, at least temporarily. "Hate magic." He muttered. Wally brought his arms forward and began rotating them at a rapid speed. A pair of vortexes formed and grew out from his whirling limbs. The force of the miniature tornadoes was great enough to send the little beasts flying towards the back of the Executive battling Bayonetta.

A small smirk etched into the hero's face. "How do you like your eggs?" He jokingly asked the RoC member. "Poached?"

Wally shot forward at mach one, a shockwave of air thrown out behind him by the shattering of the sound barrier. Such an intense noise would be nigh deafening up this close; but the location made matters even worse. The relatively tight quarters of the cafeteria would cause the sound waves to bounce off the metal walls and back at the room's occupants with a similar decibel level. The attack would effect enemies and allies alike with equal ferocity. Only those equipped with specialized sonic protection, such as Wally, or no eardrums in general, would be left unharmed by the attack. It was this momentary stun that Kid Flash thought to capitalize on. He was headed straight for Yzeira Yezia's exposed back.

"Or scrambled!"

It was a simple matter for the human bullet to shift his momentum. Wally's feet left the floor and he brought his right knee up to his chest. Once he was within range, the speedster launched his leg into the back of Tezia's knee in a devastating side kick, containing all of the force of a crashing jet in an area the size of a human foot. But Kid Flash knew this enemy was dangerous; it was highly unlikely that his attack would drop the Executive. So Wally danced between the remaining chickens and left a parting gift for the red-clad warrior: a trio of extruciating punches to his kidney, a hasty back elbow to his crotch and a right cross to his extended arm. The last of the speedster's energy was spent tackling Bayonetta out of the way of the energy spike.

The maneuver left the winded vigilante sprawled on the floor mere meters from a likely raging opponent.

Character you have created: Joshua Edward Thompson
Alias: Paragon

Speech Color: No color

Character Alignment: Hero
Identity: Secret

Character Personality: Joshua is imaginative, optimistic and passionate. He is able to read patterns and possibilities with uncanny detail, and is frequently an initiator of change when Joshua deems these possible futures as grim or unsatisfactory. He spends a great deal of time discussing his ideas and passions. Joshua Thompson seeks to bring a zest, joy and liveliness to all aspects of life, for both himself and those around him. However, he tends to idealize people and is often disappointed when reality fails to meet his expectations. As Paragon, he strives to uphold the law and pursues justice to the uttermost. The young hero still has much to learn but is determined to become one of the best.

Uniform/costume:

Origin Info/Details: Revealed in IC

Hero Type (Select one): Other (Can take on different power sets)
Power Level (Select one below): Varies (Can absorb the powers of Cosmic-level beings if given the chance)

Powers (Be Specific): Joshua's metahuman power allows him to take on the powers and abilities of super powered individuals with a look. He only has to see them use their ability (Be it super strength or Ju Jitsu) and he can replicate it perfectly.

Resources: Average

Weaknesses: Relies on taking the abilities of others; without them, he is a normal human. Paragon also absorbs an individual's weaknesses as well as their strengths. Paragon is only able to use a single ability set at any time. He has to speak the name assigned to the power set [usually the alias of the hero/villain, but can be anything he chooses] out loud to swap between the various sets he has 'saved.' Joshua can only have four power sets saved at any given time. A save begins to lose effectiveness 48 hours after a scan. The save will be automatically deleted after a week.

---

This is where I'll put any saved forms/power sets.

Standard Form

Powers: Copying Power Sets

Attributes:


Weaknesses: See Above

---

Supporting Characters: Will be added over time

Chambers Building, Lost Haven

Chike Baatul's trek up the Chamber's Building was relatively uneventful. He'd been expecting maximum resistance; an army of goons standing between him and the bomb. But there wasn't a soul to be found. The civilians had made a hasty escape, leaving Polemos as the only one in the entire towering structure. Which made the hike up all 105 flights of stairs rather boring. He didn't bother to slow down or stop along the way up. The serum suppressed ninety percent of all fatigue toxins for an extended period of time, gifting Chike with Olympic level endurance. He covered all one hundred and ten stories of office space in the span of fifteen minutes. It would've taken Chike twice as long without the serum pumping through his blood. Upon reaching the top floor, it didn't take long for Polemos to locate the final stair case leading up to the roof. He broke the lock that prevented unauthorized personnel from accessing the roof like it was tissue paper.

There was no bomb to be found. Wind whipped at Chike's unprotected cheeks, the cold biting and tearing at his exposed flesh. He pulled the torn cloth closer around his person (as he often does) and stepped further out onto the roof. Chike pulled the tracking device from his trousers and double checked its reading; this was the place. The weapon had to be here. There wasn't anywhere else it could be. It could be nanotech, too small for the naked eye to register. Or maybe it was hidden by some otherworldly cloaking field. Perhaps some form of magic shielded it from his sight. All of the above could be in play. Whatever the case, it was here. Polemos could feel it. Chike retrieved a second piece of technology: a machine capable of producing a close range Electromagnetic Pulse. He had...borrowed...it from SuperIOR when he and Thune had raided their offices earlier that day. Chike activated the EMP. A small shockwave of energy left the handheld gadget and spread over the entire roof.

The lights from nearby buildings flickered off. The EMP had worked. Yet, there was no sign of the explosive. "Useless piece of crap." He growled between gritted teeth, chucking the instrument across the rooftop in a fit of rage. Time was of the essence, but nothing was working! It was at this time that Chike noticed the small shapely form atop a common broom circling the Chambers Building. Polemos brought up his rifle in a lightning fast move and trained the weapon on the obviously inhuman stranger. "Land, or I put a bullet in your skull!" Chike yelled at the witch. He waited until she complied to approach her, within a couple of meters to allow for understandable dialogue. "Who the hell are you and who's side are you on?" He asked, the gun aimed at her forehead. "We don't have long before that bomb goes off." He continued, not bothering to let her answer his inquires. "If you're with Pax and value your life, you're going to tell me how to shut this thing down. If you're not, well..." Chike trailed off. "I probably won't shoot you. But I could use a little hocus pocus right about now."

Little Ulster, Lost Haven

Thunderbolt slowed to a halt in front of one of the many tenement buildings that dotted Little Ulster. Bricks fell freely from the walls. Shattered glass lay on the cracked and overgrown sidewalks; most of the windows were broken or damaged. Piles of trash were thrown haphazardly outside the living area. It was a chore just to walk up to the front door. Harvey pushed the slab of wood forward, its lock having been broken long ago. The door suddenly fell from its hinges and hit the ground with an ear-splitting crash, causing the speedster to jump in surprise. Harvey stepped over the fallen barrier and went to work scanning the rest of the three story structure. He was looking for the Metahumana bomb, like every other hero worth a damn was. The interior was worse than the outside, if one could believe it. Tables, chairs and couches were overturned. The plaster walls were covered in holes, where Harvey caught glimpses of movement. Probably Roaches, he thought in disgust. The beds had been torn asunder and gutted for reasons Thunderbolt couldn't explain. Boxes of medical tubing littered the kitchen. Empty syringes and bent needles covered every square inch of counter space. It didn't take a genius to know what those were for. "And I thought my house was trashed." Harvey muttered, a small smile on his face. The smile hadn't reached his eyes.

The worst part? This building wasn't unique. Nine out of every ten apartments Thunderbolt had visited since his return to Lost Haven looked just like it. Little Ulster had never been this bad. Before that space station almost crushed the city, Ulster at least had some semblance of civilization to it. But now, with the appearance of metahumans, the city's most neglected district had transformed into something ugly. A gathering place for the veritable scum of the earth. Most of good people had left when Mercy worked her 'magic' on Little Ulster. Most being the keyword. Harvey and Laura had been in Little Ulster when the riots hit. Harv hadn't seen a battlefield or a warzone before; he suspected that was the closest he would get.

"No sign of bomb on this block. Any luck on your end?" Thunderbolt placed a finger against his ear and activated his communications link to his sister. She was on the other side of Little Ulster, searching for the weapon as well. "Nope. Nothing but gangbangers and addicts over here. We should head for Sherman Square soon. The rest of the team'll be in town any minute now." She replied over the garbled transmission. "Alright. Let's do one more quick sweep and then we can head that direction." Thunderbolt agreed. The speedster bolted out of the tenement and into the dirty, hole-ridden streets. He briskly circled the west side of Little Ulster, ducking into any buildings he had neglected to check the first time. Frightened hobos and angry gangs weren't too happy at the hero's intrusion, but Thunderbolt ignored them. Their were more important matters to attend to at the moment. "Help! Someone help me!" A voice cried out in terror and anguish. Thunderbolt jammed his foot into the asphalt beneath his feet and came to a sliding halt. He slowed his breathing and closed his eyes, listening for the screams. "Help me, please!" There. Harvey shot forward at breakneck speeds and headed for what he believed to be the source of the sounds.

"I'm coming! Where are you? Talk to me!" Thunderbolt stopped and yelled periodically. "Please hurry! T-there's blood everywhere." It wasn't long, perhaps a few seconds, before Harvey found him inside an abandoned warehouse on the waterfront. The boy couldn't be any older than eleven from Smith's estimations. He was on his knees in a pool of blood, his visage obscuring the bodies he was bent over. The boy's pathetic cries were hoarse and broken. Thunderbolt's heart ached for the child as he sped toward him. A nanosecond before it was too late, Harvey noticed it. He saw the terrible grin spreading over the child's crimson-soaked face. Thunderbolt let his momentum carry him away from the child; a stroke of genius, he realized, as a blue energy field formed around the boy and his probable victims.

"Clever little hero." The child chuckled, the cruel smirk still etched onto his face. "And fast, too. Wonderful. I knew you and your friend would make excellent playthings the moment you wandered into Little Ulster." He stood up, stretching. Thunderbolt's face contorted in anger and rage. "What. Did. You. Do." He asked slowly, his words laced with venom. "What's it look like? I killed them. They were such horrible parents. I practically did their children a service." The boy giggled. "Call me Psycho. Everybody does." There were no words that could describe what Harvey felt. Rage? Disgust? Sadness? What does one feel at a moment like this? "You're coming with me." Thunderbolt growled. "My mommy says not to listen to strangers. So I'll pass." The blue energy bubbled dissipated and Thunderbolt charged at the deranged little midget. The child shot up into the air, an azure aura surrounding the wicked creature.

"Ohhh! You ARE quick. Nearly got me there. Your sister wasn't nearly as fast." Harvey's face turned three shades of pale. "My sister?" He croaked. Thunderbolt switched on his comm, fear biting at his heart. "Boom? Boom, are you there?" He asked. No answer. "BOOM?!" Psycho giggled again. "She can't hear you. I took her little toys away." He said, holding up the comm bead in one hand. "Harvey- Harvey. Come in!" That was Eric, Thunderbolt and Boom's tech support. The comm line was filled with static as Eric tried to get through to the speedsters. "I'm here. Where's Boom?" Harvey asked. "I'm tracking her now. She's near your current position, but I don't have an exact location just yet. Someone's messing with my systems."

Psycho frowned, running a hand through his messy red hair. "Who are you talking to? Helloooo? HEY. PAY ATTENTION!" A trio of blue-tinted energy knives shot out from the kid's hands, firing toward Thunderbolt at incredible speeds. Harvey dodged the first two, but the third, right on their heels, managed to catch Harv's arm. "Damn." He rasped. "The hero bleeds?" The demon's smile grew even further. "Perrrrfect. I love the smell of blood in the morning. Doesn't compare to the taste of the stuff, though. Blood is just deliciou-" a lead pipe slammed into the side of Psycho's head. The energy field rippled with the impact, but the villain was undeterred. "Now that was rude. You could've hurt me. Lucky for you, my shields absorb kinetic energy. Hitting it only makes me stronger!" A lead pipe the size of a small car appeared out of thin air and swung toward the speedster. Thunderbolt ducked under the attack and ran to the other side of the warehouse to avoid the back swing.

Psycho continued to attack the hero, launching energy construct after energy construct at Harvey. But Thunderbolt was able to avoid ninety perfect of it; the other ten were only glancing hits. Psycho was getting impatient and sloppy. He launched a barrage of poorly aimed attacks, which Thunderbolt expertly avoided. "Come on, kid. Is that all you've got?" Harvey sarcastically asked his assailant. "Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" Psycho screamed. a pair of energy claws stabbed into the warehouse's roof and tore at the metal and wood. The entire building shook and started to collapse. Thunderbolt darted out of the warehouse moments before it fell right on top of the boy. Hopefully, his tantrum had been his undoing.

"I've got a lock on her. She's in warehouse 16, third building on your left." Harvey raced over to the third building on his left, to warehouse 16. He kicked open the locked doorway, sending the metal slab soaring inside. He ran throughout the entire building, looking for Laura. "Boom?" He yelled, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Boom, are you here? Say something!" A small moan, barely louder than a whisper, alerted Harvey to her location. Thunderbolt flew upstairs at top speed and bashed his way through yet another metal door. Inside, he found her. Boom was sprawled across the floor, energy daggers impaled in her wrists and ankles. "Oh God in heaven." Harvey murmured. He ripped her free from the binds, holding Laura delicately between his bleeding arms. "You've gotta get her out of there. She'll heal, but she's in no shape to fight that Psycho kid again." Eric, always the voice of reason. Thunderbolt lifted Boom and stood to his feet. The speedster turned to leave the room, but was greeted by a blue battering ram to the face.

Thunderbolt went flying through the sheet metal wall of the warehouse and into the open air. The smell of sea water mixed with the scent of blood as Harvey's body impacted hard with the concrete below. A small groan escaped his split lips. "She's my plaything now. You can't have her! She's mine mine MINE!" Psycho roared. The child floated out of the hole Thunderbolt had created with his body. It seemed the warehousing falling on top of his head hadn't stopped the little monster. Didn't even slow him down. "I told you. Kinetic energy only makes me stronger. Stupid adults. You never believe anything we kids tell you. Well, the jokes on you now; cuz I'm gonna cut out your heart." A blue chainsaw construct appeared in Psycho's hand. "How 'bout we play doctor? I'll be the doctor, and you can be the patient." The chainsaw revved up, its teeth spinning faster and faster as it inched ever closer to Thunderbolt's unmoving chest.

"Play time's over!" Boom grabbed a hold of the levitating child. "Lemme go!" Psycho demanded, slamming her back against the warehouse. But Laura wouldn't let go. She placed her hand against the boy's face and rapidly vibrated her molecules. "How many times do I have to tell you people? Kinetic energy only ma- AHHHH. AHHHHH. IT BURNS. Stop, stop! Please!" Psycho cried. Tears streamed down the confused boy's face as he stopped trying to struggle. "Friction converts kinetic energy into thermal energy. And your shields aren't able to stop heat, are they?" Boom pulled the child to the ground and held him down, continuing to burn his face. A crane wrapped around Boom's body, tossing her into the river. "Meanies! I'll be back!" Psycho cried. The boy took off into the sky, a trail of blue energy dissipating behind him.

Thunderbolt forced himself to his feet. He limped over to the bay and jumped in after his sister. Moments later, he emerged with Boom under his arm. The two of them crawled onto the concrete of the dock and lay there, forcing air into their exhausted lungs. "I hate kids." Boom finally said. "Let's get outta here. The team's probably wondering where we are."

snip