Suddenly, a small group of police officers and a lone ambulance rapidly drove up to the road to Grey Ghost. Paramedics quickly got out and picked up Mrs. Pickles, placing into a stretcher. One of the police officers jogged out and quickly spoke to Grey Ghost, clearly intent on getting out of there as fast as possible. "Thank you! We heard a man had hobbled into here, drunk. His family was very worried about him. We just came in here to get him in and out, but we better go and get this guy to a hospital. Thanks again! You probably helped save his life!" And just like that, they were gone.

*Later, in a hospital bed.*

"Clarence... Clarence... Clarence!"

Clarence groaned and put a hand on his head. His brother, Dave (the oldest of his siblings) stood, disapprovingly, in front of him. "I have good news," said Dave, angrily.

"Doesn't sound like good news."

"I found your wallet. It was in an elevator. On top of an alien corpse." He placed the wallet on top of Clarence's bed.

"Huh. Funny things you do when your drunk. Must have wandered into that elevator..." said Clarence, looking at a balloon in the corner of the room with Get Well Soon! scrawled onto it. He recognized Cecelia's hand writing.

"Just like you wandered into the hero exams! And just how you wander off into bars every night! Why did you become a hero? And why didn't you tell me? Why did you tell Chuck? Now he's got all these visions of you going around and saving the day with S Ranked heroes! Why, he even said that Ventus gave him an autograph because of you." Dave scoffed.

"Chuck told you?"

"I said I'd buy him another pack of hero cards if he told me what happened," said Dave.

"He sold me out!" exclaimed Clarence, somewhat unsurprised and with a tinge of sarcasm.

"That's not important. What's important is that you stay away."

"Look, I know you're big on personal space but, come on, this is my hospital bed. I can't exactly-"

"Not from me! From our brothers and sisters! Imagine how heartbroken they'd be if they figured out that you died just because you got drunk and signed up to be a hero! Hell, you don't have any powers! And don't pretend like you've got some excellent fighting skills. You're ruining them with this drinking! The family is falling apart because of you!"

Clarence grimaced. "Well, if I don't stay with them and take care of them, who will?" Dave glared at Clarence, and Clarence suddenly knew the answer to the question. "The convent. You wouldn't. You know I hate that place! Ever since I got arrested for public urination near there which I did not do."

"It's what mom wanted. In the case that you were an unfit guardian, everyone was to be sent to live in the convent and live their. You know how she was friends with Angel Grace."

Clarence opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"And don't think for a second that you can actually take care of them! Don't even pretend! I'm taking matters into my own hands. So I'm going to send our ten younger siblings there, where they can grow up with a caretaker that isn't a joke. And I'm using the money to go off to college."

Clarence grew serious. "Dave, that's my money."

"You can stand up right now and get it. Come on. Fight me for it. Think of how much Chuck would like that, you splitting the family apart. And Carl. He'd love that too, right? Growing up his whole life with an older brother that was a laughing stock? The town drunk? No, I'm putting as much distance between you and them as possible. You can visit them on Saturdays if you take a part of their alcohol rehabilitation program. And I'm taking the money and making something of myself, like you never could. So go ahead, get involved in a long legal battle. Like you could even get a lawyer."

"Rehab, huh? Is that what it's come to? Using the law to out maneuver your older brother?" Clarence grew angry and stood up. He brought his arm back to punch Dave, but he just ended up getting the IV painfully pulled out of his vein. He stumbled to the ground, and some nurses quickly rushed in and picked him up, plopping him back into the seat. When he looked back, Dave was gone.

*Even more later*

Mrs. Pickles took the bus to the only place where he'd be able to afford rent. City Z. He walked into his new "house", which had no electricity, plopped his mother's box and his father's hunting rifle onto the coffee table (which broke from the weight of the hunting rifle), sighed, and then went to use the restroom. He found it odd that he hadn't seen anyone. Sure, City Z was mostly abandoned. But there were enough people around that not even seeing anyone on the bus ride was strange. Little did he know about the isolated information about Gumbo's creation...

As Mrs. Pickles washed his hands, he heard a lion's roar outside. That was odd. He wasn't seriously still drunk, was he?

He casually walked outside... and then lion-scorpion hybrid monster sniffing around in his front yard. Mrs. Pickles gracefully retrieved his hunting rifle. But not before screaming "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!" and tripping over the remnants of his new coffee table. He quickly dashed outside, steadied his nerves, got his gun ready, and aimed at the monster. Dave said he wasn't worthy? Ha. He'd show him. He would become a great hero. Make them proud. He squeezed the trigger. One monster after the other, by punches, kicks, blades, settling it in Smash, and bullets, he'd fight anything that stood in between him and his siblings. And nothing could stop him!

*Click*

Except for the fact that Mrs. Pickles was out of ammo...

"Oh no..."

E R I K A "T H E P U P P E T E E R" M I K A Z U C H I

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@JustYui @Phobos @LostDestiny @Thecrash20 @dragonmancer @Cherrywitch

The continuity of the heroes attacks matched by Ayu's plasma shots seemed to do a number on Gastro. He seemed to be in great pain as he roared and let out the lava-hot liquid from before. It was a good thing that Erika and her robots were far enough to not be hit by the lava. Though it also gave them a good opening. Ayu quickly calculated where her earlier shots went to and what did the most damage. Or at least, what Gastro defended the most. That was the first two. She aimed once more and shot three bullets towards the vital organs, shots calculated meticulously as to avoid both the liquid and should hit the vitals if Gastro does not block it.

Erika then saw a... drunk man walking around and saying something but she couldn't hear what it was. He then turned to her and then attempted to push her out of the way and assuring her that he got it all under control... but his aim was way off and he only ended up ruffling her hair, which she didn't mind. She could even smell the scent of alcohol from his breath making her doubt that he could actually do something coherent. "A-Ah... no, I'm fine. I'm aiming to become a hero too so this is like, um, training." She explained, giving him a goofy smile. She wasn't sure if the man understood her in his drunken state. She also wasn't sure why she was explaining herself to the man.

Then he began talking to Grey Ghost, the robotic hero. She then turned to Razor once more. She saw Razor with his blades retracted and his arms crossed. Battle-thirsty he was, but he knew that there were no openings and thus did not attack. Good, Erika feared that Razor would do something while she had her attention elsewhere. Erika was about to speak to Razor on what he could possibly do when shots rung out from a gun making her yelp. She sharply turned her head towards where the shot was being made and there, the drunk Mrs. Pickles was holding a gun and shooting. She wasn't sure if that was safe.

"Ah, Mister!" She shouted as she saw him go down. Erika quickly made her way to the unconscious drunk. He was bleeding from a cut on his arm. She didn't know what to do. She knew how to replace something - but she didn't know how to fix organic things. It was then that Grey Ghost approached them and then began treating Mrs. Pickles. She stepped back. This was actually the first time she looked at Grey Ghost for an extended amount of time. She began 'seeing' through his armor, seeing what the devices implanted within him does. Although the something that really got to her was the fact that he was organic. He was human. And yet, he was also a robot. But he was unlike Ayu and Razor who were born robots, he was born human and just riddled with robotic parts. He was augmented to become robot-like. While others would think it's so cool to see someone like him, half-human half-robot; Erika felt differently. There was a clear difference between robot and human. And they should be kept as separate as possible. Robotic parts were fine - an arm and a leg, the heart, a kidney... by themselves, it was fine to have them inside of a human. It would help them survive and function normally.

But this? Turning a human into a cyborg to become a hero. That was a 'no' in her books. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Ghost, so why was it needed? Was it because they wanted another hero? They had quite an abundance already. A sick experiment maybe? Perhaps they were trying to achieve something by making him? Ah, she'll just lose her head when she keeps on thinking about it! She snapped herself out of it just in time for the ambulance to arrive. Mrs. Pickles was taken out of the battlefield and to the hospital. "I hope he's going to be fine." Erika said in a worried tone, enough to be overheard by Ghost himself.

Razor watched as the man was loaded into the ambulance before turning to Ayu who had her eyes on Gastro the whole time, not caring for what happened around her. Razor knew that she trusted him to take care of Erika while she was focused on attacking. Well, she didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, especially since she was with an A-Rank hero. "I'm gonna scan the area if there are any civilians left." He told Ayu and she nodded.

"Be careful." Ayu responded, "I'll keep an eye out for Erika then." She continued but she didn't turn to face their creator and master but kept her eyes glued on the alien. But Razor was confident that Ayu was looking out for Erika, despite not looking like it. He then shoved his hands inside his pockets before starting to roam around the city. There wasn't much for him to do anyway so rescuing people sounded ideal. Ayu and the other heroes had the alien after all and he couldn't see an opening for an attack.

He frowned as he looked down on his sleeves. Damn it, he ripped it for no reason. Then he would be forced to fix it and thus spending hours just remaking under uniform! Great, just great. The city was empty for the most part, as most of the civilians were already in the evacuation center. However, he started to pick up faint traces of a living being, a human one at that. He followed the trail until he saw a blonde person in a witch's costume holding a broom.

"And who, exactly, might you be?" Razor asked, his database already collecting information from what he can remember. It was too bad that Razor wasn't exactly well-fed when it came to information about heroes as much as Ayu was. Though thankfully, the person in front of him was within his range of knowledge. The Pumpkin Witch, B-Class, Rank 14. Okay, so no worries when it comes to her defending herself. Seeing as she was a B-Class hero, she could most likely take care of herself. But he didn't mention that he knew of her yet. It wouldn't be ideal to reveal that he wasn't exactly made of flesh and bones like her, more like metal and wires for him.

The blonde leaned over closer to a store window, oohing at a pretty red dress, albeit a bit revealing, behind the glass. "Oh! I would look so cute in that!"

Instead of jumping in surprise as her nervous little broom did, Vivilyn merely took a glance over her shoulder curiously at the voice that so rudely interrupted her impromptu session of window shopping. The coral lip curled into a pout, the witch tucking her arms under her chest, or lack thereof, with much annoyance. "Neh? You interrogate me without stating your own name first? Rude." Vivilyn moved her hands to her hips with much sass intended, Broomy taking refuge behind her. "If you must know, I am the Pumpkin Witch. The cutest B-Rank you'll ever meet, teehee!" She gave a playful wink as she placed her index finger on her lip to enforce her point. But the playfulness quite quickly returned to her cheeky demeanor, the blonde flipping one of her curly pigtails with an flick of discontent. "If you came to drag me into the fight I was going to go anyways. I was just in another one so I have to wait for my energy to come back." Vivilyn began to gaze at her red painted nails to show her apparent boredom with the conversation.

E R I K A "T H E P U P P E T E E R" M I K A Z U C H I

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@Cherrywitch

Ah, so he was right. This was the Pumpkin Witch. Razor's lips curled into a well-concealed smirk and then he did a curtsy, fit for a high-class butler. "Apologies m'lday, for my rudeness." He started before straightening himself. "I am but a humble man living in this city, so I did not think you would care for the name of a person such as I." His odd way of phrasing his words would've crept up to anyone by now. He didn't seem to care for what the hero might think. But the fact that Razor was doing this only to get a reaction from the other remains.

And the fact that he was inwardly cringing with how she's trying to be cute is still there.

But he didn't show it but only had his gentlemanly smile on his face. "I wouldn't dare drag a cute hero such as yourself to a dangerous battle such as that. Master already has that covered." He continued before taking a few steps towards her, analyzing her from head to toe, but only showed it like it was just out of sheer curiosity. "You had come from a battle? I wouldn't have known if you haven't mentioned it. You still look like you're in pristine condition."

V E N T U S

---

Professor Geoffrey Burr hovered slightly above the ground, his lower legs curved with gravity. He had arrived about thirty seconds before the class was suppose to begin. His students had doubtlessly seen the news and knew that he’d just returned from a battle in City S but they also knew that he had a “No Hero-Talk During Class" policy, otherwise his students probably would just ask for signatures and have him tell stories and such.

During the semester he decided to teach introductory classes for mathematics and science majors. The classes began a few weeks ago, so the physics 101 class was just starting two dimensional motion. The marker squeaked as it drew vectors on the board, connecting them, tip to end. All the while Geoff explained that each vector represents a force with a magnitude and direction. In this case it was an object being thrown off of a large building. The marker began scrawling equations and solving them next to the depiction of the motion.

Geoff was concerned for Cities K and T, though he knew that Dragon Knight and Guardian were present, he still thought that they had perhaps misjudged the other threats given that there were several heroes at the scenes and they were still fighting…

Mrs. Pickles screamed like a little girl was startled by the absence of bullets in his gun. He had forgotten to reload! And he hadn't unpacked his other bullets yet! He slammed the door shut and locked it. He ran to the box and threw it open. The box only dispensed an item every hour, so he hoped this would be useful. He flung it open and got... a sweater.

The chimera slammed against the door and the door flew off its hinges. Mrs. Pickles discarded the box and promptly threw the sweater at the monster. The chimera was temporarily blinded by the sweater, buying Mrs. Pickles a few extra seconds. He ran to the kitchen to see if there was anything he could use. He opened the drawers, but they were mostly empty. Since there was no electricity in this small house, there was no need for a fridge or any other appliances. As a result the kitchen received little use and was bare of everything except for butter knives, spoons, and forks.

Mrs. Pickles was running out of time- the chimera had just torn the sweater to shreds. He threw the utensils at the monster, but they simply annoyed the beast. The chimera swiped at Mrs. Pickles' leg with its claw, but Mrs. Pickles yelped and dodged just in time. He promptly pulled the entire drawer out of the counter and bashed the chimera over the head with it. The drawer snapped in half, but the chimera was only dazed.

Mrs. Pickles discarded the remainder of the drawer and ran again, with the monster hot on his heels. He quickly grasped his cell phone to dial the HA. If he couldn't stop this monster, at least he could get help from someone who could.

"Hello, this is the HA hot-line. If you're calling in regards to the monster in City K, press one. If you're calling in regards to the monster in City T, press two. In the case of a robbery, press three. In the case of a murder, press four. In the case of a non-life threatening emergency, press five. In the case of complaint about a hero, press six. In the case of a suspected monster attack, press seven. In the-"

"Seven, seven!" shouted Mrs. Pickles as he ran through the house. He skidded around the corner, and the chimera almost fell over, recovered, and then continued his pursuit. "Please hold while we get you in touch with an operator. In the meantime, please enjoy the music."

Mrs. Pickles cursed under his breath, placed his cell phone in his pocket, and ran into the bedroom. His house was only one story, so he didn't have too many options. He knew that the Chimera would catch up to him out in the open. He slammed the door shut, but the chimera immediately burst through it, not even phased by the effort of breaking the door down. Mrs. Pickles took the gun and slammed the butt of it into the monster's face. Now it was really mad. It brought it's claws forward and grabbed Mrs. Pickles torso and flung him into a dresser, the newest object in the house. Mrs. Pickles grunted and pulled himself up from the splintered remains of the dresser. He was trapped...

-----

The house's fuse box hadn't worked well in ages, and the previous owner of the home (an ex-criminal) had pushed the dresser in front of the fuse box and remade the storage room it had been placed in into a more livable room for a poor and desperate man. However, once Mrs. Pickles slammed into the fuse box, it whirred to life.

-----

Mrs. Pickles didn't realize that the overhead light was on after two and a half years of being useless. He was a little distracted by the giant lion monster attacking him. He picked up a piece of the wood and charged towards the chimera.

The chimera normally would have counter-attacked, but it hadn't really expected Mrs. Pickles to attack him. So, a tad startled, it backed away from Mrs. Pickles. Then, realizing a sharp stick could only do so much, it charged.

Mrs. Pickles stabbed at the chimera, but the wood got caught in its mane. Howerver, Mrs. Pickles had taken advantage of the small amount of time provided by the chimera and when it sidestepped his stab to avoid injury, he was able to skirt around it and get to the bathroom. The bathroom was the most well organized of the rooms; Mrs. Pickles had taken a shower as soon as he had arrived, right before getting his rifle out and seeing the monster. The chimera burst through yet another door and cornered Mrs. Pickles yet again... but now, Mrs. Pickles was completely ready.

Mrs. Pickles smirked and aimed the pistol directly at the chimera. "Nice knowing you, pal."

Mrs. Pickles pulled the trigger...

*Whooooooooosh!*

It was a hair dryer! Mrs. Pickles remembered suddenly. He had tried to use the hair dryer earlier, forgetting about the absence of power. Well now the hair dryer was functioning and the power was back... but that didn't matter... Mrs. Pickles was done for. Nothing could save him now. There was no elevator. No explosion. No crab to land on. Just him, a hair dryer, and a chimera.

The chimera growled and revealed its sharp teeth to Mrs. Pickles. Mrs. Pickles gulped...

Then Mrs. Pickles got his last good idea and did what any sane man would do in this situation. He mounted the chimera and wrapped the chord around its neck, screaming bloody murder. The chimera, surprised, tried to buck Mrs. Pickles off his back (Mrs. Pickles was hoping that it would accidentally stab itself in the back with its tail, but the chimera was smart enough to know that using his tail would be too dangerous). The bucking resulted in Mrs. Pickles painfully descending to the floor.

Time froze as the chimera lunged at Mrs. Pickles, sinking its teeth into his flesh. Mrs. Pickles cried out as the jaws closed around his arm. Then, right before the chimera pulled Clarence's arm out of his socket, the unthinkable happened.

When the chimera had been bucking around, his tail had turned on the shower, and then sent the shower head flailing. When the chimera dove towards Pickles to make the finishing blow, a stream of water connected with the hair dresser (which was still on) and the chord (which had been frayed on account of the tugging and was still wrapped tightly around the chimera's neck). This resulted in the chimera being painfully hit by several volts of electricity and opening is mouth to cry out in pain. Mrs. Pickles didn't stick around to see if it was lethal. He raced out of the room and brought the phone to his ear just as customer service picked up. "Hello, how can I help-"

"Monster... City Z..." Mrs. Pickles gasped explaining the situation (not the details, of course), unsure of whether or not the chimera was neutralized.

The witch merely accepted the apology with a "hmph" as she raised her crimson eyes back to the... butler? He certainly had that feeling about him, with his overly formal tone and dress, plus he did mention a master. Vivilyn decided to take it in stride, blushing confidently as he accepted the fact that she was adorable. The boost to her inflated ego made her forget about that whole name business.

"Well, I can't stay mad at someone with such perfect eyesight." The blonde fixed one bouncy pigtail with a hand.

"You had come from a battle? I wouldn't have known if you haven't mentioned it. You still look like you're in pristine condition."

Maybe his eyesight was a little too perfect...

Vivilyn felt a bead of sweat spring up on her forehead as she quickly averted her eyes away from him. "W-well, I'm always in pristine condition. I wouldn't let a stupid alien ruin my good looks. I'm just very experienced in avoiding attacks, you see?" She wouldn't mention the fact she had hid in the skies and only used one spell the entire time, as those were just minor details.

@SpookySquid
"W-wha- bzzzzzt sir? Can you hear me?" Click. Those were the last words Mrs. Pickle heard from the HA before his call was cut off due to bad service. Sprint, what could you do. From the broken debris of what used to be his house, a faint growl could be heard. The same door Mrs. Pickle came from broke into pieces, the giant chimera's bloodshot burning with rage fixed on the hero. It slowly walked towards the man, as if trying to figure out what to do next or contemplating what to do next. It stopped, a few feet just before Mrs. Pickles. It let off one more faint growl before falling over dead

"WHAT!?!" A sudden mans voice could be heard. From an abandoned house emerged the one and only, Dr. Gumbo "HOW CAN SUCH A MAGNIFICENT CREATURE LOSE TO, TO, TO THAT!?" He yelled, pointing at Mrs. Pickle as if someone were watching "No! I will not, can not accept it. It was too weak, too pathetic, it wasn't perfect!" He said, kicking the dead beast a few times before turning to Mrs. Pickle "YOUUUU! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOUUUU!!" He let out a 13 year olds equivalent of a battle cry, charging at Mrs. Pickle with a half assed form and an even more half assed punch, aiming it at the weakened Mrs. Pickles jaw.

E R I K A "T H E P U P P E T E E R" M I K A Z U C H I

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@Cherrywitch

Oh, it seems like this girl had more ego than he originally expected. Hm, maybe he should poke it a little more; see just how big it is before even she would be embarrassed by the attention. Well he often encountered people like these. Time to see its true limits, maybe even break through it. He's just having fun, that's all. "Even someone with imperfect eyesight would see your cuteness m'lady."

The moment the Pumpkin Witch looked away, Razor knew that he'd enjoy this. Experienced in avoiding attacks, she says. His eyes had already caught on to the broom she held - the flying magical broom that seems to have its own mind. Besides, she prided herself for being a witch. A witch flies, does she not? "Oh, is that so? You must be very experienced in dodging." He said as he circled behind her. "After all, you do fly with your broom do you not?"

@Phobos

Mrs. Pickles didn't think the dude would punch him! He was hit square in the jaw, and actually staggered in his weakened, unprepared state. He coughed up a bit of blood.

"You picked the wrong day to mess with me..." and then Mrs. Pickles let out his first punch of the day. All of his stress from fighting the crab monster, fear from fighting the Chimera, hatred of his brother, despair over losing his younger siblings, dependency of alcohol, the loss of his parents that still clung to him, the humiliation of becoming a human punching bag in front of heroes, the indigestion of being launched like a rocket out of an elevator shaft. It all went into that one punch.

And Mrs. Pickles completely missed!

Gumbo would have to have been either completely blind or asleep to no see that one coming- it was just too full of emotion. However, when he swung at Gumbo and came short, the stitches on his arm from earlier came open, and a small stream of blood splattered into Gumbo's eyes, temporarily blinding him. Mrs. Pickles took this opportunity to collect himself.

He reflected on what he was doing. Was he going to let out all of his frustration out on this guy? Heck, he could hurt him! Maybe kill him! No, no, no. That wouldn't do.

Wait, you thought that Mrs. Pickles would hold himself back and try and reason with the man? No, I never said that. Mrs. Pickles just didn't want to kill him. Instead, Mrs. Pickles decided that it would be a great idea to take advantage of this opportunity and brighten up his day.

Mrs. Pickles chuckled at Gumbo as he tried to wipe the blood from his eyes, then pulled down Gumbo's pants and ran away, laughing uncontrollably. "So you're mad that I killed your pet chimney, eh? Or Chimchar... eh, whatever. Well, if you want revenge, come get me!" Mrs. Pickles proceeded to dance around Gumbo, call him names, and bully him. If Gumbo attacked again, he'd be ready. And he wouldn't miss. Probably. I mean, come on, who knows with Mrs. Pickles?

---

The buff duckman alien's day just kept going from bad to worse: First, some weird hair-woman took away his toy, then he was knocked into a building, then he was cut and electrocuted and stabbed.

And now, before he knew it, he was surrounded by oil-bomb explosions that seared his flesh with burning heat and oil. The alien tried to both keep his balance and block his face from any damage. The creature had no chance to attack, leaving him completely vulnerable to attack.

---

Dreadlock looked at Guardian and Savant that had approached her; she was not concerned for the unranked hero, for the duo had apparently already been aware of her plan, or they just shared it. Great minds think alike, she supposed.

DreadLock watched down at the fight that was happening at street level, the ninja and steel hero distracting the crazed creature. Unfortunately though, it seemed that the unranked heroes' attacks had caused some collateral damage, sending the steel woman flying away from the lower area. DreadLock watched the fast approaching hero fly off, in their general direction. "Hold up," she said as she stepped forward, gripping tight onto Guardian's muscular arm. DreadLock focused all her hair to create what looked to be one huge bug net, and aimed it to where she'd calculated Steel Devil would fly through.

Planting her feet firm on the ground, DreadLock bared herself to the force that was about to come flying into her hair-net. Soon enough, the steel hero was shot right into DreadLock's hair, nearly sending her flying herself from the force. DreadLock held hard onto Guardian, though her feet still did skid back from the force; she had to work hard to regain her bearings before both women would start falling hard to the ground. She used every available muscle in her leg to push herself and her net forward, eventually slowing Steel Devil to a stop, nestled amongst DreadLock's glowing red hair.

Out of breath, DreadLock slowly brought her hair and her catch back toward the rooftop that she and the two men stood. She gently tipped her hair down, letting Steel Guardian slip out before she returned her hair back to rest.

"Okay, I was thinking, while they distract the duck-thing, we charge in with one giant combined attack," she said, finally getting back on track, "But we seem to be an odd bunch for a group attack..."

DreadLock pondered for a moment, tapping a finger on her chin as she looked between the three heroes before her. How could they defeat the alien? She thought she had all the answers, but apparently she didn't.

"I suppose we could either hit him with full brute force, or stab him as much as possible as quick as possible: So... Pancake or Swiss Cheese? What do you guys think?"

The compliments were becoming null and void during her worry that this butler was going to call her out. She merely nodded, twirling her blonde locks with some nervousness.

"Huh?" Vivilyn turned to look at Razor peculiarly, arching a thin eyebrow. "You mean Broomy? Well of course I do. How else would I get around?" She spoke indignantly, crossing her arms back over her ribs and leaning her hip to the side. Broomy itself had jumped in terror at being noticed, not liking to be recognized, unlike his master who thrived upon attention. The broom jolted and sped back to Vivilyn's side and just slightly behind her, appearing to be hunched behind the witch for safety. The crimson eyes turned to the broom, the witch cocking her head curiously. "You usually aren't this jumpy, what's with you?"

The broom, shaking, got closer to her and stayed near her shoulder. Vivilyn, appearing to understand this silent speech, only seemed more confused. "Eh? What do you mean, how is he 'off'?" She seemed to not be paying any real attention to Razor now as her broom practically squeaked and zipped behind her.

E R I K A "T H E P U P P E T E E R" M I K A Z U C H I

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@Cherrywitch

The broom had a name. Not a very good name, but it still had a name. His eyebrows went up as the broom seemed to be very jittery around him. He stopped when he was facing the Pumpkin Witch once again with Broomy at her back. Pumpkin Witch commented that the broom wasn't that jumpy around strangers. She didn't even pay much attention to him anymore, but Razor didn't mind. He was more curious on what the broom had to say. And thanks to Pumpkin Witch's translation, he was able to know what exactly was with it. Him? Ah whatever.

Oh? The broom could sense that he was made of metal? That he wasn't organic? What, did the broom sense something in humans that it couldn't sense in him? He had life, personality, free will, everything except an organic body. He placed his hands inside his pocket, "It seems your broom is quite a sharp one." He pointed out. He looked down at his shredded forearm sleeves. Erika had the best paint in the world - his skin was skin-colored even though he had morphed it earlier and it had become silver. But this time, it was normal.

"Do you want to know - what your broom thinks is off?"

@SpookySquid
Gumbos pants were suddenly pulled down, the culprit running away right before his very eyes. He ran after him, his eyes full of fire. But In his surge of rage Gumbo chased after him, forgetting about his pants and falling down to his knees and hands. The same man now laughed, standing above him and taunting him and his hard work. Gumbo's body shook. Instead of rising with a vengeful spirit, he remained there with his body shaking. The faint sound of a man holding back his tears came from Gumbo, tears streaming down his face. "It's not fair, everything, my whole life's work done because of someone like you!!" He rose his body, tears and boogers all over his face as he yelled. "I swear" Gumbo got up, pulling his pants up and wiping away all the boogers and tears on his sleeve. He glared at the hero, his eyes becoming so blood shot that his sclera's would almost seem red "I swear I'll never forgive you!!!" Finally finding his determination, Gumbo charged at Mrs. Pickle with all his might. Right fist cocked back and ready to swing at Mrs. Pickles face.

When arrived at the top oof the building, Dreadlock latched onto him, causing him to blush slightly with eyes barely wider than before but he took notice to why. One of the heroes below had been sent flying back and she was attempting to make a net and so he locked himself in place, ready for the pull that would follow from the catch and when it came, there wasn't much to it. 300+ lbs of humans weighed like ounces to him, Allister hardly budged.

Finally, she had a moment to speak and he listened but, just like the last time, his eyes were focused on the ground below. Glancing over to her he began to speak before his eyes moved back to the fight just below.

"I would prefer to end this immediately. That way, we can end this quickly and I can go home and make my famous beef and veggie steamed buns. I vote for obliteration. Savant...your thoughts?"

V E N T U S

---

The rest of the class was just as immensely interesting and about the mechanics of the world. His classes were over for the day, the rest of his day was for administrative work - paperwork and other business he needed to accomplish that day. He retired to his office, which had a standing desk, not that he ever stands. Geoff hovered a few inches above the carpeted floor of his office as he flipped through tests on his desk, which he had given out during his last class.

There were several tests with a hundred percent grade, not that he actually counted the test grades toward the final grade - that’s what a final is for. After he’d finished with that bit of work he picked up the phone on his desk, which was rather well organized and quite the opposite of his unorganized house. The dial tone sounded as the phone was removed from its dock. He dialed a number.

“Hello, yes. This is the hero Ventus… I would like to inform the Association about another hero who should be promoted in lieu of the normal promotion constraints.” He went on to explain how the success in City S would have been impossible without the help of Mrs. Pickels. Explaining how they’d kept the monster’s attention and eventually, according to his observation, managed to ultimately land the killing blow.

Savant

---

Going all in at once. Based on what had happened so far, Aaron wasn’t sure if that was necessarily the best course of action. While he did not agree with the current plan, he couldn’t bring something to mind, at the moment, that would assist them in this situation. Perhaps he was getting a bit tired from running there, or jumping through debris. Either way, it didn’t matter - he had to help deal with the crisis or people were going to die. “I agree with the Guardian, obliteration it is…”

Aaron was surprised at how down-to-Earth Guardian was. They’d only met once or twice before this and yet, the Class-S hero was treating Savant as though they were equals. He seemed to treat all heros this way. This was quite contrary to how many Class-S heros treated those of lower classes than themselves. Savant was certain that if Guardian had been working with a Class-C hero, that he’d treat them with as much respect as a fellow-hero as Savant and Dread Lock were receiving. Savant nodded his head and gestured for one of the others to make the first move. He generally considered himself to be more of a distraction or as a supporting hero, especially when placed next to the likes of Guardian and other Class-S heros. They were, of course, Class-S for a reason.

As if suddenly remembering someone else was there, Vivilyn perked up curiously to look at Razor. "Broomy already told me." The witch stated blandly and with some impatience. "It is a magical broom... what, you think my mentor didn't animate her favorite broom with more sensibility than just to zip around the place?" The blonde gave a quick nod towards the otherwise simple looking cleaning tool. "Broomy is basically a bloodhound, but for magic. It said that your magic isn't your own, and that it can't detect your soul anywhere in your body."

Vivilyn stepped forward, lightly poking his chest. "From that information, I can assume... you're not human, are ya?" She flashed her crimson gaze up at him, as Broomy shrank back even further.

E R I K A "T H E P U P P E T E E R" M I K A Z U C H I

---

@Cherrywitch

Razor listened intently to what the Pumpkin Witch was saying. Well, if she was the one who had enchanted the broom, then why didn't she see his apparent lack of a soul and that his 'magic' came from someone else? And once more, he is convinced that the broom is much more smarter than its creator. However, since she is this master's apprentice, then surely she should have around the same amount of power unless she is still in apprenticeship. Well, he'll find out later on.

"No, I am not a human." He replied, hands behind his back. "Nor am I anything natural. I am but a mere doll to my master - a robot."

Clarence was sitting inside of the van. It was new at the time.

"Clarence... why, why, why did you have to fight that boy? He was only nine!" asked his father. His father had been in charge of a large construction company, but had only done so by working hard and pushing his way to the top. His hands were covered in scars, and, although he was only 32, the strain of raising several children, paired with the fact that his wife, Claire, seemed to now be pregnant with twins, had destroyed his youth, making the tired man seem 52 years old, not 32.

"He was making fun of Dave," said Clarence, "At least that's what Dave said. He said that Dave wasn't your son, and that's why you named him differently. Why everyone else has 'Cs' in their name. Well, that's what Dave told me, anyways."

"Do you know why Dave is named Dave?" asked his father.

Clarence shook his head.

"It's because Dave looked like a Dave. And you looked like a Clarence. And Cecelia looked like a Cecelia. And Catherine looked like Catherine. We didn't have much control. But you didn't have to hit the other boy. You could have just told him."

"But what if someone made fun of your brother, wouldn't you want to hit him?"

"Son, punching people is never the answer. Why, anyone who thinks they can solve a problem in just one punch is a fool. What was the boy's name?"

"Saitama," said Clarence.

"Saitama? I find that hard to believe. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Are you sure?"

"I mean, that's what Dave told me..."

"Really? The day after he got mad at you, Dave told you to pick a fight with a random kid at school he barely even knows? Don't you think Dave was just trying to get you in a bit of trouble?"

Clarence shrugged. The two sat in silence for a bit, then Clarence's father started the car and began driving. Ten year old Clarence had no idea that, it was in this car that his father and mother would be killed, ten years later.

"Next time you get in a fight," said Clarence's father, "hit the solar plexus." Clarence's dad pointed to the solar plexus on his own body.

"Why? What?" asked Clarence.

"The solar plexus is a terrible place to be hit. Knocks the wind right out of you. Also, in between the eyes. Yikes, that one will make you cry. Maybe I should give you boxing lessons, would you like that?"

Clarence nodded. Little did he know that, less than six months from now, he'd be kicked out of boxing class for his lack of skill.

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"I swear I'll never forgive you!"

Clarence blinked. He braced himself for the punch, dodged out of the way, and then slammed his fist into Gumbo's solar plexus with his left fist. Then, he brought his right hand up to Gumbo's face, and gouged at his eyes in a way that would make the three stooges proud.



@Phobos