It was the sudden shout that alerted Marcus to the danger. He was sat on his bed, flipping through some of the interviews and pictures that had popped up since the group had found themselves in D.C. He was on a particularly embarrassing edit him and Ernie getting smashed together when he heard it.
Flinging himself off the bed just as the emergency siren started blaring, Marcus found himself in the main room, having followed Emmaβs yell.
βWhatβs wrong!?β he shouted, eyes floating from the apparently unharmed Emma to the window.
His question was immediately answered by Officer Brahms shouted out the situation, but Marcus focused more on what he was seeing than what he was hearing. His body didnβt move as the office building came flying at them, and it didnβt move as the shaking of the building knocked him off his feet.
The sensation of falling. The sound of chaos drowning out everything else. A sharp pain as shards of glass embedded themselves into his skin.
This all seemed eerily familiar. He must have blacked out for a second, or it had all happened too quickly for him to even comprehend. His body hurt, and his mind was groggy, but he was alive. He was vaguely aware of Brentβs voice shouting at him from somewhere.
He was alive. Despite the searing pain in his body as he sat up, dust falling off him like snow, he was mostly uninjured. Certainly nothing he hadnβt dealt with before.
βTransmit. Marcus. Minor injuries only. Over.β
He pulled himself to his knees, and then to his feet, staggering slightly from the combination of disorientation, and a sharp gash across his left leg. There had been other voices coming through his cuff, and his slowly clearing mind was starting to take count.
Healers. He needed to find the healers first.
The slight fogginess in his brain was starting to be replaced by the acute clearness of adrenalin β his eyes fell on the golden hair of Lily as she crumpled.
Golden hair
Lily. The priority. He started limping towards the small group that was forming, panic starting to softly settle below the heat of calm. He had to make sure everyone was okay first.
Her phone and earbuds had been her constant companions ever since coming back from breakfast that morning. She cycled through playlists from albums and artists that she fell back on when she felt this way-- letting the music just envelope her so she didn't have to pay attention to anything else.
This time she was disappointed, so disappointed in herself. There had been that party last night, and she'd gone. But she hadn't said anything to anyone. Except for Lily a bit, but she already knew Lily more than the rest. She was supposed to have used that as an opportunity.
Still listening to music, she left the room she and Lily shared, deciding to head down to have an early lunch since she didn't know what else to do. She hadn't gone far, though, when the sirens stopped her. Then rumbling. Shouts. Not an earthquake...
She was already on her way back to the suite when a soldier came for her, and once back inside the suite she could see what was happening more clearly. Sophia stared out of the window in shock as she caught sight of the giant ice creature and the blob with veins and a heart like it was alive. Officer Brahm's words were almost lost on her, for she only picked up the part that defined the monsters as high threat, and the word "assault".
It was different this time. At Wisford they had had a warning, time to prepare, a plan. But the threat was here, and there was no time. What had she done in the past situations? What could she do? At Wisford she had stayed away from the front lines, but here was a different matter. During that "game" she had been a healer, and spent the entire time hiding. The day she had woken up in the hospital and ended up being flown over to a battle, she hadn't actually had to fight. But there had been a plan for what she was supposed to have done... something about her power and weaknesses in monsters that weren't so threatening... something--
The building had been shaking under her as she thought, and now she fell. No, not just her. The entire building. She needed to grab onto something but there was nothing, though she felt someone latch onto her just before something hard hit her. She let out a yelp just before the entire weight of the bookcase landed on her, and she fell unconscious from the sudden pain.
That darkness didn't last long, for it soon spit her out again in time for her to feel the weight being lifted, catching the words that... that... the person spoke. She couldn't match the voice to a name. She wasn't so alright this time, was she? There was that familiar ringing in her ears and lightness in her head, and she felt so distant, as if everything was far, far, away. She heard the muted sounds of footsteps, and people talking.
Including Brent. She should say something if she was alive. That was her, right? Alive. But since the pain wasn't going away, all she could manage with the tight breaths that she drew was a faint "Mmmmm" hummed through her lips.
It hurt too much to do anything else, and she'd never had a very high pain tolerance.
After a morning that was much groggier than usual-- the result of late night drinking, chatter, and a shared couch for a bed-- Callan had eventually managed to stumble back into her typical morning routine. A light headache, which she's almost giddily acknowledged as her first hangover, had since faded as she stood out in the hallway alone. Pacing nervously with her phone in hand, she finally mustered the courage to make the call.
After a few short rings, the line was picked up. She felt her breath catch in her throat for a moment.
"Callan?" came the familiar voice.
"Uh... hey, Dom."
It wasn't her parents. But baby steps were better than no steps at all.
"Oh, so NOW you want to talk?" She could hear that obnoxious whine in her younger brother's voice as he spoke. The one he used when he was feeling slighted, but trying to act far more upset than he was. Though she felt bad for ignoring him for so long, Callan couldn't help but smile.
"Sorry, bro. Magic school is hard work. I've been busy."
"Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that," he huffed. He was silent for a moment before adding, "I'm glad you called me, though. For a while there I though you might actually be dead."
She sighed. "I really am sorry. I was super pissed about mom and dad. Didn't really want to talk about it."
"It's fine. I don't wanna talk about them either. They're being fuckin' assholes."
Callan didn't find that funny, but she laughed. "Ohh, better not let mom hear you," she teased.
"Yeah, right. They're both at work. Pretty sure they'd disconnect my phone if they overheard me talking to you. They already chewed me out for accepting your friend request on facebook. Spewing some bullshit about how-- er... anyway they're not here. We can talk."
Weird. The older they got, the less she and Dom seemed to get along. Mean spirited teasing and insatiable desire to get on each other's nerves was what home was to her. Hearing Don try to be so considerate was... strange. In an endearing sort of way. But also slightly unsettling.
"Heh. I don't really know what to say," she said honestly. Another part of the reason why she hadn't answered him back. Maybe it was the grumpy teenage part of her, but all she wanted to say was that she was fine and not to worry. But of course, that couldn't be enough.
"Well... have you seen the news? All those subnaturals fighting over at that town that got attacked? And apparently, a bunch of 'em are staying at some super fancy hotel in Washington? There was some guy on the news with scars all over his face with time powers and some other girl that can summon these weird shadow things and this crazy red haired chick that can--"
"Alright, alright-- yeah, I saw the news, Dom."
A pause. "And??"
She knew what he was really asking. She tried to think logically before she answered. Telling Dom that she was involved might make him worry, but... it wasn't like he'd tell anyone. There'd been that picture at the buffet, but whoever snapped it couldn't haven't gotten a good shot of her face from that angle, right? And... maybe it'd be nice to have any least one person back home who knew what was going on. At least one person to worry about her. She smiled sheepishly, leaning up against the wall. "Super fancy isn't even the half of it."
She could practically hear his eyes bugging out of his head before Dom plunged into a stream of questions-- barely pausing for breath. His overactive side got the better of him sometimes. Usually when this happened, Callan used to tell him to shut up or throw a cushion at his head, but instead, she just listened. It was a welcome little slice of home-- not particularly pleasant to listen to, but beggars couldn't be choosers. In any case, it was kind of fun to entertain his eagerness to know more.
She managed to confirm a few of his questions concerning what her classmates had said before sirens suddenly drowned out everything else. She caught sight of the soldiers pouring into the hallway-- barging into rooms while one beelined towards her.
"Dom," she said, barely audible over fists on doors, blaring sirens, and her brother's excitedly oblivious blabbering, "Dom! I gotta go!"
"What? Now? But--"
She ended the phone call and shoved it into her pocket before being rushed out into the room where General Brahm was gathering the others. She listened attentively before wide amethyst eyes were drawn towards the icy giant outside.
Callan bumped into Siena first as the metal groaned and everything started to tilt sideways. One hand found the edge of a countertop while the other latched onto Siena's hand. "Hang on!" she screamed, trying to sound as confident as she could with the fear of falling heavy on her mind. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Everyone and everything were sliding towards the back wall. Glass splashed across the scene below her as she desperately watched on, unable to do anything but hang on and pray. A heavy couch raced by, slamming into a pair of soldiers with a grotesque crunch as they abandoned their weapons in an effort to find purchase on the polished marble floor.
The building lurched once as the structure beneath the penthouse continued to collapse on one side. The movement frightened her and she tightened her grip on the counter top. Too much. The surface immediately crumbled in her hand. Callan cried out as gravity pulled her down. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pulled Siena towards her. The fall was shorter and softer than expected, but she still couldn't bring herself to move until everything was finally still again. Letting go of Siena, she quickly noticed what-- or rather who-- had broken her fall and immediately scrambled to get off of Kusari, and Grant, doing her best to help Siena to her feet in the process.
After a fall like that, Callan felt certain she should have been far more disoriented than she was. But adrenaline, as always, was a miracle worker. Enough to drive everyone into action amidst the collection of quiet groans and distant screaming. Grant rushed to help whoever was pinned under the heavy bookcase and Allison quickly freed herself, Zoe, and Gregory from the intricate chandelier. One she'd quietly observed as she fell asleep on the couch the night before. There was something perturbing about seeing the once admired penthouse flipped on its side with everything in shambles.
Even more concerning to her was the sight of General Brahms. She knew mindlessly following orders hadn't helped her much before, but it was a comfort to have any orders at all. He wanted them to retreat and regroup, but the distant crashing and screaming outside the downed building filled her mind with uncertainties. But that would have to wait.
As those with the ability to move did so, Callan quickly assessed the damage, choosing to ignore Zoe's impromptu exit after a snidely delivered glance at the back of her head. She heard Brent's call, but remained silent. Of course she was okay, but Callan was far more interested in hearing from everyone else. Angelique's answer didn't bode well. Nor did a quick glance towards the raven haired aberration who, along with Sophia, were apparently the ones who'd been crushed by the bookshelf Grant had moved. Marcus and Sander didn't seem to be in great shape either.
A healer. They needed a healer. Movement caught her eye as Sander ran and jumped out the window without notice- down towards where, if her memory from only moments ago served her correctly, the balcony should have been. She overheard the frantic shouting of Brent and then Lily as she moved closer, quickly noticing what all the commotion was about just as Sander yanked two poles out of the small arbiter's leg and torso. She rushed to join Brent, Lily, and Ernie at the window's edge, watching the pair in apprehension while she waited, expecting Sander to use Ernie's rope and bring him up before it dawned on her that aberration hadn't powered up yet. He needed blood. Blood which was....
Callan grasped the golden rope and immediately jumped over the edge, sliding down and stopping herself where she finally reached the pair. Her eyes immediately fell on the gaping wounds, no longer obstructed by the bits of metal. They should've been bleeding so much more than they were. And Sander, wreathed in the shimmering mist of Christmas's power that mirrored the effect on the healer himself....
"Sander, stop!" she said, a tinge of panic in her voice as she moved closer, twisting the rope around her wrist and bracing herself against some railing so she could grab Sander's wrist.
Red eyes turned to meet her, wide with fear and desperation. Even though he was weaker now, Sander yanked against the grip -"N-No. You don't understand. I have--It's bleeding...I have to stop it."
This situation called for a cool head and Callan found Sander's expression unnerving. Nonetheless, she leveled her voice as she responded, gently tighting her grip. "I know. Lily's going to heal him, but we need that blood. People are hurt up there." she glanced impatiently up at Lily. She seemed to be hesitating-- something Callan wouldn't have thought strange at all considering what she was about to do. But knowing how quickly she'd taken on injuries in the past, she couldn't help but wonder about what was taking so long. Especially with Sander here. She moved her hand over Sander's, pressing down lightly, "Keep applying pressure, but you have to stop absorbing it. Can you do that?"
"It won't stop bleeding." -Sander only whispered, as he turned back to Christmas, pressing both of his hands against the wound once more -"I can't...help with by being weak. I need this."
Her expression hardened. Angel, Sophia, Marcus, those soliders... they needed this blood. Not Sander. This... was this what he meant by losing control?
"No. No, you don't," she sternly replied "Get it somewhere else. You have to get it somewhere else." Applying pressure wasn't going to help if Sander started accelerating the boy's blood loss. "Move your hands, Sander."
"I can't. He'll die."
Callan grit her teeth. "THEY'RE gonna die if you keep this up, Sander! ...Sander! Stop!" There wasn't time for this. Sander wasn't being reasonable. In that moment, she noticed Lily's familiar thread finally snake its way around Christmas's wrist. A scream from up above accompanied the dissappearance of his wounds, but Sander was still lapping up all the excess with his ability.
She grabbed the front of Sander's shirt and shoved him away roughly. Just enough to seperate him from Christmas. He hadn't absorbed enough to resist her yet and it was better she keep it that way. At least until they found him a different blood source. She quickly moved between them, wrapping one arm around the frail arbiter's waist and the other around Sander before jumping towards the ledge.
Upon landing, she released Sander, but kept a a tight grip on his arm as she laid the smaller boy down gently, doing her best to avoid any of the large shards of glass that littered the floor. With a brief shake of her free wrist, the end of Ernie's rope unraveled from her wrist and fell to the ground.
Turning to face Sander, she stood between him and Christmas, staring expectantly. She didn't like using her abilities like that. She didn't want to have to force her teammates into submission. That's not what her strength was for. Nonetheless, she felt firm in her decision as she waited to see what Sander might do next. If he was going be angry with her, she was ready for it. She only hoped to get it over with quickly. She understood Sander had panicked and was concerned, but the clock was most assuredly ticking.
Sander stared at Callan first, then his gaze turned to Christmas and stayed there ββC-Can IβPlease let go. Iβm notβ¦I wonβt hurt him.β -He tugged uselessly on Callanβs steely grip.
The broken look on his face caught her off guard and she let go. It was less about Sander hurting Christmas and more about the blood, but she didn't have it in her to keep him away. Especially knowing how they felt about each other. Nonetheless, she stood at Sander's shoulder. She trusted Sander, but he'd told her himself that he struggled with control-- something that eerily reminded her of Zoe, but she brushed the thought aside. At least Christmas wasn't bleeding anymore.
Sander was at Christmas' side in an instant, crouching down and pressing his hands against the unconscious boy's bloody face. He was mumbling something too, but the words were too broken and shaky to actually make sense. Callan looked out the window worriedly. They couldn't stay here. The screams of the terrified citizens of DC felt like her siren call.
Crouching down next to Sander, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's gonna be okay," she told him confidently, "But for now, I need your help." She motioned towards the chaos outside the shattered windows of the tilted penthouse, "I, uh," she hesitated for a moment, haunted by the memory, "I saw a dead soldier over there. Definitely dead. You can get the blood you need there."
Sander remained unresponsive for the longest of time, despite the mention of more blood. Eventually, he recovered enough to gave Callan's instructions a quiet nod, but that was it. He remained where he was.
Lily was expecting the voices to urge her to hurt someone again as she laid crumpled on the ground. This time she was ready for it, ready to resist it. But instead of the usual demanding voices, this time it was different. Completely different.
Do you think these people are worth saving? They let you hurt yourself for their own sakes. Broken bones, wounds, severed arms. They don't care about you. All they care about is themselves. Will you really bleed for them?
The voice in her head sounded like hers. Were they her own? Was she doubting the people she swore to protect as if they were her family? She shook her head, trying to clear it. This was no time to be doubting people. Christmas needed help and the more she dallied, the more he was losing blood, the nearer to death's door he was. She tried focusing her thoughts on the healer. Sander should have been able to pull out those metal bars by now. The thread appeared on her wrist and the other end snaked towards the window.
And stopped.
Will you bleed for a boy who SHOULD BE bleeding?
He would. For me.
Will he really?
The small teenager had no real answer to that. She struggled with the growing doubt in her head as the thread continued to its target. Slowly, slowly... Until it finally wrapped itself around the bleeding boy's wrist. A split second more and it would have been too late. A split second more and the healer would have gone to irreversible hypovolemic shock. As his wound instantly healed and transferred to the girl above, the voices in Lily's head began shouting in tune to the blood that spilled out of her newly acquired wounds.
No one will die for you no matter how much you try to save them. NO ONE will care if you bleed to death. All they're good for is dying. Because when they die, no one will be left behind to hurt you.
Kusari watched quietly as Lily attached her thread to Christmas and took on his wounds. A disturbing amount of blood began pouring out of her, making herself the one that needed saving now. Kusari keeled down next to her and took the girl's left hand in her own. "You're going to be alright Lily, you know what to do. Trust me, alright? I trust you."
Lily heard the words but the voice--her voice but at the same time not hers--and the dizziness that was settling in from the blood loss was making her confused.
"Trust..." she murmured. Where had she heard that word before?
"One more thing. It'd probably be better if you kept your amping a secret between us. If the others find out that you've been losing control of your Stigma and hurting someone more than necessary, they might lose trust in their healer. And that can't happen. Okay?"
Why trust them when they don't trust you? Pass it on, pass the injuries and make them all bleed.
Struggling for control over herself and the chaos in her mind, Lily looked at the pale Arbiter that was holding the hand that was broken. A sharp pain that lanced through the injured hand brought a little clarity to her cluttered thoughts. Golden eyes stared at red ones. So different from the hazel brown eyes she thought would help her control her stigma. These eyes would give her courage. "I'm sorry, Kusari..." she mumbled, trying to wade through the confusion and violence in her head. She had to make sure that she didn't amplify. She had to make sure that the immortal wouldn't be hurt more than necessary.
Kill her. The voice was eerily calm. And it was more disconcerting than when it was shouting.
She reached out with her good hand and gripped Kusari's hand, the one that was holding her injured one. She closed her eyes and her grip tightened as she struggled for control and struggled to stay awake from the overwhelming dizziness. After a second, her thread connected her with her immortal classmate, transferring the bleeding wounds. No amplification. Just what she took. And just Christmas' wound. As soon as she was healed, she released Kusari's wrist and curled herself into a ball, ankle bones and left wrist still broken.
"Hey hey hey. You're okay." Marcus said, limping over and kneeling down near Lily. His tone was soft and ressuring; motherly even. From what he could see, Callan was currently holding Christmas, who was not looking to be in the best of shape. His clothes were dyed crimson, and if Kusari was sporting the same wounds he had been, it was a wonder he was even alive. Even as he could see some spots of his own clothing turning red, he focused on the other people, eyes darting around.
He had no idea what was happening. People were hurt, Lily was curled up, Callan was standing above an unconcious Christmas and a conscious Sander. Everything was a mess.
"Can you stand?" he asked, eyes going back to Lily as he offered a hand, waiting to see if she actually needed it.
Marcus' voice made Lily look up, her eyes unfocused and a strange half smile on her lips. She shook her head. "Broken ankles," she muttered, barely hearing her own voice amidst the cacophony of voices in her head. Gone was the strange calm voice that wanted her to kill Kusari, replaced by the familiar shouts and insults.
Ernie coiled his rope as soon as Cal returned with the two idiots, assessing the situation through his irritation and pounding head. Sander almost killed Christmas thanks to his complete lack of common sense and now Lily was doing the exact thing he told her not to do. Whatever little good mood Ernie had retained from the night before had completely vanished.
The buzzcut Aberration knelt down and pulled at the girl's calf to examine the extent of the damage. It definitely wasn't something he could overlook. Ernie clicked his tongue. Marcus and Grant were bleeding. Angelique and Sophia looked seriously injured. Christmas was out cold from shock or blood loss. This wasn't the fucking time to be a martyr.
"Lily. There are still others who need healing. You can't help if you keep these fuc--injuries," Ernie said lowly, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. He looked to Kusari as if to ask her to recall their conversation. To do something. He turned back to Lily.
"Remember why you're here. Christmas is down. You're our only hope. We need you to be okay."
Someone holding her calf. It should have hurt but Lily barely felt it. Her whole attention was on the voices in her head and the growing desire...no, not desire. It was more of a need to hurt someone. Someone was talking. A familiar voice. She turned to him. Familiar eyes.
The strange voice resurfaced in her head. Hurt him.
No... These are friends... family... I should...
Hurt.
Hurt?
It didn't take long for Emma to spot the others, the people she cared about- Marcus, Callan, Lily, Kusari, and, reluctantly, Ernie. With them also was Sander, Christmas, and Brent. It also didn't take long for her to grasp the situation, unsettlingly similar to the incident with Zoe, but this time the injured was Christmas, their primary healer. Emma rushed over, distantly remembering something Brent had told her to do... he had asked her to bring out Determination when Lily was healing Zoe. If she was right, that meant that he thought...
Can't mess this up again.
βWait!β she called out, Determination appearing beside Lily, βYou don't need to transfer the wounds to Kusari. Use him.β Emma said, breath heavy, still reeling from the aftermath of the explosion.
Despite Lily's desperate attempt to control her stigma, half of her was already convinced that she should do what it says. It was becoming a losing battle. Only the hazel eyes staring down at her with frustration were keeping her violence at bay. And then something appeared beside her. Something that wasn't human. And even before Emma's words registered in her head, she had already latched on to the idea, the black thread appearing instantly on the Tulpa's wrist. It wasn't human. So it means she can hurt it without consequence, right?
Release it healthily.
She didn't hold back and transferred more than what she took. Much much more.
Determination disappeared as soon as the injuries transferred. Emma had been expecting that, but not this quick. Shouldn't he have been able to take more than that? Maybe it's only because she'd never seen them take more minor injuries like that... yeah, that must have explained it. She was ready though, and as soon as he was gone another Determination took his place, ready for more if needed.
"Are you okay, Lily?" Emma asked, concern filling her voice.
There wasn't any screams of pain from the transferred injuries but Lily felt a certain kind of satisfaction in seeing the tulpa disappear. It also seemed to have calmed down her stigma somewhat. She looked at Emma in wonder then at the shadow humanoid as it reappeared beside her, nodding her head slowly. "I'm okay..."
Others were on the move now, different pieces coming together to speed up the process, but work was far from done. Zoe, Allison, and Hazel had all ran off, chasing down their respective targets, while there were others who still required healing. The bloodied cuts on Marcus's body were the obvious ones, but neither Sophia nor Angelic looked like they were all too fine either.
But there was something to be glad of regardless: the beefy humanoid shadow that Emma had manifested could, in fact, take on the wounds that Lily had transferred.
They had a better option now, than relegating Kusari to always be paired up with Lily. As a matter of fact, with the wonders of the cuff, Emma could summon her monsters by Lily any time in order to act as a target for injury transferral. Was this ground-breaking? No, but it was definitely a development they could take advantage of in the future.
"Nice, Emma," Brent smiled, glad something worked out for once, "Lily, how many more can you do? Angelic and Sophia need help too, if you can manage."
Ernie looked between Determination and Lily, delighted at the discovery of this new combo. Amplification with no consequences. This was exactly what they needed. He pulled Lily up into a sitting position so he could pat her on the back, the parts that weren't stained by blood at least.
"You worked it out!" he beamed tiredly, "Awesome stuff, I'm proud."
There were still so many who needed to be healed. Even if she completely vanish her wounds, the mental and physical toll of repeatedly using this kind of magic needed to be considered.
"Angelique and Sophia. Then take a small break, yeah?"
Dizziness threatened to overtake Lily when she was pulled her into a sitting position. The worst of the injuries were gone but the effect of the blood loss was still with her. But that didn't prevent her from beaming at both Brent and Ernie. Who would've thought that there was a solution to her stigma problem? Delighted that Emma found a solution, she nodded at both boys that asked her to heal more. No need to hesitate this time. She sent out her thread that immediately wrapped itself on Angelique's wrist.
As the the singer's injuries transferred to her, the x-marked blonde gasped at the new pain in her chest. Voices in her head clammored for her to hurt someone again. But this time, she didn't worry about the voices. The solution was there beside her. She immediately connected herself to tulpa, transferring what would have been fatal had it been human. And then one by one, she healed each subnatural, alternating between taking injuries and transferring them to Determination, making small whimpers every time she took on damages. "No need for breaks," she smiled tiredly at Ernie.
The balded Aberration merely raised a skeptical eyebrow, still smiling thanks to the migraine that had been lifted from him. The girl had lost a lot of blood. He wasn't going to make the same mistake he had at Wisford and overestimate the healers' medical knowledge.
"Just don't bite off more than you can chew, yeah?" he chided with one last pat on the back.
What Ernie said made sense. She should make sure that she doesn't tire herself too much that she'd be unable to help out when she was needed again. But at the moment, she didn't really care. Her friends needed her.
It really was hella impressive, and Brent shook his head at just how effectively Lily could work once she had a target that she didn't mind healing. Patting the younger girl on the back, he said, "Real good work you're doing. Next time we're not facing the end of the world, I'll treat you to something to eat. Got a request?"
The question made Lily look up, just after she had transferred the latest injuries she had taken to Determination. The smile on her face was huge, her eyes twinkling with delight and she said the first thing that came to mind. "Ice cream and donuts, please." And then she turned her attention back to the rest of the injuries around her.
"We'll make both then," Ernie stood up. A light smirk remained on his face despite the dire situation, "Ice cream's surprisingly easy to do if you've got the equipment. And donuts is just baking."
"The next Team SAP activity?" Brent grinned.
Lily's eyes were wide as she looked from Brent to Ernie. "...is just baking..." she echoed. "I don't know how to bake... or at least I don't remember if I can..." She grimaced as a new set of injuries transferred to her. They were small cuts but the smallest ones were almost always the most painful ones.
"Heh. I'll teach all you guys. But let's make sure we get outta here alive before we set a date or anything," Ernie's smile started to fade as he took in more of the chaos outside. So much fear and distress. This wasn't good for his Stigma.
Lily nodded and turned her full attention on those that still needed her. Some of the guards who had been with them were injured too, if not dead. She hesitated, wondering if she should heal them. Priorities," she thought and continued healing subnaturals. There would be time for the regulars later. Maybe.
Seeing that Lily was in stable health, Ernie went to his own business, picking up his bag and twisting open his concealer to start covering his neck. Once that was done, he walked over to the fallen soldiers to see what he could salvage. The glares of the remaining mourning their fallen comrades were easily ignored.
The wounds in her body having healed, Kusari stood to her feet with an annoyed groan. Emma using Determination as the recipient of Lily's magic earlier would have been great. At least Lily didn't have an excuse to refuse to fully heal herself. As she wiped off some of the blood on her she looked towards the way out of the room, and then to Angel and Sophia. "Shouldn't we be regrouping and making sure everyone is alright before we jump into battle?" She said, her tone an audible facepalm. "Better yet, why bother fighting at all? We weren't given orders after all." She wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, the way she say it her words applied to all of them.
"I mean, Brahms did say that we needed to evacuate." Marcus said, taking a sitting position on one of the overturned pieces of furniture. His leg throbbed uneasily, but he tried to ignore it; there were people who needed the healing more than he did, and it wasn't like this was the worse injury he'd every had to deal with. Hell, it wasn't even the worse injury he had to deal with in the last month.
"But we've got quite a few unconscious people, and we can't exactly run around with them without making ourselves targets." he added, weighing the pros and cons of the few strategies that were slowly forming in his mind.
While Marcus was speaking, Lily's black thread wrapped itself around his wrist, instantaneously healing his leg. After she had taken care of Marcus, she finally turned her attention to the regulars, still hesitating about whether she should help them out or not.
"Bigger problem," Brent added, "Is that Zoe, Hazel, and Allison have already gone off to engage. Are we going to leave them behind? Force them to come along? Or what?"
Yeah, try and force those people to do anything. That'd be more dangerous than staring down the monsters that were currently wrecking the city. Not that Marcus could blame them for running off; there were people out there being killed, and even he didn't want to just turn tail and run, despite the safety that kind of plan assured them.
He gave Lily a look as the black thread wrapped around him, instaneously vanishing with his glass cuts. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped; he didn't need the healing - especially for a little (comparatively) injury like he had. Still, he wasn't going to chastize her for helping, giving her a small smile and a nod instead.
"We could split up again, like Wisford. Everyone willing to fight follows those three, while the rest of us get these wounded to a drop point, and meet up if we're able?" he said, his own voice unsure. It wasn't a good plan, but they currently had no plan, and it was better than that, at least.
Callan's attention was more drawn to the conversation than Sander's meager response. As Kusari suggested they leave, she stood and listened for a moment. "Sander and I can stall while you guys find a safe place to regroup," she said. The thought that Sander might refuse didn't so much as cross her mind. She glanced at Kusari with a wary frown, "Either way, I'm going out there."
"We're already grouped, other than the three that have left. What exactly would regrouping even do?" Brent pointed out. Was this her hero complex kicking in? "And destroying the ice giant...I don't think that would mean much. It was summoned or created by someone, Callan. This isn't going to end unless you find that person."
He paused, slowly taking in the enormity of the situation. Why was he reasoning so hard? Wasn't this heroic, idealistic bullshit something he liked? Strange.
At the mention of his name, Sander looked up, blinking in surprise -"...I have to stay with Christmas." -He stated, tone suddenly firm.
Emma sighed, finally speaking up, βWe have to do something. We can't just abandon the others... and anyways...β Emma suddenly wasn't sure if what she was going to say really mattered. Would they care about the people of D.C.? The very same people that hated them, that thought them lesser than themselves? βWe don't know how fast the Precursors will be here... if we don't do something the city could be in serious trouble.β
The confidence in Callan's expression faltered for a moment as Brent pushed back, memories of the hospital rooftop and his quickly retreating back coming to mind in spite of the urgent chaos around them-- followed by Sander's rebuttal. Hadn't Brahm said there would be back up? Shouldn't they take Christmas and the others to safety? What did he mean that ice giant was summoned by someone? How did he know that? Was it a mage? A monster? Where was it?
One thing at a time.
Callan nodded. "Emma's right. We have to do something. But we can't leave Christmas and the General here," she argued, motioning towards the man. She glanced down at Sander pleadingly, "Sander, you're not coming?"
"I want to stay with Christmas." -The blood mage answered simply.
"What a surprise," Ernie called out drily, looking up from the pile of guard equipment he was gradually amassing for the others. The boy himself was already wearing some paraphenalia, "But that's fine, ain't it? It's not like Christmas is in any shape to heal, even if he was awake. He's useless here. Just take him and the general some place far and safe."
Sander spared Ernie a glance, but didn't make any further comment. He turned to Callan instead -"Do you want me to stay?"
Marcus sighed angrily and shook his head at the lack of actual answer from Sander, and crossed his arms. "I can grab some of the uninjured guards and run everyone that's not fit to fight somewhere out of the way. Hopefully with my power, I'll be able to drop them off and turn right back around and join you guys."
He chuckled to himself, in a tone that almost sounded like irritation. "Hell, Kadabra's already here, so the fight'll probably be done by the time we stop arguing and actually get out there."
Frustrated by Sander, Callan made her way over to the window, anxiously tapping her heel while Ernie spoke up. She noted his tone with mild irritation, but decided against saying anything. Whatever beef they had with each other could wait.
Hearing Kadabra's name was a comfort, but did little to diminish her desire to get moving. Even if she could help save one person, it would be worth it. Better then standing around arguing for sure. Noticing the bright light high above the city, Callan turned back to face Sander and the others, "Sander, if you're not going to help me, then at least help Marcus get the injured out. It isn't safe here." She glanced quickly at Brent, "I can't fly, so whatever summoned that ice giant will have to wait for Chris. But people are dying. I can't just let that ice giant keep doing whatever it wants."
Without waiting for a response, Callan jumped, breaking into a run after the looming figure of the giant.
"Hey, wai-" Kusari reached out her hand as Callan ran off, only to let it limply fall to her side as she exited the room. It was far too late to have everyone escape at once, so she threw the idea of a quick retreat out the window. "You fight one giant monster and suddenly you're an expert..." She grumbled to herself before turning to the others. "I'm borderline useless against something that big, so I'll help whoever decides to get out of here."
Just like that, she was gone, huh? Brent smiled mirthlessly at the sight of Callan's retreating back, the superhuman launching off after Hazel. If she wasn't planning on listening to reason the first place, why even ask?
"I'll stay behind then, if you're all retreating. Someone's gotta watch their backs," the arbiter said, his eyes catching onto Ernie's looting activities. "Sander, can you power up with Kusari's blood? And Ernie, got binoculars or a gun in that pile of yours?"
Ernie gestured to the pile with a flourish. Armaments from a total of thirteen separate soldiers, nine dead and three unconscious. More than enough for the remaining class here. Glowsticks, flareguns, grenades. Helmets with visors, body armor and combat boots. Binoculars were definitely included. Guns too. A smaller, separate pile of utility belts similar to the ones handed out for the Wisford mission was by Ernie's feet. Standard issue pistols were somewhere in that. Beside the belts, a hill of assault rifles and stun guns glinted in the sunlight. Ernie tossed a belt and a pair of binoculars to Brent.
"Plenty of both. Got some heavier duty stuff here too but unless you've trained with them before I wouldn't recommend picking them up," Ernie said, nodding to the grenades and assault rifles.
"Yes." -Sander gave a curt answer to, but he stood up and ambled over to Ernie instead. From the looted items, he took a knife. Then wordlessly, he walked toward a corpse and knelt down next to it. A stab in the neck area was enough to let the cooling blood ebbed, and Sander put his hands where the wound was, soaking up the warmth.
Lily was looking and listening to what was happening around her, still sitting where she had fallen earlier, the dizziness abating a little but still there. It would take a bit for the blood she had lost to regenerate. She still haven't healed the guards yet but as soon as her eyes settled over Sander stabbing what appeared to be a dead man in the neck, she felt sorry for them. If I heal them they'd be able to help out in any way they can. If they don't...well, then at least they won't be any more burden to any of us, she thought to herself and looked up at Determination, who was still standing beside her after being summoned several times. Making up her mind, she sent out her thread. The first regular it touched cringed and pulled back, most probably expecting that it'd hurt rather than heal. When his injuries disappeared, he gave a sigh of relief and glanced towards the blood soaked Aberration sitting a few feet away, a mixture of fear and gratitude in his eyes. Something Lily didn't really notice or care to see.
One by one. The same cycle. Take and give until all injuries were gone. Determination disappeared one last time with a poof...or at least that's how Lily thought it disappeared. And then when she was done, she looked towards Emma and gave her a triumphant smile. "Thanks, Emma!"
Emma returned Lily's smile readily. βOf course. I'm just... sorry I didn't figure this out sooner. Things would've been a lot easier on you and Kusari.β Emma's smile turned to a slight frown, thinking about all the injuries the both of them had to needlessly sustain, if only she'd been a little smarter, a little better with her power.
The grin was still on Lily's face. It would take a lot to bring her mood down with her stigma sated. "Better late than never!" she happily replied.
"Guess that makes you Offensive Support!" Marcus said. An eerie similarity to the mission they'd just finished not that long ago.
He wandered over the pile next to Ernie, shooting Sander a disgusted look as his slit the throat of a dead guard. Sure, the man wasn't needing the blood anymore - but it seemed disrespectful at the least. Some of the guards watching this were probably friends...and he didn't think that he'd remain as cool as these guys when faced with that. As sobering as it was to remember, these guys were people too.
He snagged a gun from the pile, checking the magazine to make sure it was actually loaded, and a utility belt to accompany it. He was just about to turn away when the familiar orange hue stood out to him - another flare gun. The first one had at least done something, so it probably wouldn't hurt to have another. Or that was his justification as he greedily shoved it in his belt.
Offensive support. Gearing up for the mission. Evac team.
Hopefully this one went a little better than last time.
Emma glanced down at the pile Ernie had formed. It all seemed a bit macabre, looting the corpses of the dead guards. Even though they never did them any favors something about it still felt wrong. Emma glanced at the guns wearily. Would it have made a difference in Wisford? Emma quickly picked up one of the belts and a pistol to go with it, suddenly deciding to make up her mind before she lost her resolve. She began putting it on, turning towards Marcus. She hadn't gotten the chance to say anything to him during all the chaos. βI'm glad you're okay.β she said, trying her best to smile despite the situation they were in.
"Should have known you'd never be able to get rid of me that easily." he said with a chuckle, slipping his arm around her and pulling her in for a hug. "I'm glad you're alright, too." he added softly.
Ernie rolled his eyes as he buttoned up the combat shirt. He could almost pass for a regular soldier now if it weren't for the lack of body armor on him. The sentimentality was understandable but...god, there were several corpses in the room. Not to mention the ice giant lumbering around. Well, at least Cal had left before she could see this lovey dovey nonsense. The balded Aberration looked to the couple's belts as he clipped his helmet, narrowing his eyes at the firearms.
"You two know how to use those, right? I don't want anyone here shooting themself in the foot or breaking a wrist cos they were cocky."
Emma hugged Marcus back before breaking off to turn towards Ernie. βMy step-dad took me shooting... once.β Emma said, looking down at the gun now attached to her belt. βIn Wisford I was caught out without my power, in the middle of that mess with the enemy Mages. I... don't want that to happen again. It'll only come out of the holster if I don't have any tulpas to fall back on. It's better than nothing, right?β
"And Max taught me how to shoot. BB guns at least..." he said, turning to also look at Ernie. "Must've been worth something at least, because I managed to hit a little rat thing, and that gravity girl back at Wisford."
Ernie nodded, satisfied with the responses. "Just making sure."
Emma's answer caught his attention though. Caught out without her power? Did her summons--no, 'tulpas' now, whatever the heck that meant--have some time limit? Did they drain her energy a lot?
"I fled when I could have saved them. I shut down on that battlefield."
Ernie frowned but decided to let it go. Not the time. He'd have to keep an eye on her though. The Aberration focused his attention on the assault rifles in lieu of Emma's mystery powers, lifting one up to get the feel of it. Urgh. Way too heavy for his liking. But it completed his disguise so he'd just have to deal with it. His whistle and a pair of binoculars hung from his neck. An impromptu sash made of the climbing slings he'd brought to Wisford carried his first aid kit, as well as his personal collection of carabiners, belays and his grappling hook. Had it not been for the canvas bag full of ammunition and grenade pouches, Ernie might have looked like a real Private.
While others spoke up, Brent got to work suiting up. Combat helmet, body armor, boots, a utility belt with both a gun and a stun gun holstered, as well as the binoculars that were requested. It was a shame that climbing gear wasn't available, but the collection of grenades were definitely tempting, even if he wasn't able to overclock and toss them. He thought about it for a bit, before deciding to grab himself a flare gun instead. After that, it was just filling his belt with two more of those standard-issue pistols, an oddly comical look if it wasn't for how his power functioned.
Was a melee weapon necessary as well? He looked at his body armor, before deciding not to bother. This would be fine for now.
"You three are going to be heading away then?" Brent asked, twisting his hips to test for how unwieldy this setup was.
"That's the plan." Marcus said, looking to the members of their little group. "If we're able, we'll rejoin you guys. Try to leave some fight for us."
"I'll stay here. Wouldn't be much help with the move with my power," Ernie looked to Brent to see if that was okay with him. Though retreat was a really tempting action, someone staying out here all by themself seemed like a bad idea. He needed to have faith in his rope, "Someone's gotta watch the backwatcher's back, right?"
Strange. He'd been so eager to stay on the backlines at Wisford. What was different here?
The fact that he had the chance to protect a friend. The fact that he had the option to leave at any time. The hundreds of terrified screams filling the air. It was true that he didn't give a shit about the lives of some asshole Regulars. But that didn't make watching a bunch of lives get snuffed out any easier. Wasn't this why he started training to improve himself? So he could do something when it counted?
Plus, they had just survived a tower fall. As long as they stayed far from the ice giant and blob's path, they should be fine.
"Who's gonna watch the back-backwatcher's back then?" Brent replied with a grin, before trying out his binoculars. "Good to have you though, Ernie. Gotta get back here once I run out of guns anyways."
"Alright. Keep yourselves safe." Marcus said, giving the two a nod. He turned to face the rest of the penthouse, taking a deep breath. Military planning; Max was always the best at military planning. For obvious reasons. Lot of yelling - staying cool and confident. Power. Be aggressive. A little bit different than the interview. The interview was nice and cooperative. They didn't need nice right now; they needed action.
Brave face.
"Transmit. Everyone still in the Penthouse, listen up: If you're staying to fight, you need to find Ernie and Brent so you can actually come up with some plan of attack. Everybody else, you're with me for Evac; grab any unconscious or otherwise injured people you see, and meet up with Marcus. That goes for all the USARILN Guards too! Over!" he barked, almost trying to mimic Brahms's tone.
With that out of the way, there was still one more thing to take care of. Snagging the phone that had been stuck in the utility belt, Marcus spoke into it, still trying to command the authority he was currently faking.
"This is Marcus Howell from the Wisford Subnatural Group. We've got wounded personnel and need an immediate evacuation point."
Wasn't nice. But hopefully it was effective.
"Take the south-east general evac route detailed in the communicator, heading towards the Anacostia River," a gruff voice sounded through, talking briskly, "There will be evacuation personnel to escort you further once you reach Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge."
The line cut as quickly as it had been picked up.
Sander chose that moment to rise to his feet and amble back to where his roommate was. His torso was still sheathed in that bright glow of Christmasβ power, but along with that, there were thick wisps of red smoke billowing from his skin. Strength coursed through his veins, in exchange for the small price of desecrated bodies and disgusted looks from the living.
However, Sander didnβt seem to notice either. He just pulled Christmas into his arms, lifting the small boy up easily into his arms.
βIβll go back too. I canβ¦carry you if you canβt walk?β -Sander offered to no one in particular, eyeing the prone bodies of nearby soldiers.
Having heard Sophia's plaintive groan of pain just beside her, Angel was the more tempted to suck it up and deal with the pain and get one of their healer to help. Their situation was foreboding as whatever broke inside their body proved to be a growing danger as time went by. Plus, Angelique wanted to help the others as soon as she could, but she was a sitting duck with her injuries.
But they wouldn't last long however. There had been a small commotion happening near the balcony, where everyone had gathered. Soon enough, the pain in Angel's side began subsiding as a black thread appeared on her wrist. The black-haired young woman recognized this manifestation of power. It was without a doubt Lily's. Why the fuck was it always her? Why wasn't it Christmas? Angelique was relieved to finally breathe freely without coughing blood and feeling her ribs flaring up with pain each time she breathed, but she felt bad for the girl to have taken her injuries, to feel her pain even if it was for the smallest amount of time.
Clearing up her blood-filled throat with a last bloody hack, Angel wiped her crimson-stained lips. Now that she was patched up, there was no need for her to be sitting up on her ass and be useless. Some of her classmates already started heading towards the fight. She had to help. She wanted to help.
No, she wanted to fight. She wanted to destroy. Release her burdened mind from the pent-up anger and rage that was darkening her mood. She needed to vent, release it all against those deserving it.
The Voice Aberration tried to stand up and join the others. Become part of their plans and make sure Lily was being taken care of properly,. But the internal blood loss had already taken its toll on her. Angel's knees bucked under the sudden diziness, sending her falling frontwards and into Grant.
Grant was previously a bit confused from the sudden disappearance of his side's injury, though the blood staining his hand stayed. One of the healers, he could assume. He cast a glance to the side, where the black string lead to. The healer... her name was... well, it started with an L, he could remember. The sound of movement caught his attention in front of him, and he was faced by the sight of Angel trying to stand.
"He..hey, don't..." For once, Grant's voice had a hint of concern break through his usually flat voice as he watched her try. He took a step forward just in time for her to get back on her feet. For a moment, he thought that she might be fine, and there was nothing to worry about.
Then she began to fall. Even worse, began to fall toward him.
"Hey!" He exclaimed with emotion without thinking, bringing his hands up and catching her body before she, he, or both of them could hit the floor. His arms shook a bit from how sudden it was. He let out a breath, relieved, while at the same time realizing his voiced outburst. "Are... uh.." He cleared his throat before trying to get his words out again. "You shouldn't try to stand yet. Just sit down for a bit."
The warmth of Grant's arms catching her was welcoming instead of the ruined floor's impending cold touch, but that only made Angel angrier at herself. She hated this weakened state, She though she would be okay and, even if she was feeling dizzy, she could be of use. But not right now, as it would seem. Her body made sure of that.
"No!" The Aberration exclaimed angrily. But realizing shortly her wrath was directed at the wrong person, Angel sighed, her voice grew calmer and her face softened slightly. "I just want to get out there and help. I'm not going to sit up on my ass and do nothing while the others are risking their lives."
Grant ever so slightly flinched from Angel's exclamation, her voice angry, loud. Recollection. Gone. He was looking straight at her as her next words were calmer, yet conveyed the same message. He collected his words, trying to find the right words to say. They had to be in there somewhere. Grant finally slowly shook his head. "I understand you want to help. But in your condition, going out there is a death sentence. You can barely stand as it is. You'll be able to help much more once you've recovered." Couldn't lose another. At that thought, his brows furrowed and he ignored it, shaking his head free from the thought. "...I'm not saying you shouldn't help, but wait until you can actually stand on your own to do so.
"I just..." Angel tried to convince herself and Grant that she didn't want to feel useless, but she interrupted herself midway. Why was she trying to argue with him? Because she wanted to prove she was strong and dependable? So much for looking that way, as she was still caught up in Grant's securing arms.
Thoughts of Wisford. Thoughts of the Flags game back at USARILN. She had been useless. Useless because she let herself become overexerted from her wounds. Useless because she was too reckless and didn't prioritize her welfare. Grant was right. She would be of no help at all in this state. Worse, she could become a liability to her teammates. And that was the last thing she wanted to be.
As much as she wanted to sit down, being firmly secured in Grant's protective arms kind of prevented her from doing so. "Uh... can you help me over there then? By the couch?"
Situation disarmed. He fought back a sigh of relief when Angel agreed, apologizing. He had barely noticed that he was still holding her from catching her from the fall. Caught up in convincing her and all. Her request made him realize their somewhat awkward position, and his arms loosened, but was careful not to just drop her. "Oh, yeah.. yes." He'd say, moving to support her rather than hold her. Settled, he lead her to the wrecked couch.
"Thanks."
Although Angel detested the thought of sitting down on this now-uncomfortable couch while she took some time to recover, she willed herself to settle down and watch what the others would be doing. She didn't like the situation, but she couldn't afford to be a nuisance to the others by going against her body's current lacking functions.
"Grant? Could you bring Sophia here too? If I need rest, she probably needs it more than I do."
After Grant let Angel sit down on the couch, he gave a glance back at the younger subnatural still on the ground where he had just helped them from. It was only when Angel spoke when he found out her name. Sophia. Put name to face. He gave a nod before he made the quick trip back to the girl, and he carefully lifted her up in his arms. Predictably light. Slowly, he headed back to the couch and set her down on it.
While being carried Sophia gripped tightly to Grant, or at least, as tightly as she could while in this state. Even the movements from being carried made her feel dizzier, so when she was set down on the couch she curled up there with her eyes closed, muttering a quiet phrase meant to prevent anyone from worrying. "I'll be fine soon."
Angel quietly nodded at Sophia's reassuring words. She didn't look all that well, but the worst off their injuries was past them. She needed some rest, like Angel herself. "Alright. Take as much time as you need."
And oddly enough, Angel meant it for Sophia to just sit down and not take part of the ongoing battle. Seeing Sophia like this, it made Angel remember the loss her class recently had. Savannah... It was painful to remember the child this Aberration was starting to grow fond of had vanished to suddenly while she was not by her side.
"I'm sorry. When we fell, I thought I could somehow shield you from the impact. I didn't think I would actually squeeze your bones in with the shock."
Time. Something they didn't really have. Even through the haze that clouded her mind, Sophia knew that out there those monsters were still roaming. When would those creatures decide to head this way? "Soon..." she murmured again, but this time the words were almost lost. Nevertheless, she let herself relax into the couch, focusing on recovering from the shock that the sudden fall had given her.
Angel spoke softly, returning the girl's half-closed gaze with her unshielded and tired shadow-circled eyes, trying to muster up a reassuring smile. Angel wondered why Sophia wasn't talking this much at all, or with half-spoken sentences. Perhaps she was having it way tougher than Angel considering their iprevious injuries? Or perhaps was she mad at Angelique for having accidentally crushed her bones? Who knew. Now wasn't the time to overly think about it. They were both alive, it's what counts most in the young woman's mind.
Sighing silently, the raven-haired fallen rockstar shuffled into the bent, overturned couch, trying to position herself better to relax as well. Perhaps closing her eyes for a few minutes too would help recovering from her dazed state of mind.
As others got themselves organised, Ernie gathered equipment for both himself and Brent, breathing deeply all the while. Brent needed guns, lots of them. Ernie needed firepower. Both needed ammunition. He ran through the mental checklist and stuffed more pistols into his canvas bag, frowning when he saw Lily loitering by the Support Team.
"Feeling good?" the Aberration stood, tilting his head. The goal was to assess her current health but he probably wasn't being subtle about it.
Lily, feeling just a little bit dizzy from the blood loss earlier, was hanging around the Support Team hoping that she could be of some use to them. It was logical that she join the Evacuation Team and see if any body else needed healing but she felt like she could do more, contribute a little differently from how she always does. But how? She had no combat training. The last time she handled explosive, she almost blew up Marcus. The only thing she could do was to transfer damage and amplify. But with the other students' powers, was she really needed?
She was still chewing on the idea of offering her help when Ernie spoke up. "Hmmm? Oh. Yes, I'm feeling better, thank you," she said, emphasizing her answer with a bright smile.
"That's good. Make sure to pace yourself, yeah? Doesn't look like we'll be getting out very soon," he sighed. Ernie looked at her more seriously this time, "Why are you standing by Support Team?"
Lily nodded and then paused at Ernie's question. It was a very strange question. Why else would she be hanging out near Support Team? Of course she wanted to help. She felt she had a lot she can contribute. "I wanna help out," came her simple answer.
The boy frowned at the response. She seemed earnest enough. But Ernie knew that intentions meant little if you lacked the capacity to follow through. Knew that better than most.
"It doesn't look like Emma or Kusari are gonna be sticking around," he remarked, hoping that the girl would catch his drift. The reasonable thing to do would have been to just ask one of them to stay behind with Lily but...
Ernie grimaced. He had very specific personal reasons for not asking either of them. Plus, it didn't seem like a smart idea to put them in more unnecessary danger if they weren't up for it. Not that it had been a problem for Zhang or Kardos before.
"I think you should go with them. Evacuating a city is brutal work and we're gonna need all hands on deck. It'd probably be for the best if you stuck with those girls."
The blonde teenager stared at Ernie. He probably meant well and his words made sense but for someone who knew exactly what she can do, he didn't appear confident that she could help. He didn't appear confident at all. Was he afraid that she'd lose control over her stigma? But there were monsters. She can let loose against them. That was what they needed, to get rid of those monsters rampaging in the city, right?
He doesn't want you there cause he doesn't trust you. He thinks you're worthless and a burden.
That calm voice in her head again. It was disconcerting to hear. So calm, so confident of its words. And the worst part? The voice sounded like her. The voice was hers.
It was Lily's turn to grimace. Should she not trust the boy in front of her? Didn't he ask her to trust him? And by trusting him, it meant that he trusted her too, right? The Aberration wrestled with her thoughts. Having her mind free of all the other voices, it seemed more confusing. Did it really matter if Ernie trusted her? Did she have to have his permission to go fight? But if she fought, would the Evacuation team be okay especially with Christmas out of commission?
In the end, she came up with just one question. "Who will heal you if you get hurt?"
A resigned scratch of his head under the helmet. "Hopefully we'll be staying far enough away to avoid needing healing in the first place."
It was a fair point she raised. His first aid wasn't going to help with a ten-storey fall. And 'staying far enough' wasn't a viable strategy with those three Aberration girls charging away. Still, there were too many risk variables involved with Lily's healing for Ernie to be comfortable with her staying around.
"I know you feel that you gotta do something. But how will you heal out here? Hold onto all our injuries while Emma and Kusari are far behind? Transfer them onto one of the monsters and put yourself in even more danger because you got too close? There are too many risks we can't account for if you don't have a reliable transfer partner out here. I'm sorry, I just don't think it's a good idea for you to stay."
Lily pointed to the ice giant. "Transfer to that thing. Right. There," she said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone of voice, jabbing a finger towards the monster several times to emphasize her point. A part of her was getting frustrated. Why was Ernie treating her like some sort of kid that was insisting on going just because she wanted to go and not someone who was perfectly capable of helping out?
"And if that doesn't work? If your power does nothing or worse, it does something and doesn't kill it in one go? You piss it off then get crushed or swatted by an angry iceberg and we can't do anything about it. Me and Brent can't exactly take that thing on and we can't have Cal playing bodyguard while she's trying to fight."
Lily opened her mouth, a retort ready. What Ernie said made sense, of course, but the golden haired healer wanted to know how she'd fare in a battle. If it was like the first battle she was in where she fought fish and squirrel like creatures, then she knew she could dish out decent damage. Not that her own life wasn't in danger as it is but it wasn't fair that the others were always put in the front lines. Just because she could heal, did that mean that she had to always be protected. She needed to know if she could protect herself in battle too. The other part of her just wanted to argue with Ernie, wanted to convince him to let her go, wanted to know if what that strange voice in her head said was true.
But before she could say anything, her mood erratically shifted and her lips curved down into a frown. And with it came disinterest in both arguing and trying to make herself useful to people who just didn't want her to be around. "Fine. Stay alive," she said in a flat voice before turning away.
Ernie's shoulders dropped at the sight of the resigned girl. He'd always hated the 'for your own good' argument too. Having to inflict it on someone else just made the boy feel even worse than he already did.
"Lily, wait," he took her lightly by the shoulder, "I thought of something you can do."
The animated look that had been on Lily's face seconds ago was replaced by apathy as she turned around and looked at Ernie. "Stick with people who I can transfer injuries to. There's no need to say it again. I heard you the first time," she said in the same flat tone.
He shook his head. "Something like that. But better."
God, he hoped he wasn't condemning his classmates to their deaths with this.
"Remember the teams at Wisford? Try to convince Emma and a third person to move around with you so you can join us. A mobile healer unit."
It sounded smart in his head. But real life missions always found ways to fuck this sort of careful planning out.
"Help with the evacuation first. Then talk to Emma. You'll need one more person to go with you to back you guys up. A mover like Marcus or Siena maybe. Then you can come back and help with civilian or teammate injuries when we ping you. Take a belt with you so we can communicate."
Ernie lifted one of the looted utility belts and offered it to Lily.
Lily considered Ernie's suggestion for a few seconds before nodding. "Fine," she said. She reached out and took the belt offered to her and then without another word, turned and walked away.
The buzzcut boy opened his mouth as if to say more. He didn't want to part on such bad terms. Maybe he should have tried to fix things. Maybe he should have given her a better plan, or shared his suspicions about Emma. But he didn't. With one last dejected sigh, he let the healer go and went back to his own preparations.
"You stay alive too. Please."
Little time passed before the subnaturals and guards organised themselves into the separate teams. Gregory stayed with Brent and Ernie's makeshift Offensive Support team. The remaining teens began to move out, first heading south down New Jersey Avenue. Siena and one of the uninjured guards carried an unconscious troop while the remaining two unharmed soldiers teamed up to carry another knocked out comrade. Using Determination, Emma was prepared to transport Lawrence and another guard, one on each of the tulpa's shoulders. Kusari and Lily took care of another USARILN troop while Marcus helped Sophia to her feet for evacuation. A still-dazed Angel's arm was slung over Grant's shoulder as he lifted the remaining two incapacitated with his chains. That left Christmas and Brahms for Sander to transport.
"Be careful when you're moving," Ernie called out before they left, "Subnaturals strolling around during a mage attack won't be a good time for the Regulars. For anyone, really."
With that last warning, the remaining class went their separate ways.
Hazelβs sword took the ice giant by surprise, along with several of the fighter jets attempting to draw the behemoth out of the metropolis. The blade whizzed clean through the creatureβs chest, detonating where it made contact and further showering the area with shards of ice. Most of the fragments scattered into the nearby buildings and smashed through wall and glass while smaller, lighter pieces burst away at slightly higher trajectories. Several skimmed past Hazel and several more struck her body and transparent arms, turning sharp nicks into three gaping puncture wounds on her left arm and one on her right with myriad more lacerations across the width of her arms where only thin cuts should have rightly been. The force of the large detonation knocked Hazel off her projection, her flight path fortunate enough to land her on the roof of a nearby building already sagging from structural damage. Her left arm snapped at the elbow from the impact, dangling uselessly while her right arm colored itself red. The rest of her body felt the unmistakable sting of severe bruising.
But her attack had its intended effect. The giant reeled, its upper torso and arms sliding off and crashing into the ground below, crushing buildings and people alike.
But it did not fall.
The sky light hummed again with that sharp ring, sending another beam of light towards the far river again and the Potomac drained even further, its waters already lower than half. More wisps of ice snapped and exploded across the length of the beam, frosting over the air and freezing solid anything within their range, including the larger portion of a jet unfortunate enough to be near the beamβs direction. The frozen F-35C plummeted away, towards the direction of the encroaching slime and heading for a crash into the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. That same distortion appeared in the airβlines of gray solidifying and crumpling in on themselves. But it appeared a short distance away from the falling planeβs descent, as if preemptively. Or protectively.
In the second it took for the magic to compress the targeted area, the jet had reached the distortion. Titanium, steel, and aluminum caved inward with the ease of tissue paper and the ice encasing the machine exploded into a fine dust.
There was almost nothing left of the plane by the time its pieces clattered to the ground below.
In the same moment, before the dust and debris had even settled around the ice titanβs fallen bust, the monster was already reforming, its thundering steps spastic as it wavered unevenly, waiting for the regeneration to restore its missing body parts. The pilots of the remaining jets jumped on the opportunity, firing a salvo of missiles at the bodyβs stump.
The damage slowed down the regeneration by a fraction, but not nearly enough. The titan would be whole again soon.
That was the thought, at least.
A line of white light fired from the direction of the Pentagon on the other side of the river, slicing clean through the air across the draining Potomac and colliding with the sphere of light above the city center. The detonation washed the sky white for an instant, temporarily blinding anyone who happened to be looking in that direction. When the harsh light of colliding powers faded, the floating cluster of energy in the sky lookedβas much as a nebulous bundle of magic couldβfrazzled. The edges of its light looked ragged and what had appeared to be almighty light and power seemed to shiver sporadically. A wounded animal.
The giantβs regeneration slowed as well, forming only half of its head before finally sputtering to a stop. It careened wildly, flailing out of control as the power source flickered like a dying light bulb. But the danger it now posed was immense; without any sort of focus that could be used to bait it away from the city, the monster was now blindly rampaging, tearing through the city at breakneck speed. Sharpened spears of ice jutted out from its body at random as the magic struggled to regenerate the humanoid shape while the monster struck down buildings with reckless abandon. People and rubble became one as it crushed them underfoot, every heavy step leaving deep craters in the ground.
Had the disaster been a movie set, Kadabraβs dramatic appearance at that moment would have been perfectly timed. The Precursor floated up from behind a building in the intact sector of the city, standing upon a large platform of what was once the wall of a small business, the remnants of a βGrand Openingβ banner still clinging sideways to the edges. There was little fanfare to his counterattack. One second the jagged remains of asphalt and high-rises were floating in the air like a swarm of concrete and wood, and the next they were raining onto the giant, burying the ice construct in a veritable mountain of man-made materials. It fought back viciously, however, and the ensuing chaos of a monolithic monster batting away entire edifices rained a new sort of hell on Washingtonβs downtown.
Below the airborne chaos, Zoe and Allisonβs approach down Massachusetts Avenue and towards the intersection at 5th Street near the looming monsters took a turn for the worse when their path narrowly missed a heavy step from the rampaging giant that was being slowly hemmed in by the force of telekinetically pitched buildings. Glass, wood, and broken beams rained down upon them as the giant smashed through several of the buildings with arms like battering rams, the collision forces drowning the area in deafening waves of sound.
The sheer brutality of literally throwing parts of a city at something, however, at least forced the creature backwards, pushing it past Gallaudet University and into the less congested grounds of the National Arboretum, Kadabra moving forward as well at a safe distance while he constrained the giantβs actions.
The focus, however, left the spreading slime to happily engulf more of the city unimpeded. Closer inspection would reveal the patterning of black, spidery veins to be nested deep within the clear ooze while the gargantuan heart and brain at the core of it made for tempting targets. The caveat, however, lay in the disseminated bits of clothing and flesh as civilians unfortunate enough to be caught by the viscous liquid were slowly digested alive, their masses adding to the bulk of the sentient fluid.
By the time the giant had been corralled, the slime had spread to within ten blocks of the two girlsβ location, its speed as it greedily surged down their same street appearing to pick up the more it consumed. Anyone with a sharp eye would notice that by now the ooze was starting to eat through even wood and plaster with threads like mycelium crawling up vertical surfaces in a strange imitation of hyphae.
At the same time, the mass of light in the sky still seemed unable to consolidate its power, a feeble attempt at a direct beam of ice aimed towards Kadabra failing to extend any further than a paltry ten meters. The effect of the unknown attack from the Pentagon lingered tenaciously, revealing why Kadabra had waited until then to emerge.
On the ground, civilians stampeded away, most abandoning their cars in the congestion to flee on foot towards designated escape routes that had been hammered into public knowledge for the past 10 years. Towards the chaotic outskirts as forces withdrew from the surroundings to deal with the surge of panicked citizens trying to flee, the members of Catβs Cradle sported rings of red on their left hands while Cecilia gathered her transparent panels, readying for the moment the guards had thinned enough from the outskirts to allow the group a quick peek for a clear shot.
If no moves were made by Zoe/Allison during the brief spray of debris to mitigate how much debris actually rained on them, poke a GM for consequences. They'll be mildly bad.
Anyone who was able to catch it will note the last appearance of the crushing attack occurred around the aforementioned convention center. (The question mark on the map.)
Evac location can select a reasonable point to start/end if you're following the path. Otherwise poke the GMs since your positions aren't as set.
Callan felt guilty for ignoring Brent's advice. Part of her felt obligated to listen to him, but she knew her limits. That light in the sky was out of the question. Recalling the boy's barrage of inquiries addressing every minute detail of Callan's ability, a thought flickered through her mind. Also out of the question.
The streets had filled quickly with frenzied citizens before Callan jumped down from the toppled penthouse. A wide girth was provided as the superhuman girl landed effortlessly on her feet. Screaming escalated at the sight of an obvious subnatural. She tried not to focus on how much that hurt. A pang of unparalleled heartbreak pierced her chest as she cast her eyes around what remained of the street and nearby buildings.
Already Callan could see that the death and bloodshed hadn't been restricted to the soldiers of the penthouse alone. It was a miracle none of her teammates had been killed. One she was severely grateful for as she forced herself to move forward, passing weeping mothers and injured children and feeling the weight of their desperate gazes on her back. She wanted to help them. This wasn't like Wisford. These people could still make it. She could grab them and run... they were right there....
No. Now wasn't the time to let emotions take over. Heroes needed a level head. Now if she could just figure out a way to take it down without getting any more people killed....
In order to get a better look at the ice giant's location as well as to escape the crippling guilt, Callan leapt onto a nearby building that was several levels high. She watched the events unfold as Hazel's attack connected, leaving the girl badly injured. The blast, the crushing gravity field, and Kadabra... she followed everything with her eyes as she trailed after the rampaging ice giant from the rooftops, tying her hair up as she moved. This wasn't like Wisford and she was going to make damn sure it stayed that way.
"...you could have done better."
Steeling herself with a deep breath, Callan was quick to realize her attempt to catch up with the ice monster was leaving much to be desired. At this rate, there wasn't going to be a city left to save. Her eyes flashed towards the open area Kadabra had corralled the ice giant into and, just as the rumbling sound of a large chunk of building nearby drew her attention, an idea sparked. Drawing her hammer as she ran, Callan jumped, barely managing to land on the forward-facing section of the quickly rising building while managing the weight of her weapon.
The Precursor would have missed the girl's presence entirely were it not for the flash of ludicrously colored hair that tapped at the corner of his vision along with the flicker of movement that he didn't command. The section of building Callan had jumped onto stopped moving and hovered in place while Kadabra turned back to the ice giant. Another building swung itself at the monster in a large sweep, catching it by the legs while its arms remained occupied grappling with a large steel mesh that had been the frame of an ongoing construction project. The impact dropped the giant to one knee, but didn't topple it. Kadabra took the opportunity to bury it in rubble again, attempting to hold down the dome of building material like a makeshift prison.
Now he had time for distractions.
"WHAT. ARE YOU DOING?!" he shouted towards the superhuman girl, lifting her platform closer to his location high in the sky.
Callan blinked as the building piece came to a stop almost as soon as she landed. Expecting forward instead of upward momentum, she wobbled for a moment, adjusting her stance as Kadabra yelled and lifted her away. She quailed a bit in the face of one of her childhood heroes, but the weight in her hands as she tightened her grip around the ethereal steel was a reminder. She wasn't just some kid watching from her television set at home anymore. She intended to help.
"SEND ME TOWARDS THE GIANT!" she yelled back, surprised and somewhat embarrassed by the amount of confidence in her tone as she commanded the Precursor.
Kadabra hesitated for only a second. Some choices had to be made on the spot.
"Then hold on!" he answered, giving Callan only a few seconds of warning. She nodded in reply.
The giant finally tore through the net of steel beams during the brief discussion, but Callan's ride was already speeding through the air towards its head. A good football field's distance away, Callan lowered herself into a crouch and launched towards the ice giant's chest, straining to aim and swing her heavy hammer while falling. The chunk of building continued on its way, crashing into the creature's exposed face and sending it careening backwards. Leaving little room to recover, Callan's hammer connected with the giant's chest with a resounding crack. It reeled back further but remained upright.
The frigid air surrounding the giant's frozen body rushed past her as gravity pulled her down. Callan mentally cursed. She wouldn't be able to knock it down as long as it was in that position. The weapon in her hand unraveled into dark wisps as she reforged the hammer into a large sword. She exhaled sharply as the earth rushed to meet her. Shifting her weapon to the side, she rolled upon impact, breaking into a run towards massive ankle supporting the giant's weight. Already this was beginning to remind her of her role in Wisford, but she pushed the thoughts aside. This time would be different. Sander wasn't here, but it didn't matter. She could handle this. She could do better.
Jumping to clear the height of the foot, Callan threw the weight of her sword across her body, hanging on tightly as, led by the momentum, she spun once before the blade made contact. The attack blew out a massive chunk of the creature's ankle, sending fracture lines shooting upwards along the length of its leg. The power attempted to compensate by sprouting a wave of spiked ice all around the area of damage, but the attack had done its work. The giant now kneeled fully, unable to push itself back up on just one leg while Kadabra's buildings forced its hands to remain busy.
Grunting with exertion, Callan instinctively rose her arm to try and brace herself against the icy spikes. They shoved her away roughly, but she landed on her feet, feeling some of the rubber leave the soles of her shoes as she skidded backwards through a concrete path. Her forearm throbbed, but she could tell nothing was broken. Pushing a sweat drenched strand of aquamarine out of her eyes, she admired her handiwork for only a moment before bolting towards the massive kneecap belonging to the uninjured leg. That last attack had worked well, but she wanted to avoid being pummeled by anymore spikes.
Callan jumped earlier this time, swinging the heavy sword across her body just as she'd done before. As she swung the blade towards her target, however, seeming as though she'd come up a bit short, she extended the weapon's length-- similar to the way she'd done so with the rod on the La Plata hospital roof.
"...you could have done better."
The words resonated in the back of her mind again.
The blade shattered through what passed for the giant's kneecap and then further into its leg, causing the limb that held it upright to collapse under the sudden brutality of the precision strike. The broken regeneration sprouted more icicles at random, but not quickly enough and not in the right places to defy the pull of gravity.
The earth shook as the giant fell forward, Kadabra's sustained assault further helping Callan push it down though the teetering of the massive torso nearly fell upon her as well. Instead, a wave of dirt and rubble shoved her back several meters away. The force caused her to release the sword. It burst into black wisps just before she tumbled away. Rolling from her back into a runners pose almost as soon as she had hit the ground, Callan grit her teeth and burst forward, leaving a small crater in her wake.
If Hazel's attack had been any indication, it wouldn't be long before the giant managed to regenerate enough to stand. Choosing to leave herself unhindered by Misery's weapon form, she knew she her window was small.
A myriad of emotion swirled and raged within her. But the strongest emotion of all wasn't rage, fear or even worry; it was a feeling of sheer exhilaration. It did not matter that her arm was bent at an unnatural angle, it did not matter that her body felt like it was made of red hot razor wire, it did not matter that she may very well die if she made another misstep. She wanted to β needed to β tear the goliath down, to destroy that imposing figure, to crush the behemoth beneath her heels.
To fight. Why?
To destroy. There's no reason.
Catching herself in a projected hand before the building toppled completely, she launched herself once more towards the giant. Controlling her speed and angle, Hazel slowed herself enough to take advantage of the giant having fallen over, positioning herself just where its splayed legs were, executing what could loosely be called an axe kick to bisect it lenghtwise.
The sound of a screaming arbiter morphed into an inhuman roar as the dragon's skeleton formed and sculpted through the debris on top of its puddle. After flesh and blood formed and molded into shape over a now completed skeleton of a dragon, Chris immediately flew out of the room and left a large hole through the wall in his emergence.
While he had been debating himself for a target, Brent's voice transmitted through the cuff fused in his ankle; "Chris, can you hear me? Fly towards the light. There's a person up there who's most likely the subnatural causing the ice golem stuff. Stay at a range and roast her with your fire."
Chris then made a beeline straight for the mentioned light in the sky, moved as fast as his body could permit him in the air, and had flames preparing to shoot out in his maw. The crackling of flames lingered around his jaw as he held in the exhale.
The Evacuation team had only made it less than a block when a blinding light flashed across the sky, seemingly centered above the Potomac. Another cacophany to the sound that was a monolithic fight, while they scurried through the ruined city streets and abandoned traffic jams like ants. It seemed like any moment, a piece of building would come careening out of nowhere and destroy the whole group, but that tragedy never happened, despite the constant threat of it looming overhead.
It would be so easy to destroy all of them, even accidentally. A thought that rang uncomfortably in Marcus's mind as he slowly walked with Sophia at his side. If nobody took care of those things, they'd be crushed underfoot before the team even made it halfway. The fighters needed help - and there was only one person on the team who could feasibly assist.
"Sander. Hold up a second." Marcus said, shuffling up to the bloodsucker.
"I know you want to get Christmas to safety personally, but we're sitting ducks out here. If nobody takes care of those giants, we're gonna end up as collateral here before too long." A short rumble of debris colliding with the ground a few blocks over seemed to punctuate his point as he spoke, a small pleading light in his eyes.
"Huh?" -Sander blinked, noticing Marcus just now as he was distracted by the explosion of sights and sounds. He turned his head to face the scarred Arbiter, trying to wrap his head around the other's words -"Yeah?"
"And...well...you're probably the strongest person in this motley little group of ours, if not in the whole class..." Marcus continued, slightly taken aback by Sander's complete lack of useful response.
"I'm not." -The denial came quick and easy, even when Sander wasn't even sure what kind of strength they were talking about -"Not really."
"Sander." Marcus said, a slight hint of irritation in his voice. "Between you and Callan, Factory didn't stand a chance. Right now, we need that kind of raw power again, or we're going to get stomped on. Literally."" he said, gesturing to the looming figure of the Ice Titan.
"I'll get Christmas out of the way first." -Sander looked briefly toward the monster -"I'll get you all out of the way too."
Hearing over the exchange Marcus and Sander were having, the Aberration girl had ushered Grant to help her walk over the two. Marcus was right. Sander would be of better use if he could hold the monsters at bay while they were evacuating. After all, Sander and Callan took down Factory by themselves.
"Sander, please." the fallen rockstar pleaded, mustering all the compassion she could find within herself to speak to Sander, despite her mind addled by the anger the voices kept stirring. "Marcus is right. We need you to delay the monsters. You're the strongest there is in our class. We can't afford to stand here for too long with a monster rampaging right behind us."
While she was remaining calm in her voice, there was a clear hint of irritation and impatience, byproducts of the darkness clouding her mind from her stigma screaming inside. They had to move quickly. They had no time to lose by stalling like this. "We need you to make sure that monster won't come after us even if we reach the evacuation point. Zoe, Allison, Hazel, Callan They need your strength to survive out there. We need your strength to make it out there safely and survive."
Angel paused, her tired eyes reaching over the unconscious blond boy Sander was carrying in his arms. "Please. You can trust us, alright? If not for us, do it for Christmas. We'll take care of him, but you have to make sure that monster doesn't follow us to evac point."
"I'm faster. Back soon." -Sander frowned, protesting -"I'll carry you all back then I'll go kill that."
Sander was thick-headed, again. This time, Angel could not tell if it was because he was as dense as ever or if it was just him being overconfident in his abilities. "The drop-off point is miles away. You may be strong, but you can't carry twenty on your back, and running back and forth is just wasting more time." she answered Sander's defiance with her own.
"It's not just us. The soldiers, the civilians. We all need to help them evacuate safely. You can't do all that on your own. You need to freaking stop doing everything by yourself. We're teammates, for god's sake! I'm trusting you to keep everyone alive, so please at least trust us to do something useful. Not only for us, but for what we're trying to build."
"Remember when Christmas told you about Ernie? How strong he was then?" Marcus said, immediately following Angel by leveraging a bit from the one interaction he'd be present for. "He needs you to be just as strong. Strong so that we can make it there safely. So that we can get him back to to the Evac point without getting hurt." he continued, his tone light and airy, as if he was talking to a child.
Sander looked pensive for a moment, red eyes dropped and his occupied shoulders sagged slightly -"I-I...will be back." -He said quickly, before dashing off with the unconscious officer and Christmas.
Angelique could not supress a look of angered disbelief rising up to the surface as she watched Sander sprinting away with his load in direction of the evacuation route. Did he just ditched them all under the pressure? Did everyone meant so little to his eyes.
It's like that night again. He is not worthy of your trust. You are putting your hopes on someone undeserving...
Through gritted teeth, Angel turned to Marcus. As mad as she was right now, they needed to keep moving. If Sander was going through with his plan, then he'll return. But if he wouldn't then, they won't take the chance of standing here and getting stomped by a rampaging titan. "We've got to move... I can't fucking believe that idiot She hissed the last statement into a barely audible whisper.
Marcus gave his own look of disbelief, his mingled with more surprise than Angel's anger. As if to confirm what had happened, he turned to look at the rock-star, catching the quick expletive she muttered under her breath. There was a moment when he stood dumbfounded, staring at his back as he bolted off.
There was a slow anger boiling inside him; a bubbling heat that took him back to the APC; another evacuation attempt, hopefully one that this wouldn't mimic. Huffing to himself, trying to calm the irritation that was rising to the surface, he continued on. "Angel's right. We can't stop here; we can meet him further along."
Lily walked behind Marcus, Sophia, Angel and Sander, silent and thoughtful as she trudged along supporting an injured person she didn't really know and listening to her classmates' exchange. It was strange how they needed to convince the blood mage to go help out when it should be automatic. He used to be like that. She agreed with Marcus. Sander was probably the strongest among all of them. The blonde teenager might not have interacted much with him but she knew what he was capable of. She glanced towards the unconscious Christmas in his arms.
Then again, she can understand why he didn't want to leave the fainted boy without making sure he got to safety. Christmas must be a really close friend.
But even with that understanding and because of her present mood, she felt frustrated at Sander. Here she was offering her help to fight and was turned away while he had all the capabilities to make the monsters bleed and he was hesitating. She shook her head as she watched him speed away. She would have said something but what use would it be? No one would listen to her. No one really does.
She continued moving without saying anything.
The evacuation seemed to go smoothly for the retreating USARILN students, despite the commotion happening all around them. Whatever hate the citizens harbored for the Subnaturals now out in the open, it would seem the fear of death was stronger than harassing the majority of Experimental Unit B from fleeing the hotel along with the many escapees. In a matter of thirty minutes, the evacuation group had managed to finally reach Washingtonβs Supreme Court of United States through their slow pacing.
The surge of panic that came with the rumbling of the icy titanβs fall and rampage gave that ominous and foreboding feeling creeping in Angelβs spine. Luckily for her, it was cloudy enough to allow her eyes to adapt even just a bit to the ambient light of a midday of September. With all the panic, she could not help but notice how slowly their progress had been, from being slowed down by carrying all the injured personnel or their own classmates, and being shoved randomly by fleeing citizens.
An idea sprouted in the Aberrationβs mind. It did not take long looking down the street to find what she was looking for. A freight truck, luckily not carrying anything for cargo, obviously left abandoned because of its size and poor maneuverability. Would it be faster to evacuate using this truck? While most of the most powerful members of Unit B were away fighting, there still remained a small amount of respectably strong members among them.
βGuys, wait!β Angelβs voice magically reached out to everyone in their evacuation group. βWeβre going too slow. If we want to evacuate the injured and return in time to our friends fighting their asses off, we should quicken our pace. How about we take one of these trucks there, load everyone inside and make our way through the city while some of us clear us a path ahead?β
Marcus stopped suddenly as Angel's voice called out, almost as if she were standing right beside him. It took a few moments for him to locate her, cocking his eyebrow quizzically in her direction. She was a ventriloqist now too? A regular grab bag of voice-related professions, apparently. But that wasn't important right now; the aforementioned truck was the focus point right now.
"Hmmm...that's not a bad idea actually." Marcus pondered, allowing Sophia to shift her weight into a more comfortable standing position. "We'll have to take a detour though; I don't imagine the city-wide evacuation route is going to be any less crowded than this."
In all honesty, it was probably what they should have been doing in the first place; not only would the evac route be more crowded, but it would probably be more dangerous; DC's monsters were around to kill humans, and that was the largest grouping of them - plus they as subnaturals weren't the most friendly treated people in the city.
"Sounds fair enough." Angel answered, looking over the street. An eighteen-wheeler sounded like a good idea. Sure, the thing was big and unwieldy, but that vehicle could carry a lot of stuff. While they needed to quickly leave the area and bring anyone unavailable to fight to a safe place, their self-imposed mission was to help evacuate. If there would happen to come across anyone injured on their way to the evacuation zone, they could pick them up and load them in the freighter. Not that is was only because it was the human thing to do, but that would help the USARILN Mages gain a good reputation. At least thatβs what Angel was thinking. Show the world they weren't walking killing machines out to destroy humankind
With Grantβs help, Angel reached the semi-truck with its cargo still attached at the rear. Luckily for them, the truck was empty; the previous driver was probably on his way back to a warehouse to load up his next delivery. "Perfect. It's empty. Everyone, climb aboard, we're leaving." Angel called out magically to her classmates.
Satisfied with the outcome, Angel slowly walked towards the driverβs door.
Throughout the entire trip of evacuating the injured to somewhere safer, Grant had been helping Angel stay on her feet, lending her his shoulders. When she suggested that they all could use a freighter, he sure as hell wasn't going to refuse. It would've been a weight lifted from his shoulders, quite literally. Helping her toward the vehicle in question as she informed everyone of the plan, it was only when they were close enough to it when Grant realized what seat she intended to go for.
"Wait, hold on. Are you sure you should be driving in your condition?" He would ask the Aberration girl rhetorically. Even if the truck idea was good, it wouldn't be so good if everyone just ended up crashing. Seeing as she already needs help with walking, there's doubt to be had about her driving.
Angel turned to Grant, giving him a an exaggerated innocent look. Of course she wasn't in a condition to drive. She had trouble focusing her vision, and the ambient light sure didn't help with her daze, giving her now a slight headache. "I know, but who's going to drive truck? If we're going slowly, I don't think I'll be crashing into anything, right?"
When she had asked that question, Grant took a quick look around at just who was around them at the time. Anybody available, knowledgable would be fine, he would think. He scanned the faces of everyone, to see if anyone at least looked like it. He knew they couldn't be out here for too long, or they'd just be sitting ducks. A choice had to be made. He gulped down the lump in his throat before he looked back to Angel, getting out an answer. "I could try." A faint sense of regret lingered within him, but if it was the better choice, he'd just have to tough it out, or wait until an even better choice comes up.
A small sense of relief lightened up Angel as Grant proposed himself to drive the truck. He didn't seem to know how to drive one, considering his bearing, but it was probably safer to let him drive than let herself take the wheel. "Hmph, fine. I'm still sitting at the front though. Want to make sure you don't crash us into a building." she teased her walking partner as she opened the door to the driver's cabin and hopped inside.
Once inside the cabin, Angel shuffled with difficulty to reach the passenger seat. But before taking a proper seat and settling in, she rummaged inside the truck's cabin. Searching through the glove box, the sunglare-blocking pads and the dash's paper box, she didn't find anything of use aside business papers, delivery proofs and a pair of working gloves. Damn, the previous driver must've escaped with the shades. With a sigh, the raven-haired Aberration sat comfortably inside the passenger seat and buckled in, waiting for everyone else. In the meantime, she was thinking who could possibly help with clearing the road ahead if the traffic jammed the streets.
Though Angel had intended her comment to be in a teasing manner, it would also be the best. Grant hadn't exactly ever driven a semi truck before, but at least there was someone supposedly experienced in the group. "Thank you." He said with a nod. Helping her up into the cabin, he let her move her way to the next seat before he himself stepped up in, sitting down on the seat. He took in his immediate surroundings, moving his feet a bit to touch the pedals. He tried to mask his nervousness, taking a quiet deep breath as he shut the door to the cabin as his current 'partner' took her seat. He tried to get accustomed to... well, everything he was seeing. The steering wheel in front of him, the speedometers, etc.
Calm down. Breathe. Another deep breath, and as he waited for all of the evac group to get inside, he spent his time trying to reassure himself and getting comfortable with everything, pulling his seatbelt on.
"You sure you're good with that?" Marcus said from the ground, looking up at the boy in the cabin. Grant's apparent discomfort was easy for him to notice, perhaps only because he'd tried to read the boy's face as he climbed in, for this exact reason. They didn't need a runaway semi truck in addition to the numerous monsters rampaging around the city - that would just be another problem for the worryingly large stack of problems they were faced with.
"If you don't want to drive, we can always have someone else hop in; you could probably help clear the roads in that case." he suggested.
The unspoken suggestion was that he take Grant's place, but it remained unspoken because he wasn't sure that he'd be any more comfortable than Grant was. He'd only ever driven a small SUV before, and even then he hadn't driven it that much. But surely it wouldn't be that difficult at low speeds. Maybe the turns - his mind wandered thinking about watching some of the larger vehicles come through Panshaw. They always seemed to take up so much of the road when they came through.
He looked up at the cabin, pausing a moment to gaze over the road before them. There were a lot of cars to clear out of the way.
Angel was clearly oblivious to Grant's discomfort as she had been sitting with her eyes closed, as if that would make her think better, or ease her growing headache. It actually did, for the most part, help her concentrate as no light made it through her eyelids and worsened her state. She however kept an ear out, recognizing Marcus' voice and hearing out his proposition with keen interest.
It did made a lot of sense. With his current set of powers, Marcus could be of no use but stay at the back of the truck with the others. Grant, however, had the power to move things with his chains. And with her previous fighting experiences with the young man, Angel had no doubt Grant could move cars aside. Hell, even others could help him do so, as she figured out in her moment of clarity.
"Marc's right. We could use your powers to clear us a path."
Her eyes opened halfway as her head turned to the two boys. "You think you can handle driving this thing, Marcus?"
Even with his attempt to mask his nervousness, one of his classmates apparently saw through Grant, causing a lapse of confusion in his expression before he looked over to the boy in question. He looked familiar. His name started with an M, he was sure. Oh, right, he was just asked a question. Plus, he was hoping to pass it off into another, more capable driver. "Yes. I suppose sounds better." He would agree after the scarred boy mentioned a change of job to moving the roadblocking vehicles.
Grant had already unbuckled his seatbelt when he relearned of the other boy's name. Marcus. He gave a glance to him, placing the name to the face. After that moment, he opened the door and stepped down from the seat to let Marcus take over.
"I've driven Go-Karts before, can't be that different." Marcus said nonchalantly, his tone not quite making it clear if he was joking or not. He gave Grant a small nod as he hopped down beside him, something to hopefully spread the comraderie around a little bit; they were all part of the same team after all, no reason to be completely ambivalent about each other.
He grabbed the edge of the door and pulled himself up after making sure that Sophia was steady, taking a moment to look around the cabin and find his bearings. The road looked a fiar bit different from the height of the cab, and he gave the pedals a quick tap (making sure the vehicle wasn't in drive first) to make sure he knew where they were.
"Alright. Ready to move when you guys are." he shouted out the window, before pulling his head back in and buckling his seatbelt.
"Way to reassure us, Zippy." Angel sighed uncomfortably as she heard Marcus' claim. Inexperienced as everyone might be, at least she was sitting close if he to know anything. Not that she was used to driving these huge vehicles, but she had some basics down.
Memories of a past figure swiftly brushed her consciousness. A man lifting a raven-haired young girl in his arms and making her sit on his laps, behind the big steering wheel of a truck in a field of corn. A time back when Angel was but a child. A time when she harbored no ill will towards her parental figures.
"It's a shame, really... For such a loving presence to turn into a greedy fuck at the first signs of your success."
With a frown etched on her face, Angel brought herself back to reality as the whispers in her head reminded the young woman about things that were better left forgotten in the past. She needed to focus on the task ahead. Resume to her previous train of thoughts.
"Grant, tell Emma to help you moving the blockade with her Tulpas. And ask Siena to come see me." Angel's lips moved, but her words did not came out inside the cabin. Instead, her voice had reached out to Grant's side, her tone straight-to-the-point and on the edge.
As Grant surveyed the road jam, his chains appearing behind him, swaying in rhythym, he slightly flinched to the sound of a voice beside him. Angel's voice. Though he looked to the direction it was in, Angel wasn't physically there. No time to worry about it, since she had asked him to talk to some of his teammates here.
Both Emma and Siena's names were familiar, though their faces in his mind were hazy. He was sure he had heard and witnessed Siena's power, and scanning the faces of everyone, he believed he spotted the one he was thinking of. He strided over to the arbiter helping with an unconscious guard, telling her simply, "Angel wants to see you." before heading off to the next person he needed to talk to.
Again, another scan of faces, and he walked over to the aberration that he believed was Emma. As he arrived to her, without too many words he said, "Help me with the roadblock."
Emma had been quiet up until now- something about falling several tens of stories took something out of you. When Grant approached her she merely returned a quick nod, having noted their new plan to use the semi; one that she wasnβt quite sure she agreed with, but would go along with. They probably knew better than her anyways.
βDetermination, put Lawrence and the guard in the back of the truck.β Emma said, gesturing towards the semiβs trailer. The Tulpa was characteristically slow to follow, but he got the job done.
Just as Determination deposited Lawrence and the guard in the back of the truck, Lily herself got into the truck. Silently, she made sure that the unconscious Lawrence was in a comfortable position before she slumped next to him. With her mood low and all the adrenalin gone from her system, she felt the exhaustion from both the blood loss and the effort she had exerted to sate her stigma. Her eagerness to help out was gone. Ernie's suggestion was pushed to the back of her head despite the belt being strapped securely around her waist. She leaned back and closed her eyes. The silence in her head was a welcome change.
Emma herself started walking towards the mass of cars that blocked the way forward, giving the scarred boy in the front seat of the truck an uncertain smile as she passed.
He knew what he was doing, right?
After turning to make sure he had finished his task Emma resummoned Determination to her side. βAlright, start clearing out the cars blocking our way.β she said, glancing along the stretch of road in front of themβ¦ this wouldnβt go very fast, was it really best to slow down with all the sit going on around them? Either way, Determination began to unceremoniously knock cars aside.
A quick nod to Grant was all that Siena could afford to give before she made her way to Angel, a sense of disbelief still washing over the brunette. Though every rational thought in her head said--no, screamed that the events were real, her heart seemed to still itself. A mortifying sense of calm that made her feel almost as though she was walking through a haze.
...but hadn't she already sorted out those inconsistencies?
"Grant said you wanted to talk to me?" Disgustingly calm...it felt wrong. It felt so wrong. Her fingers traced the phone. No service, but she'd taken advantage of the wi-fi in the prior days to arm herself with an arsenal of names to take and faces to wear. Needless to say, she could see where things were going, but...it was best not to strike up a dissonant chord in the midst of the situation at hand. Best to continue playing the obedient follower until the need to be more than that rose.
When Angel saw Siena approaching from the mirror, the black-haired Aberration had opened the passenger's cabin door to allow the girls to speak to each other without hindrance.
"Yeah... I've been remembering about that time. You were impressive, ripping supporting beams of steel away from that building. Think you can take up something like that again to help moving the cars away? No need for anything drastic or too tiring, simply just push those out of the way. Emma and Grant should be helping doing that too."
Another nod. Still morbidly calm about the entire situation, Siena noted to herself, but at least she could be useful. While she was certain that a powerful ability like then would have been useful, she was more than aware of the fact that taking on a name that filled her with a white rage was far from the wisest course of action. (But wouldn't it feel good?) She slipped her phone from her pocket, only giving it a glance as she deftly maneuvered through her arsenal. A few roundabout saved locations, but otherwise business as usual.
A hollow laugh echoed within her somewhere. This was far from business as usual.
"I have an idea already. It should make it easier for others to help move things too." Grey eyes dropped from their usual habit of staring at something that wasn't quite the eyes of the people she spoke to down to the phone screen, words seeping into her vision as the circle of light formed as she beckoned for her mark. Business as usual.
She chose people more mild-mannered than her usual fare. People that Siena knew were inherently good--well, at least as far as she could tell--and not yet broken in to the workings of a harsh reality. Kennedy first, then Dekka. The weakest versions of them that she could remember. Just enough of Dekka to negate--no, that would be too difficult with both names. At best she could reduce--the weight of the cars, and the newly awakened Kennedy to help push vehicles out of the way. Both felt more than she did. As the light faded and the grey eyes dimmed to a deep, muddy brown, she gave a weak smile and moved to provide her support as best she could.
Focusing her magic once more, the Voice Mage this time projected her words to everyone in the back of the truck, including Marcus at the front as well. βTo all the others who are capable to standing and helping, Mages and soldiers alike, look out for civilians to help. The elderly, the children, the severely injured; help everyone who canβt make it to the evacuation point into the truck. Weβre going to evacuate as much people as possible while weβre on the road.β
Eventually, when Time Scar would start to getting the hang of things, Angel focused on the path ahead. Now that the driving and clearing the blockade questions were out of the way, it was time for her to focus on the evacuation. She hated sitting in this cabin, doing nothing but watching most of her classmates making themselves useful in one way or another. She wanted to be out there and help too, but her dazed state of mind and Grant's concern over her situation shackled the young woman down on her seat.
If she was to be sitting there, then she'd make herself useful one way or the other. She had the power to do so without moving an inch, now that she thought about it. It was simply a matter of focusing hard enough about her queries and make the best of what she had available, a skill her first beloved manager had drilled into her.
"Attention all citizens! This is USARILN Special Evacuation Relief Unit coming through. We ask everyone to make their way to the evacuation zone in a calm and orderly manner. If you come across someone unable to make it to the safe zone by themselves, give us a shout and help us bring those people into our emergency vehicle."
"We're going to need a healer down here by the slime in a few minutes if everything goes well. If Zoe's plan doesn't work, presume both of us dead and stay clear. Over."
Anxiety gripped the fallen idol's heart as she heard Allison's voice through her cuff. What was going on with the monsters? Damn, why the fuck was she crippled now of all times. Now that the shadow of death loomed over both Zoe and Allison, Angel yearned all the more about being over there with them and help fighting these giant freaks.
She was at a loss now. Christmas was taken away by Sander to the evacuation point, and Lilianna had already lost too much blood from healing soldiers and classmates alike, she was in no condition to quickly make her way back to the scene where all the chaos was happening. And yet, she did not want any of those two to die. She couldn't bear losing another one, not one that had grown so close to her.
Speechless, Angel's face froze, her gaze slowly turning to Marcus, as if she desperately wanted to find an answer from the driving young man, or any of her teammates, for that matter. Her ears, however, were actively listening to whatever argument was going on through the cuff's speakers. Seemed like Zoe and Brent were arguing about a plan of sorts. Hopefully things would settle well on their end. God, did Angel was mentally cursing herself for being in this condition.
The lights, the heavy steps of the ice creature as it continued its destruction, the noise that all the panicking and evacuating citizens made, it was all too noisy and hectic and scary and... just all too much. While leaning on Marcus Sophia tried to keep track of where all the noises and disruptions were coming from, but they came from every side. Her eyes darted from place to place as she observed all she could, but everything she took in seemed to come in through a haze.
It wasn't really because of the blood loss, at least not entirely. It was just her reactions to these kinds of events. This was the... second time that she had been in the midst of such chaos, and she far from accustomed to it. Her heart seemed to be beating so loudly that she wouldn't have been surprised if Marcus was able to hear it, even through the background noise. Her legs felt weak as ever and the feeling wasn't improving speedily as she had hoped would happen.
And the worst part of her reactions was this horrible feeling that she didn't know anything, and it was true. She couldn't even keep a proper track of where the monsters were and what they were doing, because she just couldn't focus and she couldn't see everything at once. She was tempted to turn on her power simply for the sake of being able to see more, not because she wanted to find people. Because she hated not knowing and not having control.
Sophia hadn't even paid full attention to the "plan" that had been formed while they were still in the hotel, because her head had been ringing too badly and it still did somewhat. All she understood that the people that stood around her had the same purpose: to get out. What would happen afterwards she didn't know.
Afterwards. Because they would make it out, right? They-- most of them had made it through the last time, so if that... luck was still with this group, perhaps things would be okay.
Likewise, the back and forth conversations happening through the cuffs were listened to, but perhaps not dismissed as quickly. She didn't understand what was going on, couldn't get what exactly was being referred to. Needing a healer soon, wanting to meet someplace... and all those other words. She tried to piece the lines of conversation together as they came in, but all she could get was that something was being planned and argued about.
Zoe was single-minded at the best of times, and this situation was far from changing that. Right now, she was completely ignoring most things around her, barging the odd civilian out of the way and generally trying to run as quickly as she could without completely exhausting herself. Part of it was just the fact that she really wanted to fight this thing. A larger part of it was that she didn't want to pay too much attention to the classmate that had followed her.
All she could think about was how much she needed to hurt. Couldn't let it be one of them. Especially important to stay focused on that, seeing as Allison had decided it'd be a great idea to follow her right away.
Did Allison know how much of a threat Zoe was right now? She'd made the effort to try and stay ahead of the other girl for a reason, after all. Of course, there were problems with her approach. Problems such as the fact that her own powers were completely useless for dealing with the sudden tide of falling debris. Barely noticing the movement until it was too late, Zoe found herself unable to do much other than brace herself against the sudden assault as something struck her right leg and sent her sprawling over the ground.
The next thing she knew, she was half-buried under a layer of something or other. None of it seemed too heavy, and it was a fairly thin layer, but the moment she started to try and stand she knew something was wrong. Agony shooting through her right leg and leaving her unable to support her full weight, especially with the added pressure of the materials that had piled on top of her. Of course her stigma meant the pain itself didn't exactly feel bad - anything but, really - but as she tried to stand, it buckled underneath her. With a hiss of frustration, she glanced back in the direction of her teammate. Hopefully she'd have made it through unscathed, because Zoe wasn't going anywhere without help.
Thankfully, Allison had been smart enough to take cover from the falling debris, and it wasn't too difficult to find her classmate in the rubble. Luckily, most of what was burying the redhead was light enough that Allison could lift it off without too much difficulty, and it didn't take too long for Zoe to be able to drag herself free.
"Guess I should thank you for following me after all, huh?" Wincing in pain as Allison helped her to her feet, Zoe shot the other girl an appreciative smile and a nod of acknowledgement before her scowl returned and she turned her head away. Almost like she was deliberately trying to ignore her, despite the fact that she'd have been fairly screwed without the other girl's prescence.
Zoe was almost certain that she'd sprained something. Walking was possible, but she was obviously limping and couldn't go anywhere near as fast as she'd have liked. Which meant she quite possibly wouldn't be able to outrun the slime anymore, and the sensible thing would be to retreat. After all, there was every chance she'd die here. But so could the others if she left, so Zoe couldn't bring herself to care.
The pair continued on their way towards the slime with little incident, but once they got close enough to see more detail, Zoe's scowl deepened. It was breaking things down as it caught them, she could see that now. Shit. That meant there wasn't any safe way to get to the veins herself, at least not when she couldn't run. Range, she needed range. With the size of this thing, she wouldn't be able to affect it if she stayed too far away, but she needed range somehow. Allison wasn't offering up any ideas, but Zoe figured the girl was smart enough to have realised the same thing.
If they went back without killing it, she'd hurt someone, she knew it. She couldn't afford to flee, not now. But with her and Allison, they just weren't going to get any range. They were still a while away from the slime, but it wouldn't be too long until they had to start dealing with it properly. Still, she couldn't think of anyone else that'd be able to kill this thing, considering you couldn't exactly punch it to death. If she asked for help, maybe a healer could fix up her leg and she'd be able to just outrun the monster.
She had no intention of letting the healers endanger themselves for her sake. So this was it, right? There wasn't any--
No. No, it wasn't. Because she wasn't like them, she wouldn't turn away. The whole reason she could push things so far, give in to the monster at the heart of her nature, it was that she could deal with this shit. For some reason, her gaze rested on a nearby bus. Words sprang to mind, a conversation from a few days before. The only difference between them was--
How far you're willing to go.
"Allison, help me up. I've got a plan." Allison looked like she was about to ask for an explanation, but after a couple of seconds pause, she headed over to the bus and boosted Zoe onto the roof. Reaching down to pull her teammate up behind her, Zoe didn't care if she looked like she was losing it. Sacrifice, pain, that was the key, it had always been the key. If they didn't fight, then they deserved to fall. All or nothing. Standing up with Allison's help, she looked down towards the cuff on her ankle. "Transmit."
"Brent, I'm gonna need you to come down here. Bring a gun, and tell me when you see me. Over." Urgency in her tone before she glanced towards Allison. "If this works, I'll need you to shield us from any slime or debris that's coming our way." As Allison nodded, Zoe's attention turned back towards the creature, the smile on her face more than a little out of place. Maybe it was because she realised how many things were wrong with this idea, and felt like laughing was better than freaking out.
It felt better to fight than to turn away.
"Zoe, what's your plan here?"
She'd been hoping they wouldn't actually ask, but there you go. "Transmit. Long story short, I need you to shoot through me and into its heart." A pause. "I'd rather just put some blood on a bullet then fire it, but you won't get here in time and I can't outrun this thing anymore. I'd rather you don't come too close anyway. Personal reasons." It was bad enough with Allison here and the pain in her leg to distract her. If anything, getting shot would help on that front. She probably should have minded the idea, but her smile didn't disappear as she waited for a reply.
Allison stepped away from Zoe as she transmitted her plan. This was ridiculous. How hard was Zoe's stigma hitting her? Hard enough for her to want to get herself shot, it seemed. This was ridiculous. Well, running away wasn't exactly an option, and running at the monster would probably get them both killed. She could try to convince Zoe to wait for Brent to reach them, but that would probably also result in death. So, Zoe's only reasonable solution was basically suicide. Was there anything for Allison to do? Anything to keep Zoe alive?
You're going to get one or both of you killed. Why did she follow Zoe? To stab a giant monster blob. It was stupid, suicidal, and crazy, but it had a chance of working. It was a worse option then Zoe getting herself shot, though. Zoe could probably be taken to a healer in time. If Allison attacked the thing and it didn't work... You're about to let your friend get shot. Allison turned back to Zoe, keeping her distance.
"Make sure they can get a healer over here at least, after you do your thing of course." Her voice was cold and meek. She had followed Zoe to her own death. "You can get yourself shot, just don't get yourself killed, alright?" Allison sat herself on the edge of the bus' roof, staring off at the slime's approach. This was suicide.
"I don't plan on dying. You can call a healer if you want, just make sure they're not in danger. I'll need you to make sure I stay conscious until I can kill that thing, too." Zoe shrugged, seeming relatively at ease with the situation. What she said was true, but the prospect of dying here didn't bother her much either - wouldn't at all if she didn't suspect Allison would blame herself. Suddenly exhausted, Zoe felt her smile fading as she glanced down at her classmate. "If this doesn't work, leave me behind and run."
"I respectfully decline." Allison continued to stare at the slime. "Transmit." She sighed before delivering her message. "We're going to need a healer down here by the slime in a few minutes if everything goes well. If Zoe's plan doesn't work, presume both of us dead and stay clear. Over."
"I take it we're ignoring my advice on reckless bullshit, then. Good to know." Despite sounding annoyed at Allison's refusal, there was a note of something approaching respect in Zoe's tone and she didn't push the point. "Guess I'd be screwed if you weren't here, though." The muttered addition was as close to a 'thank you' as her pride would allow.
"Transmit cuff, Zoe, Allison, we're going down the main road right now. Meet up with us, please."
Of course, there was still that to sort out. Barely sparing a glance at her cuff, Zoe grimaced. It was never just that simple, was it?
Sitting in the rumbling metal box of the container truck Kusari had remained silent ever since they left the hotel. She'd been too busy trying not to hyperventilate to comment on the kaiju ravaging the city or offer any meaningful opinions. She'd begrudgingly carried an injured solider to safety. Helping someone that wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in her head for acting up in the slightest didn't exactly feel right. Unfortunately leaving him to die would feel even worse.
Her breathing eventually subsided, only because the inside of the container gave her a moment of solace from the chaos outside. There was still an uncomfortable tension in her chest, it was a pressure reminding her that at any moment she could lose another ally.
She flinched as the the cuff around her ankle came to life and she heard Zoe speaking to Brent. Kusari blinked in confusion. Whatever her plan was it sounded more than insane. Zoe really must have a death wish. Regardless they would need a healer soon. Kusari considered trying to tell them to stop, but she knew that would be pointless, Zoe seemed as stubborn as glue on the bottom of a shoe.
Allison followed up, actually requesting help. She didn't know what she was saying to each other but somehow Zoe had convinced Allison to let this happen. But why was she so easily saying that they would die if it didn't work?
She looked at Lily, the girl had just gone through healing nearly everyone's wounds at the hotel. Kusari wasn't sure if she could put her through any more. But there wasn't any other choice, Sander had selfishly run off with Christmas leaving Lily to be the only healer they had.
"Lily." Kusari spoke to the girl, her voice coming out rougher than she thought it would. She cleared her throat and continued. "Will you be able to come with me to help Allison and Zoe?"
"Bring some spare binoculars," Brent said, as the trio finally made off. It was definitely a much lower offensive group than he had anticipated, and the fact that Lily wasn't coming along made the proposition of diving into the danger zone all the worse, but...
No, they shouldn't be trying to bring down these monstrosities to begin with. Not when the cavalry had arrived, first in the form of Prism's laser beam cutting through the air, striking at the second sun that glowed high above them all, and then with Kadadra's arrive, heralding a telekinetic onslaught that drove the ice giant far away. Captivated by the scene, as well as the unexpected weakness of the skylight that rained power from up above so easily, Brent quickly pulled out his binoculars, a quick jolt of power readjusting the lenses so that he wouldn't be blinded by the light. Hidden within the radiant halo, the arbiter could faintly make out the silhouette of a woman, curves apparent even when light consumed all but the most obvious details.
It was enough though. The Precursors had arrived to take down the biggest threats, meaning that all he had to think about now was...
The crusher mage, the one that could rend space and turn matter into dust. Against a threat like that, even the Precursors would have trouble. Sparrow's golden light, which had always served as a protective shroud, wasn't there, after all, so ultimately...
"Transmit cuff," Brent began, removing the binoculars from his eyes and releasing his arcane grip over the object, "Chris, can you hear me? Fly towards the light up above. There's a person up there who's most likely the subnatural causing the ice golem stuff. Stay at a range and roast her with your fire. Don't worry if you can't land a kill. Prism's here. Over."
With that, he turned to Ernie and Gregory, a faint smile on his face. "Looks like we got a chance after all, eh? What's the plan here? Wanna stop Zoe and Allison from running to their death? Look for the Crusher Mage? Convince Callan that she shouldn't get involved? Stop Hazel before she starts targetting Kadabra?"
"Kadabra can handle himself against one Hazel," Ernie frowned as he watched a conversation among the Evac Team end with Sander speeding off. As long as he got the job done, Ernie supposed, "Crusher can take down a fighter jet and about a dozen guard towers so that's a no-go for us little guys. Cal's got Kadabra to deal with her so she should be fine. That just leaves the two girls, I guess."
A scratch of the head.
"Don't think it'd be a fun idea to get in Zoe's way though."
Quirking an eyebrow, Gregory scanned the room once more as he wondered where Brent expected him to pull more binoculars from. They'd already grabbed the one Brahms had been using, and he was pretty sure they were lucky that it hadn't broken when everything came tumbling down. With a shake of his head, he followed after the other two and clambered out onto the street before pausing to really take everything in.
No shortage of "spectacles" either, but his attention shifted quickly enough towards the other two subnaturals. Rolling his shoulder as he shifted the straps that hung from it, he nodded in agreement with Ernie. "Looked ready to kill something. Unless she's been sneaking off, it's been almost a week since powers got any real use."
"Plane did fall in that direction though, so we might get two birds with one stone if we go to the two. Could be good or horrible."
"Think we can manage," Brent replied, "Two and then forty-five. That's what she told me back in the hotel when I asked about distance. And Allison ran after her as well. If things go real bad...should be able to do it if Allison stabbed Zoe and we knocked her out."
Yeah, he had to remember still. Though Zoe had a ridiculously effective weapon, she wasn't Sander. She didn't have the same invulnerability + jaw-dropping destructive force that he had. Not that much of a monster yet. Nodding once, Brent's hand grazed the handle of each gun holstered to his belt.
"Let's go then. Ernie, are there location markers on that phone of yours?"
"Yeah, course. Yours does too."
Ernie couldn't say he felt entirely sure of heading out after Zoe but if Brent thought it was a good idea...
Right then, Sander landed in front of the group, the ground beneath cracked under the weight of his feet. Red eyes looked up and locked onto Ernie, ignoring everything else. βCome with me, Ernie.β -The blood mage said, voice thick with barely restrained violence.
The buzzcut Aberration took an instinctive step back, eyes widened. How did he manage to--argh it didn't matter.
"Why? What's wrong?" Ernie asked, concerned. Fear crept at the back of his spine but this wasn't the time or place for petty feuds, lest he let his fear have him piss Sander off again.
"You come with me."
A confused frown crossed the balded boy's face. "Do you need me for something? Shouldn't you be helping Cal?"
"Sander," Brent spoke up, taking a step forward, "Explain."
It was a decent choice from a group of poor ones to begin with so Gregory couldn't really complain, even ignoring the fact that he'd chosen to tag along with the two. "There's a pre-"
Raising a hand to shield his eyes from the dust Sander kicked up with his landing, he blinked a few times before looking towards the other two, then at Sander, and wisely decide to keep quiet.
"It's...between us." -Sander gave Brent a blank look, then decided that he didn't want to.
That familiar dread mixed with the fear staining his insides. Was this about Christmas? The APC? Whatever the fuck happened during the Boys Night?
"Are you...going to hurt me?" Ernie asked lowly. If there was an opportunity to break some USARILN rules, it was definitely during the chaos of a battlefield.
"No." -Sander said too quickly, abhorred. But he didn't really elaborate, just staring expectantly at Ernie -"No reason to, now."
Geh. At least he was honest.
"Then why do you need me?" the buzzcut boy returned, getting irritated. This roundabout talk was wasting time, "Do you want me to be a bloodbag? Where are we even going?"
Palpable tension and tangible fear, even though no fists were thrown about, even when expressions were neutral. As the exchange continued, questions outnumbering answers, Brent found himself wondering instead about how far gone Sander was now. How much blood had he consumed? Was he sated, or did he still want more? If he was going to take Ernie by force, what could they do to stop him?
If this was between the two of them, was this really the time for this bullshit?
"If it's personal, leave it for after this situation's over with," Brent said, "Shouldn't you be protecting Christmas anyways? Callan, Chris, Hazel, and Zoe are all off fighting these things. We have no one who can shield our healers if you're here too."
"No." -Sander protested, frowning at the mention of Christmas. He couldn't stay with his roommate during this fight. Not for long. Because Callan needed him too. But he could at least keep an eye on Ernie.
"No." -He said again, with more certainty as he took a few steps toward Ernie -"He comes with me."
Ernie forced his feet to remain still as Sander moved closer. But even so, he couldn't help but look downwards to avoid the sight of those blood-red eyes.
"This is a waste of time," he muttered. Sander clearly had bad intentions that he didn't plan on revealing. But every moment spent on this stupid debate was time spent away from the battles that needed the vampire's presence. Ernie looked up, resignation in his fearful eyes. "Tell me where you're taking me. I'm not moving otherwise."
"To fight. With me."
Oh.
So this was how he was going to die, huh? Ernie felt the strength drain from his body, whatever little resolve he had crumbling away. It made a stupid amount of sense. Of course he'd die by Sander's hand. It should have happened in that APC a week ago anyway. Guess miracles couldn't last forever. Ernie took a shallow breath as his mind slowly mulled over the implications of his mortality.
"Helpless as always."
The world was always spinning around him without his say in the matter. He had no effect on it, positive or negative. No power to prevent his inevitable demise. With a clenched jaw, Ernie practically pitched the bag of spare guns he'd hefted along at Brent's feet. Dead men couldn't shoot. They'd need it more than him.
"...Stay alive, okay?" he whispered to the Arbiter, wishing that he had more eloquent last words to say.
There was too much happening in him. Fear. Frustration. But most of all, an eerie acceptance. He'd never deserved to live this long. It was time to just suck it up. Ernie stepped to Sander, obviously bitter about the turn of events.
"Let's go already."
Brent's gaze went to Sander, to Ernie, to the guns that were dropped at his feet, and then, back to Sander. Sander, with those red eyes that boiled with so much repressed violence, who just spouted out something that made no sense whatsoever. Ernie? In the front? With him? Wasn't this just a...
"Sander." The arbiter took a deep breath. He didn't want to take that gamble right now. Didn't want to play roulette with the possibility of invincibility. "What. The. Actual. Fuck. There is actually no fucking benefit at all to bringing Ernie alongside you. He can't even catch up to you! And look around, jackass! The ice giant is getting plastered by Kadabra, the sky bitch is getting roasted by Prism, and all there's left is the airplane crusher and a goddamn multiblock pudding monster that's just gonna gurgle along like a retard while you swim inside its shit."
His hand strayed to the stun gun, but ultimately found itself on Ernie's shoulder instead, a grip that was too tight to be merely 'protective'.
"Seriously, Sander, in this situation, you do not fucking need Ernie anywhere near where you're going. Cut this shit out, please." Another deep breath. "And Ernie, I have no idea what sort of beef you have with Sander, but don't kill yourself over it. Now let's go and follow the original plan, yeah?"
Brent's objections seemingly took Sander by surprised, the blood mage slowly turned to face him like he had noticed the Arbiter just now. After a few moments of silence, Sander finally replied, expression carefully blank-"You don't understand...I'll watch him."
Ernie remained silent. Sander wanted to watch him fight the ice giant? He wasn't sure about anything anymore. His shoulders tensed at Brent's grip but other than a sharp intake of breath, there was no response from the Aberration.
It was useless to try and outrun Sander. It was useless to fight back.
"Yeah, I DON'T understand, because you DON'T explai-"
Before the Arbiter could protest again, Ernie smacked away the hand and jumped onto Sander's back, holding him tightly.
"Go," he barked, "Quickly!"
Sander was surprised, and for the first few seconds, he had almost shifted his shoulders to throw Ernie off. But his rational mind won out in the end, so he gave Brent one last nod before dashing off with Ernie clinging to his back.
And like that, they were gone, Sander bounding away at speeds much faster than he'd ever be. There was still a stinging pain from where Ernie had slapped his hand away. God, it sucked how he had so little influence over anything. Brent pulled up the bag full of guns, amethyst eyes smouldering with frustration.
Goddammit.
Once again, all he could do was expel words.
"ERNIE! YOU STAY ALIVE TOO! NO BUTS!"
Whistling to himself as he watched the duo quickly move elsewhere in the city and out of sight, Gregory then turned to Brent and the bag that'd been left behind. "Still going after the two?" he asked as he held out a hand for the bag.
Brent turned and nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said, handing over the miniature armory, "Ice golem's out of our league. Let's move."
Slinging the bag onto his shoulder, he unzipped it and began to rummage through the contents after nodding for Brent to take the lead. "They move anywhere in the last minute?" He thought about tossing aside a few of the extra firearms before remembering they were probably spares for the Arbiter's power and instead settled for trying to sort through the different calibers. "Why the different handguns?" he muttered after holding up two different magazines. Though it seemed like .45 was someone's personal preference given the amount of magazines he could find for it.
"Yeah," Brent said, flicking out his phone. "Slower though. Debris might have gotten them. I'll g-"
"Brent, I'm gonna need you to come down here. Bring a gun, and tell me when you see me. Over."
He stopped, giving Gregory a look. "Sounds like Zoe's not that far gone yet," the arbiter remarked, before jogging off. "Transmit cuff. Zoe, what's your plan here?"
"Being crushed by debris might've snapped her out of it," he replied with a shrug before zipping up the bag and following after Brent.
"Transmit. Long story short, I need you to shoot through me and into its heart. I'd rather just put some blood on a bullet then fire it, but you won't get here in time and I can't outrun this thing anymore. I'd rather you don't come too close anyway. Personal reasons."
Personal reasons? Stigma. But even if her stigma was acting up, what sort of fucking plan is that? Taking one last glance at the map, to once again ascertain how close they were and how close the blob was to them, Brent turned to Gregory, shaking his head. "Guess it only snapped her out of it momentarily," he smiled, "There any particular reason you have long hair, Grego?"
Blinking a few times, Gregory's expression looked troubled as he scratched at his head for a moment. There we- How wa- Brent's voiced snapped him out of his thoughts and he grabbed a few stray strands of his hair that was blowing around as they moved. "None that matter right now. Plan to use it instead of her blood?"
"Damn, great minds think alike," the arbiter grinned. "Let's pick up the pace then. Transmit cuff, Zoe, Allison, we're going down the main road right now. Meet up with us."
"Oh, yeah, I signed them over for sponsorship money, you should see what I got for my eyes. Have you got a point, or are you just gonna be an asshole?"
"Yeah, got hell of a better plan than just shooting you and hoping you don't pass the fuck out from shock. The slime's slow but it's thick, and you only have a range of forty five, what, meters? Yards? Bullets don't pierce that deep through solid material, and you're not gonna be protecting anyone with another hole in your body. Seriously, there's hair and there's trees and there's a hell lot of other things you can infect outside of yourself. Meet us up and we'll figure something better out."
"If only we had someone whose power was to bypass that kind of limitation on equipment. Yeah, my range sucks - how the hell is moving away from this thing gonna help that? It's getting stronger as it goes, and soon it'll be too big for me to do anything plan or no plan. My leg's sprained anyway; I couldn't outrun it if I tried. Besides, I thought I made it clear that I don't want to go anywhere near you guys."
"You did make it clear, but that didn't stop Allison, did it? The slime isn't tall enough to take buildings, Zoe. We'll go up on one of those, or get Chris to carry us. Horizontally, forty five meters is nothing, but vertically? And in terms of shooting off heavy objects far distances...well, Grego can definitely do that."
A breath could be heard, hissing through the cuff.
"You meet up with us. We get on a reasonably high building. We use hair as the carrier. Grego serves as launcher, I serve as spotter. We wait for its brain-y parts to get into your forty five meter killzone. We launch the hair, infect the slime, thoroughly kill it off, and if shit goes sour, we call either Siena or Chris for evac. Everyone lives, giant slime dies, and we get to get the hell out."
"Brent, I'm not trying to keep you away for my benefit." Zoe sounded angry, but there was a hint of fear behind it. "You know why I didn't see the rubble coming? I was trying to stay the fuck away from Allison. Only reason I'm showing any kind of restraint is that my leg got screwed up. It'd be bad enough if I wasn't pissed at you right now, but as we stand it's 50/50 at best."
A sigh. "I get it, okay? I'm not dumb, I know that there are better ways to fight and safer ways to kill this thing, but I'd rather risk my own neck than snap on you. And that's ignoring the fact that I'd probably get shot for it too. Believe it or not, I have no intention of getting myself killed."
"Yeah..." His manner of speaking slowed. "I understand that. But Zoe, I don't want you to risk your neck, and I'd rather bet on your ability to control yourself than to leave you to go at this alone. If things start getting real bad for you, Allison can stop you for a bit, and I can safely knock you out afterwards."
"Let's try working together. We won't take this down without doing so."
There was silence for a long moment.
"I can't walk quickly, so try not to meet anywhere too far down the street. We should probably still have a healer too, in case I lose it. Just-- keep an eye on me, alright? If I start using my powers..."
"I'm support. Keeping an eye on everyone else is what I do."
Brent's words had been received loud and clear but Ernie couldn't manage a response. Partly because he knew better than to make empty promises to someone he respected. Partly because of the emotional turmoil still churning within him.
But mostly because of the paralysing vertigo that had suddenly seized him as Sander took flight.
Ernie's stomach seemed to do corkscrew maneuvers as the ground zoomed away and was replaced by building tops instead. His terrified whimpers could be heard even over the screeching winds, arms and legs tightened their knuckle-white embrace around the brunette. Ernie decided that it would be better to take this deathride with his eyes closed and just wait for the nightmare to end.
"S-so what's--nngh!" the Aberration attempted to stammer out a question but was cut off by a brief landing that shook his bones and made the assault rifle rattle painfully against his spine, "What's your plan here?"
"I fight." -Sander answered curtly, taking only a fraction of a second to recover from the landing before continuing his breakneck sprint across the desolated rooftops. -"You...should stay near." -He added after a bit, though his tone made the suggestion sounded more like a demand.
Another jump. Another half-hissed scream from the buzzcut boy as he struggled to hold on, grasping the fabric of his shirt sleeves with everything he had. He could probably survive from this height if he summoned his rope. Didn't make it any less freaking scary though.
"Why me?" Ernie had to yell over the wind, "How am I even gonna help you?"
"I...watch you." -Another curt answer that didn't really answer anything.
Sander probably couldn't see the angry frown growing on Ernie's face right now. "You think I'll do something bad if you don't babysit me?"
The blood mage didn't answer that. Instead, he just took a sharp turn and leapt off another rooftop, dashing toward the looming figure of the ice giant in the distance.
After a few seconds though, Sander asked, voice almost pensive -"Will you?"
Inertia almost flung Ernie off to the side as Sander made the turn. He shuddered and readjusted his grip while he thought the question over.
"I'm...doing better," he said carefully, perhaps even genuinely. He thought to his interactions with Emma, to the blurred rage he could vaguely recall from Saturday night. Not really answers he could give, "I won't. You're here, after all."
"You hit me on a head with a pitcher." -Despite the accusation, Sander's tone remained flat.
"Wait, what?" Ernie opened his eyes in surprise, immediately regretting the decision. They scrunched back close, "What?"
There wasn't much he recalled from that night. Fruity shots. Dancing. A walk back with some Asian man. Sander. Anger. The last two rarely came without the other. But there was something else too. Pain, in his hand and on his lip. He'd woken with a glove practically knitted from bandaids from his own kit. Was that because...oh god. It was coming back to him.
Ernie couldn't manage anything besides another "what".
The other Aberration seemed confused, so Sander let him take his time, remaining silent as he focused on the path ahead.
Pieces of the night put themselves together. Something swung. Something banged. God, how much did he have that night? As much as he absolutely hated the guy, attacking him, starting a fight between subnaturals in a public area, in D.C. of all places, in front of his friends...
No wonder Sander wanted to kill him.
Ernie groaned loudly. "Shit, that was really stupid. I'm...man, I'm sorry. I don't usually get that drunk."
"I'm fine." -Sander said dismissively, shoulders raised in a shrug -"I can take it."
"Doesn't mean you should have to. Not from an idiot like me, or anyone else. Aren't you angry?"
"Should I?"
"Uh. Only if you want to, I guess," Ernie sighed. He'd never understand this guy, "Getting angry's never really helped me."
Such a weird conversation. Were these really going to be among his last words? Ernie's hug-grip tightened involuntarily.
"I wouldn't blame you if you were."
"Huh?" -Something akin to surprise lifted Sander's brows -"Why?"
It was Ernie's turn to shrug. "Bad people deserve badness, I guess? Anger is badness. And anger's what naturally comes from getting hurt. You already hate me to actual death so getting pissed over a stupid bar fight won't change much."
"I don't...hate you." -Sander felt his lips curled briefly into a smirk, like Ernie was saying the most ridiculous thing in the world.
Ernie didn't believe him for a second. His expression knit into something resembling irritation. "Didn't you say you'd kill me?"
"I said I don't want to."
"Hah. I don't believe you. Man, do you even believe that?"
Sander's response was another shrug -"Doesn't matter if you don't believe me."
Ernie tilted his head to Sander's face, feeling the nonchalant shrug in his arms. Annoying. Chatter over the cuffs alerted the Aberration to Zoe's incoming stupidity. More annoying. Hopefully Brent would get the bitch under control again. Still, talking strategy was something he needed to consider too. "Whatever. Alright, subject change. How are you gonna take that ice giant down? Any weak points you plan on hitting?"
"I'm not sure." -The blood mage admitted, eyeing the monster in the distance.
This was their class' strongest hope? Ernie suppressed a sigh. "Take out the legs first. Stop it from destroying any more of the city or reaching the river. Then do whatever you want. Understand?"
Sander didn't really respond. He looked up at the glowing orb in the sky instead. It was a bit too far away, but Brent did mention that it needed...burning? Was it a weak spot?
His mind went back to Factory fight and he remembered the twisted body within the metal sphere. Was this the same? A human, barely, within the monster?
How did that work, exactly? Sander decided that he didn't really care.
"What's up there? In the floating...thing?" -He gestured toward the orb and licked his lips, asking as if Ernie knew the answer.
"It's the weird light that was fixing up the giant with some ice beam. Got hit with a bright-ass lazer so I think it's out of commission for a bit. I wouldn't worry about that right now, Chris is gonna fly up there and take care of whatever lady's inside."
"Person? Inside?"
Ernie didn't have a good feeling about this. "Uh, yeah. A woman, apparently."
"Is she...helping the monsters?"
"Sander, what are you planning?"
"Fighting."
"Fighting what?" Ernie's voice turned harsh, "The giant? Or the woman in the light? Are you just gonna leave Cal to fight alone?"
Kadabra was with her, of course, but Ernie refused to count him as an ally. Not with that subnatural-killing track record the Precursor held. Not that Sander was any trustworthier.
Sander blinked, then hastily shook his head, even when Ernie probably didn't see it.
"Sander. Answer me properly, please."
"I'm helping Callan." -Sander frowned, though his eyes still focused on the glowing orb.
"Wait and see if Chris succeeds first," Ernie pleaded, moving in closer as if his point would get across better that way, "Help Cal by fighting alongside her."
At this point, he and Sander was close enough to the golem. Not quite in combat range yet, but close enough that the thick curtain of dust from crushed debris hung heavy and the scent of iron was smothering. Sander's breathing shuddered as he stopped on a nearby rooftop.
"You can stay here." -He said to Ernie after a short pause, surveying the scene before him. Something rather uncharacteristic, but Sander didn't let himself think much about it. His attention was fully directed at the giant monster rampaging through the streets. Callan's sweet scent nudged at him like an afterthought though, so he turned his head, trying to locate her.
A sigh of relief as Ernie finally touched his unsteady legs on something solid. Finally. His limbs were starting to get sore from all that holding on. Like Sander, the buzzcut boy scanned their surroundings, paling at the sheer scale of the monster his classmates were facing.
His classmates. Not him.
He turned to Sander. "You haven't answered me yet."
"Huh?"
"You're gonna help Cal with the giant first. And you're gonna let Chris do his job, right?"
"...Alright." -Sander finally nodded, a slump in his shoulders like a child not getting his way -"It's not...good. That thing isn't...good. Isn't alive." -He mumbled, almost just to himself.
Ernie wasn't sure what he meant. Probably better to just ignore it. "Just...help our friend. Please. Don't let her get hurt."
Sander nodded then, stepping toward the edge of the building.
"You should stay close." -He said over his shoulder, before letting himself drop into the streets below.
Lily kept her eyes closed, the truck's movements almost lulling her to sleep. In her present mood, she really didn't care about what was happening outside the moving vehicle. Destruction and mayhem all around them and she didn't even wanna look to see if they'd make it out alive. Chaos was a part of her life the moment she woke up with an X mark on her throat and a power that was in all sense morbid. Even though her classmates all probably valued her safety, she found that it didn't matter if she lived or died. Sure, she escaped death from that head wound she had when USARILN found her but a day will come when she'll eventually find herself at the end of the line. If that was today then she couldn't and wouldn't really do anything about it.
She heard the voices transmitting from the cuffs. An argument. Plans.
Slime. Guns. Shooting through Zoe. Range.
Again, she paid them no heed. She just didn't want to care.
Why should she when there were so many people more capable than her in helping out exterminate the danger? Her earlier excitement about helping out and her initial confidence that her powers can do significant damage to the enemies were gone. There was no point in moving from where she was sitting. If someone needed healing then maybe...maybe she could help out...if she wanted to.
Kusari's voice calling out her name made the blonde Aberration finally open her eyes.
"Will you be able to come with me to help Allison and Zoe?"
Dulled golden orbs stared at the pale Arbiter. Kusari was her escape from pain and the answer to her stigma. Her abilities to heal anything she transferred to her was amazing. But even though the girl was immortal, she hated passing pain onto her but at the same time enjoyed it.
Morbid.
She wanted to say no. It was easy. No need for words. Just a simple shake of her head. They would allow her to stay in the truck won't they? They valued her safety, didn't they? She had to be kept out of harm's way, wasn't she? And choosing to stay was perfectly fine, right?
In the corner of her eye, she saw one of the guards looking at her. He was one of the first few regulars that she had healed after some contemplation. She glanced briefly towards him and he immediately averted his gaze but not before Lily caught his look. A mixture of pity and fear.
Seeing that look made Lily immediately change her mind. Being out in the field helping out people who were like her and who understood her was so much better than having to endure stares like that from people who should have been thankful she helped them. She turned her attention back to Kusari, a determined look replacing the bored one on her face. She could still feel the lightheadedness and the fatigue but it didn't really matter.
Chrisβs approach didnβt proceed unnoticed by the feminine shape in the flickering light. He reached her and before he could fire, she extended a hand, turning it supine before the same beam of light that had drained the river shot him point blank, originating from a space inches above her palm and scattering the wisps of ice around Chris.
βWhy?β a flat, androgynous voice asked in the brief second before the flakes of white detonated. If there was any emotion to glean from the passive face that--upon closer inspection--only vaguely looked human, it was confusion. Consternation, even. As if it couldn't understand why the dragon was turning on it.
The sparks of ice snapped and froze Chrisβs dragon body, ready to send him plummeting back down to earth in a trip he likely wouldnβt survive intact. Unlike the ice statues of dead humans below, the dragon formβs durability stymied the iceβs effects, its damage freezing just the outer layer of scales and skin and trapping Chris in a molded prison.
He fell two meters before colliding with a clear, glassy platform that spread quickly around him as his frozen form tumbled and slid before finally coming to a stop. In the distance, a sharp scream cut through the air and then through the ice maidenβs arm, severing it clean at the elbow. The lost arm exploded into tufts of deadly white wisps that returned to the owner and reformed her whole.
But Whisper had simply been testing the waters.
Trial and error and close shaves had made clear for the group that, with very fewβand very terrifyingβexceptions, regenerators often needed a portion of their original body to reform. Mere inches away from the reptilian ice sculpture that was Chris sprawled across Scaffoldβs saving platform, a horizontal column of heat flashed away all air in its range, becoming a thick beam of light that engulfed the entirety of the ice girl. The light cut across the skyline like a blade, but anyone who was familiar with the effects knew what they were looking at: Firestarter, heavily amped by Refrain.
The attack lasted only a second and originated from a point towards the southwest end of the city, across the river, and at an even elevation with the ice manipulator and converter. When the heat flash faded, there was nothing left of the ice girl or her light and the golem she had created in the distance stilled, its body crumbling slowly even as Hazelβs attack bisected it vertically. Callanβs charge towards the body continued and the supergirl pounded through the breaking points, making sure death would be a permanent affair.
With the ice creature gone, however, the slime and the crusher were free to proceed. Gray lines warped and broke around Scaffoldβs platform and the frozen dragon, the same phenomenon that had practically disintegrated the fighter jet earlier. Not a millisecond too soon, a blunt force shout fired at Chris, knocking him out of the targeted location and shattering the ice, tearing off large swatches of scales and skin as the cost for saving him from annihilation. Scaffoldβs platform was crushed to a fine dust by the power and the material dissipated soon afterwards. Chris collided with a building that had fallen sideways, chunks of ice still clinging to much of his back and tail, flash frozen with the skin there as well. A hindleg had been broken by the shoutβs impact and one wing bent uselessly at his side. The dragon lay atop the fallen building, bleeding heavily from where Whisperβs shout had torn away both ice and flesh.
With the notice that Catβs Cradle was in the area, what was already a screaming, mindless evacuation turned into utter pandemonium. People had pushed and shoved at each other earlier as they made their way to the escape routes. Now they trampled over one another, some abandoning children and loved ones to flee while others shook off the pleading injured to escape unburdened. The military, frazzled already with the combined attack, decided the ten subnatural terrorists were of bigger concern than the slime and the crusher, redirecting a large portion of their forces towards the direction of the attack just as Perfumeβs signature golden cloud bloomed into life in the far distance as a blurry mist, the sphere of deadly gas buying time while a large, elongated Tumor circled around the group, swallowing up bullets fired in their general direction. Kadabra raced towards the group on his floating platform, throwing the full brunt of everything he had used against the ice giant towards the infamous subnaturals.
A tear in time and space appeared, its tip peeking just over the rim of Tumorβs massive body like a spearhead, the lining of its existence ragged at the edges and an abyssal black within. Backdoor. They were running.
By the time the broken buildings and cars collided with the ground, Catβs Cradle was gone, their one opportunity to attack safely used up to defeat the Dreamcatcher creature that had appeared above the city in tandem with the second awakening of two new Animi. Nico had chosen the most accessible target to assuage lingering sentiments that the group could (and Donovan would have argued should) help, but there was little chance to remain if Kadabra was present. They werenβt in this for another relentless fight and it was too late to engage the two new Animi regardless. Too deep in the city. Too mired in Washingtonβs hatred and military. And conspiracy.
Too many forces were at play and even Donovan didnβt protest when the de facto leader called for a retreat. The past year they had noticed more frequent monster attacks, along with more activity from Fracture. What one had to do with the other, they had never bothered trying to find out, but it didn't take a sociologist to understand that something was shifting in the climate for both humans and monsters alike and something or other reeked of desperation. More than one something. And with strengths like theirs it was only a matter of time before the Precursors organized a search and destroy on Cat's Cradle as well--a serious one, on the level of the operation that turned Garrote into little more than a long, red stretch across the ground. If the monsters were ever dealt with, Nico was certain a reckoning was due. And for that moment, he already had plans.
In that time, the slime had appeared to hesitate, the presence of the infamous group of Animi slowing its spread to a feeble crawl. When the danger seemed to pass, however, it surged forward again, veins and organs pulsing rhythmically beneath its casing of digestive liquid. With newfound vigor, it rushed down the street, mere minutes away from where Zoe had briefly fallen.
Just gonna fudge the time here and say 10 minutes have passed since the last post to account for all the talking and planning. Again, no fuss if you think your actions way exceeded 5 minutes so long as almost everyone's doing it. GMs can and will adjust time to match better.
As a reminder, Drag, Chris's injuries do not transfer between states. If he reverts to human form, he'll be naked, but the ice will lose its grip on him.
Zoe/Allison movement can be designated by players. For reference, original location remains on the map.
This still applies for the current update: Anyone who was able to catch it will note the last appearance of the crushing attack occurred around the aforementioned convention center. (The question mark on the map.)
Just before Chris received his latest edition of the worst pain imaginable, a single word echoed in his mind.
Why
Why indeed, did that monster actually speak to him? Maybe it was another subnatural, but nothing about that voice felt human enough for him to believe it. Time had seemed to slow down on his head as he dwelled on the thought of that voice.
Reality did set in though, and unlike thinking about that single word, the pain that followed sent him in a blur. Flash Frozen, Chris didn't even have time to scream as his body plummeted. He barely noticed that his fall ended sooner then it should have. Before he had time to even acknowledge he had been saved a horrible scream sent him flying. The force did thaw him enough to move, but at the price of another great wave of pain. By the time he landed he was practically conscienceless from his body pounding in its broken state. Most of him now felt numb, both from the abuse of pain, and the ice that had once frozen him.
When he came to, he lifted his head in a slow motion. His eyes opened, one could notice a filmy membrane that disappeared from the eye as it did; much like the protective gland from a crocodile. Toxic blood flowed from his frostbitten body. Torn scales revealed flesh and tissue beneath which created large gashes in his body, weak points in his armor. One of his legs was broken, so was the wing. Flying was out of the option now, at least until he could get help. Knowing his leg was broken would make walking slow and difficult.
In hindsight, charging head on like that was a stupid idea; something he didn't seem to learn from the mechanical serpent either. Its a miracle he's even still alive. With his present conundrum, Chris debating between options. He could undo his transformation, but he'd be far more vulnerable; both in the sense that he was naked and that he had far less power to defend himself in comparison. He hadn't exactly practice his untransformed powers well enough to take any of the current threats head on. It wasn't as if staying transformed was a good idea either though, he could barely move now; which is a piss poor condition to fight in, what good could he do in this broken body? As far as healers went, Christmas was down when he left and he wasn't sure of his condition right now, which left Liliana as his likely healer. That would imply though, that anyone had saw him get demolished out there.
Inside he loved the thought of being watched by his comrades, to be some kind of inspiring force with whatever might this form brought him. That secret desire was put to rest with his utter humiliation of a charge; Whether or not anyone was watching he failed. It came with it a sense of loneliness he was familiar with. Only now he can feel the piercing glares of dead souls he once knew, souls of disparity turned into spirits of menace. As if his failure had suddenly caused his former loved ones an ire that wanted to destroy him, to finish the job that the monster did to him.
For what felt like a while, All Chris did was lie there. Some moments staring at the sky, others eyes closed. He felt like a horse with a broken leg; something that was going to be put down because it was no longer useful and suffering in his waiting. His crippled and battered body was still gravely sore. Parts of him screamed that he should just transform back now, give up and wait it out for the others to hopefully take care of everything.
No
It wasn't that simple. Chris couldn't accept that reality. There was a part of him that only burned a stronger desire to get up and fight. Whether that was him or his dragon's, if it was even capable of thought, idea; he didn't care. He willed himself to move; First to roll off of the building and onto the street below. A fall that really didn't help his immeasurable pain. He continued still. First he pulled his upper body up, then the hindleg that wasn't broken. The fourth leg, broken and battered from his injuries, dragged against the ground as he pushed himself to move. He limped over to a crushed car, and then proceeded to rip away the car until he could retrieve the fuel tank underneath it. A process that if he wasn't so injured would have been simple, but each tear with his claw or bite only worsened the pain in his body.
He had a break to catch his breathe, part of him still asking if he could really do this. The bastard already made up his mind though and he ripped out the fuel tank with his mouth. Gasoline sputtered from the torn tank, leaking into his maw and spilling over his lips and front claws. He thrashed the can around to coat himself in the flammable fluid. His tail swiped to a second car, tipping it over so he could get a second tank. He was more careful with the second fuel tank, carrying in it in his maw no matter how much his pain receptors beamed at him not too. He then started to make his way towards the slime, towards the monster. When he had flown in the air he had a glimpse of it before so he wasn't exactly lost; but he knew he had a long way to go.
First he just dragged his lower body behind him in his struggle, but he started to pick up the pace the more he thought over that desire. A desire that was rooted in past fear; If he can't do anything, then they'll end up like them, the friends he lost in his home town, his family, or even his roommates. He had to do something, he had to keep going to prevent that cycle to repeat. No matter how much blood he lost or how much his body denied him of the thought, he kept going.
He had gotten to the point where he was standing more upright. No matter how much he willed it, he could not sprint; not even jog. His broken leg couldn't afford it and would not respond to his own willpower. The best he could do was limp at a fast pace, like a horse that was desperate to prove its leg wasn't broken despite all evidence to the contrary. After some progress he crushed the second fuel tank and tossed it above him, dousing him more in fuel. He then widened his maw, despite how sore he felt. As the fire started to form inside him his throat lit up a red light, and then the flames splattered beneath him. This caught fire to his entire body, laced with fuel, it completely coated him like a veil.
If Chris's dragon form wasn't so much of a monster before, his silhouette encased in flames gave him the appearance of some kind of demon. The action would have been some form of crazy suicide had Chris's dragon form didn't have its heat immunity. His frostbitten scales thawed. With his body heated up it inspired an illusion of more energy which aided his willpower. Thus, he moved as fast as his broken body would allow him. He tried to kick up into the air with each step to compensate for the broken foot, but the speed difference wasn't much of a boost and the action only worsened his pain. That didn't stop him from continuing in this method of motion however.
Ernie watched Catβs Cradleβs intervention through the pilfered binoculars around his neck, utterly horrified by the implications of their sudden appearance. But obliteration didnβt follow. The skylight was gone within a few efficient moments, their escape was completely unhindered by the efforts of the Precursor and D.C. military. The civilians continued screaming nonetheless and honestly, he couldnβt even blame them. He was sure that same single word was running through their minds too.
There was so much panic in the air, screams pounding his ears harder than any gunshot could. He doubted that heβd ever witness such raw, collective fear in his life ever again, even if he managed to live through this nightmare. Such reckless, unleashed emotion. A catastrophe that showcased the true filth of humankind as loved ones and wounded were abandoned and trampled. It shouldβve been the most Stigma-empowering thing heβd ever basked in. It wouldβve, if his comradesβ lives werenβt directly on the line because of this.
He didnβt have a clear view of the group from his perch so he needed to make do with the map on the communicator. A worried click of the tongue followed as he looked at the various groups on the map. Zoe was still determined to get that slime, even if it meant dragging Brent and others down with her. The Evacuation Team were in the quagmire of screaming Regulars. He knew what high-running emotions could do. They needed to get out of there. And the Strike Teamβ¦
The buzzcut Aberration paled as Hazelβs attack connected with Cal. He ducked down behind the barrier surrounding the rooftop, breaths going wild. Oh fuck. Everything was going too wrong, too fast.
His hands scrambled for the 'Transmit All' command. βEveryone, stay in your teams and get the fuck away from the Regulars. Rooftops, side-alleys, anywhere you can avoid them. Catβs Cradle are here and people are going fucking mental. Lily, donβt leave the Evac Group. Slime Teamβs just gonna have to deal with the consequences of their dumbass plan by themselves.β
An ominous rumble in the vicinity. A deathmatch between the Strike Team was the last thing they needed.
βHazelβs gone psycho again. Sander and Cal might have it under control butβ¦β A harsh breath. βStay away from the north-east.β
His transmission ended there but he continued keeping an eye on the map. In the meantime, the Aberration snuck a peek over the edge of the roof. Such caution was probably unnecessary. Here on this rooftop, unseen by all the biggest threats in the city, he was probably in the safest position he could get.
Just like Wisford. This is what you wanted, right?
ππ¦π: πππ‘π₯. ππ, ππππ / / πππ€πππππ₯π π, π».β. / / βππ₯πͺ / / ~ππππ Collab with @GreenGoat and @RedDusk
Broken.
Torn down.
The behemoth, powerful, imposing, destroyed like it was nothing but sand in front of the ocean. But it was not enough; pain still wracked her body, memories still haunts her, she still needed to move, to move forwards.
That figure, wielding weapon of pure shadow, caught her eye. Powerful, strong...
Hateful.
Loathesome.
Hazel's blood was still boiling, her heart beat sounding like war drums in her ears. Forward, she needed to move forwards. Into the red, into the white, where everything left her, where nothing followed.
Her eyes were hidden, but the rictus grin stretched over her face as she swept a giant sword towards that girl's neck was enough to tell anyone of her current state of mind.
A giant sword was difficult to miss, especially when it came from right in front of the girl. Despite this, the sheer surprise of the sudden attack caught Callan off guard. The shadow hammer was lifted barely in time to perform a clumsy block, though the force of the swing swept the Arbiter to the side. She landed on her feet a few meters away from her initial position, the hammer now transformed into a dark katana.
"Hazel, what the hell?!"
Almost immediately after Callan spoke, Hazel had already started moving again, once more swinging that giant sword from the same angle. But, while she was blinded by that murderous beat in her blood, she wasn't attacking blindly. Her broken arm turned transparent, as a giant flail appeared, threatening to crush Callan from the other direction.
An attack from both sides. Nowhere to go but up. Callan launched herself at a low angle, her trajectory a shallow arc to land directly on Hazel and slash at her shoulder with the blade.
Meanwhile, Sander witnessed the fight from the side, watched as Hazel threw the first attack. He remembered what happened with Christmas. And now, with Callan. Despite his conviction, he couldn't stand aside. With fury in his red eyes, he began sprinting towards the battle.
The projected sword and flail crashed behind Callan, exploding spectacularly. Callan, making a brave move, dodged while attacking at the same time. However, whether she had forgotten how Hazel's ability worked, or had no knowledge of it whatsoever, jumping towards Hazel in a straight line while in her line of sight wasn't smart.
Hazel's good arm flickered as she simply swept it outwards, turning visible but for a moment before going transparent again, projecting the sword straight towards Callan's path.
The force of the explosion shook Callan mid-air, sharply diverting her from her original flight path. With no awareness of this new ability, she was caught off-guard once again. Another attempted block, significantly less successful than the first. Her own blade deflected Hazel's only slightly, directing the disintegrating surface away from her chest at least. The giant sword met the Arbiter's bottom half, sending the girl pinwheeling away and into the ground with only a few scraps of fabric still lingering on her legs. She groaned and attempted to get back on her feet, katana still in hand.
Sander, seeing the brutal sword connect with his friend, launched himself at Hazel from the side, a fist raised and ready.
That euphoric feeling surged through Hazel as the blow connected, the feeling of pain, of blood spilling from her body, growing more and more distant.
Forward...
She moved to deliver the coup de grΓ’ce, to shove the entire length of the sword into the fallen girl's heart, if not for the moving shadow she caught at the corner of her eyes. Moving more out of instinct than anything else, she just barely caught Sander's attack with a projected limb. The red-eyed Aberration was knocked back a fair distance, clothes promptly disintegrated as he flew back. Callan seized the distraction's opportunity, going for yet another aerial strike, her sword raised high above her head.
Sucking in her breath, Hazel backed into Callan's swing, behind the sword and right into Callan herself. In a move reminiscent of what they were taught in the school, she pulled onto Callan's arm, throwing her onto the ground, before slamming an enormous projected fist onto her for good measure.
The Arbiter gasped, the breath knocked out of her and the familiar sting of a fractured rib prompting tears to well in her eyes. A shaking hand stretched out to prop herself back up. In the distance she could see Sander speeding back. He'd be here soon. He'd stop her.
With a horrid grin seemingly stretched to disturbing dimensions, Hazel noted the still moving girl, that feeling welling up in her chest as once again, she slammed a giant fist onto the girl. Once, twice, thrice, again and again, until the girl moved no more. She couldn't feel anything anymore, just that feeling of intense pleasure.
That, and the need for more. To destroy more until she herself broke apart.
From his watch, Ernie removed the binoculars from his face, feeling sick to the stomach as he watched blow after blow pummel his prone friend. Callan, his clumsy but good-natured companion, beaten into something exposed and broken.
She's smiling...
Hazel was smiling. Why the fuck was she smiling? Of course he knew 'why', but it still disgusted him. A familiar terror and rage churned. Cal wasn't moving. These fucking binoculars weren't strong enough so he couldn't even see if she was still breathing or not. Hazel was beyond forgiveness now. He didn't give a shit what Emma said, that murderous bitch needed to die. The binoculars were raised once more and he observed Sander's incoming attack with vindictive ardor.
Hazel's previous attack had hindered the blood mage's advance, but otherwise leaving no lasting damage. Sander was quick to recover, and soon enough, he was launching himself toward Hazel with reckless abandon. His right hand clenched into a fist as he pulled it back, ready for another devastating blow.
A bullrush.
One from one of the more invulnerable one of them. Images flashed of crystals encasing him and his apparent rage then. He was fast, he was strong, and he was invulnerable. Intense hate and jealousy mixed in with the swirl of emotions, as well as an almost overwhelmingly white feeling of anticipation.
Hazel swiped upwards, bringing up the projected hand to simply swat him upwards, ground and all.
Sander, in his bloodlust, had not seen the attack coming. It sent him flying, but he reorientated himself midair easily enough, landing on his feet a few blocks away from Hazel.
Emboldened and encouraged by the ease of which he simply flew away, Hazel quickly launched herself towards him, twisting in mid air. A large fist from below, this time, to bring Sander straight up. It was, after all, a place where he could not move freely at all.
A large explosion, and another swipe upwards. Landing on her feet, her muscles tensed, ready to launch herself after Sander if he did get launched upwards.
The blood mage anticipated the attack this time. He leapt backward to dodge Hazel's projected limb, expression twisting with rage and frustration as the dust from the explosion clouded his senses. Before it barely settled though, he charged again, inhuman speed rushing toward Hazel.
Still blinded by her own smoke, she did not β could not β anticipate the attack through the dust. His speed and strength simply punched through her stomach with a squelch, as if it was but wet paper.
But still, she stood, showing no signs that she was in pain, or that she even noticed her stomach was torn open. With him so close, all she needed to do was form a blade with her still working arm, and shove it straight into his body.
The blow collided with Sander's torso and launched him backward. He stumbled, but quickly regained his balance, bloody fist clenched at his side. However, he didn't charge right away, instead standing back to regard Hazel with a puzzled look. He had seen enough injuries on people to know what was bad enough for a grown man to curl up and pass out. Yet, the Aberration before him remained on her feet even with a hole in her guts. He frowned, right hand kept clenching and unclenching, unable to come to a decision.
He was there, unscathed, unfazed, as if she had been nothing against him.
Powerful.
Loathsome.
Strong.
Hateful.
Powerful emotions urged her to continue on, rage and rampage, to keep on destroying everything and him as well. But, her body seemed not to listen, as she took one faltering step, with a slight look of confusion upon her face. Just for a moment, it seemed as if she might just topple over unconscious, before her eyes focused again.
With all her remaining strength, she sent one last giant fist flashing towards Sander, the impact of which would send out her largest explosion, knocking her off her feet, and into the deep oblivion of unconsciousness.
Sander leapt sideway to dodge the blurry outline of the projected limb. Still, the explosion that followed caught him off guard again. He was thrown forward, landing hard on his arms and knees. In the aftermath of the impact, he righted himself slowly, shrugging off dust and debris as he climbed to his feet. The off scent of Hazel's blood still remained though, the beat of her heart was still going, faint as it was. He blinked, taking a few seconds to collect his thoughts before lifting her into his arms. The gaping hole in her torso gave him pause, but seeing as how she was unimpeded by pain, he swung her over his torso and went to seek out Callan.
The Arbiter was unconscious when he found her, so he tucked her beneath his free arm and dashed off, heading toward the evacuation point.
Ernie's view of the fight had been completely obstructed since Hazel's smoky explosion. One final bang, bigger than the rest had marked the end of the match, though there was no way to tell who the victor was. A few moments passed before Sander's naked form shot out of the cloud, carrying an unconscious Callan and bloodied Hazel with him. Ernie raised an eyebrow, partly out of confusion and partly out of annoyance, as he tracked the Aberration across the sky. What the fuck happened to 'staying close'?
He clicked his tongue once more, flicking through the communication options on the transmitter until he found the blood mage's channel. "Sander, what happened? Are they still alive?"
"Yes." -Sander answered curtly, before he realized he didn't enable the cuff to transmit yet. It took a few seconds for the knowledge of how to come back to him -"Transmit. Yes. Over."
"...You didn't kill Hazel." A statement rather than a question. There was obvious disappointment in his tone.
"I won't." -A pause, just as Sander remembered about the cuff, again -"Transmit. I didn't kill you."
Ernie's lip curled. So even Sander of all people had more morals than him? Bullshit.
"We had orders to kill her if she threatened someone again. You sure you want to let her go?"
"...They can kill her later. I won't."
"...Fine. Where are you taking them anyway?"
"Evacuation."
A check of the map told Ernie that the red-eyed mage was talking about the point and not the truck. That was a relief.
"Make sure that the guards put those extra cuffs on Hazel when you get there then."
If there was any notion that the panic running rampant through the capital's streets had reached its peak, it would have been immediately shattered as Tumor's eclipsing form stained the sky.
Angel's empowered declaration of the 'USARILN Special Evacuation Relief Unit' was met with mixed reactions, though 'mixed' seemed like the understatement of the century. It didn't take much mental effort for the evacuating citizens to identify the vehicle they had been suggested to use, a semi-truck escorted by a surreal parade of floating cars and a nightmarish, shadowy golem knocking obstacles aside with horrifying strength.
More monsters among the destruction already inflicted.
The voice mage's offers fell on deaf ears. Most of the crowd clambered over each other in an attempt to escape the subnaturals, running, screaming, trampling over the unfortunate who lacked the mobility needed to flee. But a strange energy took over some of the citizens in the vicinity, a rush of adrenaline and determination that only emerged in the worst of life-threatening situations. Hatred smothering fear. Among the screams, fragments of angered shouts of "fucking subs", "it's that Scar Guy" and "in the truck" could be heard by those with keen hearing. Ernie's transmission blared through the cuffs like a poorly timed omen. Despite the panic in the street, there was almost an eerie standstill between the subnaturals and the bold regulars who were sick of living in fear and had nothing left to lose. Right as the Aberration's voice mentioned something about Hazel, half a brick flew through the windshield of the truck, shattering the glass and nailing Marcus in the shoulder.
A catalyst for the hell about to descend upon the USARILN teens.
Bricks and debris hailed down on the vehicle, shattering the remaining vehicles of the cab and lightly raining glass on its inhabitants. The two nearby soldiers barked orders to cease the attack to no avail. Miraculously, no one beside the scarred Arbiter was directly hit by the incoming projectiles yet. In the back, thunderous banging consumed the atmosphere as loosened concrete battered against the trailer's outer walls, thrown by frightened and outraged civilians. With the absence of any new audible orders, Determination continued its task despite the attacks, its armor holding well against the rain of construction materials. The stoning of the subnaturals' vehicle didn't look like it was going to end any time soon but the regulars at least kept their distance for the moment.
Piss poor timing, that was the only thing Angel could accurately think of as shit hit the fan for the evacuation effort. Not only the citizens did not trust them to accept their help, but the appearance of Cat's Cradle, Ernest's message and the unfolding panic, it was too much to bear on the young woman's stressed mind.
Angelique let out a sudden shout of fright as a brick came flying through the windshield and hit Marcus square in the shoulder. But fear soon was overcome by wrath.
"Marc, are you alright?"
They dared to this to those who were trying to help them. Just how fucked up this society was? Is this what she was living with all those years before becoming a Subnatural? Was this really the humanity she was trying to cling onto, despite having been demonized as an X-marked?
"STOP! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? WE'RE TRYING TO HELP YOU!"
Angel's voice boomed all over the area, noticeably growing louder and panicked. If she was on the edge, now she had one foot over the ravine. The voices inside her head began screaming in rage, egging her to let loose. The violence seemed unresponsive to her rage, the crowd's fear only ramping up with the unnatural voice shouting in their ears.
Angel's teeth were grinding on themselves as each thud against the truck's surface; each debris that flew past her head only fueled her hatred towards Regulars. She couldn't take it anymore. Her friends were in danger. SHE was in danger.
"THEY DON'T DESERVE YOUR KINDNESS!"
"THEY SHOULD JUST ALL DIE!"
The Stigma was banging at the back of her mind, breaking through, invading her thoughts. There was nothing but sheer hate towards those who dared bring pain to her classmates, her friends, her kindred. Those people were unworthy of being saved. They should be left here to rot, to die in their filth like the human trash they were. At this point, Subnaturals felt even more human right now than the garbage that kept throwing debris out of unjustified spite.
"Everyone... get back inside. We're leaving, NOW!" Angel ordered, her magical voice reaching out only to her comrades, struggling for control.
"They want to hate and fear you so much? Give them a reason to do so!
Returning the defiant and hateful look in her eyes back to the Regulars that kept pummeling the truck with all sorts of debris, Angel leaned towards the windshield instead of trying to protect herself behind the dash.
"PROVE THEM ANGELIQUE LACHANCE ISN'T ONE TO BE PUSHED AROUND!
"STOP!"
But this time around, Angel's voice did not come out as a warning ringing to everyone's ears. Her voice was unleashed by the full power of her destructive abilities, sending a forceful sonic wave of debilitating intensity towards the majority of the Regulars that kept pummeling their vehicle.
It all happened so fast. Off in the distance, reflected brightly in one of the truck's side mirrors, a large bloom of fire engulfed what looked like empty sky from this distance. Then the growing form of a sludge monster - not the slime that was currently engulfing the city. For a moment, Marcus was completely baffled; there wasn't anybody on their team that could do something like that.
When he noticed the disturbing face of Tumor writhing through the black mass, it all clicked. They had to leave now.
And it was just as he made this connection and turned to see if Angel had also caught on that the windshield exploded, raining small shards of glass down as something large impacted his shoulder. Marcus let out an involuntary yelp of pain as the brick caught him across the shoulder, bringing his other arm up to cradle it.
Nothing broken. Nothing dislocated. But not for a lack of trying.
"What the hell!?" Marcus shouted to nobody in particular, bringing his hand back to the steering wheel. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just caught me in my shoulder."
The words came out through gritted teeth as the sudden shock of impact gave way to the rising bloom of pain. His pain transferred from soft disbelief to growing anger as he fully realized the situation: that hadn't been an accident - not a wayward piece of stone from one of the nearby collapsing buildings. That had been thrown. By a Regular. The same regulars they were trying to help.
The patter of other debris rang across the truck like the sound of large hail as something exploded next to him. There was a soft ringing in his ear as he turned to the source, his eyes falling on where Angel sat next to him.
Too much.
Siena could practically feel the panic rising from the masses as she noticed the presence of something more dangerous than mere monsters--subhumans that knew how to use their power to spill blood...something in the back of her head tried to chime in at the situation. This was wrong. Dangerous. Wrong. Her concentration wavered for a moment, the cars precariously slipping down for a moment when gravity tried to return to normal before quickly snapping back to where they were before with a grimace from the brunette. Careless--she couldn't afford to lost her train of thought and drop all the vehicles she'd been--
SMASH.
Glass showered in a blanket of fine, jagged points that made Siena flinch. The Arbiter couldn't hold all the cars--half of them slammed back into the ground as her concentration snapped away, reducing the effective area of her ability. The disgustingly calm part of her mind told her that it wasn't such a big deal--nobody was stupid enough to stand under a floating car if they didn't know why it was floating. The same part of her reminded the girl that she needed to react in an appropriate manner, lest she give away the horrifying sense of calm that threatened to pull her under.
"Shit...!" But it wasn't enough to regain herself when the name threatened to slip through her fingers, the grains becoming finer the more desperately she scrabbled at the draining sands. Going, going...did it even matter? A startling sense of clarity cut into Siena deeper than any glass would have managed, eyes shifting from a muddy brown to an awkward charcoal color as she felt the last of Dekka's power escape like a wispy breath, the sudden weight such a fierce burden that Siena had to bite back a yelp of surprise. Too much, her mind scolded as both names escaped. First Dekka, then Kennedy.
The cars came crashing down all at once as Siena felt her legs obeying Angel's demand before her mind had caught up, the usual flutter of her fingers bringing the familiar thrum of knowing. Things were going bad, fast.
A shout shattered the air despite the jagged shrieks that had pierced it over and over again, and another pair of voices mocked the brunette in her head. So much for trying to help them.Now you're the monster they want to see. It wasn't her fault.
"Angel, those were pe--" The protest cut itself off. They were people. Fragile bodies that were afraid of them because they saw subnaturals as monstrous figures. Plenty of monsters played at being human. Plenty of humans were monstrous. Another chilling calm trickled down her spine, one that froze her heart in place for a fraction of a second. She tried to shake it off. "We shouldn't..."
...she didn't know how to finish that sentence.
Hazel was rampaging again. Once again, Emma wasnβt sure what to do. The girl was clearly a danger to everyone around her. A danger to her friends. But wasnβt she also supposed to be her friend? Emma gritted her teeth. She couldnβt worry about that now. Not when they had their own problems to worry about. Not when... Emmaβs head craned around to make out the form of Tumor, the lights dancing in the sky, the sight ofβ¦
Catβs Cradle is helping.
It was a realization that hit her like a truck; Catβs Cradle, Animi, terrorists, public enemy number one, was one of the few allies that they had right now. Of course, thatβs not how the regulars saw it. The sound of the shattering windshield drew Emmaβs attention back towards the truck. Emma took a second to ensure that Marcus was okay before turning back towards Determination, who was still carelessly going about his business despite the rain of debris being pelted on him. That was good, he just needed to keep doing wh-
A scream came from Angel, directed towards the crowd.
What the fuck?
Suddenly, the cars suspended by Sienaβs power were released, shrieks cutting through the air.
What the fuck?
Emma turned back towards the truck, hearing Angelβs demand that they come back. She was right, they were in danger, danger that was amplified tenfold by the Subnaturalβs own hostilities. As she started moving for the relative safety of the semiβs trailer she spoke aloud, βTransmit, what the hell are you guys doing? Attacking the regulars is making things worse! We need to get out of here, not fight them!β Emma shouted.
Angel's scream had a devastating effect on the crowd, disabling dozens of evacuees and throwing them backwards. The ones that received a direct hit were curled up on the ground, clutching their ears. The civilians caught on the edge of the sonic cone stumbled around blindly. One of the soldiers was among the less severely affected. The other, however, was standing to the side with his rifle aimed at the voice mage. He would have taken the shot had it not been for the sudden cacophony of falling cars. A disjointed rhythm of shattered glass and distorted metal filled the air, easily masking the sounds of crushed bones and ruptured organs from the fallen vehicles. Angel's shout had inadvertently pushed numerous civilians into the drop zone. There was no one standing in front of the truck to block the horrific view of blood oozing out from beneath the twisted chassis. The screaming continued as those that weren't caught in the blast rushed to the dropped cars to lift them from their loved ones. They begged for help but none came. The others were now revenge-bent.
Everything was happening so fast. Lily had just agreed with Kusari to go out and help Allison and Zoe and then the next thing she knew, there was a sound of shattering glass and then Angelique was screaming. Her eyes widened as her senses were barraged by multitudes of injuries all around them, the initial plan of going out to help Allison and Zoe completely forgotten. Shattered ear drums, crushed bones, punctured wounds... She could perceive all of them and felt that overwhelming need to help. But couple with the need was an equally strong desire to destroy. The voices that she thought were gone began whispering in her head again just as the truck they were in was continuously pelted with whatever the Regulars outside could hurl at it.
Debris continued flying towards the truck, leaving sizable dents in the trailer now. But that was far from the worst of it. Infuriated by the sudden attack, a handful of civilians surged forward to board the truck, ripping the side-doors open to grab at the shouter and the scarred boy and wrest them out of the vehicle. The undazed soldier levelled his rifle at Angelique again but hesitated to open fire for fear of hitting the civilians. Ironically, the attackers were indirectly saving the voice mage from certain death for the moment.
Emma hadn't gone unnoticed in the chaos of it all, the X-mark on her throat acting like a homing beacon of hatred. With the appearance of the world-infamous Animi just then, fear of the violent X's was at an all-time peak. Most of the evacuees on that side of the shuffled backwards but others attacked with more vigor. One man in particular raced towards the girl in a rough tackle, pinning her on the ground. She was met with a brutal fist to the jaw, his other hand raised for another. He'd seen the goody two-shoes X-girl on television. Easy target. On the other side of the truck, Grant and Siena were experiencing their own swarm, about five people lunging at each of them. While all this was happening, the last of the emboldened civilians leapt onto the back, opening the unlocked trailer door to get the rest of the subnaturals.
Emma hit the ground hard, the wind suddenly knocked out of her. βWait-β she didnβt have time to finish her sentence, a hard fist meeting her jaw.
Did you think that you could make these people love you?i
The man cocked back his fist again, βPlease, stopβ¦β she choked out in between sobs, tears filling her eyes, pain welling up in her face. Another impact against her skull, completely ignoring her pleas.
Emmaβs lip was busted open now, blood running down her face. βDonβtβ¦β she started but didnβt finish. Itβs pointless, they hate you. What did you expect? Theyβll never love you. Not like the Precursors. Not like Sparrow. Theyβll never admire you, youβreβ¦youβre one of them. Subnaturals are nothing more than monsters.
Emma didnβt try pleading again. She didnβt try fighting. Determination, mindlessly continuing his assigned task of pushing aside the cars, suddenly disappeared.
Lily watched with confusion as her classmates were attacked. Weren't they supposed to be helping people out? What was happening? Why were they being attacked? As the Emma's assailant's fist connected with her face, the golden haired Aberration froze and lifted a hand to her lip as though she was punched. Golden eyes sought out Emma outside, pinned down and being attacked. It was a strangely familiar scene.
Suddenly Emma had long blonde hair and the man pinning her down had messy brown hair. Lily stared at them in horrified wonder. "You... you're a menace, a plague, a rabid dog that should have been put down a long time ago." The male voice from her fragmented memories was full of malice and hatred. The same voice had been filled with love and tenderness when her neck didn't have that cursed X mark. The soft, warm hand on her cheek was now rough as it wrapped around blonde Emma's neck. The lips that pressed a kiss to her forehead were now pulled back into a sneer. "You and Sebastian. You two should have never been born."
Oh god.
The sickening crunch of bones told Marcus all he needed to know about the situation. The screaming, the begging. Everything had gone to hell, and they were right in the middle of it. DC hated them, and they'd given the civilians the proverbial match to light the powder keg, and boy if it wasn't one hell of an explosion.
Marcus's horrified glances were interrupted as his door swung open, a hand reaching up to grab at his shoulder, nearly tearing his shirt off his body. He panicked for a moment, turning to deliver the heel of his foot directly to the grasping face of the person beside him, before scooting across his seat a little more to give himself some distance.
To the side, a flurry of movement caught Marcus's eye. Emma was on the ground. He watched in slow motion as the fist connected with her jaw, before reeling back for another attack.
Fuck it. If they were going to be the bad guys, then so be it.
"Angel! Emma's under attack! Clear me a path!" Marcus said, reaching over to the door and slamming it halfway in an attempt to hit a few of the frantic civilians with the metal barrier.
But the guilt would not last for long, as infuriated citizens redoubled their efforts to take down her classmates. Hell, she could spot a soldier taking aim at them, at her specifically. Self-preservation began kicking in. No, she couldnβt die here, not like this. Not after swearing to become better.
βBecome better? Youβre actually becoming worse. Youβre a murderer nowβ¦β
She was past redemption now. It was fight or die, and she absolutely wonβt allow any of her classmates to die for having made a grave mistake. She made this mess, it was up to her to clean it up. The same debilitating scream that caused deaths was repeated once more. She was aiming that shriek at the soldier in plain sight, taking him out of commission before turning her attention to the pulling assailants, whom she screamed down just as easily as the others before.
"Grant! Take out their weapons! They are going to shoot us dead!"
Hearing out Marcusβ plea, Angel felt a rush of mixed emotions. Emma was being assaulted? That was an entertaining thought, but Emma was Marcusβ girlfriend. She respected Time Scar far too much to have a good time over the misery of his loved one.
βAβright, letβs go get her! Shut your ears tight and give me a hand!β Angel shouted, unfastening her seatbelt and throwing herself onto Marcusβ lap. Her dizziness wouldnβt allow her to move that efficiently considering everything that was happening, but she could at least manage to place herself up in an angle she would scream down Marcusβ side Regulars without putting him into her effective range.
True havoc. That's the way to describe the very situation. One moment, Grant was just helping with the roadblock. The next, yells of hatred and anger broke out. Now there was just screaming upon screaming. The boy was shaken at the familiarity, but he quickly shook it off the moment the chaos had their sights locked on him.
Instincts kicked in as his chains shot out to the very clothing of the people closing in. "Stay the hell away from me!" He yelled in anger, making contact and knocking many of them together enough until they were all just crumpled on the ground. For good measure, he tossed the ones who he had chained away from him.
He took in the chaos going on around him. He was still, frozen, trying to figure out what to do. He had to move, he had to... Angel's familiar voice broke through. Weapons. Shoot dead. His eyes locked onto the guards around in the range of his chains.
Following Angel's order, he sent his three chains out to different guards, focusing in on their weapons. The immediate moment they touched, he focused on making them completely useless. Molding the matter quickly and tightly around the wrists of the guards before pulling them up, meeting their faces in impact.
Ever since she knew what a subnatural was, Kusari had held pity for them. The world had changed more in the past few years than it had in the past century, and society did not know how to cope. Subnaturals were a more than obvious target for people's fear and frustrations. So Kusari pitied them, but that pity changed into something else when she herself found a white mark on her face. She couldn't pity what she herself was, so for a time she hated what she had become.
But that wasn't fair was it? Why should she have to hate herself simply because the ignorant masses refused to accept subnaturals? That's right, she wasn't in the wrong, everyone else was.
So as Kusari found herself stuck in a metal box being pelted by the same people she was supposed to protect, all the while being unable to save her allies while giant monsters attacked the city, something snapped in her head. No, it would be more appropriate to say that something snapped into place, like a cog missing from a machine.
She let them open the metal doors, the moment someone was even vaguely within view a severed arm was thrown into their face. Not a moment after a tentacle shot out towards them, fiercely wrapping around their neck. She pulled the person towards her, grabbing them by the head with her right hand and slamming it onto the floor.
The first man slid back out, completely limp. But four more took his place, clambering over the downed civilian like starved animals to attack the tentacled freak.
Still trapped in the warped reality that her broken mind was showing her, Lily remained staring at the events outside, unable to move, unable to respond properly to the threat happening all around them. Even when the people outside ripped open the metal doors, she merely turned and stared at what was happening. Even when Kusari began attacking, it still didn't register. Part of her missing memory continued playing in her head, the girl in it was still a blonde Emma. A tall blonde boy grabbed the man pinning her down and punches were thrown.
No. Sebastian...
They were still coming, even after seeing what she'd done to the first man. She was simply defending herself at this point, she couldn't be blamed for what happened next, right?
Kusari used her tentacle to swipe at their midsections. With little room in here they didn't have much way to avoid it. She swung again, and again, pummeling them like a tough steak.
The thought of her forgotten brother being in danger made Lily move. Forgetting everyone else in the truck, she watched as Kusari continued fighting, waiting for the opportunity to be able to slip away. Being small had its advantages and the teenager soon found herself able to squeeze out of the truck in between blows to the Regulars from Kusari's tentacles. The pale Arbiter was too preoccupied to notice the healer slip away, determination to help the brother that wasn't really present where they were on her face.
The stench of freshly-spilled blood filled the cabin and any remaining regulars with the intent to hurt backed away at the visceral killings they just witnessed. The sudden gunshot from the side of the truck didn't encourage them either. She wasn't like the ones out front. Despite common sense telling everyone else to just drop the matter, an undiscernible hand in the crowd couldn't help but throw one last jab, launching a brick directly at Kusari's mouth.
The smell of blood was far too familiar to Kusari at this point for it to disturb her, if anything she simply associated it with battle and little else. However, the fact that she had just killed human beings for the first time registered in her mind, and she stopped for a moment. Before the weight of her actions could even settle however, a brick collided with her mouth knocking out one of her teeth. She stumbled, nearly falling over, but it would take more than that to hurt her. She spat out a mouth full of blood and glared at the crowd.
She picked up one of the bodies with her tentacle and launched it into the crowd, she did the same for all the others as well.
The crowd screamed as blood-soaked body parts and unidentifiable viscera descended upon them. Some kind of ironic retort to the truck's stoning earlier. The back of swarm dispersed and the trailer was secured.
With the regulars on his side knocked to the ground, Marcus slid forward and out of the truck, dropping to the ground below. He turned once to help Angel down from the cab, only enough to make sure she didn't stumble out and fall onto her face before turning back around to his target.
The man's fist met her face again.
Ernie's words echoed in his head. Advice from what seemed like ages ago. What to do if he encountered an enemy while on Evac team.
His own anger backed up the advice. He'd been rash before when in situations like this: punching Kusari during CTF when he could have run, the burning satisfaction he'd felt when the gravity manipulator had been caught by his flare shot. And now this. A man punching an innocent girl in the face, when all she had been trying to do was help.
"HEY!" Marcus shouted, moving towards the two on the ground. "Get your hands off her!"
His statement was punctuated by a sharp kick to the man's head, as hard as he could bring his foot to meet the skull. The man reeled a bit, clutching where his foot had met skin. Marcus grabbed the man by the shirt, attempting to shift his weight and almost roll the guy off Emma, to no avail. The man was far too heavy for a skinny teenager to move. His attention flicked away from Emma and he focused on grabbing the hand on his collar, throwing a heavy punch at the scarred boy.
The hit connected, and the sudden blurriness that clouded his mind was cut by the heat trying to win over. The same statement that had already played in his mind played again, only with renewed vigor as the pain across his face started to burn.
Fuck it
"I said GET OFF HER!" Marcus shouted, bringing his free hand around. The pistol he held cracked with thunder once, as the smell of gunpowder flooded his nostrils.
The deafening crack took its hold on the crowd. People closest to the subnaturals dropped their projectiles and started to back even further away. Funny how a subnatural's screams made less of an impact than the unmistakable sound of a firearm. The man went limp as blood spurted out of the new hole in his head. He fell to the side, his legs still barely straddled around Emma.
Somehow, Lily made it to the other side of the truck unscathed, mostly thanks to Kusari taking most of the attention. As soon as she got there, panicked eyes sought the tall blonde boy and her eyes fell on Marcus. She jumped when the gun in his hand fired and her distorted view of the events shifted. The gunshot turned into a sickening, cracking sound of something hitting bone. Her eyes widened as the events unfolded in her mind, projecting it onto the scene in front of her. The blonde Emma no longer looked like Emma. The girl now had her face, her long blonde hair matted and soaked with blood running from a deep gash on the top of her head. The girl was being cradled by a sobbing blonde boy. "Hold on, please hold on. Don't die...don't die. I'll get you out of here."
Unconsciously, a single tear slid down Lily's cheek.
Emma was preparing for another punch, resigned to whatever beating the Regular decided she deserved, but it never came. Instead she heard Marcus, and from there everything was a blur. She felt a struggle on top of her as Marcus tried to push the man of her, and thenβ¦
A loud bang.
It wasnβt a sound she was used to, but she knew what it was all the same. The manβs blood mixed with her own, the unmistakable stains already setting in her clothing. She wouldβve preferred getting knocked out to having to move now. Only one thought ran through Emmaβs mind.
Why?
Why did they all hate her so much? Why was this happening? The stigma played against the question, demanded violence, retribution, blood, but no Tulpa answered the call to satiate it. How did everything go so wrong?
Emma told the others to stop, but it was too late now. Instead she pushed herself up off the ground, turning towards Marcus. Marcus and the gun. Her mouth opened, but closed again. Instead she looked past him, pointing towards the semi's cab, "We have to get out of here!" she said, starting to run towards it.
Emma's sprint for the cab wasn't going to be unhindered. Some civilians in the back seemed to reclaim their nerve and fist-sized debris began flying towards the truck again, albeit not as severely as the initial hail as Angel shouted most of them down. Yet, Emma was smacked in the shoulder by concrete while Marcus was hit in the chest by two separate projectiles.
Two sharp thuds across his midsection took the breath out of Marcus as he followed Emma to the cab, the scarred boy finally giving in and using up one of his precious rewinds. He found himself back standing in front of the man who had been on top of Emma, staring down at the oozing hole in his head. The emotions were threatening to overtake him now, as his stomach tossed slightly.
He killed someone.
Not now.
The mantra echoed in his head as he turned to run back towards the truck again. The man deserved it, surely. He was in the right. He was justified.
He certainly didn't feel justified as he pointed his gun into the crowd of frightened civilians, watching for any of them to break from the mass. The threat was clear. He was the bad guy here.
Because somebody had to be.
The flashing of the gun did most of its job. Another hush went over the crowd, majority of the assailants deciding that it was a futile exercise to continue trying to throw things through the sonic scream and the presence of a firearm. Emma successfully reached the cab despite her injury but Marcus was still in the middle of the impasse. When it finally seemed like things could end quietly (as quietly as circumstances would allow), a voice cried from over the others, yelling "fuck you, subbie!" and sending one last attacker towards Marcus.
The voice that yelled jarred Lily out of distorted reality. As the haze lifted from her golden eyes, she blinked and finally began processing what was really happening around them. Her mind scrambled to make sense of the events. They were being attacked. Her friends were being attacked. Just as she was attacked before. The only family she had now was being attacked. Regulars hated them even when they made an effort to help. She had to protect them.
Marcus's gun immediately pointed towards the offender, his aim steadying as the man came barreling out of the crowd. It would be easy. Another shot, right in the head, and he'd be dead before his body came to a skidding stop. He was a murderer now. There was no way to get rid of that. He'd spent all that time trying to build himself up and convince himself that he would be able to help, only to come crashing down.
Maybe he was a murderer, but he didn't want to be.
He pointed the gun lower, at the man's leg, and pulled the trigger again. If it had to be force that made people listen, he'd show force. But he wasn't a complete psychopath.
The assailant fell flat on his face, hissing in pain. By this point the crowd had been either incapacitated by Angel's support screams or scared off by Marcus. There was nothing stopping him from getting in the cab with Emma now.
ATTACK. For the first time, Lily agreed with the voices in her head. She didn't struggle against it; she didn't even try to hold back. As Marcus pulled the trigger and the bullet tore through the man's leg, an eerie smile spread across the small blonde Aberration's face. If her scarred classmate was satisfied in leaving the man with only that, she wasn't. She wanted retribution. The black thread appeared on her wrist, connecting her to Marcus' assailant. She didn't cry out or even flinch when the leg wound transferred itself to her. As soon as it did, the man that had fallen forward, looked up towards her with the disappearance of his pain. But before he could say or do anything, Lily transferred back the wound to him, amplifying it and completely severing the limb where the bullet had made its track.
The sudden destruction of the man's leg caused Marcus to jump back in surprise, quickly looking to the rest of the crowd to make sure nobody else was going to jump him for that. It had only been a gunshot...why did...?
There was no time to contemplate that. He turned from the screaming man, making his way for the cab before things could get any worse.
His howl of pain made her heart sing.
MORE. The voice in the amnesiac teenager's head commanded.
Lily complied, gleefully finding the smallest of wounds and amplifying them. She took and transferred as far as her range could reach and to anyone she could reach, depleting her energy with each transfer she made.
Screams, the sound of the cars crashing into the ground with the full force of their weight, blood, panic. Too much. What was left behind by her previous marks started burning like the sea had been brought to a boil. A swirling, vicious storm waged war on both fronts--the ones that she'd taken too many times before. Twenty-three times now, wasn't it? And the ones that she only carried because they were what she wanted to be. Good. Fighters in their own right. Far and away from what she'd made herself out to be.
The wreckage almost broke what those people left behind. Fed into the monstrosity that she held in check with every word, every glance, every. Single. Day.
'Stop it.'
Hands reached for her, an angry, writhing mass of limbs that reached for anything they could grab. Her hair, her clothes, her arms--an emotion that rose like bile, hot, cold, and rancid. Don't touch. Don't touch. Don't. TOUCH. No knife. No powers. Don't touch! She twisted her arm, a practiced motion. Gerwulf's drills echoed louder, louder than the rest of the thoughts. Jerking back didn't work in creating any real distance, only freeing the arm when the position no longer provided a firm grip. Only making her yelp when she felt hair tear from her scalp, felt her clothes press harder against her skin until she felt some stitches try to give. Not combat clothes, the modest items she'd worn to church.
She felt a few stitches pop in the strain, felt the sleeve of her blouse tear from its place when the buttons couldn't stand up against the resistance and were scattered haphazardly on the street. Something much deeper, much more primal than her cold level of calm, than her desperation to be good sparked to life, catching and creating an inferno that consumed all rational thought.
Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me.
"Let go!" Her voice rose a few pitches, bordering on a scream as she reeled, her free hand, her legs, her body moving to fight back.
'FIGHT BACK, GODDAMN IT.'
A gunshot puncuated the demand, a sickening part of Siena finding it familiar comfort. Gunfire. Combat drills. Having to force herself to tear down the hesitation because she didn't want to be the one that was being thrown into the hard ground and aching. 'You never know when you'll have to survive.' Apparently most people didn't receive the same type of treatment, the oddly rational part of her brain chimed.
'It's all about the basics when you're up against your average gang up.'
Nothing complicated, nothing fancy. Siena threw a first, vicious jab at the most offending of her attackers. Most people, as she'd noticed, were prone to trying to avoid getting hit in the face on instinct--that was not true of other vulnerable spots that could make people many sizes larger than the brunette go down without a fight. She felt the grip release, and she peeled back, gaining as much distance as she could. She didn't need to hurt them more. She could scare them.
Blindly, desperately, she glanced down at her phone, the purple light blinking to life immediately. Not a good name, she acknowledged. Too lethal for their purposes. No control if she finished pulling it. A comfortable fit that she'd pulled far too many times before.
"Please, stay back!"
They didn't stop. Seeing the chain-sub preoccupied with his own assailants and this white marked girl whose only ability seemed to be plain old hand-to-hand combat, they had no reason to stop. More pieces of debris were thrown and four more people rushed at her.
Again, the demand to fight back roared to life as the rain of debris fell, as Siena caught motions rushing for her.
...she could probably finish pulling the name before they tore the phone from her vision. She'd done it so many times before, she'd already started. The demand to fight back roared again. Didn't she want to survive? Didn't she hate when they had grabbed at her? The letters drifted, it would only take--
'Isn't this what you were afraid of?'
And the panic lifted, replaced with more of Dekka and Kennedy. Guilt, remorse, emotions that had been dampened by the EO names she'd pulled too many times before. Dead bodies under cars. Her fault. The sooty black that had started to creep like dye faded out as quickly as the light did, the will to defend herself wavering.
Grant had taken a moment to catch his breath after dealing with the Regulars rushing him, as well as the weapons of the armed guards. Another familiar voice nearby caught his attention, and he looked on over. He couldn't clearly remember her name. But the look of the girl was familiar. He had placed a power to the face, yet the girl... she was in trouble.
He acted, moving over closer to the girl's attackers, his chains shooting quickly onto the clothes of three of the Regulars. With relative ease, he smashed their bodies against each other, almost repeatedly until the rushers were all just beat onto the ground.
She braced herself for the worst, braced herself to be plunged back into a realm where panic was the lord...but it never came. Instead, Siena saw her would-be assailants slamming into each other. Brutal impacts that made her nerves tremble in sympathy until they were left on the ground. A sense of numbness washed over her. Bad. This was bad. This was exactly what she didn't want, wasn't it?
Her eyes trailed to the boy--his name...G...Grant? She remembered from the first battle they'd faced. From their brief stint as opponents in the training exercise--and for a moment she couldn't find the words. They clogged her throat, choking out the air from her lungs. A brief nod as thanks, small and shaky. Not entirely there...and then the words she didn't want to say.
"I c-can't." Couldn't fight the Regulars like she should have to survive. Couldn't kill them with the intention of doing so. They were humans.
Grant had taken out the majority of the attackers on their side of the truck. The rest had fled moments ago. Safe, for now.
Unleashing a barrage of sonic waves upon the attacking crowd, the raven-haired Aberration made sure that none of them would be able to stand for themselves for a while, leaving them to die here if need be. She didnβt care at this point. Right now, her mind was addled by the taunting and sadistic screams inside her mind. Who knew screaming at people felt so damn good? Actually, it felt more relieving than using her powers against the denizens of Ground Zero. Deep inside, it was because this time, those people were not semi-realistic. Those citizens were the real deal, living and sentient, with emotions and fear.
Angel took a step back, startled as she heard the sound of gunshot near her; the young woman saw the sight of Marcus killing in cold-blood the man that had been assaulting Emma with a handgun. No fucking way. Marcus really killed someone just like that? What been this world was doing to them?
But as guilty and remorseful as she could be, there was no time to feel down. Their lives were at stake here. It was her classmates or the Regulars, and after what transpired here, Angel could give no fuck about it all anymore. Instead, sheβd capitalize on the fear Marcus instigated into the Regularsβ minds. Strange, for people to actually be more fearful of a firearm than actual super powers. Maybe the reason was because those people did not believe Angel could actually kill with her voice?
βThose people are underestimating youβ¦ Maybe itβs time to remind them with who they are dealing with?β
βIβM ANGΓLIQUE LACHANCE, THE BANSHEE OF MONTRΓALβS MASSACRE! LEAVE IF YOU DONβT WANT TO FUCKING DIE RIGHT HERE!β
Angel's threat echoed in a loud boom in the area, her loud voice intensified only by the fact that she was screaming full of spite at the top of her lungs while using her area-wide magic. It was a lie of course. She wasn't able to kill with her voice, or so it was what she believed after constantly training and using them. But it didn't hurt to use her infamous reputation she got ever since her homecoming concert's tragedy to back up her claim.
Anyone brazen or idiotic enough to linger by the 'Special Evacuation Relief Unit' fled at this final warning from the famed former rockstar. The flying debris ceased; the injured and trapped abandoned to Lily's whims.
Marcus sighed softly, pulling himself into the cab of the truck and sitting down. His hands were on the wheel, his eyes were straight ahead, but he made no motion to move. He was weary. Beaten and broken from everything that had just occurred, and he just wanted to leave.
"Anybody got any plans for this?" he said softly, making it a point to avoid eye contact, and staring straight ahead.
Truly, this afternoon was one gigantic fucking mess. At the very least, the voices inside her head quieted down to basically a faint usher. Peace returned to her mind, but with this serenity came the realization of everything she did, and what everyone did to ensure their survival.
But for now, the Voice Mage couldnβt let this weakness show. She swallowed her shame and guilt. The others didnβt need to see this part of herself. She already showed it enough already. They needed resolve to get through this mess. If she had to brand herself as a villain and a cold-hearted bitch for the sake of others, then so be it. She could cry about it later when sheβd be by her lonesome self.
βWeβve got no time for this shit anymore. Letβs get the hell out of here and find a safe and quiet spot for the disabled. We need a quick way to get rid of the cars on the road without exposing ourselves to danger like now." Angelβs voice reached out as a calm whisper to everyone. She was tired, dizzy and ever-more stressed out than before. She didnβt feel like raising her voice more than needed, not when she had the power to help her communicate with ease.
Then, a sudden realization. They just knocked out some army men right now, some of which fled after being disarmed and faced with the overwhelming forces of the Subnaturals. By now, the whole army was probably looking for murderous Mages driving a Semi. What if they would be waiting for them at the evacuation point? Thereβs no doubt they would be shot on sight and killed if that was the case.
βItβs probably best if we donβt go to the evacuation point. Soldiers will be waiting for us there and shoot us on sight considering what happened earlier with them. Letβs take the bus over there too. Theyβll probably be looking for a semi by now.β
Fearing her musician friend might overexert herself from trying to take wounds, Angel tried to rush towards Lily, pushing herself off the semi's trailer. After a few steps, dizziness would remind the young singer why she needed a human-crutch earlier. Her legs gave out, but no one was around to catch her. Angel fell to the ground, a few feet away from Lilianna. Mentally cursing her inability to walk alone, Angel reached out to the blonde Aberration with her magic.
"Lily, please, stop. It's over. These people aren't worth getting yourself hurt for." the faint, tired whispers of Angel's voice came next to Lily's head, as if the girl was standing next to her.
One by one she targeted them, the ground was turning red so fast. The half crazed Aberration didn't show any signs of stopping until her black thread reached out for a man with messy blonde hair who was desperately trying to get away from all the gore and destruction. Lily's eyes widened and the black strand that signaled her power stopped just before it touched the man's wrist. It was at that exact moment when Angel's voice reached her ears. It's...over? What's over? her thoughts were confused, disjointed. The black thread quivered before it dissipated into thin air, horrified golden eyes watched as the blonde man glanced back at her with terror and hatred. Sebastian?
And then it finally dawned on her. The memories, the battle... Regulars scared to the point of attacking them... The need to protect... The moment she saw her friends getting hurt, she no longer thought the regulars were real humans. But the people that laid bleeding and dying on the ground were real people and not something imaginary or a product of another Subnatural's mind. She wasn't in Ground Zero.
There was no turning back. What did I...? She was a monster now.
A murderer.
Drained from expending too much power amplifying injuries and from giving in to the rage and the hate, the small blonde haired stared down at her hands.
They deserved it. The voice in her head was calm, the words unhesitating. Was it her thoughts or was it her stigma? She can no longer tell. But the horror of what she had done was too heavy and rooted her on the spot. It didn't matter how much she tried to control her stigma. At the end of the day, there really was no denying that she'll eventually give in. Exactly like what she just did.
"Angel!" Marcus shouted, looking out the window at the fallen girl. They could argue about destinations and healing and planning later, right now they just needed to leave. Before more people arrived. Before more people could get hurt.
By them.
"Grant. We have to get going. Can you make anything that'll help us get through these cars any easier?" There was a pause as Marcus heard his own voice come through the cuff around his ankle, barking out a sharp "Shut that thin-. Over." before returning to his train of thought. The consequences of the transmission didn't occur to him, with so many other things to be worrying about.
"Right now, we need to get to the Evac point and at least retrieve Christmas. If Sander just dropped him in the middle of a group of regulars, then one of our healers might be at risk. The semi has less points of weakness than the bus, and more overall power - which if we're going to get through this street, we need."
Calm and calculated; a very drastic difference than his usual tone. Although Angel probably couldn't hear him from the cab, he didn't raise his voice. The plan was more for his own benefit; something to keep himself focused on - a line of reasoning that he could follow.
Grant had taken a few steps toward the fallen Angel, worry quickly crossing his mind before the scarred boy's voice caught his attention by calling his name. At the mention of the roadblock, he assessed his surroundings. Moving the cars one by one with more injured around seemingly wasn't an option. Instead, Grant looked back to the semi, more importantly, the front.
"I could possibly make the front of the truck into a plow." He suggested.
Concern. Numb. Guilt. Numb.
What had she done?
The weight of the situation hadn't had a chance to press on Siena until she was herded into the vehicle. When she'd lost her grip on Dekka's powers, she'd known. Felt that same gnawing sense of horror try to break through the front lines of her thoughts, only to be pushed down by panic when she couldn't confront it immediately. It wasn't the same as hurting, trying to kill a subnatural. She'd attacked people. Human beings.
She didn't mean to... Did it matter? Another tepid wave of something that washed away her ability to feel properly came over her, trying its best to distance her from the situation at hand. You've become the monster. Aren't you proud? Not just her, she tried to acknowledge. Almost everyone had done their part.
The distance she felt seemed to grow as she quietly voiced something.
"If we don't go to the point, they'll probably hunt us down anyways."
Well...they were probably as good as dead in either case. At least if they showed up to their execution, they might be done in painlessly.
Shaking, Angel willed herself to get up and reach Lilianna. But it was in vain, the strength in her legs would not return, no matter how hard she tried to force herself. At best, the only thing she could do was to crawl slowly in her direction. It was tough, but she made it eventually to Lily's side. The girl looked like a confused mess. What exactly was going on through her mind? Then, as Angel glanced around, she realized with horror the sight in front of Lilianna.
Bleeding ears. Blood that had pooled on the ground from the dozens of individuals bleeding out from their ears.
Then it hit her. The burning sensation she felt back at the hotel. The feeling of being on the receiving end of being poked by a searing hot white X-shaped brand.
"I... I..." the words were difficult to pronounce, basically choked by the guilt. "I... didn't mean to... to kill..." Angel couldn't finish the rest of her sentence, overwhelmed by the realization of how badly she fucked up. Again.
Lily lifted her head and stared at the bloody scene in front of her. Even when she heard Angelique's voice again and actually felt her presence beside her, she still didn't move. She was too horrified and too exhausted to move from where she had fallen. There really was no sense hiding what she could do the way she had promised Ernie. She did it for everyone to see. It was in plain sight now. If they somehow couldn't figure it out, they would eventually be able to piece things together and there was no way she could deny it. Or maybe she didn't really want to deny it anymore. Not when one of the people she actually liked and thought of as a friend was blaming herself for something that was not her doing. "No, it wasn't you. I did this," she admitted in a flat voice.
After painstakingly removing the tentacle from her body and reattaching her arm, Kusari hopped out of the truck. She nearly let out a gasp as she saw the motionless bodies covering the ground. She'd expected her allies to properly defend themselves, but something seemed wrong here. She walked over to Angel and Lily, the two girls were clearly distraught.
"What do you mean you did this, Lily? She asked, just barely hearing her conversation with Angel. She looked more closely at one of the bodies around her and saw that it was bleeding from its ears. Lily could only transfer wounds as far as she knew, how did she do this? This bodycount wasn't something they were going to get away with, even if they were just defending themselves. The lives of a few subs was nothing compared to some 'innocent' humans.
There it was...that question. She had it coming with her admission. But while she expected the question from Angelique, the voice mage was quiet. She didn't expect that Kusari would pop up and ask. Was she really ready to divulge her secrets to potential friends? Was she ready to lose their friendship? She had been safe with only Ernie knowing about the horrible nature of her power. Even though he wasn't exactly a close friend, he hadn't seemed scared or disgusted of her. He even gave her advice and had emphasized how important it was to keep it between them. She just had to lose control in front of these people. She turned inwardly and waited for that spiteful voice in her head.
Her mind, however, was silent. There were no voices telling her that the people she hurt deserved it, that the people who were beside her now didn't deserve her friendship and that she shouldn't care if they all leave her behind for being such a monster trying to hide behind the pretense of being good. And for the first time ever since she woke up in USARILN hospital, she actually wished that the voices would come back.
Time was of the essence. And Grant had just been standing by the two girls that were right now unmoving, uttering blames to themselves. He let out a sigh and stepped toward them as another joined. "No time. You can talk about this inside." He said simply before sending his chains out to the two, connecting with their clothes before lifting them both into the air.
With the two up, Grant made his way around the truck to the back, making sure to be careful. At his destination, he opened up the back with his remaining chain and set them down slowly inside.
The raven-haired girlβs speechless hesitation allowed Kusari to be the one to ask exactly what happened. But before the golden-haired Aberration had time to answer, Grant had arrived picking the two defeated-looking X-marked girls with his chains and brought them back to the semiβs freighter.
Setting her back against the walls of the van, Angel sat and curled up her legs against her chest, hugging them tightly, her head resting against her knees.
Even before Lily could even consider answering the question posed to her or glance at Angelique, she felt herself being lifted up. She didn't struggle; she didn't fight but merely hung on Grant's chain like a lifeless doll. Once she was released, she stayed where she was deposited, having no desire to move or interact with the people who were probably waiting for her to explain her actions. There were several questions echoing in a loop in her mind. What horrible stuff had I done to make that man hit me so hard in the head that I'd almost died? Had I killed people the way I did today? Should I have died then so that things wouldn't have gotten this bad?
"So, Lilliana." Kusari spoke to Lily once they were back in the truck. Lily seemed to be in shock, that or she was actively ignoring them. "Are you going to explain how you killed those people? I can't say I care all that much about them, but what are you keeping from us?"
Dulled golden eyes turned towards Kusari. For a long moment, Lily just stared at her. How I killed those people... she repeated in her head, her mind derailing for a second to the flash of memories she got earlier. Did I kill people before I came to USARILN? Is that why that man hurt me? Too many questions that had no answers. But there was one that could be answered now. With a sigh, she turned away from Kusari and trained her eyes down onto her hands. "Just like the way I cut off your hand. Amplification," she finally answered in a quiet voice.
Kusari squinted her eyes at Lily for a moment, not quite sure what she meant. She looked at her right hand, the same one that had been completely severed when Lily transferred Zoe's wounds to her. She did find it strange then, but simply brushed it off as a quirk of her altered arm. But if "Amplification" meant what she thought it did, then that meant that Lily purposely inflicted greater harm to her than she needed to. Kusari felt a chill run down her spine, and glanced towards Angel.
"So those people had already been taken care of by Angel, and you decided to... Finish them off?" She asked, trying to keep her tone calm. "There's a difference between keeping yourself safe and outright murder, Liliana. What made you want to hurt me more than necessary, to kill those people? This whole time you've been acting as if you didn't want to hurt people, I had to pull you away from those people in Wisford for crying out loud." Kusari paused for a moment, looking at the black x on Lily's neck.
"You're not gonna sit there and blame it on your stigma, are you?"
Ernie was right. They were all gonna hate and doubt her now. What will she say? That she wanted to protect everyone? That she wanted to hurt people because that was what the voices in her head demanded? That in the midst of the chaos, she hallucinated and thought that she was protecting herself and who she thought to be her brother? That when she broke out of her hallucination, all she just wanted to do was make sure that the people who had been attacking can no longer hurt the only real family she had now? They'd think that she was a nut job. No matter how good her intentions had been, there was no excusing that she killed people. It was dumb to think that it'd be okay. Kusari wasn't even letting her blame her stigma. But what did she know about stigmas? She was an Arbiter. None of the Arbiters will ever know what it's like to struggle every single day with the voices that incessantly urged her to kill and hurt.
She thought back to that time she spent in Ground Zero. She had felt horrible for hurting imaginary people. Now... she felt beyond horrible.
No one can and will ever understand her. She can't even understand herself.
The whole time you've been acting as if you didn't want to hurt people... she repeated the words to herself. She deserved the words. She probably deserved to be chucked back into the angry crowd to die even though she had never pretended. She really didn't want to hurt anyone. But the more she healed, the more her stigma cried out and demanded for blood and destruction. Her mind could only take so much before it broke under the pressure of it all.
She was a monster. A pretentious one that would only bring death and destruction.
The blonde Aberration kept quiet. Better let everyone think she was a monster than try to defend herself and have no one listening anyway. She didn't really want to defend herself anyway. What was there to defend?
"Nothing to say for yourself?" Kusari glared at Lily, irritated by her silence. "Can you really not control it? There must be something we can do. We can't keep having things like this happen." Kusari let out a sigh, she could complain all she wanted but she had no answers.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Lily doubted that the pale Arbiter would still think badly about her no matter what she says or not say. Had she been in a more hyper mood, she would have glared back and told her off. But she was far from that kind of mood and so she remained silent, letting Kusari hate her and think awful thoughts about her.
With the two girls secure in the back, Grant made his way back to the front cab of the semi, attaching all three of his chains onto the front of it. He climbed up into the passenger seat, and once sat, he focused, the weight of the action pushing down on his shoulders. Morphing and changing the front bumper until it somewhat resembled a plow, for the intention of getting through the cars clumped and strewn across the street. Once the act was done, Grant slumped back in his seat, visually tired. Or wait, that's just how he always looked. His chains still phased to the front, attached to the makeshift plow, but either way, he signified his completion with,
"Done."
Satisfied with the makeshift plow, Marcus gave Grant a solemn nod. It seemed like he was one of the only people who was still keeping his head in all of this - it was nice to see someone retain their calm, if only because it helped Marcus imitate it better. There were a thousand thoughts all piling up in his head, none of which were currently helpful at this moment.
Later.
Again. Always later. Yet, there was a part of him that realized it wouldn't be as 'later' as he would have liked. Not like last time, where he could just maintain the facade until he was alone. There were cracks, and not enough time to fill them.
"Last chance to climb in the back. It might get a little bit rough up here." Marcus spoke aloud, turning the key in the ignition to restart the truck with a sudden roar.
Of course everything would go to hell. Always did, didn't it? Looking at the carnage that was taking place across the city, Zoe couldn't help but worry for her teammates. Not to mention the others that were around here. There was every chance that she'd have gotten someone killed because she was a goddamned idiot. Ernie's transmission only reinforced that idea, although hearing it from someone else, never mind him, had still been irritating.
This wasn't good. None of this was good. Her scowl had only deepened as the transmission ended, and her mood wasn't anywhere near improving as they made their way back down the street towards Brent and Gregory's location. To make matters worse, the throbbing pain in her leg was starting to grow almost familiar. It wasn't distracting enough, and her gaze would occasionally flit towards Allison, a dangerous hunger in her expression. It would be so easy to just--
They weren't too far from where she'd been trapped under the debris, their progress slower than she would have liked - a quick glance backward confirmed that the slime was catching up. She wanted to focus on the slime, but her mind had chosen more appealing targets. Speaking of which... "Allison-- Stay a little further ahead. Please." Zoe spoke shortly, but couldn't quite keep her emotions out of her voice. Burning, clawing, want that would be so easy to get rid of. Not much longer. The other two couldn't be far away now.
Even down below, on the ground, Brent felt the heat of the flames. Focused more on arriving in time than observing the sky, the Arbiter didn't realize that it was the flames of another that had eradicated the ominous skylight, not until Ernie's voice sounded once more. So he was the spotter now? And he wasn't fighting the ice golem after all? The brunette picked up the pace. Hazel had lost it again. Cat's Cradle had done something, perhaps even attacked civilians, inciting further chaos. And now, the screams in the background of the Evacuation Team's transmissions were becoming more pronounced, more violent.
And, right in front of his eyes, Brent could see Zoe and Allison and the gargantuan mass of the slime monster. How close was it to them? How much time did they have left?
Not enough.
His own thoughts this time.
"Zoe, Allison," Brent shouted, "Office building to the left! We need elevation now!"
Shards of broken glass crunched beneath his feet as he leapt over an abandoned car, running towards a dark, multi-story building full of jagged, broken windows. WIthout the tinted glass, the lights that were left on within gave Brent some hope still. It was tall, seven stories at a glance, but if the elevators worked still...
"Grego, ditch the guns if they're too heavy. I'll manage with what I have," the arbiter said, striding into the abandoned lobby of the complex. Here too, were signs of a rushed retreat, droplets of blood splattering the marble floor, someone's purse abandoned, coffee mixing with pulverized glass. Two minutes, perhaps, before the slime washed over the building.
Not enough.
He didn't even have time to worry about Siena, Marcus, Angelic, and the others in this situation.
This was just a right clusterfuck wasnβt it? Things didnβt wait for Gregory to digest the last, just a spiral of bad news and escalation with no end in sight. The ice golem was gone, but considering who the hell had taken care of it, he wasnβt sure if the trade-off was worth it. The ice golem had been big, visible, and most notably somewhat under control thanks to Kadabra. Catβs Cradle being nearby? That was a whole nother degree of terrifying. Of course in the time he thought about that, it sounded like half a dozen other problems had come through the phone Brent carried and their cuffs.
What a fantastic day~
Sliding over the hood after Brent, Gregory looked at the building that had caught the Arbiterβs eye and scoffed as he kept up. βGotta carry something around here,β he muttered before stopping just outside rather than following him inside. βElevator working?β He called out as he looked in and out of the building, wondering if he needed to get out there and help. Only slightly more appealing than throwing himself into the slime if he was to be honest, but then again he rarely was nowadays.
Brent punched the 'up' button as Gregory called out, and narrowed his eyes. No LED display showing any numbers, no sound of grinding gears, no 'ding ding ding' for an elevator to descend. Only cries for help, trailing down the shaft. Of course there were people stuck there. Of course they were crying out. But right now, considering the nature of the monster sweeping down the streets, being inside a building, inside a metal box, may be safer than being out in the open.
"No," the arbiter called back, "Elevator's not working. We're taking the stairs!"
Roof wasn't an option now, not with Zoe as she was currently. Fourth floor then. That'd have to do.
Forcing herself to break into a jog - or as close to it as she could manage with her limp - Zoe had made her way towards the building with a grimace. It was difficult to get her thoughts in order. The urge was quickly growing past a simple want into something much closer to need. Rabid.
If she just waited for a few more seconds, they'd all be in her range at once. If she did it one by one they would maybe be able to finish her off, but they'd have to work together. All at once? Hard to do anything when your eyes were bubbling in your--
No. No, no, no. As she came close to the door, she raised her head. The same murder in her eyes that there had been the day before, with almost none of the restraint. Monster or human, Zoe was very obviously going to hurt something soon. She couldn't help but smile at the noise as she entered the building. Screaming, they were screaming. But it was fear, only fear. Not pain. Not yet. Turning to the others, she spoke just a little too casually. "Go on ahead. You've gotta prepare, right?" Her gaze flitted towards the elevator for a brief second. "I won't take long."
Allison came to a slow stop, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She felt as if she was about to puke. Zoe was ready to kill anyone nearby, there was a giant slime monster they needed to kill, and they had all been in a falling building only a few minutes ago. It was overwhelming to say the least. The panicked screams of civilians wasn't exactly helping.
Allison became more frustrated with every bit of noise that sounded her. She would do anything for some peace and quiet at that moment, just to give herself the time to think. But no, instead her mind rushed with every horrible scenario that could possibly occur, at least half of which were sexual. It was all giving the girl a headache. Allison gritted her teeth. Stabbing something seemed like a really good idea, and Zoe was right there, obviously wanting to kill all the innocent, screaming nobodies around them.
"Zoe," Allison spoke up in between quick breaths, "If you hurt anyone, anyone at all..." Allison paused for a moment. "Just don't, alright? Just get up there and kill the fucking monster. Just get up the stairs. If you don't think you can, take one fucking step at a time. Just. Don't. Kill. Anyone." Allison had half a mind to just collapse the building, to save herself the stress. "And don't tell me that you can't, because you can. Don't tell me that it's not that easy, I fucking know that. You can kill the fucking monster, not anyone innocent." Allison turned to head up the stairs.
Zoe looked back at Allison. Innocent? Really? No, she was right. Zoe may have been ruthless, but she didn't kill indiscriminately. It was always for a reason, but didn't these assholes deserve it at least a little? No. That was childish. Pathetic. She was better than that kind of tantrum. But her stigma-driven brain couldn't help interpreting her teammate's words as a challenge. A threat. Took more willpower than she would have liked not to chase the girl down. Tear her apart.
"Who says they'd die? That's so much less fu--" Zoe didn't quite realise she was speaking, shock crossing her expression briefly. "It's fine, I'm fine. Don't lecture me. I'll try. Sorry." But the need was painful, and perhaps worse, she knew how easy it would be to replace it all with good. That joy, that pleasure, that indescribable rush. She knew she had no rights to be making a moral stand, but this wasn't her.
Walking over to the shattered glass on the floor, she grabbed some shards in a clenched fist, smiling softly as blood welled between her fingers. Forcing her tone to stay level, she seemed to come back to herself somewhat. Enjoying the pain, though it didn't sate as much as she'd hoped it would. "Fuck, that hurts." She raised her head, looking towards the stairs with sudden clarity. More like herself again than the barely-controlled monster. "Should be good enough for now. Go. I won't hurt anyone." Brent, Gregory, and Allison arrived at the fifth floor of the building without much trouble, leading to an open area filled with desks. Despite the earthquake that had abrupting passed, monitors were still flickering, the quiet hum of personal computers resounding. It was eerie, how whirring fans could be heard even as screams resounded from the shaft, even as chaos continuously spewed from the cuff transmitter. Shattered windows afforded a view of the slime that was almost upon them now, the gelatinous mass oozing at a steady rate through the buildings. They were on the fifth floor though. Unless something changed dramatically, such as the slime suddenly becoming aware of their presence and actively working to destroy them, they would be left undetected, right?
Ugh, if only they knew what sensory organs it used.
If only they had much more information than they currently did.
If only Zoe was more stable.
If only Gregory was more powerful.
If only he could do it himself.
Brent swallowed the saliva building up, shaking his head to clear it of unnecessary thoughts.
"We need hollow tubes to carry Zoe's power in," Brent said, "Chair legs, lamp post, anything like that. Gregory, bring them over. Allison, cut them to size. I'll mold them into a spear-like shape. After that, paper or something to hold hair or blood, whichever is a better conduit for Zoe's ability. Got it?"
"Alright." Allison looked back towards the stairs for a moment before returning her attention to the office space around them. Of course Brent needed Allison to cut stuff, but considering her power only ran for a minute it would be useless to just stand there and run things like a conveyer belt. Might as well help search. Her legs carried her to the nearest desk. Her eyes searched for the stuff they needed. It wasn't exactly hard to find, but they also didn't have a lot of time.
Tossing the bag of guns down with a slight huff, Gregory spared a moment to stare at the slime as it flowed steadily closer before. "Why not head to one of the bathrooms then? Plenty of piping we can tear out, and it'll probably work better too."
In spite of the situation, Brent grinned. "You would know about bathrooms, wouldn't you? I'll watch the slime. See if it does anything unexpected then. You two can go hunting."
"Okay." Stripping the pipes from a bathroom didn't exactly sound pleasant, but there was no time to argue. "Lead the way," she motioned to Greg.
Dumping the guns and ammunition out onto a table, Greg slung the empty bag over a shoulder and made his way over to the bathrooms on this floor. Sticking his head into each of them quickly, he pushes the door open to one before pointing at the wall lined with sinks. "1 by 1 meter blocks? Don't go more than half a way up." He stepped back a bit to let her work, and to avoid getting hosed down by water.
Allison kept her distance from the wall, she wasn't exactly keen to be doused in water. Still, she had to be somewhat close for precision. She summoned the shard, about 5 feet away from the wall, and began cutting through the wall. In about thirty seconds, Allison had divided the bottom half of the sink-lined wall into several 1 by 1 meter cubes which, sure enough, had been spewing water across the room as she cut them.
Gregory waited for her to make a few more cuts before he gave the first block a sharp kick to knock it out of place. With the pipes cut further down, he managed to pull aside the wall piece without getting blasted with water and grab the cut up pieces of piping. They clinked as he tossed them into the bag, and he followed her handiwork, pausing midway. Looking up from within the wall, he stuck his head out and gestured above where he was. "Can you just stick your shard in at... the two and a half meter mark?" With that said, he returned to filling the bag with the already cut pieces, amassing what he imagined should be plenty.
They'd been gone for maybe two or three minutes tops before Gregory called out for Brent's attention. The bag clattered noisily, filled with meter long lengths of pipes of varying diameters as he dropped it on the ground. On his other shoulder, he carried the biggest piece. Wide enough to fit an arm down and 1.5m long. "Guess it's time to work your magic?"
"Yup." Brent replied, eyes still on the slime monster that was now oozing by, the veins and organs clearly in sight. The first and second floors of the building must have already been flooded by its gelatinous form, but the foundation of the building stayed strong. They still had time then, an invisible, uncertain timer that pit the digestive ability of the monster against the building's concrete foundation.
Rolling up his sleeves, Brent sat down, crosslegged, and began to work, taking the thinnest pipes first. With jolts of silver, he improved the malleability of the material until they could be molded within his hands, before tapering it. The metal gave way underneath his hand as he pulled and twisted, forming a slender javelin with an open end. His power released itself soon after, but the form remained. Just like how broken guns remained broken after his power left, other alterations in form not directly caused by his Overclocks seemed to stay consistent as well.
"First of many," the arbiter said, handing it over to Gregory, "Gotta put something organic inside for Zoe, and then you can set up the sniping point."
His eyes narrowed as he peeked over the ledge once more, where the jelly beast oozed on.
"Hopefully one is all you'll need."
Taking Brent's spot as slime watcher, Gregory swore he could feel the building shake as tons of slime flooded the lower floors. Hopefully the elevators weren't too low, though it'd probably be pretty easy to find out. Sparing a glance to watch Brent's progress he looked at the projectile and then back at the slime. "Yeah... hopefully." Realistically though? He couldn't imagine getting it in one. The slime was too dense, his projectiles too slow, his control limited as all hell, and the slime's own movements were just some of the reasons he could think of as he watched it continue along its path, either unaware or uncaring of their presence.