"Got it." Alto said, shrugging Dragon Heart off.

Normally people wouldn't get that close because they'd feel the heat a ways off, but Dragon Heart was one of the few Epics that could stay next to him like that. Still, he didn't need to be that close, and it'd be easier to deposit the turtle if he closed some of the distance to the lake himself.

When the turtle was in position Alto took out his bandages. With his free hand he started winding it around the Vice Claw. Neither his hand nor the bandages caught fire and when he wrapped enough around it the Vice Claw disappeared instantly, dropping the turtle.

"If that's taken care of then I'm gone," He said, turning to walk away from the lake. "I've got places to be, after all."

@Regitnui

---

---

Stark leaned on the charred, smoking wreckage of a vehicle he'd been using to ferry civilians out of Central park, his chin resting on top of his folded hands. His hangover had returned to cash in on his debts from the night before, and Stark fought a great battle with his own stomach to keep down his breakfast, grimacing the whole while.

"Why the frown little clown?" Spoke Boost with a mock motherly tone, saddling up beside his friend. James pulled his head to the side and shot his mate a look that showed how not amused he was, resting his head comfortably back on his arms.

"So, ain't gonna give the other epics a hand?" Boost inquired, gingerly touching a section of scorched metal, taking after James and resting his head atop his arms only after verifying that it wasn't hot. Stark had quite the tolerance for temperatures that boost did not, when undressed.

"Well she looks like she could use two." Began James with a smirk, nodding at the female epic over by the others. Boost closed his eyes and tried his hardest not laugh, fighting back a grin as he turned to his friend. "Woooowww..." Boost chided, but shortly lost face and chuckled.

"So no, they look like they've got it handled, and I'd rather not stay around and get roped into helping clean this place up, PR can suck my dick." James finished, pushing off from the wreckage and giving his arms a nice stretch out above his head, Boost knew he was merely showboating for the press who had arrived on the scene and promptly decided to throw his friends shirt that he had carried from the diner in his face. Starks head bobbed back with the hit, more from the surprise of it then the actual force, and he caught it with a free hand as it slid from his face.

"Cheers." James muttered giving Boost an unimpressed look, flipping him a quick middle finger and donning the shirt over his head. James was glad to have him back around in Epic city again. "Lets head back to mine and chill after we get through them." James said gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb at the paparazzi that had begun to swarm the police lines, wiping the soot and dirt from his face with the back of his hand, he raised an eyebrow questioningly at Boost.

"Looking good mate." Boost grinned. "And me?"

"Beautiful as always baby." Shot back James with a cheeky wink. The two laughed momentarily before composing themselves and turning toward the press, the question grind began and both Stark and a rusty Boost went through the motions, working their way free from the small crowd.

"Trying to calm it down, but yeah," Anomaly replied to the question of her massaging the snapper. She thought it would work, and while it didn't because Alto dropped the thing in a lake. The situation was pretty much handling itself at this point, it would seem, and the other Epics were leaving the scene while Anomaly simply watched. Kinda sucky that she couldn't help out a ton, but eh, she tried. Today wasn't a good day to show off, but she knew one would come around eventually. Anomaly did help that family, though, and that was a win in her book. Little by little, Anomaly was making a name for herself, and someday, the little things she would do would amount to something not-so-little.

Xoxi lowered her bandanna to her neck as she walked away from the scene, heading towards the alley with her bag in it. She wasn't about to leave that bag behind, nor was she about to leave those harpies al- oh. Looks like that motorcycle guy ran them over... huh... speaking of harpies, something much bigger was erupting from the top of that skyscraper... and it looks like the Epics up there could use a hand or two, and Xoxi was willing to get involved.

What started as a walk broke into a run as Xoxi pulled her bandanna up, sprinting towards the skyscraper where the building was. Her bag could wait, this was slightly more important. At least, she thought it was more important than her bag, so that said something.

As soon as Anomaly made it inside of the bottom floor of the skyscraper, she immediately went to the elevators and hit the top floor as her destination. Never mind the person at the front desk, she had business to attend to dammit! She just wished she had some sort of mobility with her power, because running everywhere sucked.

---

---

It was meant as a nice gesture but now Steve felt stupid. Ofcourse she didn't need his hand to stand on. He guessed he was still very out of tune with how the heroes interacted with each other. They were all cool with smooth oneliners, and he was still figuring out how to use his hands. Though he had always distanced himself from the heroes, now he was acting with them as one of them and he felt the need to fit in somehow. Also it was hard to not be self-counscious when you're 20 meters tall and in your underwear. Either way, action was required and he wanted to do this right. The fairy girl who claimed to not be thinkerbell went inside the building and he tried to peek inside. It was not that he was much slower in giant form, but he felt sluggish and a bit surreal in this body. The muscled worked on his intention, but physics was different on these big masses of limbs. From inside, one could see a huge eye appearing at the side of the building that was looking in, and trying to follow the movements there. Steve saw Fairy and a sort of devil-man being attacked by a .. ..what is that?
And it shot lightning. Steve sighed. How did I get myself into this? The gust of wind that his breath created, blew away a nearby harpy.
So he was supposed to wait for some signal, but it was hard to understand everything what they were saying in the commotion.


Was that the sign? He didn't know and was about to go into a long inner dialogue about it, when there was a sudden rare moment of silence inside him. Then just one thought:


His arm shot inside, hand open and fingers stretched. In this position he couldn't look inside very well, so it was all on the estimate of where he had seen the monster before. If he had done this correctly he would miss the devilman and end up precisely at the big eel, as Fairy had called it. There was a swoosh sound as his arm moved through the building. Then he hit something and immediately closed his hand to a fist. He just prayed he had caught the eel and not Fairy or the devilman in his hand.

Dragon chuckled a bit. "Shit, kid, I also got places to be." He clapped a hand against Vice's non-flaming shoulder. "Hopefully she's less trouble than that thing." He nodded towards the snapper as it splashed into the lake, thrashing for abut before realising nobody was bothering it and sinking beneath the surface for what Dragon hoped was a nice, long nap. Speaking of, he felt like he could use an hour or two. When did heroics start feeling like a job? Or maybe it was that idiot he had for a brother. "Ugh." He rubbed his hand against his forehead, then caught sight of the press.

Thankfully having enough speed to get around their blockade, he coasted to a gentle jog at the other end of the park. His phone beeped, and he grinned. Maria had come through with the recipe, and he headed off to find the best ingredients. Near his place, there was a guy with a food stall. He wouldn't sell everything, but if anyone else knew where to find coriander seeds and garam masala, he would. After a profitable afternoon of following up on his contact's tips, Dragon headed home, smelling of exotic spices, and began cleaning his apartment, whistling.

---

Spectrum glowed bright white in the forcefield as the behir sent her tumbling with a flick of its tail. She crumpled up, head-down, against a wall covered in harpy... Well, she wasn't going to think about that and the possibility of it ruining her date. She shivered a little as she stood, Protector White having ensured most of it didn't reach her. "Eew." Getting her bearings again, the monster shot past on the ceiling, still chasing the devil, whose blasts seemed to be hurting and irritating it in equal measure. "Over that way!" she yelled, then realised she was pointing in the wrong direction, and used the other arm. "That way!"

Of course, her shouting cued the giant outside to reach in. A coughing screech from the behir sounded like he'd caught its tail. It slipped free though, and bit the new, confusing adversary. Spectrum took the opportunity to switch to Melee Green and physically push the beast towards the giant. She managed to get a grip on two of its left legs, and though the behir was flexible, it wasn't flexible enough to bite her. Its tail whipped around again, slamming her back. "HEY! WAY BIG! OVER HERE!" She shouted, turning the behir so it was lengthways to the window, parallel to the wall. "GRAB IT!"

Ding.

Right on cue.

Anomaly ran out of the elevator and darted towards the situation in Despite her legs being in pain because she's run so much in the past hour, she was glad to finally be able to assist with this... beast thing. There wasn't a ton for her to do now, but she was there in case she had to provide support to the other Epics in the room. They looked like they had everything under control, though, which gave Anomaly mixed feelings. She was glad that she didn't have to help, but at the same time she wished she could help out. Maybe it wasn't too late, though...

"Do you guys need any help with this thing?" Anomaly felt like she had to ask to help out, or she'd just be interpreted as getting in the way of justice. Her psychic hands were on standby if she had to act, though, and she'd put them to good use. Thankfully, as soon as she asked, the Epic that was currently holding it's feet in place spoke up. "Yeah, actually! Help me hold it down!" Anomaly nodded as she was given her task, and she sent her psychic hands towards the feet of the Behir while increasing their size, landing each hand on the feet and gripping them with her life. She wasn't going to let this thing go anywhere, especially not in front of Spectrum.

Looking-Glass shook her head, incredulous, annoyed, and part-way amused at the turn of events. It had been years since she'd been treated like a child, and the first time since she'd donned the armor of Looking-Glass. She found the velvet glove treatment to be annoying in the extreme.

"I will make my own way home," she stated, preparing to step off the force-disk. Her voice was obscured and distorted as White Knight mixed his voice with her own in perfect synchronization, creating an odd double-timbre blend of high and low. She sent a mental note to Aina to ready the car. She did not want to deal with this longer than necessary. "My guardian is here, and I have business to take care of. Thank you for your offer, however, this is not the first time I have done this, and neither will it be the last."

She hefted the gun over her shoulder, and spied the retreating Kryptonites. It appeared that this situation was over and done with, all to quickly. That being the case, there was no longer any reason to stay here.

She faced Howard. "I expect what we discussed will remain between us, Techster," she said, deliberately using his "hero" name - a form of recognition, even if his parents didn't feel the same. Whatever they thought, he had accomplished something. Something good, and something that left her in his debt. "Please, keep your promise."

Without another word, she hopped off the platform. The armors natural durability would handle the landing for her, and Aina would be aware of the situation and have the car ready for now.

Tonight trip was pointless, she thought.

She glanced back at Howard and his family, before breaking into a sprint.

"Well, perhaps not totally pointless.

---

@Old Amsterdam

Regan breathed a sigh of relief after the crisis with the snapper was resolved without apparent casualties save for the poor man who’d lost his life thanks to Blacklight. She looked about for Teagan and was alarmed to realize she couldn't find her in the immediate vicinity. She felt panic beginning to take over her faculties when she spotted the wayward firefighter with a fire brigade hosing down trees and park benches that had caught fire during the ordeal. This new sigh of relief she released was of titanic proportions in comparison to the previous one.

Although she wanted to sprint to Teagan and hug her senseless, she made a conscious effort to walk slowly towards the fire engine. It was a rare opportunity to observe the ex-firefighter in her original element so to speak. The sight was a glorious one. Teagan was helping a fireman with the word 'Candidate' emblazoned on his uniform to hold the hose that sprayed water in the direction of the burning trees. She could see Teagan's subtle course corrections that served to instruct the rookie of the best way to put out the fire. She looked hot in her jeans, tight t-shirt and soot marring her features.

When the fire was finally out Regan saw her friend lean into the fireman's personal space to say something in his ear. Then she lifted her head and as if by magic she turned to lock her gaze on the PART officer. The joy that her look telegraphed upon seeing Regan stole her breath away.

Teagan jogged to Regan and was about to hug her, but managed to restrain herself, remembering she reeked of smoke and was covered in soot. But before she managed to say something Regan stepped closer and enveloped her in a warm embrace. The firefighter stilled and almost melted within the cocoon of Regan's strong arms. She hugged her back with all her might.

"I got so scared when I couldn't find you after the Epics took care of the turtle." Regan mumbled in Teagan's shoulder, not willing to let her go yet. She inhaled deeply not minding the chocking smell of smoke that permeated Teagan's clothes and skin. She allowed a small cathartic shiver to run the length of her body and then she drew away a fraction. Just so she could look the other woman in the eyes.

Teagan opened her mouth to assure Regan she was okay, but gentle fingers prevented her, followed closely by soft lips.

The kiss was short and sweet. But it was a promise for so much more and ignited a fire within Teagan's chest, but also instilled in her a sort of calmness. She smiled with Regan's lips still on hers. She heard a few catcalls from the firemen and withdrew reluctantly from Regan. She grinned goofily. "I got soot all over yer pretty face." She said with an easy smile.

Regan's heart was hammering in her chest. Oh, my God! I kissed her! And she kissed back! She was on cloud nine. "Good." The PART officer answered with a matching grin. "We're a set then."

"That we most assuredly are, aye." Teagan agreed, lifted one of Regan's hands and kissed the knuckles. She was rewarded by a soft blush and a shy smile. "Let's get out of here?" She suggested. "Clean up... maybe grab dinner, catch a movie."

Regan entwined her fingers with Teagan's soot covered ones. "Lead the way!"

Finch

Looking around, Finch let his glass constructs return to normal as the Snapper was returned to the water and moved away rather than continuing any kind of rampage. It seemed that things had been solved here, and without any additional hassle too. He wouldn't have thought that the Epics could manage that sort of thing.

"Time to take my leave," he muttered to no one in particular as he slipped away. Best to get out of here before Magus or someone else decided to go after him for wanted crimes, now that there wasn't the more pressing distraction of the monster incident. He was looking forward to the rest of the day, and really didn't want to spend it in jail. Like that he vanished into the crowd, and headed on his way

With a flick of her wrist, Guilt summoned a pocketwatch into her hand. Two hours, thirteen minutes. That was how long it had taken her just to find her way back to Epic City. Damn the Island for dumping her in that wasteland. If she'd known the direction to go in she could have made the trip in a matter of minutes, and now she'd already wasted so much time.

Guilt was perched on the edge of a skyscraper, a monolithic building of steel and glass. Anywhere else in the world such a building would be pockmarked with holes and covered in vines, but the High kept things in shape here. Just another reminder of the depraved luxury these people lived in. Habitually she scanned the streets below, but for once crime wasn't on her mind. Even with all that extra time to think she still had no idea what threat was approaching, or if the Island was just f*cking with her. No, the Island was not known for being capricious. It wouldn't be in character for him to do something like that. But even so.... now that she'd actually made it to the city, what could she do? How could she prepare for something, when she didn't even know what it was?

Sighing, Guilt put her head in her hand. How come in this city of luxury she was the only one this exhausted? Not that she would dream of partaking in such decadence, but it would be nice for things to slow down a little bit every now and then. Just so she could get ready for the next day.

[You know what he said, right?]

A girl sat next to Guilt, feet dangling over the edge. She wore a white t-shirt with the logo of a forgotten band on it, coupled with a light blue skirt. Her face was frustratingly familiar. Of course, Guilt knew they weren't a real person. They didn't have a 'distortion field', and physical objects moved through them like they weren't even there. Which they weren't. But even knowing that Guilt had to keep reminding herself. It was certainly an illusion befitting of the High.

[He said you'd survive, if you stopped being Guilt. If you turned into Maya again.]

Nothing moved for a while. Claire was a constant presence in her life now, and had been for the last 36 hours, approximately. Sighing, Guilt tried to ignore this constant pest. She had to think of a plan, and this waste of mental space wasn't helping in the slightest. To stop being Guilt... what a stupid idea. She might as well decide to stop needing this gas mask, or to stop being covered in scars. Guilt was her now. After everything else had been worn away, Guilt was what was left. To try and deny that, to try and be something else, was just an exercise in futility.

After a period of blessed silence, the illusion spoke up again.

[This isn't something you can deal with alone.]

Again with the pointless words. There was nobody left. Everyone on Guilt's side was already dead.

[That's not true. You know that.]

Silently, Guilt looked to the side. It was true that not everyone in this city seemed hostile to her. And, with no idea what was even going to happen, there wasn't really anything else she could do right now. But still, to look for help? Surely she could solve this herself. The heroes of this city were weak and inexperienced, used to a world where you had a choice in when to fight. Where you could go to sleep safe in the knowledge that you would wake up in the morning.

No. Guilt stood up, having finally come to a decision. She wasn't going to ask for help, but she was also supposed to be a hero. Even if she hated the luxury these people lived in, hated their ignorance to their own privileged lives, she had no intention of watching it go to hell. Even if she hated it, this place was the safest place on Earth. One last place for humans to prosper. To ignore these people, to leave them up to their fate, would make her no better than the monsters outside. She would deliver a warning to the people of this city, and allow them to prepare for themselves.

Vanishing, Guilt moved to retrieve the supplies she would need.

---

About an hour later, neon signs had been placed in various locations throughout the city. Each was brightly lit up, and would remain that way for 24 hours. They read "Trickster, meet me where we spoke last." Each was signed with the letter 'G'. A meaningless message to most, but her intended target would know what it meant.

Of course, Guilt wasn't one to make the same mistake twice. With her powers she had carved a series of letters into the wall of a building, before removing them a minute laters. "I'll remove them in 24 hours". She had no intention of pissing off the Island twice in a row. She doubted he would be any friendlier the second time around, and had no intention of testing her suspicions.

She would wait at the train station, hidden on a nearby rooftop. It was uncertain whether Traveller would actually show up, but this was her best bet at attracting the woman's attention. Admittedly, Guilt wasn't very good at the 'people' thing, resorting to such strange measures when most would have just asked around. As Clair was more than happy to remind her. But, she argued to herself, there weren't exactly many people left to hone her skills with, after all. When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. The same kind of thing applied to her powers, more or less.

---

---

A deep and loud "Fuck" rolled through the streets as the behir bit Steve. He screamed some more internally as his frustration rose as well as his anger. You little bitch. You WILL regret this. With anger driving his focus, Steve would made sure he was not going to let it slip a second time. Fairy had brought the beast in position, and now another epic with ghost hands was helping her to keep the behir steady for Steve to grab it. This time steve brought in both arms more controlled. As the creature stayed in the same location, it was easy to aim for the right spot to take it.



And so he did. First hand gripped tightly around the body. The second over it's head so it couldn't bite anymore. It was nice to feel and use his own full strength. The behir didn't stand a chance. He took it out of the building and held it in front of him. The creature wriggled in his hands. Steve was still in rage. He moved his hand towards he neck. And with all his power he quickly twisted the creature's head and body in opposite directions.

Snap! said the neck.

And that was that. The wriggling stopped. Steve the Giant found himself half-naked in the streets of Epic City, panting after his first kill.

Spectrum exhaled, running out and plummeting to the ground, slowing and stopping just above the ground. The cheering started a moment later, bystanders running up and hugging her. A few even tried to attract the giant's attention, waving and shouting thanks to him. Alex moved through the crowd, a strained smile on her face and noticeably on edge to anyone who actually knew her. "Good job, Spec," she said over the crowd as she drew close, giving the woman a hug of her own.

She returned the hug gladly, but tilted her head and put her hands on Alex' shoulders. "Ok?" She signed. It was about the only actual sign language she knew.

Alex shook her head. "Later. Now get going. You've got to clean up for tonight. I think you've got like an hour or two."

"Oh!" Spectrum raised her hands to her mouth. She'd completely forgotten. Waving her arm to make a rough circle, she asked if Alex could make a portal. Before Spectrum left, she shouted, "Well done, Way Big!"

Alex laughed lightly, dropping Spectrum through the ground and into her living room area. Looking up at the giant, she called out. "Throw it into the ocean or something, will you? No need for the carcass to rot in the City." And then she, too, left.

Had she a little more notice, Spectrum would have avoided landing heavily on her rear by using Mobile Blue and hovering. Unfortunately, she hadn't, so she got up off the floor rubbing her coccyx as the armour dissipated off her. "Alex..." she grumbled, the portal already closed. But it was time to look forward. She only had a few hours to get ready!

---

Dragon washed his hands off just as the doorbell rang. "Coming!" He shouted, and was there almost before his voice was. He opened it, and Spectrum stood on the other side. "Hi, beautiful." Roxana immediately went an adorably bright pink. She mumbled a greeting, walking in and turning around. "The dining table's over there," Dragon pointed. "And I'll bring dinner out right now."

"Smells nice." Roxana said, gasping at the white tablecloth, candles, and most especially at the white flower sitting across her plate. It wasn't a rose, but it was pretty, so she picked it up and started playing with it. "What are we having?" she asked, wandering over to the counter that separated the tiled kitchen from the dining room. She liked how open the space was, or maybe it was because the entire space revolved around Dragon, now serving up the meal.

He set out two plates on the counter, and her nose wrinkled as the spice hit her. "Chicken masala," he told her, a little concern in his voice. "I hope that's alright. You don't mind spicy food?"

"It's fine," she said, smiling at him. "It was just a surprise." The flower found its way into her hair, where it almost glowed in comparison. She picked up her plate and walked with him to the table. "I hope there's more surprises like that." Dragon smiled, and tucked her hair behind her ear, settling the flower and kissing her.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Devilstrider stood in his nightclub a few days after the behir incident. It was nice that he hadn't been eaten and that the giant had been there. He had sped off the moment it was done, choosing instead to go to his nightclub and crash in his office. His office was large, that had been the plan from the beginning. It doubled as his apartment. He didn't need much, you had the main room where his oak desk, filing cabinets, computers and such were located. Then you had the backroom which was where his bed, small kitchen, bathroom and entertainment was located. Wasn't large, just enough. Devilstrider didn't entertain much. No one wanted to really see him since he was a freak and all. So he delegated, as all smart managers should do. He made all the really big decisions and the rest he pawned off to his management staff. He was typing on his computer when there came a knocking on his door. Not looking up, he said, "Come in Nick." Nick was his lead manager, purely human and no special powers of his own. He was tall and skinny with bright blonde hair, blue eyes and a neat goatee. His hair was combed back and he wore a suit. He was the picture of professionalism.

"What can I do for you, Nick?" Nick didn't seem to care that his boss was a freak. Since Devilstrider had saved his life, that was probably a good thing. "There's some folks here to see you boss." Devilstrider paused and looked up at that. That was new. He hardly ever had visitors. 'Show them in." He leaned back in his chair as Nick left and three men entered. They were all dressed in suits. The lead man had brown messy hair, brown eyes and a full beard. The one to his right was short and stocky with black hair and beady brown eyes. The one to his left was a tall broad shouldered fellow with bulging muscles and blonde hair.

"What can I do for you gentlemen," Devilstrider asked them. The lead man spoke up, "We're here to talk business." Devilstrider sighed before saying, "Very well. Let's talk."

"Move move move!" 6 men burst into the bank wearing ski masks and holding assault rifles, it was gonna be a textbook robbery. As one of them held a bank teller at gunpoint a brave citizen managed to call 911 and let the police know that the bank was being robbed. Along with anyone who listened into police com chatter, anyone like a certain gun slinging cowboy. "I love busting up a good ol fashioned hold up." Ace smiled and revved up his motorcycle, it was time to party.

Xoxi got on the ground, watching as the 6 men busted into the bank and attempted to rob the place with their firearms. Really? She was just trying to withdraw a small amount of cash so she could buy something, and now she had to deal with this shit? Bluh. Things got even more tense as one of the 6 guys robbing the place shot at the ground near Xoxi, causing her to instinctively yelp. She'd have to break out her fists in a second.

Suddenly one of the windows shattered as several bullets came blowing through, less than 5 seconds later Ace came through the window as well, riding his motorcycle and heading straight towards the guy who shot at Xoxi. He jumped off and rolled behind a desk, just in time as the remaining 5 guys began shooting at Ace. "What the fuck!?" "It's high noon boys and the sherrif ain't pleased!" Ace yelled as he flipped the desk onto its side and used it as cover against the hail of bullets raining upon him. The whole time he had a wild grin on his face, today is a good day for Justice.

That was an interruption, and Xoxi was face-to-face with Ace, as she was under the desk that he just flipped over. Boy, was it awkward to be right there! She saw the cowboy look down at her and she asked him a question, a bit of fear being able to be interpreted by Ace. "... d-do you need any help?" As she asked, a psychic hand appeared by her head and gave him a peace sign, it staying there until it was needed to move.

Ace gave her a quick once over, quickly popping out of cover to fire a few more shots at the robbers then ducking back in to avoid the gunfire, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the temple. "I suppose I could use a hand if you have any to give." Ace then looked at her once again and realised she had no arms. "Bad choice of words. Sorry about that."

"... eh." Xoxi popped up from behind the desk and sent a psychic fist soaring towards one of the gunmen, knocking him in the head and out cold. "What? Two of them?!" Xoxi immediately dropped down back under the desk and waited out the gunfire shooting at them, and as she waited, she noticed another guy trying to flank the two, right behind Ace at that. "Watch your six!"

Ace didn't even flinch as he shot the guy in the knee, bringing him to the floor screaming in pain. Another shot to the temple quickly ended the screaming from him, however the civilians screaming nearby was much louder. "Time for some fancy shooting." Ace picked up a nearby shard of glass from the broken window and held it over the desk, looking to see where the gunners were exactly. One of them was behind the tellers desk while the others were slowly moving closer towards them.

Ace threw the shard to the side and popped up out of cover, shooting wildly to the left of the advancing robbers. The bullet ricocheted off of several desks and lamps, going in between the bars of the tellers desk and hitting the robber there right in the throat.

One of the robbers scooped up the bag of cash that they had collected and tried to bolt out the door, but the effort was rather futile as he ran full-force into another one of Xoxi's psychic hands, knocking him onto the ground. As the robber tried to climb back up from being dazed, he met the hand that pushed him down and he was knocked out cold. Quick and easy. All that really remained was the one close to the duo, and Xoxi was grabbed by her hood as the final gunman held his pistol to her head. Speaking to Ace, he spoke in a grizzly tone. "Here's the deal, buckaroo. You let me go with that bag of cash, or your girlfriend gets a bullet in her skull."

"All right. Though I'm curious, how do plan on gettin up out of her considering your whole posse is either dead or knocked out, along with the fact that the woman you took hostage has psychic fists and can knock you out at any point."

"Wha-" the man was cut off as Xoxi slipped out of her hoodie, revealing her bra, and swept the guy off his feet with a swift kick. As soon as he was in the air, the psychic fists came into play as Xoxi grabbed ahold of his arms and 'threw' him onto the side of the table, cracking it and making him faint from the pain. The fists then flew to her hoodie and lifted it up off the ground, placing it back on over her body with a small bit of difficulty. "I'm not his girlfriend, you dumbass." After spitting on the fainted man's body, Xoxi turned to face Ace and spoke to him. "You're a fucking phenominal shot."

"Thank you very much m'am. And I must admit, for a girl with no arms you throw a mean punch." Ace tipped his hat and looked around, he caused quite a bit of damage with his entrance. In the distance he could hear police sirens and he grimaced, this looked bad. "I think it might be time for me to go. You too probably." Ace walked over to his motorcycle, it had crushed that one guy's ribs and was still on top of him, and lifted it upright. "You need a ride?" He asked as he walked the bike towards the broken window. One of the men Xoxi knocked out groaned and began to stir, Ace casually aimed his fingers at the man's head and shot him, killing him instantly. "Fucking criminal scum."

"I think I'm going to stay." As soon as Xoxi finished her sentence, she heard a civilian climb back up to his feet and see that the attackers had been taken out and the bag of cash was on the ground, untouched by the two. "You two saved us!" Xoxi's eyes widened as she heard the praise, but she continued talking normally. "You sure you want to leave? Those Highs might notice this and ask for some kind of audience with us."

"Well then it's a good thing I'm easy to find." Ace tipped his hat towards Xoxi and mounted his motorcycle, riding out the broken window and into the sunset. If one checked the bag of cash later they would find it about 2k lighter than it should've been. It was chalked up to a miscount.

As the cops pulled up, their immediate reaction was to raise their guns at Xoxi and ask her to put her hands up. Xoxi frowned at this, but her frown turned into a slight smirk as the man from before told the cops that she saved them, alongside a cowboy-looking man. The cops apologized for almost shooting Xoxi (and talking about her hands), but asked for her help with putting the bodies outside on the street. Xoxi did this rather cheerfully with her psychic hands, and as a news van pulled up to the scene, they requested a small interview.

"The name is Anomaly, and I'm not much more than another hero trying to do their duty, and so was that cowboy. He went away before the cops showed up, but if anyone at home is watching this and sees him, just know that he's a hero."

Blacklight grinned triumphantly. He'd trailed his brother, he'd done his research. He'd had a date. Had the whole place to themselves. Then he'd picked up ingredients. Then they'd had another date.

He was going to take everything from his brother. Crush him like the big bug he was.

He just needed the perfect time to pounce, and everything would be his.

---

Spectrum lazily stretched her legs and rolled over onto Dragon. She'd never felt this confident, this assured, this loved. It was as if she lived in her entire body for the first time, from the top of her head to the ends of her toes, all concentrated around two bright fires. Lying across him, she placed a deep, shameless kiss on his lips, enjoying the tingle traveling down her body just from that simple contact. If this was how Alex felt all the time, it was no wonder she was so much fun.

Dragon's eyes opened, and his hands came up to touch her waist. She gasped just at that, bending her legs at the knees as if he were a mattress for her. "Good morning, beautiful. Again." This time, Spectrum didn't respond. She just made a sound deep in her throat that sounded an awful lot like a cat purring. "I have an appointment today," he protested, turning her until he could sit up on the bed. She watched him get dressed, smiling and glowing red with the desire for him. When he sat down to put on his shoes, she wrapped her arms around him like she'd always wanted to do. "Spectrum..."

She made a face, but didn't correct him. "When will you be back?" She asked, the red on her skin fading as he got up. He still looked handsome and sexy and all of that, but she liked him more naked.

"A hour," he said, bending down to kiss her before messing with his cuff-links. "Maybe less." He looked uncertain for a moment. "Are you going to stay or..."

"Yes," she said quickly, then went red for a different reason as she blushed. "I-I mean if you'll let me. If I'm allowed. If that's okay..." She was suddenly aware of herself again, and she wrapped herself up in the blanket, pulling it over her head.

Dragon gently tugged the duvet back from her head, and kissed her again. "There's some food in the fridge," he told her, "and I have a Playstation, a Switch and a DVD player in the TV cabinet. I'll see you later, if you want to wait for me." She nodded until her hair fell in front of her face, and he laughed in a way that made her grin too. He left, and when she walked to his balcony, she could see him hail a cab. Spectrum wanted to wave, but the morning air blew under the blanket and she ducked back inside, closing the door.

Blacklight cackled quietly as Dragon left the building, getting up from his perch on a rooftop across the street.

"Let's see who means the world to you, brother..." He muttered as he moved down the escape.

The simplest way would be through the front door, but that wouldn't achieve what he wanted. No, he would use the window.

But where would the woman be? In the bedroom? Kitchen? Knowing his brother she'd still be in the bedroom or bathroom, but he couldn't know for sure until he entered.

"Bedroom," he decided on impulse.

Moments later a whip smashed through the window with force, and Blacklight climbed through, grinning at the woman on the bed.

"Well, now, today is my lucky day," he practically purred. "Brother will learn horror that only I can teach him. Nothing personal, lady. Well, that's a lie. It's very personal."

Laughing, Blacklight slapped Roxana across the face with a whip, walking slowly closer. "I want you to scream, to cry, and to bleed. Not necessarily in that order. And when I'm done, you'll be broken. Brother will lose everything. And I will finally won against that arrogant ass."

Another whip swung out to wrap around her arms.

Spectrum had tossed on one of Dragon's button-up shirts and curled up on his side of the bed for a little nap when she heard the glass breaking. By the time she'd shaken herself out of her happy, sleepy funk, the intruder slapped her across the face from across the room. Blinking tears from her eyes, the tentacle wrapped around her arms gave her enough clues to identify him.

Blacklight. And he was Dragon's brother?

"Yes, I like that look," Blacklight sneered. "Now, dear, here's how this is going down. I'm going to break you. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. The whole shebang. And then I'm going to ruin you for him forever after. So let's get started."

A whip collided with her face, hard enough to leave a welt and cause an audible smack and moved her head to the side. He continued this as he walked closer, before digging a knee into the woman's gut.

"You are mine now. You are worthless, pathetic, insignificant. But you matter to him, so you'll do just for what I need to accomplish."

He took hold of her shoulder, fingers digging in relentlessly.

"The seed of my power will flourish, soon, and you shall bear the labor of my intentions."

His knee pushed in harder, twisting sightly.

Spectrum cried out as he started hitting her. It felt all the worse knowing this was the brother of the man who had spent an entire night doing anything but hurting her. As his fingers dug into her shoulder, a rage built in her. Who did he think he was, coming in here and ruining her happiness? Her skin flared green, and her fingers grabbed his leg with a strength impossible for a woman her size.

"You." the movement started in her hips. "Fucking." Twisting from the waist, she threw him off her. "Bastard." She heard Dragon's shirt tear as her armour materialized to cover her, the bed-springs strained under the weight of Impact Green Spectrum. The light in the room swiftly shaded to Pulsar Red, and energy balls engulfed her arms up to the wrist. "I'm going to kill you!" She screamed, blasting him, and the entire exterior wall of the bedroom, into the street below.

Blacklight stood up slowly from the street, his face a mask of rage.

"YOU BITCH!" he screamed, sending whips at Spectrum's armored form. "You couldn't just take it like you were supposed to, could you? Now I have to kill you. I had a fucking plan, you whore!"

---

It was a sudden thing. The day had started like any other - surprisingly after that whole debacle with Techster and his family, as nothing had come of it. There were no hints of anything particularly grand, no ominous signs or karmic indications of the day being more than it was.

Just like the day her parents died.

She was going over her records - Blacklight was spotted yesterday, igniting a grueling conflict between him and other heroes after enticing a Snapper to go on a rampage. Her blood boiled at the thought of not just what he had done, but also the fact that she missed him. He was right there and she missed him!

But she wouldn't again. Blacklight thought he'd escaped - she didn't know why know one went after him, but she didn't care - but she had set Cheshire on him, to tail him from a distance. In the mean time, she prepared, looked for a proper time to strike. He was looking for something, someone. Stalking Dragon Heart to an apartment. She didn't know or care why, but now was the time to act.

By the time she arrived at the scene, things had escalated. There was a woman there, presumably Dragon Heart's lover - Cheshire had heard enough of their conversation for Charlotte to surmise the rest - which was an unwelcome surprise. Another Epic, someone who might get in the way.

It didn't matter, she decided. The moment had arrived.

The moment Blacklight landed into the street, she leaped down from the building she was perched on, gun trained on his hysterical figure. Her eyes saw red and her blood boiled. She pulled the trigger without further preamble.

"Die, damn you!" she screamed in her head.

Blacklight whirled at the sound of gunfire, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the head as it grazed his cheek. Two more grazed his right shoulder, barely a sliver away from penetration.

"Who the fuck are you?" He yelled, catching the figure in the air and throwing them into the wall of the building they'd jumped from. "Fucking Christ. Can't anyone just let me do what needs to be done?"

He huffed, am using a whip to push Spectrum back onto the building as he reared on the newcomer.

"I'll be nice and make your death quick, you dumb fuck."

"Now."

A shot rang out from roughly 100 meters away, from a top an office building on the other side of town. Perched there was Aida, lying prone with a sniper to her chest, aiming directly at Blacklights torso.

Not even remotely expecting that to finish him, Looking-Glass was already moving before the shot was fired.

"I've researched your capabilities for years, scum. How you move, how you act. Getting into a melee with you is suicidal, so excuse me while I take potshots at you from a distance!" she screamed at him in her head, while retreating quickly into Dragon Hearts home, taking cover inside while tossing a stun grenade towards the maniac on the way in.

Blacklight avoided the bullet by sheer luck, having moved to flank Looking-Glass at just the right moment. The pavement five feet behind him exploded, and then a grenade appeared.

Blacklight punted the thing, it exploding halfway between the two of them and Blacklight's whips absorbing the bulk of the blast and energy.

"Cowards!" He yelled. "I will drain you into dust!"

Within seconds he was on the rooftop.

"Who are you?" Spectrum asked as the armoured hero landed on the bedroom floor. But Blacklight was getting away, and Mobile Blue let her catch up with him. "I'm not a whore, you jackass," she grabbed his shirt, throwing him back into the street, and following it up with another punch. "And I didn't say you could go."

Aida evacuated quickly, before Blacklight had reached the building. She was a good marksman, and could probably solo an army of normal people, but she was at a disadvantage against Epics, she was just as helpless, especially against Epics like Blacklight. It was only with White Knight on that Charlotte could keep up with him face-to-face; all she was supposed to do was provide supporting fire. Aida leaped towards the fire exit of an adjacent building, looking for a good place to snipe from.

As for Charlotte herself, she grit her teeth as Blacklight sped away. There was no way she was going to allow that.

Before she could act, however, the other Epic, presumably Dragon Heart's lover, recovered, and it was only know that Looking-Glass recognized her. Spectrum, a hero with an emphatic power suit. Well known and with an impressive track-record. Her current relationship with Dragon Heart aside, she was an impressive hero.

She was also beating down on Blacklight.

"Get away from him!" she warned. Melee was Blacklights bread and butter, where he could drain energy with the least amount of effort.

At the other hero's shout, Spectrum turned her head just long enough to get hit by Blacklight. She wasn't sure what with, but as she blinked her way back to full consciousness, her suit had already protected her with a forcefield. Spectrum flipped the forcefield on Blacklight, trapping him in a bubble. Maybe he could drain his way out of it, but that kept him off her.

Sure enough, Blacklight was out moments later, gearing up faster and faster from all the energy he was taking in.

He stepped towards Spectrum, cold anger in his eyes. Whips flew out en mass at the hero.

Spectrum threw up a shield around herself, getting thrown backwards. The light died away, and she sputtered into Mobile Blue, jumping back into the building. "What do we do, what do we do?"

"Go away!" Looking-Glass shouted, jumping out of the way. Blacklight was hers, and for all how her reputation preceded her, Spectrum was in the way!

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Mentally raging, she trained her rifle once more on Blacklight, pressing the trigger, only to hear a damning click of an empty magazine. With click of her lips, she tossed a smoke bomb between the two of them, retreating in the opposite direction of Spectrum. Aida, meanwhile, went back to harassing Blacklight with sniper-fire from afar.

Blacklight grunted, moving into the smoke to avoid the sniper fire. Casually he began walking towards the building with the two heroes.

"Lay down and die." He called out mockingly.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, filth."

She had reloaded by now, and was in position for another offensive.

While Blacklight still waded through the smoke, Chesire pinpointed his position, and she rolled another grenade in front of him, while he still couldn't see, and afterwards began pelting bullets at his general direction to distract him.

"God. Damn. IT!" The smoke blew away a second after Dragon's voice echoed through the street. He held Blacklight up off his feet, then threw him to the ground, stomping on the villain's chest with all the energy he had. "YOU JUST HAD TO MESS WITH MY GIRLFRIEND!" He bellowed, Blacklight's ribs audibly cracking.

Spectrum stood from her crouch, leaning over to the other hero. "Did he just call me his girlfriend?"

"Not the time," she mentally snipped.

Blacklight coughed up blood, some of it spraying onto Dragon's face.

"You couldn't have had the decency to die all those years ago. You brought this upon yourself," he growled. "You pretend to be more than you are, when you don't even know the truth. You don't even know-"

This time, Dragon reached down and grabbed Blacklight by the chin, lifting him onto his feet. "That you're still that blood-covered child I pulled out of our burning bedroom? That you're still a pathetic, whiny, self-absorbed little shit that Mom and Dad would be ashamed of? That I have had it with your useless attempts to ruin my life?" Dragon was shaking his brother by the end of the tirade, with tears running down his face. "That despite everything I've tried to do, you're determined to make me hate you? Jace."

Blacklight spat in his brother's face.

He could feel it. It was time. Despite all his attempts.

"Neither of you know anything. You don't know what's coming. You all will fall. You will fail. You pathetic, worthless, waste of space. All of you. ALL OF YOU."

"And you talk too much," growled Looking-Glass.

Before he could speak any further, Looking-Glass put a bullet through his shoulder, silencing him as he gasped in pain. She walked towards the downed villain, the presence of Dragon Heart and Spectrum mere afterthought. She glowered at him for a moment, though it wasn't visible through her helmet, before snorting derisively.

"You couldn't have had the decency to die all those years ago," she echoed his voice mockingly. "You brought this on yourself."

She moved closer, next to a strangely impassive Dragon Heart, and took his silence as permission. Her gun trained on his head, ready to end it.

Before she pulled the trigger, her helmet flew back, acting much like a hoodie than any form of armor, revealing her young face. She wanted the last thing the piece of filth saw to be her face, and for him to know that she did it.

Idly, she wondered what her face looked like now. Enraged, perhaps? Or maybe vindicated. Either would make sense, of course. After four years of nightmares and stalking the shadows, finally, she had him at her mercy -- how could she be anything but satisfied?

If she were more lucid, perhaps she would have felt the tears running unhindered down her face, echoing her own heartbreak just as Dragon Heart's did his.

"Why? Why did you do it?" she whispered, before shaking her head violently. His reasons didn't matter. Not now. Not anymore.

She swallowed a chunk of bile back, before she finally pulled the trigger, and putting a hole right at the center of Blacklight's head.

Finally, it was over.

Dragon stood impassive, tears running down his face but his expression of disappointed anger reminding Roxana of her father. Next to him, Looking-Glass teetered on the edge of a complete breakdown, her surprisingly young face already snotty and tearful. Spectrum herself was struck with indecision. Her heart hurt for Dragon, and she wanted to take him inside and hold him. On the other hand, Looking-Glass needed someone badly.

"Come here," she said, floating down from the shrinking gap in the wall and going to the pair. "Come here." She put her arm around Looking-Glass' shoulder, pressing the child's head into her chest. She embraced Dragon as well, letting his head fall onto her shoulder as she kissed his temple. "It's done. It's done," she repeated, feeling the adrenaline in her own system begin to wear off. "It's done."

Charlotte shuddered at the action, the intimacy of it all but unfamiliar to her now, yet she did not pull away, not immediately. Perhaps it was simply that she reverted to being a child, or perhaps it was that she no longer felt like trying to act like an adult, but in that moment, she didn't care for the reasons. She just accepted it, burying her head into Spectrum's chest regardless of how she appeared.

And in a moment, she finally settled down, though she still felt herself shaking, with weakness perhaps, or relief.

"T-thank you. Really. I-if you don't mind, I need to . . . I need to settle things," she murmured, uncharacteristically reticent.

Blacklight was dead. She had . . . she had to tell her parents. She needed to. It would never truly come full circle until she had told them.

Spectrum couldn't help a small smile as Dragon put one of his arms around her waist, but it was tainted with concern when she felt Looking-Glass begin to pull away. "Are you sure?" She didn't add a 'kid' or 'dear' to it. This kid just killed someone. She needed comfort, not patronizing. "You can come inside, with us, have hot chocolate or juice." She hoped it was alright with Dragon. It was his home, after all.

"I-" she was about to refuse. It wasn't that she didn't want to. After everything, a cup of hot chocolate, somewhere warm, somewhere safe - but she didn't know how to say yes to something like that. Has it really been so long?

What stopped her from refusing, however, was the sight of Aida, coming down from the building she had been sniping on. She didn't have a face on, at the moment, but she could feel the expression she was making all the same.

"Just go, Mistress."

And slowly, Charlotte remembered how to accept a bit of kindness simply for what it was.

"-okay. Yeah, that sounds great. Please."

Spectrum opened her arms again, inviting Looking-Glass to hold onto her as they walked in.

She declined her offer, but nevertheless gave her a grateful nod. When things had calmed down somewhat, she figured there would be much to discuss. Come what may, however, an important chapter in her life, had come to an abrupt and chaotic close.

3(ish?) hours after Behir...

There was a dead silence at the cafe table. Alto sitting across from Melissa, brows furrowed in thought.

"...I feel like that could've been better." Alto said, breaking the silence.

"I know right?!" Melissa retorted, slamming her hands down on the table. She flinched at her own sudden outburst. She took a quick look to check that people weren't staring, but she didn't seem too apologetic anyway.

They had just finished watching Ghost in the Shell. Alto hadn't known all that much. Melissa apparently knew the source material fairly well. For an outsider like himself, all that he could say was that the visual effects were stunning, but there wasn't all that much else to the movie. The way Melissa was taking it, she seemed to be treating it like it was... not the angriest he'd ever seen something, but it was certainly up there.

"It's such a waste to have such a good baseline to build on and then, they... made it! Like that! Why?!" She said motioning furiously.

Oh actually, he'd forgotten until now but Melissa had dressed up for the occasion. A light, airy dress with simple accessories, which worked well. He didn't know how to judge fashion, obviously. He wore the same outfit every single day but he didn't really feel self-conscious about it. Melissa was fuming she still looked like she was glowing next to Alto. He smiled at the comedy of it all.

Melissa took a moment to calm down.

"...Sorry..." She said finally.

"I didn't know you were that passionate," Alto said with a lighthearted laugh. "I could stay and listen to you all day if you wanted me to."

She blushed a deep red at that, and Alto realized the way he'd phrased that last sentence. He didn't mind the reaction, but he sort of knew somewhere he didn't feel the same way people said you were supposed to feel when you said something like that. The only reaction he had to her blushing was the compulsion to pat her on the head which felt like a weird thing to do.

"You want to go out again sometime?" He asked.

"U-Umm... yeah! Sure!" She stammered.

Maybe he'd be able to say it next time.

A colab between @thewizardguy and myself.

---

It had been two days since the Behir and Harpies had been sorted out, and Alex had been mildly on edge ever since.

As such, it came to little surprised to her to find out Guilt wanted another meeting.

With a frown, she made a stop in her room to get her sword and take a moment to prepare herself.

And then she was off, appearing on the same sitting place as before, a slight frown on her face.

"Alright, I'm here. What is it this time, Guilt?" She called out. "You seemed pretty determined to ignore my advice last time, so I'd be surprised if this wasn't important. Especially given all the signs."

Turned out it had worked. Score one for social capabilities, although Claire stilled seemed sceptical. Regardless, Guilt appeared on the roof in a flash of purple light. Once more she set up her devices, which didn't take long. And when Guilt typed into the little device the words once more appeared on-screen.

"I spoke to the High Island. He warned me that an event will occur in 21 days which he believed would cause my death. Based on his earlier statements this event will be large in scale. Sufficiently large that, according to him, the High are worried about it. While I was unable to glean any information about the nature of this event, I thought it important that you should be warned. If you are as connected as you claim to be I would hope that you could pass on this warning to the other heroes of Epic City." This was one of the places where written communication failed, as in truth Guilt's pronunciation of 'heroes' would have born the trademark edge of sarcasm.

Guilt's warning had been delivered, and she stood up as if she were ready to leave. However she didn't leave just yet. If Traveller possessed some information that Guilt did not, then she would like to know it.

Alex sighed, shaking her head. "My personal opinion, friend? I think you're looking at this too literally. Have you considered that perhaps it's a big event... But only for you? That whatever this is that will end you... Is only yours? After all, something that will end you would seem like the largest thing you've ever experienced. Perhaps the Island was speaking on a personal level."

She let the questions hang for a moment before looking up into the sky, kicking her feet against the metal slightly.

"But I won't assume one way or the other. I'll pass word to the big time heroes, and let's hope it's not everyone who must pay the price. Preferably no one. But there is always a price..." She trailed off towards the end. "I was kinda hoping this was going to be more than... Well, this. As nice as it is to have warning, of course, I was really hoping you might have changed your mind."

Guilt shook her head. While she could understand the reasoning, it didn't match up with what she had heard. Her hands blurred across the keyboard as she responded to the Traveller.

"The Island referred to Epic City as an 'ark', and the event as a 'deluge'. He even implied that opposing this event is one of the primary goals of the High. Whatever is going to happen it will affect the entire city at least. More likely, the entire world. Perhaps I will be affected more than others, but do not mistake this for a small or personal event."

For a moment Guilt waited, letting Traveller read what she had typed. Then she removed the message to move on to the next.

"For the moment, I am dedicated to this city's defence. But my statements stand. I have no intention of-"

[That's not true, you know. You showed up here because you wanted their help.]

Frustrated, Guilt took a moment to glare at Claire, who had decided to interject. However, she stopped short of giving a retort. She was well aware that she didn't have the best reputation around, there was no point in making others believe she was unstable. Well, more than they already did. Somehow she doubted 'the High put voices in my head' would fly.

"For the moment, I am dedicated to this city's defence. But my statements stand. I do not work well with others, and I do not support what Epic City represents. Despite this, I will work with you if necessary."

Claire was grinning, ear to ear. Guilt was tempted to alter the sentence once more just to wipe that smile off of the illusion's face, but she knew that was irrational. Even if she disliked what Claire represented, and what Epic City represented, it made sense to work together. And Traveller had shown herself to be competent, at least. Although she hated to admit it, Claire had a point.

With a flick of her wrist Guilt summoned a pair of brick-shaped phones. They would only communicate with one another, but they were able to push through objects that would usually block communication. One was handed to Traveller, Guilt kept the other.

"In case of an emergency, use this. I will assist with the problem in whatever way necessary."

Alex nodded, smiling. "It's a start," was all she said at first.

"Do me a favor, then?" She asked. "Tell me, do these call each other? And if so, how many seconds between send and answer is there? It may well be better for me to call and leave a message than to text, depending on the situation that could arise."

With a slight sigh Guilt conjured forth a military-style instruction manual for the devices. While a bit overly redundant, it certainly contained all the information Traveller would need. And it was written so even a moron could comprehend it. Briefly Guilt considered censoring the parts about the internal workings, but then decided doing so was a waste of time. There was nothing to gain by tampering with the internal mechanics of the communicator. If Traveller wanted to wreck it, she was free to.

Tossing over the manual, Guilt turned to leave. She had business to attend to elsewhere.

"Take care, Guilt," Alex called out.

Twenty some odd minutes later, and Alex was still sitting there.

"I wish you were still here...I don't feel like I'm doing enough, good enough. An I handling these situations properly? Would you approve of my actions?" Alex mused aloud. "What would you have said about all this, I wonder...."

She sighed, looking away from the sky, and dropping down into a portal home.

I'll never know what you would've said...

Finch
Two days after the Behir

The time had come again for Finch to go to work. No longer having to look over his shoulder for an unfortunate Epic dropin after Magus uncovered him at the park during that incident, he had gotten word from his contacts that an opportunity was open, and now he planned to take it. This wasn't about money though, this was about fame, prestige, getting his name out there. That was what mattered the most to him.

He was all ready to go, of course. He had some glass items on his for when he needed to fight, and had on his trademark outfit. Now it was just a matter of getting his target. And of that he had little worry due to the arrangements he had set up to make this all happen.

Getting into the garage had been easy, with a bit of money and not looking that suspicious. It was once they were firmly inside the parking facility that they could get to work, parking the van somewhere out of the way. The men and Finch himself poured out, and he gestured forward to begin moving through the darkened structure. It was the end of the business day but of course the mayor had been delayed by a phone call, so most of the people had left. One driver remained with the van to watch over it, while the other men went to work.

Finch himself was unarmed, but his men had guns with them. They needed it more than he did, and the group moved quickly down the rows and halls of the parking garage towards their target.

They arrived just in time to see the mayor getting into his car to go home. He had escorts of course, since nobody would be that stupid to be in a position of power without some protection in a city like this. But that wasn't going to make a difference here. There was no such thing as perfect protection.

He waved to his men who went to work, short bursts of silenced weaponry taking out the guards. He strode up to the car, touching the window with a bare hand. That allowed a hole to open, through which he tossed in a smoke grenade with knockout gas before closing the hole. It filled the car, subduing the worried and then suddenly terrified mayor.

Finch went about opening the doors, letting it disperse a bit before grabbing the unconscious mayor and passing him off to his men. The guards were tossed in back and the windows fixed, leaving th casual onlooker to think that nothing was wrong.

"Good job boys, like a charm," Finch said to himself with a grin as the van screeched up, th men loading back onto th vehicle as they prepared for their daring escape. This had been easier than he would have thought. Presumably people were distracted, it happened (as he well knew).

Before going, he left a note on the front dashboard indicating himself as the one responsible, indicating that he would call soon with ransom demands, and leaving a red glass flower to accompany it. What was the point of an abduction if no one knew that you did it?

"Alright, let's go," he said to th driver, who nodded before pulling away on a course out of the parking garage with no one hopefully the wiser. So far so good, now it was time to prepare for the next stage of the plan

Teagan woke up gradually. She was stretched out on her sofa and felt an unfamiliar heaviness over her as she breathed in and out. She was confused for a second and then the heaviness was no longer unfamiliar. She grinned before opening her eyes to behold Regan's sleeping face. Her cheek resting over Teagan's heart, her left arm hugging the older woman across her torso with her hand tucked under the firefighter's shoulder.

Teagan couldn't help but feel elated. Here was this gorgeous, strong, capable woman, sleeping on top of her, like they'd done it for a lifetime. And yet they'd just barely met. The ex-smokejumper smiled gently, remembering the events of the evening before.

They'd gone home to clean up and met afterwards to go and collect Megan, Rory and Martha for dinner as was their original plan. Teagan's parents had declined stating that they needed to rest after the day's excitement. So that left only Teagan, Regan and Megan.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here with Ma and Pa?" Teagan asked in sign and out loud for Regan's benefit.

"I'm fine. I'm not tired and I wasn't that scared. And besides... If I am to make Epic city my home, I'll have to get used to this sort of thing, right?" She asked and looked at Regan as if for confirmation.

Teagan translated for the police officer.

"Well..." Regan began thoughtfully. "It's true occurrences like this are not unusual for Epic city. But I'd like to think that between the Epic heroes and the ECPD we do our best to make the citizens of Epic city feel safe."

"See." Megan signed "Now let's just go already. I have a ton of questions for your new friend here." She flashed Martha a grin and a thumbs up. Teagan's mum grinned in answer.

Oh, Jesus! The firefighter groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I'm suspecting by the looks between your mother and Megan that I'm not off the hook with the third degree." Regan whispered in Teagan's year making her jump in surprise as she felt the hot breath on her earlobe. The firefighter swallowing down the flash of arousal that'd coursed through her system. She managed a shrug and a grin in answer to the question.

"Come on, then." Megan signed after she'd taken her goodbyes with Rory and Martha. "Let's go already!"

Surprisingly Megan hadn't pressed much about Regan and Teagan's involvement with each other. The three had spent a pleasant evening discussing all sorts of things, chief among them Megan's intention to try her hand in becoming a graphic novel artist. She'd gone ballistic when Regan told her her dad was a writer and she'd nearly exited the Earth's atmosphere when the PART officer had suggested that she introduced Megan to her father. She'd started signing so frantically that even Teagan had difficulty understanding her.

"Slow down, baby girl!" She'd insisted, grabbing Megan's hands, laughing.

"If you don't marry this woman, I will!" Megan signed deadpan and Teagan blushed furiously not daring to look Regan in the face.

The PART officer had caught the exchange though and noticed the crimson hue of Teagan's cheeks. She grinned. It was though making Teagan blush with her glorious bronze complexion, but whatever Megan had said had managed to do the job quite well. Regan chuckled, looked at Megan so her mouth would be well visible. "By the way your godmother is blushing I doubt she'll translate whatever you just said to her. So help a girl out." She winked.

"Megan don't you dare!" Teagan almost growled, signing her threat.

Regan erupted into a full laughter next to her. Megan was also laughing her silent deaf-mute laughter.

"Aye, sure, laugh at me why don't ye!" Teagan grumbled good-naturedly.

The evening had finished without any more threats to the firefighter's composure and the three of them had made their way to Teagan's home. Once inside Megan bid them goodnight and warned them not to do anything she wouldn't with a cheeky little grin and a waggle of her eyebrows.

When they were left alone in the living room Teagan returned her attention to her companion.

"Stay awhile?" She asked shyly, extending her hand to Regan.

The PART officer took the offered hand in hers, entwining her fingers with Teagan's. "Okay." She agreed with a radiant smile.

Teagan breathed in sharply, stunned by her beauty. She tugged on Regan's hand drawing her closer. Time slowed as the two women beheld each other with trepidation. Finally Teagan framed Regan's face with her hands and slowly lowered her head. The kiss started out sweet, like their first one, but it quickly spiraled out of control as both women were eager to give more, receive more. They clung to each other, hands roaming over shoulders, fingers twisting into fists on backs. Finally when air became an urgent need they separated from each other with mirroring stunned and dazed expressions. Both breathing hard, flushed, lips swollen from the hungry kiss.

Regan moved first. She raised her right hand, her thumb gently brushing over the scar bisecting Teagan's lower lip. The move elicited a shaky breath from the firefighter and her eyelids lowered as if in bliss. "You have no idea how tantalizing this little thing here is." Regan whispered, inches from Teagan's lips. "It winks at me when you smile as if saying 'Come! Kiss me!' and I'm helpless to do otherwise." She finished, capturing the desired lower lip between hers.

This kiss was slower, more deliberate, the impact a thousandfold more potent. Teagan closed her eyes and surrendered. Her heart was beating so hard and fast in her chest she was surprised Regan managed to hold on to her. But hold on she did, until she finally released Teagan and smiled with their lips still pressed. She than slowly lowered her head and pushed her forehead into Teagan's chest. "I think we need to stop here tonight, as much as it pains me to say it. Because I don't think either of us is ready for what follows next." Regan said, lifting her head to look at Teagan.

"What did I do to deserve ye?" The firefighter marveled smiling down at Regan. She hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead reverently. "We could just stay like this all night and I would be the happiest woman on Earth." She assured.

"Than let's do just that." Regan spoke from within the embrace.

Teagan put some distance between them to look at Regan. "Are you sure?" She whispered uncertain. "I mean... I would love to, but..." She started babbling and was soon silenced by three fingers against her lips.

Jeez, stop being so god damn adorable! Regan thought. I'm trying to be honorable here! "Let's sit on this big sofa you got, catch a movie, like we planned to and maybe I'll let you hold me as we nod off." She winked playfully at Teagan. I mean, of course, I'd let her hold me! I'd practically beg her to do it!

---

Teagan smiled remembering finally how they'd ended up in their current position. Her lying on the sofa with Regan as her impromptu blanket. She grinned for the umpteenth time and began sifted her fingers slowly through Regan's hair. The move elicited a small sigh from the warm body above her.

"Don't stop." Regan mumbled against her chest. She squeezed Teagan tighter and settled more comfortably against her body.

Teagan chuckled. "Awake?" She asked quietly. They didn't have to whisper or talk quietly for Megan's sake. It just felt right. Speaking in a soft manner agreed with the lazy mood of the morning.

"Mmmm..." Regan just mumbled in response skimming her lips along Teagan's collarbone and the firefighter trembled beneath her. Okay, enough for now. Her still sleeping mind cautioned.

They settled in again, dozing on and off. A phone on a table nearby began to vibrate insistently, buzzing against the table's surface. Regan woke up from her pleasant slumber on top of Teagan with a start. No! She pleaded inwardly, recognizing what had awaken her. Teagan began stirring beneath her. No, no, no, come on! Have some fucking mercy! Regan implored and squeezed tightly the warm body beneath her to still its movements and pressed her face against Teagan's velvety neck. She remained like that in complete denial for almost a minute.

"I think yer phone is buzzing." Teagan whispered, not moving a muscle. She'd awoken as soon as Regan had and had started to stir, but stopped when she felt the younger woman cling more tightly to her. Her heart had started beating faster when Regan pushed her face into her neck, her soft lips brushing against her pulse point.

"No it isn't!" Regan objected almost petulantly and snuggled deeper into Teagan.

The phone persisted unimpressed with the intimate atmosphere it was interrupting.

"Fuck!" Regan cursed under her breath and stretched across Teagan to grab the offending object. One look at the screen had her scowling.

"It's okay!" Teagan whispered. Brushing a lock of hair off Regan's face.

"No, it's not okay." The police officer whispered back. She lowered her head and brushed a soft kiss on Teagan's lips. "I wanted this to be perfect."

"It is!" Teagan assured. Regan was about to protest something but the firefighter wouldn't allow her, kissing her to silence her. "It's okay, Regan. I'm a firefighter, remember. I know how the job is. Take the call."

Regan was flushed a bit after the short, sweet kiss. She nodded, stood up and answered the phone she couldn't hate more at the moment.
"Murphy!" She barked into the microphone. She was pissed and she didn't care it showed in her voice. No matter what Teagan said it was not okay! She was not okay with it. She'd wanted to stay like that forever, suffused by the warmth of Teagan's body.

"Good morning, Murphy," came the falsely sweet voice of her superior over the phone. "This is your daily reminder THAT YOU HAVE A GODDAMNED JOB! GET YOUR TONED ASS INTO THE OFFICE BEFORE I TAKE YOUR BADGE AND RAM IT SIDEWAYS UP YOUR..."

Regan held the phone at arms length as Lieutenant Peter Humphreys barked his usual threats at her. She rolled her eyes and waited out the worst of the tirade. She would have been more impressed with the decibels and her boss' words, had she not heard it all before. When she felt it safe to do so, she stuck the phone to her ear again. "I'll be there right away, boss." She assured when the other end of the line went silent.

"You're not coming into the office," the lieutenant barked, giving her an address. "There's a corpse on the docket, and you've drawn the short straw. Get there and check the situation. Dismissed."

Regan blinked a couple of times in rapid succession. The only time her outfit handled deaths was when Epics were involved. Fuck! She thought.

"Bad news?" Teagan entered the living room, carrying a steaming mug in her hands.

Despite the news from her boss Regan couldn't help but smile. She hadn't notice when the firefighter had gotten up and exited the room. Teagan approached her and handed her the cup. "Tea." She said with a smile. "I'm afraid no coffee for ye, copper." She grinned and winked "Not in my house."

"Ha!" Regan challenged. "Just because I don't have your gorgeous Irish lilt, doesn't make me any less Irish. I'm a tea and waffles lass."

"A woman after my own heart than." Teagan grinned and watched Regan sniff her tea approvingly and take a small sip.

"I'm afraid we'll have to do breakfast another time." The PART officer said, regret marring her beautiful features. "That was my boss just now. It would appear duty calls."

Teagan took the mug from Regan's hands and placed it on the coffee table. She wound her arms around Regans waist and drew her in slowly but insistently, until there was no air between their bodies. "I'm goin' to repeat this to ye until it sinks in." She kissed Regans nose lightly. "It's. O-kay." She separated the words for effect. "Every minute I spend with ye is a gift." And before Regan could react she captured her lips in a swift, lip-bruising kiss. "It's okay." She murmured. And held on until she felt Regan nod.

They drew apart. The PART officer placed her open palm against Teagan's chest, above her heart. "Thank you." She simply said. "I gotta go."

Teagan nodded. "Call me when you can." She asked, following Regan to the front door and opened it.

"I will." Regan promised, stole a quick kiss from the firefighter and left.

By the time Reagan arrived, the area had been cordoned off. A rookie beat cop, freckles and gangly growth, saluted. "Sir. Ma'am? We've spoken to the culprits, and witnesses, they're inside," he pointed two storeys up at a nearby apartment. His badge, brought into prominence by the motion, read 'Franks'. "Identity of the victim is tentatively Blacklight, but the cororon- coroners wanted that your people confirm, ma'am. Sir?"

Regan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at the young patrol officer. He seemed eager, but at the same time so young and green. Just like she'd once been. "Good job, Officer Franks." Regan said. "Keep the media away. I'll take care of the rest." The young man saluted and returned to the police line.

Regan stepped up to the body lying on the street. She crouched and peered at the face. Ouch! The bullet wound left no doubt at the cause of death. "The infamous Blacklight defeated by a simple bullet." She muttered. For it most certainly was the villain Blacklight. The PART had a Most Wanted list of Epic Villains just like the FBI used to have a Most Wanted list of Terrorists. And Blacklight was on the list. Regan walked into the building and found the apartment the patrol officer had indicated. She knocked.

"Corporal Regan Murphy with ECPD PART." She called through the door. "I'm here about the body outside. Blacklight..." She left her sentence hang unfinished in the air.

Spectrum tensed, putting Looking-Glass' head on her shoulder to stop her finding trouble. Dragon stood, opening the door and holding an arm across the frame. "Officer Murphy. You were at the snapper incident yesterday, if I remember right." He offered her a sullen, friendly smile. "You PART types stand out in a crowd." Spectrum stood, ushering Looking-Glass into a different room, after which Dragon let Reagan inside. "Anything you'd like while we chat? Tea, coffee, juice?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Regan answered with practiced ease. She looked about the apartment and noted the obvious signs of struggle. Did Blacklight attack them? Is this how he died? They fought. But he was shot. Dragon doesn't use guns.

"Alright then," Dragon invited her to sit near the table. "Am I supposed to tell you what happened, or will you ask?"

Regan squared the Epic with a steely gaze. Dragon was one of the good guys, but he'd brought upon a ton of damage to the city while fighting with Blacklight. The animosity between them was as famous as the reclusive nature of the High. In fact, if it wasn't for the Island, those damages that Dragon and Blacklight had incurred, would be pretty permanent. If Regan was to look for an easy suspect, it would be Dragon. Still, Blacklight was shot to death. Oh, sure, there was definitely a fight prior to that. But the killing blow had not come from Dragon.

"You could tell me what happened, of course." Regan spoke with an even tone of voice. "It would certainly make things... more expedient shall we say." She looked around pointedly and then returned her gaze on Dragon. "Let's start with how your apartment ended up looking like the training room for young Epics."

Dragon folded his arms. "Blacklight invaded my home. Spectrum was present, and she defen..." He frowned, them asked, "if the word for 'thrown out a window' is 'defenestrate', what's the word for 'thrown through a wall'?" He waved a hand. "She threw him out, and that's when Looking-Glass and an unidentified sniper entered the fray. I arrived shortly after, and exploited Blacklight's weakness to make him harmless. He was killed by the sniper while helpless and injured."

Regan stared at Dragon for a long time without saying anything. She imagined how she would feel if someone was to invade her home while Teagan and Megan were inside. She clenched her jaw in silent rage. She could sympathize with Dragon. But her job wasn't to sympathize with him. She needed all the facts and it would appear she didn't have all the players. Dragon appeared sincere enough, but Spectrum and Looking-Glass would have to corroborate his story.

"I'm truly sorry for what happened to you, your home and your... friend." She wasn't sure in what capacity exactly was Spectrum present at Dragon's home. "Thank you for sharing your perspective on things. I'm afraid I would have to get statements from Spectrum and Looking-Glass as well." Regan paused. "Blacklight might have been a villain, but his death still needs to be explained before the authorities. I hope you understand."

"I do, but I think the sniper is more at fault here." Dragon took a deep breath and sighed, blinking heavily. "I- I think there are laws to protect children from this sort of thing, am I right?"

Children? Regan though, caught off guard, but not showing it. "Of course there will be an investigation into the identity of the sniper." She leaned toward Dragon. "And I cannot answer that question without having all the facts..." Regan puzzled over how to address Dragon. Somehow calling him Mr Heart or Mr Dragon seemed laughable. "Look, Dragon, it would appear you are trying to protect someone. That's admirable. I can tell you this. Minors are not prosecuted the same as adults. Of course, there are exceptions. If the minor was emancipated from the parents, for instance, they would be tried as adult and would be subject to the full force of the law."

Regan withdrew and sat back. "This is not a witch hunt, Dragon. I have a dead Epic villain downstairs and a job to do. I will do it to the best of my abilities while upholding the law and serving justice." She set her gaze on the Epic and waited.

"To be truthful then, Looking-Glass is a child," Dragon said, looking up at her. "She's definitely under 18, so we decided we'd try and keep her safe from the worst of this. I don't know about her home life or parents, but both Spectrum and I want her to be safe from this."

Regan scowled. Fuck, this is going to complicate things. She knew there were a number of minor Epic heroes out there that could hold their own against a monster or two and in a major crisis. But this... This was taking a life. No child should go through this.

"If she's a minor, she would need a guardian present for her statement. I cannot question her without one." She looked at Dragon Heart. "And as much as you and Spectrum want to help, if neither of you is that guardian, the only thing you can offer her is moral support. We'll need to contact her parents. But understand this. If she was involved... However it pains me to think it. She cannot escape the due process."

She fell silent for a moment. "Actions have consequences." She stated quietly. "I can wait for one of you two to speak with Looking-Glass to contact her parents or a guardian. The sooner we sort this out, the better for everyone involved."

To Be Continued...

Finch
Two days after the Behir

Everything had been prepared, Finch thought to himself. The mayor was secured away, alive albeit uncomfortable. His men had covered their tracks, and they had set themselves up in one of the hideouts they had managed to secure across the city. All the stuff they needed was here as well, and there had not been anyone immediately knocking down the door either. It was good for him.

Grinning, Finch checked himself over in the nearby mirror. A hand ran through his hair, combing a few errant strands into place before he nodded to himself. Looking good, and now it was time to get going. Which on second thought was actually pretty silly since he was just making a phone call. It wasn't like anyone could see him.

He supposed it was the thought that counted.

Clearing his throat, Finch grabbed the phone and dialed the police, at the exact time that he had said he would. In his minds eye he could imagine the scene, people clustered all about waiting on anticipation for that ring. Had he lied, would he called when he said he would? Now those worries could be put to rest for a whole new set. Undoubtedly they were recording him, so he was going to have to put on a good show.

"Hello, this is Finch speaking," he said into the phone. "As you most likely know by now, I currently have our beloved mayor in my tender care. Now, to those of you who know my reputation, I am not some cold blooded killer. And honestly I voted for the guy so I don't really want to hurt him. But being a criminal is as much a business as working as a store attendant, so I will if I have to. In this case, I would like a million dollars wired to the bank accounts that I am about to give you. Fail to do so by midnight tomorrow, and well, it appears your mayor won't be running for re-election. Understand?"

He then went on to deliver the numbers of the account as he had said that he would, before hanging up. It was short, to the point, but also long enough for them to trace the call back if they were smart enough to do that. And that trace would take them to the Hall of Mirrors at one of the old Carnival spots.

Grinning, Finch turned to his men. "Go get set up. I think we're going to have visitors soon." With that he kicked back in his seat to wait. They'd never pay that kind of ransom, so he was sure that the fun would begin shortly