---

The Doc called off the dogs with Rank and the Suggestion the incident be counted an accident, a mandatory visit to her office no backing out. They talked about how the flowers in inkblots could become a completely random form of writing if the person formed the intention on the symbol long enough and how only she could read them making for an analog form of telepathy. Then there was the fact that she could perform the same trick if the person could focus their Intention on an object.

Next they talked about how if someone wanted to pass on verbal, written, other form of media, or other method she or any normal could see. The doc never saw it coming or at least wouldn’t come to the realization she’d been steered into a fantasy event; a probable.

She couldn’t lie and the doc knew this and used it as a lever into her private thoughts so she gave her an emotional truth one that made Sydney most afraid of in fallback; she was in emotional isolation. She was disconnected from the true world everything she heard, saw, smelled and senesed only coming from an area 50 foot across. All the other sounds and the echoes of the city did not exist beyond 25 foot of her person, the smell a city had and things she couldn’t describe.

Even the people who touched her in fallback could not be sensed but she was told most saw her and others sensed the past from connection to her body and all its senses but those were only other meta. Then effortlessly she told her how knowing her limitations she knew the best way of defeating herself.

Blackout, get some really good night vision to use at the body dump or kill sight; I don’t see in the dark you know, my eyes are no different than yours Doctor except the best in human vision. I can’t see a bee atop a 70 story building just good. Defeat a normal’s senses and you’ve likely defeated mine.

My advantage is that for me the whole world is covered with Science Fiction Level recording systems I can pick up.

I find things by winding things backwards in a way, I track people by following their trails in reverse or following them and decreasing the distance, maintaining it as a tail you can never spot if I’m careful and don’t let myself get caught by your tail ender.

As you can see I sense the world in ways you cannot perceive so when I am exposed to murder sites it is like I have a camera there that I can play back; I lost any hope other than by the power of observation and investigation making a difference.

I can only witness the past, not alter it.

It took two hours of conversation to placate the Doc and the nice egg that she was she said she’d expedite a new monitor by noon tomorrow. Then she said she was to no longer hide in her room from the others so here she was exposed, wearing the bland gray cage of her ability to communicate sitting on a couch designed by a sadist who made the lowest bid. Next to her it was night and two team members were making out, one she knew and worked with another Inmate that was transferred either soon after or before she got here.

The spot she sat in was prefered for people that watched sports out here which also seemed the common media the monitor played. Made sense in a way. This screen was bigger than those in the rooms and when people watched sports they liked to do so as groups.

When she pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around her folded legs she pouted pressing her lips to her legs wishing it were skin an peeking over the top of her knees as she flipped channels.

She should feel victorious having deflected the doctor but she didn’t because the first thing she saw on the sports channels was one of those places that said great food, laugh with your friends bring the family and drink beer. It was one of those chain places with the artificial ambiance and she wished she were there instead of here. Or an Ashly, Brooke, Tai, or other popular middle class girl prowling a cheap mall, she just wanted out

Joseiah was already thoroughly pleased with who had shown up so far figuring it could only look up if even Silas came around, his buddy would be doing basics if Dawn had his way most likely especially with the little speech he gave about it, the big guy had a heart as big as his ego hiding until just the right moments. He had a feeling more were coming but they hadn't arrived quite yet so it was just a matter of time before they could get the show on the road and it was good a time as any to get his armor off. Like Ricardo's little detour for talking with Valora after some greeting on the way got him wondering if the woman would follow through with it. She was good company to have even if her nerves could get the best of her.

Luckily it wasn't too much longer before Eliott had arrived in a mood the Ice man had yet to see as she zipped between him and the others. The sudden energy was a little surprising not to mention the outward shift from how she normally was, he'd heard about it once or twice but you had to see this to believe it. Her mention of Draig, to which Ricardo practically shook the place, and joking right back at him was pretty funny he had to admit not to mention her reaction to Onyx. There was a bit of concern when the woman hung from Silas like a tree with some rather heavy handed flirting and Josey knew exactly what was going to happen before the poor guy started to panic. Dawn was busy setting up some extra equipment as well as explaining the exercise regime finding it amusing while he moved over into view of his friend giving him a silent reminder to breath genuinely worried about Sleeper.

To his surprise, or maybe not on reflection, Alice had managed to sneak in vocalizing her concern about the scene as well, Onyx on the other hand was really not helping the matter making comments as he was. Of course that was right up until Valora walked in and while he did give a warm smile in return to her entry it didn't occur to him immediately that there was walking and talking nightmare fuel present. It turned into even more of a shit show as Victory had to escort the now immobilized woman out but Silas did get let go now able to leave by Eliott who seemed just a bit annoyed now refocused on wanting to fight one of the robots Ricardo had set down, he hadn't entirely noticed what they were in all of the kerfuffle.

The whole exercise get together had been broken up somewhat with Silas and Valora gone, he was a bit thankful Victory found the time to come back to keep a bit of order which was probably needed. Just as two of them left though Jane and Yatzil appeared to replace them which was pretty nice for the moment at least they both got a wave and smile. He'd have to check on the others later but for now it was better to get all this out of the way now, it'd give some time for things to settle down as he saw it. Dawn had been suggesting a round against him and Yatzil which while he wouldn't have minded he could hardly blame him for giving Alkaline some extra attention. Finding someway to train a blob wasn't something he could figure out himself but he knew Ricardo would try regardless.

"You two have a good time then." Joseiah said to Dawn and Jane . "Well I'm still up for a bit of practice or running either way. Those robots sure do give a chilly reception. What do you think?" He asked to Yatzil figuring they could get a laugh out of this somewhere.

@ShwiggityShwah @Prosaic @eclecticwitch @Duoya

"Astounding," came a voice, accompanied by a curious expression from Doctor Campell. "I admit, I did not expect this outcome," he continued, scribbling some notes onto the pages of his leather-bound journal. "And this manifestation, this hallucination," the doctor spoke, "he can interact with you?"

"Yeah," Willow responded, leaning back in a comfortable chair offered upon entering the man's office. 

"Woah, this dude is like watching paint dry," the echo mumbled, rolling his eyes where he sat, on the doctor's desk. "What do you think would happen if you sock him in the face? Just call it one of your psychotic episodes, I'm sure he'll let it slide!" 

"..." Clearing his throat, Willow reached a hand up and scratched the back of his head, a myriad of thoughts circling his mind before the boy proceeded to speak, "At least he's better than the voices."

"I see," Doctor Campell nodded his head, albeit idly as the man remained in deep thought. "Where is he now, this hallucination of yours?" 

"On your desk," the mutant motioned for his doctor's workplace, where a reflection of the very same boy waved gingerly at Campell. Of course, the scientifically inclined man could not see the action take place, but it offered Willow a soft smirk all the same. 

"Fascinating," Campell noted, "what mainly interests me is the fact that he's a physical entity, for you." The doctor explained, rubbing his chin as Willow's reflection appeared on the boy's lap, his arms wrapped around his neck. 

"Y-yeah..," the mutant sighed, feeling his own weight, despite its frailty, on his frame, "I think I need to get some rest, Doctor Campell," Willow finished, his echo vanishing from the boy's lap to allow him a standing position. 

"Of course," Campell agreed, "I am sure this change has taken quite a toll on you." 

"Hah! You shoulda' seen him a few moments ago. He was into it," the reflection chuckled, "or, you know, me." 

With a heavy blush, Willow spun around and started out of the office, "y-yeah, I'm real tired, see you Doctor Campell..." Unable to stifle his laughter, Willow's echo followed along, viewing the doctor's curious expression before they left the man's vicinity. 

"Oh, Willow," the shade rested his hand behind his head as they walked, "I love you, buddy." 

"Right..," the boy sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I just need to get some sleep."

"I'll make sure to cuddle up to you, keep my friend all warm and cozy," the echo winked, "or we could go and cause some mischief!" 

"How about we don't do that?" Willow returned, looking to the other with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe we should get to know the others, or some shit," the mutant groaned, less than enthused of the idea. 

"Yeah, let's do that! These losers can't hope to make shit even more boring," the echo agreed, "so, who's first!" 

"We haven't eaten yet, either," Willow tapped his chin, stopping as he saw the cafeteria. Remembering to eat had been a hassle for the longest time, and unlike so many previous scenes, he actually found himself in the possession of an appetite. Stepping into the Horizon cafeteria, the boy was met by a vast sight surely grand enough to put even the richest of individuals in awe. Finding himself a seat, the mutant lowered himself to its soft foundation and managed a gentle breath. This was quite nice. He would be a fool to deny that.

"Alright, fatass," the echo joked, "what're you gonna' eat?" 

"There's a lot of choices, here," Willow scanned through the various options offered on the menu presented for him. 

"No shit? It's a restaurant," the creature snatched the menu from Willow, a scene which for others did not actually happen. "How about that? A burger, those always work." 

"That's true," the mutant finished, "might as well go with that." He reclaimed the menu, another action which others would find quite curious, considering the empty gestures. 

"And after this, let's go out and kick some ass!" The shade prompted, shaking Willow by the shoulders. 

"I dread the day we have to..."

Yatzil grinned, of course she was a sight to behold. She flicked some of her wavy black hair over her shoulder. "This be an honest truth," she replied before watching Valora get shuffled out of the room. Elliot seemed to have turned into jelly as she slid to the floor and smacked down hard on it. Yatzil raised an eyebrow at the girl. She was certainly a strange little duck. Silas ran off shortly after his release. Poor thing. It didn't take Elliot long to pop back up and start kicking at the metal monstrosities. Oh yes... Robots. That was what they were speaking on earlier. "I think I am glad I missed such a fight. These things... displease me." She cast a glare at the objects that Elliot was assaulting.

Then there was Jane. Oh, Jane. This was Yatzil's absolute favourite little squad member. She returned the thumbs up with a kindly smile on her lips. "Welcome little Jelly Jane." The girl was such an innocent and pure little thing. Yatzil just wanted to... She wasn't really sure what she wanted to do but it involved impossibly spoiling her. While there were many who found her form strange, she thought it was delightful. Yatzil had always considered Jane to be the cutest of all of the heroes. She moved toward the girl and squatted down beside her as Dawn continued on.

"I am most excited for you little one," she whispered to the girl. A training program just for her! She hoped Jane would enjoy it and that Dawn wasn't just blowing steam. Perhaps he really had read a book or two. Or at least looked at the pictures. When Blizz spoke to her she resumed a standing position and considered his statement. Placing a finger beside her lips in thought she tilted her head up toward him. She thought perhaps he was making a pun, with the chilly and all but it went way over her head.

"I will do either. If we run, we race. If we fight, we destroy." She gave Blizz a light punch to his arm. "What say you, Warrior of Winter? Shall we remove our enemies hearts? Make them beg us for mercy" Her smile turned less friendly and more feral. Bloodlust flashed through her gaze. Unfortunately, there would be no blood spilt. But she would be sure to make as much of a mess of the robots as she could. They were disturbing, after all.

It took a little while and a bit of explaining to New Horizon staff what they were doing and why Eliott needed her bracers removed. As a safety measure (if you could call it that), two highly trained Horizon operatives were stationed at the main exit, who also had the bracelet to put back on her immediately after training. Some would assume with Phoenix Dawn himself in the room that nobody would dare do something stupid, yet Horizon was always erring on the side of caution.
With her restraints free, Eliott stretched and rolled her wrists eagerly. "Oh yes! This should be fun." Her eyes gave off the impression of some sort of sadist, their wildness possibly mistaken for evil. However, Yatzil in particularly would probably find the wild excitement familiar, as it was similar to her own wild look she gave when entering a fight.

She had to make sure it worked, however, so she moved over to where some of the training equipment for weight lifting was and began toying with the pressure waves. The rattle that the weights equipment adopted was certainly unnatural, almost as though it had become possessed. The more she held onto the weights, the more they rattled. She didn't want to get in trouble, however, so she muted her surroundings, absorbing the vibrations to use as kinetic energy. As she released them, the force created a brief gust of wind which may push someone inattentive off-balance, though wouldn't be hard to right, either. She clenched her fist and grinned.

"Alrighty then. I'm ready."
Her focus returned to Dawn and the bots. He had asked her what difficulty level she would like. If she weren't able to use her powers, likely no more than a four, but since she had gotten permission...
"How about... eight?"
She'd never gone up against these bots. They had some similar types of automation back at the academy, but they didn't look nearly as state-of-the-art as these ones did. If ten was the highest level, then eight seemed like a good middle-ground between borderline sadism and being too comfortable. Assuming the power scale worked somewhat like how she thought it worked.
Eliott made sure to stretch before the fight began. Since this was a training exercise, she probably couldn't go all-out. She assumed the walls of the gym were reinforced in case of... hero accidents, but even they likely couldn't hold out to prolonged vibration.

It wasn't long before she felt she was ready. She got into a battle stance, arms raised and hopping excitedly. And for the pervs out there, yes, they were jiggling.
"Dawn, switch'er on. Lets do this!"

@ShwiggityShwah

'Contamination level - Critical.
Analyzing tissue deterioration - Critcal.
Initializing variables...
...Recommended solution - Lethal force.'

Managing a sigh, the agent Shrike could not stifle a somber expression making itself visible on his face, a futuristic visor allowing for information less than pleasant. Out of curiosity, the agent found himself asking, why him? Why was he the choice they had settled with, for this assignment? He was neither reluctant, nor was he going to deny an order. However, Miles was well aware of his strengths, and his weaknesses. Many of the others, or rather, all of the others had powers far more destructive than his own. Despite his professional training perhaps surpassing the others, one could not deny the strength of a godly fist, or the divinity of manifested hardlight. The answer was, however, quite simple. Shrike was Horizon's scalpel. When something needed to be done quietly, they turned to him. Rather, one could use the word discreetly. Indeed, when questionable methods found home upon an otherwise morally straight path, Horizon did not wish to squander their glimmering emblems.

"ADA, what are the risks of infection?" Shrike spoke, his voice a soft string of words, almost a mere whisper within the underground sewers. One could consider the agent quite comfortable with the company of his visor, allowing for a more tolerable presence within the slowly dripping darkness of a buzzing city's underground. Connected with a subway station long since abandoned and forgotten, it was quite possible to lay eyes on the most peculiar of sights within these ancient halls. 

'Unclear,' a robotic voice returned, an immediate analysis would consider the circumstances quite dire, related to how close to the surface this cadaver is located.'

"Yeah," Shrike frowned, rising from a knee as he stood. The creature before him used to be human, that much was clear. However, extensive mutations had resulted in an abominable sight. Muscles were torn and shredded, replaced by tumors, and boils. Fingers gave way for claws, teeth having grown sharp and dangerous. The sunken eyes above a now vacant nose were grey, and dim, as if sight left them long before life itself. Indeed, the stench was quite horrid, but with open wounds stretching their way across the leathery skin of this abomination, one could deduce as much from a glance. "The victim is male," Shrike continued, "is the mutation related to chromosomes?"

'No,' ADA returned, the artificial intelligence aiding Miles on his assignment. He proceeded to step over the corpse, mutilated and left for gruesome discovery. Continuing down the ever stretching darkness, Miles' grip around his pistol remained vigilant and steady. He was aware that anything could attack him, down here. There were no rules or regulations within these confines, no greater good or abysmal evil. No, down here, it was all about survival. No more, and certainly no less. 

'Picking up movement,' ADA broke a prolonged silence, Miles' visor analyzing the surrounding before zeroing in on a shape further down into the tunnel. His eyes widened at the sight, the hulking creature moving with mindless intent. Long, twisted limbs dragged against the filthy water, a distinct lack of care surrounding this beast, a sense of absolute witlessness shrouding it like a cape. With a head slowly swaying from one side to the other in tune with its large, heavy steps, Miles lowered himself to the dry sidewalk where he was standing, taking a knee to remain unseen. 'Analysis complete. Comparing genetical structure to previous specimen. Comparison complete. The two appear infected by the same string of mutagensis. However, the result appear to differ in physical shape.'

"Great..," the agent sighed, allowing the creature to eventually pass him by before he proceeded to follow this monstrous discovery. 

'Sending discovery to Horizon mainframe.' ADA noted, before Miles tapped the side of his visor. 'Initiating connection with Horizon satellite. Downloading city wide blueprints. Filtering out irrelevant data. Uploading map.' The voice finished, a small map appearing at the bottom right corner of Shrike's vision. It would appear that this creature, or rather, this thing, was heading towards the large, open area. Was it patrolling? That was a possibility, but somewhat unlikely. Something had mutated this beast into what it was, however, and Miles had been tasked to unravel this mystery. 

Mysterious disappearances, people vanishing, medical and scientific data stolen from some of the most prestigious facilities, it all lined up. This appeared to be the result, but to what end? What was the goal? This was not the first time Miles had come across biological weapons, and monstrous results. It was, however, the first time he had seen something like this so close to the surrounding world. It was a risky move, to be sure. Especially given Horizon's presence. 

"Probably just another mad scientist," Miles thought to himself, "it never ends."

---

Bored out of her skull watching the reruns of life along the reruns on the channels then it came to her; a game to play against herself. She was going to track the least visited space in the Tower, maybe it was a forgotten place.

Two hours and nineteen minutes later she’d found if not an unvisited place but at least it was interesting. It was clear to see it was an exercise area but none of the equipment had that bulky hard to break look like the meta gym equipment so she thought it might have been set up for the minders to use but how wrong she was.

The place was the former private exercise studio granted for the use of one of Horizon's more interesting non lethals, Lady Gaia.



As she wandered the forgotten rooms and touched things of a woman who was dead, missing, and or possibly on the run Sydney saw why she heard people call her Princess, she acted like you hoped one would. The Lady had gone missing in that big event down in Antartica, when they called an all in and they tossed into a raging battle a woman who’s talent had feed 100s of 1,000s after disasters, who could have ended the threat of world starvation with her research.

So Sydney simply smiled and took a seat on a leg lift bench with a comfy back rest on dialed in the show.

---

---

Velma dear please listen to me, I want you to use your powers
But I want where and how you use them to be your choice; it's even Okay that you still work with Horizon.
“I’m an MP sweety, a peer, I can get you out of this place”
Pleaded an older gray haired man Sydney felt her mind placing from her internal archives.

They were not alone in the room men in the supply uniform of the Tower were assembling the equipment and gear in the spacious room. Then there were two Minders one Sydney knew but now he was older the other was likely working somewhere else in the world or dead; minders never quit.

Then she turned her expresion glowing with excitement, Lady Gaia Dame Marberry

Oh Daddy that would be a waste of your power; not that you can’t do it only that its effects on our family reputation and the favors you would have to call or owe.

They are being very accommodating daddy, they even set up this gym for me to use, I can’t do that equipment they normally use, it looks so industrial and I barely register. Not very encouraging to see you barely twiddle the needle.

No wonder Horizon used her as a Public Relations hero she was pretty, well spoken and confident. Even though it had been over 7 years since Lady Gaia appeared on video Sydney had seen her and could remember the warmth in her voice.

The fallback shifted away before finishing this time showing her Lady Gaia confronting one of the OLs (Overlords/Directors)

Robert you know that your present methods will eventually result in the rebelion you fear. No matter how lovely the guilding eventually the inmates notice the bars. It is not within any branch of humanity to suffer imprisonment too long and prisoners we are now with the latest rules.

Forcible conscription, incarceration, unwanted experimentation, and who knows what other dehumanizing may be required in the future if we have no say at all in the matter at hand. Your Doctors caused a miscarriage and they are accused of doing it on purpose because the parents are both meta.

I am not here to accuse them or Horizon of wrong doing, what I am saying is that in event the fuel of conspiracy is the lack of transparency and when Evergreen offered to help she was locked out; Amelia can regrow lost limbs. Why would one of the most powerful healers be keep from a medical case?

The director sighed and Sydney could sense his lack of honesty even in fall back when he spoke

Velma the Doctor was new and made mistake of thinking he had it under control then the fool tried to cover it up...he’s being punished for his stupidity. As for the latest rule changes I have tried to stress a more relaxed stance in the Tower rules but I only have one vote.

Please try and keep your people under control, they have even worse rules they need reason to put into effect then the director gave away his inner thoughts in his body language; He cared for her.

The images grew more repetitive scenes of her and three other women who it seemed had no super strength enhancements, they were obviously friendly almost like a sisterhood. It was all interesting but surely there were travel items left here by her.

---

---

Sydney popped out of her fallback and could now place the faint scent the room had, it was the scent of Lady Gaia who strangely could remind you of green gass could also confuse you with flowers and fruits. That scent was not so much what she smelled like but the more dominant local plants in flower, it was part of how she talked with plants.

Then the slender, young, and now curious Sydney headed into the walkin taking only moments to understand the layout of drawers and the pleasant fact that stocked it with things the other ladies of the Tower might need if they became a guest of her’s. Made it easier to look about thinking of the things she planned to put on and model.

But first things first, jewelry.
It was all kept in a digital safe which Sydney punched in after watching the Lady do it several times just to make sure there were no 3rd day tricks.

None of the things in the safe held any great value other than 30% had silver in their makeup the rest was semiprecious stones and things she’d picked up in her travels. It was good they held no real value to the rest of the world for to Sydney they were like rare and beautiful journals.

The most beautiful of all the things was a small silver memento ring whose focus was two raised hippocampus facing their tails forming the band. It was only a little like Lady Gaia’s family crest but enough that she bought it herself when she was 12 years old wearing it either as a ring or leather cord bangle under her shirt in school.

Next was a shell necklace made over 150 years ago give to her by a grateful people she kept feed for 2 months and then taught the secrets of their island’s botanical layout; Velma wore it on the rare vacations she took under the guise of Tower Public Relations. The steamy side of Vel was the selection of silver toe rings which she wore even in uniform if she were in the mood.

Joseiah always thought it was a bit interesting to try and joke around with Yatzil even if some of the humor went over her head. Couldn't blame the woman from being from an entirely different era so more than a couple things simply didn't translate far as he knew but it didn't seem to bother her at least. He was happy to confirm they were good for either activity which meant it was time to pick their poison and honestly the iceman was bummed about missing out on the fighting earlier so that seemed to be the more exciting choice. It was a good option to let some aggression out on for both of them, though in his case he didn't really hate the machines. He found it hard to quite match that same enthusiasm Yatzil had for combat usually but he was quite ready this time.

"Alright, lets send one of those robots into the Ice Age then. I'm sure you can find something to pull out of it too." Josey said with bright smile.

He got the Horizon security to get his dampeners off after a few moments as they tended to take they're time. The moment the bracelets were off the air directly around him started cooling down to freezing letting him form a simple suit of ice armor with a shield and mace to match.

"Warrior of Winter huh? Cool idea." Joseiah said now truly ready to get the show on the road with his powers at the ready.

He figured a nice setting of ten given that they were two would do them well so they got a decent fight out of it but not feeling like struggling the whole time. If his partner wanted to turn it up further he'd go for it, either way this was going to be worth the time.

While security removed Blizz's dampeners, Yatzil approached one of the lockers along the wall to remove her favourite weapon. A cricket bat with teeth. She did a few practice swings with it, feeling the weight in her hands. She then proceeded to slice her fingers open and draw symbols on her arms and legs. On her arms were symbols of power and her legs had symbols of speed. Within a minute the wounds on her hand healed and she crossed the room to stand beside the ice armoured man. Being near him was freezing but she was sure it would feel nice after the workout. She set the sword on the floor, the hilt leaning against her hip. She tied her hair back into a ponytail, a sign that she was ready to get this party started. "We can begin?" she inquired, turning her face up toward him. Her brown eyes twinkled with excitement.

She lifted her sword at the ready and took a combat stance, watching the robots with a grotesquely animalistic grin. The bots began to move and she watched them carefully, her eyes taking in each step and swing of its "hands". Her mind started to go blank, taking in the scene with her instincts more than her brain. She could feel the muscles in her legs tighten, her grip on the weapon slackened slightly. In a flash she took a step forward and swung the blade upward, slicing against the metallic chest of the robot. It made a hideous screeching sound she found irritating and she lightly stepped around the robot to get better access to its back. "Come slowpoke," she said teasingly. "I cannot be the only one with fun." She sliced the blades across the robots back but it anticipated the attackedc and rolled forward, deftly escaping her assualt.

---

---

Kwan stood before a table on which sat motorcycle engine and all the tools the book said were required in disassembly.

First were the delicates like tubing and wires found on the exterior of every engine and while she removed them quickly to any observing the slowest part of the process. She wore special gloves made just for her because while her aura or whatever it was that protected her from the building friction of high speeds it didn’t protect her from hot metal. Why that was important soon became apparent as the oils on most of the machined parts gave off a faint smoke that built up as another screw, nut, bolt, and other various parts were laid on the table some popping from the friction.

Nearby a few of the Techs and other professional types stood watching her perform as task that was slated to take a competent mechanic 4.6 hours in just under 10 minutes but it didn’t end there; there were other tables and odd tests. Jigsaw Puzzle 10,000 pieces all white which they though a clever twist but was actually how Kwan preferred such things, she found the pictures distracting. Paper folding, they wanted origami to which she laughed pointing out she was Korean Raised in Hong Kong not a Mika of the Kanto so she made fans, airplanes and little paper puzzles like you played with in school. And last but by no means least and her own request; “Cooking”

The Military types were nervous watching the slicing of chicken and veggies which happened smoothly and so fast it was as if she only lightly touched them with the knife; Kwan wondered if she should have used a playing card instead. She wondered if she should have been insulted that only a third had even tasted her cooking but two did join her in the meal which broke up the tests of this morning. They were both Psychology types and seemed to have ulterior motives like asking about her childhood which was tough but rewarding. She shut them down when they suggested some of her memories were child abuse and endangerment, what did they know.

---

---

Dressed in a top that looked painted on as did it’s matching shorts Kwan stood at the starting line and began a series of light wind sprints at a leisurely pace around 250 mph while wishing she had more room like out in the desert at the first place they took her. It was there on the huge thing they called a salt flat that Kawn first learned how fast she could really go and how fast she could recover from a trip or fall.

Mach 5 - 3836mph or 5626 feet per second, she was twice as fast as the fastest rifle projectile which explained why when people shot at her it was funny to her how slow the bullets actually moved; on the base she’d asked and gotten an armory officer to fire a short burst from his gun so she could pace them in flight.

It was interesting to watch the projectiles twist their way through the air and where she learned hot was still hot and she needed gloves to catch bullets. It became a short lived bit of fun when they wanted to fire several guns at her from differing angles and she made it a dance, why do it if it isn’t fun?

But here she was now wondering when she’d get to go out and vent a little nervous energy running in simple drills just to keep her hyperactive mind busy; some pretty girls here.

---

“Alright, I get it. You’re tough, you’re loyal, you have a whole group of organics that are counting on you to keep your mouth shut and your weapons away from the… good guys.”

Despite his best effort, Tom choked on the words. Alas, morality remained a sucker’s game in this world, and it became difficult to discern for what reason he was really putting this man through so much pain.

Small pins of his super metal filament danced on the surface of the man’s pale skin. His eyes were burrowed deep into his skull as exhaustion started to catch up to them. How long had this interrogation been going on? Tom lost track. His only mark of time was when Edith left for food or for sleep or for those god-awful gaudy films with the catchy tunes. Lacking all of those things, Tom wasn’t entirely sure how long he’d been staring at this man in the cellar. Watching him cry as his fillings were pulled slowly from his jaw millimeter by millimeter, or how his tiny pins who push straight into the man close enough to the most painful places just to see how he would react.

As usual, even away from the Tower, Tom found himself slipping into New Horizon-brand boredom.

And that was a brand that made his skin itch.

“Still have anything to say? Your gang’s access to those dangerous, experimental weapons still mean this much to you?”

In an instant, the glowing marks on Tom’s chest and face flashed a sickly green, and the floating pins centered in front of the man’s eyes, coalescing together into two large, sharp needles as small clamps emerged from its sides to peel the man’s eyes open.

The man was practically chewing through his gag.

Edith yawned, using the opening to stuff half a hotdog into her mouth, wiping her tired eyes with her sleeve. Tom got kind of riled up when people threatened to crease his suit by making him stay in one place too long. But you know, mondays.

She chewed slowly, examining the man for any signs of an opening. One would think that his horrified expression was a great chance to break through, be the good guy. But he wasn’t done cooking. He needed to simmer in that fear for a moment, to allow for the truth to boil to the top. It wouldn’t be worth interrupting Tom while he was busy at work, instead she had to wait for when this man knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would kill him if he was lying.

Until then, she poured a bit of extra mustard on her hotdog, eyes still trained on the man. They had been hard at work for the past little while now, to the point where Edith was even starting to forget what her old dorm looked like. She had a crappy memory, but still. It was the idea that counted, she was tired of ‘duty’ this, ‘saving people’ that.

Where was the all-out war? Where were the cameras? Where were the flash dancing mobs meant to express the genuine emotion of teen love?

Edith sighed audibly as the man struggled against his restraints. She placed a warm hand against the cool concrete, balancing the remaining half-hotdog on the palm of her other hand. She felt her hand slip into the concrete, it was always a strange sensation. Sometimes it was cool, sometimes it was almost painfully hot, but it was certainly unique. She retracted her hand from the concrete, grasping a perfectly smooth handle with it. As it was pulled out the concrete dipped around her creation.

It looked off-somewhat, it was half of a polearm - it wouldn’t do in battle, but it could gut a rat.

“Please.” She said quietly, after swallowing the last remaining portion of her hotdog. She pushed the polearm in between the man’s ribs, dipping it in until she felt the rising and falling of his left lung. She was supposed to be the good cop.

But. Come. On.

“Pretty,” she gently pushed the polearm in ever-so-slightly and felt it begin to puncture his skin. “Please.”

He writhed. Desperation shook from him like a faulty sprinkler as he tugged and struggled and moved against every force and restraint for a moment. And just when it looked like they’d have to go through with it, his teeth ripped through the gag.

“ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I’LL TALK I SWEAR TO GOD JUST STOP, PLEASE!!”

Finally, progress.

Tom stepped forward. His leather shoes did little to hide the heavy thud of his heavy feet against the warehouse’s concrete floor as the floating needles rushed back into him. They appeared to impale him through the chest before being absorbed back into his body like rain on a lake.

“Excellent. I won’t lie and say i try to to avoid cliches, so, ‘the truth will set you free.’”He rubbed at the glowing circle on his face with his fingers before he carefully pulled his jacket away and tucked it gently over the back of a chair that he pulled over.

“JERICHO’s weapon plans. I want the details, I want the location, I want the people involved. You have five minutes.” His head swung back to Edith, “Oh, one of us should take notes or something, right? I can’t remember…”

Then the man started babbling. He wasn’t your typical “I’m a master of all knowledge” AI, but he at least had the superior processors to keep up with what the man was saying.

There was one problem though.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Huh?”

“The name of the leader. What was it again?”

He mumbled it under his breath, so Tom proded. He slapped the man with his back hand, and pricks of blood burst from his cheek. The man barely noticed the tiny spikes on the backs of his fingers starting to retreat back into his hand.

And… oh God the man was crying again.

Tom didn’t get it. Usually he revelled in watching a man become a pathetic puddle of refuse - but this was just so boring. Fucking Humans. They claimed they were so “adaptable” and whatever - but a couple pricks were enough to bring this man to tears.

“I just want clarification. You mentioned the leader’s name, but it can’t be him. He died … how many days ago?”

He turned to Edith for clarification.

“16 days, 12 hours, 32 minutes and… Some seconds ago.”

“Thank you. Well?”

The man paled, “b-but… he can’t. He was the one that…”

“So what you’re telling me,” Tom stood up, and with a flash of green light every bit of metal in the room lifted for a second before clattering into the ground a moment later, “is that you have No New Information to benefit our investigation?”

“Please… I didn’t… he was the one who told me… to take them to the location…”

Tom groaned. He heard the man scream as another pair of metal teeth dropped to the floor from Tom’s careless tug with his power.

“So a new leader was appointed quick enough that the infrastructure… unbelievable.”

He shared a wordless, dissatisfied glance with Edith (he may not of had eyes or facial expressions but she always understood) before he felt his internal systems sigh and shudder.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr…” he paused, looked up. The man was keeled over, his skin papery white and all-too fragile looking, “Remind me your name again?”

No response.

“Ah, well… huh.”

Tom snapped his fingers. A few dots of the super metal that had scattered across the room zoomed back into his body, one of them knocking the man’s chair over upon return, “Oops.”

“Carnegie.” Edith said, mostly to Tom, but also as a kind of veiled threat. She knew who he was. She knelt down onto the floor so she was closer to his eye level and stared at him, her neon blue eyes observing his every twitch. He was pulling away like a scared animal, attempting to create distance between the two of them, even though it wasn’t really possible with all of his restraints and the chair keeping him in an awkward position.

She leaned back and eventually fell onto her butt so she could cross her legs, poking him with her concrete spear every once in a while to reinforce the mood. They didn’t have candles, or satin sheets - so the concrete spear would do for now.

While he muttered a few things, Edith simply watched, no real expression past boredom reaching her facial expression for about a minute. Tom seemed to be holding back, he knew how she operated at this point. So when the dove-haired girl turned back to her partner with a quizzical glance he knew she was asking permission to try something.

“Be my guest.” He leaned forward.

Edith nodded innocently and turned back to their victim with a warm smile. “Okay,” she has been speaking in approximately two word bursts for the past four days, but she was going to try and spice things up to get them back ‘home’. “I am going to help you understand something, so that this goes as well as it can for you.” Her smile was warm, almost mortherly, but the polearm rested completely still on the base of his chin.

“There is only one way you’re going to leave here, ever.” She said, her eyes never faltering from examining him. He seemed like he was going to cry again for a second, so Edith spoke up once more. “But, if you were listening - that means there is one way you could end up leaving here.” She said, with her robotic eyes staring, unblinking at the man. His eyes opened a little, and for the first time, he breathed without that god-awful sniffling. The man had been sniffling for days. It was unbearable. A breath without any obstructions might as well have been the heavenly pipes of Mr. Zuko himself.

Edith beamed at him and nodded. “So just tell my friend what you know and we can get moving, mmkay?”

---

“And then he died.”

“Tom.”

“I really don’t think i have to explain more than that,” Tom leaned back against the wall, already frustrated with damn grey jumpsuits forced upon him by the accursed Tower, “We got the information you wanted, then he died of unusual circumstances.”

“You were given explicit orders not to kill-”

“And neither of us purposefully murdered him, or both of us would be husks with our heads blown off on the floor of that same warehouse.”

Their handler leaned back in his leather seat. Tom knew… very little about him, and he really didn’t care to find out more. The man handed them their missions mostly because they tested poorly in the public eye, so better to put both him and Edith behind the scenes.

Which was unfortunate, really. At least Edith could be personable if given some kind of chance.

“Just one time,” he shook his head, “If you could just play by the book one time.”

“Oh yes, we should always take this totally flawless book without a single loophole to heart-”

“If you have problems with the guidelines, why not take it up top?”

Tom let out an audible groan. You could almost hear his inner workings grit and grind at the man’s meaningless squabbling.

“Look, venting is technically not disallowed in terms of following guidelines, you know that,” Tom stated, “and you couldn’t really accuse us of displaying rebellious behaviour because who else would you get to do this gritty, ugly stuff. The fact I’m still standing here and not in the recycling bin means that you know we are a low flight risk. Try getting that… Griffin Twilight or whatever the fuck -”

“Phoenix Dawn-”

“Right, right. Try getting him to do what we do.”

The same conversation was held so many times with only slight variations Tom could’ve sworn he was talking to a wall. He had a stack of books waiting that he could be wasting his time in right now. They let a criminal die, so what. Horizon wanted all the grit out of the system anyway. There’s more than one way to remove a pest.

“All that being said, what kind of ship do you run here? There’s some man attacking a city with metal animals and we arrive four hours after its been done? Tsk, tsk. We’re wasting far too many resources.”

Tom walked over to Edith’s chair, leaning over top of her with a heavy drooping, even though most of his weight was still on his legs. If he actually let go it’d probably crush someone squishy. Mostly he was revelling in the shades of red on the man’s face.

It reminded him of the time someone asked him to get a drink, assuming he was some android bartender. The sheer frustration the man had when Tom proceeded to insult his lesser fashion sense. It was a tiny amount of rebellion. Just enough to keep Tom ticking and to keep Horizon off his ass.

Being a machine already got him out of mandated therapy sessions because they assumed he had no personality to alter. A bold assumption, and it was the only time he’d be grateful
for such a thing.

“Alright. You got the information we needed, even at the cost of a potential future informant’s life. What’s this about you going into one of the weapon factories even though there was no more evidence to be found?”

Every decision scrutinized. Humans were infuriating.

“We wanted to double check. The danger was worth the risk. We found more of the rare metal i was made of. Whatever gets the paperwork done. You’ve raked me over the coals, so throw Edith on the pan already so we can get out of here.” The faintest tinge of green touched his orange energy, and his body rippled with the power.

“Do you have anything to add, Ms. Elwood?” He said turning his gaze to his second biggest pain in the ass.

“Mmm…” She thought for a moment biting her lip in a feigned bit of actually thinking back. Instead Edith was thinking about movie night. It was obviously going to happen, it had to. But what movie? There were so many classics to pick from it was almost too difficult, “No.”

“Of course not, what was I supposed to expect, cooperation?” Their handler groaned into his hands.

“No.” Edith said again, nearly a hint of playful wit could be detected on her voice, but for the most part she was as robotic as ever, not like her illuminated partner. Her handler was something of a conundrum, even to her. She was fairly analytical, and she had maintained a habit of pouring over old footage of her days when she had down time. But his mannerisms were all so fairly… Generic.

He was just a man who was tired and wanted an easier job. But also wanted to make an impact, that was Edith’s reading anyway. Horizon was a funny place to go about making an impact, surely it would be felt but not in a way amicable to the masses generally.

Still, at the mention of robot animals that both herself and Tom had just barely missed she lamented the extra four hours they had spent in their mission. She groaned and let one hand silently pet Tom’s head as if he was a house cat. His temperament was somewhat similar, he liked his coat to look nice and he may have enjoyed being pet but he wasn’t about to share that detail with anyone.

Edith just wanted to lay down, go see those she had grown… Well perhaps close is too much, but she lived near some of these people and some of them even partook in her nightly raids into the past of sung narrative.

“Fine. You got the info, as always this mission is just passable.” The handler said, still not lifting his head from his hands.

“Mhm.” Edith said, immediately getting out of her seat and facing Tom with as enthusiastic a face the exhausted girl could muster. “Sleep now.” She considered jumping onto her friend’s back, so that he could carry her like a backpack to her room since her legs were kind of tired. But also she wanted to wake up tomorrow and keep this friendship alive, so she didn’t do that.

She knew how much that suit meant to Tom and since they had only just arrived back at the tower he hadn’t put on that horrendous jumpsuit he hated so much. One day she’d help him find a loophole that allowed him to wear his suit.

One day, Horizon. That’ll show ‘em.

Tom glared back at Edith. As usual, he lamented her need for things like sleep and dreaded what was to come when the rose a few floors, stepped out of the restricted area, and somehow reintegrated into the disaster pack of heroes upstairs.

“Oh, and one more thing -”

“Get the hell out of my office. Both of you.”

Tom raised his hands defensively, but with a look to his side, he spun around on his heels and headed out of the room. The heavy door swung shut behind them, and they were left with their usual walk down to the hallway.

“I actually think we were done faster than usual. I think we were only in there for thirty minutes this time.” Tom started with a humorous tone.

“He seems stressed,” Edith sighed.

Tom gave a brief nod, not really in understanding him, more in understanding how Edith was feeling. His hand found the elevator easy enough as the chip confirmed his identity before releasing them from the higher level clearance area before keeping the elevator door open.

“Regardless we’re going to be passing through some of the main living areas on the way to our rooms,” Tom explained more to himself than anyone. “If we’re lucky we won’t run into anyone. I’ve had my fill of ‘good people’ for today.”

A smile crept onto Edith’s lips as Tom’s hand found the elevator. Initially it had only been a biometric scanner and Tom had taken out his frustration with the yesteryear technology on some poor lackey, announcing the specism of Horizon for all to hear. It was when Edith knew they’d be killing people together one day.

Ahhh.

She nodded at Tom’s suggestion. She was perhaps on better terms with ‘good people’ if only because she didn’t vocalize her anger with them as much as Tom did - but he was right. She didn’t want to have to go through the ‘hi, how are yous’ of being a good person. It was draining.

“If anyone tries to talk to me I might kill them.” She said in her and Tom’s usual macabre humour.

“At least let me watch. Who knows - maybe rusty dried blood is the fall colour this season.” Tom droled as the elevator came to a halt.

The doors swung open, and they were home again, but Tom was already fantasizing about an underground casino forty years ago and a pair of nines sitting in his hand to bring him that full house.

He turned to Edith - his unusual companion, his one reassurance that waking up twenty years ago hadn’t been a mistake as he refreshed his repertoire of witty comebacks and made his way down the hall.

“Alright, I guess I’ll distract whatever organic comes so you can slink off to bed and start dreaming about less garish weapons to turn my body into,” the lights on his face flickered playfully, ”That sword was absolutely gaudy and you know it.”

Edith immediately took the window of opportunity to slink off and collapse but turned back to her robotic partner. “It was absolutely garish and you loved it.” She said with a small wink before using the entirety of her body weight to force her door open and immediately collapse happily onto the floor of her room.

Ah, sweet carpet at last.

---

It seemed the others could handle themselves. The gym calmed down as Jane, Ricardo paired off, Joseiah and Yatzi. The others slowly trickled out into their own business. Pleased at the relative, relative, mind you, calm, Alice Jefferson decided to go to the smaller, secondary gym to get some alone time and work out in peace.

After Silas's visitation, Ka'van felt the need to get out of his room for a little while. He decided to take a trip to the hot tub to try and relax a little. The hot, bubbling water always managed to take some edge off of his mind. On the way there, he noticed that Ricardo and the some of the team were still in the gym. He hurried by the window, desperately not wanting to be spotted by the man.

Ka'van spent about half an hour in the pool area before he began to feel tired again. He figured it was due to his restless nap. Surely the demon couldn't be controlling him that much, right? He dried off and hung his towel over his shoulders to head back to his apartment. He passed the gym window again, and saw that Alice was just getting set up for her nightly routine. He walked by unnoticed, and silently retreated to his quarters.

The grey skinned alien took a quick shower to rinse off the chlorine, then put his pajama pants back on. He collapsed into his bed, hoping that Silas's pep talk would help his dream situation. He turned his heat blanket on, and soon dozed off to the sound of waves.

An hour or so later, the sun was setting and Alice was alone in the gym. She had come back after everyone was gone to get some time to think and workout. As entertaining and loveable as Ricardo was, and as funny as Joseiah was, sometimes she could use some time to sort of 'meditate' if that was the right word.

The gym was a large facility, with a black rubber tiles absorbing most of the light coming from the motion activated lights above. As such, when Alice walked in, only the lights around her activated. She stopped and stretched for a few minutes.

"HIVEMIND, spot me," She said in a clear, firm voice into the dimly lit room. A light on the bench press machine lit up green. There was a bench press machine hooked up to the HIVEMIND network for safety and performance. Alice lay down, the weight bar above her, wrapping her hands around it in the proper place.

"HIVEMIND, begin." WIth a grunt, 55 pounds of weight began pressing down on Alice. She brought it down close to her chest, and releasing her breathe she pushed it away.

"One." A robotic voice said. Alice repeated the process.

"Two." It said again, monotone and informative.

"Three."

"Four." Alice saw something out of the corner of her eye- one of the lights to the far right side of the room had turned on. She thought almost nothing of it and continued.

"...Six."

"Seven."

Another light. Again, not much was thought, as the Tower was a secure place. She wanted to get her few reps done, wind down and go to bed.

"...Eleven."

She heard something clank, fall with a heavy thud and then roll across the floor.

"...Twelve."

"HIVEMIND, pause." Alice said, slightly winded from her exercise. She set the bar back into its place with a clank and then pulled herself up into a sitting position on the bench. A dumbell had fallen from its place and had rolled to a stop at the foot of the bench. The lights flickered off, and once again the light above Alice was the only source in the room. She looked around, an eyebrow raised. There was no one in here.

He was standing in the dark; Ka'van couldn't tell where he was. Not until a light came on overhead. He jumped a little, startled by his own reflection in the floor to ceiling mirror right in front of him. There, the red eyed man stared back at him. Ka'van blinked; he was at the gym? The lights across the room came on, and he turned to see a figure approaching.

"Alice?"

The woman was silent as she approached. In her hand, a sword of hard light began to form. Ka'van backed away, eyes on the blade. "What are you doing?"

"You're unfit to work for Horizon," The woman said, her voice monotone and flat. She lunged at him, brandishing the blade. Ka'van quickly conjured a shield to block and push her away. But the woman was relentless.

"Alice, please, I don't want to fight you," He said, trying to keep his cool. But she wouldn't have it. Alice charged at him again, this time, encasing him in a dome of blinding light. He couldn't see his surroundings, and fumbled to find something to defend himself with. His hand fell onto a weight, which he lifted with his telekinesis and launched at her...

Alice startled at the sight of something black and round soaring across the gym. She tracked it with her eyes, and it smashed against the concrete with an unpleasantly loud clank. The light above it activated, revealing the cracked weight sitting in in the silence.

”What..?” Alice questioned aloud to herself, standing up and glancing around.

”You’re pathetic,”Alice said, deflecting the weight effortlessly aside with a Hard Light shield. The light briefly faded, allowing Ka’van to see that Alice was suited up in her Victory suit, which was reflecting light from around the room.The helm was faceless, but irradiated cold, steely hatred. Victory strode forward, sword and shield in hand, slashing at Ka’van’s shield. The sword sliced through the air, leaving behind streaks of white.

”You can’t hide. I’ll purge you from this world.

"This isn't real," Ka'van said, mostly to himself. He used his powers to push the woman back. He could get the upper hand; he knew he could. This was one on one, not like the last time he'd fought her. Ka'van would use her own tactic against her. He reached out his hands, using his power to create a dome of pitch blackness that would engulf them. While most of his enemies couldn't see in the dark, Ka'van had no problem. His eyes let off a soft, red glow in the darkness.

"You can't control me," He said, speaking directly to the demon he knew to be directing this show. The beast, an inky black shadow in the background, had drawn closer in this dream. It was more clear this time, it's giant mouth of snarling fangs open. It's body sported a multitude of tentacles and four, spider like legs. It, too, had bright red eyes. However, as obvious as the beast may seem, Ka'van was unable to see in the dream. He could only see the emotionless, faceless killer before him.

The Victory summoned a javelin into its hands. It rocketed towards him like a lightning bolt, penetrating the darkness and shattering the shield of darkness, but scattering into the void with a flash. He lifted a rack of weights and sent it flying at the Victory. Several hit the mirror behind them, shattering it.

Alice picked up the cracked weight. Glancing suspiciously around, she idly walked in front of the gym’s large mirror to observe it from both sides at once. There was a dent in the concrete where it collided, and the whole thing cracked straight through into the center gap, Alice could see by looking into the mirror. That was when Alice noticed too late a large, looming object dart towards her reflection. Alice whipped around as a stray 30 pound weight collided with her forehead.

”You’re trapped. You can feel it, can’t you? A cage of Hard Light formed around the both of them, slowly beginning to close in.

Ka'van felt his confidence waver as the cage formed around them. He instinctively tried to phase through it, but couldn't. He took a deep breath, he had to keep his cool. He turned back to face the Victory, steeling his face.

"What are you trying to do here? Scare me? I've lived with you my whole life." His words sounded brave, but there was a shaken undertone just below the surface. The demon could sense it. It fed on it. Before the evil Victory could make its next move, Ka'van grabbed a few shards of broken glass with his powers and sent them flying towards her, through the bars of the cage.

Alice woke up, confused, on the ground, one eye covered in blood pouring from her split forehead. There was a storm of broken glass, shards embedded themselves andd slice into her legs and midriff. Stunned, she summoned forth a small, flickering barrier of Hard Light just around her on the floor, not quite feeling the piercing agony through the haze of semi-consciousness.

The cage bars fused together, the glass clattering harmlessly off. ”I want you cleansed.” The Victory said bluntly, cruelly. The cage continued to constrict, the bars becoming serrated. The Victory watched emotionlessly. The light grew in intensity, the cage closing in. A long, thin spear appeared in the Victory’s hands once more. With careful precision, it lined up the killshot, sliding past the bars…

Ka’van awoke, once again covered in a cold sweat. He groaned softly, knowing he had once again fallen victim to his dreams. The grey skinned alien slowly slid out of bed; he wouldn’t be sleeping again tonight.

Alice awoke once more, not realizing she had passed back out. The room had gone quiet. She groaned as she painfully struggled to a sitting position. There was blood in her eye, and her jumpsuit was dotted with small spots of crimson.

Hands shaking, Alice reached for her HIVEMIND comms device on her belt.

”Requesting medical assistance in the gym…” She paused, looking around with a incredulous expression. In the silence of the gym, she barked a harsh, mono-syllable mockery of a laugh as she reflected upon her most recent experience. She activated her comm again.

”Something, somewhere, has gone terribly, terribly wrong.”

Friends Forever <3 @Delta44

ROBBIT FIGHT

---

The Warroom Droid set to 8.

"Level 8 initiated. Safeties disabled. Combat mode engaged." The robot raised its arms as if it was a boxer. It was meant to copy the human body exactly so despite it's bulky appearance, it had a quick smooth flow about it. There was a hum about it as the generator for its shields kick in. The robots armor only could take so much, so at higher levels, it used a horizon patented force field to acquire a similar toughness to what could be expected.

The bot's eyes glowed as it recognized Eliott as the target. "Target acquired." It said in its deep voice and charged her, a blast of jets propelling him like a car straight at her, its knee raised to hit her on the charge.

Perfect.
Eliott had a particular hatred for things that wanted to fight her from a distance. Particularly projectile users, who were just an absolute pain. The fact the death robot wanted to get close to her? It was a godsend.
Her smile, confident as one could get, may be nerve-wracking for some. Eliott had only been at the Tower a week, after all. This was her first time seeing the power and strength of these robots, at least at this kind of level. Yet despite this, she had an ace up her sleeve.

With a sharp sense of judgement and deft feet, Eliott maneuvers out of the way of the robot with surprising agility. Furthermore, she backs herself up further with an acrobatic flip, making sure to not get in the way of any surprise strikes and make room between the two. Her gamesense was kicking in, and with it, observational skills which would try to work on predicting its next move.

The robot recalculated her evasive action. It was set to follow up as a skilled martial artist, combining boxing and kung fu. Speed combined with gyroscopic power, but at such a high level, it would no doubt have some surprises up its sleeves.

She moved out of range, it made sure to put on the pressure, its arm shot out as it approached, a yellow white beam scorched the astroturf of the open field as it came up in a straight arc, the beam readjusting to head towards center mass. Its arm stayed still despite it trying to get back within range of its fists.

Trying to dodge, it would be upon her again, a round house coming towards her side!

Though of course, she would not dodge the same way twice. With careful deliberation, she made sure to avoid the strike with the bot's arms, able to make it outside its extendable range in time. The roundhouse she was quick to notice, however just too slow to outmaneouver, for her duck to the floor caught her in the shoulder. Thankfully she was rolling with the strike and not against, though it still hurt like Hell. However, this gave her the oportunity to dish out some harm of her own.

Eliott's right hand clamped down on the robot's arm like a vice, careful to not let heself get too attached in case she had to flee. At the same time, she began sending low, powerful vibrations through the metal body, each pulse of vibration a little more powerful than the last. Her power, when sustained for long enough, ha the potential to turn builings into dust. With a fielded rustbucket like this, even with its shields, it would only be a matter of time.

Still crouched, she knew whatever came from the bot next would hit hard, so she prepared her legs to jump away if possible.

The lazer missed as expected, but what was more unexpected was that its arms was seized. It had to spend a few nano seconds to assess and counter. Too late in fact that it already had problem trying to send the signal to its arm with the vibrations being sent through it.

Another few nano seconds... Solution found.

With her crouched down, it released the locks on the socket joint, despite the limb being locked, it seemed to have no limitation when it came to movement over the rest of its body. It raised a fist to bring it down atop her, the force of its motor servos equal to or greater than the kick she just managed to absorb. These things could do some damage.

For those truly attentive, Eliott's primary weakness had begun to show. Her legs kicked from beneath her, barely able to avoid the overhead strike, a combination of instinct as well as preparation. Though her roll was short, her plan wasn't to gain distance. Rather, it was to gain momentum. Feet firmly planted once more, Eliott held onto one of her arms, only to send vibrations through her own body. She couldn't keep her grip for long if she wanted to not vibrate herself to death, and so kept herself just below her level of tolerance; where most would succumb to sickness or even injury, her body could take it.

Her attack was swift, barely a jab, but that was all she needed. Though not as strong as those before it, these vibrations came suddenly. Not only that, but it wasn't the last to come. Another vibration to the limit her body could take, followed by a swift hull-punch. It put her in danger if the robot could function properly, however the more vibro-punches she threw at it, the more likely it would begin to rattle itself apart. And the more areas she targeted, the better.

The robot couldn't quite handle the hits. It tried to move its knees to bash her but it was slow and jerky. Then she struck it again and the body seemed to go rigid. The head flapped as if unable to focus. Each time it was hit, each time she struck the vibrations spread through it and it had to recalculate.

It was slowed down by the information of body damage. The sheild helped against strikes not against her powers. Nothing solid really could, not for too long. The robots moved were jerky, lacking in force or coordination. Elliott could even feel its arm getting loose at the socket.

The robot then went on the defensive. It seemed to shift gears as processes adjusted strategies. It seized her hand while she seized its arm. The hips seemed to spin in its socket as it turned itself. The force of torque was enough to rip a Bush out of the ground, and it was attempting to throw her off it with a twist of its waist.

She could tell she was getting a beat out of the robot, however things weren't all sunshine and roses. The fact it didn't make a retalitory strike meant her hits were having an effect, however the real trouble came with keeping those hits consistent. As it would happen, Eliott couldn't quite punch fast enough. The sparring droid grabbed her arm tight, spinning so to throw Eliott away. Finally, it seemed to have realised that letting her hit it wasn't such a good idea. But Eliott wasn't quite done yet.

She kicked up her legs and, using the momentum from the swing, pulled herself as close as she could to the droid, before letting her legs wrap around it at the waist. With her free hand she began pumping more and more vibrations into the robot, intent on making it tear itself apart. She had to work quick, less it tear her arm straight out of its socket. 'Got'cha~.' Despite the playful voice in her head, one could see the strain the robot was putting on Eliott's arm. She wasn't going to let her arm get torn off, so would let go if it pulled too hard, allowing herself to fly off. But she already had a plan in mind to deal with it if it came to that.

And that was enough, the robot slowed down enough that it merely tried to spin awkwardly. Its last real attack was to try and slam Eliott into the ground and attempt to crush her with its strength as it loomed over her.

Inside, nuts bolts screws all were shaking. Signals through wires were rattled off their connectors. Limbs failed. Motors failed. The robot was upon her like a true attacker and then it stopped moving, only shaking with her own power.

The light faded and it lies still.

A clapping could be heard as Dawn enjoyed the show. "Hahah! Most impressive Decibel! You broke your record! You're getting better!"

Hearing that made Eliott chuckle, considering she didn't really have a record to beat. Though, if she did, he would probably be right. Sound disappeared right as Phoenix finished speaking, Eliott absorbing the remnant vibrations inside the machine, before releasing it as a blast strong enough to get the metal hunk off of her. The small shockwave echoed throughout the confines of the gym.

With sound returned, she got up and dusted herself off, not that the gym was dusty or anything. She gave a nod to Ricardo, unable to contain her grin. "That was nothing. Until you mount these boys with rubber bullets or lasers or something, they won't stand a chance." Sound could tear apart anything with the right level of power behind it. Unfortunately, that had reprecutions on Eliott's body as well as the robot's...

She winced and gripped her arm. No doubt she had done something to it, sending such powerful vibrations into her own body. Not only was her arm hurting, but she could feel the motion sickness catching up with her. And just like that, Eliott wasn't so cocky anymore. "U-ugh... Mmmnnh... M-mister Ricardo...? I-I made myself s-sick... again." Groaned Eliott, her demeanor and tone of voice completely reverting to her other self. "M-might... t-take a break..."

Dawn didn't know about any record either. It just seemed like something positive to say.

With the backlash of sound and the quietness that followed as she got the robot off of her, Phoenix was saying something about not completely destroying the robots since they are really expensive, and Horizon chided him for doing so. Alas, sound would return just as "-well, it's probably fine."

She proved to have a warriors spirit and Dawn raised his fist in a pump that was nothing but encouraging. "Remind me next time, and I'll make sure they got some distance next time. But still, who would want to miss what you just did?"

And then Elliott looked like she may have twisted somethign and that was Dawn's cue to rush over, merely to offer an arm should she need the support. "Uh oh. Looks like you partied a little too hard." He nodded with a smile plastered on his face as he placed and arm behind her, again if she needed it, but knew well enough alone to not touch her in such a fragile state. "Don't push it Decibel, if you need to hit the infirmary, it's not a big deal. It just meant you put your all into that fight. A commendable feat!"

"Commendable...? Mmmmnh... I did O-OK..." She winced again. Definitely went overboard, though Dawn may not be familiar with her injury. She took his hand with her undamaged arm, using it to get herself to her feet, able to stand on her own two feet. "I-I'm going to g-go to the infirmary... M-maybe lie down... a bit... Ugh..." Her quesy stomach was only getting worse, and she had a faint feeling she'd throw up if she didn't settle her stomach soon. Eliott made her way to the guards by the door without interruption, who wasted no time putting her back in restraints.

"Get some rest. You did great today!" He called after her. He made a grimace when the guards put her in restraints. "Hey come on now! The girl's hurt, have you no shame!?" He folded his arms and gave the accompanying guards a scary glare. He was going to give their Oversight Chairman a piece of his mind how to treat his friends.

It was almost like they were prisoners or something.

---

Edith’s door shut with a firm thud as Tom was left to stand in the hallway, and his system fans shuddered in the closest thing to a deep breath he could take. Carefully he felt motors in his body whir and the pieces begin to fall back into their place with a gentle use of his power to assure that everything was working. The perks of his body were many, but the extremely malleable metal sometimes made it difficult for Tom to understand whether his body was in the precise order he wanted it to be, or if that initial form had been lost over the past couple centuries.

No steel off his back, anyway. He may have been “created” by someone, but his existence was his own now, and he’d rather be melted down into chrome from some flashy car than admit that he owed something to the person that created him in that period before sentience. Tom tilted his head away from the residential space and started to march his way down towards some of the more common areas. He had no need for sleep or sustenance, so better to at least try and be semi-productive, or find a decent classic to dive into. Edith had bought him a couple works by Asimov once as a gag, but he couldn’t help but find the man’s thoughts intriguing at least, though his thoughts on the Laws of Robotics were not something that he cared for.

As he walked past one of the training areas and heard the sound of metal clanking against some other force, he thought that perhaps there were some machines that would benefit from those laws. Tom didn’t really want to entertain any of the organics that inhabited this building, but when a few screws and bolts shot out from the gym like tiny bullets, he knew he wanted to see at least what was going on.

Sure enough, it seemed that some weren’t satisfied after their day of killing mechanic monstrosities. He heard Phoenix Dawn before he saw him, but stepping into the room Tom bumped into a new figure. A dark-haired woman who was not familiar to him. It wasn’t too surprising – New Horizon dragged in new “recruits” all time, but Tom liked to stay on top of things. Made it easier to identify threats. And eyeing how the two guards at the door were looking at her and the shining bracelets on her wrists, this was likely a person he would need to learn about.

“Machine training?” he mused, “Clearly your unique abilities carry some weight. I was not informed that our tower was being introduced to more organics.”

“Easy, Foundry,” one of the guards spoke up, their concerned glares meeting his glowing face-plate, “No need to grill Decibel. We have it under control.”

The glowing orange lines on his face dimmed in dissatisfaction as he took in the space. There was the nauseous girl in front of him, Dawn standing in the room with his usual bravado that never ceased to irritate Tom, and the shattered machine on the ground. He knew he made the guards uncomfortable because they couldn’t dampen him, and only a few key people held his personal self-destruct button.

He sighed, “Well, at least let me clean up this mess. I’m bored and unlike your pathetic bodies I don’t need to worry about exhaustion.”

He stepped carefully around Eliott, trying not to touch her as he stepped into the training space. His sockets and mechanics started to pop and whirl as he copied the motion of cracking his neck. Then the orange energy surging from his core changed to a familiar green.

The machine corpse on the ground was brought up to its feet, as metal bits that were flown around the room coalesced into the machine. Pieces and parts started to pin and spiral into each other as screws and bolts readjusted and body parts reoriented themselves as the practice machine was standing on its feet once more with lights starting to blink on again as it reset itself in an idle position. The moment it was standing his glowing green went back to orange as a couple trails of steam trailed away from his core in an attempt to let off some heat.

With that, he addressed Phoenix:

“Honestly, Musclehead, what use is it for you to break these toys if they don’t make a difference in your performance? Should you not be working on covering your flaws instead of showing off?”

If Tom was being honest, he knew he was missing some points. He knew that the girl leaving was probably doing so because of some mistake made in training that affected her fragile squishy organs, but he loathed these massive ego types and would take any chance to make a jab.

Even if the two guards behind him were already staring him down like wolves on the prowl.

---

Despite the presence of the robots, Jane was incredibly eager to begin training - Phoenix had even made her a special workout program! Jane pumped herself up, more and more enthused as Phoenix spoke of her future greatness.

"Yeah! Beware evildoers, Alkaline has a sixth sense when it comes to sniffing out crime!"

"ARE YOU READY!?"

"I'M READY! I'M READY!! I'M-"

Jane was cut off as Phoenix held his hand up, only a little shorter than his head, and Jane - who was previously bouncing up and down like a small dog about to be given a treat, immediately fell quiet and drooped slightly.

It was kinda demeaning, but more so... It was difficult. Jane had a big distaste towards walls and high surfaces - it's why she doesn't have a bathtub in her room! Still, she had to do her best, no matter how difficult!

She quickly extended herself as much as she could, but she didn't even make it 5 feet in the air before she felt herself reach her limit. She let out small whimpers as she tried to go even further, but soon collapsed into a puddle before reforming.

I don't think I can do it, Phoenix..."

Phoenix felt the air immediately go quiet as he held out his hand and yet he stood as still as a statue, seriousness in his attitude. Phoenix noticed the lack of her enthusiasm and upturned his chin. "Do not believe for a moment that this is a jab Alkaline! We are going to completely destroy the greatest limitation you have! We are going to make you limitless! Now reach up! Reach towards the sky Alkaline! And touch my hand!"

He then watched as she stretched how she seemed to be putting all of her jelly justice in this most difficult of tasks. He smiled, laughed even in encouragement as he flexed his muscles, fist pumping as she continued. "That's it Alkaline! Just a little more. Reach! REACH!"

But as she sank so did his smile and spirit, but only for the briefest of moments. He noticed a few things as she tried to make her attempt, a few things that made him really try to think on the situation. "I don't believe that Alkaline. And you have to believe in me that believes in you. The Bible says that!" He would hold out his hand again. "You need to dig deep, feel it here." He tapped his perfect abs. "People can do extraordinary things and they dont even have powers. This is like doing a pull up, you get a good push, get momentum and you can make that climb!"

Jane trembled slightly as if she was about to cry - it was really embarrassing she couldn't reach such a low height. As Phoenix talked, Jane listened to every word, latching onto them like a child latches onto a new toy. She had to try, even if it was impossible - She had to kick logic to the curb and do the impossible, no matter how difficult!

"You're right Phoenix! As long as I believe, I can do anything!"

Jane tried several more times to reach up, and even tried to jump twice, both attempts failing horribly, until she finally got the perfect idea. She was jumping by willing her whole body upwards - and she could only raise a few inches that way. Instead, she had to think like she still had her old body. She needed force to push down and jump upwards. Pausing slightly, she prepared to jump up, before finally launching upwards somewhat more successfully.

She had pushed with all of her force downwards which, alone, would have done very little to help her. However, as she did so, she also pushed it outwards, forming an almost pseudo garden hose - she used the propulsion from this to barely reach the palm of Pheonix's hand, before latching onto it and gripping as hard as she could.

"I DID IT! I'M ABLE TO JUMP A FEW FEET IN THE AIR! YAY!"

As she celebrated, the pool that she had launched into the floor lost all form, turning into a stagnant puddle on the floor. Jane had lost roughly half of her body mass with that single jump, and she didn't see how she was going to reach back down and grab it without dripping off of the hand.

Phoenix was impressed, she did manage to do it. But it wasn't the victory he was hoping for, considering she essentially ripped her legs off in the the attempt, or whatever the equivalent would be. He tried not to dwell on it.

However it was hope, and hope moved mountains. "FANTASTIC ALKALINE! I knew you could do it!" He tried to give her a high five and there was that awkward silence as high five became fist bump became high five. It didn't matter, he just gooped her with his opposite hand and let her back down to collect herself. "Now we just need to figure out how to keep you together." He knew that little pieces ended up becoming little more than whatever she was.

"This is good, great even! If you're able to get that kind of force, that means we can do something really cool." He kneeled to her level, and then sat down cross legged before fumbling around with his gi, twisting this way and that as he looked around. "Thankfully, I came prepared for this training session... now where is that- oh YEAH! KABLAAMS!" He pulled something out from his pants, and upon further inspection was holding three comics, all of them Batman Comics, or more specifically Detective Comics.

He fumbled through the pages a little bit before setting it down for both of them to read. A panel took a two page spread. he pointed to the page, particularly the monster. "See this Alkaline, that's what I think you can do! And that little jump just proved it!"

Jane attempted to return the high five that Phoenix presented to her - unfortunately, she was feeling a little dizzy after losing so much fluid, and couldn't even form a proper limb to respond to the action. As Phoenix released her to the ground, Jane almost immediately reformed with her lost pieces, feeling energetic and ready to kick gravity's butt!

As Phoenix played with his gi, Jane felt a rush of smugness come over her as she was complimented - that's right, she's awesome! It took her a solid three seconds before realizing that being conceded wasn't cute, and she immediately stopped - reminding herself that what she did was easily accomplished by normal people really took the wind out of her sail. As she slightly faltered at the thought, Phoenix pulled out three separate comic books, all of which being Batman related. As he flipped through the pages, he finally presented the panel he was searching for.

Jane had to admit it-

"WHOA, that's badass!"

Phoenix was laying on the praise and encouragement extra thick today, so Jane had to do her best to reciprocate - she had to be ready for anything, and put in all she can to make sure she succeeds!

"You really mean it!? Let's go again! Again!"

As she yelled excitedly, Jane moved in a small circle, occasionally bouncing a few inches off the ground and reforming.

"Heck yeah that's badaaa-- butt!"

Dawn tries not to curse. Set an example for the kids.

"Can you imagine all the cool stuff you'd be able to do!? Become anyone! Be anything! You might be the only person that could literally do that! So friggin RAD!"

Dawn slid the comics aside, keeping the page open as he kneeled before her. He thought about how to phrase what he needed her to do, and her attitude was contagious. He was simply brimming with the excitement. Even his white eyes seemed to show emotion for a change.

"You got it! Let's try it! Do you remember how to flex a muscle?" he curled his impressive bicep to show her the vein popping. "or however you thicken yourself up? I want you to try that! I want you to make a part of you swole!" bro language. "Use that portion and climb up atop yourself. Make a ladder, thickening pieces that the rest of you can slide up and upon."

He stood again and raised out his hand. "Give it a try! This is just the first steps to you being more awesome!"

"You're right! Anything is possible, as long as I believe in myself!"

By now, all the screaming that the pair had done had probably drawn more than a little bit of attention, but Jane was completly oblivious to this. As Phoenix kneeled, he described the next steps of the workout that he wanted her to start. While Jane had a hard time understanding what exactly he had meant, she was able to get the basic gist of his plan.

"A ladder, a ladder... O-ok, I'll try my best!

Jane was a bit nervous at the risk of failure, but with a few final words of encouragement from Phoenix, she started quickly. She did as he suggested, forming a strong base that would take a long time to lose shape, mostly by making it far denser and lessening the viscosity. She felt fairly secure in what she was doing, until she was roughly six inches in the higher than where she would have normally been - it was at this point she fell, making a slight splat as her more viscous portions slammed against the gym floor.

Afraid to disappoint, Jane quickly tried again, making about the same level of progress before, again, falling. After another three times of doing this, She eventually tried making a thicker, more square-like base, and she succeeded in getting becoming a foot and a half taller, albeit more pyramid shaped then before.

"This is a little weird Phoenix - I don't think I could stay like this for long... What should I do next?"

He held up a hand in a stopping motion. "Good. Hold that. Being able to keep a shape is the next step." He said, his magnificently simple brain trying to process how she could do the things he was trying. It was a start, just forming a shape, but he had to consider that she couldn't completely solidify herself. If she could, she would have. "If maybe you try to hold it for long, you get better at it. Like practicing." He snapped his fingers, almost for himself as it was for her. "It took me years to be able to harness light the way I do. ONE THOUSAND HOURS of blood sweat and tears! You're already breaking your boundaries and it hasn't even been twenty minutes." He grinned, proudly.

He raised his hand over her, his foot kind of pressing at the side of the mound she making, maybe as an attempt to give her something stable to boost on. He wasn't worried about getting goopy. "Try to see if you can reach. You have a strong base, try to reach up like a tentacle. Something you can thicken yourself onto and reach up." He made a face, scrunching up, mainly because he couldn't really explain it as well as he would like. Trying to consider the chemistry and physics that was happening was beyond him. But regardless effort seemed to be driving the girl forward and he knew that victory or defeat, this was a great start for it.

Phoenix's hand was roughly the same distance it had been before - it only seemed less high since Jane herself was now a foot taller than she had been. What was once an impossible task was now simply a near impossible task!

..Or, at the very least, Jane was more likely to succeed this time. Quickly, she began to stretch with all of her might, doing her very best to reach Phoenix's outstretched hand. After several attempts, all of which being only a few inches short, Jane began to grow discouraged. She was ready to give in, stop trying - save it for another day. But then she realized-

Phoenix would never do something like that! He'd push harder than other people thought possible if it meant upholding his ideals! Jane stretched as hard as she could, focusing every fiber in her gooey body at doing so.

With a smacking sound, Jane realized that the upper portion of the pseudo-limb had ripped off, and smacked against Pheonix's hand before falling to the ground. Quickly, she reabsorbed the portion.

"W-wait Phoenix, I got it! I know how to reach it now!"

It was a flash of brilliance that was very uncharacteristic of Jane - No, it was a flash of inspiration that had always embodied the literally Pint-sized girl! She reached up once again and, upon reaching her limit, made the tentacle as viscous as tar. Then, with unbecoming speed, launched it upwards, just as she had done when first reaching Phoenix's hand.

With a sickening glop, the liquid connected to Phoenix's hand and, as quickly as she could, Jane made another limb and grabbed the dangling ropes of tar that hung from his hand. Reaching the hand was the hardest part - with almost total control of her body, pulling herself up was the easy part.

"YAY! I did it Phoenix! You were right, all I needed to do was try hard and believe in myself!"

Remembering what Victory had taught her about personal space, Jane sloughed off of Phoenix, gently hitting the floor. She was incredibly tired, and despite not needing air, she was making a rasping noise as she took air inside of her body. An habit she had from her old body. Still, despite being exhausted, She remained perky and did her best to appear excited, jumping slightly and moving in circles around Phoenix.

Phoenix had expected Jane to figure it out. She would know her better than he did how her goo worked. But again, Dawn's expectations were thoroughly dashed, as she thought outside the box. Launching herself she lowered the distance she would have to stretch between the two, and then use that as an anchor point. It was the same as grasping a branch, you can use it to pull yourself upon it. While she was still at that phase of getting all of herself off the ground, her speed at coming to the realization meant she had the capability all along and just never had the drive or reason to try it. No one expected her to be more than what she is.

But Dawn was different. His imagination was always firing and thinking and dreaming, often about the capabilities of his friend. They all had so many things so many powers and abilities that he could never do.

Dawn's face was a perfect image of ecstatic glee. Mouth open, thumbs up, even manly tears seemed to well up in his eyes and he applauded Jane on her efforts. "You are an inspiration to slimes, gels, and puddings everywhere!" He even wiped his eyes as he croaked through. "To see a hero come into her own! To see the JUSTICE shine like the Lighthouse of Truth! Its- its- *sniff* So beautiful..."

Considering she didn't have a face, moving around was probably the best way she could show her own emotions. It suited her personality. Dawn regain his composure. "I don't want anything to ruin this victory. This day of TWO VICTORIES!" He crossed his arms. "Thats enough for today Jane, just imagine what you can do tomorrow! And the day after that! And the day after that!" He then opened his eyes wide and put a fist into his open palm. "We should celebrate! Gasp! We should do research!" He leaned over, his face an expression of excitement. "Jane! Do you like movies!? Like animated movies? Like comic book animated movies!?"

The past hour or so had been one of the most exhausting ever since Jane had gotten her new form. She felt sluggish, forming pseudolimbs was hard, and overall just felt very tired. Still, That was a good thing, right? It meant she was getting stronger! Phoenix's words motivated Jane to keep to it, but also made her worry for the days to come, as those were almost certainly going to be even more brutal.

"You got it - I'll keep training till I'm the coolest slime around!"

It was the mention of a movie, however, that really sparked the interest that Jane was keeping in her gooey mass the whole time.

"A MOVIE!? I love movies! Live-action, animated, silent, musicals, you name it - I love all movies!"

Jane hopped several times, excited for the coming event - watching movies, with THE Phoenix Dawn! This was going to be awesome!

When should we watch them?! Now?! Later today? Tomorrow?

Dawn looked at his companions, Blizzkreig was with Yatzil fighting the machine and he wanted to supervise, but the robbit wouldn't last long. Dawn grinned. "We're almost done here it looks like, take a breather and grab some water and then'll head up. I barely broke a sweat with all this, so it's not like I need a shower." He laughed before he gave her a wave. "I'm going to get a better seat to watch this, join me if you want Alkaline!" He offered before going to get a good seat.

//fights part of another collab//

---

With it all said and done, the glory of what they witnessed still fresh in his veins he then thought back to how great the rest of the afternoon would be. "That was fun! Come Jane!" Even informally he had to make everything over the top. He crouched down and turned from her, his arms behind him, offering to carry the blob back to his room on Floor 31, if she could somehow goop up on him. If not, he could just grab her with his ability as he had done before. "Maybe afterwards, we should watch Deadpool 2! We get whats in the cinemas on channel 998! Talk about perks! What movies do you like Jane! I got a million of them!"

Jane quickly seated herself close to Phoenix, choosing to drink some water later. It wasn't like she sweated anyways, so no need to replenish any fluids. The pair watched the ongoing fight, and Jane occasionally cheered for the pair that were fighting the robots. She had no intention of doing so, but it was nice to see that the others were having fun.

---

Jane was hopping repeatedly, the feeling of adrenaline filling her body. The fights that took place were incredible, especially considering that those were people who Jane was working with. She knew for a fact she would not have been able to take out nearly as many robots as they had. As the pair made their way out of the gymnasium, Jane quickly crawled onto Phoenix at his signal - clinging onto others was incredibly easy for someone like her, to the point where she simply formed into a small sphere on his back.

"I'm fine with anything Phoenix! I want you to choose what we watch."

Jane had never been the type to say what she really wanted - her bringing heavily discouraged her from trying to do so. Instead, satisfying others was what Jane had learned to get enjoyment from. She'd watch anything that Phoenix would suggest - the fact that he was one of her heroes was also a big reason for her indecisiveness.

Phoenix barely noticed the wait, though his back felt wet and sticky...

He looked over his shoulder when she mentioned that he should pick. He knew what she was like by now. All positives, all acceptance of others. It was a self-less way to live he knew, but it wasn't really living. He tried to ease her.

"We're off the clock Jane. You can call me Rico!" He said happily. To be honest, he perferred to be called Phoenix, but he accepted that people preferred their normal mundane, old names. He hated to live in the past, but sometimes you had to be informal.

He responded looking back. "Nah. I want to be surprised! And I want to know you better. We're more than partners, we're friends! And I want to do something nice for my friend. You help out everyone in the tower with nary a thank you. About time someone does something for you. We'll watch my movie, and then we watch yours. So come on, lay it on me. I doubt that I wouldn't enjoy it. I'm like you, I kind of dig everything! Except documentaries, most of them are kind of downers." He almost made the conversation about him. "But!-" It was the first time in recent memory that Dawn seemed to lose his composure. His head jerked back suddenly, as if embarassed to assume. "Unless you like them! I mean, maybe I'm just missing something and you can understand it better than I could!"

It had been the first time in a long while that Jane had earnestly thought about what she had wanted to watch. It was obvious to see, but she lacked any hands, so manipulating the remote was far beyond her reach. She usually just helped out around the tower or spent her time by keeping an audio diary.

Jane kept silent for several seconds, trying to figure out what the heck they could watch. She didn't remember many recent movies that have come out, and she'd be embarrassed she suggested a movie that was old news. It wasn't until the pair had reached Phoenix's door that Jane had nearly jumped, almost falling off of Phoenix's shoulders.

"I got it Phoenix, I got it!"

She paused and corrected herself quickly, losing her enthusiasm only momentarily.

"I-I mean Rico. I know what I want to watch!"

She was about to reach into her pocket when she realized that she didn't have any pockets anymore - or legs, for that matter. She had kept a photo of the dvd cover in her wallet since it was so cool. Not disheartened, Jane quickly pointed at Phoenix while bouncing.

"Let's watch the documentary they made about you! That would be awesome!"

This would be awesome - watching a movie about a hero, with a hero! The same hero that was in the movie, to be exact.

Phoenix made a raspberry sound at the suggestion. "Oh geez that?" He asked playfully. "They make me look like such a boy scout." Which is weird, because Dawn essentially was a boy scout. "I'll give you the full story. My childhood, they got all wrong. I was in the room with them talking into a mic and they edited the wrong part. So embarrassing." He sighed than laughed. "Well, the lady has spoken." He opened the door. "Are you old enough to drink-"

@Metronome

What they saw was the foulest of crimes.

The most cruelest of cruel.

The most evil of evil.

Dawn's room was completely trashed. TV broken, his WWF action figures destroyed, booze smashed, but that pale in comparison to his DVD Blue Ray and Comic Book collections. Where once was organized shelves of the greatest pieces of art known to collective human kind, the entire shelving unit was overturned and toppled. Their contents scattered or ripped or burned, or charred into an unidentifiable mass. His room was for lack of a better word, destroyed.

His whole world came crashing down.

Seeing the hope and the fire leave his eyes. The Dawn fell to his knees. No greater act of villainy or pain has ever been shown upon him. The wealth of pain reverberated in a scream so full of anguish that men would weep, children would weep, DOGS would weep and howl as the emptiness of true unescapable loss befell them, as if the sun would set for 1000 pitch black nights.

Throughout the tower, everyone would hear what the faintest glimpse of what hell must sound like.