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La Vida: Wayward House > Lobby

It had been a busy Friday but now families were on their way home as the sun was setting. The ever-present smog coming from the oil refinery could be seen in the air, all in all it was peaceful. However, this did not bring comfort to the guardians of La Vida. There was an uneasy tension as it was only a matter of time before this peace was shattered. It was Friday night after all and it seemed to be that was enough to make people go crazy.

Within the seemingly abandoned hotel was a house of madness, the main lobby had been fully restored and furnished, however, there were tables of unfinished devices that was made from old junk. On the walls were schematics from past works and up coming projects, in the center of the room was an old over-head projector without the over head part and instead of projecting light on to a wall it was projecting a hologram of La Vida.

Matthew, aka Tech, is standing at one of the tables fiddling with a mechanism, his hands are sparking as he works with out tools. Most of the teens work would be impossible if it weren’t for his technokinesis. Matt’s hands stop moving and his face brightens, “It’s done!” he says ecstatically.

“That’s great and just on time, our guests will be here soon,” a girl calls out from behind. Athena, aka Athena, steps out of the kitchen with a tray of sandwiches and cookies and sets them down on a table Matt was forced to clear. Another tray of drinks floats out behind her and is set down next to the food, the girl then reaches for the plates still in the kitchen and they too began to move toward her table.

“Since when do you bake?” Matt questions eyeing the cookies suspiciously.

“Since were having guest,” she says with a smile.

Matt frowns and begins toying with the gadget in his hands, “I know I agreed to let in people but now I don’t know.” The teen puts the device over his wrist then another of the same over his other wrist, Matt turns his palms up and a black metal begins to crawl out of the cuff and it envelops his hands and arms. “I’m connecting to the nanites and have full control,” he says flexing his fingers.

“If we’re going to help this city we can’t do it alone, not just us two,” Athena says remembering her absent friend. “Anyways, what about the fuel cell, is it interfacing with the pulse thrusters?”

Matt stretches out his arm and spreads his fingers as a blue energy shoots from his gloved hand, “yep, now I need to test flight capabilities.” He says closing his fist and dispersing the energy harmlessly. Athena walks over to the younger teen and places a hand on his shoulder and looks over his work proudly. “Nice, I’ll help you set up a staging area later but for now you need to check the warding fields and make sure our guests do not get turned away.

The nanites retract from Matt’s arms and hands back into the cuffs, “Yeah yeah, they are good to go,” the teen says with a familiar attitude.

It was two weeks ago that the teens had started recruiting other heroes but only after a month of vetting making sure they were gathering the right sort of people. They need not be meta or have super powers, just the type of people who could put others before themselves and want to see good change to La Vida.

Ashlyn Olivia Blackwood, known as Ash to her friends and Wildheart to her enemies, finished the last stitch in the side of the large dog lying on the large metal table. She examined her work for a moment and then stepped back nodding at one of her nurses to begin the process of moving the patient into recovery. As had become her habit, after each operation, she sent soothing images to the dog lying unconscious on the table. She had no doubt that even unconscious the animal would sense her sending and hopefully appreciate the reassurance, it had been a simple spay operation removing the animals reproductive system but even a simple operation would cause anxiety in anyone human or animal. Such operations were sometimes difficult for Ash as the animal was often confused and upset by what was going to be done to it, and since becoming part of their world she had struggled to find ways to explain to them why such steps were sometimes necessary. This dog, a Collie named Clara, had accepted the situation as she had already had several litters and felt herself too tired to bear more.

She glanced at the clock that hung on one wall of the operating theatre and was unsurprised at how late it was, the operation had needed to be performed as soon as possible due to health issues and so she had offered to do it before closing up for the night. Adrian would no doubt have eaten by now but she was sure he would have saved something for her to heat up. He usually did. Once Clara was settled into one of the recovery kennels adjacent to the theatre, she let the nurses out and closed the clinic. Unlike the nurses she did not have to travel anywhere to get home, the clinic had been built in an extension of the house she shared with her brother. It was a simple walk up a short paved path to the main house lit by small solar lamps at regular intervals. The house was dark, Adrian was no doubt asleep by now or holed up in his room with his computer, but the kitchen light had been left on. She entered the house through the back door and was enveloped by a furry mass.

With a chuckle she steadied herself and crouched to pet the various animals, the two German Shepherds and the two cats weaving between their feet, and answered their greetings and demands with several mental images. After a few minutes the animals retreated slightly recognising her tiredness and need to sit down. She fixed herself a cup of tea, with milk and sugar, and sat at the kitchen counter idly stroking Artemis's head where the dog sat beside her. Apollo had lay down at her feet and the two cats perched on the counter beside her, only Smudge was absent but she wasn't surprised as the cat seemed attached to her brother like glue most days. Now relaxing her thoughts returned to the invitation she had received from Athena a young girl who helped her in the clinic. The girl was very smart and she had figured out Ash's secret offering her an invitation to some sort of gathering of like minded people. She had been debating all day on whether to attend and sitting in her kitchen she had finally made her decision...

...The following day found her standing in front of the address Athena had given her with her two dogs beside her, she had debated whether or not to bring them but they had been insistent and truthfully she welcomed their reassuring presence. She would just have to hope that whoever else was here was ok with animals, if not well she wouldn't be returning here, since animals were integral to her abilities. She hadn't been sure whether she was supposed to come as Wildheart and in the end had decided not to. She didn't know yet what to expect and felt it was better if everyone just saw a young woman with a knack for animals. She had therefore dressed casually in her usual non work clothes, blue skinny jeans, calf length black boots, long black top and motorcycle jacket and her red hair tied back in a ponytail.
Readjusting one of the many silver rings on her fingers she took a deep breath and walked to the main entrance knocking sharply, the dogs walking on wither side of her.

Nate Cooper lounged against the side of the building in the one spot that he felt got the most sunlight. The day was cloudy and much of the street was lined with shadows, the sun's rays patchy appearing and disappearing behind the clouds. It was cool but not cold and Nate was comfortably warm between the light and his black clothes. The trench coat thankfully wasn't too thick and so kept him warm without overheating. It wouldn't look very good if he was dripping sweat when trying to appear intimidating after all. He had a ha;f smoked cigarette in his mouth and a few finished ones were scattered about his feet. Not that anyone would notice with the amount of litter and other stuff all over the street. This area of La Vida wasn't really known for it's cleanliness, wasn't really known for much at all actually other than violence.

He had been standing there for over half an hour and was getting impatient, no more like pissed off, he didn't like waiting at the best of times and especially not when the person making him wait wanted a favour. He normally wouldn't bother with this kind of thing but having this guy owe him a favour would come in handy one day and besides...he was bored. He had realised that his usual work was becoming stale and maybe it was time to step us his game. Plus he had heard you could earn a lot of cash doing this kind of work. It would mean more heat from the cops but that didn't worry him, the cops hadn't managed to catch him yet and besides he knew they didn't have enough men with the balls to properly police La Vida.

Finally he saw the man he was waiting for walk around the corner flanked by several of his heavies, big black men with hard eyes and carrying multiple weapons. The man between them was almost as big and sported large tattoos on both bare arms, his heavies bore the same tattoos and Nate knew the symbol. It showed they were members of one of the biggest gangs in the city, the gang who claimed this area as their territory in fact. Nate had spotted the tail as he had headed here, another gang member keeping an eye on him but not approaching clearly the other members had been told about Nate. He watched the three men swagger towards him, their confidence present in every step, and smirked in amusement.

"Took 'ya long enough." He muttered stubbing out his cigarette with one booted foot.
"Photon, good that you decided to come. Sorry we're late but we had business to take care of, you know how it is." The man in the middle said with a wide grin.
Nate got his meaning and grinned back. "Cleaning house huh? Yeah been there."
"Why do you think I got in contact with you." The man answered.
"Figured my reputation had reached your ears, news travels fast."
"This isn't your normal sort of business." The man said his grin fading. "Sure you are up for it?"

Nate's grin also faded replaced with a hard look that left no one in any doubt that he was capable of doing the job. "Kill a snitch and his family? sure it ain't my usual gig but I reckon it's time to branch out."
The man smiled again pleased and told Nate the details of the job in question and then they hashed out a price as well as a favour that Nate could call in later. After they were finished they shook on it then the three black men left as quickly as they had come. Nate internally checked his light store and nodded in satisfaction, he had soaked up plenty. He walked in the other direction whistling as he headed to fulfil his job.

---

La Vida: Wayward House > Lobby

A light flashed as Ashley got near the building letting Matt know someone was approaching the front entrance, the teen looked up at the large monitor that was hanging on the wall and saw the lady that Athena worked with at the animal shelter. "Great she brought dogs..." Matt said with a grumble. "Athena, one of your guest arrived!" he called

Athena went flying with one step from one side of the large lobby to the other, she reached the door and waited for the knock to come and waited for the count of three, she didn't want to seem too eager. Athena opened the door and smiled widely, "Hello Ms. Blackwood...oh you brought Artemis and Apollo!" she says with enthusiasm. Athena knelt down and was patient for the dogs to come to her as they always did when she was at the animal shelter, she was wearing a red & black flannel with a black t-shirt under that and form fitting denim with a tear over the right knee and black & white chucks, she knew she would be covered with dog fur but she spread her arms out and said, "come to auntie Athena." She always got a kick out of how their names were connected in Greek mythology.

Matt was at his work table and rolled his eyes at Athena's amusement but in all honesty he was glad that Athena was making connections with other people, when they had first met she didn't talk and was very shy. Even now he knew it took a lot out of her just to be in a public setting and for her to be this relaxed with Blackwood, they must really be friends.

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It was too easy most times, I can be in and out in seconds with my target and back at my apartment before I take two breathes, other times there were challenges. Like the rich assholes that had money for proper security, power dampeners, wards against magic, and all sorts of other crap. All the extra security had just made it that much more fun. I phased through most the walls and floors to get to the hidden room, my contact had given me the buildings blue prints and I’d studied them like a freshman during finales week. Everything was going perfectly, as expected and when I got to that damn room just before the vault the blue lights of a power dampener flicked on. Damn caught with my hands in the cookie jar.

“Super villain known as Ghost, we have ten guns pointed at the back of your head, power dampeners are in effect. It’s over you son’v a bitch just come quietly, and no one gets hurt.” A female cop commands.

“Nice work detective Yang, you finally got me, color me impressed. Though, I wonder if the credit should go to that rat Darius, he’s the one that set me up right?” She said through a device that made her voice sound lower. She didn’t usually talk but she needed the extra time to stealthily reach a device in her equipment bag and with the only like being the blue light from the dampener it was hard for the police to make out what she was up to.

“Enough, you can talk all you want once we remove that ridiculous mask and have you at the station,” Yang said with a smugness in her voice. “Now, put your hands behind your head and drop to your knees.”

Katarina found the blessed gadget Matthew had built, she had to remember to give him a giant kiss when she saw him again, she twisted the pen shaped device a then turned around to face the detective. This was a mistake that she would later come to realize but she had her pride and she wanted to see Yang’s face as she got away yet again.

The team of police all tense and readied to fire that any hint of danger, “C’mon you’re beaten. Have some dignity and come out peacefully,” Yang said trying to reason with the villain.

“That’s the difference between me and you Yang, I don’t lose.” Ghost said with her best shit eating grin, though wasted cause of the mask and pressed the button on the device and it released its own light nullifying the dampener’s. The sudden light caused one of the police officers to panic and opened fire. Katarina heard the gun fire and felt the pain of the bullet hit her, however, she was now in her apartment.

Katarina looked down to see that the slug was stopped by her Kevlar police issued vest, it had most likely saved her life, but it still hurt like hell. Katarina sunk to the floor and sucked in a large breath then let it out slowly, her ribs hurt like hell and would be surprised if a couple of them weren’t broken. She ripped off her mask and hood revealing her pale brown skin, dark brown eyes, and raven black shoulder length hair then started to work on taking off the vest. Kat lifted her shirt and saw where the bullet hit, it was nasty and already bruising but the vest had done its job and she would live another day.

Getting up the teen made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a pill bottle and a bottle of tequila, she had to remember to pick up a case of water when she was out again. She downed the pain killer and chased it with a shot before grabbing an ice pack from her freezer and made her way to her sofa. Her apartment was in downtown LA and was very nice, she was no small-time crook living in some trash can ghetto like La Vida and she might be a criminal, but she kept her apartment spotless. Her home was big enough to comfortably house three people but for now it was just just big and lonely.

“They’ll change their minds soon enough…” she says to no one as she falls into a dreamless sleep as the pain killers and alcohol takes her.

---

The cold steel of a gun was a familiar feeling for Knight as a nervous voice behind him whispered in his ear. "Just give me the bag, man. I don't want to shoot... but I'll fuckin' do it!" It was clear the kid was trying to convince himself that mugging Knight was a good idea. He couldn't have been more wrong. Knight's voice was almost mocking, as he whispered. "Do it."

The pause was distinct as the mugger tried to discern what it was Knight was trying to say. This wasn't exactly going according to the script... and that pause was exactly the moment James needed. Almost as a blur, the teenager's head jerked to the right while he spun around, his right hand reaching up to grab the gun and aim it away. The mugger pulled the trigger, and a bullet rocketed into the pavement. Knight's left hand bolted towards the Mugger's neck, delivering a swift blow that knocked the air right out of his opponent. Knight gave a smile as the bag rolled off his left arm and his right hand twisted the gun right out of the mugger's hand. Within a moment, the gun was unloaded and at the Mugger's feet, and James was in a textbook defensive stance.

The quick display was too much for the boy, only about 14 from the looks of him. They keep recruiting younger and younger... The mugger gasped for breath, falling to the ground. Knight got out of his stance and took a step forward, but the boy flinched and began to crawl away. Knight sighed and turned away from the running child, picking up the pieces of the disassembled handgun and stuffing it into the back of his jeans. He had an appointment to make, and he didn't want to be late.

---

James walked with his phone in hand along the mostly deserted outskirts of La Vida. If he had to describe it in a single word, Shithole probably would suffice. Regardless, it was the kind of environment he was used to at this point. His year of running and hiding saw the teen squatting in empty apartment buildings all over the California coast. The teen was carrying a large duffle bag on his back with ease, though it was clear that the bag was packed to the brim. His entire life was in that bag.

The teen's normal black hoodie and whitewashed jeans were clearly higher end, though they had seen some serious wear and tear in the past few months. The rips in the jeans were authentic, and the hoodie clearly looked worn down in the elbows and shoulders. As for the teen's face itself, it was flawless. The remnants of dirt still clung to it as expected, but there was not a blemish or scratch in sight.

He kept looking at his phone's GPS. This can't be the right place... Regardless, James proceeded towards an abandoned apartment complex. His GPS had led him astray before... but today wasn't one of those days. He approached the entrance of the location, unsure what exactly it was he was getting himself into.

Ashlyn stood patiently waiting for the front door to open, she knew there were people inside as she could hear them, and she knew at least one of them was Athena from the girls scent. Everyone had their own individual scent made up of a combination of their body's natural odour and the various cologne/perfumes that were used. The dogs recognised the scent too and when the girl opened the door they were all too eager to receive the attention they knew was coming. She smiled at the images of warm welcoming arms they sent to her as they both pushed into Athena eager to have their ears scratched. Ashlyn had seen from the first that Athena was good with animals and she did her best to encourage that as more like Athena were needed in her opinion.

"I've told you before Athena."Ash said in her strong British accent. "Call me Ash, Ms Blackwood makes me feel old." She smiled at the girl then frowned as an unfamiliar scent caught her attention. Without realising it she raised her head slightly and sniffed the air and her dogs mirrored her. The three of them, the two dogs and the human, turned their heads almost in unison to see a young man walking towards the front door. To anyone who didn't know of Ash's ability the movements and synchronisation between her and the dogs would look very strange indeed. As he reached the front door Artemis and Apollo both backed away from Athena and stood to wither side of Ash in their typical guarding posture. They were used to people and were not hostile just wary and waited on Ash to tell them if this newcomer was a friend or not.

Ash looked at Athena then at the young man guessing he was another invited to the house. She waited for Athena to ask her to come inside. No doubt she wanted to greet her other guest first.

---

La Vida: Wayward House > Lobby

Athena scratched the back of the dog’s ears and nuzzled their muzzles, she enjoyed animals. She had found that she could see their thoughts, but it was strange, she only understood their base thoughts like hungry, tired, angry, and right now happy was on their minds. However, when the two dogs suddenly stopped and returned to their master’s side they thought, stranger.

The teen stood up and dusted the dog hair from her shirt and pants, she could tell who it was before seeing the young man walk up to the entrance. Athena was grateful that Ashley had train her dogs so well, having them start barking at the arrival of James would have been a bad start at a budding friendship. “Ah- h-hello…James,” the teen started as she crossed an arm over her chest as a nervous reaction to the newcomer. She didn’t know if she should use their names or their hero alias, so it was a bit awkward.

“Oh, please come in. I have prepared some snacks and drinks for everyone as we introduce ourselves…” Athena says becoming increasing aware of her awkwardness. The teen leads the pair further into the lobby where Matt is still working.

---

“Welcome, Wildheart and Knight, to Wayward Manner. Please take one of the communications devices as a gift of friendship.” A computerized voice says as the three pass a table where there are four devices that look like smart phones. A sphere like drone flies into the lobby from the staircase that leads up to the rooms, the drone then produces a light that shines down to the ground and it starts to take the form of a human female. The hologram girl shows the appears of a girl with short blonde hair and ethereal blue eyes and is wearing a white unitard.

“Hello, I am Guardian, but you may call me Aliya. I am an artificial intelligence that was programmed to learn and replicate human interaction. I am currently being utilized by my creator as an over glorified maid,” The holo-girl says with as much attitude as a hologram with a monotone voice could muster.

“Enough, Guar- I mean Aliya. Just show them how to use the phones…” Matt says impassively as he stepped out from around his work table. The teen was wearing a navy blue V-neck sweater vest and a white dress shirt under, he also had black skinny fit jeans and black laced up boots. The teen looked like he was on his way to a business meeting.

“Very well master,” Aliya says causing Matt to put his palm over his face at the word master. “This communication device is much like the newest Queen Industries smartphones that has been set to release later this year, though as Matthew is the original creature he has made a few just for you all, how very exciting.” She says holding up a hologram of the phone. “Now, this is the first phone that will be released to the public with holographic features, though, in all honesty this tech is rather dated compared to the augmented reali—” Matthew snaps a finger and the holo-girl blinks off leaving the drone to float away.

“My bad, she’s a bit much…never let an AI tune their own personalities,” Matt says stepping in. “Just slide the phone open to access the phone the rest is pretty self-explanatory once you start playing with it.” He says trailing off as though his mind is somewhere else. “Oh, umm My name is Matt, it’s nice to finally meet you both properly,” the teen says as he snaps back to James and Ashley.

---

Knight nodded as the others acknowledged him. They were an eclectic bunch, and the woman with the dogs was giving the street ninja a weird vibe. But Knight politely indulged himself with snacks and drinks. He hadn't eaten much over the past couple weeks, so he took what he could get. He picked up one of the phones, nodding as he looked it over and immediately got to work scrolling through the phone and beginning to fill out a few contacts. He didn't bother paying much attention to the holographic AI. Quite frankly, he didn't care much about electronic advancements, given he was trained in the old ways of doing things.

He didn't really begin paying attention to the kid until he heard his name spoken. He wasn't used to being called by his first name, so it was a slight shock to the system. "Right... Where's my room and when do we get started?"

Ashlyn went straight to the food and heedless of how it might appear she piled her plate high with food. Though she had eaten before coming she was hungry again.
Burned meat, rumbling stomach, a pack sharing
She looked down at Apollo with a grin. "Really? That's your best...You seriously need to work on your guilt trip technique."
Woman firm as stone, cub being scolded, giving up the chase
She chuckled at Artemis. "Stop teasing your brother Artemis."
She threw them both a piece of food and then flushed remembering that she wasn't alone. Athena had figured out at least some of her abilities but she was usually better at hiding her abilities around strangers. She looked at Athena's brother and then at the young man Knight.
"Well I suppose being...odd is why we are all here. Though I am a little unsure about what it is we are actually going to do. I don't see how just the four of us are going to make much of a difference."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Nate looked down at the newspaper again and read the headline with a slight smile on his face. "GANG WAR CLAIMS MORE VICTIMS" As he'd expected the man and his family were assumed to have been killed by a gang. Not that the police were looking too closely since it happened in La Vida. He took a drag from his cigarette then grabbed another bottle of beer from the fridge and then stopped frowning, drinking alone was not what he called fun and he was in the mood for fun. He smiled and picked up his phone dialling a familiar number, hopefully Ghost was up for having a little fun.

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La Vida: Wayward House > Lobby

Matt snapped his fingers and the monitor on the wall behind him turned on and a recording of the afternoons news flicked on. ‘Family found dead in home after what looks to be a home invasion, although police have not revealed what lead to this tragedy but locals fear that it was one of the many gangs that are here in La Vida…’ The TV is muted as the news continues to play, as the slain family is shown a man, a woman, and two children. At the bottom of the screen read the Blake family. As the story changes to one of the newest missing children in Los Angeles.

“I know that it feels overwhelming, that it can feel pointless to even try, but it only takes one cog to start moving to cause a machine many times its size to come to life.” Matt begins to say but loses confidence as he realizes he is speaking to strangers.

The room grows quite for a moment but then Athena breaks the silence, “What Matt means is, we are not gathering here to save this neighborhood or the city by ourselves. We are here to start a movement, to spark a flame in the heart of the people. Super-man isn’t coming to save us, there is no god that’s going to bring us salvation, we are going to have to save ourselves, one person at a time if that is what it calls for.”

Matt snaps his fingers again and the TV turns off, “What she said. In the mean time rooms are up stairs all the rooms on the next floor are prepared for you guys, though they only a have a bed for furniture.”

“As when we are to start, it is up to you I suppose. Matt and I do not know much about running a team,” Athena says blushing, she realized it could seem that they didn’t have a plan. “We gathered to support each other and hopefully we will come together as a ‘team’ later on.”

Athena turned to Ashlyn and her dogs, “of course you may take a room to keep whatever gear that you want here.”

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Friday night, Katarina finally comes to consciousness after her run in with the police the other night. She wakes up in her bed and struggles to roll out of bed, she didn’t think that her ribs where broken, but they hurt like crazy. She takes a few steps to the toward her room door but gives up and teleports around the apartment taking care of her business.

Katarina comes to a stop at her kitchen table with a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles and is about to devour her unhealthy dinner when her phone begins to ring. With a groan Kat reaches for her phone on the other side of the table, she looks to see who is calling and considers if she should answer, she looks around her empty apartment and sighs. “Hey, you home?” she asks holding onto her bowl then teleporting to Nate’s sofa not waiting for an answer. She takes a bite of her cereal and crunches, “Ay, you here?”

Ashlyn nodded in agreement and understanding of their words, it often only took a few to start a revolution and hopefully once people saw what they were doing then more would follow. But until then it was just the four of them it seemed. She knew Athena quite well already from working with her at the clinic and Athena had told her a bit about Matt but the other guy was a mystery. He seemed as uncomfortable as she was and she could hardly blame him. At least she had Artemis and Apollo for company and moral support.

"I don't have much in the way of gear but having a second place to return to is always a bonus." She then glanced at the other young man realising she had yet to speak to him. Her parents had taught her much better manners than that she reminded herself. She walked closer to him but not too close as to crowd him, people like animals didn't like being crowded she knew, and held out a hand.

"We haven't been introduced. I'm Ashlyn or Wildheart if you prefer." She smiled slightly. "And this is Artemis and Apollo."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Nate only jumped slightly when Ghost appeared on his sofa, he had mostly gotten used to her popping in and out at random, mostly. He cancelled the call and put his phone away before looking at her. He frowned she didn't look so hot and he guessed she had been in a nasty scrape. He slumped down in the armchair opposite feet resting on the table and grinned.

"Jeez, what happened to you?" He asked. "You look rough even for you."

---

Knight wasn't particularly fond of the scenario. He was far too close to the people who wanted to kill him to be fond of an unorganized attempt at "inspiring the people." Knight was a man of action, not one to sign up for some crusade to change hearts and minds. While Ashlyn was clearly older by about a decade, the teenage vigilante considered himself to be the only "adult" in the situation. And so, in his anger, he rejected the handshake and attempt at pleasantries. Instead, James readjusted the pack on his back. "It's clear that no one here knows how to run a team. I came her to solve a problem, not to sit around and talk about my feelings like this is kindergarten. If you think the gangs are killing families, I'll knock some head together and find out who's responsible."

He knew as soon as he turned his back and went towards the stairs he had made a mistake, but he'd just put it on his social tab. Another punch of powerful people who would get angry and try to kill him... quite frankly, they'd be far from the first and not nearly the last. Regardless, James wanted to get up to a room and set up his gear. He wasn't sure how this gang killing mattered, they happened all the time. It was a sad truth to shitholes like La Vida. Nonetheless, James deep down wanted to bring some justice, having been a little too familiar with families being murdered by power-hungry scumbags.

Once in his room, the teenage vigilante closed the door behind him and locked the door. He set the bag down on the floor and immediately got to work unpacking his things. The room was sparse, and the bed looked more comfortable than what he was used to sleeping on. Nonetheless, James began to remove his weaponry from the bag. Of course, he had his two swords, a katana and a Wakizashi. On top of this, he had an arsenal of various ninjutsu weaponry: A kusarigama, an ono, a few kunai, and a four-hooked kaginawa. James had a few modern additions: his vigilante gas mask that also helped hide his identity, a few tear gas grenades, various small explosive devices used as makeshift flash or smoke grenades... the kinds of things he could use to help make a quick escape or cause mass confusion. His former master had always warned him that it was the mind was the sharpest weapon, and the greatest way to defeat your enemy is to dull it. His former master had also lied to him his entire life and secretly ran a criminal empire... but you know, no one is perfect.

James sat on the ground and unsheathed his blades, pulling out a wetstone and sharpening his equipment. It was a calming action for him, and gave him ample time to think of a game plan on how he was going to start working on the gang issue that night. He ran through a list of local gangs in his head, and his mind wandered as he began to map out an attack plan...

Ashlyn watched the man stride away with a small grimace, so much for building friendships, how he expected them to work together without building a relationship was beyond her. But perhaps once he saw that she was very serious about this he would come around. She smiled then as a thought occurred to her, perhaps helping him find the one who killed that family would be a good way to start. She needed to go to the family's home, once there she had no doubt that witnesses of the animal variety would give her a good place to start. They might even have seen where he or she had gone after killing the family. There were always animals around, the birds, the rats and other rodents investigating the garbage, the many stray cats and dogs. She was sure some of them would have seen what had happened.

"I think I have a way of finding the person who did this." She said to Athena and Tech gesturing at the tv. "If I go to that family's home I can question witnesses who I'm sure will have seen something. Would you like to come with me? I'm going to change and then see if our angry young friend also wants to come along."

She headed for the stairs. "Let me know whether you want to join me when I come back down." She said before finding a empty room and quickly changing into what she thought of as her Wildheart gear. It consisted of dark green leather trousers, matching calf length boots and a dark green leather long sleeved top. She also had a green half mask shaped like a stylised feline but she would put that on later. She braided her hair out of the way and then turned to the dogs.

"You can't come with me, you might scare off those I need to talk to."

Dog lying hurt alone, Artemis trapped in a cage Artemis whined at her and Ashlyn stroked her soothingly.
"I'll be fine, I can look after myself." She said the words aloud but accompanied them with mental images that the animal would understand. Apollo nudged her leg and she stroked him too sending him reassurance as well. Then she asked both of them to stay here, knowing they would do so. She didn't command them as she thought of them as companions not as creatures she owned that had to do her bidding.

She left the door open so that they could wander the house if they wished and then walked along the corridor until she reached the room that her sensitive ears picked up movement in. Without knocking she opened the door and stood in the doorway, the man had an impressive array of equipment spread out before him and was clearly readying himself for a fight.

"I am going on the hunt." She said a slight growl of anticipation in her voice. "I'm going to where that family were killed. Once there I will be able to get information on our killer such as where he went etc. Would you like to join me?"

---

James' eyes were screwed shut, and the soothing rhythm of the whetstone scraping against the blade kept him in a state of peace. He had never attempted meditation in this way. Perhaps this is what he needed to keep his mind at ease...

The soothing feeling faded quickly as he heard footsteps outside of his door, getting closer and closer, before the door was forced open and the woman he had insulted filled the doorframe. James' eyes rolled beneath his lids as a sigh passed through his lips. He listened to what she was saying before turning his eyes towards her, his weaponry assembled around him neatly in a mighty disturbing fashion. His hazel eyes met hers, and a strange mix of apathy and intense energy mingled in them for a short moment, before he lowered his head as he rose to his feet. He threw on a decorated hoodie and began to silently assemble what he was going to take with him. A few of the kunai, his signature two swords, and a few of his pyrotechnic and tear gas devices would suffice. While holding the mask in one hand, his eyes looked towards her again, the same sense of intensity and emptiness washed over his face and melted into his voice. "I can use a ride in that direction. I'm not so much a detective, but taking a look at the crime scene wouldn't be a bad place to start. Might help narrow down who I have to hurt." With that, he placed the mask on over his face and would wait to follow Ashlyn into the breach. His muffled voice emanated from behind the mask, "If we're using our fake names out there... Knight will suffice. And before you say anything, I know it's not original."

---

La Vida: Wayward House > Lobby

Athena bit on her lower lip, the sudden attitude from James, it was expected though. Maybe this was a bad Idea, maybe they should’ve came up with a better plan, all she wanted to do was help. La Vida had been forgotten by the rest of the city, most didn’t even know about this side of Los Angeles. She watched Ashlyn climb the stairs and exit out of view. The teen looked down at the floor trying to come up with a better plan something more than just hoping people would just follow their example.

Matt clicked his tongue in frustration at how that guy made Athena feel, he knew letting in people would be a bad idea. He was ok with the old lady, but James was a head case, it’s always the cute ones with issues he thinks to himself. Matt put a hand on Athena’s shoulder, “It’s gonna be fine. Look I know how stress you get when you wanna make something go perfectly but it was never going to go that way so just stay strong and whatever happens, happens. Just remember I’ll always be here for you.” Matt says with a reassuring smile.

Athena looks up and smiles at Matt placing her hand on his, she thinks about a time where Katarina said those words but now she was gone. Would it be the same for Matt one day, she thought. No, she couldn’t think that way, this was not the time to be thinking so dark, she had make this work no matter what.

“Thanks Matt, I know and you’re right.” Athena says trying her best to not sound as concerned as she felt. “So, will you coming out with us or will you be here providing support?” she says with a smile that reaches her eyes.

“Hmm, think I’ll stay behind and start looking through the data base of criminals that operate around La Vida that match the modus operandi of our killer. See if I can find something that the L.A.P.D has over looked.” He says walking to his computer.

“You know, hacking is against the law, you don’t want to become a harden criminal yourself,” Athena smirks at Matt.

Matt sticks his tongue out at the older teen and smiles saying, “if they didn’t want people to get into their stuff they shouldn’t make it so easy.”

Athena laughs and walks to wait by the door for Ashlyn and hopefully James, she really did want this to work and if one day they became a team that would be awesome, first though, they had to at least get along.

---

---

---

Katarina put her bowl of cereal down on the table and shifted to laying down on the sofa, her head toward Nate and lift her shirt just enough for the boy to get a look at her wound. The left side of her rib cage was bruise but thankfully the swelling went away thanks to the ice. Kat let out a groan as she slid her shirt back down. “I got shot doing a job, thank whatever deity is out there that I was wearing a vest, or I’d be dead or worse, in prison.” She said rubbing her side gently.

She turned her head and got a glimpse of the familiar living room, it wasn’t as dirty as it was the last time she had visit. “You picked up, you find a nice girl to make babies with and become a good and honest man?” she said jokingly.

The apartment was run of the mill for La Vida, part of a large complex that seemed to cram people in boxes like sardines. The building's outside was dilapidated with peeling paint and ancient brickwork. The elevator was out of order, had been for a while by the looks of it, and so the stairs up to the fifth floor had been the only option. Yellow police tape crisscrossed the front door and it was unsurprisingly locked. Ashlyn ducked under the police tape and managed, after a few minutes, to get the door open and she said a silent thanks to her older brother for teaching her that trick.

She stepped inside and then recoiled as the smell hit her, the bodies had been removed of course and the blood cleaned up but even after cleaning the residue remains. Her enhanced sense of smell easily picked out the coppery tang of blood and to her it was overwhelming though to everyone else they probably couldn't smell it. She did her best to ignore it and walked further into the apartment, down the dark dingy hallway and into the small living room. She had decided that the birds would be the ones to try first and she immediately walked to the pair of windows and pulled them open. Though there wasn't much greenery in the area there was a few straggly trees around and where there were trees there were always birds.

Oblivious to how it must look to the others she closed her eyes and sent out her senses, greeting the local wildlife and asking the birds to come to her. What happened next was typical for life around Ashlyn but to anyone else it would look strange and possibly even frightening. Birds began to filter through the open windows, first one then another and then another each one fluttering around Ashlyn in circles. She ended up standing in the centre of a dozen small birds all flying around her in circles, she opened her eyes and smiled in pleasure. After exchanging the usual information about how the birds were doing, how many had nesting chicks etc she asked them about the family that had lived there.

It was difficult, she had to think of the right way of asking the questions as animals didn't measure time like humans did and they rarely paid attention to the humans around them. The best way was to find out if anything that had happened that night had caught their attention, something out of the ordinary.

Blinding light day come early, man standing in the window hands on fire

Ashlyn frowned wondering if she had understood correctly what they were telling her. She spoke to the others quietly so as not to startle the birds.

"They say there was a man here, one who could make light even at night. Have you heard of anything like that?"

---

La Vida: Blake Apartment.

The ride over had been quiet, Athena had avoided all eye contact with Knight and had to fight the urge to peek into his mind. It was too easy sometimes to read people’s minds, some quite literally screamed out to be read, though she resisted, she did not want to get off on the wrong foot with her new ‘friend’. Even though it was a short ride, Athena was glad to be at the apartments, even if they were there to investigate a family murder.

Night had come to La Vida and no one was on the street even though it was still early, the recent home invasion must have scared everyone on this block. As they walked through the stair way she felt oddly out of place, she was just wearing her street clothes side for a domino mask that Matt had made her take, though it hardly matter since they didn’t pass a single soul. Athena knew people were home she could sense their thoughts, as they passed through the hall she could hear thoughts, ‘Who’s there? Are we safe? Are we next?’

Inside Athena could smell the faint odder of something but she didn’t know what it was, whatever it was she didn’t like it. The teen moved through the apartment she made sure not to touch anything and if a door was closed she was sure to open it with her telekinesis. Athena heard birds chirping and turned to see Wildheart in the middle of a bird cyclone, it was like she came out of a Disney movie. Her lips curled into a smile then tried to listen in on what the birds were thinking, however, she could not make out what the small creatures were thinking.

Hearing what information that Wildheart gain from the birds, Athena press the device in her ear and spoke. “Matt, Wildheart says the birds saw a man that could make light. Maybe fire or energy?” Athena taps at her ear reminding the two that they could communicate straight to Matt if need be.

The communication device lightly buzzed to life as Matt responded on the open line the four of them were on. “Right…the birds. Anyways, it seems the police were already looking into metas with fire or energy blast abilities. There’s quite a few but if the birds are right it does eliminate a few on the list. Though, the police seem to have a suspect they like. Some dude named Edward Soto, or I kid you not, lil’ Diablo.” Matt let out an audible sigh at the name. “Anyways, he seems to have fire abilities and run with the Hell Fire gang. So, I guess case closed?”

Athena thought for a moment then replied, “isn’t this part of La Vida Black Spider territory?”

“I guess but who knows with guys like them, maybe H.F. is moving on Black Spider or maybe the Blakes saw something they were supposed to.”

“Can you see what the Blake family did, maybe we can gain some knowledge from what they used to do.” Athena said looking about the home of the slain. It was sad to think that just a few days ago this apartment was full of noise, a family of two small children. It must have been delightfully busy, now all that was left of them were an empty home full of fading memories.

Tapping could be heard on the other side of the comm link as Matt rapped at his key board. “It seems Mr. Blake was a teacher at La Vida high and Mrs. Blake was a stay at home mom. Though it’s odd, looking more into the mom it seems that someone has made documents that were made to seem real. It’s hard to explain…I’ll do some more digging and get back to you.” Matt voice cuts out as his comm goes silent.

Athena turns to the others. “Well, I don’t know what to do next, I guess I can go door to door to see if anyone knows more. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find someone the police missed.”

Nate snorted at her words. "As if, I'd be bored within a week."

He had tried the whole settling down thing once and had quickly learned that the sensible and safe homely life was not for him. He had become too used to living on the edge and now needed the danger. He thought back of his recent job and smiled slightly, that had been risky and he had enjoyed the challenge of it. The gang had been pleased with the result as well and he was sure that it wouldn't be long before more people came calling for 'Photon's' services.

"The cops?" He asked looking at her side. "They finally getting a bit better at hitting what they aimed at?"

As he waited for her reply he hit the remote for the tv and changed it to the local news channel. The family's murder was still the main story and he grinned again.

---

The teenage vigilante stood in his full gear, two swords on his left side. He followed the other two, making his way up into the crime scene. The apartment was relatively clean... too clean, given how quickly the murder had taken place. No evidence he could muster had been left behind by the police, and Knight cursed the men in blue for doing their jobs correctly. There was little he could do, considering he wouldn't exactly be welcoming to the neighbors with a black ballistic gas mask on, and he couldn't do... whatever it was Wildheart was doing.

The reports from Athena and Max really helped narrow down the information Knight needed to get something done. Almost immediately, Knight disappeared out of the apartment and onto the streets. He knew where the Hellfire Gang operated, and they weren't too far away... especially not when Knight was maneuvering through the streets with purpose. The stealthy vigilante, now that it was dark out, blended into the dark alleyways and partially-lit streets of La Vida. There were a few vagabonds who managed to catch a glimpse of James, but most weren't certain their eyes weren't playing tricks on them.

There were three thugs operating out in an alleyway. Dealing Drugs, of course, seemed a little cliche as Knight watched from the fire escape above the scene. A poor kid, probably 16, stopped by for a deal. He only saw one of them, and was of course surprised when he noticed two others step out of the darkness brandishing firearms. A flashy display just to rob a kid. And that kid wanted to make a run for it. Knight couldn't blame him. As the thugs raised their guns into the air, they were surprised as cold steel cut through their hands. The guns dropped to the floor with a clang, and the two armed thugs were quickly struck down with a swipe and a thrust. As James used his foot to slide the body off his katana, the third thug was still standing in shock. He wasn't very old himself, perhaps early twenties. Knight, with a flick of his wrist, had the edge of the blade at his neck, and whispered through the mask, "What do you know about the Blake Family hit?"

The voice responded with a quiver. "T...Tension 'tween us and the Spiders. I say it's them..." Knight smiled beneath his mask, and he quickly sheathed the blade, rushing into the shadows and disappearing in the alleyway without so much a word or a gesture. The thug looked down the ground and noticed a small pool had formed at his shoes.

Knight tapped the communication device in his ear, his voice coming out somewhat muffled and reverberating at the same time. "Didn't pull out much. It's causing some tension between the Fires and the Spiders, which means my money is on the HellFires being responsible. Though I have very little to go on. If anything comes up tonight, send me a location. In the meantime, I'm gonna do a little dusting while I'm out." And with that, Knight got up from the edge of the rooftop, looking out over the cesspool he realized he'd be calling home for some time. He knew he should be keeping a low profile... but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to strike a little fear into the hearts of those that sought to hurt the city.

---

La Vida: Blake Apartment.

Searching the apartment had unsettled Athena, she had walked down the hallway to knock on the other doors of the floor, but no one was welling to open their door. It didn’t really matter though, she could tell the people didn’t know anything, they were afraid of not knowing. Athena gave up the looking for anything useful here and decided to wait for Wildheat and Knight by the car.

Athena leaned on Ashlyn’s car and checked the police scanner app on her phone, there were a bit of police activity in the area, it seemed the cops had been called due their investigation. She sighed and rolled her eyes, “That would have been good to know Matt…” she said to herself.

It was getting chilly and the night sky was lit by the ever-present refinery, it was pretty, if you could ignore the smog the stacks bellowed out constantly. “That can’t be good for our lungs,” Athena thinks out loud.

“Being out here alone isn’t good for you either mama, but me and my boys can keep you safe. Just give us a kiss.” A male voice said as three guys approached. As they got closer they spotted the mask, they hesitated for a moment but continued to surround her and the car. “What’s with the cosplay, are you into some kinky shit?” the guy in front of her said making the others laugh.

Athena was surprised at first, but she stayed calm and allowed the guys to come closer, she read their minds and did not like what they were thinking, however, they were part of Black Spider. “I’m investigating a crime here with my partners, what do you know about the Blake family murders.” Athena said remaining unmoved by the situation. The three males went silent for a moment then laughed, they she could sense their nervousness. They were all thinking the same thing, “Those Hell Fire Bastards will pay for moving in their hood.”

“Whatever just give your keys and we won’t hurt you, this is really your fault for bringing something this nice to this dump.” The guy said. Suddenly an arrow whistled past the one who was talking, and a red line of blood appeared on the boy’s cheek and embedded into a power pole across the street. “I’m in a fowl mood so I’m gonna say this once, leave.” Came a female voice. This time Athena could not hear the other mind approach, the teen looked to the source of the voice as did the three boys. Under the shadow of a tree stood a girl about the size of Athena, she had a black mask over her mouth and nose, a white top, black tights, and a red sash over her midriff. She had her hand over her shoulder gripping another arrow and her bow ready to be loaded.

The leader of the three reached behind his back for something “Bitch Imma…” the boy began to say but became dazed. Athena held the boy up stopping him from falling over, the two others came to the leader’s side and took him from Athena’s grasp.
“It’s a sedative, it should wear off in an hour, though I wonder how you all will get out of here with two of you down?” she asked loading her bow. The other two got the message and dragged their friend down the street.

A moment past as Athena and the mysterious girl stood watching each other, the girl had lowered her bow and spoke, “you’re trying to read my mind, don’t bother. I’m just here to tell you and your friend Matt to back off this case, my people are on it, don’t get in our way.” She said before backing into the shadows and disappearing.

Athena could feel her hands shaking, she was feeling a mixture of fear and excitement. The fact that she couldn’t read her mind was upsetting, she could read everyone’s mind. When her comm link turned on it made her jump, she listened to Knight’s news that he gathered, she hadn’t even noticed he left the apartment. Athena put her finger to the comm device in her ear and says, “get back to the house, make sure you’re not being followed.

---

---

---

Katarina shifted to a sitting position and watched the news story and frowned, “why are the cops on my back, all I do is steal things from rich fucks, there’s some asshole dirt bag out there killing people.” She says. She looked at her bowl of cocoa pebbles that had gone soggy. “Let’s get go out.” She says looking at Nate with a wicked smile.