---

---

Around four o'clock the event staff herded (or attempted to herd) everyone towards the beach. The stage was fully set up with various fancy lights, and it was almost time for everyone to release the balloons. Everyone who had a balloon was anticipating the great moment where they let their wishes and aspirations fly high! Around this point, various fancy lights on the stage were set up and there was static feedback as Astrid Storm, pop star extraordinaire, walked up to the stage. Wearing black sunglasses, a baggy grey sweater, skinny jeans, and huge platform boots.

"Charity beach, make some noise!" Astrid shouted at the top of her lungs as the crowd yelled. Astrid, or Sylvia, looked over her shoulder at the Valos family backstage and Johnny gave her the thumbs up. "I came here to this sunny city for the beach festival! So before I get started I want you all to, on my count, let go of the balloons!"
Some people popped the pink pill as Sylvia put three fingers up.

"Three…" Sylvia said as everyone looked up… some people prematurely let go of their balloons and her face went flat. "Two…"

The man in the hoodie was in the center of the crowd… he couldn't hold it anymore. He fell over, stumbling to his knees as he held both sides of his head as pain overcame him. He didn't know what the hell was going on – Happiness was supposed to make him feel good, not like this! He looked down at his hands and noticed something wrong… his hands were covered in tumorous growths that had weird keratin-like material over them. He was covered in blood as he began to…. Change. He grasped his stomach as it explosively expanded until it was three times of his original size.

"… Three! Let your dreams fly high Charity Beach!" Sylvia shouted at the top of her lungs as she laughed like a maniac. Everyone released their balloons that were on the beach, and the people that were downtown also released their balloons. There were so many balloons that, soon enough, they began to blot out the sky. A techno bassline slowly began to pick up as Sylvia dramatically stood still with the mic to her mouth and her eyes were closed. The bassline quickly became loud dubstep so loud that it shook the very beach, and Sylvia jumped up and landed with her legs shoulder width apart as she sang.

"My people it's time, finally time to climb out the ocean. Eyes finally open, we can look at the pity all around and leave it all on the ground! We'll brave the dark, and we'll brave the sea, will you brave it for you and me?"

That was when fireworks shot off the stage as Astrid held her mic in the air. The man had already transformed into an inhuman monstrosity that was a huge tumorous blob with a massive club like hand that was made out of hardened stone-like bone. The beasts legs were tiny but he used his arm as a movement tool and as a weapon. He just felt rage… there were screams but they were drowned out by the music. The man hit the nearest person so hard that he was launched across the beach and was sent into the group of people. Blood was everywhere as he wasn't alone… various people throughout the festival who took the pink pill began to transform into horrible monsters of various shapes and sizes. All while everyone was distracted.

It wasn't long before chaos broke out as everyone noticed what was going on.

"… So let's burn this city to ashes, and let's see what the serpent fears-" Astrid continued to sing until she noticed the tumorous beach rampaging across the crowds of people. She had to lift up her sunglasses because she had nary a clue what the fuck was heading towards her. "Holy shit people, there's a fucking monster running around! Get the fuck out!" She screamed into the mic as she took steps back.

---

Beach Festival Backstage.

---

The best part about being siblings with a famous singer is that they got to sit backstage! Even though Johnny's encounter with Pretty in Pink was a fluke, he couldn't help but crack a smile as Sylvia was killing it. Well, her style of music wasn't Johnny's style but she had a great voice! Though, he glances around the corner looking for Pretty in Pink… he had a feeling he'd find her snooping around the bitch, and she'd learn the true meaning of bitchslapped. However, things quickly went off the rails when Sylvia stopped and started screaming about a monster.

Immediately, Johnny dashed out with his revolver in hand and Gabe and Jaska were right behind him. His eyes landed upon the giant, tumor-monster, and it was heading right towards them. Johnny could read its emotions… it was fucking angry. Its bright red aura was the most intense Johnny has ever seen! That meant it would make Johnny awfully strong...

It grabbed a woman by the stomach and tossed her straight at Sylvia – However, Johnny got in front and created a barrier that took the appearance of pulsing lights between them. The woman merely bounced off, leaving a bloody stain and a small crack, as Johnny dropped the shield. While he didn't rely on his power, he knew it was useful in situations like this. He wondered if his ol' peashooter would do any more than bounce off the thing. Gabe took his side as her hands started glowing with a red light.

The thing was still heading towards them, and Johnny realized something as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "We got no stake in this," Johnny started off, "Let's get this thing off our trail and we're out!" He twirled his pistol in his hands… as confident as he was in his shot, the last thing he wanted to do was miss and have a real scandal on his hands.

However, he didn't know that the whole festival was crawling with them.

---

^{@Junkmail@eclecticwitch}
Charity Beach Festival.

---

There was an ear-piercing scream coming from the festival as Drake immediately whipped his head towards it. He raised his eyebrow as he stared at the thing that was revealed when the crowds cleared. It was like a human being horribly warped by something until it was completely wrong by all intents and purposes. It was a being that was covered in tumors, as its arms were extended behind what was natural… twisted, like the thing was some kind of horrific spider. Drake looked at the being as it tore through the crowds, and assessed the situation. As much as his lightning form would allow him to easily dispatch the thing, it was too dangerous and there were too many people running around for him to properly use it.

So, he had to fall back on a different form… his mouth grew a mouth of sharp, needle-like, teeth and his skin took the texture of a frog as his skin turned black with blue spots. Of course, it was hard to see from underneath his armor, he had bulbous fingers and toes. His eyes were wide as he turned to Bobbi… not thinking that she would be just a little freaked out by the transformation. "Get out of here – find somewhere safe to hide!" Drake said as he took a few steps towards the beast that was wildly destroying the festival. He pressed his earpiece as he said, "Command, this is Agent Dragon, there's been a manifestation – a bad one – and he's tearing up the festival!"

"Agent Dragon, it's been reported that several people have mutated throughout the festival! Your orders are to escort all civilians out of there, more Agents are on the way!"

Hmph. Drake was confident that everyone would be able to escape themselves, but he had to act now. The thing was about to kill people! He hopped high up into the air onto a stand as the monster raised it's hand up to crush someone… Drake stuck his tongue out and it attached itself to the beast's fist and yanked it towards him. It was enough of an opening for the man to get up and run off, and Drake released the thing's fist as it turned its attention towards him.

"Hey, Henry!" Drake shouted towards Henry, before he grinned, "You comin'?"

---

^@Junkmail
The Festival.

---

Damn it.

In her head, she hissed as she looked over her shoulder at Matt and saw him texting instead of, y'know, looking at her butt. She could only feel frustration as she did something a little kneejerk, in her opinion. She, instead of writing something meaningful like the young Blackmore intended, wrote FOR MATT TO STOP BEING SO DENSE. She, kind of regretted what she wrote but while Matthew was texting... whoever (probably his fwb), she quickly tied the note to the balloon not to arouse suspicion and stood straight up. She was gonna pretend she wrote something corny down as she held the balloon, and she felt like she was Pennywise. She faced Matthew as she just couldn't help herself as she asked,

"Who ya' textin?" Amanda asked before she chuckled. "Your side chick?" She joked as she put her hand on his shoulder but deep down she knew she wasn't joking. She pushed those thoughts aside as she looked at her watch and saw that it was nearing four o'clock! That means that Astrid was about to perform! She was excited to see her - not because of her music, but Sylvia was one of the friends she had made in the Academy! And it was years since she last saw Sylvia, though the girl didn't really answer her text messages. Maybe she'd give her a reason to start again!

Also, Amanda saw her nudes that went out a few months ago. They were nice.

"It's almost four," Amanda said to Matthew as she grabbed his wrist to lead him to the beach. "We don't want to miss the main event!" The two of them walked over to the beach, hand in hand (or hand on the wrist in this case). The second they made it to the boardwalk, it was abundantly clear that Amanda wasn't going to get the spot she wanted. There was already a huge crowd, and she doubted she'd be able to muscle her way over to the front row without starting a huge fight. Ugh!

For a minute she thought about using a certain flying brick power to get the view she wanted, but she knew that would attract too much-unwanted attention. Amanda figured that, if they can't get the spot they want, the two of them were better off finding a spot without too many people. Which she did towards the edge of the shore itself, which was a bit far away from the stage but she knew those speakers were so big that she could probably hear the music from the moon. Though the two of them forgot to bring fucking chairs!

Meanwhile, Amanda found herself taking off her boots and socks and stepping in the water. The water was the perfect relief for her hot feet, and she turned back towards Matt and splashed some water in his direction. "C'mon, get those sneakers off, Matt!" Amanda said, "Water's just fine!"

That was when Sylvia took the stage and... Amanda could hardly see shit from this far away. It reminds her of the time she was in the nosebleed section of a concert. Biggest waste of seventy-nine dollars ever! Still, this was free music, and she could hear her from over here as if she was a few feet away... and she felt bad for the people who were front row. Sylvia told them to release the balloons on her count, and Amanda sighed that she couldn't write anything sensible down but she released the balloons...

... It wasn't that deep.

Though Amanda was amazed as she looked up at the sky - all of those balloons in the air looked absolutely marvelous. She was staring at it, with her mouth wide open - before she reached into her back pocket to pull out her cellphone to take a picture and knew how sick it'd look on her Instagram!

...

"Holy shit people, there's a fucking monster running around! Get the fuck out!"

Immediately Amanda's head whipped towards the stage and she just so happened to catch the tumorous monster in her eyes as she tried to look at Sylvia. Okay, she had nary an idea of where this thing came from... but she didn't want any part of it. Though, another part of her wanted to make sure Sylvia was safe if nothing else. Still, the girl activated her power and she began to float a few inches into the air.

There were a few more mutants roaming around, and Amanda wondered what the hell was going on. She turned her head back towards Matthew as she asked, "Do you know if your friend is here or not?"

---

---

The Boardwalk
Interactions: Drake Blackmore @Ruler Inc, Henry Olin @junkmail, and Enoch @CaptainBritton

---

---

Bobbi listened intently as the balloon woman explained all the ups on the tradition. She sucked down the last of her drink before tossing it into a nearby garbage can. "Take it y'all ain't worried 'bout dem turtles down dis way, huh?" she said in a sarcastic but playful manner. She tied her balloon around the alligator and quickly wrote something down on the card before shoving it into her pocket. The sound of music filled the air and she turned to the stage with delight.

The light-hearted excitement of a musical performance was quickly dashed as the lights of fireworks illuminated a grotesque Cronenberg creature that was decimating the crowd. She whistled softly, impressed with its sudden appearance. And the general disgust of its visage. Drake transformed as well, which brought another whistle from the woman. With a dramatic salute she would do as he recommended. That was to say, turn tail and mother fucking get the hell out of dodge.

And so she ran along the wooden boards and sand, people fleeing and screaming all around her. She was getting pushed this way and that, being a small little thing she was likely to get trampled in all of this. Through the thick of it, she spotted the tall, hulk of a lizard man. What safer place to hide than behind a giant? She began to make her way toward him but was forced to stop when the body of some poor soul bounced and landed in front of her. She grimaced at the bruised and bloody wad of meat, turning her eyes back toward the stage to find more of those... things had appeared. Bobbi sighed and finished making her way toward Henry. It seemed he had made a friend. "Afternoon," she panted, placing her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. She was so glad she hadn't worn sandals. After a moment she straightened. "I woulda t'ought I'da liked a night where it'd be rainin' men," she said in a light-hearted tone. She winked at the newcomer before turning her gaze on Henry. "What deh fuck are dem dere t'ings?" She gestured toward the abominations.

Bobbi gathered she was not making it out of this festival without a fight. Or without wings. But she didn't have wings so a fight it seemed to be. She did the only thing she could think would best suit the situation. She needed protection. Bobbi reached out her arm and as she pushed into the air, a white ring of crackling energy engulfed her arm and her hand did not emerge from the other side of it. "Ah fuck, nows not deh time tah be playin' games cher," she grumped as she dug about in the air. Her fingers finally wrapped around something and when she pulled it out the white circle vanished.

Bobbi blinked dumbly at the small, pink, and sparkly dildo she held in her hand. She shook it and it wobbled about. She then turned to look at her companions. "Jus' what teh fuck am I s'pose tah do wit' dis?" she demanded of them as if they had any idea of why the Vault did what the Vault did. "Jesus, Mary, and fucking Joseph too," she grumbled, shoving the dildo in the back pocket of her shorts and pulled the stuffed gator close to her chest. When all else failed, she supposed running was the next best option. Her original. She just hoped she wouldn't get trampled.

---

---

We're at the festival. By the tables writing our wishes. Red and blue balloons. Just shout when you get there.

Okay, Matty.

Of the few good people Israel got to know around here, Matt was one of them. They weren’t what one would call as being “part of his circle” – he wasn’t much of an intellectual and their interests were somewhat disparate, save for skating – he was kind of a nobody who Israel had met by chance; but he was good people, good enough that he was willing to show the newcomer around Charity Beach. The only question as of right now was who was we? Israel opted to not bother thinking about it too much; he’d learn more when he arrived.

The thing about the festival that was actually worth thinking about was the entertainment this year. How was a local festival able to afford a high-profile pop star? It was no big secret that the mayor managed to pull some strings to attract some media coverage of the city. Promoting the city for an economic boon, that was one thing, but where did the city get the money to begin with? They certainly weren’t putting it to use in Los Costas, or even some of the roadways. It was likely to just keep getting funneled into the touristy sections of the city, the businesses of which being the most likely to gain from the whole fiasco. What then will development do to the costs of living in the area? Likely perpetuate an even greater economic divide between districts.

Israel rolled his eyes and sighed. Open eyes made a man tired, but to rest meant closing them. There’s never an easy answer.

His footsteps brought him closer to the festival; the crowds were gathered, and the singer was standing on stage and making a scene. As he pushed his way through the crowd, he looked for his crazy-tall friend, but his own shorter stature made it hard to find him over the rest of the crowd. “By the tables,” he said, sure, but so was everyone else. As he pushed his way through, he heard a commotion somewhere else in the crowd – he didn’t think much of it, as everyone were letting go of their balloons, and someone probably someone throwing their beer around – until the pop singer interrupted her own song and began to yell, “Holy shit people, there's a fucking monster running around! Get the fuck out!"

As if on cue, one of the monsters bulldozed through the crowd, toppling them over like dominoes until a man was pushed into Israel, who, likewise, felt his back strike the sandy beach. Hearing the impact of someone land next to him, he turned over to look – only to see a pair of legs, the upper half of the body missing from the waist. Immediately, he squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. One of the monsters roared, though he couldn’t tell from where – his heart was racing, pounding painfully against the inside of his chest as gasped for shallow breaths – he clawed himself out from underneath the dogpile of people. He kicked sand to get himself back up to his feet, and soon after, kicked off his flip flops and began a mad sprint in a blind direction – if it was away from the center of the crowd, he didn’t care where he was going.

However, running blindly had him collide with another, taller person. Fear gripping his heart, he looked up almost expecting another one of those tumor-ridden monsters – but instead, he saw Matt.

“¡Coño!” He exclaimed, unable to think in English in his current panic. “¡Asere, vámonos!

---

"Who ya' textin? Your side chick?"

Matt winced, realizing he was being somewhat rude. He shook his head to dismiss the thought from her mind. "No, no. Just- Texting Israel." he explained, an awkward half smile gracing his lips.

The music was in full swing now, it was difficult to hear much, he could barely even hear himself think. But he saw people preparing to release their balloons and followed suit. It must be that time. Experience had taught him that tying the balloon to one's wrist was usually the best method of keeping it in one's possession, so he carefully untied the balloon. There are cheers around him, as the light on a tall, large building across from him lights up, bright fluorescent lights casting a glow across the streets and into the sky.

"10!"

He berates herself mentally for a moment for thinking the way he did. He closes his eyes, and the hand holding the balloon tightens its grip. He wills every ounce of willpower and determination into that little paper and that fragile balloon.

"…6!"

He doesn't open his eyes, even as the time counts down. The sound of people laughing and chanting all around him grows louder as the time shortens.

"4!"

He feels a cool breeze from the sea pass by him, and he only clutches even tighter onto his balloon, moving it in front of his, both hands clasping desperately to the thin line to the small, yellow balloon. A line to her.

"3!"

Laughter erupts from the right of him. He tightens his eyes.

"2!"

He takes in a deep breath.

"1!"

I hope she finds what she's looking for. Even if it isn't me.

Screams of joy and laughter erupt from all around him as she hears the sound of music erupt from the stage. And finally he lets go of the line he so desperately clung onto just moments ago. He opens his eyes and finally releases his breath, and watches as the fragile, light balloon lifts slowly into the air, carrying his wish along with hundreds more. He turns to smile at Amanda, who is calling his name from the water's edge, but there is screaming in his ears- the bad kind this time. He whirl's around in time to see red and viscera, Amanda yells about his friend and then a person barrels into him.

"¡Coño asere, vámonos!"

Speak of the devil, he thought despite the panic. There Israel was.

"He's here!" Matt said, pulling Israel off of him and almost shoving him toward Amanda's direction, giving him a direction to run and deciding that greeting his friend was probably not a priority at the moment. Getting the hell out of here was.

Pain ripped through Matthew's back, and he felt hook like appendages catch his shoulder blade, effectively lifting his body off the ground and throwing him about three feet to right. He felt himself scream as muscle was rent and his arm was popped out of it's socket, but he didn't hear it. A small, separate part of himself realized that there was more than on monster at this park. He felt his body impact the sand face first, and felt painful weight on his back. One of those creatures was likely on top of him right now- ready to end his life.

---

@Ruler Inc@Spoopy Scary

---

Henry stood in silence for while longer with Jake. The two men obviously had plenty of stories to share, but it felt... wrong to push. At least right now. So Henry didn't say anything- talking right now would be like asking him to admit weakness. They knew each other's type, so they stood in silence, simply enjoying quiet company. It was, at least in Henry's case, something he was unused to. A welcome change of pace.

He must've looked silly, giant lizard cop holding a tiny yellow balloon. He looked up to it, then to the stage. It was time to let them go. The singer was calling for everyone to release. Henry looked up to his balloon once more, holding on for a second longer before letting go. From there, he watched the balloon float away, up, up, up until there's nothing left but a dot in the sky.

Wish you were here.

He closed his eyes and imagined, allowing his arm to fall to his side and relax at the thought. He wasn't sure who the wish was for yet, but he knew that he would know when he saw them.

His eyes snapped open at the sound of screaming and the smell of blood. He heard his radios buzzing with activity, people giving commands and others reading them back. Something something manifestations. Get civilians to safety. He looked across the street to Drake, who was already shifting forms. Hot blooded and rearing for a fight. Henry momentarily remembered the days when he was like that, too. He caught sight of Bobbi making her way over towards him, trying to brave the crowds running through the streets away from what was best described as a hot spot of manifestations. Through luck and will, the little girl made it across- and then promptly opened a portal of all things.

Henry was instantly more on edge, if that was even possible. This person had been particularly friendly towards them- something that was both uncommon and something he was unused to. He tensed, had she been the cause of this event somehow? His mind flew a mile a minute, but stopped as soon as she pulled out a small pink adult toy from the portal she had created. He furrowed his brow, more confused than suspicious now.

"Jus' what teh fuck am I s'pose tah do wit' dis?"

Henry opened his mouth, but no words came out. He shook his head, and took a step forward into the street. He stopped momentarily, turning around and taking the monstrous handgun off of his hip. He grabbed Bobbi's arms and pulled her towards him roughly, at the same time putting the gun into her hands- practically shoving her back as soon as he let go of her arm to give her the gun.

"Crash course-" He said. The gun was huge and heavy for its size- essentially a modified glock that had thirty 9MM rounds in its gigantic magazine. It was largely useless to him, but it was standard for all FAMA agents to have a sidearm and building a handgun chambered in .50 cal would be wasteful, inhumane, and unnecessary even if it would've been far more normal for his size. "Point, aim, fire." He said, pointing at the iron sights and then the trigger. He gave Jake a glance- he'd prefer to have given him the gun, the man reeked of gunpowder for Christ's sake, but he was likely packing heat himself. It was the better decision to arm Bobbi.

"Keep each other safe-"

He heard the wet smacking sound of Drake's tongue behind him and the inhuman sounds of the mutants. He winced, he couldn't stay much longer.

"Hey, Henry! You comin'?"

Henry craned his neck, turning around and glaring at Drake. It was time for the giant to do his job.

"Drake will get you out of here."

He stepped back, turning around again to face Drake. "I got this, Dragon. You know the drill, get them out of here and if I dont come find you, scrape my ass off the pavement gently please."

The aberrant's attention was on Drake, and it had no time to reach when Henry grabbed it by it's head with one of his enormous hands and with herculean strength lifted it's thrashing body in the air. With his other free hand he grabbed one of it's wildly kicking legs and brought it horizontal. It feebly clawed, scratched, and beat against the scales on his hands, and with a grunt the reptilian giant brought it down against his knee. There was an almighty shattering sound as the aberrant's chest cavity was turned to paste, and the mutant's spine arced unnaturally around Henry's leg. Henry released the corpse, which fell unceremoniously to the asphalt like a discarded trinket, or a broken toy.

Henry wasn't the best shot, nor was he the best technical fighter in FAMA. He couldn't be, he was too big and never had any extreme talent with firearms. He was good at a few things though. Henry curled his hands into fists and beat his chest like an ape- emitting a loud pounding sound. Like a living war drum. He arched his back forwards and roared, the sound reverberating through the very souls of those around him. Deep, primordial, and an uncanny combination of both human and inhuman.

He was good at being the diversion, so everyone else could do their jobs. In this case, a giant to get the mutant's attention, and an immovable object to keep most of them at bay. A distraction, but a force of nature all the same. Henry felt the ever familiar blood rush as his body shifted into fight or flight mode- he was a warrior through and through and this was what he lived for, and what he would die for.

Just not today.

---

@Ruler Inc @EclecticWitch @CaptainBritton

---

Meadow followed the route Waze suggested and, still, she was late because of all the traffic jam. Then she had to circle the block three times until she found a spot to park her '03 black Chevrolet Malibu. After that, she turned off the radio, which until then was playing Curtis Mayfield.

“...dreams fly high Charity Beach!”

Whatever, she thought as she stared at the balloons slowly filling the sky. A few feet away from her a large group of teenagers also began to party. She pulled the phone from the GPS support, turned the radio on again, and looked in the phone for her contractor's number.

"Hi Martha, how you doin’?" She pressed the phone with her shoulder and laid on the passenger seat, fumbling the glove compartment for her purse. "Sorry about not answering before, I was in traffic--"

"--No, everything is okay. But hey, did you got the key to your brother's house?" At that moment someone tripped over the hood of her car. It was a young man, who apparently threw himself, stumbled and ran scared. “Watch your step! Moron!" She yelled angrily.

"--Hi again... some stoned kid fumbled over my car--" Meadow turned her attention back to the phone, returning to her seat. "--Yeah. That's why I prefer whiskey." Martha didn't seem to get the joke.

"What in hell?" Meadow let the phone slid from her shoulder when she saw one of the girls from that group running, frightened, holding her heels in one hand and the cell phone in the other.

“You will not believe the shit happe--FUCK!" Meadow screamed and tried to jump to the passenger seat when a half-human half-abomination came out from nowhere and hit the driver's door. The creature kept pushing the car until it flipped over.

"May? May? Are you there? "The voice was enough to bring Meadow from the moon back to Earth.

"Jesus." Meadow groaned in pain, seeing that she was now upside down and her right leg stuck in the driving wheel. "I'll call you later, Martha." she did her best to spin back and forth, while not cutting herself in the broken glass.

"What is goin--?"

Meadow just ignored Martha and tried to hang up the call but the phone's display was beyond repair. She threw it in her pocket and tried to crawl out of the car.

The monster was about fifty yards away, destroying whatever was around. The creature's skin was tumorous and was all twisted, witch small version of t-rex arms and a hump and muscles that went from his shoulders to his neck. And by the looks of the chaos around, this "attack" was happening all around the festival.

"Hey!" Meadow shouted at the creature as she fumbled for her pistol in her purse. “I’M TALKING TO YOU! YOU UGLY SON OF BITCH!” Meadow she struggled with her aiming and then pulled the trigger once, a second, and a third time.

But nothing.

Two of the shots grazed the creature and the one that hit did nothing but make it angrier. And boy, the thing was fast. So fast that Meadow got little to no time to dodge as it charged toward her, passing close and only stoping when it met her updside down car.

---

^{@Junkmail@Spoopy Scary}
The Festival.

---

Seemingly on cue, some kid runs up speaking Spanish and she had no choice but to raise an eyebrow. The kid was skin and bones! However, she didn't really have the time or energy to really give him a good look up and down. She had to focus, she glanced around and everything was going crazy. While she tried to stay strong... she was not Adam or, hell, even Drake. She wasn't used to the crazy shit that Metahumans could do - all she did was haul-

In an instant one of the mutants attacked them - or Matthew - effortlessly lifting her friend up and throwing him across the room. "Mattie!" Amanda shouted as she shot her hand out, on reflex attempting to summon a mighty gust of wind that'd give the monster a bad time.

The only problem was that she didn't have it.

Oh, the woes of having an affinity with a power. Once the shock wore off she gained the ability to think straight and she remembered which power she had. Okay, Amanda was definitely not a fighter but she definitely had other ideas. The girl planted her weight down on the ground before throwing herself shoulder first at the monster. She flew a little bit through the air and she let her momentum and super strength handle the rest as she felt the raw impact of her shoulder hitting the monster. While she was a lot tougher, that still hurt like hell for a second. But she did exactly as she planned; at full force, the thing was sent skidding across the beach kicking a dust storm.

However, Amanda didn't want to stick around for the dust to settle. She quickly ran over to Matthew... the viscera and gore made her sick to her stomach. She would have gagged if the Blackmore didn't have other, better, ideas. She grabbed Matthew by his underarm in a rush and effortlessly carried him over to Israel as she quickly said,

"... Okaydon'tscreamwe'regettingoutofherebye!"

After grabbing him by the arm Amanda immediately took flight. She had the strength to carry them to safety, so she was going to. Thank Nakala that she was so willing to share her power with her! They flew over all the chaos but... Mattie ended up getting a lot heavier. She glanced down and noticed that his skin was turning stone-like and her eyes shot open as her heart rate went up.

"Fuck fuck fuck!"

The string of swears left her lips as Matthew slipped out of her hands, and she began to lower her altitude as she desperately tried to hold onto Matthew. Eventually, it was a losing battle as she never had the best grip on him in the first place - and not a thing in the world mattered now, not all the monsters below them, or the people getting killed. She had a thought that it'd be easier to grab Matthew if she didn't have Israel... No, no, she'd never do that. If Daddy was still alive he'd chide her for even the thought.

Then he slipped.

"Matthew!" Amanda screamed at the top of her lungs as she couldn't help but hold out her hand. She watched as he hit the ground and landed on a food stand. Fuck. Damn it. She could have saved him, she could have kept him safe! Fuck. She couldn't tell if he was dead or not, but she couldn't help but turn her head towards Israel. "I'm gonna put you down for a sec, okay?" Amanda couldn't care if he was okay with it or not.

She just wanted to make sure Matthew was alive.

---

^{@Junkmail@eclecticwitch}
Charity Beach Festival.

---

"I got this, Dragon. You know the drill, get them out of here and if I don't come to find you, scrape my ass off the pavement gently please."

Drake scoffed - or half-scoffed - he had little interest in evacuating the area. They needed to take out the monsters as fast as possible so they can escape - or EMTs can get in and pick up the pieces. But, if his superior said to do something; then he has no choice. Well, good thing he had his frog form equipped or else this would be a bit harder. He was surprised that Henry handed Bobbi a gun, but he hopped over to the girl as he said

"Hop on my back," Drake started off. "We're getting out of-"

Not too far away - about twenty feet Drake gauged - someone fell from the fucking sky into a stand. This was all crazy, Drake could see that, but he also saw some... activity coming from the stand. He just had to investigate just to make sure the person was alive. With Bobbi on his back, he said.

"Alright I'm going to investigate this; then we're outta here," Drake said in between hops.

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^@Defacto
Festival

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After her meeting with Ava - whom she knew she'd be meeting again - Kashmira drifted over towards the beach, phone in hand. Balloon in the other hand, she saw how crazy the beach was and figured that she'd stay on the boardwalk and watch from the distance. She merely watched the stage from the sidelines as chit-chatted with Rashmika as the music began.

"Oh, American music," Rashmika mused. "It's obnoxious."

"I like some of it," Kashmira added on.

"It's all so... obnoxious," Rashmika answered. "And I get looks at work when I have our songs on."

Kashmira smirked into the phone's camera. "Sister like you were the one to ever care about what people think." She chuckled.

"It's just irritating when they get to play their Chinese mus-" Suddenly, after tuning out the popstar for so long she announced that it was time to release the balloons. She started counting down.

"Five..."

"Oh, it's time," Kashmira said.

"Four..."

"Sure you aren't going to tell me what you wrote?" Rashmika said.

"Three..."

"Nope, my secret!" Kashmira said.

"Two..."

"A pity..."

"… One! Let your dreams fly high Charity Beach!"

Kashmira let go of her balloon, even though she found the whole festival... silly, she couldn't help but participate in it. Merely out of excitement of American culture. However, on the note she had a legitimate wish written down - something that she wanted to happen more than anything. There was a reason why she hadn't told her own twin, the one person she told almost everything. Because she was apart of the issue, and would only chide her. She understood that, despite being twins, they had some drastically different viewpoints and personalities - she was colder. The girl watched the balloon fly high and could only help but crack a smile at all the baloons in the air.

It was written in Gujarati, naturally.

Forgive Hanumanta.

Kashmira was right about all the balloons looking beautiful, and she couldn't help but stare upwards at all the multicolored balloons. It wasn't long before she lost her dark-green balloon but that was okay. Perhaps that was the point? Yeah, and it was a dream that she wanted to see come true, more than anything-

"Holy shit people, there's a fucking monster running around! Get the fuck out!"

That was when Kashmira put her head down and looked at the crowd of people... she saw monsters tearing people apart and she couldn't help but cup her mouth with her hand. Kashmira couldn't believe her eyes, and she was looking around and realized that they were everywhere. What in the world was going on?

"Sister!" Rashmika shouted, "Are you okay?! What is going on?!"

Kashmira didn't answer, as she was busy darting around and witnessing all the carnage - her heart raced as her chest started feeling really funny. She never felt like this since... Ahmedabad. Running through the streets as that molten monster tore the place into pieces, wondering if her family was still alive. If she was going to die. Suddenly, she was brought back to the present as she looked at Rashmika through the phone, who was staring at her worryingly.

"I must go!" Kashmira said as she quickly realized that trying to maintain a facetime conversation now of all time was a recipe for disaster.

"Wait!" Rashmika tried to stop her so she could get in some last words of encouragement. "Stay strong, sister. Shiva will protect you!"

Giving her a final affirming nod, Kashmira hit the end call button on her phone. She was going to see her sister again, she had to ensure that. She was going to see all of her family again. Kashmira turned around and noticed one mutant creeping towards her... she looked at him and he didn't look too different. He was a caucasian man with curly black hair, but sharp teeth and bloodshot red eyes. Those elongated limbs weren't all normal either... but she couldn't help but feel something familar about all of this.

As the mutant crept towards her she took steps back until her back hit the railing. She looked over her shoulder at all the sand underneath her - and got an idea. Sand wasn't something that she readily knew how to manipulate like she could regular stone - but if she got down to it; sand was basically stone that was broken down. It was just too ... loose for her taste. Since she was on a boardwalk with no solid stone in reach, she had to make due. She put both of her hands out and closed her eyes as she brought two waves of sand from the beach all the way to the boardwalk and threw it directly into the monster. It sent him flying backward - but Kashmira had more sense than wait until he got back up.

The small girl was already hauling ass. Where? She wanted to be anywhere but here! Of course, she didn't realize that she could be running right into a monster. When she made it to the outskirts, she was bumped into by a man far larger and sturdier than her. She was knocked to her hands and knees and her ears were ringing. To avoid getting trampled she had to do some quick thinking; the sidewalk she was touching was lifted up into the air. With her with it - it was shaking at first, but the girl managed to recover and her feet touched the ground and she kept hauling ass.

Once she got to the parking area she was treated to the sight of one of those things flipping over a car before the woman comes out with a pistol shooting. Kashmira immediately dropped to her hands and knees in hopes no bullets would hit her. When she saw that the creature wasn't halted by the bullets she had to do something; she slammed both her hands against the asphalt and some street came flipping up. It tripped the beast and it hit the ground skidding directly at Meadow's feet.

Kashmira gave herself a pat on the back... but her "nurse instincts", as she called them, compelled her to run over to the woman. "Ma'am! Are you okay? Did you hit your head?!" Kashmira had to shout over the chaos.

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The Boardwalk
Interactions: Drake Blackmore @Ruler Inc, Henry Olin @junkmail, and Enoch @CaptainBritton

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She dropped the alligator when Henry grabbed her and pulled her toward him. She made a sound of surprise and stared up at the giant, at first she was concerned at what he might do. Instead of anything untoward he pressed a gun into her hands. Bobbi disliked guns, not her thing. She'd much rather do her fighting up close and personal but she had no experience with anything the size of those monsters. She held out the gun as if it might explode and murmured her thanks.

It wasn't long until the froggy Drake hopped over to her. She grinned, put herself on his back and turned slightly toward Enoch. "See ya later, gator! Take care o' Mawley." With a small wave of the gun to gesture toward the stuffed animal, she held on tightly to Drake. In response to his note about the investigation, she said, "High ho silvah away!" Not being great with guns, she hoped she didn't accidentally kill her chance of escaping this chaos.