Chaos. That was the only way to describe it. From Jackie's rage, the blondie had been thrown through a wall alongside the cat-like girl. Jackie was dealing with them, so she could ignore it. The beefy looking girl, Gabby, wasn't paying too much attention. While Corvus attacked the grounded moth, she could only spray them with a fire extinguisher. The pebble had drilled a hole in the roof and then went to deal with the birds in the C02 smoke. This left a critical flaw in their structure. To the greenhorn adventurers, they may not have noticed it. The woman who had been attacked with the knife and the fire extinguisher had been left alone. With visibility cut down by the extinguisher and the chaos, the greenhorn heroes would be unable to keep track of absolutely everything. But Quinn lived in chaos. She revelled in it.

From the outskirts of the battle, she leapt at the teal-haired girl. The quirk that the girl had was pretty easy to figure out. It was probably just cold. If it was something more, it would have done something like that. Even if it was freezing, Quinn could easily take it. She wore a thick jacket. But under the cover of chaos and disorder, she thrusted her stinger directly at the girl's neck. Loaded inside of her tail was a dreaded load of neurotoxin. Not enough to kill or cripple her. Just enough to have some fun. For Quinn, who had crept around while simply observing, it was practically an assassination. Only with less death. At least not yet. She'd at least put the air conditioner out of commission.

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@Aviaire@OwO

Having remained in her position under the hole in the ceiling in case any of her classmates needed to make an escape, Gabby hadn't much else to do except keep track of the goings-on around her as best she could. Most obviously, Renard had been attacked by a deceptively powerful villain, who had forced him through a wall and outside. She would have followed had she not had other classmates who might need her more, such as Eira who had not made it to the roof with Freya and Sofia. Above her, Peter had helped open the hole up more - her spray with the fire extinguisher having not been quite as effective as she'd hoped. She lost track of what happened to Renard until a few moments later, he had pummeled the villain back inside the room and collapsed. Freya came to his side afterward, apparently having left the roof to try to assist him. She was blown away by an electric shock from Renard - she'd seen him exert some amount of control over his electric charge in the past, so that had to mean he was in a bad state.

Gabby looked around, considering if she should make a move. There were still three other villains other than the one Renard had seemed to successfully knock out, and only she and Eira still stood. She took a guess that the villains' attention would likely turn to them next, since both Renard and Freya did not appear able to put up a fight any longer. I should make Eira's safety my next priority, then, Gabby decided.

When she turned to move toward Eira, however, she noticed that one of the villains was already making her move on her, just as predicted. Gabby wouldn't be fast enough to make it in time. If only I had something to throw!

Gabby remembered the fire extinguisher. She hadn't thrown it away after she used it - it could hit someone on their side. She dropped it right next to her after landing where it would be safe. She now picked it up and with as much strength as she could muster without her Quirk - which was a lot - she hurled it in Eira's direction, aiming between her and the approaching villain. Even if she didn't hit, she could at least delay the villainess a bit. Which would give her time to get to Eira's side.

With that done, she got to running to Eira's side.

Some of the birds went up, following those who had gone through the roof. It seemed like Peter was handling that fine though, and with the reduced offence downstairs, Eira finally turned her quirk off. The others in the room would feel the difference instantly, the cold washing away, and the floor's ice cease spreading. She, however, would take much longer to warm up. No longer needing to focus on maintaining her quirk, she was free to do as she liked now.

Freya returned down, only to be met with an attack (Eira was almost relieved she wasn't the only one to be attacked, though she was more worried for Freya's well-being than anything). Renard stepped in to help, and everything, to put it lightly, went to shit. She watched them, fighting off the birds with much more strength now, but not for too long. While she was distracted, she didn't notice the woman with the stinger until she felt a light prick at the back of her neck. She whipped her head around, but the sharp point was gone, as Eira saw the woman use her tail to hit away a rouge fire extinguisher. Gabby, most likely. She gave a grateful nod in her direction. But as she turned to do so, out of the corner of her eye, Eira saw the courtyard.

Freya and Renard. What the hell happened.

She changed courses almost immediately, rushing as quickly as she could towards the two. The extinguisher rolled alongside her, and she quickly picked it up and opened it, tossing it right back at the scorpion woman. Eira could only pray it would do something.

She reached Freya and Renard pretty quickly, breathing heavily. The villain girl didn't seem to be down, but she wasn't doing too great either.

"What the hell- ok, time to get out, " she said, before looking down at Renard. Something flashed through her eyes - concern, worry, sympathy - but her expression switched back to what it had been before almost instantly. "Renard. Renard, we're fucking leaving. Get up." She grabbed his arm, perhaps a little roughly in her agitation, but felt no shock as Freya had did. None left to spare for her?

She gave him a sharp tug, trying to get him to stand, but let go immediately after. Don't do that. Don't touch him. She motioned to Freya as well. They'd been here for long enough, and she wasn't in any kind of mood to stay for another second. Besides, was it just her, or was it absolutely freezing?

"It's us and Gabby. We'll just use the damn door. Get up." And if he did, there was nothing to say except for that she (and hopefully Freya and Renard too) would make a break for it. Gabby was a little closer to either of the potential exits too, so she would be fun. Today, they would all be getting out alive.

"Renard, are you alright?"

Echoed in his head as he was confused with who said it… two voices sounded in his head, as he looked forward, not even seeing Freya as she looked at him in the eyes. The blood and tears mixing and blurring his vision. He clenched all of his muscles, trying to force the pain from his body, as if that would even work.

He wasn’t expecting someone to touch him. He felt the surge of electricity rush through his body and exit his shoulder. Immediately he tried to stop it, but it was too late, the rest of the charge he had kept in his body to prevent his entire body from spasms left him. He closed his eyes and instantly wiped the blood and tears from his eyes, looking over to see Freya on the ground Staring back at him with bewilderment and agony.

His heart suddenly shot to his throat. He did that. He hurt her. It was clear he snapped back to reality, as his wild eyes were now gone. Only replaced with shock, confusion and fear of what he did. If she had touched him a few moments before...she could have died.

”Freya! He grunted as he winced in pain, trying to move towards her. His leg cramping painfully up once again as he tried to use it, He limped a few steps before the leg gave out under the pain. ”I’m so sorry.. I-I-I didn’t see you, I didn’t mean to- He cut off when he noticed her bloody hands and some blood on her shirt. His heart started to race again. As the image of Freya and his mother switched before his eyes...both with blood on their hands.

Eira suddenly appeared before him. He looked up at her as an odd look came upon her face. He could even barely register that he saw it before he blinked and she was scowling again. Was he just seeing things? She quickly reach to grab his arm, he barely had enough time to react. Suddenly scared that he was going to shock her as well, but he did not move enough to actually have build a noticeable charge since Freya took the hit. A wave of relief came over him as she took his arm and he didn’t shock her...her hands were ice cold and felt great against his hot skin at the moment.

She continued tugging, enough that he did almost get up but she instantly let go, causing him to fall to his knee again with a grunt of pain. But he pushed himself back up again with his eyes shut. She mentioned going through the door. He looked up towards it. It looked like a mile away to him. It seemed impossible, especially with the villians in that room still, He quickly said, ”You’re right, You’re leaving, with Freya. I’m only gonna slow you down Eira. He said while grabbing at his bent leg he was gingerly leaning on.

“You two can get out of here while I distract her, You can probably find another exit.” He said wincing, as he reached down to offer Freya his hand. I can buy you a few minutes...

There was no end to these birds! It felt like every time he crushed one, another one pours out from the hole. Killing them was easy no matter what form Peter took, but that hardly mattered due to how many there were. It was like trying to kill a swarm of flies one at a time. Sofia was at least alive and patching herself up, but Peter was running out of Stamina. Between moving around in his boulder form and occasionally going out to help Sofia, taking hits in the process, he knew he'd run out of steam before the birds thinned out. If he was by himself he could just sit there in boulder form while these birds wouldn't be able to hurt him, but he needed to keep everyone safe. Those birds could ignore him if they couldn't hurt him, or worse go after everyone else.

"Sofia! We need to get out of here, find the one controlling these birds! If we can knock him out or something that should at least keep the birds from hurting the others, just tell me when you're ready to go!" Peter kept smashing up as many birds as he could. If he could've he would try to block up the hole with his boulder form and prevent the birds from coming through it, but that wouldn't stop the swarm that already came through. Still Peter would try and fight them and once Sofia was ready he would quickly shift back into normal form before turning into a softball size stone for her to easily carry while flying. Not to mention it'll make it easier for Peter if/when she throws him at something, as he can control his decent in sphere form the easiest. He knew there were more aerodynamic shapes but he didn't know how to form those yet.

@Mangrale

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The world was steadily shrinking around her in the moments leading to her escape up the hole in the roof. Had her wits stayed with her just a little while longer, she would have made a few complaints against their concern in the midst of all that chaos. Instead, neither the chill of Eira's hand, nor the warmth of Renard's truly registered to her, and soon she found herself holding onto Freya's back, the rush of movement pushing her out of her daze in time to assist in reaching Gabby's and Peter's makeshift escape route where needed.

The trail of her own blood ended a good few feet from the newly opened aperture, her arms frantic to dress her leg wound with the first aid kit Peter provided and her wings almost spontaneously thrashing at the assaulting wrens that chased them through the opening and had managed to get passed Peter. For a perilous several minutes, a good number of birds had a fair drop in store after being blown away.

Throughout it all, the pain and exhaustion weighed down on her with an almost overwhelming force, the moment she tied the bandages off nearly being the moment she passed out. But instead, her mind would flare awake from the sounds of battle on the floor below, the cries of her classmates causing her to stir where she lay, her aching body slowly forcing itself upright. On her hands and knee (essentially), she listened to Peter's intention, her head wearily nodding in light of how foolhardy a task it seemed.


She remembered feeling sick, like she was about to give out as she soared through the air. Everything else just seemed to move slower somehow. Even the first flocks of birds that hurled themselves in her direction to run interference were clearly perceived, and she almost instinctively knew how to avoid them, her speed picking up more and more. Even when the sheer volume of avians was such that avoiding all of them was impossible, she endured the brunt of them, her pace unwavering and in that moment faster than the birds that pursued her. It all culminated in a single throw, a softball sized Peter being pitched from her hand and down towards Corvus. Honestly the whole event is rather fuzzy for her, only the screeches of wrens and their thrashing feathers standing out to her before she lost consciousness.

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@Aviaire @Heartfillia @Mangrale

As Freya struggled to stand amidst the ever-erupting chaos, movement from inside the building caught her eye. "Eira!" she yelled, watching that scorpion tail lash at her. Just in time - hopefully it had been just in time - someone knocked the stinger away with the same fire extinguisher the villain had used as a weapon herself.

Hearing a thud, Freya turned to see Renard fall to his knees. That wild look was gone from his eyes, replaced by one of pain and guilt as he stammered an apology. "Renard... Wh-What happened?" she blurted, but he didn't reply, his expression distant once more.

Footsteps sounded, and in an instant, Eira was beside them. "Eira are you ok? Y-You didn't get hit just now, did you?" Freya asked, tensing as Eira gripped Renard's arm, but he seemed to have used up the last of his charge. Relief spread through her as he began to stand up - only to sink back down. "I-I'm sorry... Oh Renard I'm so sorry!" The words came out choked. She crawled towards him on twitching limbs, tears streaming down her face. It was clear his physical state was much worse than hers, and all because he'd stepped in to save her. "If-If I'd been more careful, hadn't run into her like that... I'm sorry!"

When he hauled himself up, insisting she and Eira leave him, she shook her head. "No." Her stomach clenched. "No, you heard Eira, we're leaving, all of us." For all her attempts to help, however, as he reached out, she flinched away. Dammit! Don't make this even worse, she scolded herself, staggering to her feet with a strangled cry. Pain spasmed through her body with every movement.

Clutching her arm, which hurt worst of all, she steeled herself and stepped closer. She trembled all over, her muscles so taut they burned, but no way was she leaving a friend behind. Especially not one who'd gotten into this mess for her sake. "Come on, both of you." She glanced from Renard and Eira to the chainsaw woman, who writhed on the ground just a few feet away. "Let's get out before she recovers."

The sight of somebody else collapsing brought a gasp. "Sofia! Th-This... No, this can't be happening..." This was meant to be a simple school outing. How could it all go to hell so badly?

Things continued to seem like they were going fairly well. The students were mostly in disarray, and from what he could tell, Jackie was certainly holding her own against sparky and that damned cat thing. Anarchy, too, was doing her thing. It seemed he could relax the swarm on this floor a little bit, and focus it way more up there to try and cripple the students further to prevent these little brats ever wanting to face him and his fellow villains again - at least, not in a group like this. He still kept a decent sized posse around him though, just in case - one could never be too safe.

So, Dean kept targeting through the hole, as the swarm downstairs relaxed a bit. He could absolutely no way risk peering through the senses of any of his soldiers, as he needed all his senses to be alert within himself. He peered around at the chaos for a little bit. The crowd of heroes had thinned out massively, seeming as if this whole debacle was coming to an end. It wasn't like it was going to end any other way than victory for him and the villains - these were just school children after all, and despite being under the stewardship of the number one hero, they would never be more than mere children until they maybe got their hero licenses and took their degeneracy out on the streets.

Then - Dean caught something out of the corner of his eye. A big, white, fluffy mass, flying through the air he turned to glance at it, and that's when the rock came flying towards him. He had but a second to react, and a valiant bird knocked it just off course by colliding with it, sending the rock flying into his top hat, which fell to the ground. Dean scowled, looking down. That was his favourite hat. He was just lucky that the rock had skimmed over his forehead. He turned back to the moth girl, finding her already unconscious on the ground. This would not go without retribution, so he gave a good portion of his legion a new command.

Go for her wings. Peck, scratch, claw. Ruin them.

While that went on, Dean turned around and glanced down at the object that was thrown at him. It certainly didn't have a usual trajectory... Was it some sort of egg? Something infused with a quirk? Whatever it was, it aroused Dean's suspicion. It had come dangerously close to knocking him out, after all. He placed a foot on it. It wasn't soft, it was by all intents and purposes just a stone. He kept it under his foot for a bit, before taking it off and looking at the rock through his eyepieces.

@Zaphander @Mangrale

Peter whizzed right into the hat of the crooked bird man. Silently Peter thanked Sofia for all of her effort; without her Peter would just be stuck on that roof with no way to help. Seeing those birds swarm her body did make him panic, but he couldn't let this chance go to waste. Her sacrifice won't be in vain! The bird man stepped on him and for a moment Peter didn't move. He was just a rock after all. But as soon as he took his foot off and got a closer look he sprung into action! In a blink Peter transformed back into his normal form, reaching to grab the birdman's beak mask. Grasping the mask with his full strength, Peter would try and rip it off as his other hand reached into his pocket and took out his emergency cellphone; he was waiting for this moment! With just a single press of a button an ear piercing screech emanated from his phone, deafening Peter and likely this birdman and his feathered fiends. It would also alert pretty much everyone in the area where Peter was at, and more importantly the school itself would be notified of an emergency and his location. He really should've done this sooner, but better late than never.

"YOU DAMN CHICKEN!" Peter then took his emergency phone to smash his face, ideally without his mask, or just around the head if the mask was on tight. He would jerk and pull the mask so this guy couldn't get a clear line of sight on Peter too, trying to take every advantage he can get in order to come out on top. More importantly, keep everyone else alive. This was basic video game logic; threaten the boss to draw aggro. No doubt that a villain would try to use Sofia as a hostage, but that would only work if Peter thought he couldn't save her from his birds. As long as he threaten this guy, he could save her from the birds by beating his face in!

Her sting had worked. The ice girl had been nipped in the neck before the wayward fire extinguisher had made its way back towards Quinn. Effortlessly, she batted it away as her stinger returned behind her back. It did come back with some juice, however. Rather impressive. It had landed right by the girl who she had stung and she, with her infinite wisdom, had decided to launch it back towards Quinn. This time, however, it had no power behind it. The strength of the ice girl was normal. Upper end from training, maybe. But normal. Like before, she had swatted it away, but with even less effort. To her surprise, Quinn's interception had been intercepted by the beefy girl. The beefy girl had caught it and, in a move that could only be described as a dunk, launched it back down with an immense force.

Quinn, however, wasn't inept. Upon seeing the beefy girl's arm begin to move downwards, Quinn leapt into the air. With such tremendous force that it had dented the ground, the fire extinguisher sadly rolled away.

"So that's your power, huh?" Quinn taunted the beefy woman. Quinn was always observant. After all, she was fast, not strong. She couldn't brute force every situation that came her way. Years of fights had let her read people. This was the difference between her and a student. The sheer amount of experience that she had was an insurmountable canyon to any student. "I'm guessing... force? One that requires touch. Well, for a brainless brute such as yourself, I suppose you're looking to save your little friend but..." She quickly backed up towards the outskirts of the various fights littering the room, "it's too late."

With the sudden appearance of an ear piercing noise, it really pissed Quinn off. What was that, a danger alarm? Well, if nobody else was going to stop it, Quinn was.

For a moment, he continued to regard the rounded object with curiosity. Just as he was about to leave it and walk over to the fallen moth girl, suddenly, out of the absolute damn blue, he felt a moderate weight tugging on his mask, looking down to see that the rock was now a very angry looking boy. He felt the straps begin to almost start slipping off, and whipped his neck out of the boys grasp to ensure that it didn't get tugged off. He was considerably taller than the rock boy, so it wasn't hard to keep his head out of reach. This was certainly unexpected, and Dean cursed himself slightly for being so reckless - with quirks, anything could happen, even something as fantastical as a rock turning suddenly into a boy.

And then, out of nowhere once again, the rock boy pulled out a device from his pocket, and an ear splitting, piercing noise filled the air. The crow on his shoulder was quickly commanded to leave, flying away where the noise was less severe - he couldn't lose such an important asset in a battle with this student, who before today he obviously wouldn't have known existed. But Corvus still had height and strength over the boy. He felt the phone collide with the side of his head once - classic reckless hero move, using the thing that's keeping you from being destroyed to try and hurt someone else. But the hero was predictable, and anticipating a second hit in the same place, Corvus used an arm to whack the device out of the boy's hand, sending it spinning to the floor, where it hit the ground with a crack, finally stopping the sound.

Now, this was better. His arms now gripped the boy, no more distractions from his unusual phone, which was quickly descending upon and scratched to hell by a group of pigeons. His crow returned from its absence, now driving the short knives of its into Peter's shoulder, scraping downwards before flying back around to approach for a second attempt in the other shoulder. Elsewhere, he decided that Sofia had been done enough, and directed more birds to where he was - although a few remained, continuing to peck and scratch at Sofia's wings.

The Principal didn't move as the villain was slowly getting herself ready for a fight. Something was off about her, but a villain was a villain and this one had just threatened her students. She punched the palm of her other hand, a smile on her lips. "Well...I am all too happy to oblige." She felt the familiar energy rush in her and, fully confidant, launched herself forward yet again.

In what seemed like less than a second, Enterprise had closed the gap to her enemy and delivered her very first attack; a straight punch meant for the woman's chest. Noxious had been at the ready, striking a defensive pose. As the punch came in, she simply took one step aside. The full force of the blow caused her hairs to raise when the wind caused by her opponent's movement caught back to them. The Pro Hero followed with another punch, and another but each time Noxious was ready and seemed to easily duck and evade the punches. On the fourth attempt, Noxious evaded again but her hand reached out straight for her opponent's face - which they evaded.

Enterprise immediately jumped back, but her opponent didn't close the gap. Odd. Instead, they remained defensive, striking a defensive pose again. Enterprise eyes went beyond, seeking to know exactly what was happening inside...but there was no way to see clearly even through the hole. Clearly, the villain was seeking close quarter combat. She was good. Clearly trained in combat, maybe even better than Enterprise herself. However she wasn't as strong, and a simple direct strike would put them out of commission for sure - if she could but land one.

"I see your game. You're skilled, I'll give you that, but you shouldn't underestimate a Pro Hero!"



More of the hero's empty words. Provocations and bravado wouldn't affect nor distract her from combat, and Noxious could only scuff at those. Typical of Pro Heroes, who were so full of themselves. Enterprise soon threw herself forward again, and Noxious was fully focused on defense. She knew all too well of her enemy's strength, and any blow that landed meant the end - but they would never land. Heroes, or villains, that possessed such powerful and straightforward quirks most often did not bother to train as extensively as they should. Noxious on the other hand was fully trained in multiple martial arts and specialized in defense, counter attacks and grapples attacks; she was perfectly geared to deal with over zealous power machines like Enterprise. She waited for the blow...but it never came. Instead, the punch stopped a good metter away from Noxious, and a shock wave of wind and energy rushed forward to hit the villain and forced her to slide backward. What?



"Don't look so surprised. I told you, I've seen your game, but I won't be...playing!" With that last statement, another shockwave was sent forward, this time Noxious skillfully dodged to the side. "Damnit. She caught on quick. I had hoped she'd be over confident and commit to melee...I guess I did underestimate her."

Finally, the villain was forced to run forward. Enterprise pummeled her with shockwaves of punches and kicks that sent the cement flying with each strikes. Each time Noxious managed to sidestep, dodge or roll away while jumping forward and slowly gaining ground. A dance - a destructive one. Even from inside, people were bound to hear and feel the Principal's destructive force. Each of them needed but one blow - yet only one was aware of that fact.

Noxious was gaining ground, but there was no way to make the final stretch...at least not until her opponent was distracted.

Enterprise eyes widened. She grabbed Noxious incoming strike and pulled hard. Noxious was able to recover by jumping over the President, reaching for her face...meanwhile, Enterprise then kicked the landing Noxious straight in the stomach, sending her flying backwards as she immediately followed with a punch forward towards...?



Most seemed to have forgotten that there was not one, but two Pro Heroes on scene.

"You like to prowl, but you're not as good as you think you are."

Quinn would hear him right beside her, almost directly in her ear, but if she looked there would be no one. Then she'd feel him trying to grapple at her tail and arm, trying to bring them together at an attempt to then immobilize her. The attempt was good, but the teacher underestimate the strength of the additional appendage of the villain, whom quickly shook off the ghostly attacked, sending Hayes flying back towards his students still around. Only then did he reappear, straightening himself and replacing his glasses. At least he stopped her from further attacking Gabby or the others close by. "Sorry I was not with you, class, but you managed to hold the line by yourself moire than admirably. It is over, now."



Mr.Hayes said as he also pointed back towards the entrance of the complex. There, she could see her partner, Animus, knocked out and tied up with... Aby? This had been what Mr.Hayes had been up to, and somehow never was spotted while doing so - truly earning his name and reputation. This was not the only thing he had been up to...

...the second Freya had taken her eyes off of Jackie, to look towards Sofia, was the moment the chainsaw wielding villain decided to jump back on her feet and head straight for the wounded trio - only to be hit by Enterprise's shockwave and thrown backwards again. She was back on her feet quickly, though, and even angrier. "I...said--"

"Nothing. You've talked enough." said a woman, seemingly jumping out of nowhere, as she landed on Jackie's back. Quickly, she closed her thighs around the wounded villain and used her body's weight to bring her down in a front spin. Luckily, Jackie had spent most of her Quirk on the students, whom held their ground, and Sphinx was able to capture the villain with relative ease - not that she'd ever admit it. She gave a glance at her sister as she stood up, clapping the dust out of her hands, Jackie now tied down on the ground. “Told you - you make for a pretty bad hero even giving your best. You don’t have what it takes...and it seems you’re not the only one.”

As for Enterprise, Noxious took the opportunity to jump back at her...but what seemed like an elongated, semi-transparent arm hit her right in the chest and pushed her all the way back against the wall, before it began to shrink all the way back to one newcomer. The amn was akin to Mr.Hayes in that he,too, was well groomed and clothed, albeit he looked a bit more gruff as well as having broader shoulders. It was quite obvious that the man was missing an arm - which was instead replaced by a ghostly looking member. "We came as fast as possible. More are coming." he was speaking to Enterprise, yet his eyes locked on Noxious.

...it was quite obvious what was happening. Someone had called in reinforcements, and the nearby Pro Heroes came to the rescue. Shit.
"Everyone" Noxious began saying in the mic to her whole team as she was slowly getting back up after being tossed. Twice. "Time to make out exit. Leave, spread out and survive. Everyone meet in 2 days at the base, understood? If you betray us, I'll find you myself." With that, the villain's leader made use of her detonator once more...this time causing Sana's and Quinn's planted bombs to explode. The machinery room got caught in a big ball of flame, sending tremors everywhere. There was no way heroes would ignore this. Without asking her rest, Noxious made her exit - with a smile on her lips.

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Collab with @OwO

Gabby ignored Quinn's taunts. They were nothing new to her. She'd succeeded in preventing her from chasing Eira, so she felt good.

Gabby didn't try to get closer to Quinn because she could tell Quinn was smart and experienced due to the guess she took about her quirk and the fact that she kept her distance.

Gabby got surprised by the noise from Peter's phone, but kept her eyes on Quinn to avoid getting sneak attacked. Quinn didn't try.

Gabby recognized what it looked like when Hayes was talking to someone without being visible, and decided to capitalize on Quinn not looking at her. She used her tippy toes and gentle repulsions to quickly and quietly close the gap between them.

Quinn shook Hayes off just in time to get bear hugged by Gabby. But Gabby underestimated the flexibility of Quinn's tail and got injected with anesthetic by surprise and was not quick enough to repel her stinger. Her body got too weak to keep hold of Quinn, who was free to make her escape.

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The next day was Saturday. It was just before 11:00 AM. Gabriella had eschewed her normal second-day workout in favour of making a visit. Gabby looked somberly upon the building that was her destination - the USJ campus hospital building. Several, or rather, the majority of her classmates had been injured to varying degrees the day prior, many of them badly enough to require stays in the hospital to recover. Gabriella herself had not sustained much injury, though she was covered in adhesive bandages for all the cuts inflicted by the swarm of birds, and had gauze around her neck to keep the entry wound inflicted by the stinger clean of infection.

Gabby looked down at the bevy of boquets in her arms, each one with a get well soon card signed by her and her family - mother, father, two brothers, sister, two grandfathers and one grandmother. Truth be told, she didn't have any idea who to hand their boquet to first. They all seemed like they could use the well wishes. Would any of them want to talk with her while she was visiting? How long should she stay with each person?

These questions and more ran circles in her mind as she approached the entrance to the building...

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@Aviaire @Heartfillia

It all happened at once. No sooner had Freya looked away than the chainsaw woman rushed at them. The catlike girl reeled and toppled, but before the villain could strike, a shockwave from Enterprise knocked her back. Just then, a certain other pro hero made her appearance, using her lion-like strength to slam the attacker to the ground with minimal effort.

Freya let out the breath that had caught in her throat. This was the first time in years she'd been glad to see her sister. "Felicity! Thank you so mu-" She trailed off as Sphinx turned that look of pure condescension towards her and her friends. The insult that followed hit Freya like a punch. It rang true as far as she was concerned - but not as far as Eira and Renard were.

As much as she wanted to shrink back, she met that piercing gaze. "Y-You don't know what you're talking about," she spat. Her classmates had never seen her outright angry before now, but she didn't care. "You don't know them. Everything I thought I saw in you, Fliss, everything I looked up to you for... I see for real in them."

Sphinx snarled and growled. "Oh? I don't know what I'm talking about?" That sneer returned. "Are you saying you know more about hero work than I do, kittycat? After this, no less?"

Freya suppressed a shudder. "What I'm saying," she said, glancing at her two nearby comrades, "is... Ah!" The rest of the sentence - she knew, she'd seen the traits that made a true hero - never left her mouth. She stared at the slumped figure beside her. "Renard...?" Her friend, although still breathing, didn't respond. "Oh no, please, tell her off, make a joke, just say something!" A fresh wave of guilt sent tears spilling down her cheeks once more. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Sphinx simply strode away, muttering something that sounded like "weaklings" as she dragged the bound villain with her.

By now, more pro heroes had arrived on the scene, but a look around revealed the damage already done. At the sight of the two other wounded forms - Sofia unconscious and Gabby sagging away from the scorpion villain - Freya could barely breathe. Another explosion rippled from inside the building, a brutal reminder that although help was here, the situation continued to spiral out of control.

---

Saturday. A day Freya usually looked forward to, as it meant a good sleep-in. Curled up in the hospital bed, though, she'd slept fitfully, nightmares invading her slumber.

Even now, when she closed her eyes, the images flashed through her mind. The chainsaw attack out of nowhere. The birds. Sofia in a pool of blood. Abigail, a nasty piece of work but seemingly on the heroes' side, revealed as a traitor. The mangled forms of guards who'd never made it out. And Renard's reaction, that frenzied look that was utterly unlike him, the physical and mental state he'd ended up in, all because of her recklessness...

For several minutes, she sat hunched on the bed. Then, she eased herself up, groaning at the aches that still jolted through her body. She'd recover, the medics had said, and the use of healing Quirks meant it would happen in a reasonably short amount of time, but fears for her friends nagged at her mind. Taking one of the seafood snack bags her parents had brought her, she dragged herself from the room and down the hallway, stopping at one of the doors.

Her grip tightened on the bag as she stood there. What on earth would she say to him? Would he even want to see her? A tearing sound drew her from her thoughts. Looking at the bag, she cringed. She'd grasped it so hard, her claws had started to poke from their sheathes, piercing the plastic. She pulled the packet free, only to rip it even worse. Great. Holding the edges together, she cast a panicked glance from the door to the hallway. Could she risk coming across as that tense? Should she get another one? If she did, would she lose the nerve to face him?

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. "Renard, it's me." Slowly, she pushed it open with a creak. "I just... I just wanted to check that you're ok. And, uh, those snacks I was going to give you... I've got them right here."

Renard didn't’ answer Freya when she asked what happened with him. He honestly didn’t know what to say, and it really wasn’t the time to do so right now. She quickly also added that they were all leaving. He gritted his teeth, annoyed mostly, He wasn’t in any position to get out fast, and he didn’t want them to get hurt. However she did pull away when he offered to help. A painful jab seemed to pierce him as it happened but he said nothing.

Taking a few breaths he reluctantly agreed. But before he could move, they were too late, he couldn’t move at all when The villain suddenly lunged again. Everything else that happened, seemed to happen in an instant for him, suddenly there were more heroes, and the chainsaw wielding psycho was down on the ground...pinned and cuffed by Sphinx. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in as he looked around to see the others running off.

They survived. A slight smile came onto his lips for only a moment until he remembered the bodies in the hall right behind him. Closing his eyes he shuddered. Not everyone... Opening his eyes and looking at the blood on his hands. He started to get really light headed. Swaying slightly where he stood, he slowly took a knee once again.

He then looked up as Sphinx mocked them. Mostly freya as she sneered at her. Renard had gotten to know Freya pretty well in the past month, he had his suspicions she was related before her father confirmed it with bragging about it infront of him while he was waiting for Freya to finish getting ready for school.

What remained of his blood began to boil. Who the hell did she think she was? Her sister just barely survived and not even an ounce of worry ran through her? It made him literally sick.... Or that was just the lack of blood that made him feel like he was about to vomit. He glared at the blurry figures in front of him. His eyes moving between the two.

“Seeing how...we lasted this long as heroes in training.” He said weakly, but clear anger in his tone. I think she has more potential to be a real hero than you will ever have.” He looked away, towards the two Eira’s next to him. That was something he could definitely get used to…

”I didn’t know...you had a twin sister Eira... He said in a confused tone. Before he suddenly fell face first into the dirt.

---

Renard didn’t regain consciousness till the next morning. And even then in faded in and out of sleep. Plagued by the final moments of his mother in his dreams once again. A memory long since buried by this thoughts. Even while awake, he was quiet as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Looking to his hands, covered in bandages from the cuts made by the glass, he could feel as though they were caked in the blood still.

He stared them at what seemed like hours. Until he realized someone was speaking to him. Even then he didn't’ look right away… he didn’t really want to talk right now. But he sighed as he placed his hands face down on his lap as if to hide them. He sat on the bed, propped up with pillows. He looked over to Freya, who came in with a bag clutched in her hands...as if it was about to fall apart.

Memories of the day before where she flinched from him popped in his mind, making him feel even worse. And looking away from her. For a moment. He didn’t know what to say. For what seemed like an eternity, but truly was for a few seconds. Looking back to her ”I-uh...thanks.” He gave an uncharacteristically weak smile. He scratched the back of his head as he then asked. ”Are you ok? he asked hesitantly.

---

The chainsaw girl came for Freya again, but Eira didn't even notice. It was barely any time before whatever kind of quirk there was kicked in, and she was not having a good time. It was more strange than painful, as if she was looking but not seeing. She missed most of the end of the fight, feeling equal parts dazed and awful. Eira tried to move around a little, but after some consideration, settled on not. She didn't feel like herself. She didn't feel like anything.

Soon enough, she blinked back to reality, not really knowing what was happening. She quickly glanced at the whole room, a little panicked, trying her best not to show it. Stay composed, or at least as composed as she could seem with a neutral expression that looked like she wanted to murder someone.

What was that? What the hell was that?

Another quirk? Or an extra part of one? Scorpion woman had done a bit of a number on Gabriella, so maybe it was like that but less severe. Didn't mean it wasn't awful though, and feeling a little more like herself, Eira gritted her teeth. She didn't feel any less irritated.

It was nice to see the pro heroes though, because they were, well, pro heroes, but mostly because they were being saved from certain doom. Even if Eira was getting a little sick of being saved. Sphinx, Freya's sister, right next to them. She watched with silent admiration, right up until the pro hero opened her mouth.

She still didn't say anything, but her scowl twisted down a little deeper. That kind of attitude felt... familiar. It isn't like that anymore, she told herself, and she narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at Sphinx. All the respect for the hero she had quickly drained away. Even Eira was better than that. Right?

But she still felt a little sick, deep down. Freya looked so upset. Eira's breaths became shallow, clenching her fists until the nails dug into her palms. "It isn't like that anymore," she muttered out loud this time, as if it would have any more effect. It did, kind of.

Renard wasn't looking too good either. When he spoke, his voice was weak, and then he fell into the dirt. Eira gave him a pitiful look, hands still screwed up into fists. "Just the one of me."

---

---

She'd gone to the hospital and gone back home right after. Eira wasn't that badly injured, other than her out-of-body experience. Because everyone had been there to save you, she thought bitterly. What had she done? Nothing.

No one had been home when she'd gotten there. They usually weren't, her parents worked late and her brother was usually out pretty late too. She opened the fridge to have some dinner, but Eira wasn't in the mood to eat. She showered in hot water she could barely feel and went straight to sleep, feeling hollow.

She woke up on Saturday at eleven o'clock. The house was silent as she forced herself to go downstairs. Her mother went to work at 10am. Her father went at 9:30. She was alone. Well, almost.

Eira thought she was justified in getting up late. She'd had an awful day, and had come out of it not doing too great. The person coming down the stairs, however, had probably just gone to sleep at some ungodly hour on account of the fact that he wanted to.

"Mornin', Eira," he yawned. Then he got a little closer to her, and seemed to wake up a little. "Oh, holy shit. Eira. God, are you alright? Y'know, 'cause of... uh, what happened?"

Eira gave him a look, stirring her tea gently, thinking. "Doesn't matter," she said. Then after another thought (which may or may not have had two cat-like siblings), "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, ok?"

He grinned at her, ruffling her hair. She tensed up from the touch, but soon relaxed, trying to get his hand off. "Fuck off, Aids," she hissed. "Sure, Elsa. Just tell me if you need anything."

She finished her breakfast and went straight upstairs, back to her room, to indulge in doing absolutely nothing all day. She thought about her classmates, especially Sofia, who had gotten pretty badly hurt, trying to help Eira. She hadn't helped them at all. Perhaps she would visit the hospital at some point.

But right now, all Eira wanted was to lie there.

---

---

@Heartfillia

At first, Renard didn't even look Freya's way, that distant and haunted look still in his eyes as he stared at his bandaged hands. Freya froze in place, a lump forming in her throat, Maybe this was the wrong time to approach him. Maybe it would be best for both their sakes if she left the room.

For just a second, he drifted back into reality, turning his head towards her. Then, he looked away. It was only after a lengthy silence that he faced her and replied, asking if she was ok, his faint smile a shade of his usual grin.

Freya nodded, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. "Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be fine." She put her hands behind her back, hiding her injuries just like he appeared to hide his own. The bandages covering her scratched arms and the shock wound on her palm felt tight as she clutched the snack bag. There'd be no permanent damage besides a few scars, but she knew how much worse things could have gotten, several times, for both of them. Including at that moment. And it was clear Renard knew too.

Don't make this worse, she told herself, edging forward. Whatever you do, don't make this worse for him. "Are-Are you, though? Are you going to be ok?" she asked, not just referring to the beating he'd taken. Whatever had happened, the emotional trauma seemed to run just as deep as the physical, if not deeper. Crouching by the bed, she held out the bag. It wasn't much, but it was all she could offer. "Here. I, uh, figured you'd prefer this to hospital food."

Just as he reached for it, the reflex kicked in. Freya jittered. The bag fell from her grip, crispy snacks spilling all over the bed. Shuddering with guilt and embarrassment, she glanced down at the mess, then at the floor. Anywhere but at him. Closing her eyes, she muttered two words.

"I'm sorry..."

It wasn't just about the snacks. It was about more than a simple apology could even begin to fix.

A creeping noise had snuck up on Quinn. What was that? She wasn't as good as she thought she was? Who was this man to say this? She turned and saw nothing. She almost said 'what', but couldn't. Faster than she could be astounded, her tail and arm had been grappled. They were pulled together, but whoever was doing it failed to realise just how strong Quinn's tail was. She easily threw him off and back towards the students. Then he reappeared, which was incredibly boring. It was just a man in a suit.

What was less cool was Animus, the fire girl, had been knocked out and tied up by the invisible force alongside a woman she had never seen before. Well, they were weak enough to be captured. Quinn didn't really care about them too much. The fire girl was useful, though...

With little warning, she felt a tight grasp around her arms. The beefy girl had wrapped her arms around Quinn's, restraining her body. Apparently, she also went to the invisible suit's school of not thinking things through enough. Faster than the beefy girl could perceive, Quinn's tail shrunk to no wider than a broom handle. Outside of the beef's eyesight, it wrapped around and she got jabbed from behind. It was enough to inject enough anaesthetic so that Quinn could easily break out of her buff arms.

Noxious told all of the remaining villains to make their exits, which was incredibly easy for Quinn. Then, a telltale noise.

Kaboom.

The machine room was permanently disabled. All of the other bombs Quinn and Sana placed? Well, to make a long story short, the factory would be out of commission for a long time. It was too much for the heroes to ignore. They had to look for survivors of the explosives. Fighting villains would have to wait.

"Love to stay and fight you all," she taunted the ice girl, beef girl and the rest of the students, "but I think it's about time for me to head home. Au revoir and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors."

And with that, she faded back into the shadows of the halls and vanished.

---

---

"Ah, Quinn, did you get the toys from—"

"The ones from the donation drive? Yea, I'm carrying them in now."

In Quinn's hands was a large cardboard box. Inside, dozens of pro hero toys had been resting. She was bringing them inside of a small door at the side of an old brick office building. No larger than a single office, the room that the door had lead to had been populated by papers, filing cabinets, and sealed boxes labelled with a date and location. The only resident of the building was an old woman. Deep into her 60s, she was only the embers of the fiery business executive she once was. The embers of a bonfire, however, could still start fires. Sitting at the desk, she read over, signed, and filed dozens of papers.

"I just want to thank you for doing this," the old woman as she rose from her desk.

"It's my pleasure, madame. It's the least I can do for you letting me rest here at night."

"Ufufu... I believe you got the order of events reversed."

Gently placing the box down near the rest of them, Quinn moved out of the way as the old woman went to look through all of the toys. She pulled out a few toys to get a good look at them. Rainman, who fought forest fires; Constructor, who repaired infrastructure in emergencies; Relay, who was vital to numerous search and rescue operations; and The Auditor, who used his massive amounts of brainpower to find evidence of financial fraud. She placed them back inside of the box, closing the lids and sealing it with tape.

"Still no heroes that fight crime?" She asked Quinn.

"Well, you know how it is. These are all of the toys that kids never really wanted, so they threw them away."

"That is truly a shame. It rather terrible how these heroes that aren't flashy don't get much credit."

"Yea, something like that."

As soon as the phone was knocked out of his hands, Peter was swarmed by birds, one in particular must've had some nasty talons as he felt blades dig into his shoulder. Immediately Peter transformed into his large boulder form and battered everything out of his way, but he was nearing his limit. Cracks formed on his surface due to a combination of his fatigue and injuries, and if he didn't use these last few minutes wisely he'd be a dead man. And he tried, he really did. But despite his best efforts, Peter couldn't catch up to the mystery villain as he chased after him. By the time he was gone Peter was forced out of his boulder form, exhausted and drained. He tried to change back but doing so nearly made him puke, his wounds bled, and he roared in frustration at the futility of his actions.

They barely managed to survive, failed to defeat anyone, and it was only now in hindsight did Peter realize those villains weren't even after them; they were here for the gear stored at the facility. Of course they were! How could he have been so ignorant? Did he really believe any of them except maybe Enterprise herself was worth being eliminated? Attacking the heroes-in-training was just suppose to be a distraction, and they all fell for it hook, line, and sinker. It just was a rough reminder as Haye's words echoed in his mind again about how they all rushed in without thinking or coordination. Sure there was some teamwork, but that was only to escape danger or try and fight, and obviously that didn't work either. So focused on fighting villains they couldn't defeat, it was a total loss on their part. "Dammit... FUUUUUUUUUUCK!

---

It was the weekend now. Peter was treated by doctors as soon as all of the students returned to the academy. Compared to the others his injuries weren't as severe, even the wound to his shoulder. It was mostly his own exhaustion doing damage to him so he was encouraged to rest for the night. He refused at first, but he was given firm orders to rest his body or else even with their assistance his injuries will only worsen his physical state. So he begrudgingly stayed the night, having an fitful rest until morning came. He was still angry at the situation, frustrated at his own stupidity and uselessness, and most of all worried about everyone else. He was tough; taking hits is what he does. But he wasn't sure how everyone else was handling it.

At some point Peter would finally be allowed to leave his bed, and he proceeded to grab his belongings and head outside. There he took out a hand rolled cig from his bag and smoked in peace, letting the herbs calm his nerves. Though he still had lingering thoughts about what happened, he at least was allowing his anger to subside and refocus his attention onto other things. First and foremost, he needed to check on the others. In a time of crisis like this it was important that everyone, even those who are physically healthy, had moral support. No doubt everyone has taken the attack very hard and it's important that they keep their spirits up regardless of how things went down. They were alive. They fought and survived against villains. Now that they have experienced this, they can use this opportunity to learn how to improve themselves, not just in power but as heroes.

Putting out his cig and storing it for later Peter went to wash up. He wanted to shower, brush his teeth, and eat some food. He was able to do all three though he didn't care much for the bland hospital food; a tough pork chop with a plain bun, chocolate milk, and a banana. He wasn't going to be picky though and ate it. He wondered what he should say to the others, but as he did so Peter's worries started to surface again. Thoughts of inferiority and doubt crept into his head, and he wanted to go smoke again to relieve the tension. As he walked out and reached for his stored cig he spotted a familiar face; Gabriella. He quickly waved at her so she wouldn't notice him reaching for his cigs.

"Hey Gabby! Here to visit or to pay your respects?"

@Nyahahameha

Renard nodded at her when she said she would be fine. Feeling only a slight respite from his guilt of shocking her the day before. He only smiled slightly, but again looked down when she brought up if he was going to be ok. He was silent for a moment thinking once again how lucky they both were.

The vision of his mother flashed in his head, he wasn’t ok, physically he would be but… He shook his head. Saying softly, Um...y- yeah of course... Looking up to Freya and putting a strained smile on his lips before looking away again. One of the few things I inherited from my dad was to take a beating... he said with a weak chuckle.

When she offered the food, he really wasn’t hungry at the moment but he thought it be rude not to try some. He slowly reached up to take the bag that was offered, only to have her jerk away from his near touch. He felt like someone stabbed him through the heart again. Clearly she wasn’t fine with what happened… and it only made him feel worse. He looked down at the chips that covered him.

He sighed as she said she was sorry, Slowly he got out of bed, getting out of the opposite side so she didnt flinch again. ”You’re fine. Dont worry about it Freya... he said as he winced at the pain he had from getting out of bed.I deserve it He thought to himself