Swallowing hard as she heard her supperior’s response, she simply nodded, continuing her work as she started forwards at a diagonal, going right. Her stride sped up, becoming a light jog before she hopped into the air and a set of forcefields buoyed her steps as she took additional hops, quickly climbing across a stairway of forcefields that either fell moments after she’d pushed off of them, or were shattered by the weight of her form and the force behind each step. Moments later she was on the shortest of the nearby buildings to the right of her former position alongside her teammates. Unsure if they would need her assistance, the heroine cast out a spool of sorts, throwing it with more force than she would have been capable of unassisted. A long, thin chain of interlocked forcefields unraveled as the spool flew towards her teammates. Not having locked the entirety of the shields, Presidio was able to easily guide and arrest the considerable momentum of the construct well before it reached her team. Having already turned away she activated her comms.

“One of you keep that on your person. If you stick together the presence of that construct--so long as the chain remains intact--will allow me to generate forcefields near you.” To punctuate the statement, additional forcefields began to pop into existence within inches of the spool, consolidating within several inches of it and moving to accommodate wherever one of her colleagues decided to place it amongst them.

Meanwhile, Presidio herself began to make her way upwards, all the while keeping an eye on the situation as best as she could. More importantly she kept an eye on the hostages and any wire that might be attempting to hide itself on the faces, roofs, or other surfaces of nearby buildings. After all, while she trusted the Director’s judgement, that didn’t mean it was perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

’Speaking of which,’ she thought even as the smaller components of her aura began to assemble themselves into more long thin chains, which then promptly affixed themselves to her armor and began radiating outwards as if she were a sun, and they her rays. As she moved them she locked many of them in, making them part of the larger construct of her armor. Similarly some of her larger constructs began to fit into one another like puzzle pieces, swiftly creating a suite of eight shields, which then arranged themselves at the ends of the long chains she was creating. Vaguely, the shape appeared as a perforated sphere, with many gaps in its make-up, though she would amend that soon enough. The individual shields themselves were roughly five feet in diameter, with each being an inch or so thick, with their outer surfaces being convex. Flexing her control faintly as she hopped, Kari felt the internal gears and mechanisms of the shields work, causing each to expand outwards a millimeter along its outer perimeter before returning to its original state.

Had she merely been practicing she might have smiled, but the severity of the situation overshadowed any joy she might feel at her work.

Instead all she experienced was a faint satisfaction and a sense of relief that her idea had worked.

As she continued her building, Presidio couldn’t help but doubt and hope, in equal measures, that she could truly make a difference.

With that thought she set foot on a taller building’s roof, sure to let forcefields remain in un locked state over the outer surface of her renovated armor, particularly on her feet. Now roughly four stories off the ground, Presidio knew that she’d have to do something soon.

What exactly she would do however, well that was a bit up in the air….

---

Watching carefully from his position, and that of every entrance of the building, Exactly waited until the villains had passed from his primary perceptions. Then, he moved. As he burst out the door the villains were far enough away to not catch the movement.

Back in the bank one of his duplicates spoke up, its words aimed at his monstrous ally, “I’m going to follow them. The authorities will be here in a few minutes at most. Though I’d love to work with you further, I doubt there’s any convenient way to keep in contact. So, until we meet again...I was never here.” At that, the duplicate turned, ran straight through a wall and then began moving faster than humanly possible. Once at the edge of his range, it shattered. Due to its distance from those who had perceived it, the deleterious effects of its dissipation were greatly diminished, becoming only a brief onset of confusion that quickly faded.

Of course, Kelly was already moving onto his next set of plans. As he passed through the gathering crowd of onlookers, jostling more than a few people in the process, he generated more duplicates, making sure that he left room for two more when and if necessary. The rest he used to further diminish the world’s ability to properly perceive him. That thinker had been able to tell where he was, but looking back on it, he’d only noticed him once he had been struck. To Exactly this meant one simple thing, if he were to act against the villain again, he’d have to take him out of the equation with his first strike.

Casting his duplicates out before him, he had them totally ignore obstacles, with two keeping closer to the pair of thieves. One of them some distance behind, the other some distance ahead. Meanwhile, the rest of his intangible clones remained firmly out of sight, either around corners, or within walls. Sometimes he would have one poke its head out for a better view. However, by and large he just used their other senses, particularly hearing, to lead him on the path of his adversaries and--furthermore--to inform them of any conversations they had.

He wasn’t disappointed in the least as he caught almost the entire conversation they had whilst in an alley. As they slowed, so did he, staying roughly half a block or so off their trail just to be safe. After all, he wasn’t sure how the thinker’s power actually worked. Of course, this didn’t mean that he wasn’t taking active steps to work against the villains. Chief among his measures was the phone call he’d just made, with the prominent numbers being 9-1-1.

With them wrapped up in their own conversation and the thinker’s mind--and hopefully power--no longer on him, he figured that he was safe to inform the authorities even further.

“9-1-1 what is your emergency,” the operator said in the way of greeting. Kelly smiled, “I’m currently in pursuit of a pair of capes, they were responsible for the bank robbery a few minutes ago, I saw them as they entered and managed to make my way out.” He continued on, stating the street and cross street as well as their exact location. While he didn’t give a name, he did state that he was a cape, and that his advice was to have them followed not by squad cars with sirens blaring, but instead by silent vehicles or even undercover ones.

When the operator tried to inquire further, he declined to answer any personal questions, deflecting instead with honorable intentions and well meaning statements. All the while he kept an eye out so he could hang up or hide if the villains somehow noticed his presence. If the police, First Guard, or Final Guard wouldn’t do anything, he’d make sure to track the pair down and take note of residences or hideouts that they had. If and when he took action he planned not to be alone and, more importantly, he planned to be prepared above and beyond what was necessary for the situation.

After a certain point he informed the operator that he would stay on the line as long as possible, but that he might be forced to hang up by circumstances. After that both went silent.

Though things were fairly serious he couldn’t quite help the smug grin that had spread its way across his features.

Calvin could feel the impact of the orb through her gloves, the damage it could deal as it brought a sensation of her fingers freezing to the bone without actually hurting her. This was one of the bad ones, one of the ones that were indiscriminate, that couldn’t be aimed. These ones were the hardest to deal with and she was in a place where getting rid of it would make an impact no matter where it was thrown. In her mind she chastised herself for letting her power get something past her like that, but that wasn’t something she should be worrying about right now. This crisis first. She almost chuckled when she realized her dismay had been overheard by the observant Werelight.
“Oh just my power having a sense of humor you know? I need a way to make things stick or stop and my shard wants to push me as close to single digits in kelvin as I’ve ever felt! All while I’m seeing all kinds of new capes and hostages that I really don’t want to end up accidentally freezing or blowing up. Funny right?”

The young heroine was talking quietly until she heard the order. She laughed and perked up as she heard Dart starting to move in, the ball between her hands swelling like the world’s slowest balloon. She was cooking it and this was not one she wanted to end up forcing into a massive burst without having someone bad on the receiving end of it or having it affect no one at all. And now she had her orders to follow after her commanding officer. So follow her she did. Only one thing stuck in her mind.

“Uhh, Dart.. ma'am? How are we approaching this? My blaster power doesn’t really help me get up the sides of a building. Are we taking the fire escape or- Oh jeeze!!”

Calvin watched as the two rooftops exploded into a flurry of activity, nearly stumbling as she moved forward to follow Dart. There were people up there?! She gave the ball she was holding a squeeze, the surface of it not giving under her fingers no matter how tight she gripped it. Cages of metal, wire that could slice through cars with such force that the street had left a wreckage littered mess. And she still didn't think that the woman deserved what she was holding.



Basilisk had taken the first aid kit kicked his way and set to work near instantly after he had cracked it open. Bandages, disinfectant, and pressure, it was all he could do for the guard right now. It wasn’t like his hands were meant for the more delicate work nor did he have the proper training to do much more than help the man not bleed out before the EMT’s arrived. A measured and vice like grip kept the bandages pressed firmly to the wound as his eyes were drawn to the bargain bin cape. He listened and tried to speak only for Exactly to basically say he was on his own to find the bastards even though the man was going to follow them somehow. He managed to shout at him to wait, but the duplicate didn’t stop and there wasn’t really much he could do with the half unconscious and bleeding guard in his grip.
“Fucking clown.” He growled to an Exactly that was no longer there, causing a couple of people who had remained in the bank to finally find their courage and run for it. “Useless. All of em..”

Then he waited, less than five minutes passing before the doors opened and he could hear the footsteps of the arriving officers. Then the questions started, descriptions of the couple who had robbed the bank, powers they had displayed, who ever it was that called in the tip. They only stopped when the EMT came by, putting their hands over the crimson bandages and telling him he could let them handle it. Getting to his full height Basilisk took a moment to look at the cops around him, could see the worry in their eyes as his tail flicked behind him. He’d had enough of this place and he’d been robbed of a fight just as the bank had lost their money. The Thinker and his artillery piece strolling out right as rain. That wouldn’t do.

Once he was sure that he was free to go, after his information had been given and he assured them that they could find him at his address, and after he’d washed the blood from his hands in the bank’s bathroom, Basilisk stepped out into the light of the day once more. He’d be paying for the kid’s dinner out of his own pocket tonight it seemed. Damn could this day get worse?

As it happened the world was already planning on lighting this day ablaze, and of course the massive reptilian man was close enough to the fire to notice as it blew up in his face. He'd had a couple minutes of walking away, heading towards a corner store that he knew had a decent pharmacy with some fair prices. He could get the cough medicine at the very least with the few bucks he had in his wallet. But before he had even reached the place he noticed a shift in the crowd, people running. Again. And this time it was a street full of people all trying to leave a central area but smart enough at least for now to flow around him as they searched for alternate ways to get where they were going. Do I really want to get involved in another bullshit fight after the last one? Thinkers, innocents, who knows maybe there would be a cape whose whole power just made punching their smug face in impossible. He should just focus on what he was doing and... then came a roar. People screamed even this far away and Basilisk felt himself grinning despite his previously downer thoughts. Thinkers spoke, monsters roared.

Down the street he took off, the traffic heading in the same direction he was going already splitting around the commotion. Like a charging tank the hulking figure tore down the street towards the fight he could now hear happening. Gunfire, screaming, impacts of impossibly large forces being thrown like there wasn't a care in the world. His kind of party. He laughed as he saw what looked like three choice targets down the road, a golem of ice tangling with a woman who seemed to have the strength to slap it around and a fucking dinosaur! He barked out a laugh, claws extending when a blue light caught his eye. Writhing and wretched something pulled itself from the dusty hole of a building front and Basilisk's enjoyment was suddenly snuffed out like a candle. Transcendent. Fallen. A bastard of the highest order. His shoulders turned and instead of heading for the biggest and meanest looking threat he went for the creature that was rumored to be responsible for a number of disappearances. Infamous enough to have his name reach Basilisk's ears. Dagger-like claws curled forward he sprang towards the Fallen breaker. Intent on driving the spikes as deep into the glowing blue cracks as he could reach. The first hand took hold of a tongue like textured tendril and the second drove forward, feeling like he was being slowed by some terrible force. But his strike didn't stop and he aimed to strike as hard as he could pointed fingertips first.

SWAT maintained eye contact with Spindle for the duration of her movements and replies. She took a few steps forward which meant that SWAT's powers were more effective. The closer proximity he was to his opponents the better. SWAT could sense that Spindle meant business. The kidnapper was not above killing to get her way. Cooperation was the key to their interactions. He continued releasing feelings of trust toward her. SWAT also began implanting the desire for cooperation within the woman as he replied with the megaphone, "The demands you have given the Director will take some time fulfill...I will inform him of your request directly." Then SWAT activated his comm to the team which included their director, "Director from SWAT, Spindle demands that you begin dismantling the First Guard. She claims she has taken two more hostages. Do you copy?"

He waited a couple of seconds before he got his response, "Matthew will be unavailable during active missions. Try to stall and distract while using your power to slowly neutralize the threat." Not the response he was looking for. "...copy that." He replied. They weren't giving him anything to work with. A show of solidarity or something that would confirm his word to Spindle. Lacking that, he would just make something up.

SWAT decided to continue playing the mediator. It was not Spindle vs. him. SWAT was there to work with her. At least that is what he wanted her to believe. He upped the ante of emotional manipulation. Slightly more potent waves of trust percolated through the kidnapper. SWAT also implanted the desire for her to work with him since he was apparently acquiescing to her demands.

"The Director has started the process of dismantling the First Guard. Wouldn't you show your willingness to work with him by releasing a few of your hostages as an act of good faith?"

Perception in his breaker state was always...tricky. He'd never been able to measure what was actually going on inside his field when he used his power, but he was pretty sure that the human-shaped blob that was all anyone could see through the forcefield was just that - a basically featureless blob, not just a distorted view of himself. Which made him wonder how he was sensing anything, especially through the sage-green tint of his forcefield, and especially when those bullets passing by his head should have been too fast to track anyway.

He'd always found his mind wandering a bit in his breaker state, too, which was probably why he was so blase about the bullets.

Feeling his charge levels hit the point he was waiting for - about halfway - he doubled back in an instant U-turn that would have been impossible for a human runner. Yep, still got it. He poured on the speed, sprinting for the cover of the deaf Tinker's truck. It's gonna be risky - my shield's gonna be almost gone by the time I get there - but the less time I spend out here, the better. Let's hope this works.

"Alright, lovelies. I'll see you in a moment~." Mastar smirked, turning into a full-tar state as she crept into the tank itself, quickly asserting her control over the two soldiers inside it as she arrested control over the tank. She formed into a partial state as she pressed whatever she used to communicate with Arson and Manifold.

"I'm in a tank! Don't shoot the one that's aiming at the others!"

Mastar 'cracked her fingers' as she watched her tank aim, bringing the barrel of the massive weapon to face another tank. She looked around for a fire button, found what she thought was that (it was a red button that had something that vaguely sounded like fire) and pressed it, a tank shell rocketing out of the barrel towards another tank aiming towards Manifold.

---

"... I'm guessing this is my time to leave." Aesthetic looked at the cage she was in, but more importantly, she stared at the opening. She stepped over to the opening, reached down through it to grab a ledge with both arms, and gently lowered herself through the opening and onto the building's side below. More and more, she found herself falling towards a lower building, staying on that roof as she waited for the event to die down. There was too much going on at this part of the city such that she couldn't change back into being Charlotte. Once some of the crowd died down, she'd return to being herself. Afterwards, it was off to home.

"Guard, don't fuck this up. You know that it'd spell disaster." Aesthetic commented worriedly. She was really hoping everything went right, because if it didn't, all of the Guard would have blood on their hands they'd have to live with.

“Oh just my power having a sense of humor you know? I need a way to make things stick or stop and my shard wants to push me as close to single digits in kelvin as I’ve ever felt! All while I’m seeing all kinds of new capes and hostages that I really don’t want to end up accidentally freezing or blowing up. Funny right?”

Werelight winced in sympathy. "Tell me about it. Sometimes, my power seems like it's trying to help me...and the rest of the time, it's trying to stir up trouble."

He glanced uneasily at his orb, some tiny part of him worried that it would object to his statement, but it remained stationary. It had never responded to speech before; it probably wasn't going to start doing that anytime soon. Whatever intelligence controlled it didn't speak English. Or maybe it just didn't care about what Werelight's opinion of it.

Before he could say anything else to Calvinball, Dart started moving forward, forcing Werelight to hurry to catch up. He brought his orb up to hover a foot or two in front of him, ready to catch him if he fell or to shove him out of the way of incoming attacks.

I still haven't really done anything, Werelight thought to himself, and my main power isn't going to be all that useful against Spindle's wires. My Master power, though... "Dart," he asked quietly, "do you know if it's safe to use my secondary power on Spindle? I'm not sure how it would interact with her power, so it might not be a good idea to try it, but the option's there."

Enki watched the wires twist and bend into letters as Spindle made her reply. Enki felt their body heat up, their power ramping up as the numbers counted down.

As soon as the three was fully formed, it changed into a two. Then a one. The wires squirmed and started moving towards Enki.

Enki dashed, their initial step again causing the ground beneath their feet to crack. Enki's movements consisted of zigzagging dashes, Enki weaving their body with all the flair of a dancer as they dodged the wires they moved away from the half-dome of wires and toward an alley.

Enki heard the sound of muffled steps coming from the alley. Subdued. Definitely trying not to attract attention. As Enki stepped into the alley, they came face to face with the stranger question, and rather conveniently, the wires seemed to recede right at that moment.

Enki spent a moment patting down their garbs before turning their attention towards the stranger in winter clothes. She—or so Enki assumed from the few features they could make out—looked odd, even when compared to Enki. A face partially hidden by a ski mask and thick winter clothing that definitely wasn't weather-appropriate.

Enki smiled, cocking their head to the side slightly as they spoke, "My, what interesting choice in clothing. Now, is there something you needed of me?"

"One of the potential hostages escaped their prison immediately." ⁴Sight said, his voice tense. Wordlessly and without looking, he reached out and grabbed the strand Presidio had extended to him. He didn't say it, but he needed the protection right now. "The other hostage is still in their's, Dart. If you can safely take care of that, please do. Four feet from the center of the roof, towards us." He paused to breath, sounding out of breath.

"The para-er-cape who just fled has found someone else, she's watching intently but it's unclear whether she's friend or foe. She just took a phone call." A few wires rose off the building, a good distance behind the Final Guard and Junior Guard now. They moved very slowly, weaving together to form a very hard to penetrate wall. Then it stopped, seeming content to bar them from retreating.

---

Dart's hand was shaking, and so she formed them into fists. Every single muscle in her body wanted to attack, to do something. Then, at ⁴Sight's permission, she relaxed finally. "Try to hit important looking wires with it once we're a bit closer." She said to Calvin ball, while glancing back at her squad member.

Looking away now, Dart lowered her center of gravity slightly, her knees bending. Dart mumbled a small 'thank you', and then the concrete cracked beneath her feet. At least, it would have, if she was standing there anymore, but instead she seemed to have been thrown at tremendous speeds. She collided with the wire mesh trying to trap someone within, but they didn't eviscerate her. Instead they slowed her momentarily before they exploded, the wires folding in on themselves. Loosely, they fell to the side as Dart landed hard on the roof, before they limply fell off the roof.

The young cape offered a hand, but the once hostage somehow disappeared. Dart glanced around momentarily, and sighed, before walking to the edge of the roof. She stepped off in a crouch, and almost immediately hit the ground in front of the Junior Guard. A burst of wind rushed past them upon her arrival, and a small smile crossed her face.

---

Tense moments passed as they listened to SWAT speak to Spindle, the feed on screen nowhere near live, and constantly stuttering. The audio was better, but still delayed. Matthew turned around, retreated a bit. he stood off to one side of Penelope while facing the opposite direction and spoke to Penelope. He knew John could still hear him, but it changed the context of the conversation. "There's something about this. It could be a distraction, but—" He didn't want to say he'd been working off that assumption for the last thirty minutes, because it'd be an insult to John's intelligence. The pause he let hang her was uncharacteristic, but not planned.

"We should consider other possibilities as well. She is acting like she has a full house. Maybe the distraction is we assume she has the right card, but she has to know we can't fold." Matthew seemed deep in thought, his emotions an absolute mess. That was rare for him too. "I truly don't know what the last card could be." He said, just quiet enough that John wouldn't be able to hear and he wasn't lying. How did Sandra rate this as no threat? He thought, hands curled into fists, gaze steady on the door.



Still, Spindle didn't make a move against the approaching forces. Briefly she glanced down to where Enki when they started running, and seemed to concentrate momentarily; However, when they disappeared she turned back to SWAT. "Since these negotiations are going so well, I have a personal request. No matter what I ask you to do, the performance will be empty in your eyes. So my request is made for me, not you. Kneel, Judah." Her voice was different now, before being more playful, sometimes annoyed, but friendly, more than anything else. Now it was ice cold.

She didn't even mention the lie, instead the conversation was to be a mastless ship at sea. Momentarily, Spindle tried to extend the metaphor in her head, but she knew next to nothing about sailing. A breath escaped her lips, a small sigh as she watched him. Her head was feeling fuzzy, and although Gemini hadn't mentioned that, he also had never experienced his own power first hand. "One's experience is one's own" She thought, her humor in it as personal as the experience it spoke of.

---

"My name is Madison. It'll be over soon, but I have to watch, I'm kind of integral." The young woman replied, gesturing as she spoke towards the Spindle situation. Without waiting for a response, she walked past Enki. At the point she was closest to them, she raised her arm without pausing and reached out her hand slowly. It didn't touch anything. Nothing occurred. She continued walking until she reached the corner. Clipped to the back of her belt was a pair of binoculars, barely visible under the thick jacket. She reached back and tugged lightly to remove them, before raising them to her eyes. Her other hand gripped the brick corner of the wall, knuckles slowly whitening as the seconds passed. After a few moments she took out her phone, flipping it open before the vibration had fully become audible.

"Tell them. Yes, I told them I wouldn't. They're kids, they'll just be grateful. Just a text. Oh and disconnect the call." Madison's voice was slightly muffled by the mask, but she was still enunciating well enough for the person on the other line. She flipped the phone to close it with inertia alone before turning to Enki briefly. "What's your name?" She asked, her eyes wrinkling slightly as if she were smiling.



As Transcendent was sent flying down the street a stream of fire chased after him before he crashed into a building. The others continued to fight, but it seemed that Rend had the upper hand against the ice golem with her superior speed.

Moments later, as Transcendent was pulling his way out of the wreckage, a large lizard man reached out to grab one of the tendrils before moving to slam his spiked fist into his face. Even with Transcendent’s power already affecting him from the contact, he hit the Fallen hard enough to rip the tendril he was holding from the rest of the form as he flew backwards before flying up along the side of the building. He bounced off of the building and rocketed towards Edith, his tendrils flying behind him as a black ichor splattered the ground.

The dino moved, much slower than it had been moving earlier as it took up a defensive position.



Percy and Vanish didn't start talking again for at least a block, watching their surroundings closely. Occasionally, Percy would check his phone as if he were expecting a message. On the third time, he turned on the ringer and left it.

"Were the clever remarks you, or your power?"

"It's always me."

"You dodged the question."

"Kind of. I'm very good at that."

"Clever remarks or dodging questions?"

"Considering I haven't answered the question still, I'd say both."

"We're on a tangent."

"Not really, I just brought it back to the question."

"Which you still. Haven't. Answered."

"Yup."

"Are you being difficult because you're—Um. . . Shell shocked?"

Percy paused at that, seeming to seriously consider it. At the silence Vanish glanced over at him, and he shook his head. Not a negation, not quite.

"My power came up with the quips, trying to force him off guard. Early, you understand, my power is testing. Prodding, guessing wrong on purpose a lot of the time, but—"

His phone dinged once, that solid note creating a silence between them. Percy glanced down at his phone, and then looked down the alley behind them. Vanish tilted her head slightly and Percy glanced over at her. He nodded at the unspoken question. They started sprinting down the alley.



For a moment everything went still. The air didn't move, the capes were continuing their last actions, and even the tanks weren't moving at the moment.

And then the world exploded.

Ana, jumping high into the air, was rocketed from the blast wave as Mastar opened fire on the tank she had just jumped from. She riser higher and higher, moving away from the fight, and at the apex of her flight she could see something massive on the horizon.

Another tank that she could tell, given how large it looked from this distance, was absolutely massive.

And then she plummeted towards the ground.

Back at the tanks, Manifold's device activated in the midst of the explosion. While Mastar watched the destruction, the blinding light suddenly darkened. In seconds it was nothing, the blackest black she had ever seen before and growing larger, quickly overtaking the tank and expanding towards her. She had no time to think, only run, as the crackle of energy deafened the area.

Outside, the independent speedster was caught unawares by the shockwave as he exited his breaker form, the barrier barely stopping any of the force, and found himself flung into the truck with enough force to dent the door. The truck itself, partially from his impact and partially from the shockwave, rocked into two wheels before rolling over. Before it could crush the speedster under it, he was roughly pulled away and thrown by Manifold.

Who promptly disappeared under the wreckage that used to be the truck.

Basilisk let out a crocodilian hiss as he felt the fleshy tendril rip away from the body of the Fallen’s form, in the direct charge with his whole weight behind him he had hit Transcendent too hard, giving him a chance to flee. There was something in the way that they moved that suggested more of a forced push instead of a flight, not that the unnatural form could be related to a human form like this. The distance that the push cleared suggested some sort of flight or component that kept them off the ground, which made sense as the tendrils didn’t seem suited for walking. He could handle this fight, especially if the bastard was going to come apart so easily under his hands.

The tendril hit the rubble beside Basilisk with a wet thud and his bulk began to move from the pile that Trancendent’s impact had caused when he had smashed into the building. Shaded eyes scanned the street, taking in as much info as quickly as possible. Guns glinted in the daylight as a band of goons tried to get themselves organized, the tendriled monstrosity that was the Fallen kidnapper charged toward the dinosaur looking creature, and there was just a brawl happening between the two unknowns. Old training kicked in, his old team had a plan when it came to wild melee’s like this. They needed to keep it a melee, remove threats and work their way to the last one’s standing to tackle together. He was alone. His team lost in the shuffle of the worlds. But his training was something he could rely on and he left the tendriled breaker to the dinosaur. Whichever one ended up the victor was his to handle once the immediate threat of the automatic rifles was taken care of, so it was with heavier steps and bared fangs that he charged the Fallen soldiers. Throwing out open palmed slaps and whips of his tail that were meant to mangle guns and any hands that got in the way. He might have been moving slower, but there were perks to just using your arm as a hammer when it couldn’t swing a reliable punch.

From her new vantage point Presidio really began to notice just how much their adversary had stacked the deck against them. The idea rankled her significantly, but she fought not to lose her composure, instead continuing to consider her options and any viable strategies. Of course, something was strange about the whole situation itself, something she couldn’t put her finger on. The feeling was only accentuated when Dart shot into motion, but the action didn’t frame it such that she could put all the pieces together seamlessly.

While her thoughts roiled about in a barely ordered storm she kept on, creating a new set of constructs. As she did something brought ⁴Sight’s earlier communication back into the foreground of her mind. She activated her comms with the gentle pressure of a shield, the action barely conscious.

“⁴Sight, you said one of the hostages just...extricated themselves and went into an alley? That doesn’t...” her voice trailed off, but the rest of the statement was clear enough.

’That doesn’t make sense.’

Something about this wasn’t right. Her thoughts began to order themselves as she reconsidered things in a new light. Meanwhile her shields had begun to create what appeared to be five largely translucent oblong rectangular cubes. The reality however was different, as they were actually several jointed constructs neatly folded in on themselves. Within were what appeared to be gears, pistons, and other mechanical apparatus. Elsewhere in her vicinity, Presidio had extended numerous tiny forcefields, all thin and brittle, but incredibly maneuverable. They remained at random intervals, but all within 4 or 5 feet of the edge of her current range. They were arranged so that their presence didn’t actually reveal the outer bounds of her range, staggered as irregularly as she could manage. They were a sort of early warning system and they had taken residence around the entirety of her power’s outer perimeter from every angle, within reason. Fortunately they were translucent so they didn’t really block her vision at all, which was good. As she complexified her array of tools and countermeasures a thought popped into her head and she again activated her comms. Mere seconds had passed.

“⁴Sight disregard that. Can you scout ahead between and on the faces of buildings near my current position? I don’t want to be ambushed like some of the hostages were. If it’s not too much effort, check inside some of the nearby buildings, with a focus on stairwells if possible.”

Deciding to really start taking risks, Presidio didn’t wait for his response, but instead began gradually picking up speed, controlling her breathing closely as she did. The arrangements of shields she had created followed her as if anchored in place around her person. Independent of that movement, the oblong cubes positioned themselves at different intervals around her, two below her, one to her right, and another above her. Then his response came.

"You are clear. No one and nothing in the stairwells, and the building faces don't have enough wire to trap you"

“Copy that. I’m going to try to close the distance; maybe remove her height advantage.” Her words were a bit breathy as she responded, her course changing as she headed directly for the right corner of the roof.

“Out of sight for a moment,” she managed as her heart swelled in her chest, her stomach leaped into her throat and she propelled herself in a jump more powerful than her body normally would have been capable of. For a moment there was only the rush of air and the elation of weightlessness, then she started falling.

In a moment of fear wrought clarity she acted and the constructs around her shifted into motion. First the shields near the edge of her range struck the building to her left, giving her a very clear image of its features as they deformed, shattered, or rebounded off of its surfaces. Second, the set of larger shields anchored to her person pulled inwards even as their hidden portions rotated outwards, increasing their diameter till they met, sealing her from the outside world in a near perfect sphere. Finally, third the five oblong cubes slammed inwards, impacting her spherical protections and engaging in earnest. Mechanisms extended out and latched or fit into grooves in the outer membranes of her shields before immediately unfolding into three jointed limbs, which ended in what appeared to be four digits.

The arms, in unfolding, extended outwards and before she had even been falling for more than two seconds, found purchase on the surface of the building. She held her arms out to either side of herself in the moment before, preparing herself for the jerk that arresting her momentum would cause. It came, but she only shifted slightly, her power allowing her to largely anchor herself in the center of her array of constructs while it moved.

Then she began climbing, but at a speed that would not have been humanly possible. She reoriented her body carefully as she did so, essentially laying on her back so she could see above and to the side of her better. The action caused her stomach to flip slightly, but she took a deep breath and held it a moment before releasing the tension. By all accounts her construct was holding together just fine. It helped greatly that the only weight it was bearing was her own. Reorienting again with a hissing breath she changed the construct’s motion slightly, moving forwards as well as up now.

As she adjusted to the strange mode of transit and acclimated to the capabilities of her construct, Presidio found her stride once more. Soon she would reach the edge of her building and have to jump to reach the next one. It was a harrowing thought, even though she knew she’d succeed barring outside interference.

Outside interference….

Her eyes narrowed and she returned to her earlier train of thought. While she was still reevaluating all the information, she now knew one thing for sure.

This incident was not as it seemed.

---

Intrusion, an outside force, another thinker.

Exactly’s eyes narrowed even as he took in the additional information about their powers and then a moment later the call he’d been keeping open abruptly ended. Glancing down as he lowered his phone, he blinked a moment before he broke into a sprint, keeping the villains in range, his largely undetectable duplicates staying out of sight even as they kept eyes and ears on the two.

Internally he considered getting closer and creating one they could perceive just so he could render them insensate, but he cast aside the notion immediately, knowing it was far too risky now that there were no witnesses. That meant that the two were even less beholden to the rules than they had been before, plus there was the man’s power to consider. He didn’t know the precise mechanisms for it, but he suspected that if he didn’t take the man out of the equation immediately with his first action, that it would almost instantly become a losing battle.

He didn’t like losing. Of course, it was less about the failure and much more about the consequences that such might entail in this instance.

Thinking quickly as he ran, making sure he remained safely out of sight, but still well within range, Exactly waited precious moments while he rebooted his phone. When it was restarted he made the call, using his speed dial for Penelope’s burner phone, a device to which only he had the number.

’C’mon, pick up,’ he silently urged. Using this number, she’d know immediately that something was up, especially considering he’d made a point of keeping track of her schedule on any given day. It was good for work and for their less legal dealings, as it were.

She needed to know that something bigger was going on.

Judah took the spool of force fields Presido had dropped on the roof and hooked it onto his tactical belt. He began to shimmer with the bluish tint even more so. He was glad to be on a team that had his back. He would have to thank her when this was all over. To take a simple power that protected oneself and transform it into an all-around utility was quite remarkable.

Then Spindle mentioned it. That name. His true identity casually unmasked. How did she get a hold of his information? Was it a mole within the organization? It wasn't a stretch to surmise his footprint could've been traced until this point. The unspoken rule was broken then too. Judah's identity revealed on national television by the terrorist Patriarch those many years ago. Changing his cape name was one of the precautions he took after Behemoth Day, but his real name would stay with him. Serstol had made sure of that.

Now this freewheeling kidnapper was "requesting" him using his name to kneel?! Anger boiled beneath his skin and began to expand into the immediate vicinity. Unknowingly, he took an aggressive step forward. Suddenly, as if in response, a still small thought came to him, Judah, just breathe. He took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled slowly out his mouth. The oxygen flowed through him, enhancing the rational portion of his brain. The anger within him quelled like the fuse on a bomb as he began to release feelings of peace into the vicinity. Using his own sensing abilities he chose to sense those very same emotions and calmed himself.

His logic returned to him, Judah began to construct a strategy on how to deal with Spindle. It was obvious there was more cards at play here than originally thought. 4Sight revealing that one of the hostages had simply been released and went off into an alley. The girl wanted to rattle him; he would play her game. Unknowingly, she would be playing into his.

SWAT played off the step he took toward Spindle as an act of obedience by taking a knee with his other leg. At the same moment he instilled a much greater sense of cooperation and trust toward Spindle. Her desire for cooperation would increase 5x the amount previously. Seemingly connected to Judah's act of submission. In actuality, intertwined to Judah's own manipulative power that had already wormed its way into her brain. Her own abilities would be affected. Decreasing her precise control of her threads, but imbuing more destructive potential.

SWAT calmly replied to the girl, "You'll forgive me. My knees aren't what they used to be." Taking a single knee afforded Judah a much better tactical advantage while conceding to Spindle's demands. He rested his dominant hand on his belt nearby his sidearm. Just in case. She was within his effective range. Then he continued, "I'm still waiting for you to show your cooperation, Spindle. I've done as you asked. What about you?"

---

Oh yeah, that was a good explosion. Arson smiled under her helmet for a moment, but then she spotted it. A gargantuan monster of a vehicle heading right for them, calling it a tank would be a disservice this thing was a mobile fortress! After gawking at the metal beast that was headed their way Arson looked down. All she could see was the van on its head and Jackalope on the ground. Where the hell is Manifold?... Ana thought as she started to descend. Arson braced for impact and crashed into the ground, with a grunt she stood up and looked around, sparing the Jackalope a glance. "Hey you This fight isn't over we've got a few thousand tons of mobile fortress coming our way. You going to be able to Help?"

Arson waited for Jackalopes response before speaking up again. "Also do you have any clue where Manifold is? Tall. Mean-looking. Mute." Arson looked over her shoulder and called out "Yo Mastar you alright! We've got more trouble coming so get your ass back here!" With that said Ana found her sniper in the mud and checked to see if the scope was cracked. Unfortunately, it was so she wasn't going to be getting a good look at moving fortress until she got closer.

---

---

Edith recoiled as another new combatant entered the fray. Another massive scale-covered behemoth, luckily this one was again seemingly on her side. The brute even managed to rip a tendril off of Transcendent, though it was obvious Transcendents powers were affecting the reptilian brute. But even after that Transcendent was still fixated on getting Edith, it was clear this guy wasn't going to leave her alone until he was taken out.

Edith gritted her teeth and got ready, she was going to have to kick things up a notch if she wanted to get this maniac off her case, and so far flame throwers haven't been able to hit him. So Edith was going to have to try something else. Transcendent is at his best when in close-quarters combat, fortunately so was Edith. Suddenly a pair of glowing hot blades erupted from Edith's forearms and Edith lunged forward bringing slashing downward. But Transcendent easily flowed around her strike and retaliated with a few whips from his tongues.

Edith hissed as she felt the pressure of gravity increase, she couldn't let him strike her again like that but if he was fast enough to evade her strikes before there was no doubt he'd be able to do it again. Fuck this guy, he wasn't going to take her back to that horrible place. Nobody was! Edith's clothes burst into flames, quickly turning to ash as her powers ramped up. Edith now stood in her cape costume, the heat around her being so intense that her feet were slowly melting away the concrete underneath her.

Transcendent wasn't at all deterred by this display and again went for her, though this time he was noticeably more focused on evasion. And his strikes were lightning fast. Edith managed to sidestep one of the lashes but his onslaught of attacks landed him a few more strikes on Edith. Edith fell to one knee the weight of Transcendents power was making standing difficult, Edith hissed and lowered one of her glowing blades into the concrete in front of her. The sudden change in heat caused steam to rise from the ground, making a faint cloud of steam.

Edith's little trick worked, for now, Transcendent hadn't gone in for another attack. The glowing hot blades retracted back into Edith's forearms as she let out a tiny sigh of relief, she needed a moment to think, how the heck was she going to nail this guy?

Penelope continued to tap the keys on her laptop as the situation progressed. She didn't look down at it as she typed, keeping her eyes firmly glued to the live feed, and her power trained on Matthew. As he turned to address her more directly, she knew exactly what was going on. She figured that John did too--but he was too high strung and too occupied to act on it. A stupid little soldier who only knows how to follow orders indeed. she allowed herself to think, a small indulgence given that the situation was admittedly high octane.

Matthew's words had something frantic about them--something mirrored in his emotional state. She was a little surprised by that fact, given how he normally acted and reacted. Matthew had a quiet kind of control on many situations, as if he were simply unaffected by what was going on. The state of being of an impartial watcher, something almost inhuman in its asceticism, but that was likely just because of how... enervated he always felt to Penelope. Now he was very much in, well, not outright panic--but something close, in his own little way. She made a mental note of the situation, something to file away and dissect later. A piece of the puzzle to be examined and slotted neatly into place when there was the time and the inclination to do so.

"Not a distraction. She isn't making enough noise--she couldn't know how we'd react, so the only way to reliably distract us would be to make too much noise for us to deal with, proverbially." Penelope replied, offhandedly. She shot a glance at John, briefly, that carried all of the intent she needed it to: Your mind has failed you and now you must rely on mine. If you value the First Guard, shut up and let me talk. Whether or not John let that slide would give Penelope more information for her evaluation of him, but right now she knew that he'd let her have the floor if only for enough time for her to work out what was going on.

"It..."

Penelope went silent for a moment before standing up and closing her laptop, moving to stow it away in its case as her eyes went wide and her pupils dilated. Her breath hitched in her throat and her mouth was left slightly agape as the wheels turned in her head.

"It's a stress test. That's all they're doing--they want to know how we'll respond, with whom, and what our limits are. This is all just a puppet show--the cards that Shaker is holding are all blank. I can't tell you how to react, but we've already given them information--I think that our best course of action is to continue and deliberately mislead them as to just how we operate, what we can do, what our decision making looks like. They know full well that we can't disband the First Guard on the drop of a hat, and that negotiator you sent out... S.W.A.T?" Penelope paused, as if in thought, to remember his name. "has done you a great disservice by acquiescing to ostensibly save a life. That said... it works to our advantage in this instance because they are now under the impression that we operate emotionally and not logically. We have to consid--"

Penelope was cut off by a vibration in the right pocket of her trousers. It buzzed once, and then twice, and Penelope took it out of her pocket and immediately answered it.

"Make it quick." she hastily said, turning on her heel and moving to leave as she did. She made the motion of attempting to cover the mouthpiece of the device, though utterly failing, before looking directly at Matthew and saying "Emergency. Kelly needs me to review something urgently--I'll be back later."

"What've you got?" would faintly echo through the door before it was firmly closed behind her. Penelope made a waving motion to Sandra and mouthed a "thank you" for the coffee before making her way to head out of the building and down to her car. Kelly only used the burner phone for serious matters, and she was already running on the adrenaline of--to her mind--working out the Shaker's plan.

As Madison made her way towards the corner of the alley, Enki moved further in. Just as she seemed to stop caring about concealing herself, Enki now did the opposite; this bunch they'd stumbled upon was interesting, but it wouldn't do for them to associate with this group so openly, lest they accidentally close doors that might otherwise remain open.

Enki listened and waited patiently as the woman made her observations of the unfolding scene and made her call.

Only for a moment did Enki pull their attention away to note something down. Thankfully, the megaphones that Spindle and Swat were using made it so that Enki could hear them clearly, even without their powers' help.

Guard cape sporting police attire: name appears to be Judah.

What's your name? She asked, her eyes wrinkling slightly as if she were smiling.

Enki returned the smile, before adjusting their hair hair back; long as their hair was, moving around so erratically did tend to mess things up if they didn't come prepared.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madison," Enki said, before offering a short bow. "I'm Enki."

The smile adorning Enki's face grew wider as it changed from polite to amused. "I'm interested to see how you two are expecting to get out of here with all this attention on you."

"Fucking...ow..." Jackalope forced himself to his feet, a stabbing pain in his side - probably a cracked rib, fuck, exactly what I need shocking him into alertness in time to answer the Brute's question. "Um...Manifold? The Tinker? She was by the truck, and then there was the explosion, and it was falling, and she threw me, but..." His eyes widened as he put two and two together to come up with something in the vicinity of four. "Oh, shit! She's still under there!" He had to stop himself from reaching for his power - have to let the woman move around here too - and settled for a half-hobble, half-dive to get behind the truck while favoring his side. A moment later, he realized there was no way in hell he was lifting it, let alone helping Manifold out. He jittered nervously on the balls of his feet, glancing around. "Okay, um - you can get her out from under there, right? Okay. Fuck. Uh, mobile fortress? Any idea how far away? I just need a rough estimate - mile, two miles, less? I can help with that - and it'll probably be better than us all being in the same place - but I need to know how far to run." And hopefully it won't get another shot off before we can get moving...

"Oh." Mastar said abruptly as she immediately scrambled to her feet in the tank. Gosh darnit Manifold! You could've given a heads up you were gonna throw that! Within seconds, Mastar oozed out of the tank and made it back onto the grass and dirt, making a beeline for where the truck wa- where'd that go? On that note, where did Manifold go...? Bah, she'd worry about that later. Right now there was what seemed to be an imploding ball of pure light expanding right behind her. In an instant, her powers went into overdrive it seemed, her mass growing in front of her to help keep her from getting caught by the blast. At first, it wasn't much of a growth, but then she found herself in front of the blast by a couple of yards, before she actually managed to outrun it entirely and make it back to Arson and... Jackalope? Was that his name? She didn't care, she was exhausted.

"H-Hey... haahh... m-managed to outrun my death... haahh... gimme a second." she said, breathing hard. How much did she lose there for tar generation? Fifty seemed too small, maybe a hundred? Bah, whatever. she was alive, though, and that's all that mattered. "Where's... Manifold? Pretty sure she... was right by the truck..."

"Oh, shit! She's still under there!"

"... s-she should be fine... r-right Arson...? Mastar stuttered, stepping over to the wreckage of the truck and pouring more tar into her arms for more strength. She was going to have to try to heave it to the side, at least enough so that Manifold could be revealed if she was under there. Arson could easily do it, but maybe if Mastar did then everything would be okay. "Y-you and her fought against Endbringers before! What's a truck gonna do, s-scrape your knee?" Mastar smiled as she placed two tarry tendrils under the truck, took a breath, and lifted as much as she could. She tried to keep her smile up, but it wouldn't serve to hide the fact she was definitely worried.

---

"Whoa, isn't that kinda taboo?" Aesthetic whispered, still paying attention to the situation as her cape identity. That's... wow. She remembered that it was kind of breaking a rule in the past to reveal names like that. Though, that was in the past, back when there was a Protectorate and such. Now it's different... so... maybe it didn't matter as much? Regardless, the situation was still one that was interesting to watch, especially with the development that SWAT took a knee towards Spindle.

"Talk about first impressions." She rolled her eyes at what was going on while still simply watching and observing. C'mon, Judah! You could've at least asked why before you willingly did it!

---

Fuck, Manifold was tough sure but she didn't regenerate like Arson. A hit like this would no doubt do some damage. Arson growled and stormed towards the flipped truck "Move." she hissed, getting her hands under the truck Arson began lifting the vehicle. The metal quickly started to buckle under Arson's hands, Arson didn't care she just continued moving the truck slowly as to avoid any unwanted accidents. After dumping the car a few meters away before returning and kneeling down next to "How the fuck did she end up under the truck? She'd not have just stood there and taken the thing to the face."

Calvin barely had time to get out an affirmative before Dart had launched herself into the air, gone with only the sound of cracking pavement. It hadn’t even seemed like there had been any effort in the movement, a curl of knees and suddenly her commanding officer just wasn’t there anymore! The young heroine’s eyes darted around behind her large mirrored lenses, trying to locate Dart and keep an eye on what she was doing and where she should be pushing her own efforts. She caught sight of a wall of wires exploding above her, a hole punched through the same wires that had obliterated an entire street, Dart’s silhouette above them spurring Calvin into movement.

Giving the ball between her hands another squeeze Calvin jogged a couple of steps closer to the building and looked around for the tightest cluster of wires, the ball in her hands made her palms sweat despite the brutal chill she could feel lurking beneath the thin skin. Wind rushed past her from behind and it was the encouragement she needed to try and show off her own power. Her red ball was the size of a softball at this point and she figured that was the best pitch to aim for at this point. Her arm rotated, building up for the underhand throw. Stepping into the pitch she hurled it as hard as she could towards one of the primary anchor points that she felt she could reach. Her aim focused on the center of one cluster of wires.

The heroine’s aim was almost dead on and the effect of her throw was likely to get attention as the air in the radius of the blast froze and a wave of cold air swept the ruined street, brick and mortar cracked under the sudden temperature shift and the steel cable was suddenly encased in a thin layer of frost and robbed of all heat. Metal would become brittle at the sudden temperature shift, thinner wires likely snapping if they tried to adjust, the thicker cables snapping if too much pressure was put to them.

“Yes! Perfect shot!” She cheered out, though she’d been nearly a meter off where she had actually been aiming, she raised her fist triumphantly then turned to face the rest of her team.

With Dart answering his question in the affirmative, Werelight nodded, his excitement increasing slightly. Maybe he could do something useful during this mission, perhaps even something critical if it ended up working.

Of course, he was nowhere near Spindle at the moment--he didn't even have a clear line of sight--and he had more important things to worry about. As Dart launched herself into the air, Werelight sent out his orb, directing it to ram the anchor points any nearby clusters of wires that looked especially important. He wasn't sure whether his orb would be able to break through the cables themselves, but he might have more luck going after the surfaces they were attached to.

A past warning from a fellow member of the Youth Guard about collateral damage floated through his head, but he dismissed it. This situation was too dangerous to hold back in, and besides, he didn't trust their advice all that much anymore.

Dart's landing made Werelight retreat a step--her power was impressive to watch in person--but his orb continued moving without interruption.

“Yes! Perfect shot!” She cheered out, though she’d been nearly a meter off where she had actually been aiming, she raised her fist triumphantly then turned to face the rest of her team.

"Nice one!" Werelight exclaimed. Not all of the wires Calvinball hit had broken, but if the frost nearby was any indication...

With a thought, his orb darted over to the point of impact, smashing through the brittle cluster of wires and trying to sever as many of them as possible. Odds were good that they would've broken anyway in the near future, but he wanted to make sure on the off chance that Spindle could somehow hold them together.

Matthew's face tightened but his emotions reflected something far different. It was the profile of someone being submerged in cold water. She was right, it was the only explanation. Spindle didn't have a single card. "Gemini you—you rat" Matthew barely stopped himself from cursing, quietly turning away from Penelope as she left the room. "We have to act. We're losing time, and if we keep being cautious they're going to learn more about our command structure than any of us would like." He said to John, the emotions on his face well and in control. Matthew's voice was level, and his actual emotions were quickly coming under control as well.

John opened his mouth to remind Matthew that he was in control, but paused. He closed his mouth and sighed instead "If you fuck up this call we're going to lose many lives Matthew."

"I know. Those lives will rest on my conscious just as much as yours."

John patted the man on the mic next to him on the shoulder. The soldier nodded and spoke into the mic. "Act as if Spindle isn't a threat. Move to capture hostages., with her as a secondary priority." As he finished talking, a loud sound played through the speakers, a cacophony of violent sounds filled the room. Wrenching wires and metal on metal being torn apart. John and Matthew exchanged glances briefly.

---

Dart watched Calvin Ball throw a projectile at a mess of wires first, before Werelight followed their lead. The two's combined efforts seemed to have a large effect, the sharp snapping of metal wire filling the air. It probably wasn't the effect that they were intending however, as the helicopter started to tip dangerously forward. Spindle responded by bringing wires up to catch it, but seemed to overestimate the force needed. The aircraft began to tip backwards instead, and Dart frowned at that. "Let's—" Before she could finish her order, command came on the line for everyone.

"Act as if Spindle isn't a threat. Move to capture hostages., with her as a secondary priority."

Their leader nodded at the command, looking at the Junior Guard. "You heard him. I'm going in." Dart said, before turning towards the nearest hostage. They weren't being raised into the air, instead just staying a few feet off the ground. As Dart jumped forward, the helicopter hit the ground. Dart touched the ground briefly next to it and some metal shrapnel and glass hit her hard, a stray wire wrapping around her briefly. Then everything within a foot of her was pushed away, and she jumped forward again, hitting the ground right below the hostage before jumping up and grabbing him. The wire briefly went limp before snapping from some unseen shockwave.

---

⁴Sight watched the interaction between Spindle and SWAT closely, seeing the effect of his power clearly working on Spindle as he watched in slow motion. Before he could do much else though, Spindle turned away to fix some of the mess the Junior Guard were making. ⁴ Let time resume to its normal speed before hearing the command in his ear piece. Frowning, he watched the helicopter start to buckle from a new perspective. It was going to fall, Spindle probably couldn't stop it with a power like hers. The initial catch had been hard enough, but responding in real time to the helicopter would be near impossible. Over the comms he told Slingshot "Go for it, save some hostages."

---

Slowly, Slingshot levitated forward, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. He was given two orders in quick succession, first from command and then ⁴Sight. He answered affirmative over the radio before waiting before the helicopter to finish falling. There was no way to save himself if he got caught up in that mess. It took a bit for the dust to settle, but once it did, Slingshot approximated his name sake. He was suddenly falling towards the hostages, quickly gaining altitude.

God he hated heights.



Spindle saw the momentary flash of anger, quickly hidden. It was subtle, enough that she could have imagined it. She relied on her gut a lot though, especially when using her power. All the same Judah kneeled, apologizing while doing so. A part of her wanted to help him, but she was momentarily distracted. Dart had destroyed the coverings over one of her buildings. That wasn't something she was supposed to be supervising, and so she frowned at the lack of flawless cooperation she had come to expect. Spindle held a tense breath when two capes she didn't recognize attacked some nearby anchor wires. An icy chill ran through her gut as the attached senses told her of the initial effect. Wires snapped from the second attack, a cascading effect meaning she had to quickly lift wires off the ground. Immediately the suspended helicopter began to tip.

Spindle became absorbed in the process once again, her mind running down more than twenty tracks at once. That was why she didn't immediately notice that her power wasn't working as she was used to. Something was a far off, and it didn't become clear until the first wire hit the helicopter and tipped it all the way back the other direction. Briefly it was upside down before three wires snapped in quick succession. The tail rotor of the helicopter narrowly missed the pilot suspended nearby. He was only so lucky, as it caught on the wires supporting him. He dropped five breathless feet before Spindle caught him again, this time better acclimated to how her power had recently changed. The helicopter didn't stop after five feet though, wires kept snapping and it plunged.

---

The bow drew a slight tilt of Madison's head, curious eyes watching as Enki spoke. At the question Madison giggled softly, instinctively raising her hand to cover her hidden lips. Bittersweet, the question danced around her head. It brought back memories immediately, the isolation she had to endure. A year of only contacting people she was paying to speak to her. A one night fling that had taken away the loneliness for a short sweet time. A wonderful moment, ending all too soon. The memories weren't vague at this point, they were vivid. A hot and humid hotel room, soft light soaked into the shades as birds began to wake. Tears mixing on her face with blood. The gore had soaked the sheets, and now she understood the cost. Madison had to give up everything, her goal was too important and every time she strayed the consequences would be painted on the walls of her mind once again. Last night had been wonderful, holding someone in her arms once again, but today the cost would be the same.

The price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted. Madison mentally reminded herself, having read the line in a book at some point. She had made sure to remember, even from the beginning, that she would be chasing someone else's dream. A soft sigh escaped Madison's mouth before she realized she hadn't answered immediately. "That depends on John and Matthew. If they figure things out too slowly then it'll be a sticky situation. Madison claimed, putting a finger to her chin through the face covering as she stared off into space briefly. After a moment she shrugged in an exaggerated fashion. "Oh and nice to meet you Enki. We should get dinner after this, I know a great pl—"

A loud crash interrupted them, a larger sound than even the helicopter being caught. Madison's eyes widened, and she didn't look back. "We are going to leave then."


With a sound of something breaking, Ragtag landed a roundhouse kick against the newcomer in the Fallen, the cape skidding across the street before going limp. The ice golem was beginning to show signs of wear as Rend continued to pummel at it, but the area was slowly but surely frosting over. And was the golem moving fast, hitting harder, or was it a trick of the eyes?

As the C53 walked his way through the ranks of the gun toting footsoldiers, leaving relative chaos in his wake. It took a few moments after the first one went down beneath his fists before the rest turned on him and started to open fire. But ultimately their gunfire just wasn’t meant for someone with his regenerative power and overall toughness.

Transcendent, meanwhile, kept his target between him and the giant lizard that was waiting for a moment to strike. But Transcendent’s power was very obviously affecting the giant dino who shrunk down after a few moments into a small woman with a reptile mask who pulled out a bulky looking device from the hoodie she was wearing. Pointing it at the Fallen breaker, she pushed a button on the side and a blast went off with enough force to shove her back and onto her ass as an orb of what looked like glue shot off towards the breaker. He evaded, only for the glob to follow him, and he quickly used Edith’s own defenses against her as he put her in the way of the glob after a few moments of gaining distance.



"I don't see anyone" Vanish said, already getting out of breath.

"They're invisible or some shit. I don't know, my power isn't starting up right now. I guess this isn't enough of a fight for it."

"I'm glad you're starting to understand your power better at least."

"As if." Percy snorted, slowing down slightly to accommodate for his limp.

"So now what?"

"We stop talking, we have to assume he can hear us."

"Fuck." Vanish mumbled, but obliged. They rounded a corner to find themselves in a much shittier neighborhood. The concrete was consistently cracked accross it surface, obviously not being maintained. Percy quickly approached a truck, glancing inside to see if there were keys in the ignition. He shook his head and kept moving. The next car was a fair distance away, but they quickly crossed to it. Again no luck. Percy was getting less confident in this plan by the second, but they kept moving towards the next vehicle despite that


As the truck was moved, Ana effortlessly lifting the vehicle despite the modifications that had been done to it, Manifold was revealed curled and bloodied and surrounded by glass. It seemed she’d had enough time to reduce the impact.

However, she seemed to be unconscious, though the tech that was visible on and in her was running seemingly normal, though only she would know for sure.

The sound of the big tank was growing louder with each passing moment.

Ana knew her sister would want them to stop the tank, but would she leave her sister in an unknown fate or see if she could wake her up?