Shadow Spectre

Project Exorcism, Log 37
Subject Phantom has proceeded to escape yet again with the hostage. It is unfortunate that the program has become so complex that a full purge of it requires the container to be rendered immobile for too long. As the Phantom has access to all the hostage's memories it has begun to develop countermeasures against us based on our previous work together. It has been discussed to bring in Forge to bind the hostage, but with him comes Exchange and she isn't ready for this kind of intense exchange. Current measures are...

Zane was interrupted from his notes by an alarm blaring through the lab. Pulling up the local newsfeed, it appeared that an army of the plant mutations has sprung up to attack the city. Immediately, he started giving out orders via the communicators.

"Dreadnaut, Ion Knight, you two are on rescue detail. Ragdoll, prep the Hestia for relief mode."

"Right!" came the chorus over the comms.

The Hestia is an aircraft designed by Patch and Sam in tribute to Thunderbird 2. An all purpose cargo carrier that can be equipped for a number of situations. Relief is a portable medbay, able to be set up in the middle of a crisis zone.

Zane and Sam departed ahead, Patch taking the Hestia as the Vulcan wasn't built for speed, the two flying at around 60mph, Zane with sprouted wings and Sam with exosuit thrusters. As they entered the city limits, the two split paths. Sam headed for the outskirts of the horde, trying to help with the evacuation, while Zane shot towards the centre of them. He was glad that sunlight possesed UV rays or he'd be completely out of stamina. As such, he was ready to go full throttle. Landing on a building, he addressed

"Don't worry now, citizens." Zane said, raising his hands. From the shadows of people, plants, and buildings, formed his shadow monsters. As he didnt want to raise further panic, these were just the hellhounds, large black canines pulsing with a light purple glow.

"For I am here."

Patricia and Jade had been standing there, in the alleyway by the jewelry store, for quite a bit. At least an hour or two of lying in wait. The authorities had been tracking a minor C-Tier villain’s activities for a few months, and they believed he was going to hit this particular store next. The man (The Fist, as he called himself- how tacky, Patricia thought) seemed to like jewels. Or, at least, thought stealing them would rake in cash. Unfortunately for him, he would be losing all that hard-earned cash soon enough. Patricia and Jade, hiding on the fire escape in costume, had just seen him enter the building. And, by the sounds of things, he had already started his work. They had heard a gunshot a few minutes ago, and were just waiting for him to exit the building so they could subdue him without any hostages getting in the way. Or, more accurately, so they could avoid Hugo Powers docking their paychecks for hurting a few civilians.

Patricia (or Aria, as she called herself in costume) stood on the fire escape watching what she could see of the entrance to the building intently. She sipped on a bottle of water. “C’mon,” she whined. She thumped her left foot impatiently, arms crossed. “This guy has to be done by now, right? It can’t take that long to steal a few necklaces and some rings and to empty the cash register. He’s wasting our time.”

“Maybe an Ambleweed sprouted up inside and got him before we could,” Jade jokes, shrugging her shoulders. She was watching the entrance to the building and listening for any sign that something could be coming through the fire escape. The police had been advised to hold back, so that The Fist could believe himself able to escape and so move himself into a place where the civilians weren’t in the line of fire. The problem, Jade thought, was that she had no idea how long the authorities would actually hold themselves back. Indeed, as she watched the entrance, she half expected a few of their cars, sirens and all, to pull up and block The Fist inside the building. That wouldn’t make things any easier.

The young woman felt half-inclined to start pacing, but had decided against it. She wasn’t the type to do such a thing, though they had been waiting in the alley for quite a while now. “And before you forget, remember; whatever you do, don’t kill me with your singing. I’ll try and deafen myself, but there’s no guarantees.” Jade points out calmly. Just thinking about it made one of her canine ears twitch a little.

At that, Jade earned a hard glare and a scowl from Patricia. “Thanks for your confidence in my abilities,” she said rather dryly, turning around to look at her. “I’m assuming that you bought the earbuds I recommended?” Without waiting for a nod, she continued, “Well, those should be fine, but, if they for some miraculous reason do not work or fall out, you’ll just fall down and take an impromptu nap. No need to insult me.”

Raising her hands in surrender, Jade replies, “Hey, I have complete confidence in your abilities. I don’t have confidence in my abilities to try and tune you out.” She reaches into her pocket, withdrawing a plastic zip-locked baggie with the earbuds (and a spare pair) inside. “Or in the earbuds’ ability to deafen me. Have you seen my ears?”

“They’re clay earbuds!” Patrica whisper-shouted, gesturing at the bag. They were, in fact, clay- extremely moldable, a characteristic that Patricia had thought would help them to adjust as Jade switched between forms. “And, even if they don’t work, you wouldn’t get that hurt. I’ve never killed anyone, and don’t plan to start anytime soon. You will be fine. Just put them in when we get down.”

For a few moments, Jade just stared at the bag. She would sooner eat a live octopus than put the earbuds in her canine ears, and even then, would probably prefer to live as someone’s dog for a week rather than have them in while she switched forms into whichever form would be best for the situation. They didn’t look comfortable. She had a feeling that the designers probably made them that way to save money. She slips the baggie back into her pocket. “At least if I do end up falling asleep, it’ll be to your voice rather than that of Starbright’s. Imagine if he had the same ability with his voice as you do.”

Patricia snorted, then grinned, mood lightened by the thought. Or, rather, mood lightened by her unconquered despising of Starbright- and enjoyment of making fun at his expense. “Dear God, Jade, that’s a horrible thing to think about!” She laughed, resting her head in her hand. “He’d be so bad at this. His voice has the emotional range of a fish.”

Just then, the door to the jewelry store banged open. Abandoning their conversation, Patricia slipped on her mask and gestured at Jade to put the earbuds in, which the other woman did promptly. The heroes hurried down the fire escape to intercept The Fist before he made it to his getaway car, taking two steps at a time. They sprinted around the corner of the building and stepped into his path, directly blocking his way to the street.

“The Fist-” Patricia started, and then realized she had no idea what she was going to say. Fuck. “-you’re under arrest. P-please surrender, or else… you’ll be in a world of hurt.” There. That had sounded firm, hadn’t it?

The gargantuan man stared at the two for a second, bewildered, before his face split into a grin, and he began to laugh. “I’d like to see you try, little missy.” And then, without warning, he took a swing at Patricia, and the battle began

Patricia clumsily dodged the punch, his fist missing her by only a hair. But, luckily the goal here wasn’t for Patricia to fight him herself- it was for Jade to distract him while Patricia sung her song, putting The Fist to bed. So, she began her song. It wasn’t her best work, but her best work was never done while dodging punches, so it would have to do. It was a low, soothing melody, the kind that wormed your way into your brain and slept there.

The Fist seemed to know what was up, at least, somewhat. A few moments into the singing he was starting to feel some kind of effect on himself, and promptly proceeded to place his hands on his ears. Despite being called The Fist, his feet and kicks seemed to still have power to them - at least, by the fact he was now switching to kick rather than punches for the benefit of his occupied hands, that was most likely the case. It was when a pair of large, clawed hands grabbed him that he suddenly looked to his second adversary. Jade was uncomfortable with the earbuds in, but that hadn’t stopped her from changing form - into a werewolf at that, so that she could utilise the strength of the form to try and get his hands away from his ears.

Jade pulled with her might, however she was only half-focusing on his hands for now - she wanted him to gain some distance from Patricia. The pair quickly involved themselves in an active fight, with Jade throwing beastial punches and getting a few kicks in her midsection in return, each one almost completely throwing her off balance. This lasted for about a minute before Jade grew fed up with the lack of process and clicked open a tiny portion of her Feral Mind, just enough to give her a hint as to how to properly utilise her current form in the situation.

Perhaps a more cat-like form would have pushed for clawing his eyes out, but with the feral part of her mind clicking onto the fact that she was a werewolf, her muzzle leapt forward, clamping her teeth around The Fist’s forearm with a canine growl as she tried to wrench his hand from his ear. The result was mediocre, with The Fist’s own strength assisting him greatly - it didn’t stop the pair from tumbling onto the ground with the werewolf on top.

Well away from The Fist and Jade (although still quite within audible range) Patricia’s song got louder and louder. She was trying so hard to worm her way into his head, and she could feel it working. But his hands blocked a lot of the sound that would have, otherwise, knocked him out in 15 seconds flat. So, she sang. But by the minute mark, she was starting to feel a little out of breath. She would have to breathe soon, or risk being stopped for too long- but didn’t want to, for fear it would unravel her progress.

The Fist slipped up a few times. When he was tussling with Jade on the ground, he took one hand off of his ears to block his face from her claws. That helped immensely. He felt the effects even stronger in the next few moments- his vision grew spotty and blurred, but he immediately clamped his hand back onto his head resolutely. Then, a second time, he moved a hand to punch Jade on instinct, but quickly clamped it back onto his head.

The third time was about two minutes into their fight, and also was the end of it. Finding no other feasible way to fend off the vicious werewolf clawing at his face, he threw a right hook- and then Patricia had him in her claws.

“Stop,” she called out to him. Her voice rang out, almost sounding melodic itself. As she thought he would, he did so rather reluctantly and turned to look at her. Then, she commanded, “Sleep.”

The Fist felt strangely tired for a moment- the kind of weariness he might have felt after a long day at work, the kind of weariness where he could barely keep his eyes open. Then he dropped to the ground, fully unconscious.

Jade followed The Fist down to the ground, but thankfully not from unconsciousness. The werewolf sniffed and prodded at the unconscious body, trying to determine as if he really was asleep or if he was just faking it out to make the pair stop fighting him and perhaps grant him some kind of advantage. After a final few prods, Jade was satisfied. Reaching into her mind, she shoved the part of her Feral Mind that she had released back into its cage. Even a small amount of ferality being free could mess her up somehow if she allowed it to do so. Shapeshifting back into her normal form, she gave the sleeping man a prod with her foot. “Out cold,” Jade notes, as if it wasn’t obvious. She gave a smile cast toward Patricia. “Want to call the cops in, now?”

Patricia nodded, giving her own genuine smile in return. She got out her phone, tapping out a text to the officers waiting nearby. Then, she approached Jade, stepping over The Fist. “See, you didn’t pass out-”

“Sorry Trish? You’re going to have to speak up, I can’t hear you!” Jade interrupts, shrugging her shoulders at the teenager.

Patricia gave a loud sigh at the interruption. “TAKE THE EAR PLUGS OUT!” shesaid, practically shouting, gesturing at her own ears.

Jade’s eyebrows raised in response and she moved her hands to her own ears to quickly remove the earplugs. “Oh! Sorry, I forgot I had them in!” The woman replies. Her lips formed an apologetic smile at Patricia.

“It’s alright,” she said, giving a smile of relief. “You’re gonna want to keep those if you want to keep working with me, you know.” She gestured at the ear plugs, but then quickly backpedaled, face turning red. “I mean, that is, if you wanted to do that again. I thought it went really well, but I don’t know about you.”

The woman tilted her head for a moment, placing a hand on her chin as if she was having to think really hard about it, before laughing and placing her hand on Patricia’s shoulder. “You did amazing, girl. I’d love to work with you some more!” Jade replies, smiling widely. In truth, Jade had been a little worried that Patricia would accidentally put her to sleep, but she had the foresight to make sure that Jade had earplugs and she had managed to do her part of the work flawlessly. “I think that went very well.”

Patricia actually beamed for a moment, before remembering herself and slipping back into a more neutral face. It was always a good day when she finished a job like this- no collateral damage, no injuries, and a clear win. And when she had a new person to work with. She had attempted a job alone, once, and it… had not gone well. Working with someone else was always the best option for her, and it didn’t help when the person she was working with was someone she didn’t like, or wouldn’t remember ear plugs. “Great! Well-”

Patricia was interrupted by two loud alarms- one from her own phone and one from Jade’s. She raised a brow, and took it out, only to see Hugo Powers’s face staring out at her. He was going on about a pack of Ambleweeds, and by the time he had said the name of the Leftover, she had tuned out. She was probably the most useless hero when it came to those things.

When the broadcast ended and her phone went back to its normal mode, she cleared her throat and spoke up again. “I was just about to say we should head back. Are you gonna go deal with this, instead?”

To tell the truth, Jade was unsure if she too felt like heading back or if she should try and deal with the Ambleweeds. She thought back for a moment about her joke of The Fist taking so long because he had gotten caught by an Ambleweed - she had been joking about that, and she supposed that karma had just decided to strike. Patricia’s singing was unlikely to do a lot to help, and Jade didn’t have too many forms that would be efficient in taking them out without risking herself a lot. She could turn herself into a Phoenix and set them alight, but that would require flying around them and possibly getting herself not just bitten but eaten. And she didn’t exactly want to see her paycheck drop into the bill for damage caused by out-of-control fire. That was Blake, Firebird’s, job.

Tapping her lip to think, Jade shakes her head. “No, I’m not going back. At the very least, we can control the panic that the Ambleweeds will cause. I imagine that such a situation might mean a little bit of anarchy and chaos, and I’d hate to see a bunch of gangsters using the opportunity to tear up and rob some of my favourite shops. And you can come too, if you want to help. You might just earn some extra cash,” she points out with a smile. Money was definitely a motivator.

After a second of pondering, Patricia nodded. Jade did have a good point- there were certainly more things to do than beating up Ambleweeds there. “You make a good argument. I’ll come with, then.”

Leaving the Fist and the police behind, the two heroes headed to the area where the Ambleweeds were said to be.

Thomas was jolted awake by the piercing sound of his alarm clock. He had been in the middle of a particularly intense dream, but he forgot exactly what the dream was about within a few seconds of waking up. It took him a couple of moments to notice that his alarm sounded somewhat... distant. He looked up, and realised that he was looking down. And he wasn't on a soft bed, he was on a hard surface. Thomas was on his ceiling. He sighed and switched off his abilities, falling back down onto the bed. For anyone else, this would be highly unusual, but this wasn't exactly a rare occurrence. It happened from time to time - sometimes sideways, sometimes squished more firmly into his bed than normal. After surfing his phone for a couple of minutes he was up. It was still pretty early, the sun only having just risen around half an hour ago.

After grabbing a quick breakfast - a cereal bar, he slipped open the window of his high rise apartment and drifted out into the morning air. Today he was on patrol - no real specific threats had been listed for him tackle just yet. He tore a piece of moss off the side of his building and carried it for a moment, before dropping it down onto the head of somebody down below. He heard a yell, chuckled, and then floated away to find a decent spot for him to scope from. A little while later he was sat on a roof, sipping on an energy drink and surveying the city down below. At the same time, however, he was also scoping out for spots he could use for various stunts. He spotted an abandoned factory and made a mental note of it. That could prove a fun place to muck around in at some point. Maybe he would bring Blake along, see if there was any wood he could destroy, or something.

He glanced periodically at his phone. He knew that, at the moment, Jade and Patricia were probably attempting to arrest that bank robbing villain. It was boring up here, and Thomas wondered for a moment if he should go and help. But he didn't exactly know where they were, and he wasn't about to try and use the sound of Patty's singing as a guide to help him. Falling asleep while in mid air would be a disaster, and if he injured himself too badly then he wouldn't be able to do hero work for a little while, and he certainly didn't want that. He also wondered if he should slip away from patrol without Powers knowing and go and do some training, just to get a little bit of entertainment. But then he heard his phone ring out, and his heart leapt for a moment with excitement. Something to do! About time.

But he was ever so slightly disappointed. Just a particularly large swarm of Ambleweeds, nothing too dangerous. Ambleweeds were more of a nuisance than a threat, and Thomas had hoped the warning would be for a villain or at least a group of stronger Leftovers. Still, something to do was something to do, and Thomas was determined to have as much fun as he could. So, he set his drink down and drifted quickly on over to New Athens. Yeah, he could see them now, big green shapes skulking about on the street, sending people running in the other direction. He dropped to the ground and looked at them. There were a couple on this street. A nearby street lamp had already been mostly tipped over... there was no harm in finishing the job. Thomas slipped it from the ground, where it turned in the air for a moment before falling down on top of an Ambleweed, crushing the nasty plant immediately. Thomas smirked.

He dipped into an alleyway for a moment, looking for a dumpster. It was there he spotted the body of another Ambleweed. This one had a huge hole in the middle of its body, which was smoking slightly. He glanced behind the body, where the alleyway stretched on. He didn't spot anybody, but the whole scene gave him a slightly unnerved feeling. He slid the dumpster back and got out of there, sending it zooming towards an Ambleweed as he grabbed onto it and yelled. The unnerved feeling slipped away, and now he was focused back on doing his hero work, and having fun while doing so.

"WAKE UP BRIE!"

Why was there a stranger in her room?

"WAKE...UP...NOW!"

Maybe it was a burglar. She might have to electrocute them.

Groaning, Brie briefly opened her eyes to see the thirty-something year old woman looming over her, the harsh artificial lights too painful to tolerate for long. Taking a moment to glance around the room, she realised that she wasn't in her own flat but in the backroom of her old haunt in Brookside. She tried to recall how she had gotten to the bar but it hurt her head too much to ponder on that particular question, so she quickly gave up.

"Oi, are you listening to me?" If she hadn't known her, Brianna would have likely been concerned that the woman was here to either rob or murder her. The bartend, with her mismatch of tattoos, scars and heavily applied makeup, being an intimidating sight for even Brooksides more violent residents. Brie knew better though and shot her best withering stare, before clamping her eyes shut.

"Leave me alone Juno." With a wave of her hand, the cheap dollar-store lightbulbs flickered for a few moments before going out completely, plunging the room into a sort of semi-darkness , a little dusty light managing to penetrate through the half open blinds. "Just give me two more hours..." Brianna muttered, pulling at the thin blanket that had been laid across her in a vain attempt to shield herself from the sunlight that suddenly shone into her room as Juno tugged the blinds fully open. Unfortunately, that was something she couldn't turn off.

"I have a bar to clean, customers to serve and I don't need your whiny ass getting in my way." Juno sniped, unceremoniously tugging the blanket away from Brie's hands and dropping a bundle of clean clothes into her lap. "And will you please shut this thing up!" She tossed the offending object at Brie, who managed to catch it just before it collided with her face. "You have 10 minutes and then I want you gone. Don't know why you still hang around Brookside anyway..."

Sitting up from the sofa, Brie had to steady herself for a few moments as the room spun violently, turning the object around in her hands until she could figure out what it was. It's bright light and incessent noise were enough to make her want to throw the thing back across the room. What was it anyway?

Oh...it was her phone. With Hugo Powers' face plastered all over it. Great.

"Not today Powers. Not today." She mumbled as she ran her fingers through her long brown hair, attempting to untangle some of the knots that had gathered overnight. Giving it up as a bad job, she eventually (the room was still spinning) managed to tug off the dress she had been wearing, before pulling on the jeans & t-shirt that Juno had given her. A quick sniff of the t-shirt left her doubting to its cleanliness, but at least she no longer smelt like she'd been dumped headfirst into a vat of beer. Ideally she'd take a shower...but that would involve going back to HERO one and risk running into Powers...

"Fine." Brianna rolled her eyes as she tugged on her trainers. "Kill a few ambleweeds. Then sleep." At least if she actually did some work, no-one at HERO one could chastise her too heavily when she decided to take an extended afternoon nap. Having very reluctantly made up her mind, the young woman grabbed her phone before pushing open the door to the bar, scowling a little at the small gathering of early starters. Another reason why she needed to get away from Brookside.

"Here." Juno shoved a takeaway cup of coffee in Brie's direction, raising an eyebrow at the girls flyaway hair before turning back to the spot on the bar that apparantly needed a second wipe. Brianna scowled for a moment before tying her hair up into a high ponytail and scooping the coffee off the counter. "Thanks..."

"Don't come back!" Juno shouted as Brie headed out of the bar, grimacing as she took a sip of the overly bitter black coffee. "Wouldn't dare!" Brie sniped back with a smile as she turned her attention back to her phone, looking up the general locations where the Ambleweeds were gathering.

Starbright

"Against a hoard of savage plant creatures, one brave hero stands alone. His muscular physique and killer looks are more than enough to take them down but it isn't the only thing in his arsenal. Because his name is" the music started one second too early. One. Second. Starbright turned back to the intern he hired who was carrying the boombox. "On Starbright, you start the music on Starbright lets try this again." Starbright faced back around to the almost empty street only a few Ambleweeds present and a few civilians who hadn't managed to get away yet. "And that heroes name is... Starbright." His own music blasted out the speaker box as he shifted into a pose with a light blast which he intentionally missed as to not feed the plants. Addressing the civilian situation he rushed over to them. "There is a sanctuary not to far from he I suggest to you to it. I'll create a distraction for you to get away, don't worry the heroes will deal with this." He smiled on the final line, often it wasn't about whether you could do the job but about helping people believe you can.

An approaching helicopter could be heard from closer in the city. It was about time Starbright thought as he waited for the occupants of the helicopter to arrive. Starbright prepared his briefing speech so they would know the situation on the ground floor. They were the news of course they needed to know these things.

Dweller

With a swift kick another Ambleweed was sent flying to splatter across the road. It was annoying to have to deal with these things sure but they were even worse when these things start plaguing the sewers. It was best that he dealt with them up here. Seeing a group head into a supermarket down the road he chased them into it.

Two in the produce aisle were easy enough, Dweller through one into the potatoes and kicked it into salad then punched through the second. He had tried eating Ambleweed before, turns out it wasn't bad but he certainly liked regular salad a lot better. Dweller grabbed a basket and put a couple ready made salads in it. Being sure to grab and extra bottle of caesar dressing as they never have enough in those little packets. While he was there he grabbed some orange juice for a treat too. It was going to getting eaten by the Ambleweeds if he didn't come anyway I deserved a little reward, Dweller pondered. He strolled his way to the meat section where the last Ambleweed was going to town on its snack food. With a swift kick he launched it into the chicken section, splattering it. "Well I guess I'm eating beef tonight" Dweller grabbed a great big handful of mince and steak and loaded it on the basket. It was completely full now. One last thing before he left, going over to the alcohol section he grabbed a 24 box of beers and carried it under his other arm.

Dweller past by the terrified cashier as he left, "I'm taking this stuff and you're welcome." There was another Ambleweed just outside the doors. With powerful arm swing he sent it splattering on the road, before he realized it was the arm carrying the beer. They were all shaken up now and its not like he could just go back in and grab another when there were heroes around. Wait. Heroes around! It was alright its not like he was commiting much of a crime plus if he just got the cashier to tell them that he in fact saved the store they would let him go. "Help! That creature thing is stealing from my store." Oh for f*** sake.

Music that is currently playing in his shop

There he is. His shop was closed, for now. He was alone. The furnaces lit with only their pilot flames and the refinery forge ran completely cold.

The man known as The Drifter stood alone in his shop, accompanied by only the soft hum of the music and the metallic klinking of coins into a bucket. He stood behind his counter, flipping coin after coin with his right thumb and index finger into a bucket approximately three feet away from him.

On his right hip, a well-worn leather holster carried his personal revolver. The grip looked weathered, but well cared for. The cylinder showed small nicks and scratches but is currently quite clean. Most of the barrel was tucked into the holster but the parts that can be see shone with a sort of dull, gunmetal, shine.

The news hummed softly on the radio as well. Reports are coming in about the going-ons in the city at current. "Bunch-o fuckin' ornery plants messin with people. I'm sure those heros are all running in there, guns blazin' and thinking that they're kickin ass. They're just same plants, guys. Relax..." He said, in a sort of short, rant-y, monologue type of way.

"Those plants are just like myself. Just tryin' to survive..." He said as he walked over to throw some fresh coal in his furnaces and his forge, starting the process to lighting them up and starting his day's work.

"It grows."
"It grows."

A pair crouched atop a building, peering to the streets of New Athens below. Someone who noticed them might think them some kind of ornament on the building, though the way they were crouched made it a little difficult to determine where their eyes were, and what in particular they were watching for. Part of the streets below had been overtaken by Leftovers, the Ambleweed that had begun to sprout up. Occasionally, a small device would pop out of the pair, or a port would open up and flash some kind of camera as they observed the city floor, before folding away into it's bearer. Though they watched the street so obvious on their roof, those who looked up would only spot one of the pair at a time. Both shared the same silhouette, and neither left the shadow of the other, for they were one. Though both bore the same identity, the same person, they were separate. One had always belonged, and the other had never belonged. They were opposites, however both were the same.

"They will be coming. We must move, must plan our attack and strike from the shadows," the brain spoke.
"They will be coming. We must stay, must taunt them with our confidence and strike them with our strength," the computer spoke.

They did neither, but they did both. One remained in position on the roof, a small antenna extending three inches from her shoulder. The other used this, and moved his presence down to the streets. A CCTV camera slowly rotated, facing down the street. A helmet turned, facing up the street. She used his eyes. He used her eyes. They watched the street, waiting. Finally, one broke the balance. She grew impatient, while he remained patient. She dominated, and he submitted. They were no longer shared.

"You forget that we are limited in time."
"And why is that?"
"For they may group. I want to remain bold. Your plan of confidence and my plan of strategy must mix. We'll strike."
"Will you remain in control?"
"I will. Though you will get your chance. We may not obtain a kill today. That is just how the day goes."

By now, the armoured figure was backing away from the edge of the roof, and dropping into the alleyways below. Skylar had grown used to Phantom being in her mind, through no other option. He guided her, and she guided him. They could read into eachother; flesh into metal, metal into flesh. His computer was hers to use just as her brain was his. Skylar was presently dominating, which meant she called the shots. At any time, Phantom could assume his own domination, however it was a matter of courtesy to eachother that they did not do so. Phantom could support her in many ways, just as she could support him in many ways. They could read eachother like they were the same person. That's because they were. And that's why she could tell what Phantom was going to say.

"You wish to present us. Shall I find you a target?"
"Do not find us Nova force. You shall retain them for your own delight. I do not want part of them."
"They may come."
"And so they may, but we will not face them today."
"You hope."
"I hope."

Silence hung once more as Skylar walked through the alleys. A group of thugs soon found itself to be in her presence, none presenting a threat to her - they knew they would not be able to do anything to her, so they left her alone, just as she did to them - for a few moments. Phantom helped her contain her rage, helped her control herself since his inauguration into her mind, however there were times that even he could not hold her back. Phantom tried, just as he always did, but Skylar shoved him and his control all the way into the computer and sealed it shut with an overwhelming mental attack, the same attack that was overtaking her mind. Sometimes they both thought she had a third presence, a third individual living with them other than Skylar and Phantom themselves. They both, however, knew better. They knew this was her, the real her, trying to break free. They knew she wouldn't, but they knew she tried.

She screamed. She cried. She howled. She roared. She punched. She shrieked. She bellowed. She kicked. She whooped. She lunged. She yelped. She stabbed. She sobbed. She begged. She failed. The thugs did not survive. The mental breakage retreated. Skylar continued to walk. Phantom continued to seek a target. Both were unscathed, both unsurprised, both unfazed. Everything was normal. They both knew what had happened, and they both accepted it. They accepted the cost. Then, Phantom had found a target. He did not say a word to Skylar, but she orientated herself to the new path laid before her.

It did not take long before their target shone before them, the great Starbright himself. Phantom felt the same, human amusement that Skylar did. The street had little in the way of Ambleweeds, yet the 'hero' before them seemed far too confident - in appearance. "His elimination will greatly boost our plans," Skylar says. The 'plan' she was speaking of was barely such a thing; it was the objective in removing the Heroes, for they were the only ones that could remove Phantom from her, the only ones that could change who she was, something they didn't want. They belonged with eachother. They were eachother.

Phantom did not need explained as to how neutralising Starbright would further their plans - he could, after all, gather the information from Skylar's mind just as she could his. It wasn't so much the neutralisation of Starbright that would assist them, but it would be the public outcry it would cause. Nobody could deny how popular of a target he was. The pair, with their combined power, computed the most likely result. Fans were selfish, they wanted only the best for their idol. Starbright's fans would weep and cry as they saw him fall. A tiny, irrelevant number may see reason, but the rest would fall to rage. They would demand to know why Starbright had not been backed up efficiently enough, they would scream at H.E.R.O at how much they had mistreated their idol and left him to die, even if others came to help. Such was the stupidity of those with a single mind. And even if she was somehow forced to retreat, most likely due the threat of reinforcements rather than the threat of Starbright himself, she will still have accomplished her goal of presenting herself. Of reminding the city that she existed. Of creating fear.

A plan was formulated with the speed only the pair could do. One thought of how to fight Starbright, the other thought of how best to approach the situation. Skylar remained dominating, and so Phantom fed everything to her directly. A highlight formed around the best civilian to target based on distance, speed and time, to get Starbright's attention and force him to act, lest his reputation be damaged. The civilians were fleeing by Starbright's assistance, so she only had a limited window to move for the target. It wasn't like it mattered too much, however failure to tackle a single lowly civilian would disgruntle the pair.

Skylar leapt out of the alley as the target ran past, tackling him to the ground. Damage was intentional, and that definitely broke a rib or two, because the man started to scream, just was the pair desired. She grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him flawlessly up. She wasn't that tall, but she was taller than the man enough that she could get his feet off of the ground. Reaching behind her, the armoured woman withdrew the armour's stun staff, which crackled with electricity. She used it to point at Starbright.

"Today, Starbright, you face your end. I will kill you, and nobody is here to save you," Skylar bellows, her voice boosted. Skylar, under guidance of Phantom who was presently doing most of the thinking, spoke words that were meant to demean Starbright as much as she could. There were obviously people that would come to save him, but for all the onlookers knew, he was on his own. She tossed the civilian to the ground, who quickly scampered away. He was yet another witness, she had no need to kill him for he was useful. Then, she started to approach Starbright at a confident yet fast pace, the staff held in both hands, ready to strike at Starbright as soon as she was close enough. She didn't want to push herself. She wanted to make him look weak.

"... and thats when I came on the scene. God I must have taken 30, 40 of these things down..." Starbright was filling in the nearby news team of his accomplishments against the Ambleweeds. Making sure to change stance every now and again so that that they could get the best picture they could.

"Today, Starbright, you face your end. I will kill you, and nobody is here to save you," Skylar bellows, her voice boosted. Starbright turned around, ah there was his villain actor he thought. "You are a little earl... I mean I will duel you foul villain. I must not let you harm this innocent news crew." Into a quick pose he shot a beam at Skylar, this would not harm or even greatly blind her however. He prepared to dodge the attack, it was clear he was having a good time.

Kingsdale University- Early Morning

Summer's out. School is still in and Killer plants started invading and are running rampant everywhere! Just a normal day in the city, amirite?

For a part-timer hero, this could be a dilemma. Enter our studious quiet protagonist, Kristy. A little cinnamon roll trying to balance her studies and her hero career, inducing herself with caffeine and music to help her cope with her college life.

It was the break of dawn and only a few people are on the campus. Kristy was walking around the school premise to get a head start, preparing herself to her first class when suddenly she heard unpleasant noises, inhumane growls, and incoherent chattering coming from the back garden of the establishment.

Out of curiosity, She approaches with caution holding her protein shake close to her heart and stumbles upon something strange. Two botanic-like creatures probably Ampleweeds stalking the school premise, trying to break-in and entering the area through the window.

hmmm, I don't think i've seen those guys before nor i believe they're enrolled in this school. she thought to herself.

"Hey, that's not right! S-stop that!" She pointed out. Not the most hero-like delivery or warning ever constructed, stumbling upon every bit of her words but hey, at least it got the creature's attention.

The two ample weed froze and looks at each other and can't help but to mimic a human's laugh, mocking the timid girl's warning. Their venus flytrap-like mouth watered with delight at the sight of the schoolgirl, seeing her as their next meal. Without warning one of the creature attacks with its mouth wide open, ready to devour its prey.

*Splat*

Thinking on her feet, the creature's head splattered like a bug on a windshield with one swing of her crystalize arm. She smashed its head clean off its shoulder out of self-defense.

"Ewww, gross" She said in disgust, wiping its juices off her stone coated arm."I didn't mean to do that, My only intent is to knock you out, I didn't know you guys are so squishy." She nonchalantly said.

"Hmmm, lemme check the Leftover-Wikipedia from our site, I'm fairly certain you have to dispose of the body or something" She whipped out her company-issued HERO phone, scrolling down looking for some info from these little boogers of nature. while Kristy went on a mumbling spree and in a trance looking at her phone for answers, the other Ambleweed decide to make a run-for-it though the woods.

The class bell ring.

"Hey, wait i'm not done with you! oh crap, I'm late!" with a sigh of disappointment and the feeling of being unaccomplished, Kristy pouted and grabs her backpack and heads towards her first class with haste.

From there on, Kristy knew it's gonna be a long day. Juggling two tasks at the same time. Such as the curse of being a part-timer.

Skylar found it amusing that Starbright wished to protect the news crew. It was ironic, as the news crews were the people that she wished to hurt the least. Well, she could hurt them, just not kill them. Phantom briefly considered the benefits and consequences of harming the news crew as Skylar began to close the gap. Even while contemplating how the destruction of the crew's microphone could prove to be a detriment, Phantom had Skylar's back covered. He tracked the beginnings of Starbright's movements, running an analysis. Skylar's vision darkened microseconds before Starbright had completed his pose and fired his beam, protecting her vision from the minuscule damage that the beam would have done.

With a sweep of her staff, Skylar attacked. Due to his dodge, Skylar wasn't able to obtain a full hit on Starbright, however the end of the staff brushes him, which would cause a small jolt of pain to affect him. It would be the second attack that would do the most damage. Still advancing even after her first strike, she sweeps, striking once more in the same manner with the position that her first strike gained her. This one, if Starbright was struck by it, would cause a much more painful jolt from the staff, however more-so causing pain than damage.

That first one stung, but the second hit hurt. "Jesus fu..." he quickly cut that line of thought out, cameras, cameras, cameras that is what mattered. But he wouldn't lie to himself and say that it didn't shock him in a literal and figurative way to find it was a real villain. Trying to find his composure he swung into a pose this one absent of it accompanying blast. "You know I'm flattered you would come after me. But frankly I'm a lot more of a lover than a fighter, maybe we can find a peaceful resolution to this. How about we catch some coffee after this whole Ambleweed ordeal and discuss our feelings? Doesn't that seem a lot better than you know, trying to kill me. After all this will be my first time dating a robot." This opponent seemed tough and Starbright for one was not up to fight it. Frankly from first impressions the robots look seemed a bit tacky for him but a date with that seemed a lot better than death. If not by much.

Starbright maintained a defensive stance to dodge the next oncoming attack, but he is not prepared to take the offensive.

"Begin test in three, two, one..." Rumi counted down, typing in a command on his keyboard. In the testing chamber, behind a sturdy glass window, an automaton began to crouch down and raise an arm, lifting up its watch-like device. Several sheets of metal then unfurled from it, forming a circular shield. It began to expand and shrink in diameter several times at differing speeds, as well as fold itself in and out. Then a pair of turrets appeared from a wall and began to fire at the shield, one firing bullets while the other a high-powered laser. They stopped firing after 5 seconds, and it was clear neither of the weapons were able to damage the shield very much.

"Success... I guess," Rumi said, sighing. There was nothing wrong with the device itself, Rumi made sure of that. He was just quite bored with creating such a mundane device. It was only a durable and lightweight shield one could bring anywhere and deploy at any time. There weren't even any fancy bells and whistles added into it. It didn't provide a challenge to his intellect at all. Absentmindedly spinning around on a rolling chair, Rumi hoped for something exciting to happen soon. An alarm then sounded on his H.E.R.O device, and Rumi kicked a wall to roll his chair over to it.

"I fucking called it!" Rumi exclaimed, reading the news about Ambleweeds appearing. "I told them the increase in pollen was a sign of the upcoming arrival of the Ambleweeds, and they didn't listen. It's a good thing I had Polamor Inc. stock up on extra pyrotechnical supplies." He had no need to worry for his company headquarter's safety, but he had to answer the call of a hero... and also begin the field testing of his personally upgraded gadgets.

---

Sir took long strides with the aid of his nanomachines pushing him along, using their miniature size and powerful swarming capability to slice and tear apart any Ambleweeds he came across. The maneating plants had rather simplistic thought processes, so it was easy to avoid their more lethal attacks and lure them into areas where they could be more easily dispatched. Any citizens he came across, Sir quickly aided them and directed them to the nearest shelter.

Sir made his way to a street and found quite a sight to behold: the ever-so-famous Starbright fighting a robotic automaton. Well, maybe not so much "fighting" as opposed to "trying to survive against". And the automaton was not actually an automaton, but a person wearing the GEN1MKII Advanced Combat Suit. He recognized this piece of tech; it was of particular interest to him at the time he read the articles due to one mishap involving a "melding" of the suit to a human body. That very person had also betrayed the H.E.R.O organization due to a virus invading her brain. "Phoenix", he recalled the ex-hero's name, now renamed "Phantom". Sir smiled, realizing the potential challenges such a virus could give him. He couldn't pass up this opportunity to study it.

Sir snuck his way closer, hiding himself behind a large truck and sending his nanobots over in secret, keeping them near the two while having them stay hidden. First he would get a feel for Phantom's fighting style, and/or if he determined that Starbright was in danger, he would deploy to form a protective barrier around Mr. Lightshow while he would swoop in to create a distraction. A wave of nanomachines and a few tarbombs (small devices holding a very sticky substance that quickly hardened in the air) would serve as an opening.

Ava lounged around, hanging over the edge of the building as red sparks danced along her body. Starbright was going to be in trouble to be sure, but a quick glance noted another Hero's appearance, somebody that Ava had never bothered to interact with. Ava didn't quite like Starbright but if she left him to his own devices she wouldn't hear the end of it from Marcus.

Ava sighed, sliding backwards off the 3rd story roof she had been resting on. She seemed to stop as her feet touched the side of the building, red electricity arcing off her limbs as she coiled up and suddenly sprang from her height, planning to collide with whatever it was that was attacking Starbright. Successful collision or otherwise her landing would violently discharge her gathered static, the red sparks leaving with a sudden crack.

"I will make pottery from your bones..." it would have been a funny opening, if her teeth had not been bared and she didn't look so much like she would enjoy the act.

Music that is currently playing in his shop

Metallic sounds could be heard. The soft roaring of fire and subtle hissing of red hot metal cooling also hummed in the background. The Drifter, busy as he ever was, was shuffling about, keeping himself busy.

He stood up straight, leaning back slightly. "Gotta keep workin'. Gotta survive." He muttered to himself. "People are getting too strong out there. What ever next? Heroes that can create black holes? Man. That would be a nightmare." He continued.

Looking down, he nodded to himself a few times before picking up his mallet and hitting whatever he was working on a few times. "Gotta acquire some tech. Maybe I can talk to Nova Labs and see what they have for sale for ol'Drifter." He reached down with a gloved hand and a pair of metallurgy tongs and picked up a shell that looked like a chest armor and stuck it back into his blast furnace to heat it back up again.

Moron, the pair both thought to themselves (and eachother) at the same time. The fact that Starbright was treating this slightly like some kind of act or show was quite frustrating, but Skylar and her mind-dwelling companion didn't let that fact push them too far into frustration, controlling their emotions and knowing they could whine about it to eachother later after the fighting. "I hope your idea of a date-" Skylar's voice suddenly changed, Phantom's scratchy, robotic and evil voice emanating from the armour instead, "-Involves pain." Skylar spins the staff in her hand, before jabbing it toward Starbright.

She didn't have any time to check if it connected or not. Threat indicators sprang up, provided by Phantom, and she dove out of the way, just before the Hero Exchange appeared. Now she was a threat more than Starbright - she had barely accomplished the dodge as it was due to a lack of warning. As a response to this disgruntled thought, Phantom navigated himself once more to the CCTV cameras of the street, to watch Skylar's back more efficiently. Meanwhile, Skylar was making a reply to Ava; "Heroes like yourself will be neutralised. You will not last. You will not survive."

She leapt forward with speed, attacking with more efficiency now that she was against an actual threat. She swung the staff with speed, it's end crackling through the air as she swung over and over again, seeking to strike Ava down.

"It's a nice day outside," William said with a whimsical tone. He was taking a small stroll in New Athens and taking in the sights. He's been in this city for about 3 days now, and it's still such a wonderful place to him. So many great things to see. Urban exploration is quite the foreign topic to him, so it's always nice to broaden his horizons with the obvious.

With the crazy plants attacking the city and not really causing all that much damage, it's basically a chill day. His luck took him down this street to find a bunch of green nuisances menacing the place. Instead of turning towards him, they turned towards a bunch of shadowy beasts prowling through the streets.

"Which hero had that power again?" He questioned himself even though he already knew the answer. He turned down an alleyway to avoid the brawl. What greeted him was not more plants because he's not unlucky like that. Instead, he chanced upon a leather wallet laying on the ground.

He opened it up and found an ID revealing the owner's identity. "Now this is nice." William smiled with wide eyes. There was a good amount of money in it. "People don't usually carry over a hundred bucks in cash these days. I can stay longer at the hotel with this." He was planning on stealing more money to extend his hotel stay, but it turns out he didn't need to.

His natural luck carried him for this. He took all the money out of the wallet and placed it back on the ground. He exited the alleyway to see the remnants of the Ambleweeds being cleaned up. All in all, it was a productive day. Now he just needs to put some more progress towards his goal no matter how small it is, so it can be called another perfect day.

One of the surviving plants leapt at him. Maybe it wanted to leave a mark that it existed on somebody by killing them? Whatever its plan was, William didn't really care. He didn't need to do anything, so he stood there as the plant's jaws came closer to swallowing him.

He closed his eyes to hear a crunch, but it wasn't him being chewed up. The shadowy hound finished the job before he could be finished. William opened his eyes and looked at the hound with a smile. "Once again, I am lucky."

He walked off to see more of the city in mild chaos. He stuck both hands in his deep pockets and grasped dirks. He was prepared to handle a few plants that decided that he'd make a good snack.

The dumpster went flying into the ambleweed, crushing it against a nearby wall where it exploded with a quick and satisfying splatter of green against the red brick. However, before the noise of the crash drowned it out, Thomas was sure for a moment he heard a voice calling out to him. He dropped back onto the ground, turning around and grinning as he saw a head of fiery red hair which he recognised immediately. He glanced back for a moment - there were still a couple of Ambleweeds mucking around nearby. One grabbed a fire hydrant and tore it up, sending water flying across the street, which soon lapped at his feet. He didn't move as he looked back up at Blake.

"Blake!" He called back over, waving, now hearing the unmistakable sound of ambleweed entrails dripping onto the floor behind the dumpster. He turned away again, moving the dumpster forward a bit so the corpse of the plant could slip to the ground. He mouthed "ew" at the mess before turning back once again to respond to Blake. "Well, you know me. No point in just standing around when there's things to do and plants to squash." He chuckled before stepping over to Firebird. "Hydrant's been ripped up... So we should probably get out of this alley, for your sake."

Thomas stepped out of the alley, past Blake who was peering carefully out. He put his hand on his chin and surveyed the scene in front of him. The ambleweeds just kept on coming and coming. But that was a good thing. It meant that the fun would go on for a long time. Of course, fighting off the plant legions was not as fun as fighting an actual villain with powers... but it'd do, for now, as there were no villains in the vicinity that he was aware of. He turned back to Blake. "Alright... you take the ones on the right side of the street, and you take the ones on the left, and we'll meet in the middle.. He didn't wait for an answer and floated off to the left.

He looked around for something to use. A hardware store was a couple of metres away. The door open, he slipped inside, looking around. Thomas grabbed an axe and told the immediately protesting cashier that he would return it soon. Then, stepping out, he jumped up before flipping gravity forwards, immediately speeding towards an ambleweed in front of him, taking the big dumb plant out with a speeding axe to the main head. Now this was fun. He jumped over its body and did it to a couple more, floating past an alley which he glanced into. Something shiny and thin spinning rapidly from one side to another. He dropped to the ground and let the axe fly on without him, hearing it splat into an ambleweed. He heard voices as he stopped, and he stayed and watched the alley.