_{Hawthorn Residential Center
Elmore Island
Kingsdale (Off-Shore), Castleburg}

Elmore Island is an island located northeast off the coast of Kingsdale, far enough from the coast to be hard to see on a foggy day but close enough to be definitively located within city bounds. The island is one of many teeny islands like Savior Island that dot the two main islands that make up Castleburg. The island was discovered by wealthy explorer and New World conqueror John J. Elmore, who very heroically enslaved and conquered the small indigenous tribe that was living there before building his massive estate on the island. Karma would end up striking John J. Elmore, who was killed in an Inkanyamba attack only days after the manor was finished. The island remained mostly untouched for years until Seraph purchased the entirety of the island and built up the manor into a large "residential center." The Hawthorn Residential Center is a private prison owned by Seraph's WINGS Corporation™. The detention facility is small and suited for moderate-level superpowered inmates that do not meet the level of atrocity that denotes a Coldwater sentence, or is used as a temporary holding facility until a cell can be prepared at Coldwater. Hawthorn abruptly closed for business the day after Seraph's retirement from HERO, and the inmates were transferred elsewhere. This was not an activity viewed with great suspicion- after all, if Seraph was really retiring, he would probably want to distance himself from hero work to enjoy his retirement! This assumption, along with the facility's relatively small size, led to the event not being covered at all on the news, and as of yet no potential buyers have approached Seraph for the real estate. This left Seraph with an abandoned, unwanted, unscrutinized, empty fortified prison to use at his discretion. Perfect.

The building looks similar to a medieval castle or fort. John Elmore's original building was just a large stone manor in a Romanesque style, both comforting but also threatening from a distance. Seraph decided to capitalize on the latter feature, expanding outwards to cover the entire island in three floors of hard stone and metal. The facility resembles an island fort, with walls lined with barbed wire enclosing the entire facility. Elmore Island was rather small, so Seraph had decided that the best plan was to build upwards, adding in two thick, tall towers of stone rising from the bulk of the building, with a metal helipad attached to one of the large towers. The towers were reserved for more dangerous inmates, while the ground floors were reserved for longer-term, lower-threat prisoners. Despite its almost archaic appearance, Hawthorn Residential Center is anything but archaic in its security. The one entrance to the facility that isn't electrified and surrounded by turrets is the main gate, a hulking steel door that had not opened in the last week. The only other way into the facility was to fly in and land on the helipad.

Blake would unknowingly awaken inside one of the towers in this facility, inside a cold, sterile room. He moaned as he clutched his head, feeling a sensation that Blake did not often feel- coldness. Blake's power normally kept him heated up, well above that of an average human, a very useful side perk that allowed Blake to withstand the cold much longer than your average Joe. Now, however, Blake felt the chill of the room grasping his body, which meant that either Blake had gotten sick (for whatever reason, even the least threatening of diseases shut his powers down pretty hard) or that something else was blocking his powers. Blake found the answer moments later in the form of a thick steel bangle clamped around his wrists. The bracelets were sturdy and tough, and had a ring of blue light pulsing from its core- isolene. Blake groaned as he scratched at his wrists. Whatever these cuffs were, they were clamped on tight, which meant no luck on just man-handling them off. Blake would need some sort of gadget to remove them, and he did not have access to any sort of gadget in this room. He didn't have any access to much of anything. Three thick stone walls surrounded him, a tattered mattress and equally tattered pillow sitting in the corner of the room. A fluorescent bulb that was attracting a couple moths hung above. The remaining wall was covered in what appeared to be black glass, a heavy-duty metal door next to it. Blake ran over and pounded on the glass, but his thuds did not so much as scratch the glass. Clearly, the Wings had prepared for this.

Blake's attack on the window did seem to stir some attention, and the glass suddenly turned translucent like normal glass, revealing three figures. One of them, Blake recognized all too well. Seraph, standing there in his stupid cream-colored suit, an eagle pin on his lapel, a smug grin on his face. Next to Seraph was a taller man, with tanned almond skin and an Indian look. Blake recognized this fellow as Mystiko, a longtime Wing of Law and a master telekinetic. He was one of the few Wings of Law that Blake had not come to hate, though the fact that he was allying with Seraph now, working with these EAGLES bastards, that instantly put him on his shit list. The last figure was the tallest of the three (which was saying something). The man's large body was covered in a thick black cloak that was tattered at the edges, and his head and face was covered by a black hood and a glittering platinum mask, respectively. The only thing visible on this man was his eyes, which were glowing with a sickly red color. Blake was not familiar with this fellow, and was glad that this was the case- he gave him bad vibes.

Seraph clasped his hand together with a triumphant grin. "Ah, Firebird, I see you've finally come to. Welcome to your new home! Isn't it lovely?”

Blake elected not to answer that question, instead electing to press both his hands against the glass angrily, baring his teeth. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Seraph? I knew you were a prick, sure, but this...this is ridiculous!" Blake shouted, which sprouted a good-natured laugh from Seraph, while the other two stood by, almost emotionless. "Ridiculous is a word you could use, though I will take it as a compliment, an expression of admiration for the new empire I'm building.” Before Blake could speak again, Seraph quickly continued. "Now, as much as I would love a chat with you, Mr. von Brandt, we have business to get to. I'm sure you're thinking that I'm going to ask about Ms. Donnelly, but you would be incorrect. I have no need for any of that information. You'll be happy to learn that Aria will soon be joining you here. No, I have a different question.” He paused, before staring at Blake through the mirror, his whimsical nature of speech being suddenly replaced by a cold and calculating manner. "I know that during your escapades at the mafia manor, Hugo Powers told you about the organization known as Zero. Hugo Powers, however, is now dead. I killed him myself. I watched him fall from the top of HERO One. He is gone." Ignoring Blake's mortified look, Seraph continued emotionlessly. "However, his secrets have died with him, and Division X has mysteriously vanished. You, however, may have the answers I need. Tell me everything you know about Zero, or everything that HERO knows about him. Be forewarned that if you do not cooperate and give me the answer I want, I will extract it from you, and it will not be pleasant.”

Blake stared up at Seraph defiantly, trying to ignore the blossoming sadness in his chest. "Never," he said firmly. "I'll never tell you, you evil bastard...and you'll never get it out of me! There's nothing you can do to me that'll make me give in! Nothing!" he spat.

"My dear Firebird, I'm sorry you chose that option, and I must disagree." Seraph turned to the hulking Grim Reaper man. "Nemesis, you may go ahead."

"If is necessary," the reaper man said, raising a gloved hand, as what appeared to be actual darkness danced around his hand. He then snapped his fingers crisply. "Rabbit hole."

For a few seconds, nothing happened, Blake just stared forwards at Nemesis, wondering what was going on. A few seconds later, still nothing. Blake, realizing nothing was going to happen, began to chuckle. All this build-up, for nothing. Blake laughed a few seconds more before he heard somebody call his name. Blake wheeled around to see a teenage girl, with pale skin and white-blonde hair, talking to high-school age Blake, wearing a Letterman jacket, backpack swung over his shoulder, a cocky but measured grin on his face. The smile fell as the girl spoke. "Blake, you're a really nice guy, and I'm going to miss you, but...I'm leaving," she said bluntly, looking up at the younger Blake, who quickly became crestfallen. "I'm going back home."

Blake remembered this scene of his younger years. His first break-up. Not his last. It wasn't exactly a memory he remembered fondly. As Blake watched the memory play out in his little cell, though, he was caught off-guard as the girl suddenly shouted, "It's because you're worthless! You're a terrible person and a terrible boyfriend! I'm going back to Norway and I hope I never see you again!" the girl hissed. Blake jumped back in shock. This was definitely not the memory that he had once had.

Suddenly, he was flying forwards in time, as he saw visions of girls he had once dated and broke up with fly past, flickering through his memories like a dated movie. He saw Rosa walk off, Jade board her flight, and then he saw Angie walk away, giving him the cold shoulder as she brushed past him. Blake tried to run after her, tried to talk, but it was clear he wasn't in control here. He looked around, confused and dazed, as he heard another voice chime in behind him. The honeyed, slightly Southern tone of his mother, Karen. "Why haven't you been able to hold onto a girlfriend, Blakey?" Blake could hear her voice echo throughout the cell, before her voice, just like all the others, turned cold. "I think I know why. It's because you're worthless. Worthless as a son, worthless as a boyfriend, worthless as a hero. You've never saved anybody. You've only hurt people. You might as well quit while you're ahead," his mother scolded. Blake wheeled around, feeling the pain sink into his chest like a knife, as he looked around. Standing in a circle around him now was all the people he had known. Tom, Will, Joseph, Brie, Jamie, Patricia, Eliza, her parents, Angie, his exes, even his own parents, all standing around him, repeating the same word like some sort of chant- "worthless." The word burrowed into his skull, each letter searing into his brain, as the sound only increased in his head. "Worthless." "Worthless." "Worthless."

Blake was a fairly resilient person, but he keeled over quickly, falling to his knees as he felt his mind betray him. He was worthless, wasn't he? Useless. That was why he never could hang onto a relationship, because he was just worthless. As these negative thoughts began to fester in his brain, the pounding and voices only increased, causing Blake to grab onto his head as he tried to fight it off. "I...no..." Blake managed as the voices increased. He looked around to see swarms of what appeared to be bats fly around him, though these "bats" were blue and red in color and were strange, one-eyed monsters, Leftovers of some kind. They fluttered around him in a swarm, circling him as the noise in his brain only got louder, and louder, and then they dove in, mouths wide open, rows of razor-sharp teeth ready to bite as they flew towards Blake, and the noise was only getting louder...

"Stop! Stop! I'll tell you everything! Just stop!" Blake yelled, resting on his hands and knees, panting and shaking his head like he had just run a few marathons consecutively. He then did something he never thought he could've done- he blabbed. He told Seraph and Nemesis everything Powers had told them a few months earlier. About what they knew about Zero, about how Zero liked to use puppets, and their cutthroat ways...it wasn't much, but it was still information that Powers had trusted them, and information he had just spilled to Seraph. As soon as he finished talking. Blake looked away, ashamed. "I am worthless," he whispered, mortified at himself, as Seraph and Nemesis faced each other. "Less than I thought, but still useful," Nemesis surmised. "I'll be off now." The cloaked figure turned on heel and walked away, disappearing into the shadows, as Seraph turned to face Mystiko. "Man the cameras and keep an eye on him. I have something to take care of," Seraph said, before walking off to the elevator, leaving Blake alone with his own "worthless" thoughts.

---

---

As soon as Tom gave affirmation, Priestess gave a wide smile and girlish shriek (of approval), before she quickly wrapped Tom in a hug. "I knew you would come around! Seraph said you wouldn't, but I knew you would!" she said, giving Tom a dazzling smile. The second part of the question seemed to lower the smile's brightness a few clicks, but she still kept a wide grin as she responded. "If you join us, I will make him," she said confidently, grabbing Tom's arm and pulling him to the edge of the rooftop. "We have to go, we're already late...let's fly together! Oh, we haven't done this in forever, I missed this..." she said, standing at the rooftop's edge and looking out across Kingsdale. She then, swift as a hawk finding its prey, leaned in, planting a full kiss on Tom's left cheek, and leaving a fresh lipstick mark like a bullseye in the center, before pulling Tom off the roof and beginning to fly.

Priestess may not have been the strongest superheroine, but she was an excellent flyer, and she guided Tom through the afternoon sky effortlessly, her wings flapping gracefully as she soared through the air, guiding Tom across Kingsdale to the bay. "This way!" she chirped, not unlike a bird, as she soared over the water, giving a couple midair twists as she flew towards Elmore Island, the fortress and tall towers becoming visible as the two zoomed towards it. Priestess guided Tom towards the helipad, soaring in and landing effortlessly on it with grace (not Grace). Standing on the pad, hands in his pockets, was Seraph, who had a very annoying sneer on his face. Priestess gestured towards Tom elaborately. "Tommy said he would love to join us, on the conditions you agreed to," she said, giving Seraph a puppy dog eyes look. Seraph gave a nod, looking at Tom with a cool, suspicious look. "If that's the case, follow me. And don't try anything. Emily, wait her," he commanded, guiding Tom towards the tower, to the elevator. Priestess waved good-bye and blew Tom a kiss as the elevator doors closed.

Seraph rode the lift down a few floors in silence, before the doors parted on a level that was labelled not with a number, but with a red triangle. Seraph stepped out, walking down the empty hallway. "I'm glad you've discovered your logic," Seraph said, stopping in front of the cell area. The glass was returned to black again, leaving the contents of the cell obscured. "I'll level with you now- I don't fully trust you. Yet. Your talents are admirable, no doubt, but your loyalty may lie elsewhere. So I'll offer you a deal," Seraph said, pressing a long finger against the black glass. The glass, as if by magic, glowed for a second before turning transparent again, revealing the cell's contents, including Blake, who was currently curled up on his mattress. "If you do exactly what I say, and don't attempt to undermine or double-cross me, I will release your friend. If you do so, I will force the poor fool to undergo some more...personalized therapy," Seraph said cruelly, looking over at Blake, who was almost quivering. It was a sorry sight. "Understood? Good. I'll give you two a moment, but be warned- I am watching, and any attempt to escape or do anything will be recorded and dealt with. Severely." With that, Seraph turned and walked over to the elevator, vanishing into the lift with a ding.

---

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Meanwhile, across the city, near Rumi's lab, a strange vehicle pulled up behind the crowd. "Strange" was the only word that could describe the vehicle, which literally looked like an alligator. The hood of the car was stylized like an alligator's jaw, a long tail hung from the trunk, posing a severe traffic hazard, and the car was painted with an elaborate scale pattern. Stepping out of the car was a man dressed in a thick green suit, with purple highlights, and some gadgetry strapped to the suit. He was Caucasian, probably in his mid-40s, and bald, with green reptile eyes (or more likely, fancy contacts) and light stubble. The man, who those who were well-versed with crime would recognize as Snake Pit, a reptile-themed villain that had been arrested just over a week ago for trying to rob a bank with an acid gun, rushed through the crowd, pushing his way through, before popping out the front like a Jack-in-the-box.

Not wasting a second, he pulled a device from his back and activated it, releasing a wave of blue energy through the area, and disabling any pesky nanobots that were within a 50-meter radius. He then pulled a large blaster from his back, aiming it at Rumi. "Agent Snake Pit from EAGLES. New recruit. You are hereby under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, or else..." He thought for a moment, having forgotten the line. "You have the right to remain silent, or else get melted by an acid blast. Now put your hands up now or you get vaporized, nerd!"

He pumped his gun. This hero thing was actually pretty fun.

---

Merely hours after Seraph's address, Starbright held a live stream toward his fans. 'Tears of sadness' ran down his face as he address the matter of Eagles. "So *sniffle* by now you all have heard about Eagles. *sniffle* I am sorry to say but I, Starbright, was not invited to join. Seraph has ended my hero career, I will keep producing my music but it will *sniffle* be tough with this weight on my heart. All I wanted to do was *more intensive crying*, save... people. But that isn't even the worst part."

Starbright had to try his absolute hardest not to smile at this next part. Although it was his duty to help keep Patty safe, he couldn't lie and say he wasn't about to enjoy what he was about to say. "A good friend... no, one of my dearest friends in HERO, Patty Donnelly, is being hunted down by Seraph. *sniffle* She couldn't be capable of murder she is only a teen and that isn't even all of it. She was my... biggest fan. Now, thinking about her on the run, all I can think about is that it could have been any one of my fans *sniffle* in her situation. So yeah, thats the main reason I am in tears. Please don't let this go unnoticed, I started a hashtag, #savestarbrightsbiggestfan, it up to all of you to be the heroes now." Well there you go Patty, Starbright thought. Until you start putting yourself in the spotlight, everyone will think you're my biggest fan.

---

Later on mainstream Castleburg news, a much more composed and serious Starbright made his address to those who aren't teenage girls.

"I think Seraph and Eagles are going in the right direction, Castleburg certainly needs change and has needed it for a long time." Starbright cringed at how vague the term 'change' was. He knew better than anybody that is was merely a buzz word people like himself and Seraph use to get blind support on an empty promise of progress. "However, the dispanding of HERO has gone under the notice of every employee there until Seraph's address. I think everyone would like a few things cleared up first, which is why I, Starbright, will be looking to produce an exclusive interview with retired legend, Hugo Powers. The problem is he has gone dark for the past week, so if anyone has any clue on his whereabouts let me know immediately. Not that I want to throw any accusations of course. Now where were we, ah, my new albu..."

The interview continues with non-hero matters for the entirety of the broadcast. Starbright added in that line about accusations, this should spark some conspiracy wack jobs to start speaking about a potential Powers kidnapping. Whether Seraph had been responsible for that or not was irrelevant, right now Eagles just needed as much doubt on them as possible without directly confronting them.

---

_{Hawthorn Residential Center
Elmore Island
Kingsdale (Off-Shore), Castleburg}

Blake drifted in between consciousness and sleep as he sat, hunched over, on the mattress, his eyes staring plainly at a particularly large hole on its side. He snapped out of it, however, as he heard the door open. Blake wasn't the type to be easily scared (alright, he could get a little scared sometimes, but not my opening doors, usually), and under normal circumstances Blake would be unphased, but he nearly jumped through the ceiling as he heard the door open, his head whipping around in a split second as he looked over to see who had walked in, hoping like all hell that whoever it was didn't have on any sort of cloak and hood. He quickly settled down as he saw Tom- oh, he had never been happier to see his face!- walk in, before the realization hit him. If Tom was here, they had surely gotten him too, right? That couldn't be good. Still, Blake was, in a selfish way, glad that Tom was there. At least they were stuck together.

"Hi Blake..." Tom said awkwardly, seemingly at a loss of words for a moment, before continuing. "I'm sorry... This is probably, like, really shocking for you, but I'm here now. I'm here with Seraph. He was right, so... I've joined EAGLES. But they're gonna let you go, okay? Don't do anything stupid, just stop doing hero stuff..."

The words hit Blake like a punch to the gut. Never in a million years had he ever thought that Tom would take Seraph's side, the side of his captors. Tom had ripped up plenty of Wings of Law invitations in the past, hadn't he? Why would he now decide to switch sides? It didn't make any sense in Blake's mind, not a bit, as he leafed through years worth of friendship. Lost in thought, he distractedly listened to Tom continue. "It'll all be alright, Blake. Remember the mafia mission, it's just like that. EAGLES has the right idea about stuff, dude. It's a good thing they replaced HERO. I'll see you later."

Blake wasn't sure if it was the way that he had worded the sentence, or just his own faith pulling through, but he understood. Tom wasn't joining the Wings because of them, he was joining because of him! Seraph must've cut him a deal or something, and Tom figured that he could help Blake out by going along with it. The moment of joy at Blake's understanding was cut short, however, by a sudden realization. He had fucked up again. Blake's own stupidity, his own failure, his own worthlessness had screwed up not only himself, but his friend as well. Blake put his head in his hands, groaning, as Tom left. The headache had been gone for a hot second, but it was back now at full force, tearing into his brain like a sharp dagger. "FUCK!" he declared loudly as Tom had gotten to the door, tugging at his scarlet hair as the migraine only continued to press into his head.

As Tom exited, Seraph walked down the hallway, looking as smug as ever. He adjusted his tie as he looked at Tom. "Talk as we walk?” he proposed, striding down the corridor, wings folded neatly behind him. "He's not exactly in good shape, is he? Didn't seem to handle everything very well...don't worry, you have my word that he will be safe if you comply. He'll be back to normal so long as you don't try anything,” Seraph said as they entered the elevator, riding it down into the facility. It dinged a few floors later, and Seraph walked out into the elaborate room. The room was almost like a medieval version of the HERO Common Room, with gray stone walls, golden chandeliers, velvety coaches, and oak tables. A fireplace crackled in the corner, and a large TV screen was mounted on the wall, a bunch of green dots with the gang's names- Joseph, Grace, Patricia, Eliza, Jamie, Rumi, and Tom himself. "This tracks cell phones. We're using it to hunt down these degenerates," Seraph explained, gesturing to the screen. "It seems that Static is in Utica, attending some sort of electrician's convention. We don't have the time or resources yet to deal with her; we'll just take her down once she gets back to the city. That leaves 5 remaining. Sea Serpent, status?”

Sea Serpent floated over on a platform of water, sitting lazily on top. ”The two new agents are en route to apprehend Quake. Odds are, they're going to get demolished, but hopefully we can wear her down enough to the point where we can swoop in and take her out without much difficulty.” Her finger moved from Jamie's dot lazily over to Rumi. ”Across the city and IQ scale, Snake Pit is currently in conflict with Sir E. Brum. I'll check in on him in a second. I don't anticipate any problems from the nerd, but best to keep an eye on him. Phil is heading after the drunk one, should be an easy wrap there. Why did we include him on the list again?”

Seraph clenched his teeth. "Personal reasons. What about the last three?”

”Right, the Three Musketeers of 'bleargh.' Squinty seemed to have the brains to dump her phone, which Blister learned the hard way after digging through pounds of frozen fish. He's heading up to Kingsdale to her apartment now, thought I doubt the ugly beaver is heading there. She's probably out of town by now, but can't hurt to check.”

Seraph smiled at this. "Our new ally may be able to help hunt her down. But she isn't top-priority at the moment. The other two?”

”Wimpy and Grouchy are actually both at Grouchy's apartment. Billy is heading there now, along with two other new EAGLES recruits.”

Seraph nodded. "Excellent. I have big plans for the girl...anyway, Tom, as you can see, our plans are all coming together nicely. You picked the right side, that much I'll tell you.” Seraph put an arm around Tom's shoulders, like he was suddenly Tom's long-lost father and not nemesis up until this point. Seraph smiled at this. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a quick job for you to do. This Starbright fellow, he's been a real pain in our ass, recently. Not like you and your crew have been, mind, but he's been peddling conspiracy theories about the mysterious retirement of Hugo Powers...he's a nuisance, and I want him taken care of. Take him out. Lethally, non-lethally, doesn't matter. It would go a long way to helping your friend get a better home, if you catch my drift.” He paused. "Take Cynthia with you. Cosmetica, get over here!"

A young woman that looked roughly Tom's age sauntered over. Her face was covered with comical amounts of makeup, that made her look almost like a clown, and she had long, extremely shiny blonde hair that was tied up in a titanic up ponytail. She was wearing a jean jacket and jeans, a pink t-shirt with a rainbow peace sign underneath, and she had on extremely tall heels. That being said, she had a good build and, if she hadn't chosen to dress like a buffoon, could've been quite good-looking. Cynthia grabbed Tom's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Nice to meetcha, nice to meetcha."

"The two of you, head to Starbright's penthouse and take him off the map," Seraph commanded. "I have a nice helicopter on top; you can use that to reach him. Good luck," Seraph said, before walking off to talk to the other heroes, leaving Tom and Cynthia alone. Cynthia shrugged and walked down to the elevator, beckoning Tom to come along. She texted all the way on her glittery pink phone as the elevator chugged up to the helipad at a stupidly slow rate, dinging as it reached the top floor. Cynthia stepped out towards the white-and-gold luxury helicopter parked on the pad. "I call flying this bad boy!" Cynthia said eagerly, running around to the other side and hopping into the pilot's seat. "Get in!"

Once Tom was in and strapped up, the helicopter took off, fluttering off of Elmore Island slowly. The helicopter was extremely luxurious, with comfortable leather chairs and seat warmers, gorgeous interior design and a magnificent loading bay, and a television mounted above the passenger seat, right where Tom was sitting. The TV was currently featured Jack Roberts on CCN Headline, and several pictures of Tom on the rooftop earlier, including one with Priestess' lips planted on Tom's cheek, was currently on-screen. Though there was no sound at the moment, the headline read "SPACEWALKER X PRIESTESS- GRAVITY HERO NEWEST ANNOUNCED MEMBER OF FRESHLY-FORMED EAGLES SQUAD."

Cosmetica, one hand on the steering yoke and the other hand pulling at her blonde hair, shook her head. "Poor Grace. She's going to be crushed," she mused as she pulled the messy wig of blonde hair right off, revealing a head of shorter, hibiscus-red hair. She grabbed a wipe from her pocket, patting at the makeup on her face, before tossing it aside, looking over at Tom with a wide smile. "So, how did you end up in this mess?" Christina Lavender asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement and daring as she grinned at Tom.

@KaijuBaragon@Jumbus

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_{Polamor Inc. Headquarters
Castleburg}

Meanwhile, Snake Pit was on the ground, looking rather sorry for himself as Rumi planted his knee into his chest. He struggled to wiggle himself free, but found himself totally pinned to the ground. This Rumi fellow looked like a simple breeze would send him to the ground, but his wiry frame actually packed quite a punch. Furthermore, the bastard had used some sort of mini-EMP stick or something to turn off all his armor and his acid gun. This was turning out to be much more of a pain in the ass than Sea Serpent had told him it would be. Still, Snake Pit was not a villain just because of fancy gadgets. He had his own powers too, and this Sir E. Brum loser was about to get a taste of that.

"EAGLES? Up to?" Snake Pit said innocently, before activating his powers. A plume of green gas rose from Snake Pit's body and, as if acting on its own, flew towards Rumi's face like a moth moving after a light. The green gas, toxic if inhaled, continued to attack Rumi, though the hero would find that the gas was light enough to simply be blown away by a simple exhalation. However, Snake Pit was using this opportunity to jump to his feet and find a weapon. His power armor had been disabled, as had his acid blaster and acid pistol, but he had still had one more trick up his sleeve. Literally, up his sleeve.

Snake Pit removed a stiletto knife from a hidden cache in his sleeve, twirling it in his fingers, before yelling a war cry and charging at Rumi, knife in stabbing position, as he tried to lethally take out Rumi. Of course, this was a horrible idea, but Snake Pit wasn't paid to make good ideas, he was paid to kill people, and right now, so long as Rumi stood still and didn't attempt to dodge or fight back, Snake Pit would be collecting his check. Of course, it never worked like that in real life, but it couldn't hurt to give it a try, right? Right?

@Scarifar

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_{Target™
Castleburg}

Meanwhile, Target was having a regular business day when a thing burst through the wall. "Thing" was the only word to describe the...thing that had blasted through the wall of the Target so suddenly. He (or perhaps more accurately, it) was tall, very tall, at a similar size to a bull ogre, and had dark, forest green skin. He (or it) had dreadlocks of knotty black hair falling in front of his brown, bloodshot eyes, and he was wearing a tank-top for giants and tattered pants. He looked like if Bob Marley had said goodbye to THC and hello to "troll," which was what it (or he) looked like- an actual troll.

Dungeon Troll, a former villain and newly-hired EAGLE, pushed past some screaming women and stalking towards the checkout aisles. As cashiers fled, passed out, or both in his wake, Dungeon Troll stalked his way over towards Jamie, staring at her and raising his massive muscular arms above his dreadlocked head. He then released a guttural roar, so loud and obnoxious that it echoed throughout the entire department store, before slamming the ground, sending a shockwave towards Jamie that was more than enough to knock her off her feet, if she hadn't gotten out of the way already.

Meanwhile, from the other side of the department store, a man in Roman garb walked over. Nero strutted over with confidence clear in his steps, holding a large frying pan in his hand. With a snap of his fingers, the pan part began to morph and distort itself, stretching into a long metal club, which Nero spun in his hand. "It's time for a clobbering, wouldn't you say?" he jested, raising his makeshift club over his head. "For the glory of Rome!"

@canaryrose

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_{The Streets of Castleburg}

Joseph, not too long after sending his call, found his phone practically erupting with static, so much so that anything Brie could possibly say was overrun by crackling. One moment later, a wiry figure jumped out from an alleyway directly in front of Joseph's scooter. "Wiry" was a word that is much more literal in this instance than in normal use. The figure was not thin and lithe, he was actually composed of wires. His body was made of knotted-together black wires, running up and down like skin and roping into hands and feet, copper tips forming a sort of fingernail. His head was also just a knot of wires as well, albeit a knot that was shaped eerily similarly to a human head. What appeared to be two pieces of reddish glass made up his eyes, and some slack around the mandible area gave him a mouth. This was Wire-Man, one of the Wings of Laws' most loyal enforcers.

Wire-Man, standing a few feet fearlessly in front of Joseph's scooter, raised his arm, and his arm began to lengthen like a yo-yo, unraveling and shooting towards Joseph's scooter. His coppery fingers wrapped around the handlebars, and then Joseph's scooter, right there in the middle of the road, died. Sparks flew from the tips of Wire-Man's copper fingers as he drained the scooter dry of every spark of electricity it had. Wire-Man stared at Joseph, dead in the eyes, quiet as ever.

He then lifted his wiry arms and began to slap Joseph, over and over. The slaps weren't devastating, sure, but considering this was a man made out of actual wires, it definitely hurt more than it should. There, in the middle of the road, Wire-Man attempted to slap Joseph to death. Fun. It was a slow and ineffective way to kill somebody, but Wire-Man didn't seem to care. Perhaps he thought that Joseph was a pushover, one that he could toy with a little on this assignment. After all, that was what his file said.

@Rabidporcupine

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Grace felt like a knife had been twisted through her heart as Patti walked over to her with an irritated scowl on her face, covered in whipped cream and flour, trying to shush her to prevent her from waking up Eliza, who was asleep on the couch. Grace had a pained expression on her face as she shook her head. "This isn't a mission, Patricia, agi," Grace said softly, trying to deliver the news in a way that would traumatize the girl the least. Considering the gravity of the situation, Grace decided that trying to sugarcoat it was a plan that was doomed to fail, so she took a deep breath and delivered the news. "The Wings of Law staged a coup. They did something to Powers- killed him, maybe, the thought is so awful...- and they've made a new hero company to replace HERO called EAGLES, a bunch of handpicked goons and other traitors. And they've framed you for murdering a bunch of people and they've plastered your face- and all of ours- everywhere on the city. Mr. Impressive and his gang of cronies are going to be here in any second, and if we don't hurry, the rest of your cake date is going to be in a Coldwater cell, so you'd better hurry." Grace said, before she paused and quickly added, "I didn't mean that last part! You're going to be fine, I'm going to get you out of here, OK? Go pack a bag, get some stuff that you need if you're going to stay away for a while, and we'll go and we'll fix this whole mess. Now seoduleuda. Go. I'm going to set something up for those jabjong shits..." she said ominously, giving Patricia a quick hug before walking out of the kitchen. As she moved briskly through the apartment, she grabbed the TV remote, flicking it onto the news channel, causing Patricia's face (an unflattering picture for sure) to suddenly blink onto the TV screen, as a newscaster's voice projected through the apartment, "-if anybody has seen this elusive murderer, please inform EAGLES at the number 212..." As the newslady continued on, Grace walked to the apartment's doorway. She had work to do.

Grace flipped over the area rug by the doorway and, after a moment of concentration, opened a large rectangular portal underneath the carpet, just smaller than the carpet itself in area, before laying it back down. She moved out into the hallway, doing the same for every place that had an available carpet. She then carefully retreated into the apartment, admiring her handiwork. With luck, her traps would be able to slow Mr. Impressive down a good bit, help buy the girls some time to plan a course of action. Nodding, she carefully crept over to the living room, opening an ovular portal in the middle of the room. "Patti, let's go, wake up Eliza if she's not already-" Grace began, before she saw a disturbing image on the screen. Tom's picture was square in the middle of the screen, and Jack Roberts was speaking words that Grace did not want to hear. "Spacewalker, a well-known and popular hero in his own right, is going to be joining Castleburg's newest hero company, EAGLES. Seen here, it seems as though the hero is picking up with old flame Emily Morgan, better known as Priestess..." Jack Roberts continued to talk about EAGLES, but Grace didn't register it at all, her eyes instead staring blankly at the picture on the screen, Tom at the edge of the rooftop, Priestess leaning in, her ruby-red lips planted squarely in the middle of Tom's cheek...Grace's hand gravitated up to her chest, her fingers clutching at the flesh right above her heart, as she just stared, feeling some water come to her eyes.

"No," she muttered, shaking her head fervently, as if denying the photo's existence would somehow cause it to magically vanish. "No, no, it can't be..." she said, her voice whispery and alarmed, her heart still trying to convince her brain an obvious lie. Unfortunately, her heart didn't stand a chance, and Grace's voice quickly rose, louder than she had ever known it to go as she yelled, "Baesinja! Traitor!" Her stare hardening into a glare, she clenched her fists tightly. "He...they...I...no...I am going to KILL them BOTH," she finally managed to
splutter out, her violet eyes flushed with anger and hurt. If Patricia's appearance, naive and carefree, had put the knife in, this scene on the news had sent it all the way through.

Grace was not one to dwell in the past, though, and she quickly returned to business as soon as her brain said she could. She turned to Patricia and Eliza, who certainly could not have slept through her outburst unless she was really tired. "Let's go. We're going to head to the new hero, Pandora's, place. A flower shop. She's new, so they won't list her as a potential conspirator, they won't be checking...hopefully she'll be willing to help us. I'll go through first, make sure the portal is safe, considering I only know the address and haven't been to the store yet. Once I'm through, follow me quickly. Make sure you leave your phones here. HERO could track them, so I can only assume EAGLES have inherited that capability. We'll...we'll figure this out together. OK?" With that (attempted) motivational speech, one that was probably not very strong considering it was coming from a crying girl, Grace carefully stepped through the portal.

The Korean girl materialized inside of Pandora's Potts, almost knocking down a nearby pot of plants in the process. After landing safely on the ground, Grace reached a hand through the portal, waved for the two to come through, before turning to look at Pandora. Grace, despite being an awarded hero, felt a strange sense of inferiority before this woman, who hardly looked much older than herself. Grace took a deep breath. "Ms...Pandora?" Grace said, not remembering whether or not she had a last name. She should've had one, but Grace seemed to be drawing a blank, unusual for someone of her caliber memory. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, I hope I'm not bothering you...I'm Grace Mok, or Bypass...Patti and Eliza, I mean, Murmur and Aria, are coming through in a moment. I'm not sure if you've seen the news, but we're in some trouble and if we could just hold out here for a bit, it would be greatly appreciated." Grace spoke with as much politeness as she could muster. To be frank, she didn't know where else to turn at this point, so this flower shop may be their best bet at escaping the Wings of Law. "Again, sorry for barging in, but teleporting onto the street would've been suspicious, and the Wings might've picked it up," she explained, looking at Pandora meekly. The fact that her eyes were teary probably weren't helping her case.

@Duoya @Zoey Boey @canaryrose @Amethyst

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Location: Pandora's Potts

Interactions: Anyone present at Pandora's Potts

Note: The passage with the italic font was done with Hitman on Discord.

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Starbright took this night to relax, the bath was all ready. He had a new herbal bath bomb from Japan or something, it smelt like just what he needed to calm down. Hoping in to the clearly oversized tub, even he had to stretch to reach the remote. There was a specific tune he wanted to play tonight. In fact, it was something he felt the great desire to play every night he took a bath.

"Splish splash, I was takin' a bath."
"Long about a Saturday night."

Starbright couldn't fight the urge to sing along. The bath tub was almost a ritual to him and it really helped get his mind off all this EAGLES business. Being one of the only spokespeople against it was tiring work and in all honesty there were points where he considered just leaving it all alone. If he didn't know the gang as much as he did, he would certainly be taking that approach.

It all wasn't anything new to Starbright though, this sort of this happens in the music industry all the time. In fact, he himself had pulled the exact same move EAGLES did a couple years back. But it is so much worse when it happens in the world of heroes, there are lives on the line this time. Which is probably what bothered Starbright so much.

There he went again, delving too deep into things, during bath time no less. This would certainly harm his ability to sleep. Instead of 8 hours he would likely only be getting 6. Which is unacceptable. Back to the song, maybe that could get his mind of it again.

"A rub-a-dub, just relaxin' in the tub."
"Thinkin' everything was alright."

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After the bath it was time to make up dinner. Sure, he had a personal chef to make meals for him. But Starbright gave him the night off. 'I'm 19 now' he thought, 'its about time I learnt to make some of my own meals'. It was all part of an initiative Starbright was taking to govern his own life more, be more independent. Tonight's menu was eggs on toast.

They sucked. Starbright had gone through 5 eggs to only make a couple that looked decent. Still, they didn't taste very good. It tasted like poverty, and Starbright was not suited for that. But he had to stick to it, he had to learn.

At least he could soak up the view of the city. His lounge where he ate had large glass panels that overlooked the bright lights of the city. Like something was shining back just for him. Sure he could easily leave this place and be well out of the way of EAGLES, but he couldn't imagine a life away from Castleburg. Starbright will never leave this place, even if he has to fight for it.

The news report played the Spacewalker EAGLES story, Starbright wasn't very shocked. Of course the social media star betrayed the gang to join EAGLES, he thought, those ankle biters will do anything for a chance at real fame. Starbright had assumed this very unfavorable opinion without knowing the full story or context.

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