The Big Collab

Ameliya held out two handguns toward the group. From the looks of things, some of the people in the elevator had no practice with fighting and if she wanted to get out of here, the more hands causing chaos the better.

With the lack of response from his flirtatious attempts, Kanata scoffed and walked to the wall leaning his back against it making note of everyone's condition and combat potential for the fight that has yet to come. Only a few of the members he sensed had an active dangerous air around them as for the rest they seemed more or less akin to wolves in sheep's clothing. His hand rested on his sheathed blade waiting for the need to use it.

Korbl, potentially a strong ally for what may come through without a weapon could pose a hindrance unsure of his hand-to-hand combat capabilities Kanata was thinking of asking him to be his disciple with his potential. Julia, a quiet girl who hadn't seemed to have the killer instinct a lot of the other members had and worried for her safety taking note of her specifically if she happened to get into trouble he would rush to her aid.

Looking at the alien who turned from a massive scorpion to the now cute demonic little girl kinda like a pet lion, keep her fed and she won't eat you. Alfred, an interesting beast Kanata, felt something from him: an extreme amount of power radiated off his icy feathers. Abby the other girl Kanata was relatively worried about next to Julia who he looked at as a child who he would also step in to help specifically if she gets into trouble both her and Julia's existence within this place bothered him to his core whoever put them here he would make sure understood pain.

Not much to say on the rest rue was injured and he already knew her but then his eyes settled on Ameliya. He stared as his thoughts became absorbed in her. She was gorgeous right now the flames that lifted off her body made him yearn for her. The sniper she held only made her dangerous beauty more effective against him; the slightest look towards him would make him feel as if she shot him through the heart. He became lost in thoughts on what he should do to woo her in the coming days for the rest of the ride up.

In the end, Hemlock had successfully done his thing and taken command of the facility, lights and all. And Brock…

Brock didn’t want to comment on how he’d done it. So instead, he focused on the rest of the group, once they’d all made it into the elevator and it was riding up to Escape Level. And to be perfectly honest, they were scary. Half of them were spattered in blood, at least a couple were soaked in it. He was pretty sure the little girl had eaten some guys?

In other words, this was what the media might call a Bad Crowd. And what an araneologist might call Pretty Concerning, Actually. As for him, only kind of an araneologist? He didn’t have any spiders to protect himself properly, and the closest set was still a good fifty meters or more from the building itself, let alone him personally. If one of this group wanted to have a go… they might have an easy time with it.

“So,” Rue rumbled with her demonic face, voice distorted by her mask to sound even more like gravel than usual. “What’s the rest of our escape going to look like? We need to get the fuck outta here ASAP before they send any fucking heroes to put us back where they think we belong.”

She rolled her right shoulder and grimaced as it pulled on the healing ligaments in her wrist and arm, but bore the pain with ease as she pulled a dagger out of the shadows with her injured hand, the blade hanging semi-loosely in her fingers. Her strength in that hand was slowly coming back, and if she’d had enough stored power she could have used it to accelerate her healing but alas, twenty-two years without access to her inner core meant little stored energy and power. She would have to start storing mass amounts of it all over again once she was out of this hellhole and out safe.

Focused on handing out the guns, Ameliya sharply turned to see Abby now along with two young-looking boys. Eyes wide, Ameliya took in the sight of the two kids. They barely looked like they were old enough for primary school! Glowering, Ameliya was instantly back on her feet. How dare they keep such young children! What the hell could they have ever done!? A walking human pyre, she walked over towards the rest of the group and almost protectively stood near the children.

As the elevator doors slid open, one shuddering with the effort after the roughhousing below had dented it, the reveal of the unfortunately familiar Doctor Novis was very unwelcome. No doubt he had overseen more than one of their ‘assessments’ or ‘rehabilitation’, as much as they could be called that.

A piercing shriek cut the air and the elevator jostled as the alien took one look at the advancing Doctor and leapt, shifting mid-air as she moved alongside Körbl in a frenzied opening strike. With those rows of matter tearing teeth bearing down on a single man, Kailani was set to snap the man in half even as he deflected Körbl’s strikes with a strange shifting of his body. So it was a surprise when the Devourer found she couldn’t close her jaw. And her claws never landed on the ground from the leap. He was grabbing her teeth.

The smaller legs down Kailani’s body wiggled in the air frantically as she was lifted in the air, and before she could grab onto the man with her front claws the alien’s back was slammed into the ground behind him with an almighty crash, cracking the floor all around her. His grip didn’t loosen, allowing Novis to heft her up again to slame into the ground once more - but this time the ground shuddered and began to break. As Novis released his prisoner, Kailani lay dazed - only to make a screech of alarm as the damaged floor gave way beneath her bulk, sending the alien back down to the cells below.

The Frostbite hissed at the prospect of having to fight what seemed to be another metahuman, or perhaps a symbiotic creature just like themselves. Judging from the kinds of prisoners that this asylum held under its iron grip, the doctor was no doubt a powerful one, surely enough to put down some unruly powered criminals. Alfred sifted through all the memories of the ice phoenix, vainly hoping to find something remotely close to the man or creature that stood before them. There was nothing.

“Our brethren are waiting,” Frostbite mulled to those that happened to be standing near them. “The other phoenixes. They yearn for my return. This must not go to waste.”

With that, Frostbite attacked, breathing forth a cone of cold wind and frost that would flash freeze any mortal human that dared stand against the onslaught, but probably not this. At the very least, the drain on kinetic energy should slow him down enough for the other members of their unruly crew to do what they did best.

Snapping her head to the entrance of Dr.Novis, Ameliya’s fiery form started to get brighter and brighter as she glared at him. If she was correct in remembering this bastard’s arrogant face, not only was he trying to keep them all imprisoned but he was the reason they were here to begin with.

Watching the so called Doctor remove his coat and reveal a large blade, Ameliya just scoffed. There was no way that this man was ever going to keep her from getting out of here. Turning to the group, she quickly went over the different people and what she knew about them before landing her gaze on Rue. She didn’t know too much about the other lady, but two things she did know was that she was both ferocious and once had been a mother herself. “Watch out for the little ones, will you?” She asked but before any proper answer, she was already striding forwards. Reaching the magical shield, Ameliya took her stand and sent forth a flaming torch of white flames through the wall and towards the threat.

Rue turned her head in the direction of the “little ones” to see two young boys and her instincts told her that at least one of them wasn't exactly a child in the normal sense, but was still vulnerable. And her instincts told her it didn’t matter if they were actual children or not, they needed protection. She gave a sharp nod to the humanoid flame woman before the shadow travelled to crouch in front of them.

“You see that man over there?” She asked them as she pointed to Novis. “He will kill you without a second thought, so regardless of whatever abilities you may have, stay close to me. I’ll tear apart anything that tries to harm you. Understood?”

She rolled her injured shoulder, rotated her wrist and grimaced at the pain that told her they were a third of the way healed, good enough to fight if needed.

Abby watched as Novis was running toward them, looking unfazed by the combined attacks of Alfred and Ameliya. “Pathetic.” Scoffing at their efforts trying to fight back. Opening his mouth, and letting out a swarm of large wasps to come out. Novis was tanking the hits from Ameilya’s flames, most of the fire brushing passed his body. The wasps were coming toward them, Abby used her powers to kill as many of them as she could, but they were quicker than she could fling her radioactive projectiles. Through the swarm in front of her, she could see heavily armed and armoured guards rushing toward them. Abby was being stung by the wasp, large welts were all over her upper body. Some of the armed guards were standing behind Novis, some of them firing their assault rifles at the group. Abby felt a few bullets hitting her in the side, causing her to fall to the ground. Mr. Q’s shield having been dissipated by the incoming attacks, was more focused on helping the group. Using his magic to summon smaller demons to wear down Novis and his guards. Novis meanwhile was focusing on Ameliya and the other groups taking the offensive. Spraying a large amount of water on Ameliya, his whole body became covered in the fire as Alfred was trying to attack him.

The moment Julia saw that there were more armed guards behind Novis, she finally grabbed one of the pistols in the rifle case and opened fire on the guards. She was not a good shot, but she was firing a lot of bullets. Some of them hit, and one of the guards fell dead. Novis was approaching them, and Julia was watching him. He was adapting to their attacks, but one by one. It looked like he had to stop adapting to Ameliya in order to adapt to Alfred, at least to Julia. She had a thought and ran up to Ameliya’s side.

” I think he can only adapt to one of us at a time. If I get a hold of him and keep hold, It might make him vulnerable at least.” she stated, before moving away from Ameliya so she didn’t become a target, and crouching against the wall as she took aim and fired at the other guards. She was still not a good shot, and they were wearing body armour, so it was slow going. One of them fired back at her with a burst of rifle fire. She instinctively shielded herself and felt several bullets enter her right arm and two enter her thigh. She didn’t cry out, she just puffed a very strained breath, lowered the gun, and then charged the guards, run-crawling along the floor.

Ameliya stood there in complete shock and disgust for a moment as she was completely drenched from head to toe. Glowering, she turned back to Dr.Novis and threw her arms toward the man on fire. Grabbing hold of the flames within her sight and making them her own, she pulled them towards her and ripped them away from her opponent. Turning to look at Julia, she nodded, if there was any time for someone to do something it was now when he was still imatitating her and failing to control the flames.

The guards were coming closer to the group, filling in the gap between them and Novis. The bullets coming from Juila’s gun were bouncing off their armour. Novis meanwhile was rushing towards them, targeting Abby and Mr.Q. Novis knocked around the demons that were climbing on his body, Quickly picking up Abby by the neck. “You will never leave, you will be a part of my work until your very last breath.” Novis then threw Abby at Kanata. Kanata would need to catch Abby or be knocked to the floor with Abby. Novis hardened his body so Juila’s bullets are bouncing off of his body.

As Abby’s body flew towards Kanata, he reached out his hands to catch her. As she fell into his arms, he spun around to have her face away from the fight, winking at her, “So you're falling for me now?” Setting her down, he turned to the looming threat that approached him. Grabbing his sword, he dropped low. Leaning forward, he willed the surrounding air to gather around his blade before rushing forward through the chaos at high speed, striking out against Novis at a speed that almost no one could react to. His blade swung horizontally to the man's torso, but to his surprise, Novis looked down as their blades clashed, the resulting force sending a shock wave across the room. “Well, then” immediately caused a torrent of air to launch himself up and backwards he landed next to Ameliya. “I think we should run, Red. I do not think we can win this fight, he just blocked my Doragonsutōmusurasshu, which is my strongest attack”.

Reaching down, Ameliya landed her hand on the ground and brought forth magma that shot straight from her to surround Dr.Novis in a circular cage of molten liquid. She knew that wouldn’t keep him long but she at this point she was unsure if any of them could actually harm this guy. “Escape where?” Ameliya growled out to Kanata frustrated at the situation. It really was starting to look like they were not going to win this fight.

“Yo! I don’t think this is a fight we can win,” Rue roared to be heard above the sounds of combat, flicking the hand that held her scythe to decapitate a security guard who came too close to the younglings she was currently protecting, blood splattering her again. “He’s too fucking strong and some of us are weak from having our powers locked up for too long.”

She snarled and made a claw with her hand, sharp-edged shadows surrounding her and the weaker fighters protectively, lashing out at anything that was hostile and too close.

“A Tactical Retreat would be wise as fuck!”

Turning his attention towards Mr.Q, muttering some magic words. Hitting Mr.Q with a barrage of sharp swords. The demon felt a few of the swords entering his torso. “Damn it, this human is harder to kill than I thought.” He thought, his head swimming with ideas. He needed Abby alive, and fighting Novis would only end up with her dead. His boss would not be happy with their ace in the hole dead.

Speaking an ancient language, a large portal is opened behind them. Abby was blushing when she heard Katana’s comment, Being held in his arms was something that made her quite flustered. She had not been held or touched by anyone in a very long time, so being held the way she was currently made her face quite redden from blushing. “I think it’s best we all get out of here before all of us get killed.” Abby watched as Mr.Q used his magic to summon a huge wall to protect the group. Novis was trying to break through the barrier, shoulder slamming into the wall. The horrid-looking demon slowly circled his hands, while chanting some words in a dead language. A large portal opens up behind the group, “Can ya help me up?” She asked Katana with a slight smile. Abby slowly got onto her feet, she slowly hobbled over to the portal wrapping her arm around Katana’s shoulder for support.

Turning to look at Kanata and Abby, Ameliya raised an eyebrow at the interaction. This was not the time for this shit. As soon as the portal opened up, her eyes widened up and then a smile crossed her face, that was their out. Turning to look around at Rue and the two younger ones, she yelled out to them in hopes to get the retreat started, “It’s time to go!”

Ah, finally, someone listened to the advice to get the fuck outta here, Rue mused. She turned to the two young boys again, tested her wrist and bit back a grow of pain. Okay so her right one could only hold her weapon at the moment, but she would have to hold the boys with the left. Not a problem.

The tall demon managed to get behind them in the blink of an eye, wrapping her left arm around their waists and shadow and travelling to the portal before gently but firmly shoving them through. She looked back at her mentor and father figure and yelled at him.

“Come on! You’ll get left behind if you don’t hurry your ass up, old man!” She couldn’t keep the teasing tone out of her voice before she too disappeared into the portal and what awaited on the other side.

“Really…” Frostbite paused and gazed upon the portal, if only for a moment. For that one dull second, time seemed to freeze in place, the other members of the unruly crew forgotten. The outside is finally within his grasp after so long. Freedom was, at long last, at hand. Reunion with the other phoenixes scattered across the planet won’t be too long after that either. And so, the Frost Phoenix spread its wings, and propelled itself forward into the portal, leaving behind a trail of icy air and snow. The cold that had afflicted the room at the behest of his presence disappeared with that as well… and just like that, through the magicks of this Mr. Q, the Frost Phoenix was free.

Brock chose his moment carefully. There wasn’t a chance he’d survive for more than a second if Novis there noticed him - it was as bad a scene as the rest of these people combined. At least they weren’t actively trying to kill him, after all. If they were social spiders, Novis was a funnel-web spider. Or another kind of exceedingly-venomous spider. Or a new kind of spider with superpowers, those probably existed somewhere in this place.

So, he’d waited just out of sight with Hemlock, and waited, and waited until just the right moment: when the girl who had probably eaten people started her escape. Then he ran forward, making an effort to pull Hemlock along with him at least, and whilst he couldn’t just charge on at full speed, he did get the additional help of the ice bird making its own scene, and so barrelled through the portal with the Frost Phoenix as cover. It was… probably his best move, ultimately.

Kanata chuckled as he watched the smile light up on Ameliya's face. “Don’t forget about our deal," he said as he watched the other members exit through the portal until the only people left were Kanata, Abby and Ameliya. CRACK. Kanata swung his head in the direction of the noise to see Novis’s blade break through the barrier aiming directly for Ameliya. Without a thought, Kanata threw Abby forward with one arm into the portal. Quickly drawing his blade, he appeared behind Ameliya, catching Novis’s sword at his handguard, forcing Kanata to his knees. Using the moment as an opening, he created a pocket of air that burst, pushing Ameliya out through the portal. An indignant and surprised scream escaped from her lips before she hit the hard ground on the other side. Grunting frantically, he pushed Novis back with all his strength, causing an updraft against his arms to lessen his force downward. He struggled to his feet before yelling at Mr.Q ``Get in the portal and close it if I'm not out in 1 minute.” Mr.Q nodded his head and went through.

“Now that they’re gone, I don't have to worry about holding back without hurting them.” As horns formed on his head, his eyes burned bright blue and his features changed. his olive skin turned to a dark gray, while his hair grew to his waist, turning a bright white as the wild mess draped over his shoulders. His ears morphed, combing with the black horns. The muscle on his body grew as his coat ‌morphed with it. A bright red and blue diamond-shaped gem formed in the middle of his chest, protruding slightly.

Novis grimaced as he was pushed back from the newfound strength before growling, “What is this form?”

Ignoring his question, Kanata roared a fury of air formed around the two into a vortex, closing onto Kanata’s body. Novis struggled to keep his foot before the air exploded, throwing him back thirty, then forty, then fifty feet before catching himself with his blade. Walking forward he swung his blade to the side while cracking his neck. “I am not used to using this form fully yet so” dropping down into his stance “don’t die too quickly”.

Kanata rushed forward, swinging his sword outward before letting it fly from his hand straight at Novis. Clenching his left fist, he punched forward causing a torrent of air to push off the end of the blade, causing it to spiral at sonic speeds towards Novis. He watched as Novis reacted by putting up his sword to the guard. Annoyed at his ability to react at that speed, he brought his foot forward, slamming it into the ground thrusting his hand up as a vortex appeared under the blade, forcing it to change trajectory upwards above him. Smiling at Novis’s surprise, Kanata used an air pocket similar to before around his back before allowing it to burst to gain speed, thrusting himself forward, his fist outstretched.

“Is this the best you can do? I got surprised for nothing,” swinging his sword as Kanata’s fist came close to the blade and met his shoulder. With a clean slice, Kanata's arm flew off into the air. A smile broke across Kanata’s face as he spun himself, catching his arm with his other hand. Using the momentum, he flung the blood from his arm into Novis’s eyes watching with a smile as the man tried to wipe it away. His plan had worked, knowing he was no match for novis as he was. The only way to win was to cut off his senses and surprise him. Using this moment to his advantage, he jumped up and drop-kicked Novis in the chest. Letting his arm go he reached out to grab the blade before a burst of air at his feet launched him away into the portal, tucking his head into his shoulder before dropping onto the other side. Quickly he turned, stabbing his sword into the ground using all of his might, conjuring a force of air around him blasting it through the port while screaming “Close it damn it!” Mr. Q quickly dropped the portal at his behest, looking down at Kanata.

Panting heavily, Kanata smiled at Ameliya before saying, “Might be a bit before we can go on that date.” As his words escaped his lips he dropped to the ground, passing out from the blood loss his form returned to normal.

"You fucking idiot," Ameliya growled out as she quickly came to Kanata's side and kneeled down next to him. She had been watching over the small group that had piled through the portal but now her focus was solely on the bleeding out man, who somehow still had the fortitude to mention their date. Their date? Shit, she had said something about agreeing to one if they made it out hadn't she.

"You can't go on a date if you're dead," She muttered to the now unconscious man before bringing her burning hand up to the gaping wound where his shoulder used to be. Using the fire that trailed from her hands, she began to cauterize the tender cut. This might hurt at the moment, but it would help him stop bleeding out and hopefully any future infections. As she finished her work, the smell of burnt flesh reached her nose and she grimaced. He was not going to be in fighting shape anytime soon.

Julia got shakily to her feet, having dived through the portal during the chaos. Now the adrenaline and hysteria were wearing off, the searing pain of her bullet wounds was flaring up and she slowly ambled a few laps around the group, trying to walk off the pain. She was hurt, and she didn’t like it, and she wanted it to stop and seemed frustrated it wasn’t stopping more than anything else. The status of her teammates or their new location hadn’t even registered to her yet.

Mr. Q closed the portal as soon as Katana went through the portal, just as Novis was about to hit Katana with his hammer-like fist. Abby took a look around his comrades wondering if any was seriously hurt. Noticing that Hemlock, Kael and Simone were walking away from the group, chalking it up to them wanting to get as far away from the group as possible. The group noticed they were transported to the middle of an amusement park. “Q, why the hell did you bring us here?” Abby spoke up after coughing up some blood. “Well, this was not the desired destination. But you would have to forgive me, the situation did not give me enough time to bring us to the correct place.” Mr. Q checked his surroundings with an annoyed look on his face. “Well it looks like we're in the clear that’s all that matters. Best to separate for now and lay low for a while.” Abby suggested to the group. The first thing she wanted to do was to see her father. Although she didn’t know if she wanted to bring the others with her, Katana and Kailani would be the exception.

Alfred was back to being human now, squinting as he felt the grass on his hand, savouring the sensation of finally being able to touch grass for the first time in a year. The dull grey walls of the cell had been tiresome to look at; there was no shining, no brightness in there, save perhaps for the crimson hue of the alalarms that resounded whenever a prisoner had done something heinous or somehow got loose of their restraints. The only other thing of interest within tose walls were the books that he was allowed to read in his spare time as a reward for good behaviour, though it is doubtful that anyone still thought that the whole affair of being nice was a sincere thing. It would be thought of as a facade to get the good stuff (as good can go in a prison for eldritch creatures) whilst being incarcerated.

Without warning, however, the fabric of space buckled yet again. A portal shimmered open in front of Alfred. He was, however, unsurprised by this: this was the power of one of the other phoenixes, of the one that embodied the concept of space itself.

A winged creature stepped through the portal. Its appearance glittered with twinkling starlight, the whole body taking on the form of a starry night sky. It was as if someone painted a galaxy on a bird, only that this was bird was a Phoenix, the greatest of its kind. Its eyes were of blue starfire, and a golden crown with gems in the shape of suns was set upon its head.

On its sides strode two more phoenixes; the one on the left was a creature of gears and digital technology, a strange amalgamation of both that strutted with an air of vanity. The other was a being of shadow, almost looking like a crow if it had red glowing eyes and a black mist constantly pouring out of every pore in its skin.

"Ah, it's them..." Alfred, or rather, the Frostbite turned towards the rest of the group of prison escapees, motioning towards what seemed to be members of his family. The apparent phoenixes of space, technology, and shadows looked upon him with what could be described as a pleasant expression, though they regarded the others with indifference.

"Well, guys. These are my kin. They call themselves-"

"I am the Dominus Astra," the phoenix of space answered for him in a deep, sibilant tone. "These are the Machine God and the Sinister One. Cheeky names, I know, but the superheroes have worse. Captain Planet, defender of Rhode Island my ass..."

The Machine God, as the phoenix of technology came to be called, strutted forward, scanning the group. "So, eh, we have a demon, a sorcerer, a demonic child, several mutants, and then our darling brother. My, what kind of company did you get yourself into when you made those Cabalites each a dick? Hah! Well, we better get going. I have to show you the latest Tiktok, brother..."

The Siniser One grumbled. It was a creature of few words.

"So, I guess we shall meet sometime again, eh?" Alfred answered as he began the process of transformation once again. "Cheers, then."

From above to below, the alien crashed into a hall devoid of other people. Sirens blared distantly and warning strobes pulsed overhead, but the guard detail for the end of this hallway had evidently gone to meet her friends upstairs. Here, the cells were mostly empty, aside from the one she had landed in front of.

Behind a layer of bulletproof glass was a room that was curiously beige. The walls, ceiling, floor, and the lone piece of furniture - a narrow bookshelf - were painted in a uniform light brown. Lacking the usual amenities afforded to the prisoners of the Borehole, the oddly casual decoration gave it an even more surreal appearance. A very faint whirring noise was coming from the center of the room, and its lone occupant.

There was a lone pedestal-like thing, a polished black color, and on top of it was a pale head that gave little alarm towards the hulking beast. She lowered an articulated mechanical pincer that came out from a panel in her hull, holding a book between rubber-capped manipulators, and slowly turned her tired eyes toward the creature.

"Wrong floor." Her voice was deadpan as it emitted from a tinny speaker hidden somewhere in her device's form. "If you're planning on getting out, go up. Not down. This isn't difficult."

The alien’s smaller back legs merely wiggled in the air for a moment, bicycling in a daze. After a moment the deadpan voice seemed to register, a startling contrast from the faint sounds of fighting above, and the great creature finally rolled onto her front with the sound of carapace scraping against concrete.

No eyes were visible as the creature seemingly focused on the cell, but an outburst of chittering quickly filled the air as it promptly became distracted from its fight. The alien hopped up, wiggled, and leapt at the glass - and before it landed, the much smaller form of a human girl was there as though replaced in a blink, hands pressed to the glass.

“Wow, you’re the weirdest looking human I’ve seen yet! And I must’ve seen nearly all of them by now!”

The change in expression as the figure in front of her cell shifted from monster to human without warning was barely registerable. Just a brief raise of the eyebrow that came and went without fanfare. The whirring in her cell briefly was joined by a whining from below the pedestal - it became clear now that there was a set of metal clamps that held her in place firmly, built into the floor. The effort to move closer to the glass went to waste.

"Young. Great." She momentarily returned to reading, before looking back at the transformed girl. "I promise you that there's far stranger people than me out in this world. If you're trying to escape, maybe you'll see some of them." A brief burst of bubbles formed up from her respirator as the speakers transmitted a sigh. "And if you're not here to get me out, take your hands off the glass. You'll leave marks all over it."

Kailani’s head tilted to the side at the sound of a strange whining, but she couldn’t quite make out what the person in front of her was trying to convey with it. Also, who’s whines came from their … feet? A strange human indeed!

“Oh yeah, I’m escaping right now. There’s lots of other strange people upstairs, but- marks?” Her eyes trailed to the glass, and the alien lifted her human hands to investigate the faint ghost of her fingerprints that was left behind. “Oh!”

She promptly stuck her tongue out and licked one of the fingerprints away, but it left a streak of saliva in its wake. That didn’t work.

Making a thoughtful hum at this new conundrum, Kailani turned her gaze to the door at her right. She took the few steps over and crouched down, leaning in. If she could just get her mouth close enough to press a tooth into the keyhole, like - there! A chunk of the door was torn away and disappeared into the girl’s mouth, and with an unprecedented speed more and more of the door was eaten until there was a hole big enough for her head.

Which she used to eat a line to the fingerprints, the glass cracking in great shards that the small girl swallowed without hesitation, until the section of glass with her fingerprints had disappeared down her gullet.

“... There! Fixed!”

A pause.

“... Well, bye!”

Though it was almost certainly lost on the girl, there was a growing consternation that only just showed on the head's faded features. It didn't take much to convince her that this girl quite enjoyed licking window panes as a pastime; she already came across like that sort of person, and every two words out of her mouth only made that more clear. Her estimation was dropping by the second.

The fact that a large portion of the glass keeping her contained was removed all-but instantly was a plus, though. She watched her tear a hole straight through the glass with the same terse gaze, and replied with a monotone "Thank you" once she was done.

...and then she watched her back turn on her.

Immediately, she barked "WAIT."

Something within her pedestal shot a subconscious signal that her blood pressure was increasing, and automatic measures were being taken to regulate it. Her face was still frozen impassionately, but her mind briefly raced in anger before she quelled it. Controlled it. Made it useful to herself.

"Please." If the girl turned back around, she'd see the head do a small nod in her direction. "My name is Janet. I'm not a fan of this prison - much as you might not be - and I wish to be freed. Unfortunately..." her dark eyes traveled downward, indicating her bindings, "I can't on my own. I'd need someone to free me and then carry me with them."

A pause.

"I'm requesting you do that. Specifically you. Now."

"...If you do, I'll tell you about more strange people." Sometimes, a carrot was required. This may be one of those times.

Kailani froze mid step - or at least tried to, and nearly tripped over herself - before turning around at the command to wait. She quickly beamed as Janet talked, mentally filing the strange person away as another big talker. Her favorite kind of people, really! So, when the ‘Janet’ requested help, even though Kailani was under no agreement with her like the others she was escaping with…

”Okay! I’d like to hear more about people! I’m Kailani.” She climbed through the whole she made easily, once more nearly tripping as her bare foot caught against the edge, and quickly trotted over. She crouched down and made a thoughtful hum as she stared at the pedestal and the strange apparatus.

”Which… which part is you?”

"It's the chassis, not the arresting system built into the floor." She glanced to the side for a moment, knowing that would go over poorly, before she rephrased. The insult of many a prior hero was recalled: "I'm the thing that looks like a trash can, and everything above it. The head, the bowl. Below that, the metal...grabbing bits. Eat those, and you can take me with you."

She quickly retracted the grasping appendage into her hull before it could get confused with the binders.

For a moment the alien only stared at the apparatus blankly as Janet tried to explain, that smile fixed on her face even as her brows furrowed. However, the clarification had her perking up and she quickly nodded. "Right, eat the grabby bits! I can do that." She flattened herself to the floor, not seeming to feel demeaned at all as she promptly ripped out the metal pieces locking the wheels in place at the front, then scrambled to the back to repeat it. Once she straightened out Kailani beamed.

"Okay, let's get back to the others, Janet! I can't wait for you to meet the talky words man, and Ameliya, and there was a lady who gave me candy at-" The rest of her words continued, but in a decidedly less human manner as her form exploded outward, all claws and jaws and the heavy carapace. However, the chittering continued even as she easily picked up the entire 'apparatus' in one giant front paw, and promptly walked through the rest of the glass barrier to go back to the elevators.

The faux-amniotic fluid in her jar sloshed around as she was picked up, her head jostling with it. Her eyes were fixed to the girl's hands, being the massive things they turned into, and would've be quick to tell her if she was grasping her form too tightly. Given the damage that Kailani brought to the room around her, it wouldn't surprise her if she could crush her chassis like a can. Fortunately, somewhat amazingly, nothing broke or bent.

She didn't respond much to the now-monster's garbled rambling, knowing that agreeing too much would've just gotten her to detransform and slow the process down. All in all, there was a great chance that this would end up poorly and they'd all be recaptured, but if it didn't...

...she hoped that Talky Words Man, Ameliya, Candy Lady and the others could make up for her carrier's attention span. Freedom mattered little if the solitude of a prison cell was preferable.

Please. Let it be so.

@TheRedWatcher @Klumsykrow357 @Perse @KaelRavenheart @SrslyAnArtist@The Man Emperor@Blazion @SrslyAnArtist@AngelofOctober @ZephyrHope

Körbl Meier

Another joined körbl attack as they struck together before his eye widened despite it connecting.

The flesh felt like nothing before, that wasn't surprising, it was the fact that Dr.Novis managed to held the beast jaws in place like it was nothing.

A burning sensation filled him as he quickly jumped away before a literal storm of attacks blurred with one another and indiscriminately as he took his distance. He readied for any opportunity to strike or distract Novis.

Alas, it seemed a futile effort before his comrade deemed that discretion was the better part of valor and summoned a portal.

Briefly, Körbl wondered why didn't they just use that to escape in the first place but he pushed that away and blurred like a flash, joining his comrades and flew through the portal into another safe area.

Landing and sliding on his feet, Körbl looked around cautiously and quickly before deeming it safe. Following Abby closely like a bodyguard, he realized that he had just abandonded his swords just to get out of here. A brief lost and sensation came, recalling all the good and bad times with it. It's final battle where it shattered, alongside the many other companions. The sweat, tears and joy that he shared with them. Gone, and perhaps, lost.

Though thinking on it, while it was memorable and meaningful, it was ultimately still a sword. He can do without it. Crunching his hands, Körbl sighed and moved past it by thumping his chest gently in respect for it.

He was just in time to break out of his thoughts and saw parts of their group flee without them. Leaving spots in his eyes as he just caught the shadows disappearing with Ameliya, Kanata, Julia and who knows whoever.

Looking to his chains and the outside, did this meant he was free?

The air, and looks, it was...nostalgic. Sweet even.

A brief moment, he allowed it.

Then he was back to Körbl, the Blattmeister.

"Miss Abby. Our contract is finished."He then bowed deeply to her and respectfully before tossing the piece of sharp metal to her. Giving her a slight shock as she took several tries to catch it without cutting her hands. Once it did, she would notice just how fragile, sharp and small the piece of shiv was.

Though it was the same shiv that Körbl made a mess out from an entire squadron of highly trained guards and operatives.

But her focus settled on the engravings on it, a phone number. Pressed in with thumbs.

"If you need my protection, or need someone to be taken care of. Call that number. I'll do one job for free." Körbl professionally said before looking to burn Abby's features one last time in his mind. Shame, if he was younger or less dangerous, he can see himself asking her out.

Alas, that was not the life he chose.

He was the blattmeister, an inheritor of the Meier family sword style.

Strength was all he sought.

"Thank you."

And so that was how he shall live.

"And good bye."

Before she could blink, Körbl blurred. Similar to how Katana moves but his was self-taught and forged in a different manner. Completely avoiding the public eyes, cameras, and even phones. Despite his arms still restrained, it prove little to do anything as multiple wallets, a pair of shoes, an unattended coat, and a hat from a sports fan was deprived of their owner, then finally, a small proper knife meant for wood carving meant missing.

Live by the sword.

By the time he reached the exit, Körbl had shaved, cut his hair, and moved towards a quiet area. Find where he was, get into the underground and start his training all over again.

Die by the sword.

A shiver came before his lips parted to reveal a large maniacal smile. Whispering the one hero name that defeated and locked him.

All this time, he hadn't seen the top of the mountain.

Now that he had seen it, the yearning and desire to climb it burned ever brighter.

This time, this time!

I shall win!

Kailani was still licking metal shards off her jaw as the giant creature emerged from the portal, shaking herself off as the tingle of magic passed. The elevator shaft back up to the floor everyone else was at still had the elevator in the way, so she had to eat through the bottom. Which wasn’t a problem, since she got back in time to go through with everyone else! With new friend!

There was pavement beneath her feet, so the alien felt comfortable setting Janet down with her strange wheel-feet before looking around.

Almost instantly, Kailani forgot about the aches in her muscles, and it was as though sparkles manifested as the alien being seemed to vibrate in excitement.

She bit a nearby stand in two.

There were so many colors! And lights! And smells so poignant she could taste them on her tongue! And the new portal opening just added more! Kailani’s tail whipped back and forth as two new people appeared, the delicious cold man speaking to them.

”Goodbye Alfred! Your ankle was delicious!” Her tongue stuck out and licked up the side of the ice phoenix in the middle of his transformation in farewell, though her words were no more than loud chittering. Then she was back to the stand, digging through it. Whatever these twisty salty things were, they were delicious.

Plus, there were people all around! It was like a buffet! Just, once she got the last of these crumbs…

@ZephyrHope @Restalaan @Blazion

Abigail “Atom Bomb” Zebrowski

The young woman took a moment to scan her surroundings, letting out a sigh of relief. Being far away from Novis was like a great weight lifted off her shoulders. However now she was weary of Mr.Q. Slowly standing up looking over towards Katana, “Are you, okay boss?” Her particular concern for the swordsmen was quite evident. Her steps were stagged as she was still severely wounded from battling Novis. Stumbling a little before falling down on her knees, “Does anyone know first aid…I’m not feeling so hot.” From the corner of her eye, she could see Mr.Q approaching her. “Miss Zebrowski, I know I a doctor that would be able to heal your wounds. Unfortunately, we will have to go through another portal to his home in California.” Abby bit her lip not wanting to take a detour and go straight to her father. Weighing her options finding that going with Mr.Q would minimize her recapture by the police. Her previous question was not answered as the Ameliya’s group disappeared into the shadows.

She was not sure if she should ask the others to join her, who in the right mind would want to go to Boston. Slowly turning her head towards Mr.Q to answer his question, “Just as long as we see my dad afterwards, and I assume you can manifest some new duds for me to wear?” Her response made Mr.Q smile with glee, Showing off his crooked yellow teeth. Her attention turned towards Korbl throwing a broken sword at her. Trying her best not to get cut trying to catch it, she was not sure if she should be thankful or not. Taking in his words thinking that she might need his help. “Thanks, I’ll keep this in case I need to give ya a call.” Bowing her head in a respectful manner. A dark presence could be felt by Mr.Q, he didn’t like the idea that Korbl could ruin his plan. So he would have to find a way to get rid of the broken sword.

Mr.Q muttered some words flicking his wrist back and forth, a small portal appeared in front of the two. Abby turned toward Kailani feeling bad if she ditched her in the middle of the amusement park. Although she would have a ball eating all of these people, that would only mean she would be recaptured again. Not wanting her to suffer under Novis again she spoke up, “Hi Kail do you wanna go with me to California? I’m sure we can get you a bunch of food to eat. And somewhere you can be safe for those people that wanna hurt you?” Again asking for people to join them made Mr.Q furrow his brow in annoyance. After finishing creating the portal, noticing a small crowd of people coming toward them. They would need to leave soon before the police are called.

In the course of her career, if you could call it that, Janet had many different escape routes: through the sea, flying over mountains, hiding in dens of ill repute. None were so brazen as appearing in broad daylight, in front of dozens of panicked civilians, surrounded by other villains covered in blood and in the middle of an amusement park.

Janet wondered if this was some kind of genius maneuver, beyond her own knowledge and experience, or not.

Oh well. She was free, for the moment. Her longest stay in prison thus far, 25 years (give or take some months), had finally come to a close. Freedom, for whatever value it had, was secure for just a minute. With the rest of her fellow escapees being gravely wounded, cowering over those wounded people rather than leaving them behind, already leaving the grounds or concerning themselves with gluttony, it was clear that she needed to act fast if she wanted this freedom to be anything but momentary.

Two others, one young and pierced, and the other crooked-toothed and finely dressed, walked over to Kailani. Inroads had already been made here, so Janet was ready to make use of them.

"Excuse me." She wheeled over to the three, ignoring Kailani's violent consumption of an entire stand that had probably been sitting in the park for decades. A piece of pretzel slapped against her pedestal's side and slid off. "I'm afraid I'm behind on current events. If any of you are the orchestrators of today's exfiltration, then thank you, but let's skip further gratitude."

"You would most likely know me as Professor Perfection. My reputation should precede me. If it does, you should know that I'm more than capable of getting us back on our collective feet, given time." She looked up at Mr. Q, specifically. The wounded man's disappearance, his "entourage" going alongside him, would speed up her timetable at least. "I do not have any inkling about what your next move will be. However," she glanced to the side at Abby, "I can give you somewhere to operate out of for the time being. I doubt any of you have contingency bases pre-prepared. What I lack is a means of transportation."

When Randolph recovered from whatever condition afflicted him, he found himself alone. Well, unless you count the assortment of flesh and limbs lacking any owner. Randolph himself was left with confusion, an intense hunger, and a cold sticky sensation in his throat. This feeling slowly trudged up and out his throat, making it difficult to breath, almost choking him. He attempted to expel the mass with a few forceful coughs, and after a few minutes a inky formless mass was thrusted out of his mouth and onto the wall in front of him, splattering the surface with a sizzle.

It might have been a vestige of whatever afflicted him that confuddled his eyes, but the mass seemed to twitch with intent and dissolve the wall like it was acidic, or perhaps eating the wall. But the ghoul did not dwell on this, vaguely remembering he was asked to be somewhere…. Or do… something. There were others he was with, but where were they? Where was anyone?

A cursory exploration showed the aftermath of the escape has thrust the facility into a state of disarray. Scenes of destruction were common, with doors torn or ruptured in various ways, a mass of recently dead bodies, and few working sources of light.

Randolph found the one elevator in the whole place, that he knew of, seemed to be either disabled or destroyed, he was not sure but either way it was not working. Which would be bad for anyone trying to leave unless they had another way out, and with the state of the facility Randolph could burrow his way to the surface. Nothing left for him anyway, as he was either left behind or forgotten so there is no where to go but up.

First though, Randolph burrowed a few miles away before going up, he had no way of knowing what was directly above him and it be unfortunate to be recaptured so soon. After about half an hour, he broke through the ground and was blindsided when he discovered it was in the middle of the day and in a crowded location. Coincidentally, he emerged near the other escapees though he was not concerned with them at the moment. Randolph’s senses were assailed by an assortment of lights and sounds that he detested. At least in the prison it was relatively dark and quiet most of the time. He sure as hell was not going back there, but he was going back in the ground for a while. Plus, he was famished, and was certain there would be a cemetery or graveyard or at least a dead body buried in the woods or something nearby. If any of the others cared or needed him, they should know where to find him.

The scents were delicious, the paint chips were delicious, the salt was delicious, everything was delicious!

Not as good as batteries though.

Kailani was having a ball devouring the pretzel stand. Not just the dough - in fact, that seemed to be her least favorite part - but just plain eating the stand itself. Once the larger pieces were done her tongue scraped along the ground, gathering bits of salt, splinters of wood, and chips of paint into one glorious left-over mouthful. This was amazing! The fresh air, the sounds, the lights!

There were loud voices, too. The Devourer lifted her head, examining the people that were watching from farther away. Some were slowly beginning to approach, some were on their little phones. It was just like in the prison. People grouped up like a smorgasbord, a line of little treats to go right in her mouth. Drool dripped from her mouth at the thought, and she took a step forward-

”Skree?” The sound of her shorthand name drew the alien’s attention, the large being twisting to look behind her. There was Abby, introduced what seemed like only minutes before, offering to go somewhere. For a moment, Kailani just twisted to look between the girl and the crowd, chittering in a low, thoughtful tone.

Then The Janet was also talking to Abby and the strange man who looked like he tasted like aluminum and mentioned she needed transportation. Oh! Kailani could do that! She could do that and get fed, and be safe as Abby was offering!

Erupting into a tidal wave of excited shrieks and chitters, Kailani jumped in place in an alien version of ‘tappy paws’, head bobbing in a nod. Then she abruptly slammed a hand into the concrete beneath them and began eating the bits of concrete and dirt beneath it.

Damn, it was good to be free.

@wikkit @Blazion

Abigail “Atom Bomb” Zebrowski

Mr. Q on closer inspection assumed that Kailani brought with her a rolling tray with an upside down vase on top. But to his surprise, it was a human head on a rolling tray. The demon squinted his “eyes” to try and get a better look at the face inside of the jar. His face suddenly had a bright look as if he was excited. “It is a pleasure to meet you Professor, but let’s keep the introduction until after we are some place safe.” He wondered if the professor remembered him. His head turned towards Abby and Kail, personally, he found no use for a wild animal like Kaliani. And though she would be more trouble than she’s worth. But never the less he would have to abide by whatever Abby desires for now. “Yah you can eat as much as you like, and be safe from the bad people trying to hurt us. Come on girl follow us.” Tapping her knees trying to further encourage Kailani to join them. Picking up a large stick and threw it into the portal for her to chase after. “What that was easy.” Mr.Q thought with a deranged chuckle. Mr.Q and Abby followed Kailani into the portal, the portal was open long enough for Janet to roll behind them. When they all got into the portal, their surroundings were much different than the happy atmosphere of an amusement park. The group was transported to a rather grim looking bunker, “Nice digs.” Abby spoke up shoving her hands into her pockets.

She was afraid to touch anything in the place, “So do you got anything to patch….” Before she could finish her sentence she started to feel woozy again. Her body swayed back and forth before hitting the ground. “Oh dear, It seems I will have to bring the good doctor here. Unless you have something to help with her wounds?” His head looking over at Janet. He could tell she was out cold, and losing his ace in the hole would get him into a lot of trouble. The tree branch that Abby had thrown laying on the ground beside Abby’s body. A strange symbol appeared on her hand before disappearing, only a quick eye would be able to catch it. Mr.Q’s face distorted into a look of disgust. "Non tu eam a me retrahes in tuum carcerem iacentem." Mr.Q muttered before reciting a spell to ward off there influence on Abby.

---

---

The balcony was blissfully empty. Whatever day of the week it was at the time, it was a quiet one and Rue was thankful for that. The demoness peered over the railing and looked both ways at the long, wide-open bar floor below before looking back at the people she had traveled with and was only a little surprised to see that she had acquired a third, unplanned-for passenger.

“Well, hello,” she said. “Welcome to Sanctuary didn’t notice you caught a ride but it doesn't matter now that you’re here. Ameliya, let’s get Mr. Mans over here all patched up and I’ll grab you some clothes.”

“Sorry!” Julia replied, slightly wild-eyed. “I panicked and grabbed on without thinking. I just wanted to get away from there. I don’t want to go back, but I don’t have anywhere safe to go.”

Taking a moment to get her bearings, Ameliya looked around the area and at the empty lounges and chairs. Breathing out a huge sigh of relief, a more relaxed smile started to cross her lips. They had made it. She was free and safe for now.

Getting up she looked over the balcony to get a better sight of the bar before she looked back at the group and her eyes finally landed on Julia. For a moment she looked at her with a raised eyebrow, questioning what she was doing here with them. Ignoring it though as just someone else who wanted to get as far away as possible from the asylum, she turned her attention back to Kanata’s still unmoving figure. “You got a preference for where we move Mr. Selfless Hero to?” she asked Rue with a slight smirking smile, “And maybe a first aid kit?”

“Aye, I have a staff room downstairs with a bedroom we can lay his sorry-looking ass on to doctor him upon,” Rue replied, bending down to carefully look at him for a moment. “Julia, that’s your name, isn’t it? Don’t worry about tagging along, Sanctuary is a safe place for all, regardless of how they get here,” she added, looking at the other woman with her glowing eyes. “Could you please go downstairs, towards the bar on the back wall, and ask for Sunny, tell her the boss is here and needs help with clothing and first aid for me?”

She wasn’t sure what Julia was capable of, knew only that it had something to do with her hands, and figured it was best to keep all of them busy for the time being. She rolled her good shoulder and looked at Ameliya.

“Mind holding these weapons for me while I maneuver him onto my good shoulder?”

Rue offered the scythe and sword to the naked woman.

Julia nodded, knowing she wouldn’t be able to help up here without gloves. She had no way to safely hold or carry anyone, so she wordlessly headed downstairs.

Sunny would see a disheveled, anxious woman in bloodstained prison garb, with several still-bleeding bullet wounds on her arms and legs, descend the stairs and quick-walk towards the bar. She gestured back to the stairs with her thumb. “The boss needs your help. We need some clothing and first aid, too.”

The small blonde woman with brown eyes and a wavy ponytail nodded, looked the bloodied woman over once with a kind gaze, and said, “Stay here, I’ll be right back,” before disappearing in the blink of an eye. She came back a few moments later with her arms full of what looked like clothing, various shirts, pants, some underthings for both genders, and even some leather gloves in various sized pairs for some reason, all of which she motioned for Julia to take and hold.

“Here’s the clothing Boss requested,” Sunny said. “We get donations for both genders because we’re a True Sanctuary so there’s clothing for everyone up there who might need it. I’ll be right back with the first aid and then we shall both go up there together, okay? I can smell something is off with you, something smells like poison to which I am immune, so I would like to dress your wounds once we get there if you are okay with that?”

The blonde barely waited for a reply before she disappeared again to get the first aid supplies. Julia blinked, then looked down and tried to position the clothes so that they wouldn’t get any blood on them as she waited.

Kanata’s brow twitched with knowing that Ameliya had walked into a bar, all eyes on her naked. Forcing himself up, he ignored the pain that shot through his body. Opening his eyes to see the view that stood in front of him. He opened his mouth to say anything but was speechless as his eyes wandered across the sight of Ameliya. Causing a current of air to swirl around him, he floated to his feet. Using his good hand, he swept the hair out of his eyes. With a playful smile, he flashed a grin at Ameliya before winking. He walked forward, slamming his hand against the balcony railing. He stared into her eyes, trying to think of anything to say, but the pain of just standing there was more than he could handle the only words to come out was “Come here often?”

Ameliya held out her hand to take the scythe and sword, thankful that Rue was there to be able to help pick up the larger man. She wasn’t so sure she would be able to by herself, and this made the situation that much easier. Though just as she was about to take the weapons, her eyes were drawn to Kanata’s sudden movement. Watching him, an amused smile started to cross her face as started to get himself onto his two feet and try to act nonchalant. After hearing his terrible pickup line, Ameliya couldn’t help but chuckle at him still attempting to hit on her even though she could see by the way he swayed that he was in immense pain.

Looking up at his cocky expression, it was evident to her that he was not going to be willingly carried anywhere by Rue. So with a sly smile, she sidestepped his attempt to corner her and made her way over to the empty lounge she had spotted earlier. Slinkily sitting down on the worn leather seat, she looked back at the injured man unsteadily standing on his feet. Patting the seat next to her, she called out to him, “Come lie with me on the lounge tough guy, before you fall over.”

Kanata’s face lit up with a smile at her invitation. Taking a step forward, all the exhaustion and pain that had been building up forced his body to collapse. Using the remaining energy he had, he caused the wind to carry him next to her and landed his head on her lap. Looking up at her with a smile he said: "This is a nice view," then turning his head he stared down, at the two who were standing there watching them. "Rue, do you mind letting your poor old injured pops have some alone time with my new woman?"

Rue watched and sighed in resignment as the stubborn male lifted himself to his feet using his wind ability, a cheesy pickup line dropping from his mouth with a tired, pain-filled voice that sounded like he’d seen better fights, even as he swayed on his feet. She had no idea how he managed to even stand let alone make a quip like that but she also couldn’t blame him for being stubborn enough to try to woo the female of his affections, she understood that all too well. Her mate had wearily smiled at Rue many a time after a battle had knocked her on her ass only for Rue to stand right back up and make some terrible quip about how the other guy looked worse. She watched as they both eventually made their way to the worn leather lounge seat and rolled her eyes in good humor, walking over with tired feet to stare down at Kanata with glowing eyes, her scar a stark contrast against her face.

“You can have some alone time after you both have had any and all of your wounds tended to and after Ameliya has adequately covered herself to her desire, ‘Pops’,” Rue quipped. “Now stop being stubborn and rest, you took a fuck ton of damage back there and I intend to dress your wounds at the very least. At least once Sunny gets here and wraps my wrist for me. You’ll like her, she’s a bloodsucker and a kicker of ass.”

Ameliya had been looking down at Kanata with tired amazement that he had just taken her invitation for him to sit next to her as a reason to lay his head on her very naked lap. Though as she heard his comment, she just rolled her eyes and let it go. She was in too much of a good mood after having to escape to consider this a problem. It wasn’t like she hadn’t already considered thoughts that went further than this after all. She had just much rather that one-night stand than this weirdly too comfortable situation.

Looking back up at Rue, she smiled thankfully before then asking the question that had been on her mind since she had seen them both fight. “So are either of you going to tell me this whole daddy thing you two got going on, or am I just going to stay in the dark forever?” she asked with an amused smile.

Rue choked on her spit with surprise as a laugh startled out of her at her fiery friend’s question and turned to her with wide eyes and a shake of her head.

“You got a fuckin hell of a way of asking why I referred to him as my father,” she chuckled. “He found me as a kid and took me in, taught me almost all I know about how to fight with my scythe and what a family feels like.”

Kanata didn’t know what this feeling was that built up in his chest as he heard Ameliya say, daddy. But what he knew is that he wanted her to say it to him. Looking at Ameliya he said aloud, “You can call me daddy. In fact, I would like you to,” with a wink and a chuckle.

Chuckling at how she was somehow able to fluster the larger demon, Ameliya mulled over the information she had just been given for a moment. She knew for a fact that Rue was a lot older than her, so how old did that exactly make Kanata? How many hundreds of years would he be if he had met her as a child? Looking back down at him, she tried to read him for a moment but instead found herself somehow actually pleased that Rue’s answer had not been one that meant the two were in some kind of romantic relationship. A light blush started to cross her cheeks, as she started to question herself.

Though that was when she heard Kanata’s comment. She looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, and not being able to hide the playful smile on her lips she said, “Ahaaaa, well daddy it’s bold of you to assume that you’ll ever see me again after tonight.”

As the words left her mouth and reached his ears, his heart skipped a beat. Never had he thought that he'd be so turned on by the word, but somehow Ameliya saying it did just that. Then the sudden realization of the afterpart hit his mind. With a loud laugh, he looked at her seriously and said, “Let's go, somewhere more private. Once you get rocked like a hurricane by The Storm, you'll never want to leave.”

A chuckle escaped from Ameliya’s lips before she looked at him incredulously, “I think you are forgetting the fact that you just lost an arm.” Placing a hand down on his chest, she looked over his wound before then playfully adding, “Heal up, and then we can discuss hurricanes.”

Turning his head away from Ameliya. He remembered that he was trying to ignore the loss he had incurred from their escape. With a heavy sigh, he said, “Yeah, probably a good idea.” Looking at Kanata as he turned his head away from her, Ameliya raised an eyebrow as she wondered where all his bravado had gone.

“Someone said my name?” Sunny appeared at the top of the stairs, arms full of first aid supplies, Julia standing by her side with her arms full of the clothing Rue had requested. “I brought the supplies as requested, Boss.”

“Aye, there’s my favorite waitress and savior!” Rue cheered, turning to greet her as Sunny set the supplies down on a nearby table. “Could you please bandage my wrist really quick? It’s half-healed but it needs wrapping and you’re fast and efficient.”

“Aye, Boss, you got it,” Sunny replied, smiling at everyone with the radiant smile that made customers love her so much. “And then I will be helping you,” she said to Julia, “Your wounds need tending next, and I’ll see what I can do about that poison in your system.”

Julie put the clothes down, and sat in a chair. It took mere seconds of not moving for the adrenaline to wear off and the pain to catch up. She almost visibly turned several shades paler in that period. “Don’t worry about that. It’s not poisoning me…I don’t think. Just don’t touch my hands.”

“Aye, of course, thank you,” Rue replied and held her injured right wrist out to be taken care of as Sunny walked over with a roll of gauze and bandage tape. “And thank you, Julia, for helping Sunny and fetching her for me. I am grateful. If any of you need food and drink, it’s free of charge while you are here. Healing is more than medicine and bandages. OW! FUCK ME THAT HURTS!”

“Shit, sorry, Boss,” Sunny apologized, her hand having jarred Rue’s still deeply sliced wrist that was still being bandaged shut. Blood seeped through the bandage, making Sunny wrap it more and apply even more pressure which caused Rue’s jaw to grind as she dealt with the pain.

“It’s fine. Hurt is all.”

“So,” Sunny drawled, obviously trying to approach what was an awkward question. “I take it prison time is over and these are your new friends? And I take it staff didn’t appreciate your escape to freedom? And does anyone need anything to eat? To drink?”

“Water,” was Julia’s weak reply. She wasn’t hungry, just thirsty. In fact, her stomach was still churning. She’d been watching the other three. She felt a little envious, but it also gave her hope that there could be something resembling a normal life and social circle on this side of the law. “Are there job openings here?” she then asked suddenly.

“Whiskey,” Ameliya said speaking up as she looked over Julia and her suddenly very pale-looking face. She hadn’t properly seen her wounds before but now looking at them, she couldn’t help but wince slightly. It looked as if she was one of the few lucky ones to have managed to get out of there without any major issues. In a way, she guessed she had Kanata to thank for that. Quickly taking the waitress’s questions as a distraction, Ameliya attempted to answer the rest of the questions that were asked, “We’re out, they did not take kindly to it and a couple of us need some patching up.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m practiced at patching people up. I won’t touch your hands, even though the poison likely wouldn’t affect me, being undead and all,” Sunny replied, finishing up Rue’s bandage with a piece of bandage tape before walking over to Julia. “Okay, I’m guessing the poison is a mutation of yours? That would make sense, but anyways, show me your wounds please?”

“Aye,” Rue replied to Julia, cradling her now bandaged wrist to her chest. “We are always hiring more staff, especially if they need a leg up, so to speak. I’ll go get drinks and food, Y’all stay here and talk to Sunny, let her dress your wounds. She used to be a doctor.” Julia wordlessly nodded and began removing her prison garb and exposing her bullet wounds. She had to stand up to roll her pants up, before slumping back down. It was clear from her wincing that standing hurt. It was amazing she could move up and down the stairs mere seconds ago.

And with that, Rue walked downstairs to the bar, down where they couldn’t see her anymore. She came back about five minutes later with a large round serving tray balanced on her good hand, four glasses of water and four glasses of alcohol on it, as well as what appeared to be a plate of steaming hot pretzel bites?

“Water, whiskey, pretzel bites,” she set the tray down with the grace of a practiced server on a third, unused table before sitting down at the chair it belonged to. Her posture seemed weary, the glow of her eyes a little dim as the weight of their escape and her injuries heavy on her shoulders. She had broken ribs from where Kanata had thrown her into the elevator shaft walls with his air attack, and a few pierced organs that were painfully healing even as she sat there. But there wasn’t much Sunny could do for those.

Kanata looked at Sunny as she briefly looked over at him waiting for him to get up. Then after staring at her for a few seconds, he turned his head the other way, getting more comfortable in Ameliya's lap saying "I'll heal on my own. I'm much too comfortable right now to move''.

Looking from the tempting drink that Ameliya craved since the escape, she then looked back down at Kanata who was stopping her from getting up at the moment. Watching him making himself more comfortable in her lap, her carefree smile dropped. “Don’t get used to this,” She stated before then looking back at Sunny and to the table filled with treats, “and take her help and heal up already. I have better things to do than be a cushion.”

With a heavy sigh, Kanata started to pout looking away from Ameliya.

"I have an insane amount of regenerative capabilities. My arm will regrow in a few days and my wounds are an hour or two,” a mischievous smirk played across his lips as he looked back at Ameliya, noting the drink her eyes kept darting at. "I'll get up if you agree to go on that date with me today."

“I’m going to need that drink if I am ever going to think about going on a date with you,” she replied flatly then looked up at the other girls and gestured for some help over here. The only reason she hadn’t pushed him off her yet, even with his wounds at the moment, was the fact that she did feel like she owed him slightly for trying to protect her. Well, that and maybe some other feelings she was not going to admit to herself, let alone anyone else.

"Okay, I'll get up but seriously, I can't move unless someone helps me up," Kanata said as he wiggled trying to move upwards.

Through another cloth-muffled scream, as a bullet was taken out of her arm, Julia shot a death stare at Kanata and removed the bundle of rags she had been biting down on.

“You’re the one in the best condition to move out of all of us if you have the energy to flirt,” before stuffing the rag back in her mouth and sitting back on the chair. She’d gotten paler, but that was on account of the pain of being treated.

Sunny gave the young woman an encouraging smile as she dropped the bullet into a small tray with the other ones, a small clinking sound being made as she did so, saying, “You’re doing such a good job, young miss, I’m almost done pulling them all out. And then we can bandage you up nice and neat.”

"Ah, for one so young to make judgments on a poor, injured old man," making fake crying sounds Kanata looked up at the ceiling as a sad expression covered his face. "Oh, how I weep for this generation picking on me".

Snickering laughter came from Ameliya as she heard Julia’s angry words, she was not wrong. Looking back at Kanata as he started to lay it on thick, she came to the agreement that he was doing just fine. After all, he had said he would heal by himself after a couple of days. Pushing him off her lap, Ameliya got up and headed towards the table where the welcoming whiskey lay.

Slamming into the ground, Kanata stared into the floor. Muffled talking could be heard "I can't get up still".

Ameliya picked up a glass of whiskey, and with an amused smile as she looked at Kanata, took a long drink out of it. After she heard his muffled talking, she couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of him. Sculling the last bit of the whiskey, Ameliya put down the glass and walked back to Kanata to help him up, “I guess you were telling the truth about not being able to move.”

Rue rolled her eyes at her adoptive father figure’s dramatic, thirsty antics and looked over at her fellow redhead with a raised eyebrow.

“He may be my father but damn he acts like a child, doesn’t he?” she mused, her tone conveying, hopefully, that she was only teasing him. “Fussing and whinin’ about how he just wants to be between the pretty lady’s arms and oh woe is me.” She dramatically laid her left hand (her good hand) across her brow at the last part and made a sad face before laughing at her own joke.

“Here, though, you should put some clothes on,” she said, standing up with a groan as her broken bones and injured organs protested the movement and picked out a shirt and pants from the clothing pile to hand to Ameliya. “Human torch or not, I bet your skin gets cold just being all exposed like that. These should hopefully fit you.”

Gratefully taking the pile of clothes from the larger woman, she set them down on the lounge. She had found a clean pair of panties in the mix and started to pull them up, then she looked at Kanata. Putting on the underwear before walking over to Kanata with another glass of whiskey in her hand. She helped him to a sip of the drink before whispering, “Let me get some clothes on, and then we will see about that date.” Smiling at him warmly for a moment, she then quickly headed back to her pile of clothes and hoping that no one had noticed her slip up of warmth. She didn’t need the group of inmates thinking she had gotten soft.

Rue eyeballed the pile of clothing, sorted the shirts from the pants and gloves before picking out a black button-up with pale grey accents and black jeans, and then began to undress. Well, that is, undress with her left hand as best as she could. She managed to shrug out of her ripped right sleeve of the overshirt and undershirt with little effort but it was getting it over her head that was the issue. The shirt kept getting stuck on her right horn until it finally came free with a loud ripping noise. Then the boots were unlaced with relative ease and toed off, and the pants were shimmied down her hips, leaving her dressed in only her black underwear and matching sports bra.

For once, Rue didn’t care if they saw the various scars that littered her body; the ones in her groin area, her thighs, her upper hips, her chest. The demon mark covered by a large rose tattoo, the thick layers of heavy whipping scars that covered her back and shoulders, and the backs of her thighs and upper calves. The shackle lines around her neck, wrists, and ankles. The bruises around her ribs in the back area where her back had hit the elevator shaft wall didn't help matters.

Rue struggled to put the shirt on, her upper body protesting every movement and the pain was just getting to where she finally let out a growl of frustration and stood there with just her left arm in the sleeves, staring at the ground with glowering eyes. She didn’t want to ask for help but if someone were to offer she wouldn’t refuse.

Having slid on the tight pair of black pants, Ameliya was putting on the dark red v cut shirt over her head when her attention was caught by the ripping noises coming from Rue. Looking over to see her red-headed friend standing there in her underwear, she couldn’t help but curiously run her eyes over her body and take into account the number of scars that she had. Though as she saw the big bad demon have trouble getting her arms into a shirt, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Let me help with that,” Ameliya said with a playful smile, as she walked over to the other woman. Looking over the predicament with a smile that couldn’t help playing on her lips she recommended, “Lift your arms up as much as you can.”

Rue looked up as the other woman walked over and told her to lift her arms up as much as she could, and, gratefully, she obliged, raising her arms up as high as she could, being careful not to jar her right wrist. Getting behind the other woman, Ameliya grabbed hold of the shirt before getting on her tippy toes to then help lower the shirt down around her other arm. As the shirt slid down and she managed to get both her arms and her head through the shirt, she smiled before looking around to see how Rue was doing.

“Better?” Ameliya jokingly asked.

“Aye,” Rue replied with a grateful smile of her own that was tinted with a slight blush at the very top of her cheeks where the flesh met bone. “But uh, I may need even more help with the pants and relacing my boots… I’m sorry, my other hand is utterly fucking useless right now.”

The demon couldn't help but feel embarrassed that she had to be helped into her own clothing. She was grateful that at least said clothing seemed to be the truly magical one-size-fits-all kind.

Staring daggers at Rue, Kanata spoke up after much quiet, "Rueyn your servant can do that".

Fiery eyes landed on Kanata, he did not just say that. Since when did she need permission to help a damn friend?! Glaring at the injured man, Ameliya grit her teeth, She hadn’t even agreed to go on one date with him and he was treating her like -

“Just because you saved my ass back there, doesn’t mean you fucking own it,” Ameliya growled out as her eyes seemed alight with fire.

All she had wanted to do was celebrate her newfound freedom, maybe even have some fun. Yet here she was in the middle of some god damn drama between a father figure who she felt she owed, and the daughter figure who she considered the closest to a friend that she had made in the institute. It was all too ridiculously complicated and stupid. Normally she would have left by now, but after all, they had been through together, she couldn’t help but feel like she needed to stay. That being said, she didn’t have to stay right here and listen to this shit. “There is nowhere near enough alcohol here for me to deal with this shit,” Ameliya grumbled, before walking barefoot down the stairs and towards the bar.

Though she had discarded her prison garb entirely save for the rolled-up pants, Julia was now wearing enough gauze and bandaging on her top half to be considered modest. Once Sunny had finished with her legs, she got up, grabbed one of the glasses of water, and gulped it down in seconds, before taking a second glass and repeating the process. She then grabbed a white shirt with some sort of skull motif on the front, and slipped it on gingerly, careful not to let her arms move too high. It looked baggy on her frame which only made it look even more punky than designed. She returned to her chair and sat down. “Thank you, Sunny,” she added, not to seem ungrateful.

Moving hurt. Walking hurt. Putting on that shirt by herself had been agony. Why did she rush at those guards? She wasn’t a seasoned villain. She didn’t have useful combat abilities or superhuman attributes, outside of the fingers and palms of her hands. She completely lacked skill and experience, and if she was going to stay free, she needed them both…

Sunny gathered up the bloodied bandages and gauze with a smile at Julia and said, “You’re most welcome, I’m happy to help others heal. Especially humans. So fragile. You should eat a few pretzel bites and drink more water, you lost a lot of blood.”

Rueyn whipped her head over at Kanata to glare daggers right back at him.

“Sunny is not my servant,” she snapped. “She’s a waitress and a healer. That’s what I pay her for. I’m not encroaching on whatever claim you think you have on this woman so shut the fuck up with your jealous attitude. If I could snap my fingers and just be clothed like my friend the cat goddess does then this wouldn’t be a problem, but I don’t, so don’t come at me sideways when I’m standing here with one hand to do shit with cuz your ass took my other one out of commission.”

Rue was in a grouchy mood at that moment. Julia sighed and looked over at both Rue and Kanata. “Being helpless sucks. Yeah, I get it. You all probably aren’t used to it anymore. Back there, in the Prison, I spent most of the escape hidden under a table. I couldn’t breathe because of the tear gas. I couldn’t fight my way out. It was Kai who found me, licked the gas off me, made me want to get up and get out. You two…Yeah, you’re helpless. That just means you’ll need to help each other for now. So stop yelling. You’re giving me a headache.”

Rue looked over at Julia’s words, listening, then sighed, wincing as it made her bones agonize inside her body, and admitted inside her head that Julia was probably right. She wasn’t used to being weak, even when the dampeners took her power away she still had physical strength and that had kept most of the other inmates away but now even her strength couldn’t do much for her, and lashing out at her father figure wouldn’t do her much good, even if he technically started it first by referring to Sunny as a servant with a jealous tone.

“My apologies,” she said to both of them. “You’re right. I am weakened and it fucking bothers me. Father, I offered you my help and will continue to do so but I cannot simply let you talk to me or Sunny like that when we are in my territory, it’s disrespectful. I simply needed help and was given help. But if it bothers you so godsdamned much, father, I just won’t put on any fucking pants until the wrist that you sliced in the elevator has healed. Aye, it was a battle that I technically started but to be completely fair, I did not recognize the man holding the scythe that was gifted to me by the only father I ever knew before I was enslaved again as a teenager. So, forgive me and my harsh tongue, I suppose.”

Turning to look at his arm a wave of anger and hate at his weakness as he gritted his teeth took over. Frustration at losing the fight was one thing. But he looked weak not only in front of the woman he liked but also his daughter who found her way of speech and personality being way different than the little girl he knew. She grew up in a world of pain. He could see that and he hated it. Kanata's eyes filled with rage before hearing the words that Julia spoke. Then hearing Rue’s words made his heart ache. "I watched you die. To this day I remember every moment of that night. Your body was lifeless in my arms and I buried you." Tilting his head back he let his hair fall over his face hiding the pained expression from the others.

"Now the little girl I once loved as my own who I thought was gone appeared in front of me after so many years. Changed from the pain she endured after I left unknowing of what she was going through and how much I put her through by not being there. I couldn’t protect you then, I could barely protect Ameliya now. My body isn't healing for some reason and I don't know if it will. The woman in front of me who despite all that grabbed hold of her own place to call home I'm proud of."

"And the woman I like has stormed out cause I acted like a child" shaking his head in frustration and with a heavy sigh he said, "I need a smoke.”

“You… you… you buried me?” Rue’s voice rasped in a way it hadn’t before and her face became unreadable with smoke. “How?”

"I buried you the way of a samurai." He said looking away, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore. After a few seconds of silence, Kanata felt the sensation starting to come back into his body. Twitching his finger a large gust of air popped a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and into his mouth. Looking around he tried to find a way to light it. Seeing as there wasn't anything he could use he sighed looking down at the ground.

The end of his cigarette lit up as a flame came to life right in front of his eyes. A flame, that was actually probably a little too big for just lighting a cigarette. "Miss me?" Ameliya asked cheekily, as she came up the stairs chuckling to herself. Within her left hand was a bottle of whiskey that was already 3 quarters empty. Looking over the group, she hoped that things had calmed down but not really feeling like asking about it she instead headed towards an empty chair.

Throwing herself down in the chair, she had a silly smile on her face. Now, this was more what she thought of as a celebration for escaping. Looking towards the bottle she then seemed to remember something and turned to Rue, “I made a tab, well I said I was with you and they just gave it to me but I will pay you back.”

Rue said nothing in response but met Ameliya’s eyes with an amused gaze of her own, simply chuckled a little, and shook her head before her expression returned to the unreadable mask it was before.

“I’ll be right back, I need a moment to myself,” she rasped, her voice was gravelly with unshed tears and raw emotions as she walked away from them, setting the pants she had been holding onto the back on the table, not caring that she was clothed only in a shirt and her underwear still. She disappeared down the stairs and towards the bar, heading into a room behind the bar.

Sunny frowned where she stood and looked back at the other three, saying, “I’ll be right back as well, I’m going to check on her and make sure she’s alright. The last time she did this she drank half of our entire stock of red wine. That’s five wooden barrels, by the way.” And with that, the blonde-haired vampire followed her redheaded boss.

Kanata sat forward taking a deep breath of the cigarette before realizing he couldn't take it out of his mouth. Trying to speak with his mouth and the cigarette not falling out his words came out a bit muddled "I eed ome elp it is". He said moving the cigarette in his mouth hoping someone would understand.

Rolling her eyes at his situation, Ameliya forced her heavy body to get off the comfy seat and strolled over towards Kanata. Bending down on unsteady feet, she plucked the cigarette from his lips before taking a deep drag herself.

Slowly breathing out the smoke she then slinked down on the seat next to his head and commented, “Why did you start smoking if you can’t even lift your damned hands?”

As the cig left his lips Kanata looked up at Ameliya and said: "Thank you and I'm sorry for earlier I had no right to go off the way I did, I don't own you..."

Once in the room, Rue headed straight for the armchair in the corner and sat down into it, bringing her feet up to her chest and face into her knees as she finally let the tears fall. She heard the door open and close softly, heard the familiar breath pattern and footfalls that told her it was her favorite blond vampire friend coming to check on her. Rue didn’t lift her head, simply let the sobs begin to make themselves heard as she realized that her father hadn’t left her for dead because he had believed she was already dead. He’d buried her and honored her the way he’d taught her to honor people once they were slain or passed away. It was more than she expected, it wasn’t what she had expected.

A wider smile grew on Ameliya’s lips as she looked down at him. Damn right. Carefully moving one leg over him, she positioned herself so she was sitting just above him with one leg on each side of him. Leaning down over him, she offered him the cigarette as she quietly joked, “And don’t you forget it.”

Taking the cigarette back he took another puff before leaning back and getting comfortable between Ameliya's legs.

"’Is oesn ount as he ae," tilting his head back waiting for her to take the cigarette back a red tint showing on his face. Looking down at him like he was a special kind of stupid, she then took the cigarette from his lips as she thought that it was a good thing he was cute. Raising an eyebrow at him she then asked him, “Want to try that again?”

“He-he thought… thought I was dead,” Rue cried into her knees, not looking up and Sunny’s heart ached, not having seen her boss like this since her mate and child were killed twenty-two years ago. “So he buried me like a warrior, the way of his people, the way he taught me. Do you know how much honor that holds?”

“I do not,” Sunny replied gently, laying a hand on Rue’s shoulder with the same gentleness that she used when she was with her daughter.

“I thought… I thought he just left me,” Rue sobbed, lifting her head to look at Sunny with dimly glowing eyes, making the other woman’s heart ache. “The last thing I remember before going into death-stasis was of him leaving me to die. They were all around us and he just left me.”

“Who was all around you?” Sunny asked gently. “Death-stasis?”

“My slavers. They finally caught up to me after twenty years. Death-stasis slows the heartbeat to a near-stop, giving a death-like appearance but allowing the being to begin healing from what would be fatal wounds and is a last resort.”

“So you went into stasis to escape?”

“I had to, or I would have died for real. I guess they didn’t want a seemingly dead slave so they left me for dead as well, and he came back after they were gone, found my limp, unresponsive body, and assumed, like they had, that I was dead.”

“Look at it this way, Boss; he and his only child are attacked by people that wanted to take her from him, she’s badly injured, he thinks she’s been killed, he comes back and finds her unresponsive body, covered in fatal wounds that no one should be able to survive. What else can a grieving father do besides bury his child? I can only imagine the anguish he must have felt, thinking his child had been taken from him and having to bury her. But you’re not dead, he didn’t abandon you, you survived those fuckers and you killed them all once you were strong enough to track their miserable asses down to exact revenge. Not all is lost. In fact, I would say a good ass chunk has been regained, wouldn’t you?”

Rue looked at Sunny and wiped her eyes dry, thinking on her words, and sniffled. Sunny was right. She wasn’t dead, Kanata hadn’t abandoned her, he was still here, he had never forgotten about her, something that had been proven even way back in the prison elevator when he had had her scythe, knowing it was hers and wanting it with him because it didn’t belong anywhere except with her or with him.

“You’re right,” she said, voice raspier than normal from crying. “We should go back to the others so I can get my pants on and reconnect with my father.”

“That’s a good idea, c’mon,” Sunny held out her hand to help the tall demoness up, which she took and Sunny hauled her to her feet out of the chair. “I’ll make you a Reaper’s Cinnamon Stick, too, and I’ll bring more soft pretzels up.” And with that, they both headed for the door and the balcony where the other three were still sitting.

Chuckling lightly, Kanata smiled and said, "Yeah sorry, I said this doesn't count as the date.”

“I would fucking hope so,” Ameliya replied with a large drunken grin on her face, “You can’t even stand at the moment.”

The feeling in Kanata's arm seemed to return then to the rest of his body lifting his arm up he stretched out and held out his hand for the cigarette.

"It seems being around you has helped me heal faster. You must be my lucky charm,” he said with a wink.

Ameliya burst out into laughter that had as much to do with the bad pick-up line as it did with how much of a buzz she was starting to really feel.

Julia was glad that people were starting to get along. She took a handful of pretzels and another glass of water, before turning to the other three.

“You can all fight, right? And it sounds like you taught Rue,” she addressed Kanata. “I can’t go back to any other kind of normal life now I’m an escapee, and I don’t want to go back to living on the run in fear again. So while I’m working here…can you teach me how to fight?”

Kanata stared at Julia and asked what she was asking.

"Do you know what you're asking? Being trained by me doesn't simply mean I teach you how to fight. Being trained by me means you become my disciple and an extension of my clan. Everywhere you go you'll be known as a student of The Byakko of the east. It requires a huge amount of responsibility to uphold the name and title." Kanata looked into Julia's eyes searching for any sign of doubt. But all he saw was pure determination bringing a smile to his lips. Bursting out in laughter, Kanata said "Sure I'll teach you. From here on out you either refer to me as Master or Sensei." Turning back to Ameliya he coughed and got serious.

"I have never asked to teach anyone before but if you're willing Red, I would want to teach you as well. You are strong and I can see the resemblance of training but your moves are reckless. If you want to become strong enough that no one can ever mess with you again then you should join me as well,”

Outside the door, Sunny split from Rue to head to the kitchen for the drink and pretzels while rue headed for the balcony stairs and made her way up to them, discretely wiping away the tears from her face before they could see her, and heard the last bit of something Kanata was saying about training.

As Rue returned to the room he turned to her seeing her face he knew she had been crying. "You are joining them. You don't have a choice after the fight in the elevator, you need to be retaught. You were careless and it cost you your arm. Had it not been me you would be dead. Also, it would be nice to spend time with you again after all this time apart." At the last part, he looked away with a tinge of red on his face.

“I was partly careless because I didn’t care but you’re right, practice and some time together would be nice,” she replied softly, walking over to the table where her black jeans still lay on the table and just staring at them with a tinge of hopelessness. How was she supposed to get these on? She didn’t want to ask for help, she couldn’t explain why but she just didn’t feel right asking anyone else for help getting dressed after Kanata’s reaction to Ameliya helping her with her shirt and she wasn’t going to ask Sunny because she felt it wasn’t part of their dynamic. The dynamic she had with Sunny was more of a professional friendship than a casual one, even though she considered Sunny family.

There just were certain things you did and didn’t ask certain family members to do and this was one of those instances for her. Rue sighed, looked over at her father for a long moment, noticed he was smoking a cigarette, and was amused that he lit up in the designated smoking area without asking or realizing, then back at her pants and sighed again. Just how the fuck was she supposed to get these on?

Seeing Rue go back and forth between looking at him and her pants, Kanata sighed. Leaning his head back once more he let Ameliya take the cigarette from his mouth once more. Getting up with a wink, Kanata said to Ameliya, "I'll be right back. And once I am back we can have some more fun."

Turning back towards Rue he walked forward grabbing her pants and walking into the other room turning his head back at her he said, "Come on, you fool.”

Holding the cigarette between two fingers, Ameliya’s eyes followed Kanata out of the room before his words seem to really have sunk in. Bright embers sparked off her bare skin as she attempted to nonchalantly take another drag of the cigarette, pretending that his words hadn’t excited her.

Back at the institute, when she had said fuck it about going on a date with him, her mind had immediately gone to a little bit of 'fun'. Though certain things had changed any plan of that. Half-dead people tended not to be interested in fucking after all. Now though… she was hesitantly excited. If he was up for it, it would definitely be a better last goodbye before she skipped town.

Rue silently followed Kanata down the stairs and into the room she had just been in, surprised that he knew where to go, but then again he likely had watched her every step when she left so as to make sure she was okay. She knew that he knew she’s been crying, he’d watched her cry herself to sleep for twenty years when they had spent their time together as father and daughter, after all.

“Helping me get dressed, just like you used to?” she asked softly.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kanata grunted, "Well, yeah, that was the plan." Holding his hand out in front of him he squeezed, getting a grip on the returning feeling then walking next to rue he grabbed one side of the pants and told her "grab the other on three we pull together. I realized I can help but I can't do it alone."

"Alright,” she replied, grabbing the other side of the black jeans and preparing to stick her legs in, balancing herself with her tail, the bone-colored scythe-shaped end waving as she did so. Together, they managed to get first one of her legs and then the other inside the pant legs, enough that Rue could pull them up past her hips with one hand.

“Thank you, father, this would have been a lot harder without your help,” she said, tugging them the rest of the way over her hips with her left hand as best she could.

"Of course," clenching his fist as he turned to walk away he rubbed his hair roughly before turning abruptly and saying, "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier" than quickly turning away he rushed out the door a tinge of red on his face having not apologized in a hundred years.

Rue could only smile in response as he rushed out of the door after abruptly apologizing and shook her head as her left hand finished buttoning her jeans .and tucking her shirt into them, following him out of the door and heading into the kitchen to see what Sunny was up to.

As the time ticked on and Ameliya finished the cigarette, she was starting to become more aware of the silence between her and Julia. Looking over at the younger girl, she stubbed the cigarette out and commented, “For your first time getting shot, you dealt with it a lot better than I did.” Thinking on it for a moment she muttered out, “I could not stop crying.”

She didn’t think it would be important to mention exactly how young she was when she had her first bullet wound. Instead, she got up on woozy legs as the world swayed around her and went to find out exactly where the others had gone.

Julia silently stared at the floor, and sank deeper into her chair as she was left alone on the Balcony for the moment. It probably would have been normal to cry when you were shot. It was probably normal to be afraid of guns, or to feel crippling guilt when you take a human life. Julia, though, had run out of tears.

As kanata and rue parted ways he noticed Ameliya walking down the stairs. With a sharp inhale and exhale he walked forward running his hand into his hair throwing it back out of his eyes. Walking forward he quickly appeared in front of Ameliya, her gaze set on him only for a moment before he grabbed her by the waist and pushed her against the wall. Slamming his palm against the brick he looked down at her with a mischievous grin he leaned in close and kissed her.

A giggle escaped from Ameliya’s lips as she tipsily stared up at him, even now with only one arm he somehow managed to make her heart skip a beat. Grabbing the collar of his shirt, she pulled him in closer and kissed him deeply.

Pulling away Kanata let out a growl he gripped her by the waist and lifted her up over his shoulder. Walking back down the stairs kanata kicked open the staff lounge walking in and having the air slam the door behind him. As he reached the bed he threw Ameliya onto the bed before undoing his jacket and dropping it to the ground.

As the night went on, one by one the customers would finish their drinks, pay, and leave. By this time, Julia was in bed, clothes wrapped around her hands so she didn't accidentally touch her own skin in her sleep. She was in a room with a real bed, and a toilet. She had an en-suite shower she could use in the morning. This small comfort to look forward to made her smile slightly as she closed her eyes and looked forward to a new day in a way she hadn't for a very long time.

The place they were taken to was nothing more, from what they could see, than a dusty old hole in the ground. A lift behind them rose about a hundred feet up to the surface, to a hatch buried underneath the ground and left untouched for decades. In front of them was a steel blast door, wide enough to fit a truck through - despite being larger than the lift down - seemingly devoid of any means of entry.

Janet's brow furrowed. It'd take a little bit of sleuthing to figure out which one of these this was...to save on material costs, she tended to build these bunkers to a blueprint rather than be unique. While Mr. Q tended to the fallen girl, she replied "Potentially. Don't rush me," and trundled off to the side of the door.

Behind a layer of cobwebs on the door was a simple cipher in white paint, a coded identification mark that she had inscribed herself upon the bunker's completion. Nothing to connect the base with her specifically, of course, just there to sort it out . She read its meaning out loud: "Type A PPMB. Rated for nuclear non-penetrating munitions. December 10th, 1973...North Dakota."

There was a bit of satisfaction, hard to detect at first, in her voice as she explained. "There's nowhere else in the continent remote enough to build these things. Everyone goes to Alaska or Canada first." She tapped on a hidden panel, flipping open a very retro-looking keyboard, and she began to type in a long code. "Our enemies are far too used to going up north for hidden bunker busting. Do you recall a super by the name of Immortal Jones? Regeneration, bulletproof skin, that sort of small-minded brick of a man. He had to go to Alaska so often that he worked out a deal with airlines just to take economy flights up to Juneau. Our colleagues are rarely original."

She briefly wondered what happened to Immortal Jones. Probably was in his 60s by now. Hopefully too decrepit to be a bother.

The bunker doors slowly opened with a grinding squeal, protesting after being asked to move for the the first time in almost 50 years. "There is an operating table in here. Room 23. Medical supply should be fully stocked. Don't expect anything comfortable."



Down the concrete-lined walls of the bunker, lights turned on one by one with a fluorescent whine - some failing to do so due to sheer age - and their new home away from home was opened up to them. Long, undecorated hallways lit up with faded lamps that colored everything a sickly yellow, leading to dozens of doorways without any identifying marks beyond number - storage, reserves of various pieces of equipment that would've been futuristic in the 70s, narrow bunk rooms for living personnel, file cabinets and such. There were a few doors leading to living accommodations for visiting allies of hers. They weren't large, looking more like hospital dorms than the luxurious arrangements of a visiting villain, but they had beds and that's enough to call a place home.



There was only one place that wasn't spartan. A wide room meant for meetings between like-minded individuals, still ascetic in furnishings but nowhere near as functional. On one wall was a sweeping map of the world, still bearing all the hallmarks of an older time: the USSR was still existent, Africa's all but unrecognizable, many details are slightly different.

@wikkit @Blazion

Abigail “Atom Bomb” Zebrowski

Mr. Q used his magic to lift Abby’s body from the ground, her body floating a few inches off of the ground. Placing his hands on a human’s body was quite beneath him. Following Janet into the medical room, Letting Abby’s body float onto the cold metal slab. “Thank you.” He said muttering some words as a large portal opened inside of the room. A middle aged man walked through the portal wearing some duck themed pyjamas, “There had better been a good reason you wanted to meet at 3 in the morning.” The older man eye’s looked over the heavily wounded Abby, “I assume you’d want me to do some patchwork on this girl.” His wrinkled finger pointed towards Abby’s unconscious body. “It would be greatly appreciated, your work will be paid handsomely by the brotherhood.” The older man thought for a moment before nodding his head, Mr.Q’s employers have always paid well for his services so declining his offer would be ridiculous. “I’m sure you know my price Q.” Mr.Q nodded his head with a big smile on his face. The older man was scrambling around being confused by the medical tools caked with dust. He didn’t know where to start, turning to face Mr.Q with a grimace. “These tools will not do Q, I’m sure you can conjure something for me to work on this girl, you wouldn’t want her getting an infection right?” The demon knew that the medical equipment was too old to fully diagnose and fix Abby’s wounds. Snapping his fingers at newer medical equipment and tools around the room. “I believe this should be satisfactory. Please excuse me I have other business to attend to.” Floating out of the room, leaving the door open for Kailani to enter the room if she had not already followed the two.

Mr.Q floated into the large meeting room where Janet was. Floating behind her and looking over her shoulder. “Your bunker is quite impressive, I remember I was in a similar bunker a long time ago. All I remember however is their leader having a funny little mustache.” Floating towards one of the dusty chairs in the middle of the room. “Sitting” down in the chair that a leader of the country would be seated. Although his sitting consisted of behind floating a few inches from the seat. “I am curious, and you would not mind me asking what your next plan of action is?” The well dressed demon folded his long pale hands together in front of him. Mr.Q always found humans to be quite interesting, especially evil people and their Machiavellian plans.

Professor Perfection, as Mr. Q might have caught her, was standing beside a low control panel in the conference room. Her technology was always ahead of the curb, yes, but given how far removed they were from the 1970s...it was far from current. Command line interfaces and simple processing power; lines drawn with light against a black background instead of pixels on a screen. If they were going to be working out of here for any length of time, Janet was going to have to replace these...

She sighed. After Mr. Q spoke, she turned her pedestal around from the tiny screen and past him, wheeling around with a tiny remote in her hand. "You must have been waiting some time to ask that. If I were to guess, you simply wanted to ask me as a prelude to divulging your own designs for the world."

She briefly looked at him, trying to gauge his constant self-assuredness. It was the one and only time she looked directly at him this conversation.

"Very well-rehearsed designs." She rolled over to the side of the table, placing the remote and immediately beginning to disassemble it. Honestly, 70s Janet, making a device that needs to be broken open to change the batteries...what were you thinking? "I've had much time to think about it. The first and most obvious goal would be to exact revenge and personally kill some of the directorial staff of Thornwood. I have no idea how far you and your friends managed to get on that front before breaking out."

She tosses a piece of casing behind her as a couple more metallic graspers snake out of her pedestal, reaching for unseen drawers beneath the wide table and pulling out more 50~ year old technological bits. "However. I realize that such a goal is short-sighted and ultimately caused by my pent-up frustration getting the better of me. I can put it aside for now."

"Otherwise? I know it is uncharacteristic of me to say this, but I will admit that I am on my back foot." She begins to quickly re-assemble the device, improved hopefully. "I need to see what has changed in the past few decades. I need to rebuild a small empire that has almost assuredly been picked clean by the jackals I'd call my colleagues during my internment. Can't blame them. Weapons, machines, all sitting around in bunkers like this one, and usually far less well-kept of a secret."

She holds the remote upward, and inspects it. "I suppose figuring out your existence is the first step. What are you, exactly. Clearly fantastic in nature. The sort who lords over others with casual violation of physics. A self-described magician? An otherplanar entity? Go ahead and describe yourself."

---

---

Kanata laid awake for hours, unable to sleep like usual. Looking at Ameliya in his arms, a smile crossed his face. It had been a long time since he had something to look forward to. His smile soon faded into a look of unease. Looking out to the stars he stared. His heart wrapped into a shroud of despair as lingering thoughts of the past entered his mind. Quickly catching his breath he sat up letting Ameliya lie against the ground.

'Another sleepless night, when was the last time I slept?' He had hoped being with Ameliya would calm his soul and it had but only for the fleeting moment knowing that it was only one night and she could be gone in an instant. Getting himself up he walked across to the now open window letting out a heavy breath. With a flick of his wrist, a cig and lighter flew into his hands. Inhaling a large puff of smoke and holding it in his lungs until it slowly dissolved into nothingness.

"Soon I'll return home," his eyes turned bright blue in the moonlight as his expression turned from pained to rage-filled.

Opening up her eyes blearily, Ameliya woke up feeling cold against the ground and after a moment she also started to register that she was now alone. The warmth she had fallen asleep to had shifted and left sometime during the night. Unintentionally, a small sad crying sound came from deep within her chest as she started to tell herself that she knew this was exactly what was going to happen. She had no idea why she had stupidly hoped things were going to be different this time.

A sudden cry broke the silence, turning Kanata's head at full speed towards it. 'Did that sound come from Ameliya?' Closing his eyes he listened to the sounds that echoed through the room focusing on her heartbeat. Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump. She was awake and upset. A smile spread across Kanata's lips as he sauntered back over to her side tossing the cigarette butt out the window. Laying back down next to her he wrapped his arm around her waist. Leaning forward he kissed her forehead and said "I'm not going anywhere. Goodnight."

Blinking in confusion as Kanata returned to her side, Ameliya stared at him, her exhausted mind trying to understand. His warmth was so comforting though that she curled into him, deciding none of it mattered as her heavy eyes closed.

Julia made her way out of the en-suite she’d tried to sleep in, fully showered and dressed in the punky clothes she’d commandeered the day before, in a moderately good mood after being denied all but a sink for the past several months. Still, she hadn’t gotten much sleep, which wasn’t unusual for her. What was off was despite the lingering pain of her injuries, and….sounds, she hadn’t been woken up by a nightmare last night. She considered that a victory.

She stopped in her tracks, smelling smoke, and rushed to the staff room. The sheer carnage she saw as she turned her head to survey the scene caused her to stand there absolutely aghast, squeezing at fistfuls of her own hair. After coming to her senses, she shook her head and exhaled.

“I need some breakfast…” she muttered, turning and immediately heading back to the hallway. When she reached the bar, empty this early, she ordered some bacon, eggs, and black coffee.

Sunny was the one behind the bar when Julia sat down and the blonde took one look at Julia’s face and guessed she’d seen something that had shocked the other woman pretty good, given the way she had ordered with a weirded-out tone in her voice.

“Sure thing, Julia, sugar,” Sunny drawled. “Danika makes the best bacon and eggs you’ve probably tasted in a while.” The waitress poured Julia a large cup of black coffee from a round-bellied coffee pot as she spoke before writing down the order on a notepad and lightly jogging halfway down the bar to the small slit in the wall that was the kitchen’s order window, slipping the piece of paper through before coming back to Julia with the same light jog.

“Can I get you anything else? I know it’s early but you look like you just saw something that warrants a shot in your coffee if you ask me.”

“No, thank you,” Julia answered, shaking her head. “I don’t drink during the day….I think. I can’t actually remember what my habits were anymore; when my life was normal…” she trailed off, taking a sip of coffee. Something she’d acquired last night before heading to bed was a pair of leather fingerless gloves, which she was currently wearing. They weren’t total protection but they were better than nothing. They also suited her, but between them and the punky borrowed clothes, her lack of makeup and nail polish were eye-catching in their absence.

“I respect that,” Sunny replied. “And I can’t quite relate to that exactly, but I know what it’s like to not remember your life from before something big occurred. For me, it’s becoming what I am now, a Vampire. I don’t remember much of my life as a human but what I do remember is kinda shitty.” She added the last part with a laugh and a smile, indicating she was over it, and she was happy with her life as it was now.

“Good Morning,” a raspy voice manifested from behind Sunny moments before the redheaded owner of it manifested with a puff of black smoky mist as well, looking tired but somehow refreshed. “Why the hell do I smell smoke?” Rueyn’s tired but relaxed expression quickly changed to one of alarm and she turned on her heel to blur towards the smell.

Rue opened the staff room door and was immediately pissed off at what she saw.

“YOU FUCKING BURNED MY BUILDING??” Rue entered the bedroom where she saw that there no longer existed a bed or a bedframe. One which had been rather expensive to put in there, by the way. “DO you KNOW how FUCKING EXPENSIVE that fucking BED WAS? How EXPENSIVE this is GOING TO BE? YOU OWE ME, FATHER. YOU FUCKING OWE ME.”

Rue was decidedly Pissed. Off. This was her territory, her only truly safe place, and her father and the closest thing she had to a best friend from prison decided that in their literal fuckery that they were gonna be careless and burn it. Not okay with her, not at all. Somebody had better pay reparations or blood would be spilled.

Coming out of the en suite door, Ameliya stood there in the doorway with soaking wet hair and a towel around her as she looked towards the raging demon. Putting a hand to her thumping head and leaning against the door frame, Ameliya watched the other woman. She understood exactly what Rue was saying, she just wish she would say it a little quieter. “I’ll pay for the damages,” She groaned out, “just can you take it down a bit? My head is still killing me.”

“You know, I have ONE rule here: DO NO HARM, and that INCLUDES HARMING THE FUCKING BUILDING!” she growled, throwing her hands up. “Find some goddamn clothes in the fucking armoire, if it’s not burnt to cinders, too, and meet me at the bar, I’m making you fucking breakfast, you undisciplined fucking heathens.”

Kanata stared at Rue for a few seconds then sighed heavily. He stood up and asked, “Do you have a phone?”

“I don’t care who fucking pays for the damages,” she replied tersely but lowered her voice. “So long as it gets fixed. This building is my safe place and I dislike that it has been damaged in such a manner. No, I don’t have a phone, at the moment, the one I had is likely way out of date by now but I will have a new cell phone by the end of today. Why? What does having a cellphone have to do with it besides contacting me?”

Scratching the back of his neck and yawning, Kanata walked to the window and quickly threw it open. He looked back at Rue and said, “I’ll be back in a minute.” Sliding his legs over the windowsill, he jumped out to the outside.

Ameliya watched Kanata leave and just stared at him leaving out through the window. Turning back to Rue, she sighed and shook her head at the idiocy she had just seen. “I am sorry for the damages,” She said tiredly, and then with a playful smile, she gestured to the window, “I was obviously not thinking straight.”

Rue stared after him for a moment in disbelief, then turned to her friend when she spoke, and her mood softened when she heard her words and saw her playful smile, giving her one of her own.

“It’ll be alright,” the demoness replied, rubbing the length of one of her S-curved red horns. “It’s just, I have owned this place for almost sixty years and have yet to have someone damage it to this extent so it kind of shocked me. The most it ever got damaged before was the front doors got busted off the one time some metahuman fight ended up tossing a body through them. And eh, you’ll learn control, eventually, once you start learning discipline from Kanata.”

She walked over to the armoire that was thankfully unscathed and opened it, motioning the other woman over.

“Here, there should be some more of those literally magical-one-size-fits-all kinds of clothing in here,” she said. “I keep them stocked here for my staff and anyone who comes through needing a change. Once you’re dressed we can go back to the bar and I’ll make you breakfast.”

Kanata returned back into the room through the window. His torso had splashes of blood dripping down and his arms were coated to the elbow in it with a large bag hanging over his shoulder.

Smiling thankfully at Rue, Ameliya started to rifle through the closet in hopes to find something more her fashion inside. Though before she found anything that she liked the look of, her attention was quickly taken back to the still open window. Eyes trailing over his naked body with newly splattered blood on it, her breath caught in her throat. No! Quickly looking back towards the clothes she berated herself, what the hell was she thinking. She already had her fun, she needed to stop looking and start getting ready to leave town.

“That was a nice warm-up. Here is the payment for the damages. It won't happen again,” throwing the bag down the top opened revealing a few million in cash. Turning to Ameliya he winked and said, “Last night was explosive but next time let's try and keep the fire to a minimum." Then returning his gaze to Rue, “I heard breakfast being made mind if I help?" Putting his hands on his waist and bending backward then forwards he said, “But first got anything that I can wear?”

Rue simply pointed to the armoire and said, “Look in there. Magic, one-size-fits-all clothing. Meet me at the bar.” She sighed, gave Ameliya a smile, and walked out, shutting the door hard behind her. Outside the door, she shook her head, pinched the bridge of her nose and headed back to the bar where the others were.

Julia took another sip of her coffee as Rue returned to the bar. “I was shocked too, when I saw it. In that prison, they kept our powers in check so we couldn’t escape. I think we’ve all forgotten how to be careful.” Julia stared at her own gloved hands. “I need to go shopping at some point. Get better gloves that cover my fingers too, get more clothes than what I’m currently borrowing. I also think I should radically alter my hair so I don’t match my wanted posters.”

Kanata ears twitched as he heard the conversation down below from julia. Ignoring the clothes that was pointed out to him he walked forward throwing open the door to the bar. Ignoring the stares and looks from the patrons he approached Julia with his arms crossed. “First lesson of your training starts now,” he said in a loud commanding voice that echoed through the room. Not giving her time to react he reached out and grabbed Julia by the belt lifting her up as the wind started to pick up and he flew up to back into the room. Seeing Ameliya and realizing how he looked as she stared at him. He came up with a brilliant idea.Rushing next to her and grabbing her with his new healied arm,he tossed her over his shoulder before flying out of the window to a nearby rooftop before dropping her to the ground.

“First things first take off those stupid gloves” he said as he landed in front of Julia. Then gently he set Ameliya on her feet “And your here to see im not doing anything weird.”

Julia looked around, disoriented. They were now on the roof. She looked back at them. Ameliya was still wrapped in a towel. Kanata was completely naked. Julia immediately turned away and tried to look anywhere else. “You could at least have put some pants on!” she protested, as she then started taking off the gloves with her back turned. When they were both removed and discarded, she looked back. “Why am I taking my gloves off anyway?”
Kanata put his hands on his hips, his face bearing a serious expression, ”You gonna touch me without the gloves on.”

Absolutely dumbfounded at finding herself on top of a building with just a towel wrapped around her, Ameliya’s body started to shimmer with heat as she turned to glare at Kanata. “What the fuck do you think you are doing?” She snapped at him, as her body instantly lit up into her magma form.

Kanata’s jaw dropped as soon as her form lit of up flames. Every Time he saw it it was a sight to behold. Putting his hands up, Kanata tried to plead his case. “I’m sorry but time isn’t on our side. We don't know who or what might be after us. Right now she is scared to use her powers and I don't know about you but we don’t have the luxury of slowly getting her used to it.” With a deep and heavy breath, Kanata rubbed in between his eyes as the lack of sleep and worry began to bother him. “A trial by fire, if you will, and I need you here to burn the poison out of me in case my own abilities can’t defend against hers.”

The change in Julia was immediate. Her eyes were manic. Her breathing had turned to gasps, and she’d started pacing on the spot. Her speech had quietened to quick muttering. “You’re crazy. No, No, it’ll kill you. I can’t…”

“And none of this could have waited until I was dressed and fed?” Ameliya growled out, as she crossed her arms across her chest. At the moment she was kind of hoping she would get to burn him, “Hurry it up.”

With a small chuckle he commented, “You look good in that form by the way” he then turned to the problem at hand. Seeing her lost in her own little world, Kanata walked up to Julia and grabbed her by the shoulders, staring straight into her eyes. With a calm but serious voice, Kanata said, “Julia, do you want to die? Because I don’t think you do, and I don’t want another kid dying on my watch to burden my mind for the rest of my eternal life." He slowly brought his hands down to her wrists, bringing them inches from his chest.
“These aren't a curse” a sad expression washed over face as his mind remembered flashes of past events. “I know what it means to be truly cursed, and what you have is a gift, an opportunity. Use these to keep yourself alive because the world is coming and it won't stop just because you want them too. You can’t control it now, but I promise on my late wife's grave I will teach you to be able to control it.” Standing to the side, Ameliya did not say anything but she stood there watching and listening. Ears especially perking up at the mentions of eternal life and his late wife.

“A…gift?” Julia slowly repeated, her face twisting into one of anguish. “Fine. I’ll show you. If you think there’s any way to control this, any way to make this a gift, be my guest!” She planted her hands on his chest, only for a fraction of a second, and took them away. The smallest ‘dose’ she could give. She wrestled free of his grip and backed away as the black poison visibly spread its way through his body from the two points of contact.

Looking at the two black points, he shifted his hands over them. “Hmm, it seems you need to do a stronger dose to hurt me. It kinda tickles." Grabbing her hand, he thrust it on his chest while saying. “Stop holding back, stop wasting my time and hit me with everything you have!”

“Stop! You don’t know what you’re doing!” She yelled, as she struggled and pulled and desperately tried to get out of his grip and break contact. With a fresh, ever-flowing supply of the poison it was a completely different beast. His regeneration couldn’t keep it from spreading, and visible black veins were growing from his chest to all over his body. After a mere ten seconds of prolonged exposure, it was clear that if she held on much longer, he was going to die.

“Fuck,” Ameliya muttered out as she came over to Kanata’s side and lay her flaming hands on exactly where Julia had just rested hers. She had no idea if this was going to work, but she really hoped it would considering this would be one of the stupidest ways to die. Frowning with concentration, she sent out her flames on to Kanata’s bare skin and made it follow the raised black veins in a vain attempt to help correct the situation.

Slowly, the black veins began to recede until fully being removed from his system. With a loud gasp, Kanata lurched forward, his breathing heavy and hoarse. Putting his hand on his waist he leaned back bursting out in laughter. Regaining control over his demeanor, he coughed into his hand and with a smile looked at Julia saying, “What a rush! You almost killed a man who has survived the planet for over 400 years. Be proud.” Putting his hand on her shoulder he said, “now we know we can handle it if it goes too far so we can train you to control it without hesitation.”

“Control it? CONTROL IT?! You almost killed yourself by holding my wrist in place, you stupid bastard!” Scream julia, face twisted in fury. “ There’s no way to turn it off! It’s not some kind of faucet! You called this a gift?! I touched you the way I did at first because that’s all it’s taken to kill anyone I even brush against by accident! Even if I was fully pardoned and got my old job back, I can’t live normally like this! I can “control” it by wearing gloves and never touching people! That’s how I ‘control’ it!” Her voice was shaky and sobbing, but her eyes were dry, as if she was crying without tears.

Glaring down at Kanata as he laughed so carefreely, Ameliya punched him in the shoulder. Of course the man she had shown the slightest interest in, had to also have a fucking death wish. “You’re going to give her a heart attack,” She growled at him, trying to completely ignore the fact that he almost gave her one too. Looking back at Julia, her chest ached for her. She knew all too well what it was like when your touch did nothing but destroy everything and hurt everyone.

Putting her head to one side as she thought back to the poison that had just run through Kanata’s veins before she then walked over to Julia. “Touch me,” She simply suggested as she held out a hand that was no longer lit with flames. If her theory was correct, her fire would kill it off before it ever became a problem.

Julia was naturally hesitant, but then glanced at Kanata, and back to Ameliya. Her powers had managed to completely remove the poison of ten seconds of prolonged exposure, from the outside. Naturally, there’s no reason she wouldn’t be absolutely fine. Still, Julia’s hand was shaking as she reached out and stopped right before making contact. She took a deep breath, and touched Ameliya’s hand, only for a second, but already the poison started to spread. Julia recoiled and shook her own hand. She’d probably need to run it under cold water soon.

As the poison started to spread across her hand, the feeling of blistering and burning pain that had been so absent from Ameliya's life started to creep up her hand. Hastily taking her hand back, it quickly recovered its magma look. Her heart beat started to fasten at the foreign pain but she grit her teeth and just watched. Staring down at the blackened veins, she watched in fascination as her own veins brightly lit up and began to fight off the poison. The way her veins clearly showed through her magma skin tended to only be something that happened to her during extreme stress. Though, as she watched the black retreat across as her hands, she guessed this would be considered one of those times. Watching as the poison was finally backed to where it started, before finally disappearing entirely, Ameliya looked back at Julia with a grin. "Spicy," she joked as she shook the still tingling feeling out of her hand.

Kanata walked up to Ameliya and placed a hand on her burning shoulder. "Glad you're okay, though I was hoping to suck some of the poison out," he said with a wink and a mischievous smirk. Ameliya just raised an eyebrow at him. Turning to Julia he bent down to get to look her straight in the eyes. "I know you're scared, your world has changed and none of it is your fault. Everyone blames you and wants you dead. But take solace in the fact that you have people who will help you." Getting up he walked up to Ameliya and leaned in to kiss her. "That’s my thanks to you. Now who’s up for some training?”

Already ready to get back to the bar and get some semblance of breakfast, Ameliya was taken by surprise by the kiss. Blinking back her confusion, her firey skin started to cool down and fizzle out. Leaving her standing there on top of the building flustered and naked.

Julia was comforted seeing Ameliya neutralize her poison and play it off without taking it lightly, and she smiled. The smile only grew with Kanata’s true words of comfort. She did have somewhere she belonged now, and with it, goals and plans to move towards. The smile broke when Kanata mentioned training. “Right now? Can it at least wait until after breakfast?” she protested.

"And some clothes," Ameliya interjected

"Fine, we can eat breakfast first." With a chuckle he turned around and asked "So do you both want to fly back or walk?"

Julia looked around as she scooped up her gloves and began putting them back on. “What building even is this? Can we just enter it through the roof without getting the cops called on us? I’d say we probably need to be flown back.”

"It's either that or I walk back naked," Ameliya pointed out.

Laughing out loud and looking up and down Ameliya's body he walked forward grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close and lifting her leg. "Hold on to me" he said before turning his head to Julia to tell her "Mind if I take you back one at a time? not sure I can control myself at the moment with her."

Breath instantly getting caught in her throat, Ameliya couldn’t help how her body reacted while so close to his. Looking at him with a questioning but playfully raised eyebrow, she draped her arms over his shoulders.

As her arms wrapped around him Kanata felt her naked body against his. With a strong growl he looked at Ameliya with a smirk saying to Julia behind him "Yeah I'll be back" before flying to a nearby building rooftop.

Julia could tell they wouldn’t be back within the minute. She looked from the rooftop, to the roof’s door, wondering whether she should wait, or whether she should risk it. Her stomach growled. That made up her mind, and she tried the door. It was locked. Course it was. She returned to the center of the roof and sat down, cross-legged and grumpy.

It didn’t take her that long to get bored of sulking and she got up and looked around. She’d never been to the US before. She hadn’t even been outside for months. She stared from this rooftop and took in the landscape around her. Every house here was home to a different ordinary family. Every shop was a place she could go to and buy things. She realized that she used to take freedom for granted, because now it was a difficult concept for her to wrap her head around anymore.

About thirty minutes later Kanata returned to Julia still naked but with hand prints and thigh-sized marks where the blood was before. Coughing and clearing his throat, Kanata looked at Julia who had a disgruntled look on her face "Sorry about that we caught fire on a building that spread to the neighboring ones. Then I tried to put out the fire by taking away its oxygen. But we were still doing it and we hit the climax so instead, it exploded." Pointing about six blocks away, Kanata said "See the smoke? That was us. Damn, do we fuck well together. Sparks just fly when we enter a room. I blame her though she is way too hot for her own good."

Julia had still been staring out over the town by the time they both got back and turned to Kanata as she listened to him brag. There was a numbness to the way she stared at him disapprovingly. Any flames of passionate anger had burned out. Now she was tired, very annoyed, and wanted breakfast.

Putting his hand to his chin and raising an eyebrow, Kanata continued "I wonder how she will handle my yokai form. Man, do you think sparks fly now just wait till then. I can see it now. A massive storm of fire burning bright you could see it from space, a flaming hurricane if you would. Might want to go to Australia for that though I heard they got burnt out a while back. It might be time for a second go." Turning back to see Julia’s expression, Kanata smiled awkwardly before grabbing her by the waist and flying back to the sanctuary. Kanata soon appeared in the window. He exited , dropping Julia onto her feet before walking to the crate of clothes.

When they were back at the bar, Julia went straight to the counter and sat down. Her coffee was naturally stone-cold but she still took a large sip, before turning to Rue. “Sorry about that. Where were we?”

Rue raised a pierced eyebrow, having simply gone to the bar and waited for everyone to come back from wherever it was that they had decided to fuck off to without telling her. Not that they had to tell her, but she figured her father would have given her some sort of indication considering his reaction upon finding her again, but oh, well then.

“Where did you even go?” she asked. “Before you left, I do believe you were about to eat breakfast, which, we kept warm for you, by the way.” She set down a plate that had a metal covering on it in front of Julia and removed the covering to reveal a steaming plate of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and two pieces of toast, which Julia began devouring without another word.

“You said bacon and eggs only, but Danika said that’s not enough breakfast for someone who’s been through hell and had bullets taken out.”

Heading over to the bar, Ameliya was dressed in a pair of tight black jeans and a dark red wine button-up that was a little too open to be considered professional anymore. Sitting down on one of the stools with a sly smile spread across her face, as one who knew something humorous others didn’t, she turned to Rue and asked, “Do you have any tea?”

“Aye,” Rue replied, turning to look at her and take in her appearance with another raised eyebrow. “What kind? Nice to see you finally dressed and showed up after your… extracurricular activities, let’s just say that.” She added the last bit with a small laugh, her sensitive nose could smell the sex and fire smoke on the other woman to whom she gave a sly wink.

“I would love some black tea,” Ameliya replied with a warm smile that turned slightly coy as she watched Rue’s wink. “Had to say some proper goodbyes to your dear old father before heading back to my place,” she cheekily commented, before then looking back at the other demon and adding, “You think you could give a girl a lift with your whole shadow portal thing you got going on?”

“Black tea it is,” the demon turned around to face the shelves on the walls and pulled down a box of teabags as well as a ceramic mug the size of a regular drinking glass. “As for the shadow travel,” she turned back around to give Ameliya a level look. “I can only get as close as I’ve been before, as I don’t know where your apartment is. It’s not an exact science unless I’ve traveled there by other means before.”

She opened the tea bag and placed it into the mug before her form blurred for a moment as she ran at inhuman speed from the bar to the kitchen and back for a pot of hot water, pouring it into the mug over the teabag and serving it to Ameliya. She grabbed a sugar shaker and a spoon from the counter behind the bar as well and placed them next to the mug of now steeping tea.

“Your black tea, my friend.”

Overhearing the conversation from the room away, his heart sank. Forcing a smile onto his face he walked out and next to Ameliya and Rue, sitting himself down at the bar.

"Didn't know you were planning to leave,” he put his hand into his pocket, grabbed a pack of cigarettes, then took one out to light it up. "Are you planning to come back or is this the last we will see of you?" He tilted his head at her in question, his smile fading into a saddened expression. "If you go into fire form I can get you to your place in about 40 minutes if I go at full speed. It would be a lot faster than shadow traveling to a nearby place with an unknown distance between. Besides, I have something I need to check on at my place nearby."

Cradling the hot mug in her hands, Ameliya stared down at the darkening water as the tea steeped. After all the fun she had been having with the group, she didn’t particularly want to just leave them all without a word either but, there was still the issue that screamed at her in the back of her mind.

“It would be best to get as far away as possible before the supes come looking,” she said while focusing on her drink, before looking back up, “I’m not going back to that hell hole.”

As she looked back at Kanata with his cigarette already ready in his mouth, a smirk started to cross her face as his smoke instantly lit up. “Of course, you already know where I live,” Ameliya teased him.

"I make it a point to keep tabs on dangerously hot women who try to take my heart," with a wink he slid from the chair and started to stretch. "I was thinking we could all head to Japan. Not a lot of supes there and since it's out of the country. they will have an extremely hard time being allowed in to search for us. I pretty much run japan after all. So is that a yes or no for the ride?"

“It looks like moving apartments didn’t work,” Ameliya jokingly commented as she remembered how she had quickly packed up and moved when she had woken up to the sight of a whiskey bottle mysteriously turning up on her doorstep with a note from a certain someone.

Taking a deep drink of her tea, Ameliya thought about it for a moment before deciding that moving to Japan for the interim would work well. She normally wouldn’t so easily agree to group with others, but she looked at Julia then Rue, before finally landing on Kanata. Her chest clenched slightly, and all she could agree on was that things weren’t so simple anymore. Yet she tried to push off her questioning of emotions and replied to his question with a smirking smile, “I’ll take that ride. Though…,” She eyed him for a moment before adding, “I actually do also need to get some stuff from my apartment.”

“Shadow travel is a lot more efficient than you seem to remember, father,” Rue replied tersely, offended that her own father seemingly forgot how her own abilities worked despite having helped her hone them for twenty years of her life. “If your apartment is close to someplace I’ve been before then it should be easy enough to travel from shadow to shadow until we are close enough for me to shadow travel us inside the actual building. But in the end, it’s up to you, my friend. I’m the very last fucking person to impose on anyone’s free fucking will.”

Grumpily, she turned around and walked down to where an alien-looking customer waved her down, seemingly at ease in the role of the bartender as she took their drink order. Rue knew that anyone who walked past the doors to Sanctuary might spread the word that she was there, but after the last failed raid (one in which an entire team of supers had been sent to the best hospital’s intensive care unit), no one would dare try to attack the building just to take her in.

Julia had been watching this conversation and had breathed a sigh of relief, before smiling at both Ameliya and Kanata. “You know, one of my biggest fears when I was in that prison, stewing inside my own head, was that a life with a purpose, goals, and most importantly, a social life, was off the cards for me now. Grabbing Rue on an impulse is looking to be one of the best things I have ever done. I can’t state how relieved I am that you’re coming with us to Japan, Ameliya.”

Turning to look at the younger woman with a look of surprise for a moment, Ameliya’s facial features then softened as she smiled warmly at her. She hadn’t thought Julia would have cared if she was around or not. Actually, she hadn’t thought any of them would have really cared about that in the morning and she found herself pleasantly surprised that she was wrong. The warm feeling in her chest was new and unexpected but also pleasant. Having taken note of Rue’s frustration, Ameliya decided maybe some ‘father-daughter’ time would be good for her. “So I don’t have magic one size fits all clothing,” Ameliya started while looking at Julia, “but you’re more than welcome to grab some things from my closet. That is, if you would want to join us heading back to pack.”

Julia nodded, looking down at her own clothes. “That would be appreciated, thank you. These are all I have, and I don’t even technically own these. Might also need to borrow some toiletries unless we have time to stop at a shop somewhere.”

Kanata let out a loud heavy sigh before flicking his cigarette into an ashtray and snuffing it. Cracking his neck he turned to Rue, "Since all of us seem to want to go we can go using your shadow travel. On the way back though, we will have an extra companion. I hope nobody minds but I'd like to bring her home to Japan."

Having come back as soon as the alien customer had been served their drink, Rue heard Kanata’s words and raised an eyebrow but that was her only reaction other than to say, “Sounds like a plan to me. I say we leave as soon as possible. The supers won’t dare come here, not after the last time thirty years ago but it’s still best to go, soon.”

Her?! Ameliya instantly gave Kanata a side-eye glower, as she instantly started to question exactly who was this mysterious other woman. She had just started to slightly lower her guard around him and what is now when she finds out he was already taken?

Sensing a danger, Kanata’s instincts shifted his view to stare at Ameliya. Instantly realizing what he just said and what the look she was giving him meant he blurted out as he stood up in a panic, "I'M TALKING ABOUT MY PANTHER CUB, ABSOL." Looking around and coughing into his hand to regain his composure he continued "I found her when a hunter killed her mother so I took her in right before going to jail. I promised she would see Japan." After taking a deep breath and looking at Ameliya with a serious expression, "The woman I like is you."

Looking at him in surprise, Ameliya couldn’t help but chuckle at his sudden outburst. A panther cub, huh? She would love to see a panther in real life. Just thinking of those round ears and padded paws were too cute of an image for her not to be interested. As the mood changed to serious, her attention was brought back to what Kanata was saying only to hear him say he liked her. Wide-eyed, she stared at him as her cheeks burned bright red and her hair once again became a waterfall of fire. Embers coming off her from her, she quickly turned towards Julia, “Wha - what type of clothes do you like to wear?”

With a small chuckle, Kanata walked over running a finger over Ameliya's shoulder and then to the stairs.

"I'll be upstairs waiting for you if you still want that ride." With a wink, he walked off out of sight. Julia watched him go, then looked back to Ameliya, and smirked a little.

“I had quite a pedestrian style before, but this look,” she gestured to the borrowed large punk band tee, black skirt, ripped tights and fingerless gloves she was wearing, “…is kinda growing on me. You know, I wonder if I have time to get my hair cut. I think I really should look different from my wanted posters while I still speak the language of the hairdressers. You and Kanata…don’t mind waiting for me, do you?” she gave Ameliya a wink, before turning to Rue. “Do you know the nearest salon from here?”

“Right across the street from us is a salon called Cian’s Cuts,” Rue replied. “The owner Cian is a Vampire who’s got serious skill with a pair of hair scissors and a wit sharper than her fangs. I’ll go with you and you’ll get the best haircut you’ve ever had in your life, trust me. She fixed my hair this one time after some drunk jackass decided to try and light me on fire.”

“That will be perfect, thank you. That way, they won’t care if they recognise me, either. I promise I’ll pay you back for this.” Julia replied as she followed Rue out of the bar.

Watching Julia wink, Ameliya blushed slightly and got up from her seat as she heard Rue and Julia start talking about going to the hairdresser across the street. She looked at the other two thankful for a moment before she started to stride up the staircase to the loft. At the top of the stairs, she rose an eyebrow at Kanata with a teasing smile playing on her lips and asked, “In the middle of the bar?”

Kanata walked up to Ameliya as she entered the room slamming the door with his hand and putting her in a position she couldn’t escape from. "Right here, right now, do you like me? Because I'm head over heels for you."

Staring up at him with wide eyes, Ameliya went bright red as flames started to lick off her skin. She had not been expecting this ambush at all, she had been expecting a little bit of fun and games before taking a trip to a new country. Now she was face to face with the man professing his feelings.

“I … don’t hate you,” Ameliya commented as she looked away from him and tried to shift out of being cornered by him.

Slamming his other arm into the wall he towered above her.

"I like the fun we're having but I also want to be more than just a fling." Leaning into her resting his lips against her ear to whisper "I am quite smitten with you. The way you walk, the way you talk and carry yourself. The fiery temper that sends sparks into the air. I find you quite the catch, but I'm not one to hold out on a one sided relationship. So I ask again, do you like me?"

As she felt the cool breeze of his whisper, and his words started to make their way into her chest. Ameliya’s heart caught in her throat, and a shock of flames ran throughout her body.

“Fuck,” Ameliya quickly swore as he caught herself. Backing up, she quickly brought her flames back into her and looked worriedely at the wall for any scorched marks. Luckily for her it seemed like her flames had only stayed with her this time. “Look at what you nearly made me do,” She said, frustrated at Kanata.

Snuffing out the flames, Kanata started an unwavering gaze into her eyes, "Your flames betray your attempt to hide your feelings. Call me old fashioned though I want you to say it. I need you to say it or I'll walk."

Embarrassed at another failure to control her emotions and flames, Ameliya looked away. Though as he gave her an ultimatum, she quickly looked back at him shocked.

"I - ," her eyes seemed to focus on anywhere else but his intense gaze, "I - I like the way you touch me. I like the way you fight. I like your fucking stupid jokes." Looking back at him, her eyes searched his face for some kind of reaction as she anxiously said, “I - I like you, ok?"

A massive grin sprouted on Kanata's face as he heard the words. Leaning in with a kiss he met her lips. After a few moments he separated a joyful aura radiated from him. As he separated from her. With an exasperated sigh of relief he chuckled back at her saying, "Guess we’re a couple now." With a wink he turned opening the door and grabbing her hand before descending back to the group.

@wikkit @Blazion

Abigail “Atom Bomb” Zebrowski

“Mmm not exactly, I'm just curious what your next plan of action is. I have always humans like yourself to be quite fascinating.” Mr.Q got out of his chair and floated towards Janet. “We had not gotten very far, unfortunately, that monkey was stronger than I had anticipated. But his death is not as important to my employer's plans.” There was a tinge of anger in his voice, it was obvious that he was still angry about being humiliated by Novis. But he knew that when his plan comes true, then he would have the pleasure of torturing him for an eternity. The demon floated out of his chair and towards Janet. Standing behind her, she could probably feel a dark and foreboding presence emanating from him. “I am sure my employers would be more than happy to assist you, for a piece of course.” Q floated so he was right beside Janet. “ My employers have many resources to help you with your goals. However in turn you would need to help us with our plan, quid pro quo as you humans say.”

His ears perked up when she asked what exactly he is. “I am someone that gives humanity a little push in the right direction. So how could I help you with your first task?” Smiling once more so she could get a better look at his yellow and crooked teeth.

While the two were having their conversation, the doctor was finishing patching up Abby. The pyjama-clad doctor took a deep breath, taking off his smock and gloves. “Guess I should go talk to Q about getting paid.” Carefully moving around Kailani the doctor left the room, leaving Abby and Kailani inside the empty, dank room. A few hours later Abby opened her eyes taking a moment to take in her surroundings. “Where the hell am I? Q?” She looked over at Kailani who was chewing on some old machinery. “Hi Kailani, do you know where the talky man is?” She probably would not get any answers from the alien dog. She tried getting off the metal slab but reared back in pain holding the bandaged part of her body. “Fuck.” Biting her lip cursing softly. “How am I gonna get to Boston like this.” Slowly jumped off the table using it to support her. “Hi Kail could you pass me that wheelchair, or at least help me get over to the wheelchair. I gotta talk to Q.” Slowly pointing her finger toward the rickety wheelchair in the corner of the room.

Somewhere else....

A news report was running all over the different news channels. Informing the masses that a group of escaped super villains have escaped and were last spotted near an amusement park. All of the escape's photos were then shown to millions of Americans, one of the photos was of Abby about to be tackled by a guard. Now everyone knows who they are and what they look like, it was only a matter of time before heroes would come knocking to send them back to Thornnwood.

"No," Janet immediately said, though still kept his eyes off of him, "I will not give you a single hint without boundaries being set first. This is not my first interaction with something like yourself - the last one wore tights and had horns, but demons don't seem to change much through the years."

She turned around and looked past the disturbing sight of his smile to look up at the huge display against the wall - unfortunately, it was only wired to display in very simple colors, shapes and text, but if things haven't changed too much there should be...

Ah. There we go. BBC text news service. Hadn't changed much at all since 1999. Janet quickly tapped the remote's buttons as she tried to read through some of today's headline articles. She wasn't going to be left in the dark as to what had changed.

"If you wish to work under me at all, create a contract that states the terms of our work together, exactly what a 'piece' entails and allow me to read the text of said contract in its entirety without altering its contents ex-post facto." A brief blow of bubbles came out from under the oxygen-supplying mask over her face. "If I can get that out of you, that'd be just wonderful."

Kanata flew above the city feeling the air ripple across his body. He hadn't felt such freedom in a long time. A smile brought to his lips as he began to whistle as he glided side to side in the air. Finally his eyes set onto a potential target. A relatively medium sized building set in the wealthier part of town.

He leaned forward, dropping out of the sky and onto the sidewalk in front of the bank. A small scream next to him made his head turn. A child and mother disheveled and on the ground looked at him in horor. With a wink he looked at the mom and said, "You should leave." The woman struggled to get up before kanata reached out a hand and brought her to her feet wiping off her clothes.

The woman looked at the naked man in confusion before grabbing her child and running off. With a smile, Kanata turned his attention back to the bank, opening the front door before walking inside. The lounge was massive around 100 by 100 feet. Putting his hands on his hips, several people turned to look at him in shock and awe.

Continuing to whistle he turned around sizing the door up and down before grabbing his sword sheath and thrusting it in between the handle and frame as a makeshift bar. Two armed guards walked up to him from behind pointing their guns at him slowly and in a loud voice they said "sir, please step away from the door with your arms up."

A chuckle escaped his lips before raising his hands up into the air. "I'm here to make a withdrawal, no need for the gun boy's."With the snap of his fingers air exploded next to their hands, causing them to drop their weapons. Turning quickly around and stepping onto them before pointing his finger at the cameras "bang, bang, bang ,bang," he said mimicking the sound of a gun as bullets of air shattered the cameras.

"I'm in a good mood if you all just stay quiet and let me go into the back, grab what I want and let me leave. Nobody will die." Looking around, the people inside cowered in fear. With a heavy sigh he reached downward, picking up the guns and crushing the frames. Bits of pieces of metal fell to the ground as he dusted the metal from his skin. "So, I am in such a good mood today I won't kill you for that," he said before glaring his eyes towards the group of people. " But, don't try anything again or everyone dies."

Walking forward he grabbed the collar of the guards shirts and started dragging them. Every person he walked past he nodded his head in the direction he was headed to. Each one scared and in a panic rushed over to the back and sat in a group. The two guards struggled with all of their might pulling at their neck as the shirt choked them out. Their ragged breaths echoed through the room kicking and muffled screaming before they dropped unconscious and out of air.

Turning his head back to the guards he tilted his head to the side before crouching down and poking their bodies." Sorry about that. I haven't had to deal with normal people for a while. Last night I was able to cut loose and choke this wonderful woman. The way her body reacted to my touch was invigorating"

"I might be in love," he said, swooning while staring at the ceiling."It has been a long time since I last felt this way." Setting himself down into a criss cross he traced the ground. "I am working on a song for her to tell me what yall think." Coughing out loud he sang a few lyrics, "My lover is a serial killer,She don't need no trigger,Because I know she's heartless,She stole my heart, it's true."

Stopping and looking around to see no reaction he glared at the group before they all started clapping hands in unison. A smile crossed his lips as he thanked them for the applause.

After talking about the events of the night before for a few moments longer he snapped his fingers and nudged the unconscious guard." You're a great listener. You must have lots of friends."A chuckle escaped his lips before standing back up and looking around the crow that gathered in the room. "So which one of you has the key I need for the vault?"

Impatience took over as no one stepped forward. Loud tapping echoed through the area as his foot sped up gusts of wind blowing for the bottom. "Really? Nobody has the key?" With a large heavy sigh he closed his eyes and listened to the heart beats of the people around him. Thump Thump Thump, everyone's heart raced but he focused on anyone who’s heart raced faster as he moved through them. Suddenly he found himself in front of a man sitting and staring at him with a small amount of defiance in his eyes.

"Would you like to tell the class why you decided it was better to not give me the key dooming everyone here to death?" Kanata’s eyes met the man as he leaned close to his face "What's your name?"

"Phil," he said with a quiver in his voice as Kanata’s hand laid on his cheek. Gently moving down to his chin two fingers holding the tip as his face became extremely close.

"I like you Phil. You're loyal and even when threatened with a force far greater than you. You still managed the courage to defy the fear you feel in your heart." Dropping his hand and spinning back into standing position, Kanata put his hands together next to his face. " Everyone a round of applause for his bravery." The room erupted in applause as Phil laughed, sweat beading down his face as relief washed over him.

Then a loud thunderous explosion shook the room. Where Phil had sat lay a bloodstained corps as blood spattered onto the group around. Screaming in terror the people got up and began to run off towards the exit. The expression on Kanata’s face narrowed into a sour stare. Like looking at sheep. As the group reached each person pushing against each other fighting to get to the front and out. A woman struggling past two of the larger men grabbed hold of the sword that stuck between the handles.

As her hand met against the sheathed blade she screamed "I got-" her words being cut short as a stream of electricity coursed through all who touched her frying them into a crisp.
Shaking his head, Kanata saw a survivor at the back who didn't get electrocuted. Whistling Kanata walked slowly towards him. He watched the man scramble to his feet and began crawling over the pile of dead charred bodies screaming out "Someone help! Anyone!" His hands slammed on the glass as tears began pouring down his cheeks crying and begging for anyone to help him.

"Sorry, nobody can hear you scream," he said as the man realized the words he was speaking didn't make a sound. In a single moment he felt pain erupt through his body before losing all sense of feeling. His eyes looked down seeing Kanata's hand jutting through his chest. Blood spurted from his mouth as he lifted into the air and was tossed aside.

Soaked in blood kanata began smiling again thinking back at Ameliya and the night before. The whistling tune came back which now matched the lyrics of the song he began to create in his mind before grabbing his blade and looking around the room. "Fine work I say," he said as he made his way to the back and slashing through the vault door. Moments later he came back with cash walking back and forth from inside to the atm in the bank depositing the cash overseas. After a few tiring trips he rolled his shoulders back finding a suitcase and shoving as much as it could carry inside.

Walking out to the glass doors he placed a hand pushing out before hearing two screams. He quickly slapped his hand to his forehead before spinning around and speaking out loud " I am so sorry after you listened to me and everything I forgot about you. I guess that's love for yah. Ameliya on the brain and the heart." Pointing a finger at the first guard a ball of air shot out bursting his head into pieces before pointing it at the other and doing the same. With a large chuckle he brought the finger to his lips before blowing a gust of wind atop the tip and walking outside.

The bright light beat down onto Kanata as he exited the building a dark figure blocked by the sun descended down in front of him. The silhouette of a woman and glittering wings on her back. Daintily she stepped onto the ground with her hands crossed on her chest. Moving a single strand of her hair she said " Hey, It's been a long time."

Kanata cocked his head to the left. Something was familiar about this woman but he couldn't place his finger on what it was. Looking the woman up and down, her dress was shining like glitter in the light. The color being a violet purple with a single black streak in her otherwise brown hair.
The woman eyed him noticing the copious amounts of blood then leaned to look behind him stretching up onto her tiptoes to see over his shoulder. "You must have had fun just now," a small chuckle escaped her lips as she dug her toe into the ground. "So I stopped being a hero, so we could be together and let me say it's so much more fun being a villian."

Kanata stroked his chin and began tapping his foot thinking hard back onto when he could have met her. After a few moments an idea sprung to mind and with the snap of his fingers he said out loud "I remember now, you're that fairy girl from a few years back."

As her wings picked up speed to match her fluttering heart that he remembered she rushed forward before he lifted a hand out to her. "Stop, I'm taken."

The wings on her back slowly stopped as she stepped backwards tripping on her own feet. "What-" the words stumbling off her tongue. Her body glowed bright as iridescent scales of different colors started appearing on her skin. "Whoever it is, you can just tell them you found your soulmate and dump her."

Putting the suitcase on the ground he let out a massive sigh as he looked at the girl with pitiful eye's. "No can do. I love this woman."

The scales burned brightly with a red and black glow as her fists clenched tightly. "HAHAHA," She laughed maniacally putting her head on her face she clawed into her face. "I quit being a hero, ruined my image and I started to like hurting people for you…" the longer she talked the more her teeth gritted causing the words to come out inaudible.

Scratching the back of his head Kanata looked down the street towards a clock noting the time he looked back at her. The wind gathered around his feet as he started to float as he out his two fingers to his forehead flicking them out he winked. "Nice meeting you again but I got places to be and a woman to get back too."

Gathering the case and sword, Kanata turned and began to fly away before feeling the air behind him part ways. Quickly moving his head to the right a fist appeared next to his face. Leaning back the fist swung towards him watching the movement he took a single step backwards while whistling watching the hand retreat back to see the woman disgruntled and heavily breathing.

"That was rude, I thought we were friends." Kanata said before hearing a blood curdling scream from her.

"I CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR YOU!" the words echoed through the street.

Kanata said in a low voice " I didn't ask you to do that."

"For the last few years I have done nothing but think of you." She started rushing forward winding back a punch screaming out at him "and you choose some bitch" her fist missed kanata as he swiftly dodged. " where did you even meet".

Kanata kept his distance, pitying the woman. "Well that's a long story but she tried to kill me one day and then we met back in an asylum together." A small chuckle escaped his lips as he thought of Ameliya.

"You chose some crazy bitch from an asylum over me!?" She said baffled at his words. Screaming more she kept throwing punches at Kanata as he stepped away watching her. Each time she threw a punch she cursed and yelled at him.

Kanata felt bad not wanting to hurt her knowing how a broken heart felt, and didn't want to punish her more. Then her words met his ears "I'm gonna find this slut and kill her then we can be together." The sound of thunder echoed through the street as Kanata’s hand grabbed onto her throat slamming her into the ground causing the air in her lungs to escape her lips. Picking her up by the throat he dragged her to a wall slamming her face into it. "I was trying to be nice." His words, coated with anger choking her out against the wall he slammed his fist into her gut.

"You're just a one night stand that I used to get out of a situation. Not some soulmate of mine. Just some woman who I can't even remember the name of. Tears wailed down her cheeks as kanata kicked down onto her knee with a loud crunching sound she yelled in pain.
"You shouldn’t have threatened her," he said, letting her drop to the ground on her front. With a stomp he slammed his foot into her back and grabbed her wings before starting to tear them from the sockets. The sound of ripping flesh filled the air, blood spurting out until fully ripped from her body. Throwing the wings to the side he leaned down grabbing her by the hair pulling her head back. As he got close to her ear he whispered, " and unlike you she has the ability to take me fully."

With that he slammed her face back into the ground before grabbing his gear and flying off back to sanctuary.