Katherin was glad to see the man with the tentacles talking the teen out of attacking. She didn't have a clue what he meant about being a meal and leaving a trail. But it was information, and she desperately needed information. This was a gold mine for the article she was going to write tonight. Katherin quietly watched the interactions. She was glad that she had an excellent memory. It was kind of cool watching history happen. Katherin decided that she was going to like being a free lance writer.

The illusion for Niesha shattered as the blade pierced her light barrier. She stumbled back, a shallow-thankfully she thought-cut along her neck. It already started to heal, light dancing over the break in the skin, leaving a faint scar.

Niesha quickly took stock of her surrounds. It seemed to be utter Choas. She had lost her shield when thrown by the woman, so she quickly formed another, holding it with both hands. Oddly enough, she didn't feel fear even as she looked at what had become of Zed.

Niesha was prepared to die, that is what she thought as she stood there in utter Choas. So she wasn't afraid. "Zed" she said softly "it's okay" she raised her shield, and stared straight at him, "it's okay"

Roxy looked around her lab studying her supplies. On hand she had Botulinum, Anthrax, some castor beans, alittle Sarin, Cyanide, Strychnine, Amatoxin, and some Poison Hemlock. But just any poison would do, not today. Today called for something special. Roxy didn't want to kill anyone, not today anyway. She wouldn't benefit from causing deaths today. No she would get the most out of something that would add to the chaos and confusion. Maybe something new.

(@Deathmaker: Remember, the destruction and chaos still hasn't reached the area they are in yet.)

"Look at them, all fighting and destroying everything around them. Even the metas unaffected by our signals fight each other to the point of death! At this rate, we shall need to speed our course for earth in order to take full advantage of this chaos!"

Another alien spoke in response to the words of the commander.
"Now?"

"Do not speed us forward yet. Much more chaos needs to happen before we proceed..."

---

"My name is Abaddon."

Abaddon noticed that Katherin seemed intent on listening in and observing their conversation. Freelance writer indeed. He would have given her a hint of who he really was, but decided such an action would be too risky so out in the open. For all he knew, this girl would want to work in uncovering secret identities for extra cash. Some metas would become famous and praised when they revealed their true seleves, but such a thing was reserved for the "heroic and virtuous ones". Those like Abaddon would be hated and hunted down by the public and government.
He looked back to Lass who was currently still standing there in awe. Abaddon decided to test his skills, tracking and... more combative skills to guage where he was. A child like him would be in dire use of a mentor, and Abaddon would be the perfect one in teaching how to use powers for personal pleasure and the greater good.
"Let's see how willing you are to learn... see if you can find me..."

With that, Abaddon camouflaged himself and swung away from the spot. Eventually he stopped near an alley where a sewer grate was, and shifted into his amorphous body to slip inside the sewer system. The sewer system was part of the mysterious Underground though, as was pretty much everything.... well, underground. Abaddon decided to stay in an accessible place.

She had a name, but Katherin wasn't sure that she wanted to include it in her story. Herod usually had two identities. A public one and a private one. If she was serious about using her abilities to help people she was going to have to come up with an identity. Something that would identify her hero side, but she also wanted to maintain her normal life. She wouldn't want anyone revealing that hero identity and her personal identity was one and the same. Katherin didn't imagine the other heroes would feel any differently. That information would never appear in her articles. She waited to see how the teen would handle Abaddon's challenge.

Lass

---

The man introduced himself as Abaddon. Lass memorized the name. He looked at the other people there and saw one that seemed to be keeping eye on them, he didn't like the lady. She was too suspicious and seemed like wanted something from him or the others. Information perhaps? Though, his line of thought broke after Abaddon spoke "... see if you can find me..." Then was about to go away "W-Wait!!!" black vine-like things rose on the shadows and headed straight to where Abaddon was, but it hit nothing "Gah...!" It seems he was serious about making Lass find him. Then he ran to the direction where he saw Abaddon was facing before camouflaging, but he thought of doing something else first "... I don't like you." It's not like he liked anyone else before anyway. He made a hand rose from the lady's shadow and now was about to grab her 'Hope it successfully does.' he smirked before falling to his own shadow and disappearing.

Lass appeared at another shadow then started to find Abaddon "Where is that guy?" he wasn't even given clues, it'll be finding a needle in a haystack "GAAAAH!!" he's quite frustrated. Black vines rose on the shadows and headed straight to walls in an attempt to hit something, he continuously did that as he ran. 'He shouldn't be too far right...? he kept his senses keen while using his powers to locate Abaddon. Then the idea of Abaddon tricking him came to his mind, but he threw the thought away. He didn't seem like one that would just trick him like that. "I hope..." Lass had passed on a grate, but returned "I wonder if he's underground...?" but wild guesses are usually wrong. Still, he doesn't know anything about the guy. The only powers that he have seen him use is control over tendrils or something like that. Lass moved on and continued to search around alleys and such, but this time, he's been sending some dark vines to the grates.

(... Sorry.. Please ignore this post..)

(... Please ignore this post as well.. Accidentally posted more..)

"Well I don't like you either." Katherin said to the teen. Sheesh she hadn't done anything. Katherin considered following them but was pretty sure she couldn't keep up. That left her with the question of what to do now . It looked like the action had moved else where. She might as well make her way back to her car. See if there was anything interesting on the scanner.

Abaddon waited patiently in the darkness of the sewers. He knew that Lass was inexperienced at best despite having tremendous potential with umbrakinesis, but had a feeling he'd eventually catch on. Abaddon was attuned to darkness as well, having absorbed the knowledge of forbidden spells. He too left a trail of darkness that could be detected by those like Lass and other magic users, provided they were skilled or focused enough to detect it.

"A protégé.... could be an interesting prospect... today's metas need to discard that mantle of virtue and take up viciousness and mercilessness to deal with the scum of society. But how much will this kid listen? He's killed the innocent before, he'll be bound to long for that again... what's more, if I do take him under my wing..."

"#How long until he feels the urge to betray us?"

Lass

---

Lass had been running for a while now and has already broken plenty of the grates. The sequence of using his power had made him feel a little bit tired than before "It's the first time that I used this much in just minutes." he sighed then continued on his path. Then all of a sudden, he sensed something "What is that?" he never felt it before, but something about it is familiar. He focused his senses on it, then did something new to him "... I can see a trail..." he mumbled as he got near.

Crouching, he touch the dark essence that he felt and found that it continued below "So he was in the sewers after all." then he looked inside and soon was atop another shadow, though this time, there's darkness everywhere. Only the grates lighted the underground "Well, this is an advantage for me." then he ran on the trail while making waves of darkness in front of him. He ran for a while, the trail seemed endless. But as more time passed, he suddenly felt a stronger presence.

"There's no one..." but something was amiss. He's still feeling that unknown sensation from earlier, but stronger. Lass walked towards the source of the feeling. It was vague, but it was just at a spot, the feeling that is. "... I got you!" then he leaped towards the wall. He also made dark hands that are now heading towards his target. He wasn't sure, but it seemed like there was something there.

"Well done," Abaddon hissed. However, his voice could be heard directly behind Lass. He smelled and felt his arrival as soon as he had arrived. The reason why Lass had felt a strong presence in the direction he had thrown the shadow fists was because Abaddon had been there for quite a while, allowing the "dark aura" of his to build up and linger there even after he left the spot.

"So you've even troubled yourself to find us even without general clues... tell us, why do you seek us?"

Lass

---

He hit nothing, there wasn't anyone on the spot. Lass was bewildered. What was the feeling he sensed then? But a voice emerged behind him "Well done," it said. Turning around, there Abaddon stood "You...?!" then that's when he felt the sensation again, it was coming from Abaddon. But then, why wasn't he on the place where Lass attacked earlier? Another impressive thing he had done to make Lass feel like doing what he had thought to do earlier.

Abaddon asked him a question. Why did he try to look for him? Why did he accept the challenge? He heard him mention 'learn' when the challenge was declared. It was when it hit him that he was being invited, that's what he thought. "I wanted to learn from you." he straightforwardly answered, "I saw your power. Something about you seemed... different." he added.

Deadend watched analytically as the bullet wounds healed on the boy's body. He came to the conclusion that firearms would be useless against the boy. To his pleasant surprise he watched as the boy lost control and attacked the light-wielder, brilliant, berserk metas were easy to handle. Reaching his hand back to his belt, he drew his Bo Staff. He extended it and activated the electricity, sparks and crackles of blue electricity came from each end. He watched as the girl futilely attempted to bring her ally to his senses. Carefully he came behind her and brought down the tip of his staff aimed at her back, if it hit, he would have to dodge the attack of the boy immediately. It was obvious the two had some kind of emotional connection, and connections like those tend to make people do stupid things, and people doing stupid things is what made Eddy's job a whole hell of a lot easier.

Abaddon began walking towards Lass like a hunting predator, claws scraping along the ground.

"But will you be willing to embrace what I teach you? You are guilty of shedding innocent blood for no other reason than mere entertainment. We know this. Give us a reason why we shouldn't eviscerate you..."

The time for combative gauging had begun. Abaddon lashed out to tendrils towards Lass. They weren't meant to cause any serious harm, but they would hurt if they made their mark. Abaddon began to prepare for a counterattack, something he was eager to do. It had been long since he had fought against an umbramancer, nearly two years since he had killed the umbra and photokinetic heroine. Abaddon had learned much during that battle, and he had learned how to use his tendrils and symbiote to combat against shadows and light to the point where he rarely needed to use his forbidden abilities to aid himself.

Lass

---

He started walking towards Lass, something had changed. He now had now an aura of someone heading to battle. Lass readied himself to use his powers if he was suddenly attacked. Abaddon spoke, questioning him "But will you be willing to embrace what I teach you? You are guilty of shedding innocent blood for no other reason than mere entertainment. We know this. Give us a reason why we shouldn't eviscerate you..." then he sent tendrils to Lass. It was just as he expected. Quickly, he sank into the shadows "Do not talk like you don't kill." then he reappeared behind his opponent with daggers in his hands "You don't even know anything about me!" He slashed towards Abaddon. Vines had also been summoned left and right, and now they were heading towards him.

The tendrils on Abaddon back lashed backwards in an attempt to knock Lass away. They had enough force to send him flying back a few feet, but again, were not meant to wound grievously or impale.

"So tell us about yourself then. Why do you do what you do? For a greater purpose? Entertainment? We can teach you to do both...."

"#Teach you how to harness the hatred and anger inside of you. We feel it, we smell it. Sadness, anger, hate..."

"Kill in the name of vengeance, and merely terrorize those in guilt but undeserving of capital punishment... that is the first thing you must understand. We kill in the worst ways possible and enjoy doing it, but only those we feel deserve it..."

Abaddon sensed the vines of shadow coming for him. Predicted. Shadowbenders loved to attack from all directions, but Abaddon could produce just as many tendrils from himself to fend them off. He did so.

Lass

---

He didn't think of the tendrils changing direction. Lass went flying towards a wall, but he just got absorbed by the shadow. As Abaddon continued his speech, the shadow manipulator kept himself hidden. He has been getting lectured for a while now, questions flying towards him. Then he rose beside Abaddon "It's none of your business!" he shouted as he sent a mallet towards his enemy and disappeared once more, changing the carrier of the mallet into a hand of shadow.

Abaddon had been talking like he knows everything about Lass, it irritated him. What does he know about what he went through? What does he know about what he feels? "You don't even feel what I've been going through!" Reappearing in front of him, he now has a giant blade, thrusting it towards him. "What could someone like you know about the sufferings that I experienced?" Spikes were created above Abaddon as well. Lass sent them down as he pushed the blade forward.

Abaddon snarled as he was hit by Lass's first shadow construct, flying backwards but managing to land and cling to a sewer wall. Tricky kid, slamming him against walls won't work as effectively.

"Then I'll say it again, tell us what you've supposedly suffer."

Abaddon said as he formed a blade from his arm to parry the shadow blade Lass had thrust towards him. Abaddon then proceeded to slam the back of the blade against Lass, speaking as he did so.

Lass

---

Lass gagged after taking the hit, the blade vanishing from his hand. "Then I'll say it again, tell us what you've supposedly suffer." asked Abaddon once more, but he refused to tell him. "If told you, what would happen? Nothing." He made two swords rise on the ground and took hold of it "I don't want to waste my energy saying unnecessary things!" Hands made of dark matter emerged behind Abaddon and went ahead to try and tangle him. As the shadows did so, Lass launched his blades towards the person in front.