[IC] Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

[Gardevoiran]

Oh...

Mastar's face simply shrunk down into an embarrassed frown when Inkscape spoke to her directly and congratulated her on her work today. Ok, so maybe she did want to be a Ward, but the issue was her parents. She really hoped that nobody heard that. She had a reputation to maintain with her facade as of current, and sacrificing that too early would be annoying to Mastar at best.

The hero walked out of the convention center, a tarry scarf covering her face. Several reporters swarmed around the woman, but she didn't want to talk at the moment, simply moving through them fluidly with her power being as it is. All she wanted to do was to go find Ryan and get back to her home. Maybe, just maybe, she could convince her mom to let her join the Wards. Worst case scenario, she had today to draw upon as evidence. No doubt that footage of today leaked out onto Parahumans Online.

Later that day

"M-mom?" Kendall poked their head into their parents bedroom, with their hair the standard salmon color it normally was and the costume and persona they were using earlier was off. They were wearing a large shirt and pajama bottoms as her bedtime clothes, not caring to even put on a pair of socks. It was their home, nobody cared.

Kendall's mom, however, was still very much dressed. Her clothes were the business suit she wore earlier that day, a dark gray dress matching the blazer she wore. She normally would still be at work, but due to the events that transpired at the convention center, her office closed early. Everyone was urged to see if their family and loved ones were okay. Ryan and Kendall were technically the loved ones for Mrs. Banks, so it was only natural for her to go and express worry for the kids. Nevertheless, she patted the bed as a way to invite Kendall to sit with her. "Yes, pumpkin?"

Kendall hopped up onto the bed and looked at their mom. They hesitated a little bit, but finally spoke up. "Mom... I want to join the Protectorate."

"Kendall, we've been over this. That's dangerous business, being one of their Wards. With Sonar being removed from the roster to their recent failure at that Warehouse, why would you want to be a Ward? It'd only bring you down."

"Because they're great!" Kendall practically shouted the statement, being dead serious as well. "Didn't you see the news reports?! The day was saved! Sure, they needed help, but who doesn't in times like that?!" Kendall eagerly raised their hands up to their face, the clenched hands emphasizing how excited and adamant they were.

"Kendall, you're still... young! Free! You don't need a job now, especially not one as dangerous as that one!" Kendall's mom placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Can you even imagine what would happen if you were put in a terrible situation?!"

Kendall's face split in half, then reformed into the single structure it normally was. "I'm tough! I can take beatings that nobody else can even fathom taking!" Kendall's head trailed down her back before finding it's way back up to where it normally was. "Tiger Lily isn't even strong enough to take some of the hits I can take!"

Kendall's mom stared at her child before scowling at her. "There's something you're not telling me... Mastar."

Kendall panicked for a moment before sighing. "... yeah... I guess it is obvious, huh." Kendall fell forward onto their mother's lap face-first before simply groaning for a few seconds, finally looking back up. "Dad knows too...?"

"Oh, baby, he was the one who follows all this hero nonsense. He's a nut for it, you know that."

"... am I grounded..."

"No. In fact, I think we're going to go visit the Protectorate tomorrow."

Kendall shot back up into a sitting position. "R-really?! Why'd you play around with all that other stuff, then?!" The teen was definitely curious why their mom played with them about this nonsense. It didn't make much sense to them.

"Well, if you were mature enough to admit you were Mastar, then you're ready to become a Ward in my eyes. I just wanted to make sure that the girl running around busting up crime alone knew who they were all along."

"... dad convinced you finally, didn't he?"

"Maybe. You're still joining the Wards anyway." Kendall's mom booped her kid's nose as she pulled them in for a hug, squeezing them tightly and holding them close as she turned on the TV. "Care to watch some CSI with me, Kendy? I've been meaning to catch up."

"Of course! I would love to!"

---

Truly Mad

Farce looked at Mantis, who was holding Lethal Force's vial of liquid powers. Sparce had stopped talking at this point in Farce's mind, so it was no good prying at her inner dialogue trying to figure out what to do to convince him of what's happening in the twins life (lives?). She looked up at her leader with stressed eyes. "I-I'll explain what they do later... right now, we need to go home... I-I have a migraine..."

Well, maybe she didn't have one, but with Sparce's reluctance and disagreement, she definitely did have something going on in there that wasn't good. Maybe he was giving her a headache. Maybe she was up for too long? She couldn't tell or remember. She just wanted to sleep, really, was all. Sleep away the pain and stress.

---

Heading to the Hospital

Everything was over. The hostages were saved, the heroes survived the onslaught, and everyone could go on fighting. That's what Kyoshi strived for. She should be happy.

But the reality of it was, this wasn't what she wanted. Not entirely.

She loved helping people, it was normal, but this life she was living. As a hero full-time. It was taxing and crazy. She didn't doubt it was a fun time indeed, but she didn't necessarily like having to live this life all the time. She was glad she was going to Nick in a few days, this was exhausting and crazy. She was always happy to lend a hand, but this often was... tiring.

She was lifted into the ambulance by the emergency response team. Of course, G4M3R accompanied the girl to the hospital, he was in worse condition than she was. Hopefully, he'd be able to continue streaming after all this is over. He's not cut out for much more pain like this.

... maybe she needed a manager. Sure, they probably have one set for Kyoshi when she got to her destination, but maybe G4M3R could come with her. Get out of the spotlight. Relax for once. He needed it more than she did.

[PlatinumSkink]

Creep

Sheila Hopkins

Villain’s Meeting
Visible
Replying to Jason

---

Sheila saw the one who had provided his funds to her vial approach her. No doubt coming to make some form of statement about his investment. Creep stayed motionless, letting him speak.

… No debt, he says, huh. While it could all be a game, that was a relief. He told to be smarter than Ceramix, which she really hoped she could be, and then offered his help, though currently Sheila had no idea if she actually could use his help for something. Possibly to get the Rockers to listen to her, but would it not wrong to have an enforcer from a rival team next to her while trying to convince them she was on their side? No, that wouldn’t do. Besides, he said it would be for advice. Okay. She’d freely admit she might have need of advice, even if it was possible this man had ulterior motives behind them. She’d just have to trust herself to see it when the time came. Having a contact of some sort… would be helpful.

‘… Alright,’ Creep started, her tone more accepting, turning her head somewhat towards him. ‘Give me a means to contact you, and I’ll use it should I see reason to,’ she said, trying to carefully word it so she didn’t sound weak while also not sounding arrogant. She wasn’t sure she had succeeded. ‘I appreciate it,’ she added, due to her unsurety, but immediately had to wonder if that was too much. Still, at that point, she decided she has said enough. She still didn't know his name.

Sheila had noted Swarm looking at her, through her power. She really hoped it was just slight annoyance at losing the vial that would eventually calm, that the current events of them matching the Community would occupy his time…

Edit, updated with info from @Old Amsterdam;

The guy nodded to her, before handing her a business card with a phone number on it, as well as the name "Thunderbolt" written in fancy letters… Hah, villains have business-cards? Suppose Sheila would have to do something about her reluctance to walk around with a cell phone on her in the future. Imagining herself giving a business card… It looked ridiculous. … Thunderbolt, huh. Mildly intimidated, Creep turned and nodded to Thunderbolt in turn while putting the card into her coat, before he turned and walked off, back to his own.

… It felt strange, to have such an almost civil interaction with another villain. She supposed there had to be such interactions of cooperation and partnerships, or their organizations wouldn't be as troublesome to eliminate, huh…

[LemonZest1337]

Thank goodness Outsider was alright. Though Silvia wasn't sure how the two separate bodies worked, she understood that it meant he was completely fine. "I'm glad you're ok." Silvia said with a smile, though her expression changed when Outsider pat her shoulder. She was caught of guard, though she really shouldn't have her guard up at this point regardless the Rockers were captured and the threat was dealt with. After a brief pause to collect herself Silvia turned around to look at the rest of the heroes. A few were really badly hurt, and Shatterpoint was still screaming. Ceramix insisted that his music would calm Shatterpoint down. So the hideous music started playing, it sounded like someone was playing a broken instrument while trying to eat a microphone. And somehow this "song" soothed Shatterpoint is some capacity, personal preference was a strange thing sometimes.

With everything being done now, Inkscape made his way around the room commending everyone. And when it came Silvia's turn she couldn't wipe the smile off her face, while she though she could have probably been more useful she was more than happy to accept a little pat on the back. Though Silvia was still vexed by the though of the encroaching news, she was horrible with questions, and while she did have the option of just deflecting everything onto the higher ups in the protectorate she would rather just avoid the cameras and journalists altogether.

But before she was able to come up with a proper plan of attack the press had already arrived. Silvia was about to panic, she had no idea just how stressful being involved in a full on fight was. Let alone the worry of answering a bunch of questions after it. She was going to hide. It wasn't an amazing plan or an easy one considering how much space she took up but it was the only real plan she had at the moment. So like the professional she was, Silvia ran off to hide in the toilets.

[yoshua171]

Chatterbox

Theme

---

Quite pleased that he'd have a chance to brainwash and interrogate someone in the coming hours, Chatterbox helped Headhunter relocate the villain, humming cheerfully as he did so. He had little else to add to the meeting, so when he had finished helping, he'd simply take a cigarette outside the diner and wait for things to wrap up before heading back with the others. It didn't pay to be caught out and he wasn't quite ready to head home or out for work.

All in all this had been an interesting, eventful, and beneficial night.

---

Evelyn Chambers – Tulpa

---

Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Evelyn finally relaxed. The threats were entirely neutralized, Ceramix and Shatterpoint utterly powerless. A smile began twisting her lips and then she registered the screams and the pleading and the sobbing. The smile fell away, replaced by a flat line of annoyance. She kept her mouth shut, letting the others take care of it. It was handled, but the music that helped Shatterpoint was almost more grating on her nerves than his screams had been.

Is a villain really worth the consideration? Are they even worth the air?

The thought went through her head so fast and so in tune with her own mood that she almost didn't notice how unlike her it was. She went rigid, and it just so happened to be the momeny that Inkscape came over her way and admonished her before otherwise congratulating her performance. The annoyance mounted, but the presence of an authority figure, one who she had idolized for many years, pushed that emotion into the back of her mind, shelving it. Unfortunately, it also stopped her from paying attention to the strange thought she'd had.

"Th-thank you Inkscape, I will keep that in mind!" She saluted...then gave him a bow, unsure which was most appropriate. She only rose once he'd moved on. Staring at his 'back', she swallowed hard before turning her attention elsewhere. Almost absently she noticed that the fear she'd had of her projection was...less now. Being in control had helped. It responding properly had helped. She felt a little better. Besides, she'd even discovered some new things about her power!

The smile came back and this time it stayed. A good thing too because soon afterwards the media rushed in and closed on them like a hungry tide. She ate up the attention eagerly, responding to questions as professionally as she could manage. That was to say that she looked confident and comfortable in the spotlight. It was to say that she lingered on the questions that highlighted her achievements and the teamwork of those present.

Her responses would probably end up making everyone look good. Of course, that was not to say that it was perfect. Some viewers would see her enthusiasm and cheer in the wake of a serious incident as inappropriate, they would see her as a child who had no real comprehension of the issues that the attack represented.

Certainly there would be plenty of dissenting voices on Parahumans Online. Luckily they would not go uncontested!

---

Outsider

---

Though he was glad to be recognized for his contributions, the conflict, in light of G4M3R's injuries, had left a bad taste in his mouth. There was a dark caste to his emotions even as they slowly slid away from his awareness, making him distant, but leaving him faintly on edge. It was almost worse than normal and so when the abulance departed, he managed to find a way through the crowd, after which he transformed and followed after the vehicle. He'd make sure the man was made suitably comfortable, that both of his former teammates were taken care of before he headed home.

He had some things to take care of, but aside from that, he really just wanted to eat and sleep. Maybe a chat with his sister would help...probably not as much as he'd like though.

Mentally, he sighed. Sometimes it was rough being a hero.

[Crusader Lord]

Surprising Machinations

A Collab Between @Old Amsterdam and @Crusader Lord

---

The Collab

Chris watched the girl move forward, a bit of shock still reeling through his body at the scene before her suggestion clicked in his mind. "Y-yeah..." he muttered, sending his two mini-me's to check around the building before a series of crashes overrode the sounds of the civilians.

Outside his minions could see a body hitting the pavement from the second floor, and what looked like smoke from further down the street coming their direction.

"We've got incoming.... Something? And I think the person doing this is upstairs..."

Something incoming? And something upstairs?! This wasn't exactly a good thing, at least if whatever was coming and the thing upstairs were related. In this city, that was a potential thing in her mind. She wasn't numb to the scene and wanted to help, but she'd seen far worse, much worse even in the past. Nothing much could compare to an Endbringer attack, and walking about its aftermath. All the bodies and such littered about....even your own corpse. It almost made her shiver thinking about it, but focusing on the task at hand was keeping her head on straight.

Having potentially no time to waste depending on how things went, Phantom sprung into action. Avoiding stepping on the bodies and still living people in the bar, she ran for the stairs. Her Mover ability made it easier to get about the obstacles, allowing her to move herself about with the aim of getting to the second floor. If she could, then maybe....just maybe she could catch the perpetrator in range.

'Come on! I have to get up there fast! Phantom thought to herself as she ran, drops of sweat forming on her forehead.

Chris, meanwhile, hesitated. Torn between investigating that odd smoke and helping that girl as she dashed towards the, well it seemed like the more immediate problem?

He really wasn't cut out for fighting...

He set off after her towards the stairs, bringing one of his familiars with him, cautiously.

Upstairs was, arguably, a larger disaster than downstairs. There was blood, and a lot of it, and standing in the midst of it all was a woman in a white leotard with blue lines, a white and blue striped bandana covering her face. As she turned to look at the Intruders, they saw a white eye mask surrounded strikingly vibrant blue eyes against blond hair, and that the blue line separated to flow around her ribs.

"Leave." The command was softly spoken, but there was a noticeable edge to the otherwise fluid voice.

Initializing: Field Deployed

Considering the situation, Phantom felt sure this scene was not a total misunderstanding, though chances were always there as her mentor had noted in the past. However, being asked to leave in a soft and fluid, yet sharp-edged, voice was also a warning bell that rang off in her head about both the opponent and the situation. Something had gone down, maybe as a string of things having gone down, and this was the only lead she had right now.

She could not pass that up, so immediately after the individual spoke to her she deployed her field. 100 meters around.

Target Selected: "Clumping" Process Initiated

If she could just get this individual within her field, she would start "clumping" them right away. Inhibit them, maybe stop their powers if....well, this person had blown off the front of this bar and such all themselves anywho. Better safe than sorry, and it seemed the person here did not want to talk either based on first impressions.

Chris stayed back, unsure what to do and unwilling to take the initiative.

With a flick of her wrist, the woman sent a wall of air across the room, solidly impacting against the duo.

"Leave or die."

"Eh, new guy. If i die here, don't worry bout' it. I'll....well, i'll be back."

The target was within her field. The clumping process had begun. It was time.

Initialize: "Clumping" Selected Target

She focused her power entirely on "clumping" this strange woman as quickly as she could, just before she burst forward toward the woman at top speed. That burst of wind had hit them solidly, and with minimal effort to generate it so it seemed, she herself barely able to stay on her feet as a result and hold steady. If that power could be reduced, she could...yes, she could do something. If that power was clumped enough, if she could get in a blow, that might help her get in a blow. Death threats? She felt they were genuine, but....dying was one thing she already knew about. Personally.

She had no idea if she'd "respawn" again as it were, but she had reassured the new guy simply out of habit....to try to make things sound ok even if they got bad. If she died for good here, she would die swinging at least.....trying to stop an outright murderer. Not that certain thoughts weren't trying to already press their way into her head as she did all of this..

Chris, at this point, was wishing he had abilities better suited for combat...

The woman's face furrowed ever so slightly at the odd clumps of moisture building on her before she projected a whirl of wind centered on her skin moving out, the edges whistling as a piece of Phantom's bodysuit turned red from a shallow cut.

"You dare attempt to stand in my way?" the woman asked disdainfully, her a raised eyebrow, picking up a handgun from the body at her feet. "Do you not know who I am, little children?"

"I don't know. Maybe an escaped clown from the local asylum, or maybe a psycho blonde with an ego trip cause she didn't get to be prom queen," Phantom said, a cocky and cheeky smirk covering her face despite the bleeding, though her power was still even now focused on clumping up her opponent. Any amount of bought time would do, "You could always enlighten us with your name, oh great one!"

She had no idea what was approaching, and this woman seemed very able to cut into her like paper mache. But if she could keep the attention off of the newbie here, maybe she could at least keep him in one piece. Didn't seem to have combat powers himself anyways, based on his actions. Christian herself was standing distinctly closer to the woman than the other guy at least. Not that this was a good thing. But letting this woman go was another potential mistake as well, if she had done this and had any clues as to what was going on.

Mentally she was gritting her teeth at this situation, visibly appeared outwardly with the same cheeky smirk otherwise.

'If you ever face death again, do so with a smile, Christian.'

The last words her mentor told her before she left to come here. Heh. Hopefully they wouldn't apply right now, but regardless she wasn't going to settle into those thoughts until it happened.

The air around the woman died down some as the Trump effect began to make headway. In return she raised the handgun and took aim.

"I'm done with you." The words were calm, just as she was. Powers or not, these two-cent heroes wouldn't stop her.

As her finger squeezed the trigger she pointed it past Phantom suddenly, eyes narrowing.

There was a thud from the stairway, before a body collided with Chris. Instinctually he swapped with his closest familiar, which was on the other side of Phantom, before the man started bleeding all over the floor, a gas mask in shambles over his face.

"Sonika!" a muffled yell came from the other side of the door before another man entered, wearing a two-piece gas mask and lab coat.

Sonika? And who had she shot instead of them that was so dang important to what was going on right now he took greater priority? And who in the hell was this other man who came in with a gas mask and lab coat on his person? Were any of these guys part of the approaching thing that was coming towards them? Were they this woman's lackeys? Regardless, Phantom kept up her clumping effect on this "Sonika", hoping to further impede her movements....especially with that gun in hand too. And that was beyond just trying to stop up her powers at this venture.

"....Ok, what is going on here?" Phantom said aloud as she looked at the situation, wondering just what was going on that had caused this bar to be blown up, and this woman to be here, and this bodycount to happen, and these two guys (one now dead) to be wearing gas masks like this and such. Seriously, this was getting odd and more suspicious beyond just a potential robbery or such gone very, very south or such things.

"You psycho bitch, this means war." The man clenched his fists, moving his mask as he breathed in.

Sonika immediately reacted, moving to create an air barrier before her brow furrowed in anger. "Release my powers or we all die."

At that moment, the man blew out, a noxious smelling green gas pouring forth from his mouth.

So potentially get shot, or all of them more likely to die from potentially whatever this gas was?

'Damn it'

In a heartbeat Phantom released the wind user from the effects of her "clumping", instead now directing her efforts at the poison gas guy entirely. A small grimace was on her face as she did it, not wanting to let this killer get loose but also not wanting to get everyone here killed. Herself? That was fine, it....wasn't much of a loss at all. But this newbie didn't deserve to die like this, and not so soon. She was just about ready to let loose a torrent of swears, if it were not for her current focus and the gritted teeth begin that grimace of hers. This was all devolving so fast, not that it was unexpected, it was just that the manner of doing so this time was....frustrating.

In an instant Sonika shot from the room, firing shots at the man that never made it through the green gas, before disappearing from sight.

As the Trump dampening effect began to affect him, he opened his lab coat to display a dozen different odd vials and grenades. "I'll give you 10 seconds to explain what the fuck you were doing with her on Purge's territory," he growled, slipping a finger around a grenade pin.

This day was just getting longer and longer, wasn't it?

Phantom felt like she could scream at the current state of things. First a woman had cut her with a shallow cut, which even now was bleeding onto her uniform. Bar exploded. Lot of dead and wounded people. And now this, an asshole with a gas mask and vials who was asking a random as hell question with a finger on a grenade pin. She had to speak fast, but even then things might not work out so well.

"Honestly, the building here exploded and we came to investigate Then that asshole attacked us, and now you're here," the independent cape said aloud, keeping in the 10 second timeframe as neatly as she could.

If needed her powers would keep this man from moving as fast. Maybe enough time to stop him from throwing the grenade if he pulled the pin. In fact, that was part of her focus in clumping him. If he tried to pull that pin, he wasn't getting to throw that thing at least. It might, then, be enough of a stall for her to tackle the newbie down. It was only a few stairs, not enough to break a neck or such, but getting out of the main blast radius of a grenade was always an idea at least.

"Consider yourselves lucky, then. Go about your business before you find real trouble."

[Lugubrious]

Just after the Margrave's arrival among his fellows, something of a scene erupted not too far away. One of the major villains apprehended by the capes appeared to be in some distress, some sort of critical anxiety about the method by which he'd been captured causing his composure to melt and leaving a gibbering mess in its wake. To the toymaker's disappointment, the senior heroes did not so much as hesitate to lend him a hand. Now I've seen it all—capes coddling a killer. It must be some cosmic joke to have given such power and status to such fools. For his crimes that man deserves worse.

The Margrave's emphatic smirk, borne of a job not only well done but one acknowledged by a superior as such, persisted for a few moments before it s leftmost edge began to twitch. Though mere feet away from him and surely in range of his smug commendations, neither Alessa nor Lillian nor Tulpa, nor anybody else other than Inkscape with his no-doubt canned words of congratulations, so much as acknowledged his existence, let alone his words. Furthermore, a couple of his fellow Wards seemed to be communicating in a semi-intimate fashion, totally uncaring of the Margrave's proximity. For a few moments the toymaker's mouth hung open a bit, a stream of words washing through his mind in a furious torrent. Was it because he hadn't taken an active role in taking down the pitiful curmudgeons? Because he didn't throw himself at the wounded Wards in an overt display of sympathy and goody-two-shoes team spirit? Or was it because he was, simply, the Margrave? After a brief time, his jaw clamped shut, lips pressing together as his eyebrows furrowed. “As if the inimitable, invisible overlord that is me needed -or even wanted!- so much as a gaze from one of these self-absorbed cretins,” he growled under his breath, turning his back.

With the incident resolved, and in a manner that glorified the heroes so thoroughly, the public did not hesitate to swarm the convention building and its tights-wearing defenders. Citizen and press alike converged on the capes and Wards, smothering them in questions and requests. Through the human flood Elliot made his way, not even bothering to pull down his cap. No bright smiles met him, no desires for autographs confronted him, and no questions stymied his unremarkable advance. After a couple moments he cleared the thick of the crowd and walked free, hands in his pockets. This is my fate, he repeated in his mind as he headed for the Wards' van. This is my curse.

[solokolos]

James

Inkscape's stern warning reminded James his role here, taking the action he did was foolhearty. If there was an aspect of Shatterpoint's power yet undiscovered, if it perceived the future in some nature, he would've been seriously injured. James stopped the mental spiral with a quick exhale, letting the situation play out around him. Once Ceramix was captured, the hostages safe, he removed himself from the containment foam. The tongue lashing awaited him, but he shelved his worry. James approached Inkscape of his own accord, his posture steady, but something about his body language giving it away. Motioning towards the door, the signal was clear that he wanted to walk out with Inkscape. He regretted his rash decision, and was ready for the inevitable reprimand, but didn't expect it immediately.

Epsilon

The corner seemed like a great place for Epsilon, as she tried not to panic. The situation seemed momentarily resolved before Ceramix took drastic action. Hostages were involved now, and the frown Epsilon formed stayed that way as it played out. Just when the situation seemed lost, Inkscape intervened and saved the last of the hostages. Shatterpoint was still panicking, something very painful watch/listen to. That also got slowly resolved, and Inkscape started thanking people for their effort. Epsilon avoided eye contact, and stayed silent. She was Master infected, and she didn't know if it could spread. She felt so out of control, so helpless, it was-it was the situation with Chatterbox all over again.

The Visage

The ride back to the Rocker HQ was uneventful, Visage didn't even mind that the taxi stunk of cigarettes. The PRT was becoming less and less of a threat with every employee that saw her eyes. It wasn't quite enough for her to stop being patient, but it was a confidence boost. "Not like you need it." A giggle escaped her lips, drawing the cabi's eyes up to the rear view mirror. Visage didn't explain herself, she just kept looking out the window, not truly seeing the sights.

The driver slowed to a stop, looking a bit confused. "This is a pretty bad neighborhood, you do know that?" His accent was very thick, sounded like he hailed from roundabouts Virginia.

"I can take of myself just fine," Visage said, pulling out her wallet from her purse, and handing over the exorbitant fee. Opening the door, she slipped the wallet back into her purse. Visage started walking, quickly finding her way back into the Rocker's headquarters.

The few goons that were present paid her no mind, her power putting the mask on her face that she was too lazy to actually wear. She found herself at the room with Shatterpoint's laptop, and waited in the doorway. Quickly, she recalled a node that she had recently set, an officer on scene at the charity event. She stole his eyes for a moment, and got a clear image of how bad it was going for the bosses. Shrugging, she sat down at Shatterpoint's laptop, propping her legs up, and disconnecting the headphones before placing them over her ears. A smile was stuck to her face.

[BCTheEntity]

Alessa Heather: Charity Fundraiser

(Post includes contributions from @Old Amsterdam.)

Alessa nodded to Inkscape’s response and his move over to Mastar, smiling to herself just a little. That was, she imagined, a good start to a new version of herself. Equally, though she tried to block out the cacophony of Ceramix’s, ahem, “music”, she was quite glad that it was helping the man sobbing to himself within the glob of containment foam to recover his senses... but damn, how long would they have to keep him in that stuff for? They couldn’t exactly restrain him forever, but nothing less than the containment foam would suffice to hold him, considering his ability... ah, but Epsilon could create machines to nullify powers! No problem, then.

And even better, it seemed like Lillian was already recovering! No need for medical help, then; as Lillian leant against her, Alessa stroked her hair, murmuring kind words into her ear as if to offer further balming for the shock she’d suffered. It might be pertinent to propose some form of check-up later on, though. And with where Lillian was looking... had anyone said anything to Margrave yet? She was sure Inkscape had congratulated him on the part he’d played in saving civilians; if not, then she certainly would.

He didn’t seem pleased with not receiving any attention immediately. Scratch that, she was going to go and talk to him now, before he got the wrong idea- and too late, for the media started swarming in before she could so much as move in his direction, and very rapidly converged around her and Lillian, not to mention most of her other teammates. The flood of questions started professional: ‘How on earth did you defeat two prolific capes so readily?’, ‘Was it fate that brought everybody here?’, ‘What part did you play in taking down these villainous fiends?’, ‘Is the mask going to become a permanent part of your ensemble, Messiah?’, and so on, to which both she and Tiger Lily responded professionally, redirecting questions toward Inkscape accordingly.

Then they started getting personal. ‘Are you and Tiger Lily dating, Messiah?’ She hadn’t honestly expected that, and she stuttered as her brain tried to come up with an answer. Here Lillian jumped in with a slight nod of her head. Before they could say anything, however, the press started to flood in again: ‘How long have you two been going out for?’, ‘What’s it like dating someone two years younger than you?’, ‘Are you lesbians, and what do you have to say to the homosexual community if so?’, ‘What on earth do you think most Americans are going to think of you for this?’ Coming up with an answer to each and every question simultaneously was not something Alessa could do, and so she was frozen for quite a while, though she couldn’t help but realise that a degree of anger was starting to build up.

The moment somebody asked about their sex life was the moment that anger peaked, but after a second of surprised hesitation, Lily managed to speak before she could, her words pointed and stiff, but respectful in tone: “Last I checked it was considered pedophilia to involve minors in sexual conduct, Sir. Furthermore, our personal lives are off-limits, thankyouverymuch, and I believe the Youth Guard would very much agree.” Alessa couldn’t help but notice Lillian’s grip tightening on her hand, and so she squeezed back, forcing herself to deliver her next sentence with the same professionalism as before, albeit much cooler than before.

‘As Tiger Lily has stated, and with all due respect, our personal lives are not the media’s business. I have no further comments to offer to any of you, and I’d appreciate not being asked any further questions on the matter.’ That, she imagined, was probably the best response she could give, which was what mattered here; with that, she began encouraging her teammate to start walking with her toward one of the more established heroes, a sort of social protection.

It was belatedly that she realised Margrave had disappeared entirely, and far too late to try and seek him out. Later, then.

[ProPro]

Wards and Other Heroes: Charity Event Aftermath

@Old Amsterdam@Gardevoiran@Lugubrious@solokolos@yoshua171@BCTheEntity@LemonZest1337

Thus the charity event came to an early close, merely three hours after it had begun. What was to be a festivity lasting well into the night to raise money for crime fighting ended mid-morning and would now cost hundreds of thousands in repairs. The media jumped on the opportunity, questioning absolutely anybody within their reach. For the most part, the reporters were handled directly by Inkscape, who took his responsibility as Protectorate leader very seriously. His fellow senior heroes remained on site, while the newly recruited junior Protectorates, and the Wards, were made able to get through the crowds and return to headquarters or home, whichever they had preferred. No doubt the Wards' parents would be wanting to bond with their children after such an event. Of course, one of the teen heroes was denied the possibility of going home: Epsilon. She was to be escorted back to headquarters under both master and stranger security protocols.

Hermes in particular was given an additional statement beyond the simple "you're excused." Inkscape's orders were quite clear on the matter: until they had such an opportunity to debrief, he was not to engage in any hero activities. The little rebellion against orders that had set the scene for Ceramix to take hostages would not easily be forgotten, it would seem. Furnace gave his condolences, shaking the teleporter's hand. What nobody else could have seen was the note he had slipped Hermes.

Let's meet at 6745 W Colfax after I deal with reporters. A mutual friend told me to help you.

Meanwhile, Shatterpoint and Ceramix had been loaded up into PRT transport vehicles and removed from the scene. Ceramix had been apprehended twice before, making this his third strike. Add in the hostage situation, and it was all but a done deal that he would be deposited into the Birdcage, never to come back. Shatterpoint's fate was less clear. He had never threatened anybody's life, was on his first strike, and by all accounts only seemed to be following orders, which was a great recipe for a plea deal. Of course, he was far more threatening than his boss, so perhaps it all came up to whomever was the presiding judge for his case.

No matter how you looked at it, everyone had had enough action for one day, yet the day was only half done. What would come next? Perhaps some rest and relaxation? They'd all certainly earned it. But maybe, just maybe, there was more to this day for those who sought their own adventure.

---

---

The Jacks and Other Less-Than-Legal Individuals

@yoshua171@BCTheEntity@Eklispe@Old Amsterdam@solokolos@PlatinumSkink@Gardevoiran@Xandrya@Spiffy

Each of the representatives in the room took a vial, then exchanged contact information with the sharply dressed man. With that, all business concluded, and they were free to leave. So, naturally, they did. Every one of them took off in order to pursue their own avenues, their own goals, and their own plans. For some, this meant seeking out the best new recruit for their power-in-a-bottle. For others, it meant staying the course they had already set. But for one vigilante, it meant speaking to the man orchestrating it all.

"Such flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Mantis," the Broker replied, a little taken aback by the vigilante's sudden brazenness. "Particularly when complimenting on something I have worked quite hard to keep completely unknown, until this very moment. Now, your reputation on the other hand..." He trailed off, clapping his hands together somewhat excitedly before reeling himself back in. "Mhm. Yes, well, regardless I find myself irritated by your lack of punctuality. Nevertheless, the representatives you placed here in your stead handled themselves with..." He appeared to be looking for a kind word, but found himself at a loss. "Well, they handled themselves, at any rate. But yes, had you been on time, you would have been present for my reasoning on providing these valuable resources. I'm afraid I disdain repeating myself, so you will have to be filled in by your subordinates."

If there was one thing Judah was learning real quick in this line of questioning, it was that the man certainly enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice. "As for a good set of mates, might I recommend working with Purge and his mafia? Not the usual crowd you'd surround yourself in I know, but for a murderer he really is a man of conduct. Or perhaps you could work more closely with Sabotage? That is, so long as you watch your valuables. No honor among thieves, right? But she's among the most tame here. Then again, Retcon has a fascination with your shifter, so perhaps they would be willing to extend the ol' olive branch? Regardless, I really am quite the busy bloke and must be on my way. Good day, friend."

The man tipped his head in a gesture of respect, though it somehow felt quite disingenuous, and made his way toward the door, briefcase in hand. Just before exiting, the bartender accidentally dropped a glass on the floor, the sound of its shattering causing the suited man to pause. After a moment of the two exchanging looks, he gave a simple command. "One round of drinks to Lethal Force, on me." He then turned back to face Farce. "The power nullification field leaves with me. You're welcome."

And just like that the man who called himself "Broker" was gone. A few moments later and the bartender had provided drinks for each member of Lethal Force, as requested, in the process brushing against each of them in turn. "Sorry, sorry. Nerves. The situation is rather... Frightening. Sorry."

---

A minute after having left the building, each of the Jacks received a text message from an unlisted number. Next assignment at the hideout, was all that was written. Heartless shrugged, got up, and began to leave without bothering to so much as speak to his fellow teammates. It looked as though their day hadn't yet come to an end.

[PlatinumSkink]

Creep

Sheila Hopkins

Exiting the Meeting
Visible

---

The meeting was over. Contact info had been exchanged. Creep was quickly up on her feet and heading out, not intending on remaining at a known location for longer than she could help it. She stood up, didn’t take a further look at anyone inside the room and simply left, taking an immediate left turn outside. She didn’t know how far the nullification field affected, so for at least until the next intersection, she let everyone see her. However, when she reached the next intersection, she started keeping very close attention to whom could currently see her and who could not, and she had of course kept aware of anyone following her from behind. She’d display the proper image of herself to anyone watching from a direction she had not disappeared from already. She didn’t want to make it look to anyone like she vanished into thin air, as such she kept all windows in mind as well…

At the next cross section. The directions left and right did not see her appear at all. To them, she never showed up, with the exception of for the corners of the buildings straight in front, which she couldn’t hide from yet. Then, Creep took an immediate right, walking tightly behind the building, vanishing from sight to everything from the direction she had come, therefore having disappeared without a trace to anyone pursuing her directly from behind. Then, she turned left and crossed the street like any other person, walking up very close to the building in front of her, thereby cutting her out of sight from the street that had been directly in front of her when she entered the cross section. Finally, she walked around the corner and continued forward the direction she had been going, vanishing from the corners of the buildings to her left and right as well, now having vanished from the sight of all windows. She did keep watch for any civilians that would have seen her vanish unnaturally and displayed herself only in their direction, but had herself vanish for them as soon as they were not looking in her direction. Soon enough, she should have vanished from the sight of eveyone.

… After that, it depends on how successful she is at getting away from her current pursuers, who one could imagine maybe struck before she pulled her tactic. She’d, of course, keep a close watch for any pursuers with the vision her powers provided, perhaps she’d want to spy on them. Maybe.

[Spiffy]

Talking to @Gardevoiran & @Xandrya

Mantis listened to this Broker's response stoically. As he ordered a round of drinks for them he raised his hand in protest and replied, "No thanks. We have a job to do. You will have the money by the end of the week." Mantis turned around to face his companions. This guy was..dangerous to say the least. Able to turn off their powers on a whim? Between him and Patriarch he didn't know what was worse. At least Patriarch was blatant about his abilities and made a show of it. It was easier to calculate his threat level. As for the Broker. Mantis glanced back. What was he fully capable of?

Regardless, he had a task ahead of him. The Broker was best left ignored. For now. Mantis contemplated working with another group..but who could they trust even relatively? Then he shook his head making his decision in his head "No. They would do this themselves. They didn't need anyone else interfering. I'm in command, not some mob boss."

Mantis gestured for his teammates to follow him out the door. Once they were some distance away from the bar he asked calmly, "Can any of you contact Whip to join us? We may need her help." He made his way to his car as Axel pressed against the window in anticipation. When Mantis opened the door Axel jumped at Farce and began to lick her. Then he turned to Genevieve and did the same. He liked these people.

Mantis gave him a quick pat on the head and said, "I know where we are going follow me." Anyone who needed a ride was able to get in his car and tag along. Otherwise they would follow him in their own way.

[Xandrya]

Post deleted.

[Lugubrious]

In a city as big as Denver, one could get lost just as easy as one could lose oneself, and Elliot didn't particularly care which came first. With a full hour passed since his self-extraction from the media feeding frenzy that enveloped the convention center, he'd managed to find for himself an ironic sort of peace in the industrious hubbub of downtown, resting his legs while only intermittently coming to a stop. From his corner in the RTD tram car he peered, glassy-eyed, through the window at the storefronts and offices that slid past, giving a frequent glance at the myriad of people that came and went.

To a degree it amused him that people would be engaging in the everyday hustle and bustle of life when a supervillain incident just occurred not too far away, but he knew that they couldn't afford not to. No matter the nature of the hardship, life could not be put on pause until one felt ready for it. Allowing pain, loss, or fear to hinder oneself—weakness, defiance of that all-important axiom of life: continuance. The show must go on.

Realizing that his leg had fallen asleep, Elliot uncrossed the both of them and shifted his position, making sure to prevent his overcoat's edge getting caught between the seats. What the heck am I going to do with my day? he wondered, not for the first time. Whenever he began to give the issue any thought he always seemed to get distracted, delegating the decision-making to an ideally better-informed, but more realistically more-bored and less-comfortable future version of himself.

The convention, if he remembered right, should have lasted all day and then some. Thinking of the time he spent in there before the incident and then extrapolating that experience fourfold made him realize how thankful he really was for the Rockers' uninvited appearance. Now, the world was his oyster—if the metropolis of Denver constituted the world. Though full of problems, as any edifice of a flawed humanity would be, it struck Elliot as a pretty good place to be.

He felt the tram come to a stop, and heard the light tone that signified the doors opening. A large, hard-faced man in khakis and a dress shirt stomped over, with sunken eyes and prominent stubble. Standing close to the door, he took hold of one of the vertical bars, preparing for the tram to continue. Elliot's eyes lingered on his face for a moment longer, taking in the aspect of a man who looked down on his luck. What troubled him so? Work? Family? The lack of one or both, and the feelings of worthlessness and failure that accompanied it? If Morales were here, he might have been able to tell this man something that would make his day.

But Elliot was here.

Nodding to himself, the young man picked himself up and strode straight off the tram, neither pausing to acknowledge the stranger nor watch to see if he took what he gave. A moment later the tram pulled away, and the Ward stood before a bank of some sort. Elliot did not recognize the spot where he ended up disembarking, but that suited him just fine. Too much longer and the sun would be so overhead that using it to determine compass directions would be difficult -though not impossible for the Margrave, vaunted genius that he was- but Elliot could just make out which way the sun lay for now, so he took a path directly opposite to it. Looking and feeling unusually chipper, he made tracks over the concrete sidewalk, past trash can and iron bench, scrawny tree and parking meter, until a corner restaurant caught his eye. “Something of an early lunch,” he reasoned with himself as he moseyed right on in, “But my heroism is vast as my appetite, and a breakfast of coffee ill prepares a man for a day of adventure.”

A few minutes later, the enigmatic man of mystery, inimitable and indomitable as midnight itself, sat outside in a little wrought-iron chair at a little wrought-iron table, munching away at a hearty dish of fries coated in melted cheese and corned beef, with a side of pickles.

[solokolos]

James

The note was pocketed smoothly as James raised his other hand to scratch the back of his head. He accepted the condolences knowingly, shrugging in an exaggerated manner. Internally he was stunned, but the newcomer hero dealt with the situation as professionally as he could. Moving away, he waited unti he was out of sight to uncrumple the note and read it. James had to read it three times to actually process what was being said. It seemed so. . . Out of character. No not out of character, just contrary to the persona Furnace had propped up.

A breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in escaped him as he made his decision, decided this was wholly worthwhile. He moved his fingers so they were holding the very edge of the note, and moved his hand to let it catch some air. It straightened until it was parallel with the ground and then he teleported towards the nearest wall.

All but the edge of the note was destroyed. James teleported again, disappearing into the ether for a while, before appearing in his home. He changed out of his costume slowly, taking care to organize his clothes properly. No hero work would mean no costume for a bit, but he didn't need a costume to get things done.

[BCTheEntity]

Raymond Haywood: The Cruise Room

It wasn’t long after he and Chatterbox had dragged Xolotl’s unconscious body outside that both parties received a message from an unlisted number. Next assignment at the hideout. Naturally, it seemed their day wasn’t over yet. That did beg the question of what they’d do with Xolotl, though... leaving him there was a waste of resources, and presented a strong risk that he’d return to try and finish them off, not to mention generally prove to be a nuisance to everyone else in general, and if they left the range of the Broker’s powers- whatever that distance might be- he’d reacquire his ability to turn into lightning and most likely run off, the moment after waking up and slaughtering both of them. Unless...

‘Tell me, Chatterbox, does your power work on unconscious people?’ he asked quietly. ‘I imagine if you could whisper into his ear how much he doesn’t feel a need to escape or kill us before he awakens, it’d greatly improve our chances of moving him to our base safely.’ Or they could just dump the body here, with all the unnecessary drama that came with it, but frankly, this was a rare opportunity: to get a spy of their own into the Community, and one who’d willingly return to refresh their orders and brainwashing at that, if Chatterbox’s power worked the way Raymond thought it did.

[BCTheEntity]

Alessa (@BCTheEntity) and Lillian (@Old Amsterdam) collab

In time, both girls managed to get away from the press and the crowds, and so to a transport van taking them back to the PRT’s headquarters. Alessa, for her part, was happy to be away from the paparazzi, but happier still that all had gone so well. For once since that fateful mission where Sonar lost his ability to be a hero, nothing had gone wrong, and to her knowledge, nobody had suffered lethal injuries.

Though, the point of Margrave still bothered her.

Lillian entered through the large entry doors, waving absently towards the desk as she dragged Alessa deeper into the base to their own HQ. Today had been…. Something. Yeah, something. Villains, fun, annoying people.

She was more than a little disappointed that Elliot has opted to go somewhere else, apparently. She'd have thought he'd be here.

She slipped off her mask, there were alarms for when people came, dropping it on a table in front of the TV, and plopped down unceremoniously before letting out an exaggerated sigh. ”I thought Elliot would be here, too,” she muttered into her hands. ”He seemed kinda lost, and I realized I've ignored him since I got here. I wanted to make that better. Can we just watch something here? I'm really kinda done with people after those reporters.”

Alessa, removing her own mask, sat down beside Lily, patting her on the shoulder. ‘Honestly, I wanted to follow after him too, but the reporters blocked us off,’ she commiserated. ‘I know he asked us something whilst we were talking, but I didn’t get a chance to respond before he left...’

Sadly, looking around for Elliot now would be a fool’s errand. He’d return when he returned, and then she’d be able to apologise to him for not being able to properly chat with him at the time. For now, the best thing she could do is help out those in her vicinity: Lillian, and anyone else who showed up that needed the support.

‘Yeah, let’s watch a film,’ she murmured, grabbing the remote and turning the television on. ‘Anything in mind that you’d like to see?’

Lillian shook her head, standing up. ”Just nothing scary. I'm gonna grab snacks, want anything?” she asked. Alessa thought for a moment, then replied ‘Crisps might be good. And coke, if there’s any.’ As Lillian walked off, Alessa started flicking through the channels and viewing guide, looking for anything good that they’d both enjoy.

Lillian nodded, absently, buzzing around the kitchen as she heard the small clicks and changes in volume as Alessa surfed for a movie. She grabbed a few cans of pop, nabbing the chosen snacks, before heading back and dropping them on the table and sitting down.

”Anything good?”

‘Mm... not yet,’ Alessa admitted, still checking the guide. ‘Best thing so far is a bunch of Simpsons reruns. Although, actually... we do have Mulan on one channel in a few minutes. Oh, and The Emperor’s New Groove immediately after that. That’s a heck of a lot of time taken up, if you’re interested.’

Tilting her head, Lillian considered for a moment. ”Mulan, then. I'll probably be leaving after that, though. There's some things I need to do.” Her voice was wistful as she replied slowly.

‘Makes sense,’ Alessa nodded. ‘Actually, since you mention it, I was thinking I might head out on patrol at some point anyway. The day’s still pretty young, and you know what they say about crime sleeping.’

“That it doesn't, hehe.”

‘That’s right,’ she confirmed, grabbing one of the cokes and opening it up. ‘Anyway, that ought to be a good watch. It’s been ages since I last saw that film.’

[Spiffy]

Referring to @PlatinumSkink

Swarm left the bar at a steady pace. He ignored the other villains and followed Creep down the street. He maintained a 50 foot distance at all times and closed the gap as she would move faster. He noticed his abilities were back as he manipulated the smoke from his cigarette around himself.

He was just trying to find out the location of her forward operations. After all, she was now in charge of the Rockers. It was a big responsibility. Swarm just wanted to lighten the load..or that's what he would say if anyone asked.

However, when he turned a corner she went, she had disappeared. Swarm looked on with puzzlement. Perhaps it was time to visit Boulder..

[Old Amsterdam]

Jason

---

Jason stood up as the meeting ended, surprised at his phone going off, letting Whimsy know he'd be back at the base momentarily, and then he set off. Creep had departed quickly, and Swarm was quickly behind her.

"Leaving so soon, Swarm?" he called out as he easily closed the distance. His eyes, hidden behind his mask, watched carefully. "I wanted to apologise for kinda screwing you back there. But this will be for the best, I'm confident of it."

He watched Creep take a corner and relaxed a little. A little distance out of sight and they could....

Well, do exactly that. The villain was gone without a trace.

Almost like a Mover or Stranger.... Jason thought absently, mentally shrugging it off. Not like it made a difference to him, in the end.

"Lovely chat. Now, however, I've got business to attend to." Jason said jovially before taking off back to the warehouse. The long way from rooftops, of course.

Walking in he moved to his usual seating, waiting for everyone to gather and figure out just what had been left for them.

He wasn't a leader, so he didn't bother looking at the mission details until Headhunter or Chatterbox did.

[Gardevoiran]

Celebration Time

"Kendall? It's 11:35, what's going on?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Okay, calm down! Jesus Christ, that was loud."

"RYAN MY MOM WAS CONVINCED!"

"Wait, seriously?! She's letting you become a Ward?"

"Yeah! I got her permission! I'm going to the Protectorate tomorrow to make it official!"

"Dude, that's great! You're gonna be meeting Tiger Lily, Margrave, Tulpa, everyone! That's gonna be so cool!"

"I know! I'm super excited for it all. Mastar doesn't have to be a vigilante anymore! It's gonna be great! I'm excited to let her out as a true certified he-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down there tiger. We do have to discuss something."

"What do we have to discuss? I'm becoming a Ward and everything is gonna be great!"

"I know, but there's an issue. PR issue. Mastar's gonna be joining a team of 14-17 year olds, but the issue is she's super provocative and sexualized."

"That was to protect my identity, though. Why should I change that?"

"Because a sexualized 14 year old isn't a good idea. The way she acts and speaks is fine enough, it's the character, but the outfit and body need to be toned down. A lot."

"... well celery. I'd show you my ideas but I can't do it now."

"I can contribute my ideas, right? I did come up with the first design."

"Fire away."

"Keep the imp like motif, with Messiah the public will be all over the dynamic. Maybe go with a hood to add to the sinister theme? A cape and cowl might work well too."

"Add some shorts to the current outfit?"

"Make sure they go a little down your thigh. Don't wanna risk it too bad."

"I'll make sure, you goof."

"I'm just making sure. You're like my little sister, man. I care for you."

"Sibling."

"Whatever. Lemme know when you get accepted to the Wards tomorrow."

"Of course! Now go to bed, you carrot!"

Click.

[Crusader Lord]

Lethal Developments Part 1: A New Protagonist Is Born

A collaboration post between @Gardevoiran, @Old Amsterdam, @Spiffy, and Myself

---

Massive Text Block

The throbbing, dulling pain bounced about in Allison’s skull with each step she took, the ache in her body almost nonexistent in comparison. Classes had been canceled for the day, at least, though had they not been the pain would be too much for her to make it to English anyways. The party of last night had been wild, chaotic, sexy, and most importantly someone had brought the good cheap booze to the “secret party at the trainyard” that had been held. Perhaps somewhat illegal, but it was a thing and she’d gone without a care.

Funny how those words had managed to fit together like that. “Good cheap booze”. Usually it was a lack of taste and triny g to down enough of someone’s watery swill to get drunk enough to not care, but there was a local brewing company that made some fine, affordable stuff for parties at least. However, as her lack of waking up will about midday had shown, the stuff was potent enough to knock her out pretty good.

Though waking up had been another one of “those” mornings where she had to take time to put together the prior night. Bra missing and disappeared, hair tousled, body recalling the warm embrace of a cute girl in some position or another. Haha. Allison would have laughed if she hadn’t been in this level of pain. But if naught else, her purse had been still there in the train car they had goofed off in, right next to her even, and a bottle of painkillers right there with a bottle of half-drunk and now very warm purified water to down it with.

A few ibuprofen later, with some added cursing at the choice of location as her back was a bit sore, and she was finally on her feet once more at least. The shame of walking back to the car, and then getting back to the dorm like this at that, would be there for many….but not her. She was rather used to this type of incident, and usually her phone had the pics to fill in the blackout drunk memories that filled the gaps in her recollection of last night.

“Oi, Brent needs to bring one less keg next week, this shit had me plastered…,” the 25 year old Allison muttered to herself as she moved out of the train car and stood in the midday sun, using a hand to cover her sensitive eyes as she walked into the nearest source of shade next to the following train car, squinting hazily the entire time, “Wait….was i...was i not wearing socks when i came here last night? Crap.”

At least she wasn’t dead or captured by some gang, right?

After everyone was set, Mantis pulled his mask down and drove off. As he was driving he dialed for Whipstitch. He knew she wasn't a fan of his, but he had to get in touch of her. The phone rang for a few moments...

Meanwhile across town Whip was sitting on top of a roof several blocks away from the villain meeting, glaring daggers towards the bar. How dare they manipulate her? How dare they try to strip her off what was hers? Angrily she stabbed a pointed, hardened piece of string into the tarmac that covered the roof.

With a jerk she nearly threw her phone as it went off.

“What?” She snapped irritably.

She sounded quite annoyed. Judah spoke calmly and a little slower than usual so that Whip heard him correctly, ”Hey Whip. We have the location of one of Patriarch's lieutenants. We need you to meet us at the abandoned train yard outside of town. Can you get there without a ride?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Whip huffed before hanging up the phone and standing up. She could make it there in like 15 minutes if she tried. A chance to beat down the men….

Farce was sitting with her knees in her lap, the front seat being her residence for the time being. Mantis had gotten this incredible info, and she wasn’t annoyed by it (hell, it’s the best news to arise from today), but she just wished it was on a better day. Sparce had shut himself up. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but this time felt different to her. Why did it feel so different to her? Was it the drink she had earlier? She didn’t know, but it alarmed her.

Looking to pass the time, she looked over at Mantis. ”I’m betting you have questions…”

Judah looked ahead as he drove on and replied, ”Actually..you both did well explaining most of the meeting,” he paused and quickly glanced at Farce. She felt confused. There was something going on in that double persona brain of theirs, ”What's on your mind?”

”Sparce. He’s not talking. Normally, he’d be going over everything I did wrong in that situation, but now he’s just silent.” Farce looked out the window. ”I dunno, maybe it’s my nerves and the drinks. I’m just a bit paranoid is all.”

”I hope you didn't drink too much, we need you at the top of your game for this. I really don't know what we are up against. Though it is encouraging that The Community's most powerful Lieutenant has been taken down already.”.

”I mean okay. I can still think straight, but the silence in my head is scary. It’s only wanted when I’m trying to sleep.” Farce tilted her head and returned to looking at Mantis. ”I’m probably just paranoid. Let’s get this over with.”

They drove for a few more minutes before making it nearer to the outskirts of Denver. They collected their thoughts and spotted someone stumbling about on the sidewalk. ”Drunk at this time of day?” Judah shook his head.

Then the thought hit him... Lethal Force had a single vial of power, but no one to give it to. Perhaps Judah could interrogate this individual with his ability and discern whether she would use it for good or not. They didn't have a whole lot of time, but Judah was good at finding someone's motivations and character. It sounded really asinine, ”Should we pull over and talk to this person. We do have that vial.”

Whip touched down beside the car, running a hand along it's top, as she looked inside. “Vial? Missing someone, too.” Her voice dripped with suspicion.

As it had turned out for Allison, more than her socks had been missing. In particular, she had eventually noticed the feeling of jeans rubbing in a way they shouldn’t normally do if she had been….actually wearing something down there right now. Scowling at the thought as her hangover flared up again, she’d begun to scroll through her phone only to find a few pics of...oh. So that’s where “those” had disappeared to last night. Oh. OH. Ok, that was enough looking at the phone for the time being!

Putting her phone in her pocket hastily, Allison stopped walking for a minute, running a hand down her face and lightly slapping each of her cheeks to try to wake herself up more. The parking lot had to be closer by now. They all couldn’t have parked “that” far away after all….right? Regardless, as she looked to her left...the hungover college student noticed something peculiar as a car stopped near her.

”Is...is that a car….no. Did that lady just land next to a car from the sky?” she mumbled to herself, an eyebrow raised as she looked over at the Lethal Force members.

Allison rubbed her eyes, wondering if someone had spiked the drinks. That or she had just seen some parahuman land down….ah. That’d actually make more sense than some kind of incoherent “hangover hallucinations”. She’d been drunk enough times to know the difference by now, actually, though she had no idea if these were just parahumans or a pair-a-thugs.

Farce stared at the girl before she tilted her head at her. ”... I think she might need some help.” Farce opened up the car door and stepped out, drawing her mask as she approached. ”Ma’am? Is everything okay?” She was alone with her own intuition this time. Sparce would just be an asshole to her and reprimand her for being drunk this early… wait a second…

Farce turned around. ”Is she who we were looking for?”

Judah implanted a thought into Farce, ”She is as good as any.” Then he got out of the car. His boots thudded against the pavement as he walked forward, vial in hand. He wore his uniform and to any civilian Judah could easily be mistaken for law enforcement. He began to sense the girl's feelings for any abnormalities. It was apparent she was drunk, but the last thing they needed was someone who was psychotic as well. Then he spoke up, ”Have you been drinking miss?” He looked her over, sensing for anything strange in her response, ”You do realize it is only a little after noon don't you?”

Whip growled, flinging herself between the girl and her ‘team’.

“Fuck off, Mantis. Either I get answers and you treat her with respect or I'll rip your fucking head off.”

There was one thing the hungover college student knew. These people were not cops. As much as the one guy looked like it, the others, what was being said, she was coherent enough to pick up on that and internalize it. Wait….that one had been flying, yeah? And this group looked dressed for a fight, now that she was getting a closer look at em’. But what was this about ‘the one we were looking for’ that one chick said, and that one guy has...what was in that vial thing? A hangover cure?

”Ey, its called a ‘hangover’, the after-effects of havin’ been drunk as hell at a party my sorority had in the trainyard last night….and one of em’ stole my socks too...,” Allison said, giving one last small slap to her cheeks to make her more alert again, as the pain mo the dull the throbbing headache and backache she had flared up again, ”Ugh….Ah, any of you happen to have a superpower that could dull headache more than painkillers? And what this business with that vial that guy’s got?”

Judah glared at Whip for a few seconds before the college girl spoke her piece. Nothing she said contradicted her emotions and body language. She appeared to be telling the truth. Now..would she be useful for their team? Judah responded to her, ”This vial has the ability to grant parahuman powers. As you've probably noticed already, we are not normal..” As Judah spoke, he released a calming aura into the surrounding area. It would potentially relieve her headache for the duration of the ability. Then he continued, ”The question is, are you worth giving it to?”

“More worth than you,” Whip snorted, an inch thick thread coiling around her arms almost idly. “Though this was a great place to swing around in. Those big cranes make nice anchors.” Her attention refocused on the girl suddenly. “Name.” The words weren't exactly a command, but neither were they exactly a question.

Allison stood there for a silent moment, blinking in surprise at the sudden request for her name. More than that, she was rather surprised by the sudden admission of what the vial was, and the asking if she was “worthy” to….drink it or something? What?! What was going on here, why was she being selected for this potential experiment, and why this this all happening today? Though at least she felt the hangover and back pains backing down a bit, somewhat strangely even, but that bit at least was not unwelcome.

”Name’s Allison. But beyond that, lemme’ get this all straight. You have a vial, filled with strange, unknown stuff, that is supposed to give powers? And you want me to drink it is a test of what it does or something?” Allison said, scratching her head a little as she spoke, trying to internalize what she was hearing and seeing here.

Judah shook his head as Whip mentioned swinging around on cranes. She had to be the hardest person to read out of anyone Judah had come into contact with. One moment she was calm and the next she was threatening to kill. He would have to be careful around her.

Judah replied to Allison, ”We want you to explain why it is you think you can handle it. Powers are nothing to give away so easily.” As Judah spoke he looked into her eyes and implanted a thought in her mind, ”I should be honest about myself. What do I have to hide?”

”Allison, right?” Farce spoke up again in the conversation. ”I’m going to suggest you say the first thing that comes to your mind.” Farce shot a nasty glare at Mantis. ”Our resident negotiator{ here can mess with your emotions and implant thoughts in your head.” Farce turned to Mantis directly. ”We don’t need you meddling in her answers, Mantis, no offense.”

... good.

”Where the hell have you been?”

Thinking. Just make sure Mantis isn’t screwing with Allison’s mind.

”I should be honest about myself, What do i have to hide?” Allison said as she followed Farce’s advice, afterwards pausing and blinking in surprise as the thought occurred to that...she hadn’t been on a train of thought like that a moment ago.

Wait, was the guy messing with her head? Maybe, because no hangover had done this type of thing to her so far. Or could that thought be a suggestion from the other girl? Hmm….personally, she only had two things she knew for certain. One, what she had just said, the first thing that had entered her mind, was not the type of thing she’d been thinking about just before. Two, these people were parahumans, and at least two of them seemed to be in vote of not manipulating her. Neat.

”Ok, seriously, you coulda’ just asked, man. I am just a college student, working on a Parahuman Studies degree, and wanna go into law to work to help the Parahuman community. And at that i just woke up after a drunk party held by my sorority had here last night.

I don’t know what this business is about a vial that gives powers, but if you want someone who isn’t gonna go on a murder spree with em’ then i think i’d be good for that.

But if there is anything else, then for the love of Manton may i be told what is going on here properly please?”

Judah raised an eyebrow as Alison replied to his original questions. He was not pleased with Farce giving away his abilities without a thought. Alas, it was too late now.

Interestingly, the girl was not lying as far as Judah could tell. She was either delusional or she was in fact working on a Parahuman Studies degree. ”Very nice,” Judah thought. Just a college kid who was trying to make her way in life. She seemed like as good a candidate as any.

”You would be a good fit for the parahuman community. With this vial you will be granted supernatural abilities without the horrible experiences we all had to go through. However, with powers you will be held to a higher standard and we will do our best to hold you accountable. Like you said, murder sprees are a no no.”

Judah spoke passionately and the others could feel the energy emanating from him. It was obvious he believed what he was saying. Judah took the vial and extended his arm to the girl. What would Allison do with the choice in front of her now?

Free powers? No trigger event or ultimately scarring experience? And this was all being presented to her, now, as she dealt with a hangover after a party? What could she say? She had dreamed of a moment like this happening as a kid, like something outta fictional stories about superheroes. But as an adult she had given up on the idea for the most part, though right now….it was a “yes” or “no” answer. “Do or do not, there is no try”, as one of her favorite movie characters would say…

Without a second thought, Allison grabbed up the vial, popped off the top, and chugged the entire bitter, odd-tasting vial without a second thought. If she died, she at least got to cross this off of her bucket list! If not, then hell this could be an interesting ride she was going to go on!

In a panic at seeing the vial chugged so fast, the twins had switched places as Sparce came into the world once again, his arm raised and him running straight for Allison before tripping and knocking his glasses off. ”Shit!”

Whip swung her thread out, stopping before actually catching Sparce while giving him a glare. “Stay back.”

Suddenly everyone present blacked into the void, an unfathomably large thing, growing and firing something upon another thing just as large.

And then it was gone.

Behind them nothing had seemed to change, Allison looked no different and emotionally felt no different. But inside? She knew she was different. She'd just gained powers, and she could feel the itch to test them.

And she already knew how, didn't she? Not that she needed to show off, but the option existed.

The others should recognize what this meant, anyways.

Whip was the first back on her feet, swaying slightly as her eyes focused and unfocused, a slight twitch active under her left eye.

Her body felt...different. Strange, yet even more “whole” than it had been before for some odd reason. Like another layer had been added to her being, and her brain picked up this as naturally as one might breathe. New information existed in her mind, but it didn’t freak her out. It was as normal to her, as average as walking to class or flirting with the cuties on campus….the latter being odd, but still it was something. Reaching over she rubbed her neck, then her wrists, checking to see if anything off had occured with “that”.

….She really felt like trying this new thing out, though. It wouldn’t hurt anyone if she did that, right? Or maybe it might make them jump. Er, she wasn’t too sure.

One way to find out, just like any scientific experiment. Besides, whatever had happened her hangover felt a lot better than it should now.

She held out one arm, palm down, like Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story using his laser. She was aiming at a nearby train car sitting in the yard. Its rusted exterior was not much, and perhaps it was ready to be decommissioned or such soon. Regardless, Allison took a calming breath...and acted with her new power as naturally as any other Parahuman could.

At the speed of a machine gun pushing out bullets, metal blades fired from the back of her wrist and impaled the side of the train car. In many cases, they punched through its wall and went deeper in. Such speed and firing power, it would have been strange to her “old” self….but now felt as calm and easy as getting to sleep.

After a few seconds of high-rate fire, Allison stopped, looking down at her right wrist as she thought about things. Wait, could she do “that” too? Like in a video game? Maybe. It felt very much possible considering the information her body and brain had now that they didn’t before. Though maybe she had to imagine it? Hmm...

After a moment, the college student extended another blade, this time just one from her right wrist, but this time it was created without firing it from her wrist.

”Oh wow, this is pretty…...COOL!!!” Allison said, the excitement finally hitting her brain after a moment of pause once he had begun speaking, her tone going from a more basic and monotone ‘oh, this is a thing now’ to ‘excited giant child in a candy shop’ in virtually a moment’s notice, though the ‘parahuman studies’ student within her began to surface soon after, ”Ah….ah….whew. This is pretty interesting, actually. I wonder how the body has been altered to handle this new aspect? Hmm….”

Sparce came to during the power demonstration, where he quickly jumped behind Mantis’ car and watched from peeking over the hood. He was starstruck at the capabilities of that power, no doubt. It made him a fair bit jealous, too. It was so cool!

Was it worth the 10k?

”Hell yeah!” Sparce spoke aloud, responding to both Farce’s question and leaving a comment on Allison’s new power. ”What are the blades made of? Looks really fucking sturdy.”

As Judah sat up he watched the display Alison gave. The power was extraordinary. He was grateful they weren't the first subjects of her abilities. He grinned wildly as she fired blade after blade at fantastic speeds. ”She's perfect. Couldn't have picked a better power if I'd tried.” Their team strength went up massively with Allison’s inclusion. But what would she call herself as an official cape? Judah stood and addressed her in a calm tone, ”Tell us, what's your real name?”

“We can do much with you…” Whip muttered, staring at the blades.

Name? Wait...wait just a second!!! She had just inadvertently been recruited by this group. And wiat...how did they get this vial? Did it cost money, and if so was it a lot? It almost made her faint at the prospect of thinking of what sum of money could have been thrown around even for something granting superpowers. Didn’t this also put her into debt-....ah shit. More debt. If the student loans hadn’t already been enough so far….but there was one positive.

She was like the Terminator version of Spiderman! Or maybe that one guy from this anime her roommate had tried to show her. Regardless, this was a-maz,ing!!! It almost had had jumping for joy, save for the fact there were others around her at this time. Ah.

”Eh, name? Like, hero name or something? Hmm…..,” Allison said, her face taking on a musing appearance as her mind raced over the potential names and ideas for things. This could define her life, make her a legend! Or….maybe even make her a big idiot when the name was called out, so with that in mind, she-, ”Excaliblast!”

And with that a new weeb-tastic hero name was chosen, given birth into this world of parahumans.