[IC] ONE PUUUUUUNCH MAN

[Polaris North]

S H I N D O "F L A S H F O R W A R D" T S U B A S A

---

^{City W}
@Archmage MC @chukklehed @Cherrywitch

Madame... Tight Britches? Flash Forward only blinked at her but nodded. "Take care." He then nodded at the workers and they quickly took her inside the ambulance and closed its door. He motioned for them to wait just in case Reaper or him gets injured. He wasn't so much worried about Light. From what he saw earlier, and from his previous encounters with the monster hero, he knew she could recover without a problem. Must be nice, being a void being.

He turned back and then sped towards the area where the gigantic monster and the mutts are. As Flash Forward entered the area, he saw Violet Reaper gripping the left side of her face - as if in pain. Was she attacked there? And then her scythe burst into flames and Flash Forward held back a gasp. No, it was not because of the flames, he was used to seeing her summoning it to aid her in battle. It was the color of it - or lack thereof. Her usual violet flames was now a sickening black and he felt his gut wrench at the sight. Was there more to just her power up that he saw? Like, maybe some sort of curse or... or maybe, this power was something that broke out of its seal... He didn't know, and he was worried.

The black flames reached up to the buildings - flames so hot that it melted concrete and he could feel the heat radiating from it all the way from where he was standing. It then curved and hit the wolf - completely annihilating it. Flash Forward, in a fit of worry, rushed forward once more, just as the flames reached down to the wolves. His action was instinctive, his mind registering the pillar of flame as something dangerous to Violet Reaper, despite it coming from her own hands. He was not sure why he felt that way but he just did.

Flash Forward saw Reaper collapse onto the concrete that looked more like lava now. He grit his teeth and rushed for it anyway. Each step caused agonizing pain for the speedster - each spike of heat threatening to make him stumble. But he kept on going. He managed to scoop Reaper and her scythe off of the lava-like concrete and got out of the general area. While running, he looked down on her face and saw something he wasn't expecting. Black tendrils going back somewhere behind her head. Once out of the danger zone, he stopped and tried to carefully drop Reaper before dropping onto the cool concrete himself. He was trying to keep the groans of pain to himself.

With labored breaths, he rose up on all fours. Good Lord, he was sure to never do something like that anymore. He was sure that slower people would get the worse end of the stick when walking on something like that. He looked at his shoes and saw that the soles had practically melted. For some reason, his feet had already numbed - though the lack of pain sure was welcomed right now. He crawled towards Reaper and saw that she looked rather normal. No black tendrils or anything like that. Had it been his imagination? Or was it something else entirely? Something he should be worried about? He wasn't sure and he hated that.

He placed one hand on her shoulder and began to shake her, "Reaper, you alive?" It was obvious that she wasn't alright so he instead opted for asking that.

He looked over to Light, who was holding one of the mutts in some sort of bear hug. He lowered his mask and gave her a meek smile. "Hey Light! Can you call over the ambulance? I think we might need it." He called out. There was no way in hell would he walk now, not yet anyway. His cells still haven't healed up and he needed to eat something so it would go faster.

[Archmage MC]

Light wasn't really sure what was going on behind her, a bit focused on holding the dog she caught form attacking Ms. Reaper. She only turned around when things started to get... really really hot. As if a volcano had erupted behind her which wasn't too far from the truth. Ms. Reaper was having some sort of... fit? Light wasn't really sure, but either way, the sinister black fire plume she caught a glimpse of, as well as the molten concrete all around her made Light jump a fair distance back.

"I've already been incinerated once today, thank you very much." Light said, tightening her grip on the poor dog in her arms which was already quite tight already. Seeing what looked like the landscape after some kind of super fire bomb wnet off wasn't the most pleasent of sights, but at least it was mostly contained around Ms. Reaper, who wasn't anywhere to be seen in the inferno! Looking around a bit, Light found B1 had carried Ms. Reaper out of the inferno, he himself also being burned by the fire. Moving her way over, the poor zombie dog being squeezed so tightly it was a surprise its innards didn't fall out as she made her way there.

Flash Forward, giving up her nickname for the speedster, (nicknames being quite rude for the injured) put up his lower visor so as to speak clearly to Light. He asked for an ambulance escort for both him and Violet Reaper, the latter of which looked relatively fine but was passed out. "Uh, ok. I'll flag one up." Light said. This sort of thing was the reason she preferred to take the damage of whatever she was fighting. Unlike other heroes, she could heal fast enough that an ambulance wasn't necessary. Sure it has gotten her into trouble, but at least there were more heroes up and active to deal with the increasing monster attacks.

Grabbing the attention of the ambulance that had just finished putting Mold onto all their machines and whatnot, Light asked the paramedics to also take Flash Forward and Violet Reaper who were also injured, but not nearly as badly as Mold. Having relayed the message, the paramedics calling in a few more ambulances after recovering from their slight shock of seeing a viscous zombie dog being snuggled to death by some kind of fish lady monster. Since everything was up and going Light made her way back to the pair of collapsed heroes and waited for their escorts to the hospital.

Looking at the giant monster they had fought, Light was sure the big guy was still barely alive. Big things tended to take a lot of punishment after all. Either way, she'd wait for these two to get better or for some recovery team to pick up this monster and decided to use this downtime for some socializing. "So... Do you guys need anything? We have a giant mountain of meat and a firepit, I could start a barbecue..." She said trying to stir up a bit of conversation.

[Animal]

City A :: Headquarters

@FallenTrinity@Polaris North

---

There was glint in Shredder's eyes while he was gazing at Lightning Princess. He wanted her to come close, so he could bite her hand off while he was still conscious. However, Guardian took control of the situation rather quickly. The forceful take down delivered by him had knocked Shredder out of his chair, along with few of his teeth. His head violently bounced against the floor, cracking the tiles.

Dazed and choking on his own blood, he still showed some resistance and tried to desperately pry himself free from Guardian's grip with his hands. Before he could apply pressure to Guardian's arm, Shredder let out a muffled scream as he suffered from the high voltage flowing through his body. As a last ditch effort to stick it to the organization, he gathered up his remaining strength to shoot one of his sharp teeth out of his mouth, aiming for Lightning Princess' head. However, his aim was slightly off and would most likely graze her cheek.

If she wasn't in the way, I could've killed the Director...annoying humans...

His body went limp shortly afterwards indicating that he went unconscious.

Danzo called in for medical assistance and planned on transporting Shredder down to the interrogation chambers. As requested, some of the S-Rank heroes helped Guardian and strapped a mouth guard on Shredder. Just as they finished restraining him, the medical team arrived to treat Shredder's injuries and hopefully stop the bleeding in time.

"The bastard bit off his own tongue so he wouldn't talk. No matter, there are other ways to get information out of him. We just need to make sure he doesn't die beforehand. I'll inform you all if he says anything useful. As for now, you are all dismissed."

The medical team were transporting Shredder out of the room while being escorted by an S-Rank Hero, in order to lock him up in the lower levels. The Monster Association were already on the move. It is just a matter of time before a major battle breaks out between the two factions.

[Polaris North]

S H I N D O "F L A S H F O R W A R D" T S U B A S A

---

^{City W}
@Archmage MC@Cherrywitch

Flash Forward sighed as he collapsed back on the ground, his legs sprawled forward and he was using his hands to support him. His stomach grumbled again. Did he expend all of his energy in the duration of the fight? Seriously? Or was it because of the extra energy he needed to use to heal the burns on his feet? He felt like the healing process was going on nicely so an ambulance might not be needed anymore, but he couldn't be too sure. And they'd give him food there. Lots of 'em.

He closed his eyes for a moment. After eating, he'd definitely sleep. He didn't even want to go to school tomorrow anymore. "Oh shoot, I still have some homework to do..." He muttered to himself, internally groaning at his luck. Maybe he should drop out of school entirely and make this hero thing a full time gig. He was earning enough money as a B-Class hero to support his family and pay for his yearly tuition fee. He also gets a lot of free food from HQ when he comes back so he could regenerate the less fatal injuries instead of wasting medicine on him.

He opened his eyes to look up at Light as she offered to make a barbecue out of the giant monster's flesh. He raised his eyebrows at that. While he does know that meat is still meat and that is not exactly human meat, Flash Forward found it rather odd that she is considering eating an enemy they had just defeated. Then again, he was no longer alive and no longer had any use to them.

"Sure, if you can finish it by the time the ambulances arrive, why not?" At least it'll give him some food to eat.

H I M E K O "L I G H T N I N G P R I N C E S S" H A R U S A S H I

---

^{City A - HQ}
@Animal@FallenTrinity

Himeko was stunned by the Guardian's leap towards the man, seizing him immediately. So she simply stepped backwards knowing that the man could handle this pathetic scum. Shredder suffered through the high voltage Guardian had released. His mouth tugged upwards, showing a ghost of a smile. A smile that should not be seen on the face of a hero. Though this only lasted for a fraction of a second. In what looks like one last act of defiance, Shredder shot out a sharp tooth towards her. She tilted her head to the side and the tooth missed its mark completely and embedded itself on the wall.

"Nice try Shredder." She muttered as Shredder fell into the realm of unconsciousness. When the medical team came in to take him away, she seriously considered on giving him another shock as her part of revenge, but she held herself back. Reign in the anger, Hime, there's only so much they will let slide. Himeko placed a hand on her chair and let out a sigh.

"To think that such a high-ranking hero could do something like this." She mumbled rather audibly. A spy so high up in the ranks, were they getting too lenient in their screening or were they just getting that good in acting? How many heroes were connected to this Monster Association? And considering how much an S-Class hero knows about the plans of the Heroes Association, how much does the enemy know about them? Her mind began swirling with questions and suspicions, none of which she seemed intent on voicing out.

As everyone was dismissed and many have gone out, her eyes turned to the Director. "Sir, what are we going to do about this?" She could go covert at City Z again, but... but it's possible that they already know her face thanks to Mr. Rat over there. Perhaps that was why she was cornered by that monster group before?

[Archmage MC]

@Cherrywitch@Polaris North

After mumbling to himself, Light was a bit surprised Flash Forward decided to accept her offer. Usually when she talked about cooking up a monster that was beaten in battle, most heroes were squeamish. Excited to have a hero agree to her offer of cooked monster, she jumped for joy with a loud "Yay! BBQ time!". She threw away the zombie wolf dog she had snuggled far over the horizon, the poor thing unconcious at the time, and made her way to the exposed innards of the monster they had just beaten. It was already mostly cooked thanks to Reaper's fire, but it wasn't cooked all the way through in places and besides, Light would need to chop out a big chunk for herself anyway.

Flexing her fingers, she began to chop at the monsters innards, throwing slabs of meat out of the hole she was digging into him. She didn't spend too long mining the meat mountain, as she figured Flash Forward didn't eat nearly as much as she did, and she could always come back later. Climbing out of the hole she had dug, she shook herself clean of all the blood she had been covered with until she was back to her white self, picked up the meat she had carved, and made her way back to Flash Forward and Reaper.

"Hehe. Only bad thing about being mostly white. You get dyed crimson really easy when you go meat mining." Light said when she got back to the pair, laughing as she stuck the slabs of meat she was carrying onto an exposed metal pole and set it over the lava pit Reaper had made. "Don't worry you two, it wont take long to cook. Most of this was already cooked earlier, just making it more palpable for you!" She said, a bit sad there wasn't any kind of flavoring she could add like those restaurants have. But then Light wasn't a super good cook either. Its sorta why she tended to eat out when she could, usually bumming those meals from other heroes.

Sitting down next to Flash Forward, the meat cooking nicely over the lava pit, Light said. "Let me know how you want it cooked. So, what were you mumbling about with homework?"

[Animal]

Evan 'Sunshine' Smiles

City A :: Evan's Shop/Home

@chukklehed@Polaris North

---

"Thank you, come again!"

Evan decided to focus on his business for the past week after neglecting it for quite some time. His shop has the potential to become extremely popular, especially with the children. Unfortunately, he didn't have any kind of business plan to build upon. Resulting him to have a rather small, yet loyal fanbase. His shop alone doesn't generate that much money, so he relies mostly on his paycheck that he receives from the Hero Association. He wants his shop to be successful one day, but bringing back Lily comes first.

"Break time!"

With the last customer gone, Evan decided to do an occasional check up on a Grace. Hopefully, she wasn't blowing anything up or causing any kind of mischief upstairs. Last thing he wants to do is clean up the mess she causes while customers were present. Evan stepped out of the shop for a moment and hurried upstairs into the apartment. The two have separate rooms which are roughly the same size. Although, Grace's room was formally a modified closet which stored materials and products for Evan's shop. From time to time, Evan would playfully tease her about living in his closet.

"Grace! If you are there, then follow the sound of my voice~" He called out, expecting her to respond.

[Polaris North]

S H I N D O "F L A S H F O R W A R D" T S U B A S A

---

^{City W}
@Archmage MC @Cherrywitch

Flash Forward raised his eyebrows as Light seemed a tad more excited about cooking the monster than expected. She flung away the mutt she had been hugging and he swore the mutt just disappeared into the sky because of how high she had thrown the mutt. Huh, it was either the mutt was light or Light was just freakishly strong - he was putting his bet on the latter.

He watched as Light dug into the monster's flesh, using her fingers to cut it up and take out the meat. His stomach churned, not out of hunger, but out of disgust. The sight was revolting after all. But he kept his straight face. This was just how she does it, and he had to respect that. She was a whole other being. She might have been in Earth for a long time but that didn't mean she had to act like a human. Besides, there weren't any butcher knives around her for her to use. Yeah. Let's stick with that. "I should just stop thinking about it." He muttered to himself, shaking his head to get the thought of his head.

He then continued to watch the toon monster stick the monster meat onto the metal poles and sat down beside him and Reaper, holding the meat above the small lava pit Reaper had created. He couldn't help but chuckle at it. Something so destructive was being used like that? It's a funny thought. Then again, Light wasn't exactly one for the norms. "The longer it takes, the more unsure I am of eating. I hope it's quick 'cause I'm hella hungry." He muttered to himself. Instead of cooking it making it more appetizing to his eyes, it's making him more and more disgusted. He was hoping he could simply stomach it and eat.

Flash Forward looked over to Light. "I prefer my meat well done." He said, answering the same way he answers when he's asked at a restaurant. "Ah, my homework. Physics, Biology, Calculus and the likes. Nothing to worry about for adults like you." He replied before adding a chuckle at the end. He wasn't even sure if Light even went to school before. He was pretty sure she didn't.

E R I K A "T H E P U P P E T E E R" M I K A Z U C H I

---

^{City A - Evan's Shop/Home}
@chukklehed @Animal

With the whole issue of the alien attack at City K resolved, Erika was back in business. Though she distinctly remembered that the hero present and the one she helped out, Flash Forward, had told her to head over to Hero Association's headquarters and to speak directly with the director, Danzo. Apparently, he had sent in a report detailing what she had done to help a hero out. She wondered if that meant she didn't have to go through the exam.

Though Erika wasn't thinking of going there... yet. She'd rather do it when she's all prepped up and ready. Now, she was just heading over to her business partner's shop. Who was her business partner? None other than the recently ranked up Sunshine - Evan Smiles! To be honest, she wasn't sure how it all happened. It's just that one day, they met each other and shared their common interests and much to her surprise, the hero brought up he prospect of a partnership between their two shops. There was no way she was going to reject that kind of offer.

Today, she decided to leave Ayu at the shop to deal with the customers and she only brought Razor along. By the time she got there, the shop was already closed for lunch. "Mhm, shame. Let's go back m'lady." Razor said, already turning around. Before he could walk away, however, Erika took him by the arm and stopped her. Of course, she wasn't strong enough to stop him but he stopped anyway, knowing fully well that Erika could remove his soul any time she wanted.

"Closed? To us? Evan wouldn't mind~" She said before pushing the doors open and pulling Razor inside. Once inside, she let him go and proceeded to go upstairs. However, she stayed on the landing, not wanting to seem too much of a trespasser. She didn't have so much audacity as to head too far inside someone else's home.

"Evan? Grace? You in here?"

[chukklehed]

@Polaris North@Animal

Grace wished her brother would have waited a little longer before checking on her. Right at that moment, she was wedged between her desk and the wall, trying to connect a cable to her computer so she could run diagnostics on the robot Spider she was fixing. The little thing was a long running project of hers, and she didn't want to extricate herself quite yet.

"I'm a little Tied up right now Evan!" She called back, turning her head just enough to project her voice. She was just about to return to her task when a second voice drifted to her from farther into the house. A voice she didn't want to brush off.

"Ow!" Grace exclaimed, banging her head in the underside of her desk as she rushed to her door, stopping only to make sure everything was still upright before she threw open the divider between her and Erika.

"Eri! You're here! Why are you here?"

[FallenTrinity]

@Cherrywitch,@Archmage MC@chukklehed@Polaris North

The wolf seemed to yelp with the impact from the toon girl as it fought to escape, its thrashing body eventually ceasing to move for a moment. Slowly its bottom jaw split in two as did its upper jaw with sickening squelches and high pitch shrieks as it violently shook about for a few seconds just before its innards were ejected from its body on their own, leaving what could be described as a gutted animal carcass. Its eyes glazed over and its twitching ceased as it went limp. From where the cartoon woman held it, its flesh seemed to melt at the halfway point and began to part like a viscous goo before hitting the ground, its innards began to grow move on their own, screeching and writhing in pain much like a centipede before slitted purple glowing eyes formed and roared before burrowing itself underground.

However the other wolf, the one that faced Violet had been cleaved in half, its two halves cauterized by the cut it was meant to take.

"Though this one turns to ash, a girl is ready for this one's master. A girls powers have grown. She is ready...This one hopes that a girl will accept the gift this one's master offers not to just the girl, but humanity as a whole...Peace..." Its words surpassed that of the raging fires it was surrounded by, Violet would hear this before its concentration gave way to pain if the shrieking and howling could testify to this. The third one which watched snarled, if one was to look closely, it would be akin to a grin as its eyes glowed a deep purple as well, before howling and darting off, its job completed.

---

Despite her unwanted presence, he listened to her ramblings and ignorance. Oh, if she knew. He held back his smirk but before she left his eyes glowed dimly as the fight below ended.

"....Vivian...." Hopefully that stopped her for a moment.

"There is a war coming and it will effect everyone including me, you, her and anyone else in this city and with the most recent events happening within the H.A, there is no doubt in my mind and with my experience that sides will be chosen and it will be then you will find out who someone really is on the inside." An eerie smirk rested on his face as he turned away and began walking towards the other edge of the building but stopped and looked back at her once more.

"You may think you know someone well, but in reality, you don't know a goddamn thing. Everyone hides behind a façade, its only a matter of how well do they do it." He gained a serious face with a tone to match before taking a final drag from his smoke, turning back to his direction and leapt off the building, on his way to have a chat with someone interesting.

---

@Animal
"Investigate..." He said as he watched shredder being taken away before turning back to the Director and Himeko. He looked at the both of them before sighing.

"It's a tragedy, truly, but we must not sit idly by. If this Monster group managed to get this high up in the ranks then there is the issue of our identities being in jeopardy as well as any other information they may have. But if anything I say we personally do nothing, not at this level at least. If we show any suspicion about this event they may make a move on us. If there is one then there are more and if they could get this high up into the ranks who knows where else they stand. At the same time it makes me curious if this is related to the rumors going around the HA about a possible-" He shook his head.

"I don't want to believe that this association, which has been guarding humanity for decades, has any intention on splitting itself apart but what if, just, what if, the monster association and this supposed schism amongst our ranks is connected? I suggest we investigate but as I stated. Us in the S rank should not be apart of it. Director, as much as I detest to dishonest work, do we have anyone or any projects that deal in deep cover. I would believe us to. If we do I suggest we use it and continue on our business as usual. For now I will go unless you need anything else from me." Stated and awaited any possible orders.

---

[Archmage MC]

"Ah, ok, Yeah. Never had homework. Besides, I'm not good at math. Don't need to know much past the basic 4." Light said, laughing. "I'm alright at the other stuff. Heck you kinda need to know biology in this line of work anyway." she said, pointing her thumb at the meat that was cooking to make her point before laughing again.

Adjusting herself so that she could sit more comfortably on the hard ground, she continued. "I never went to school. Monsters kinda didn't have a need for it. Besides I learn stuff on my own well enough." Due to Flash's visor, Light couldn't see the expressions on his face too well. She hoped he'd be happy for some meat though, everyone liked meat! Well, unless he was a vegan. Light couldn't live on a vegan diet. No bacon would make her very, very sad.

Speaking of bacon, the intense heat from the inferno that Violet had made partially melted the pole Light had used as a cooking steak, causing the meat to smoke a little internally. Smelling this, Light rushed over and took the now finished meat out of the heat pit before it lit up in flames, burning herself on the super hot pole and throwing it outside the pit with a yelp of pain and bit of blowing on her swollen red burned hands. She didn't notice that the dog bits that had leaked out of the dog she snuggled had disappeared, what with her hands throbbing and whatnot. After cooling down, she walked over and tried to grab the pole again, it having cooled down as well, and carried it back over to Violet and Flash, sticking it in the ground again so she didn't need to keep carrying it.

"Well Flash, you said you wanted it well done." Light said as she slashed off a well cooked piece of the meat and gave it to Flash, slicing a second piece and placing it on Violet to try to wake her up, and finally slicing off a piece for herself and chomping down on it voraciously. Sharp teeth made eating meat pretty easy, if a bit strange due to little chewing. Without any flavoring, the meat tasted just about what you'd expect. Sort of a slightly tougher beef with a slight metallic taste, probably due to the lightning and magic fire bath it had previously. Remembering Flash might need smaller bits with his meat since he really didn't have the tools to cut it himself, Light moved over to him and offered one of her hands. "You can use my fingers to cut up your steak there if you need." she said, having just tore off a large chunk of her piece and swallowed it.

@Animal@Polaris North

[Cherrywitch]

Niflheim Sokolov

The Violet Reaper
Location: City W, Main Street
Interactions: @Archmage MC@Polaris North

Darkness. For a while that's all Violet could see. There was a dark voice, that of one of the wolves, whispering to her in the back of her mind. Even in real life Niflheim trembled. It was so cold...

Just like that, it seemed, she had awoken from the isolating nightmare. The Violet Reaper winced as she squeezed her eyes tight before blinking them back open, her vision hazy.

She laid there for a minute as her senses slowly came back online. She heard Flash and the other hero talking, she began to feel the ground underneath her, and started to smell— was, was that meat?

Slowly, Niflheim forced herself to bring her body into a sitting position, bringing one of her purple gloved hands to her throbbing temple. The Reaper blinked in confusion, turning wearily to see a somewhat oversized slab of meat fall off her body, making the purple haired woman cringe in disgust.

Her attention turned back to the two heroes, her eyes immediately falling onto the horribly burnt soles of Flash Forward's feet. Violet took a sharp breath in shock, slowly surveying her surroundings. Did... did she cause such a hell-like place just over there? She felt her stomach churn.

Niflheim moved onto her knees, taking a better look at Flash. "Your... feet. It's because you brought me over here and out of danger. You got hurt saving me from my own power." She muttered the last part, it hurting her to think about it, and it showed on the saddened expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Flash. I would never have wanted you to get hurt because of me. It's my fault, thank you for saving me." Her shoulders fell, Niflheim staring at her folded hands. She injured a fellow hero because she couldn't control her powers— how could she be so absolutely idiotic? Violet Reaper mentally was beating herself up for causing all of this, taking a glance back at the molten concrete.

---

Vivilyn Trainer

The Pumpkin Witch
Location: City W -> HA
Interactions: @FallenTrinity

"Hey, wait—!"

But, by then, Jayce had already taken his leave. Quietly, Vivilyn whispered to herself."...How do you know my real name?"

There was something very, very off here. He was accusing Reaper of being a rebel? Her? She's more loyal than a damned golden retriever! And that creepy feeling he gives off... Vivilyn was no Einstein, but she read people very well, in fact it was one of her best assets. And she could tell that guy needs to be kept a tab on.

Usually, Vivilyn wouldn't care, but Jayce had alluded to this whole rebel thing effecting her as well. The Pumpkin Witch started to head towards the Hero Association's building, holding onto Broomy tight. The S-class meeting should be about over by now, right? She needed to talk to Danzo— now.

---

A NEW CHALLENGER HAS ENTERED THE ARENA!

Focus

Location: Maximum security prison, cell in lowest level
Interactions: none yet

It was utterly silent at the bottom floor of the maximum security prison. There was only a handful of prisoners on this level, villains who had proved themselves a major threat to humanity and had to be guarded at all times, kept far away from one another so they never could even hear one another's voice.

One of these cold cells housed a pale man, head lowered with his knees propped up and his hands dangling off of them. Two guards were standing watch, offering each other a quiet glance of understanding. The air was thick with malice radiating off of the prisoner.

"Focus, your food."

As the tray was slid into the cell by another guard, who made haste to get out of there as fast as possible, a gruff voice rang out from within the cell.

"I'm not hungry."

The words were snipped and aggressive, followed by a slight movement of the heavy chunks of metal on Focus' wrists and calves that kept his powers at bay.

The younger guard glanced to the other, quietly mumbling. "B-but you have to eat. You can't starve yourself, it's not—"

"I said... IM NOT FUCKING HUNGRY!" Focus aggressively kicked the tray as hard as he could with the restrictions of the chains and metal enclosed on his leg, so that it flew into the bars, making both guards jump and pull their guns on him. The whitish haired man just clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Stupid bastards... One day when I get out of this shithole, you'll all be dead.

[Polaris North]

S H I N D O "F L A S H F O R W A R D" T S U B A S A

---

^{City W}
@Cherrywitch @Archmage MC

"Biology's fun to learn about." Flash Forward admitted with a nod, also agreeing with what she had said. While butchering monsters up wasn't exactly part of her routine, Biology has helped when looking for the right places to damage for maximum effectiveness. Even aliens had some sort of weakness on their body - someone just had to exploit it. "I never knew why I had to learn about the x and y's of Math. It's not like I'll ever use those in real life, but you gotta learn what you gotta learn." He continued with a shrug.

He let out a hum when Light mentioned that she didn't need to go to school thanks to her condition. "A life without school huh..." He never really thought about a life without school - a life without needing it. Like, sure, he thought about dropping school and continuing on as a hero but he never went through with it. It just fills him with a certain amount of uncertainty that he didn't like. It was always drilled into his head that finishing college would at least land him in a good and stable job as long as he does what he likes. He bet it's less dangerous than this whole hero business. But he needs this, he can't quite... not yet.

His thoughts were cut off by Light slamming down the metal pole onto the ground which was kind of melted in some way and the huge slab of meat was still in the middle. He caught her having this throbbing hand before it quickly healing. She then sliced up the slabs of meat - giving one to him, placing one on Violet Reaper and then helping one to herself. It was kind of oversized, definitely not something he could clear in one bite. Well, he wasn't looking for one anyway.

Just as Light offered up her fingers to cut through the meat, Flash Forward pulled down his half-mask all the way to make way for his mouth and then took one bite on the huge slab of meat. He slowly chewed on it. It surprised him. It's actually edible. He was expecting he would lurch and puke out everything. Apparently, that's not the case. While it is a bit hard and had a sort of metallic taste to it, it wasn't all that bad. He probably wouldn't eat it for the next three days but he could probably do this once a month or maybe even twice a month. It's alright even if it isn't a life or death situation. "This is pretty okay."

Before he could comment any further, he heard a thud and he turned to Reaper, slowly rising. The one that had fell was the slab of meat that Light had given to her. Did that shake her awake? "Glad to see you're alive." He sighed in relief. At least she wasn't too horribly injured or this would have been a lot more complicated and he'd rather not have anything too complicated on his hands. He took another bite of the meat and noticed that her eyes trailed towards the burnt soles of his feet. It was followed by a gasp from the woman.

She began to apologize and thank him for doing what he did. "It's no biggie Reaper. I'm more than glad to help a fellow hero. This is but a small cost." He gestured towards his injured feet, now healing at an accelerated rate. Though even in this state, it would seem that it wasn't going to completely heal in under an hour or two so he would probably be sent home or stay at the hospital to make sure he's fine. His feet were the most important part of his body, considering he is a speedster and his power relies on his legs and feet. "Eat the meat Reaper. You probably burnt through a lot of energy with that attack."

He followed her gaze at the site of a long gone inferno. "But... wow Reaper, that's really something. I didn't know you could do something like that." He breathed out, though didn't seem very impressed. The fact that she collapsed after releasing one burst of attack meant she couldn't handle it or she hasn't mastered it yet. "You looked like you were struggling with it though. You okay?" A once more genuine question came out of his mouth, worry lacing his tone. He might not be close to the other hero but she was certainly someone he had come to respect. And he'd be damned if the same thing that happened to Dreadlock happened to her. His memory of the ink black tendrils came back to mind, body shuddering from it. Should he tell? Maybe he should wait until they were alone so he could confront her about it without having a third party.

Like, no offense Light, but he felt that it might be pretty personal to Reaper or something and having the toon monster around might make her clamp up more.

[Archmage MC]

Light was happy that Flash was eating the meal she made. Most heroes tended to have a bit of a more apprehensive approach to eating monster meat. If only they knew how most of their 'normal' meat was made... And Light's prepared lunch also brought Violet back to conscious! "Ha! Cooked meat can wake up nearly anyone!" Light said triumphantly, even if Violet was a bit... repulsed at the slab of meat Light had placed on her.

Echoing Flash's concern, Light said "Yeah. Making a giant hellfire pit there must've been exhausting. Don't worry, monster meat is mostly like beef. And this isn't the kind of monster that leads to hallucinations after eating it. Those monsters have purple meat. I know this from experience." Light said laughing nervously, remembering said episode of hallucinations taking effect near a church. the things she saw...

Light did notice the worrysome and almost playful manner that the two heroes were exchanging. That combined with some... 'can you please?' sort of expression coming from Flash and Light got the hint. "Aw. You two play nice now. I'll patrol a bit and maybe get in touch with the cleanup crew." Light said, patting Flash on the shoulder and giving him a wink as she walked off to examine the monster they had defeated, deciding to sit on top of his leg while she waited for the Association cleanup crew to come.

[Animal]

City A :: Headquarters

@FallenTrinity@Polaris North

---

"Hmm...I don't want to believe it, but we need to leave no stone unturned in our current situation. I'll have someone investigate ASAP. In the meantime, I advise you all to stay on high alert. It may be possible that Shredder had an accomplice or few to assassinate our top heroes..."

Danzo turned his attention to Himeko now. He decided to temporarily reassign her to a new task, City Z was too close a call. It was best for her to lay low for awhile and not risk losing another S rank hero.

"As for you Lightning Princess, you are to escort Shredder to the prison after his interrogation. It won't take long, so remain on standby in City A for the time being. I'll contact you for further instructions. If there are no further questions, you can leave."

Once they were all dismissed, Danzo contacted one his top covert operative (Jayce) to meet with another agent in one of City K's several forests. The agent will provide Jayce with information that cannot be delivered over the phone nor can they be seen at HQ. When the agent arrived at the location, he hid within the tree shadows and patiently waited for Jayce to arrive.

---

Evan 'Sunshine' Smiles

City A :: Evan's Shop/Home

@chukklehed@Polaris North

---

"Tied up? Don't tell me you got caught in the wires again!" Evan quickly responded, thinking that is what she meant by being 'tied up'. Just as he was about to open the door leading into their apartment, he heard Erika's voice calling out to them from inside their home. Evan turned around spotting Erika and Razor making their way up the stairs. He cheerfully waved at them and welcomed the two after Grace.

"Heya Erika!~ Haiya Razor!~ Are we having a meeting today or are you here about something else?" He asked, unsure if they scheduled a meeting or not. The week went by so fast it felt like one big day to him. There were various hero costume ideas that Evan had, one of which was to specifically design for heroes to use their powers/abilities more efficiently. The idea stems from Evan's inability to create his own perfect costume. Not that he really needs one, due to the appearance he takes form during his Solar Drive, but it would be helpful to have something of his own that is not purely cosmetic. If this business partnership is successful, they can possibly become the sole providers for the Hero Association.

[Polaris North]

H I M E K O "L I G H T N I N G P R I N C E S S" H A R U S A S H I

---

^{City A - HQ}
@Animal @FallenTrinity

Himeko quietly listened to Allister's suggestion. To investigate but not to involve any of the S-Class heroes? Well, it looks like it's a sound plan. She trusted Allister and Danzo to make the right choices. After all, they've been at this longer than her. Actually, she holds them both in high regard - a rare thing when it comes to her. To gain respect from her is to be an honest and hardworking person. It's one of the reasons why she came to trust Dillinger - because she possessed this attitude.

She looked down as the topic turned to the rumors being spread around HA. The revolt. She wasn't sure why this had happened. Ever since Mrs. Pickles ascended from C-Rank to S-Rank in a snap, someone spread this rumor about people gathering to throw Danzo out of the position of Director and place someone else on the throne. She didn't know how to feel about that. She could not find it in herself to just become angry at them. They must have had a reason after all. "Whether it be connected or not, both are still issues that need to be resolved."

She nodded at Danzo's order. She didn't like the idea of ditching her covert job in City Z but she guessed it was because of the current events. "It will be done sir." And with that, she bowed her head at both him and Allister before turning around and getting out of the meeting room. From there, she traveled towards the interrogation room where Shredded was being held. She stayed behind the one-way mirror, waiting for the team to finish.

E R I K A "T H E P U P P E T E E R" M I K A Z U C H I

---

^{City A - Evan's Shop/Home}
@chukklehed @Animal

Erika's eyes widened in glee when she saw Grace open up the divider. She gave her a big grin before throwing herself at Grace, giving her a tight hug before letting go only to look at Evan who had also greeted them. Oh, he was also in front of them. She didn't notice him until now. "Heya Grace! Heya Evan! Good to see you both!" While it certainly hasn't been the longest of times since they were separated, she had certainly missed Grace. Evan too, and his bright and colorful costumes that she admired so much. "How have you been doing?" She then let go of Grace and turned to face Evan.

"Mhm~ I just wanted to visit. I was wondering if you had any designs you want modified. I have so much free time after all!" Besides, she'd rather do that before going over to HA to report to the Director. She would certainly become really busy if she would become a hero. Between Hero-work and doing her own shop's work, she might not have that much time left. Though she'd like to figure that out once they get there. "Though I won't mind a business meeting. I'd say it's a first seeing a serious meeting between two nineteen year olds." She continued with a grin.

[Animal]

City W

City W :: Main Street

@chukklehed@Cherrywitch@Archmage MC@Polaris North

With the area clear of danger, the first batch of trucks and three helicopters arrived at the scene, all bearing the symbol of the Hero Association. The cleanup crew had arrived! Immediately upon arrival, a group of specialists made their way towards the giant's corpse, all wearing identical black suits and dark shades, equipped with oversized high-tech gauntlets. The heroes were told not to interfere with their work. Meanwhile, a medical team moved in to treat any of the heroes injuries. An emergency helicopter was ready to transport them to the nearest medical facility if needed. The two heroes Flash Foward saved earlier were no longer in serious danger, no doubt they will send their regards after they are healed.

After inspecting the giant for less than a minute, his corpse was no longer needed. The specialists, or rather exterminators, incinerated the corpse with a combined energy blast, emitting from the palms of their gauntlets. Nothing was left of the giant. Only a narrow charred shadow of where his body once was.

Thankfully, this was done before reporters starting swarming in for interviews. If they were to catch the heroes violently dismembering and eating the remains of their fallen enemies like barbarians on live television, who knows how the public will react. A story like this occasionally pops up for some of the 'violent' heroes in the organization, but no actual evidence was ever presented for any of them. Former S rank hero Shredder and possibly Light, are victims for these types of rumors.

"A minute of your time please!"
"Over here!"
"What was the monster like?!"
"How did you take down the monster?!"

The amount of reporters along with their questions increased with each passing second. The guards were trying their best to restrict them from entering the zone. If the heroes wanted to partake in the interviews and gain a little publicity, it was their choice.

[Cherrywitch]

Niflheim Sokolov

The Violet Reaper
Location: City W, Main Street
Interactions: @Archmage MC@Polaris North

Eat...?

Reaper took a hesitant glance at the sickly looking monster meat, only just barely choking back vomit at the idea of consuming something like that. Maybe Light is fine, but Niflheim happened to be a human, and one without the cast iron stomach in order to not get sick.

"I... I'm fine. Really. Don't worry about me."

As she muttered this, is the Ukrainian woman lifted her eyes to see the cleanup crew arrive, along with the expected pack of news reporters. The Violet Reaper visibly cringed in disgust. She hated being mobbed by them. They were so loud and annoying. It reminded her of a particular Witch at the Association...

Light had already taken her leave, and Violet stood to get out of there as well, gently reaching down to help Flash to his feet and get him to one of the helicopters so he could be treated in the infirmary. He had a strange look on his face. "...Is something wrong, Flash? Do your feet hurt? I could carry you if you wish." She offered innocently. It was common to help a close friend in the Ukraine, no matter their gender. A woman carrying a hurt man bridal style wasn't a blow to the masculinity, unless the woman was particularly scrawny.

[Polaris North]

S H I N D O "F L A S H F O R W A R D" T S U B A S A

---

^{City W}
@Cherrywitch @Archmage MC

Flash Forward shrugged at Reaper's reply. He was about to stand up when the crew arrived and he chose to discard the large piece of meat and deemed it to be left unfinished. If any of the news people saw that, he was in deep, deep trouble and he'd rather not have that. He already did that interview once before at City S so he assumed that it would be fine if he didn't participate in this one. Thank goodness the guards were in the way, or else they'd be mobbed instantly.

He looked back at Reaper who had her hand oustretched towards him but then added something else after. He let out a chuckle and shook his head, "I can stand up by myself, thanks." He took her hand and then stood up thanks to her help. His feet were numb but they were working at least. Before he could continue, however, someone approached him, saw the meat, shook his head and then threw him one of the boxes he was holding which contained some food.

"Don't do that again FF. You're not one of 'em monster types, got it?" The man said while pointing at the meat. "I don't care how hungry you are, just please, no."

"Got it Hank. Won't do it again, I promise." Flash Forward replied and then the man nodded. Hank looked at Reaper, nodded at her, and then left to help the cleanup crew. Once he was out of earshot, Flash looked back at Reaper with the same serious face he had before he was approached. "It's just that, I haven't seen that kind of attack of yours before... and you looked like you were struggling with it. Is everything okay?" He guessed that dropping the bomb of the whole black tendril thing should wait for later.

[Archmage MC]

Light was a bit surprised at how fast Flash Forward was able to finish his bit of the steak Light had made. When the Hero Association got here to, what she assumed was teleport, the corpse away with their magic gauntlets, he only had what could be described as a normal in one of his hands before he threw it away as one of the cleanup crew started to yell at him for some reason. Light herself had finished her bit long before that. And besides some odd looks she got, none of the cleanup crew really bothered her, well, not until the camera crew for the media got there and she had to walk past the guy who was chewing out Flash.

Pulling Light over to the side as Flash was talking with Violet, Hank whispered loudly in her ear. "And you. Don't give Flash one of your 'monster handouts' again." Light figured there was a bit more to what he was trying to say, but gave a casual "Kaaay.", since she didn't see the problem. Not like it was human or anything and she knew some of the cheaper restaurants used monster meat anyway. Hank didn't like that, but Light was a bit too far away for him to do anything about it, as she liked posing for the cameras.

Of course she didn't stay around for interviews for too long, just a few words and quick shots. After all, she needed some exposure so she could eat at more restaurants and whatnot. Some of them gave discounts for heroes! Though she didn't stay long, not out of a fear or annoyance of the news people, but more because usually after a short bit, most of the boom mikes or cameras tended to... malfunction around her. Usually falling on her because some crew member tripped over a cable or something or lost their footing. And after three large mikes fall on you, you tend to want to play a 'cartoon escape' sort of gag with your portable hole.

When Light got back to Flash and Violet, who had ditched the reporters and interviewers, the two had finished their conversation and were already heading off somewhere. Light wasn't sure if they wanted her sticking around or not, but said. "So... After mission party? I'm ready to have some fun after all that business!"

[Cherrywitch]

Niflheim Sokolov

The Violet Reaper
Location: City W, Main Street
Interactions: @Archmage MC@Polaris North

He, knows my moves that well? Flash Forward isn't only fast on foot, but fast intellectually as well.

Violet merely seemed a bit surprised on the outside, holding the other thoughts firmly behind her casual mask of a face. No emotions can seep through. None. Too much emotion in any situation can ruin a person.

Inside she was scared, terrified even. No, she couldn't control that attack. In fact, it was almost as if it was done subconsciously, with little to no influence from her. And to cause such destruction... Violet would shudder if Flash weren't so close. Though Flash was a respected person, someone fairly trustworthy and one she likes to fight alongside, which is rare for a loner such as herself... She, just couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell anyone. Not about her new powers and certainly not about her fear of them. Violet Reaper could only share the first half with the one who bestowed upon her the dark magic, and would have to surpress her emotions of fear and uncertainty down into the very back of her mind as she normally would. Fear was a sickness, one that kills every soldier. She couldn't show fear.

"...You do not have to worry about me, Flash. It's just a new move I was working on. I'm fine." She lowered her head as she murmured this, avoiding eye contact with the male. It's none of your business.

Hopefully, he wouldn't press any further. When Toon Girl arrived after the conversation, Reaper merely blinked at her. "I, actually wanted to go see my brother. You both have fun." Reaper turned quickly to leave. No, she wasn't going to see her little mouse.

She had to see Sinnister.