[IC] Heroes Reborn - A DCAU Roleplay (Always open!)

[Ceta de Cloyes]

November 27th, 2019
1:24 PM, ET
GCU Library, Gotham

@The Whacko

---

Hex

Before, Tommy would have considered more magic to be a good thing, but now that there was more magic? It was one disaster after another, and every single time magic was to blame. His usually mediocre heating runes now started fires and boiled water, his enchanted skateboard literally disintegrated beneath his feet, which sent him rolling into Bex’s art project, utterly ruining the thing - he wasn’t really sure what she’d made but it’d shattered like flimsy glass under his weight. That had only been the beginning; now Bex was pissed at him, Anna was suspicious of him, he hadn’t spoken to Pads in ages, and now this.

What the fuck is that supposed to be?

It was seven feet tall at least, clearly undead and reeking like a corpse, and it was disgusting. What the hell?! This was not a flesh golem, this was an abomination straight out of Hercules’ trials. They were supposed to fight this thing?

At least his dad seemed to know what he was doing, though it was clear the situation hadn’t meant to be this dangerous otherwise Tommy wouldn’t be here in the first place.

He threw something, a half formed spell of fluorescent pink energy that caused spots on the golem’s flesh to blacken and char, but his next spell went directly into the ceiling when he slipped on a pool of blood, landing on his back, brand new outfit covered in sticky red, and broken plaster falling towards his face. He rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the debris, righting himself as his dad distracted the creature. Good to see the man had survived getting batted across the room, not that Tommy had doubted his father’s chances.

The Nail, huh? But… did that mean...? It wasn’t just a flesh golem, it was possessed, probably by a fucking demon because yay magic, the ley lines were jizzing all over the planet anyway so why the fuck not?

Tommy shook his head, looking at the creature in a new light. It wasn’t a pitiful golem dialed up to eleven, it was a legit threat to their lives, to the entire city’s lives probably. He began backing off, not at all eager to turn his back on the demon despite the need to make haste, and with good reason; as he neared the door and turned to run through it, a broken chair came flying at him. He didn't see it coming until it was too late, the force of the projectile carrying him clean through the door and out a window across the hall.

He was disoriented, and shuddered as the pain registered in his brain. Something was broken, but he didn’t know what and he didn’t exactly have time to figure it out. He didn’t even try standing, knowing it would only end badly, but he needed to help his dad and get the Nail. There was a way of course, with magic there was always a way… He forced his mind to focus, to pull on that energy within and see it; an orb with an oddly textured surface, and two rings making an ‘X’ in orbit around it, everything in shades of violet. He didn’t know what it was, but he saw it every time he transformed, and felt it’s energy pull at him.

The pain became muted as his skin darkened, color and sound became sharper as his eyes and hair reformed into violet light, and his mind found clarity as he found his Anodite form.

He was outside, surrounded by the remains of the chair that had hit him, and the shattered glass of the window he fell through. That didn’t matter now though, he rose into the air effortlessly, his movement easy in comparison to the struggle it’d been to even breathe moments before. He spied the car nearby, thankfully the parking lot was on this side of the building, and he zoomed towards it, popping open the trunk and locating the Silver Nail. He didn’t bother grabbing it with his hands, instead surrounding it in a violet aura, a glowing telekinetic spell, and flying back towards the window he’d fallen from, then through it and into the library again. As soon as he found his father and the monster again he threw the Nail with all his mental might at the back of the creature’s head.

But he missed, an awkward dizzying sensation causing him to lose focus, and the spell dropped the Silver Nail to the ground, landing perfectly between his dad and the golem. He dropped too, the energy that gave him his Anodite form felt thin and stretched, like it was threatening to rip at any second. He let it go, receding to that far away place, and he fell to his knees, human once more and breathing hard, but whole, whatever bone, or bones, had been broken before were now fine.

[hagroden]

Air Above Frankfort, Kentucky
December 1st, 2019

The Wanderer

---

Shawn's eyes were wide with Joy as they flew hundreds of feet above the ground. He'd never flown anywhere before, because the thought of hurtling hundreds of miles an hour in a giant metal shell had always, for some reason, terrified him. However here, with Harris, he felt safer than he often did on the ground. The view was incredible, however Shawn found himself preffering the view above him, rather than below. When Shawn first met Harris, he called him breathtaking, but now that word couldn't do him justice, and Shawn wasn't sure there were any that could.

Smiling sheepishly beneath his beard, Shawn turned his head so he could watch Harris as they flew, and couldn't help but feel a warmth in his chest. Harris looked so free up here, so happy, and so absolutely powerful. Shawn had known for some time about how he felt for Harris, that he wanted to be more than just his friend, but he also didn't want to push his boundaries or make Harris uncomfortable, he couldn't risk their relationship as it is now.

As Shawn continued to watch Harris, and continued to feel the warmth building in his chest, he thought of a fair word for him. Lovely.

Harris

---

Harris stared into the horizon, he was glad that it hadn't been near the end of the day, or else he'd be staring right into the sun. Even then he didn't think he'd be able to avert his eyes, he was afraid to do so. Something was happening that he didn't understand, there was a pit in his stomach, almost as if he was afraid, but he felt the opposite of afraid, all he knew was that he couldn't look at Shawn, his body wouldn't let him. This was more than what he thought it was, he had never felt this before. Harris had always tried to find someone, but he never found anyone who he felt attraction to, male or female, but this must be it, the feeling he was searching for all this time. He had never thought he'd find it here.

Harris took a deep breath and finally worked up the courage to speak, then yelled over the rushing wind.

"How's the view down there?"

God that sounded stupid. Why was he so worried about what Shawn thought all of a sudden? He was new to all of this. It was so strange, but it brought a warmth to his chest, the same as that which he got when he absorbed the sun's rays, only stronger and more continuous. Harris swallowed air and blew it out in greater amounts, again and again. What was he going to do?

The Wanderer

---

Shawn smiled coyly, knowing that although Harris was referring to the view below them, Shawn was much more interested in the one above him. Smiling warmly, he called up to Harris over the wind.
"It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

A soft shade of red began to spread over his face, even if there was no way that Harris could know what or rather, who he was referring to, saying it outloud brought him the tiniest smidgen of anxiety, but was quickly melted away by the happiness Harris grew in him.

Harris

---

Harris chuckled at Shawn's response, but as he began to think about it, the more he began to hyperventilate. Shawn had called him breathtaking once, perhaps this was a compliment? No, he was just talking about the view, but what if he wasn't? Would Harris miss his chance? Wait where'd this line of thinking come from? It had just snuck up on him, like a great many things in the days past.

He had to make sure, no matter how idiotically naive it seemed to assume that everything Shawn said was directed at him, self-centered even. Despite all of this, Harris found himself hoping that he was right. Oh god what happened to him, he had promised his mother she'd have grandkids, but now not only did he not have genitals he was in love with a man. His father would roll in his grave.

Meekly, Harris turned his head downwards, he was up high enough that he didn't need to worry about where he was going, so he spent that thought on worrying. His eyes widened as he was proven right, Shawn was looking right at him. His mind froze for an instant like an old computer, and even the plants seemed to be screaming in their frenzied whispering. His jaw limply fell open, and he found himself unable to move. What was he to do? What could he do, what should he say? Harris' mind rebooted, and his head became even more frenzied than ever.

The Wanderer

---

Shawn's eyes widened massively, and cheeks flushed a deep beat red that looked like he had acquired a sunburn within seconds. He spun his head back down so quickly he was in Danger of whiplash, and he began to silently curse himself thousands upon thousands of times. Fucking shit Shawn what is wrong with you, you just completely destroyed any and every possible chance of something with him. Please just drop me Harris,I swear to god it's ok. The anxiety he felt a smidge of earlier returned to him in full force and he felt his heart begin pumping in overdrive as he began to hyperventilate. He couldn't believe he had fucked up that royaly, there was no way he could even try to play that off. He had literally just stared at Harris and called him the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Please just drop me now.

Harris

---

Harris noticed Shawn's eyes turning the size of saucers and his face turning a lovely shade of dark pink, it was almost pleasing, though also absolutely terrifying. Harris finally recovered from his trance, averting his eyes swiftly. Harris felt almost relieved, Shawn felt the same!

Oh god Shawn felt the same.

What the hell did that mean? What did he do now? Did he screw it up? Oh god he screwed it up, or did he? Why was this so confusing? He had to do something. Finally his mind settled on the one thing he could do. He turned his head back down in an instant. He took one last deep breath, closed his eyes, and spoke.

“Shawn, I've never felt what I feel right now before today. I know you feel it too, or at least I think so and really hope so.”

Oh god what was he doing? This was the dumbest idea he'd ever had, but he couldn't stop himself, he had to finish. Though he was terrified to hear Shawn's response.

“Shawn, I think I…” He stumbled over his words and blabbered jibberish for a moment before he recovered. “I think you're a wonderful person, I think you saved me from myself. I want to feel what you make me feel forever.”

Oh god he was coming on too strong, he was screwing it up he had to stop, but he couldn't force himself to, he kept going.

“I don't feel like a monster when you're with me, I feel better than I ever used to when you're here. I think I want to be something... different than what we are right now. I would wait for a hundred years if there was ever any chance of us being together, so please tell me there's a chance, please tell me both of our voices can be on our answering machine, please tell me there's a chance of me finding your possessions in my tree,” he spoke haltingly, worried. “I don't know what I am or what I will become, but when I'm with you, I'm not worried about that, about any of it. I feel human again.”

Despite everything wrong with what he had just said, Harris felt his heart beat faster, not out of fear anymore, but something different entirely.

The Wanderer

---

At first, Shawn was too petrified to do anything but stare a hole into the Earth below them, and at the rate they were moving he could have very well created a new fault line. Shawn waited anxiously for Harris to laugh, or say that it wasn’t funny, or if he was truly lucky, drop him. However, it seemed that there was a different path set for them, and as Harris spoke, Shawn felt tears well in his eyes as his face formed the most honest smile of his life.

Shawn turned himself around in Harris’s vines, so his entire body was facing him. With a shaking hand, Shawn reached up to gently touch Harris’s face, and spoke.
“I don’t think I’m patient enough for a hundred years, so perhaps we could just start now?”

Then, Shawn nervously pulled himself upwards, and planted a soft kiss on Harris’ cheek.

Harris

---

Harris felt his heart thump in his chest as he saw Shawn smile, a wider smile than he'd ever seen the man make. Did he do it right? That was a good sign but maybe he was just about to laugh at him. That was totally it, no-one could love a monster like he…

His thought process was interrupted by Shawn's response, which made his heart move at speeds not thought possible, and then the kiss, which compromised every little insecurity and self-consciousness that he had left. Harris’ eyes widened, before they fell to an almost tired position as he grew content, truly blissfully happy, but something was still missing.

Harris frowned at Shawn and sighed frustratedly.

“Is that really your best?” he asked, before grabbing him and pulling him into the most satisfying kiss he thought he'd ever experience.

[Simple Unicycle]

4:52, November 27th 2019
Sisters of Mercy Women's Shelter; Hub City, Illinois

As he munched on the sugar cube, he noticed the Lady in Red's pupils dilate as he did so, more than likely in want of whatever he was munching on. Without a second thought, he pulled out another sugar cube, tossing it her way. "Figured you wanted one. Not going to judge. Keeps me going, might keep you going as well." She continued to talk, saying how she was a native and grew up in the Wedge. He grunted, "Grew up in Wedge as well. Was an orphan, too. Saw worst of world as a child. Part of what motivates me now."

The Lady in Red hesitated for a bit after he asked if she had questions, more than likely in shock of the fact that an urban legend, a myth meant to keep criminals up at night, was speaking to her. He couldn't blame her. Had this happened to him, he would've fainted by now. Finally, she asked her questions. He had to bite back a laugh. Yes, he had gotten beaten up before. What mistakes did he make? He would have to write an essay to list them all off, though it all linked back to three things: hastiness, narcissism, and carelessness.

"Got beaten up before. First night, went after an entire gang. Was lucky to escape with my life. Beat me to a pulp, left me in ditch. Managed to force myself to walk to hospital. Reasons: hadn't a care, too reckless, too arrogant. Thought I was on top of the world. Wasn't. Night taught me a lesson in humility. No matter how great you think you are, always someone stronger. Best not find out the hard way."

Question had uncrossed his arms, pacing whilst he talked. "Conclusion: go back to my main point. Be careful. Be calculating. And make sure your willpower is strong enough to stand what you may encounter, lest you go insane from the revelation of the vile things people are capable of." He paused, then turned back to her. "Apologies. Go on tangents sometimes. Out of my control."

[Holy Soldier]

Star City, California
November 4, 2019 5:15PM

The Glades were a ghetto. The degraded result of what could have been once upon a time an upstanding neighborhood. Gangs moved in and since reduced it to a ruin full of drug-dealers, prostitutes, stoners, and bums. The only type of people one would expect to inhabit a hell-on-earth like a festering wound that refused to heal. And still…innocents still found their way there like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole.

Alice was a young brunette, a teenager about high school age. She had taken the wrong bus; gone down the wrong turn; as she quickly realized on dismount. Her brows rose, green eyes expanding in surprise when she realized the city bus hadn’t dropped her off where she had intended. She turned her head to watch the bus go speeding down the road, her hand reaching up to remove the headphones that vigorously whispered the latest pop junk people her age listened to.

“Well shit,” she cursed. Now Mom is going to freak out.

She was going to be late, and her mother was too much of a worry wart not to call her when six o’clock rolled down. She removed her cell phone and glanced down at it: 5:15PM. She then noticed that she had zero bars. Fuck my life. Alice glanced around at the dirty neighborhood that surrounded her. This was one of those instances she had heard about where one wound up in the hood. She hadn’t been expecting to go there, but she wound up there as though hoods just spontaneously appear like a Silent Hill portal. There were bums warming their hands before a burning barrel, two shady males wearing hoodies and with their hands in their pockets were strangely staring at her from across the street, a scantily dressed woman went seductively walking by in her stilettos, her hips swaying to a sensual rhythm—wait, was that a man? Alice crossed her arms, embracing herself as the chill set in. She was not in her comfort zone. Quickly she walked over to the bus schedule on the wall, staring at it to see what time the next bus would arrive: 5:35PM. Good. She had to wait it out for just a little while longer.

Alice sat upon a splintered bench, surrounded by glass walls that had vulgar, obscene, and gang symbols spray-painted, painted, and Sharpied all over them. There were globs of dried gum that colorfully decorated every corner of it in some sort of disgusting décor, and trash—old fast food wrappers, Styrofoam cups, and a smashed liquor bottle—was at her feet. To comfort her, she slipped her headphones back into her ears and bowed her head as she continued to tremble, waiting patiently for the bus. She peered down at her phone, typing in the passcode to unlock it. She could at least play a game. As she started matching gems in Bejeweled, the two men who had been watching her from across the street were suddenly standing before her.

Alice happened to notice their shadows out of her peripherals and with a gasp her head snapped upwards. She removed her headphones and stared at the men who were smiling at her from beneath their hoodies.

“You lost?” one of them asked.

“I-I just got off at the wrong stop. The next bus just comes in a few minutes,” she replied nervously.

“Hell yeah you got off at the wrong stop. You know who owns this bus stop? The Black Kings own this stop, and you know who we are? The Black Kings. If you’re sittin’ here, it ain’t free.”

Alice quickly removed her purse from her shoulder and started fishing through it. “O-okay, I’m-I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I don’t have much.”

She found a five dollar bill that she handed to one of the thugs. The thug raised the bill to his face, bottom lip turned upward in disappointment.

“I might be able to get a few bags with that,” the other thug muttered.

Pocketing the bill, he reached down to roughly snatch the bag from Alice, wrenching it from her hands.

“Hey! Stop!” she exclaimed.

The thug raised his hand threatening to her, causing her to recoil out of fear. “Bitch, I will slap you if you make me!”

Alice began crying. “I said I don’t have any more money! Please, I gave you what I have. I just want to get on the bus and go home!”

The thug fingered through her bag, scowling through all the makeup and junk he found. The other thug muttered, “What you expect her to have? She’s just a kid. She ain’t got shit.”

“She looks like a rich girl.”

“I swear I’m not rich!”

“Shut the fuck up!”



The thug paused. His eyes briefly went wide and then he glanced over to his partner. “What the fuck did you say?”

His partner blinked. “I didn’t say nothing.”

“I thought I heard you say that’s not how you talk to a lady. Look man, she’s sitting at our stop so she has to pay for the privilege.”

“Man, I’m telling you. I didn’t say nothing.”



The thug lowered Alice’s purse. His right eye twitched a little as he started looking all over: up, down, left, right…his partner noticed his odd behavior. “You…all right man? You tweakin’ or something?”

“I…I don’t know. I’m hearing voices all of a sudden.”



Dropping the purse, the thug grasped his head and cursed: “Fuck! I can’t make them stop!”

Alice quickly snatched up her bag and scooted down to the far end of the bench away from the men.

“You’re freakin’ me out man,” the other thug nervously whimpered.

Suddenly, the thug’s head snapped to the right as blood and a tooth went flying from his lips. The other thug jumped back in fright.

“OH! WHAT THE FUCK!?”

Suddenly the thug’s head snapped left and then right again. He stood there wobbling in a daze before his hips abruptly rose above his head. His whitey-tighties were stretched and hanging in the air on what looked like to be nothing at first. The wedgie made the thug shriek like a girl, sending the other one fleeing in terror.

“Fuck this ghost shit!” the other thug exclaimed.



The thug was dropped flat on the ground. Alice stared with her mouth agape in awe, unsure what happened to him herself. Gazing down the sidewalk, she heard the other thug groan out loudly in pain as he crumpled over in a rolling heap with his hands between his legs. She felt a chill, and it hadn’t been the cold weather. Was there really a ghost? Her attention was directed to the first thug that was on the ground as she watched a five dollar bill rise out of his pocket. Squinting to look closely, she saw that it was carried by a small bug. The bug flew closer, hovering before her holding the five dollar bill.



Alice screamed and naturally her hand swung out, slapping the fly out of the air. The bug struck the glass wall with a spark before it plopped upon the ground. The next bus pulled up, the bus driver having gawked at the two unconscious men lying ass-up on the sidewalk. Alice quickly fled onto the bus as it pulled off back down the road.

The bug man was lying face down on the cement almost ironically like the two thugs he had put there. He groaned softly, his wings buzzing in spasms. “First day on the job…fail.”

He continued to lay there until he felt strong enough to rise to his hands and knees. He peered down at the five dollar bill and sighed. I forgot women hate bugs.

He felt bad for still having the girl’s money. Now he felt like the thief. Rolling the bill up, he rose to his booted feet and tucked it under his arm like a poster. “Ugh, I’m calling it a day.” What a lame start.

[Taytay]

3:45 PM
November 20th, 2019
Downtown Midway City, Michigan

---

Ira woke up in a nasty mood this morning. There was no underlining cause, he just woke up pissed at everything, the color of his sheets, Cher, his job, and his shit city. He decided to blow everything off and take a day to himself. He has been wandering throughout the flea markets and urban down town all day. his only goal was to maybe find something cool and buy it, or just calm his nerves in general. he found some cool hand made statue and a few custom graphic t-shirts and was on his way back home via the above ground subway system. Midway City was know for having a day train system which ran above ground, while the underground subway ran all day. They Day Track was really for tourist because it gave great views of the city.

Ira often took the Day Track, which ran slower so you could really take the view, and was just relaxing. The sun was shining off the tall buildings and adding a glow to the skyline. This was not the first time he did this, and it wont be the last. The Day Track, B-line was by far his favorite place in the city. It took passengers straight through downtown and into the "Slumville", Ira was on his way back from Slumvile when something very horrible began to happen.

Once after another whole sections of the track started to explode. Ira was in the lead car with the driver and many other occupants. So he saw it coming, and had a decision to make: he could either leave the train and let it happen or he could stay and help people after the destruction. Ira had been at this crossroad before, when he was dealing with local thugs. He could have easily killed them but he forced them to go tot he police and confess their crimes. Now he had to do it again, and as he looked around he saw a young girl and her mother. Ira knew he was not gonna let all these people on this train die at and he would at least try to help.

Other people took notice of the smoke on the track and the driver came out and started screaming orders, people started to panic and run into the following cars. Ira just sat there in the chaos and watched, he could feel the minds of all 134 people on trying to pack themselves in the last 6 cars of the 12 car train.

When the first two cars where empty Ira changed forms and dawned his martian appearance for the first time in a long time. His pale green skin, black eyes, red iris, and his bald head. Ira stood and saw the closest missing train tracks were about five minutes away So he phased through the roof of the train and stood on top of it, letting the wind blow in his face. You could see the 6 clouds of smoke, not only on this track but on other ones as well. He flew to the missing section and turned to face the oncoming train. It was not a bullet train but it was traveling fast enough to derail into some of the near by buildings and kill a lot of people. Unfortunately that was his plan to let the train derail and then use his telekinesis to lift the 6 empty cars into the street while the remaining full six sat on the track awaiting public assistance.

When the B-Line derailed, Ira was ready but was caught of guard by the weight of the train. he had only ever lifted cars with his powers here on earth, and this was a lot heavier. So he kind of dropped it at first until he started to focus and then set it down off the tracks just as he had planed. When he dropped it, it skimmed the corner of a near by clothing store. The Day Tracks where all about 35ft off the ground and were only 40ft from the street. These trains where literally the back yards for most of the homes in the city.

Anyone who passed by would have seen the explosion and then seen a green man standing on the track lifting his arms up in tangent with the train as it roughly landed in-between two building and some of it over flowed from the ally into the street. People would have already taken pictures and called the police. So Ira made a speedy getaway into the sky. There six other tracks that could still possibly need help, and Ira could only hope that Cheril would not kill him to hard for ruining these clothes.

[Blackstripe]

4:54, November 27th 2019
Sisters of Mercy Women's Shelter; Hub City, Illinois

"Wow, thanks!" Karen perked up when The Question offered her a piece of candy. Eagerly accepting it, she popped it into her mouth, savoring the intense rush of concentrated sugar. They didn't really have Candy Shops in The Wedge. She knew that wasn't always the case, since there was an old abandoned one on 4th Street, but that was well before her time.

Continuing to listen to his tale of his first night out with some curiosity, she frowned when he mentioned barely escaping with his life.

It, honestly, had to be pretty terrifying to go out there every day when you were nothing but a normal human being...which she had just confirmed through his story. She'd be way too scared to even seriously entertain the idea of taking on any one of these ruthless thugs without her powers, never mind a whole gang of them. Her encounter with the mugger had proven well that attempting heroism as Karen Hernandez was a fast track to getting shot.

"Sorry you've had it so rough," she finally said, with no hint of sarcasm or condescension. She could sympathize with anyone that had to spend their life there, and would never wish it on her worst enemy. "Even if alone we can't make a lasting difference, maybe the both of us can."

Of course, she was still low key heroing, per Sam's instructions. Once she was ready to turn things up a notch, she'd be able to change things, she knew it. On that note...

"It was really great meeting you, Mr. Question," she offered him a hand to shake. "But I need to go now. Hopefully we'll see each other again. Maybe even do a team up! That'd be cool."

With a light wave, Karen turned to make her way back home. Walking at first, then moving at speeds no normal human could follow once she was out of sight.

---

5:01

"Not bad," Sam finished appraising her long coat. "No tears at all this time. You did well out there."

Karen grinned at this, now back in her human form. Every day when she got back from heroing, Samantha would check the coat for tears to see if she had used excessive force. She had a good number of incidents in her first couple of weeks, but was getting better about it.

Thankfully, nobody had been killed or too badly hurt since her first outing, as she had practiced on inanimate objects for a while before trying crime fighting again.

"I feel like I've got enough control now to ditch the coat," Karen stated confidently. "I could get so much more done if I could fly and really take it to these guys!"

"No," Samantha shook her head, "that's not why you were chosen, and besides...you're just starting to get a handle on your strength. Your control isn't at such a level where you can bloodlessly go around beating up entire gangs, even if you did want to waste your powers on such mundane concerns. Besides, what good would that do? Simply being in a gang isn't a crime, after all. You'd just look like a lunatic."

Karen's shoulders sagged at this. Maybe she had a point, but... "What am I even supposed to be doing? You keep telling me I'm not a superhero, but then what?"

"You're the Guardian of Magic and the most powerful sorceress in existence, should you live up to your potential," Samantha explained, taking a few steps towards her. "Your duty is to safeguard this world from the unspeakable horrors that lurk beyond the veil of what humans perceive to be reality, not beating up muggers or petty thugs. This is just practice to help you master your new body."

Karen frowned, staring down at the creature that she had once regarded as a simple - if beloved - pet. "Then how about you teach me some actual magic?"

"No, you're-"

"Not ready, of course!" Karen cut her off with a snap. "Should've known."

Samantha sighed, her head dipping towards the floor. "If you were to learn magic before you mastered your body, you wouldn't be able to control it and could cause irreparable damage to this world."

Karen didn't really have an argument she could counter that with, unfortunately. That didn't mean she had to like what the stuffy cat said, though. Folding her arms, she turned away and pouted in silence.

She then heard Sam sigh again behind her.

[The Whacko]

@Ceta de Cloyes

November 27th,
1:24 PM, ET
GCU Library, Gotham

The Fallen was stronger than any Clayton had seen in years, even as it's rotting limbs began to crumble away under the decaying influence of the mage's spells. Stumps of limbs were replaced by infernal fire that grew into ashen flesh, and the dead, glassy eyes became red, flaming pools full of contempt for all living things on the mortal plane. It batted away the swings of the mace, sweeping Clayton off his feet and booting the him across the floor hard enough to break ribs. Grunting and stumbling to his feet, the giant tried to life the mace he'd taken from a broken case, though his arms were stinging with exhaustion.

"Trying to spare your half-breed spawn your fate? Your gesture is useless. I will not kill you now, Clayton Toombs. I will find your son first. I will flay him before your eyes, cast his skinless corpse at your feet. After you've heard his dying screams, seen his life spill out in blood, you will have my permission to die." The voice was scratchy, hoarse, the demon still attempting to repair the stitched-together vocal cords. It brought up a surge of rage in Clayton, and he bared bloody teeth at the beast as he case another sickly green bolt of magical energy at the demon-golem's knees. It bellowed in return as the two met in the middle of the room, infernal magics repairing the damage as quickly as the necromancer's could decay flesh and bone. Steel met bone as the mace slammed into a tree trunk sized arm, holding the mage in place even a he tried to slam all of his weight into the weapon.

"You ain't taking Tommy, demon! You're goin' back to whatever hell The Presence threw your sorry ass in!" Clayton roared in the monster's face, kicking out at a knee and earning a bellowing cry from the demon as it buckled. He swung his mace upward, catching the beast in the chest and sending it stumbling back, leaving a distance between the monster and the mage.

And then Tommy was there, the Silver Nail in hand as the two stared down at each other. Both looked sharply in the direction of the Anodite teenager, the demons's burning eyes widening as it realized what the boy was carrying. Even missing the demon's head, it sent the stitched-together body trembling with pain and fear as the spirit inside recoiled from the magical device. Desperation filled it's corpse-like face as it saw the nail land between it and Clayton. Without thinking it lunged for the nail, wanting nothing more than to get it away from the magi who would surely know it's power and how to send it back to the torments it had left behind.

It never came close as corpses slammed into the demon-golem from all angles, the security guards gnashing and sinking broken teeth into flesh, and even the severed head of the would-be summoner flying, screaming at her construct with green magical fire billowing from it's mouth as it burned the beast's face. The presence of the Silver Nail was draining the demon's strength as Clayton's necromancy had drained it's body's, and now with the zombies of its victims swarming it, it was open to the killing blow. Clayton swept up the nail a roar slammed it down into the demon's heart. There was no final bellow, no cursing the mage's mortal wounding of it's physical body, just a shudder as the demon's spirit began to slip away, dragged back to the plane it had been trapped in for untold eons.

Before it left, however, it had one final message, the twisted, melting face turning to face Hex.

"Anodite...no idea of your fate...your true nature...it will be your father's end."

And then it was gone, the lifeless golem collapsing into a mangled pile of limbs.

[Korkoa]

November 30, 5:35 AM
Beedles apartment, Coast City

@Ceta de Cloyes

Jessie awoke again with another start, as the obnoxious donkey noises she had just set up as her text alert went off, ensuring she would wake up if Ezra texted her again. Damn, that was loud. She fumbled with the phone, standing up from the chair she had fallen asleep in and accidentally sending it crashing to the floor. Jessie winced at the combination of loud sounds, if her parents weren't awake before they likely were now...

The sleep-robbed girl glared at her phone angrily before checking the text message, processing the information within. It seemed plausible on the surface, but... If it wasn't bad enough for him to need even a little support, how would Ezra know if it was contagious? Actually, who could have even caught a bug from him, besides herself. Jessie was pretty sure she was the only one Ezra spent much time with. Combined with the evidence of a picture message, and the general suspiciousness of 5 in the morning, Jessie wasn't convinced.

Knock knock knock. Came a sound of Jessie's door. The girl turned to hear her mothers muffled voice coming through the door, laced with concern. "Jessie honey, are you okay? I heard some noise and you're never up this early..."

"Yeah mom, I'm fine!" Jessie called out, rubbing her eyes in exasperation as she searched for some clean clothes to throw on. She was up now, and it'd be stupid to try and get back to sleep. Jessie paused for a moment as she looked at the open text field on her phone, weighing her options. "Um... Hey mom, Ezra just texted me; you know the guy from the gym? He's not feeling well and..." Jessie sighed, she was committed now... "Uh, do you think we can make some macaroni and cheese and I'll bring it to him later? I don't know that he has much in the way of real food..."

A long, pregnant pause from the other side of the door, though Jessie could hear her mothers shuffling feet. "Well... Of course we can, Jessie." She said, sounding genuinely surprised. "I'll get started on it after breakfast, that way you should be able to get it to him before lunch." The sound of footsteps as Jessie's mom began to move away from the door, before suddenly turning and coming back. "One more thing Honey..."

Jessie groaned, rolling her eyes. She was sure her mom was about to make her watch the store now... "Yes mom?"

"I... I'm proud of you, taking care of your friend like this."

Jessie paused for a moment, blinking in surprise as she sat down on her bed slowly. She heard her mother shuffle away and she smiled slightly. Of course she knew her parents were proud of her, she was freaking awesome after all. But... She rarely got to hear it. The approval was nice. And now she wanted to make sure she'd earned it. Jessie opened her phone back up and wrote out a response to Ezra.

"Alright loser, here's the plan. I'm bringing you some homemade macaroni and cheese. I'll leave it outside your door if I have to, but I don't want to leave you to the horrors of instant noodles + head cold. Gimmie your address and it'll be ready for you by noon." Of course, Jessie had no intention of just leaving it outside his door, but nobody had to know that yet...

[DragonofTheWest]

5:00 A.M

Brooklyn New York

November 27nd

It was an easy decision for John to live with his uncle, he was tiring of being on the run. As payment for living at his uncle’s place, John worked at the junkyard his uncle owned keeping it well kept and ensured business when about properly during the day but at night, it was John’s personal playground.

Junkyards at night were one the few places John found peace in. This junkyard in particular was fairly large and rather isolated from any neighboring houses leaving John in secrecy allowing him to do whatever he pleased. Every day the young Kryptonian experimented with his abilities such as stacking old cars atop one another and use them as weights. If John wasn’t lifting them then he was throwing them into the air and catching them or maybe tearing them apart just for the sake of it. Such exercise however didn’t last long as John eventually got bored after a short time considering no matter how much additional weight he tried to put on, he always had the strength. Still being able to use part of his true self in secrecy was always welcoming as opposed to always trying to be careful. This continued for a time
until…

“Hey John, it’s time I showed you something”

To think such words would hold much weight.

It was supposed to be another typical cool winter morning but when his uncle showed up, unexpectedly John knew something was going to happen, he just wasn’t sure what.
“You sure you aren’t cold?” his uncle questioned as he led his nephew towards the back of the junk yard. It was such a casual question but John knew he was hiding something, bidding his time.
“I told you uncle, it’s not cold out” John replied, remaining ever so skeptical. The pair continued walking in silence. The silence was almost getting rather uncomfortable but finally they arrived at their destination, a small wooden barn that was located in the back corner of the junk yard. “You see that barn, the one I told you to don’t go in… it’s time.” Mike finally said.
John gave his uncle a questionable look. “I respected your wishes and never bothered to even peek inside but now you want me to go in? If you must know uncle it’s not my birthday” Funnily enough it was John who tried being casual about the conversation while it was his uncle who was the more serious one around.

“Your father always meant for you to see this when you were older. I figured since you were here, I wanted you to decide what to do with it.” John glanced at the barn and then back at his uncle, this was all rather confusing but none the less John approached the barn. The entrance was locked tight, tight enough that no random thief would even bother trying to get inside. “Hey kid, do your thing, you don’t need no crowbar or notthin” Mike stated after watching John debate on how he wanted to approach this.
With a shrug and a quick tug, John ripped the sizable wooden doors apart and eyed the object before him. For weeks now John had long wondered what was inside… he figured that maybe it was some sort of secret car that his uncle planned to rebuild one day or maybe old junk that was personal to him. At the very worst John joked that perhaps his uncle murdered people and placed the bodies inside though this joke didn’t go over very well.

Inside however lay some sort of alien spacecraft something John had never seen before. It seemed out of place, its features matching nothing from earth. “I don’t… understand” John stated, after several silent seconds of contemplation. “It was what you arrived in.” Mike replied. “Your father found you inside when you arrived… instead of turning you in your father decided to take you and the craft and hide it here. I wasn’t much to believe in alien stories considering you looked liked us so I thought it was all some sort of big joke.”

“I… came from that?” John was puzzled, he knew the story but seeing the spaceship that brought him to the planet for the first time just seemed off. It was just another reminder that he was from some other planet across the stars. “Yes.” Mike replied as his eyes shifted from his nephew to the craft. “Look inside.” He added on.
John did as he was told and approached the craft, his hands running along the smooth edges of the ship before grabbing what seemed to be some sort of lever and lifted it upwards. Inside lay a small empty space, presumably the spot that housed him in his trip across the stars but there was something else… besides the empty space was some sort of black skinsuit. John didn’t know how to describe it… it wasn’t like any form of fabric that he knew off and it was almost armor like in appearance. The dark body had a long cape attached with and boots and gauntlets paired off to the side as if it was to complete some sort of uniform.

“It’s yours John, always was. Don’t worry I never tried putting it on.” Mike smiled faintly, he could see the awe in John’s eyes. As frustrating as it was to know so little, it was reassuring to know that John at least could finally see something of his own unique alien culture. “Your parents believed that you would be great at whatever you chose to do in life, I too share that sentiment.” Feeling an odd connection towards it and with curiosity guiding him, John took the foreign material and placed it over his body.
The suit fit perfectly as if it was designed solely for him. “It’s a bit of an odd look… but it does suit you” Mike watched with pride as his nephew emerged from the barn in full costume and all. Despite its dark appearance the suit melded perfectly with his nephew athletic muscular appearance… it was intimidating but awe inspiring all at the same time. Soon the sky began to fill with the songs of the morning birds while the horizon began to illuminate the darkened sky. “Go John, give it a try” Mike urged.

Almost on command John willed his body upwards as he began to levitate in the air “Thank you uncle” was all John could muster before he placed more effort into his floght as he began gradually rising up into the air. Within a few quick short seconds, he was hundreds of feet in the air… casually. With the sun rising higher and getting into John held his position to embrace warm rays touch his suit as he felt a surge of power that he couldn’t describe. With no destination in his mind and feeling embolded by his sudden gain in power, John rocketed his body forward as if he was shot out of a cannon, a small boom echoing around him as if thunder struck. He was flying, soaring through the air with such ease that he could hardly believe it.

No, this was not new to him, he was used to leaping great distances or brief moments of flight but the suit itself was seemingly augmenting his abilities, perhaps allowing him to tap into that special reserve he knew he had but never bothered to reach. It was a long time since he had felt such joy.

[Blackstripe]

8:24 PM, December 1st
Spring Grove, The Wedge; Hub City

Samantha hated it when she went out this late. Said it risked her father finding out if he happened to wake up. That was, of course, ridiculous. Her dad never woke up once he passed out for the night, and even if he did, the last thing he'd do was ever check up on her. Not unless he was inexplicably hungry after supper.

Besides, night was when the best crime fighting happened. Everybody knew that. The worst of the worst would stick their heads out, conducting their rotten business with impunity...and that's precisely what she aimed to put an end to tonight.

Sam had made a good point when she said that she couldn't just aimlessly beat up thugs. She had to catch them in the act of committing a crime, and the way to do that would be to raid one of their crack houses. Not only was she pretty much guaranteed to find drugs in there, but there was at least a chance of one of the gang leaders being present. That seemed like quite the worthwhile opportunity!

She had scared the location of one out of one of the Spring Grove Boys she'd caught trying to break into a home earlier today, and he didn't seem like a terribly good liar.

By this point, they knew well what the Lady in Red looked like, and would react swiftly upon seeing her approach. They might even try to burn their product if she dicked around for too long. Therefore, tonight, there would be no taunting. No introductions.

She could see the crack house from the street, her presence still masked by the darkness of the night. There were around six men standing outside, all of them likely armed. It didn't matter though, because she wouldn't be fighting them. Not at first, anyway.

Lowering herself into a slight crouch, Karen immediately surged forth at just below the speed of sound. Leaping into the air at the precipice of the front yard, she soared over the heads of the guards. Staring up at her in horrified astonishment, they were unable to even utter a word of warning to those inside before she came crashing through the wall of the crack house. Amidst a hail of splinters she met the eyes of more than half a dozen men seated around a table, and there was nary a pause before the first one drew his weapon.

Dashing forward, she drove her palm into his chest to launch him back into the far wall, the impact splintering the wood and sending the thug crumpling to the ground. The others had risen to their feet by this point, opening fire on her with semi-automatic and machine pistols alike.

She bobbed and weaved around the firing arcs in a way that would probably seem hilariously amateurish if they could track her movements, taking down each one with a simple palm strike or throw. It didn't take long for the guards outside to join the fray, but now that she was inside they wouldn't be able to destroy her evidence. Maintaining her cool and lightly inclining her head to allow a series of bullets to sweep past her ear, she dispatched yet another with a measured blow to the sternum that resulted in him crashing through the table.

Bullets continued to miss her by the slimmest of margins as she defeated two thugs simultaneously by wielding one as a momentary flail. She didn't have to dodge, of course. Sam had made it quite apparent that nothing in their arsenal could harm her, but the longcoat she wore over her "uniform" was another story. If that became riddled with bullets, then the ever surly feline would make her patch up every single one of them.

Issuing a precisely controlled headbutt to one of the last remaining thugs, she watched him crumple to the ground at her feet. There were now only three left, and they proceeded to throw their weapons to the floor the moment she turned to face them. It looked like her one-woman raid had been successful.

"You," she pointed to the nearest member of SGB, "give me your phone."

---

8:52

It was satisfying - to say the least - to see the flashing of police sirens in Spring Grove. It had been far too long since any patrol cars came through any part of The Wedge, after all. Normally, the cops would never bother coming down here for a crime report, but the promise of whole house full of contraband was a bit too enticing for even them to pass up, especially since all the dirty work had been done for them.

For the past week or so, in fact, the cops had seemed quite happy to let her do all the heavy lifting. They hadn't even bothered to condemn her blatant vigilantism, as it apparently distracted from the articles being published by her new reporter "friend" on just how messed up this place was.

It was pretty funny.

But maybe...maybe if she could clean up these streets enough, the police would finally be willing to step up and do their part. If she broke the gangs enough to where they could bring some actual law back to The Wedge, then everything will have been worth it.

[Bluetommy]

9:25 PM
December 1st
Abandoned Factory, Hub City

The smog of Hub City's meager industrial district carried over the wind as Wilhelm stood atop the abandoned factory, his base of operations. Gunfire could be heard echoing in the distance, a testament to the failures of democracy. The gathered group of German Restorationists behind him dead silent, as had been instructed, continuing to keep them under his control stressing on Wilhelm's mind.

Wilhelm closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath. Just a little longer, that was all he needed, he had to keep going. Telepathically, he instructed the men on their roles. The police rarely ventured into The Wedge, so that's where he would begin. Meanwhile, he instructed a group to take hostages in the richer district in order to draw SWAT away, meanwhile, a heavy concentration of men would march on the Police Station. Once they had that, they'd surround SWAT and kill them to a man. He'd equipped his men well with the weapons he'd taken from compliant arms dealers, and some less compliant. They'd be less equipped than SWAT, but they had numbers on their side, and once they took the Police Station they'd have vehicles to allow them to move throughout the city easily.

Wilhelm himself would take The Wedge, near-singlehandedly. The vigilantes that he'd been informed of were just that, vigilantes, unsupported and in way over their heads. They'd fall, as would all of those in the way of Großdeutschland.

---

10:28 PM
December 1st
The Wedge, Hub City

The plan had been a success so far. In under a half-hour the police station had been taken in a lightening attack that would make the Fuhrer proud. Currently SWAT was holding their ground, but Wilhelm doubted they could last much longer, his lookouts on the edge of town had yet to notice any army movement, but Wilhelm would be sure to retreat the instant they were spotted. Hopefully they wouldn't arrive until the city was under his control. No American army would beseige their own civilians, so it would be an all-out assault from the moment the officer makes the command. With his mind in charge of defending against the assault, it was unlikely to be a successful one.

Wilhelm took in the smell of burning as he and his men walked down the city street, cars littering the road between the flaming buildings. One of these such cars had a word on the side. "UBER", all capital letters. Wilhelm felt himself grow into a fiery rage.

"Uber? Wo ist der Umlaut? Und alle der Buchstabe sind kapitalisiert? In der deutschen Sprache werden Substantive immer groß geschrieben!" he roared furiously as he tossed the car through the air, smashing it through the wall of a nearby building. He hated when Americans or other such inferiors stole the German language for their own use, especially if it was misused.

He calmed after a few seconds frothing in a furor. It was fine, The Wedge was as good as his anyway, he'd lit a few fires to draw out anyone who thought themselves strong enough to stop him, and all that came were a few hoods who thought themselves better than they were. He had yet to see any of the reported vigilantes, they were all too terrified to face him, he presumed, no matter, they'd all die anyway. All of them would pay for what they did to the Fuhrer.

[Blackstripe]

10:32 PM
Home

"He is no normal human, Karen," Samantha explained, her emerald eyes catching the dim light within their nighttime home. "I watched him slaughter the men who stood against him by hurling entire vehicles through the air as if he were pitching a baseball."

Karen's frown deepened, an orange hue filtering through the blinds as the fires raged outside. "If that's the case, then who else can stop him but me?"

It had been about an hour since she'd returned home from Spring Grove.

She had watched the police establish a parameter around the crack house, cordoning it off from the rest of the neighborhood. Lurking in the bushes beneath the cover of darkness, she'd simply observed for roughly twenty minutes while they read the dozen plus thugs their rights before shoving them into their patrol cars. Numerous onlookers had emerged from their homes when they first heard the sirens blaring, shocked to see such massive arrest taking place in their previously ignored community.

Everything had gone perfectly.

She had thus been resting soundly in bed when Samantha had awoken her, and it didn't take long for her to figure out why: The Wedge was burning. She was still in her pajamas as she stared out the window, watching people flee in terror from the spreading fire.

"Come on, Sam, you know I have to go!" Karen pleaded with the cat who was currently camped in front of the door. She'd tried to remove her, but had been rewarded by a series of scratches on her arms. Transforming in here would surely wake up her dad, so that was a no-go as well.

Samantha firmly shook her head. "I woke you so you would be ready if he came to our house, not so you could go fight it out in the streets. You've already gone over my head enough as it is with that little raid you pulled off, but this is a level you're not even close to being ready for yet!"

"So I'm supposed to just sit here and watch my home burn?!" Karen snapped, her heart pounding with raw indignation. She had friends who lived here, most notably Clarissa. What if she ended up caught in the fire? She wasn't answering her texts or calls. "It may be a shithole, but it's still my shithole!"

Digging her claws into the old and partially molded carpet, Samantha shot a glance to the window. "Your job isn't to prevent humans from killing themselves. Such a thing would be a lesson in futility, even for one of your power. You're here to safeguard the Earth from-"

"Horrors beyond the veil, blah, blah," Karen cut her off. "Well, guess what? This guy isn't behind some veil. He's here right now, and he seems pretty fucking horrible! If I have to just stand here while people die, if I can't even use my powers to at least try and make this shitty world a better place, then I don't want them! Now get out of my way you stupid cat, before I kick you through the TV!"

Samantha seemed a little taken aback by her threat, casting her head down. Without speaking a word, she stood and moved from her path. Karen felt a pang of guilt hit her chest.

"Sam, I'm sorry, I just-"

"Hurry," Sam muttered. "If you're going to save The Wedge, then you don't have much time left."

---

10:38
North Central Street; The Wedge

Those fleeing from the fire - and the maniac who started it - on North Central Street would be hard pressed to focus on anything other than survival as the flamed relentlessly pursued them, threatening to engulf the entire area. And yet, even amidst their entirely reasonable panic, many were unable to avoid looking to the sky when it flashed with an azure light, the unmistakable crash of thunder soon to follow.

Standing now before the man responsible for all of this was a woman, the Lady in Red. Dressed in her crimson overcoat, she seemed intent on facing the monster before her alone.

~

"Who are you?" Karen shouted over the roar of the fire. "Why would you set fire to The Wedge?"

A lot of people might say they wanted this place to burn, but nobody ever meant it. She couldn't imagine why anyone would feel the need to go this far, even if they really did hate it.

[Bluetommy]

10:38
North Central Street; The Wedge

Wilhelm lazily strutted down the burning street, waiting for someone, anyone to come out to face him, this part of the city was his, no question, and if all went well the rest soon would be the same. He should have left already, no-one here was left to oppose him, he should have gone to aid with the gunfight with SWAT, but he had desired to meet one of the vigilantes that those in the city were so fond of speaking about, they were trusted more than the police here, killing them would horrifically damage the spirit of anyone living in Hub City.

It seemed as if these stalwart defenders were too afraid to face him, like most everyone else. Suddenly, he was proven wrong by the intrusion of a woman's voice, following the sudden crack of thunder and a flash of lightning. Wilhelm stared with a scowl, hidden behind his mask. His companions raised their weapons immediately and pointed them at the woman, one of the vigilantes, clearly. Wilhelm found himself growing excited, this would truly break the spirits of anyone who still dared defy him.

"I am a scion, a remnant," he responded to her words with a sunny and pleased demeanor transmitted through his words. "What, do you not find the flames beautiful? I lit them just for you," he stated as he gestured to the burning buildings around him.

"I doubt anyone would miss these buildings, clearly you wouldn't," he said, giving the first hint that he had begun to read her mind.

---

Karen didn't quite grasp the meaning behind his last words, but they greatly unnerved her. Had she given any outward indication that she viewed The Wedge in an unfavorable light? Well, it didn't matter. He had crossed a major line when he burned her town and hurt the people living in it. It was bad enough when they did it to themselves, she wasn't about to let some asshole from whereverthefuck get away with it.

Her gaze briefly shifted to the men surrounding him; there were six in total, all heavily armed. Much more so than the thugs she had been dealing with up till now. None of them were a threat to her, still, but they would need to be dealt with nonetheless...but only after she took care of their boss.

"You're the one that's about to get lit up, asshole!" Karen finally replied, crouching. Sam had warned her about this guy's weird powers, so she might just have to use a coat-tearing amount of strength this time.

Launching herself forward at about six hundred miles per hour, she dove into Mr. Scion with a subsonic tackle, blasting aside anyone else in her path.

---

Even despite his increased brain power, Wilhelm could barely find the reaction time to make a single thought, and he was sent flying backwards at great speed, but just as suddenly as he had been tossed, he stopped midair, an incredibly sudden stop that in all honesty should have killed him, but he held his organs and bones together in order to prevent them from snapping or being turned to liquid. The blow was hard enough to completely shatter his ribs, he could tell that at the very least, he'd have to focus a portion of his brain power on holding them together now, just grand.

Wilhelm had to wonder just what the hell this woman was, he had to probe deeper into her mind, but her speed made that dangerous. Telepathically instructing his companions to open fire, he began probing. He felt his body shake in shock as he began to recieve her thoughts. She was a girl, not a woman, a child, and some... old man had given... what in the hell was going on?

Most terrifying of all, she seemed to be more powerful than anything he'd ever seen in his life. Wilhelm would have to test the limits of her abilities. Lowering himself to the ground slowly, he hid his pain and watched the... girl, with hands behind his back.

"Ouch, that was a good hit, my little lady," he spoke with a condescending dance in his voice. "I do have one question for you."

He pointed a finger at her, slowly approaching.

"How's mommy?"

---

Karen winced sharply when she felt his ribs crack. Even though she was still only using a tiny fraction of her speed, it had still proven too much and could have easily killed him. Fortunately, he seemed to have held it together in the end, but it was still a harsh lesson learned. Now she had to deal with his men, who were all training their weapons on her. Leaping out of the way before they could fire, she landed behind the first one and seized him by the back of his neck.

Lifting the man by both the rear collar and hem of his pants, she hurled him into another of the wackos with enough force to ensure they would be soundly taken out of the fight. Proceeding to deliver a solid palm strike to the face of her next target, she quickly moved on to slam the head of the fourth attacker into the pavement. Now only two remained, which she swiftly rectified by seizing one's rifle and belting the other upsside the head with it. Placing the now unarmed man in a sleeper hold, her eyes were pulled back to their leader when he began speaking.

Letting his final companion fall to the ground, she tilted her head when he asked how 'mommy' was. "Uh...did I knock something loose there?"

She would feel bad attacking him further if he was already out of his head.

---

Wilhelm sputtered as the girl misunderstood his words. He wasn't that bad at speaking the English language was he? Perhaps he needed to be a bit more clear. Oh, and his men had been beaten quickly, what a shame, but now he didn't need to focus on controlling them, so he had more room to use his powers.

"I meant... er..." he sighed angrily. His intimidation factor had just been divided in fifteen by that misstep. Oh well, he supposed, he'd find a way to beat her eventually... even though even she didn't know her weakness and he had basically no way of finding out. In cases like these, mental warfare was a substitute for overwhelming force.

He calmed himself and focused his thoughts.

"I was referring, to Julia, how long has it been? Four years? Around there, or at least that's what I think. It makes me wonder, did she think of you as the blood drained from her body? Or did she think of how she should have never had you, she should have simply lived her own life, moved away, perhaps then she still would have been alive. In some way... it's your fault she died," he stated coldly. "And I'm sure daddy Manuel enjoys having to work so hard just to keep you, a parasite, alive. How often do you think you've thanked him for that? Not enough clearly, for when he dies the same way as his wife, you'll think you hadn't said enough."

He began his verbal assault, focusing on the easiest target, the deceased parent. That always got a reaction.

"And the old man? The one who thought you a worthy successor? He made a mistake, you're a pathetic child in over her head, you may think you're invincible, but you're wrong, Karen, you're just as mortal as your mother," he finished with a shrug. "But what do I know? Easy to answer, you said it yourself, 'Alone we can't make a lasting difference', and you are very clearly alone."

---

Karen blinked in a mixture of confusion and shock when he mentioned the name of her mother, and then proceeded to talk about her death. Struck silent by his inexplicable knowledge of her past, she felt her blood starting to boil when he started speaking of her mom's last moments, questioning if she had regretted having her in those final moments.

"You...you don't know anything about my mom..." she muttered, her rage barely suppressed.

He then started on about her father, calling her a parasite. Well, that was pretty funny considering that even a seventh grader knew parasites just exploited their hosts. While it was true that her dad worked hard, he was also completely unable to take care of himself at home without her...something she'd learned quite well these past four years. The only point he had was that she really should thank him more.

Still, his lack of understanding in her relationship with her dad had given her a chance to regain some composure. She didn't know how, but he knew who she was. Even more shockingly, he knew about Shazam, somehow!

"Wait..." Her eyes narrowed. "You move objects and you suddenly know about my past...you're a telepath?!"

---

Wilhelm chuckled.

"More than a telepath, I am an Ubermensch, and your attempts to ignore the facts to convince me I was wrong about your father are humorous and inconsequential, perhaps I should have known better than to try to break a child mentally. Instead, I suppose I shall break you physically."

Truthfully Wilhelm wasn't so sure about that, again, not even the girl knew her weaknesses, though his ability to infiltrate her mind was a good sign. He had been taught to prepare for anything, and these teachings were the only reason he had yet to suffer a mental breakdown from the revelations that he recieved from this infiltration, hopefully these same teachings would prepare him for what came next.

Holding out a hand, his abilities took hold of the girl, rooting her in place.

"I will hit you until I find something that hurts you, no-one is invulnerable, especially if they come from an inferior race."

In the air around Wilhelm, a great number of glass shards gathered, then were suddenly shot forth, where they worthlessly shattered against the girl's body. He frowned under his mask. He again raised his hand, this time picking up a car, he tossed it, and watched, wide-eyed, as it collapsed against her, just as worthlessly as the glass. He sighed to prevent anger from seeping in, and closed with her, taking up fighting posture. He reeled back, and then smashed a telepathy-enhanced fist into her jaw, tossing her skyward. He frowned, realizing that this had set her free and done just as little damage as the car and glass, and now his fist was killing him.

Lifting himself into the sky after her, he attempted to strike with a rising knee to her jaw, hoping that she would prove unable to react to it, perhaps with more momentum behind him he could do more.

---

"Eh?!" Karen gasped in reaction to something he had said, only to be doubly shocked when she felt an invisible force restrain her with a strength far greater than any human would be physically capable of. Before she could put much thought into trying to break free, she was bombarded with a hail of glass shards that completely tattered her red overcoat.

"Oh shit," Karen yelped, "Sam's going to kill--"

Her sentence was cut short by a car smashing its way through her. Or rather, she smashed her way through it, further damaging her overcoat and exposing her uniform beneath it. From the ripped torso of the coat, the thunderbolt - a metaphysical conduit to the Rock of Eternity, as Samantha had explained it - crackled with raw arcane power beneath the oscillating light of the surrounding fire.

There was just no way she was going to be able to fix this. She would have to get an entirely new overcoat now, though none besides this one had actually fit her in her mom's wardrobe. Her ruminations would be broken, however, when her opponent drove his fist into her jaw.

"Woah!" Karen exclaimed when she was sent flying back by a punch that would have probably splattered a normal human's skull instantly. It didn't hurt, though, and she no longer felt the weird pressure constraining her.

Watching him lift off the ground and soar towards her with an extended knee, she calmly extended a hand to stop him dead in his tracks, a minor sonic boom resulting from the impact. She hadn't quite mastered flying yet, but she could hover in the air well enough for something like this.

"Okay, chill bruh. I get it," Karen calmly eased his knee down. "I understand why you're so pissed at everyone now. You Ubermen have to put up with a lot of crazy passengers, and it can be maddening...but seriously? Burning down The Wedge is so extra I don't even know where to begin!"

---

Wilhelm grunted as his knee connected with the girl's hand, a crunching sound and immense pain showing that he had managed to snap something. Thankfully it was his femur and not his kneecap, and he quickly moved it back into place. What confused him more than ever, however, was the strange dialect the girl suddenly assumed, perhaps some form of patois? He was clueless, and it honestly annoyed him. He was far more intelligent than he'd ever been, and even now he was entirely clueless, though perhaps he was less intelligent than he liked to think, he had made quite a few mistakes in attempting to manipulate the girl, it was either that or lack of practice.

Floating back slightly and tilting his head in confusion, he stared as she spoke, some insipid statement about him being an "Uberman", which he assumed to be a mondegreen of "Ubermensch".

"...Was?" he responded in his native tongue, confused enough to be unable to think of the correct word in English for that moment in time.

Wilhelm brought his head back up and gave one last brainstorm. She was immune to all physical forms of damage he could try, and she was too naive to be mentally manipulated. The only solution was to drown her, like a sack of dumb puppies. Again he grabbed her with his telekinesis, struggling now due to stress and overexertion, as he did so a number of his brainwashed servants broke free and ran away from fighting, terrified for their lives.

"Enough of this nonsense, how about zis? I vill bring you to ze closest lake, and hold you under, until I'm finally through vith your insipid, foolish... existence!" he said, breathing heavily between words, his German accent becoming far more noticeable as he grew less and less stable.

Pulling both of them away from the city, he scanned the area for any lakes he could find. Finally, he found a small one not far from the city, and tossed her into it, utilizing all he had left to hold her under.

"Ertrinken! Drown! Sterben!" He yelled as he pushed her into the lakebed with a series of mental blows, cracking it under the force. Blood began to run from his nose, he was going to lose, he had to win this if he had any chance left! There was no running! He continued to attempt to convince himself that this was the only option as his hold on her grew weaker and weaker, until eventually it was to a point where she could probably break free.

---

She offered him a chance to talk, but he didn't seem very interested in that. Instead, he once again seized her with that weird power - telekinesis she guessed? - and began dragging her through the air. He seemed to be able to fly in a straight line pretty well, which was something she still had a bit of trouble with, admittedly.

Flexing her fingers slightly, she felt fairly confident that she could break free if she really wanted to...but upon noting that they were flying away from the city, and given her own haphazard aeriel control, she felt it was best to just let him remove them from any nearby civilians.

Eventually, they arrived at a small lake on the outskirts of Hub City. She recalled that it was named Lake Dover, though she didn't know why. He then, to her actual surprise, proceeded to throw her into it. Gasping in a mouthful of water by instinct when she went under, she immediately barfed it back out in a sizeable bubble.

She...wasn't drowning. She wasn't breathing, either, but that didn't seem to have any negative impact on her.

"What? Don't I need to breathe?" She muttered to herself, her voice distorted by the water as more bubbles floated up. "Woah, Sam never told me that!"

But she didn't have time to be impressed with herself. She could feel him trying to keep her under, but she had had more than enough by this point. She'd given him more chances than he deserved to resolve this peacefully, thinking that somebody who went this far must have some sort of tragedy in their past that drove them to this point. After all, even thugs didn't try to burn the city down.

Forcing herself out of the lake despite his best efforts to stop her, the tattered remains of her red overcoat were ripped free by his telekinesis. She now hovered in the air before him, her white cloak billowing behind her in the wind as the living lightning crackled throughout her being. A being powered by six mythological Gods as he had likely learned.

Making a rough landing before him, Karen frowned and slowly approached the man who had done so much to damage her home. Her home that she had been working tirelessly for the past month to try and improve in any way she could, even restricted as she was. When she at last stood before him, she acted without hesitation, drawing back her arms.

"I'm sorry for teasing you earlier," she wrapped her arms around him. "I thought it might make you laugh. I don't know what made you go down such a dark road, but I can't let you hurt my city. When you wake up, I hope you reconsider what you've done."

She then tightened her grip slightly and leaned back to slam his head straight down into the ground in a piledriver.

---

Wilhelm gasped as Karen freed herself from his control. He gasped even louder as she walked forwards and embraced him. He gasped the loudest when he was driven face-first into the ground. Somehow he managed to remain conscious, but as his psychic abilities failed him and the pain of his broken bones fully hit him, he wished he had just been knocked clean out.

In one last gesture of defiance, he attempted to force himself to his feet, but the pain was far too great, and he collapsed in a heap. Finally unable to take the pain and exhaustion any longer, he fell into unconsciousness.

---

[Ceta de Cloyes]

November 30th, 2019
5:37 PM, PT
Satomi Towers, Coast City

@Korkoa

---

Echo

Jessie’s response was mystifying, in more ways than one. She was coming over? Now? He’d dribbled ectoplasm all over his room! Glowing green ectoplasm that was synonymous with alien blood and was going to be even more of a pain to get out than normal blood! His clothes were stained too, not to mention the three small bullet holes and the massive one where the energy weapon had hit him dead over his chest. The miscellaneous paraphernalia around his room were sure to implicate something; bits and pieces of unfinished tech, annotated star maps, the secret edition of Addison Aurelia’s journal, who had surreptitiously been an alien, and was a member of the Actor Activists.

But he couldn't tell her no, that'd be more suspicious than he could afford. He grabbed a handful of tech bits, a converter, some tiny glowing wires, and then intangible fell through the floor and towards his room.

His tactic at discouraging her visit had only seemed to incite her interest more if she was being active at this time of day. So fine, if she wanted to bring him cheesy macaronis or whatever it was, then sure, but he only had time to clear himself up, not his whole apartment, so she'd have to stick by what she said and not come in. Okay, he sent her via text, and then a Thanks because she was doing it out of concern and friendship and didn't realize this course of action was only going to stress him out.

---

November 27th, 2019
1:30 PM, ET
GCU Library, Gotham

@The Whacko

---

Hex

It took a moment to sink in that the creature was actually dead, and the newly post-reanimated state of the formerly casualties of the night’s events, but once he did, realizing he was relatively safe, Tommy rolled onto his back and let himself rest for a moment, arms splayed out and a breathless sigh of relief leaving his lips.

The demon’s parting words were… something to consider later, for now he just needed to catch his breath, and maybe ten pounds of coffee. Funny how demons managed to prove their worth and their impracticality all at once; apparently they had valuable information, but they were also massive dickwads who did things like kill people horribly.

He managed to sit up slightly, propped up by his elbows, so he could look over and check on his dad. It hadn’t immediately occurred to him he could be hurt, he was like… the most badass of modern wizards, the chances of the man failing? Psht, unlikely.

After making sure his dad was still in one piece and not missing an arm or something worrying like that, Tommy directed a thumbs up sign at him, a slight exhausted smirk on his face. Even if he hadn’t been the one to deal the killing blow as he’d wanted to be, he’d survived combat with a demon.

Though admittedly it might have been a near thing if his Anodite form hadn’t restored him- however that worked.

[Korkoa]

November 30, 11:48 AM
Beedles apartment building, rooftop. Coast City

@Ceta de Cloyes

Jessie stood by the edge of the roof, glancing over the railing and grinning at the sight of the drop below. It was always an adrenaline rush to be up here, to be able to see everything for miles (Well, on a clear day anyway). Of course, the adrenaline was tempered a bit by the fact that she was holding a huge tupperware container of macaroni, the best comfort food known to mankind, but the edge was still there.

Jessie's mother had finished the meal for her 'sick' friend a half hour prior, and Jessie had spent the remaining time gathering up the things she thought she'd need. Her goggles, to help her get across the city. Her backpack full of tools, in case the goggles broke. Her iPod, to listen to music as she walked home in case the trip there tired her out too much. Bare copper, to help her charge her iPod in case the battery fritzed out again. Aaaand macaroni. For eating. By Ezra, not Jessie.

Setting the plastic container down for a moment, Jessie pulled her dark brown cloak over her shoulder and slipped the goggles over her eyes before pulling her hood up. It wasn't quite the full costume she had in mind, but then again this wasn't supposed to be her glorious debut either. She just needed to not be recognized. Jessie blinked sharply as the goggle HUD came to life, a green tint overtaking the world as a slider appeared into place at the bottom of her vision. Her eye tracking software had worked after a few weeks of bug testing, and now by focusing on the bottom portion of her goggles She could adjust the zoom up to three times what her eyesight normally was. Was it was time for a true field test... Getting to Ezra's building.

Lightning Bug picked up the container of cheesey noodles again and scanned the city skyline. Though Ezra had never directly shared his building with her, she had been able to narrow it down by the direction he walked, streets he took, and how long he said it took him to get to work and school. His cell phone ping from this morning had settled it though. A Place called Satomi Towers. Jessie had spent most of the morning memorizing what the building looked like, and she was confident she could find it now.Just had to get a little closer... Focusing in the direction she knew Ezra came from, Jessie zoomed in on a building a few streets over and...

PIFF

In a sudden purple spark of energy, Lightning Bug found herself atop the chosen rooftop. She grinned as she felt the rush of adrenaline spike again, reveling in the chance to use her powers. To let go and be who she was inside felt incredible, she could go anywhere, do anything! But first, to deliver her friend some trickery food...

PIFF

PIFF

PIFF

Four total jumps, and Bug was feeling a bit drained, if excited. She had pushed farther and farther with each leap, and it had taken more and more energy each time. Fortunately, she was too wound up to care right now. She was on the right rooftop, assuming Google Earth had told her the truth. She had maybe one more good jump left in her if she needed it, but she didn't expect to need a quick escape. She looked around the desolate rooftop, noting it was cleaner and more spacious than her own, and nodding in approval. Pulling off her goggles and stuffing them into her backpack, Jessie headed for the building access door, scowling as she reached it and pulled on the handle. It was jammed. Locked maybe.

Looking around, Jessie grinned as she found the key to all her troubles. A maintenance shack on the edge of the roof. There'd be a spare key in there. Waltzing over to the tiny building, Jessie tried the door, not surpised to find it locked as well. No matter, there were windows on the side that would allow her to Piff right in and--What the Hell was that shit inside that shed? Some kind of oval, seed-pod shaped thing, but big enough for a person... Tools and tech she didn't recognize... Something was wrong here. Was this what was up with Ezra? It couldn't just be a coincidence, right? That something like this would show up here, at the same building her mysterious friend was acting so suspiciously from? She had to find out, and if he did have something to do with it... She had to convince him to let her play with that shit. For now though, she had to get inside...

PIFF

One last jump and she was on the ground now, heaving Piffed off the side of the building. The front door was the best option now. After looking around aimlessly for a moment, trying to find some kind of resident directory, Jessie groaned and looked for some help. A little old boring slow confused lady proved to be her best friend in this situation, and after plastering on a fake smile and spewing some cotton-candy bullshit about her sick schoolmate, Jessie had Ezra's number. His apartment number, that is.

One quick elevator ride later, Jessie arrived in front of the locked door. She made sure her hood was pulled down and the macaroni was presenting itself, and knocked firmly on the door. "Yo Ez! I got food for you, dude!"

[Blackstripe]

11:38 PM, December 1st
Berlin, Germany

"I believe this man might be a native of your country, officers, so I've taken the liberty of returning him to you," Karen explained, doing her best to sound all mature and adult-like in front of the Berlin police department, who were so nobly brandishing their firearms at her. It was like they'd never seen a flying amalgamation of ancient divinity and magic before. Landing gently a fair distance away from the dozen or so cops that had sortied out of the police station to greet her, she gently shoved her captive forward.

His hands had been bound with a steel girder she had twisted around them, so at the very least he wouldn't be trying to fight them in melee. "He has some sort of telekinetic abilities, but they seem to be at their limit for the time being. I don't know how long that will last, though."

Thanks to the intellect of Mnemosyne, she had been able to understand the German that the telepath had spoken during their battle with complete clarity. Now, speaking to the police, she was able to communicate with them as if she were a native of not only Germany, but of Brandenberg and Berlin in particular, perfectly mimicking their local accent and dialect.

"Judging by his attire and the things he was saying, I'm going to guess he's a Nazi," she added. "I mean, he's certainly old enough to be by the looks of him."

[Ceta de Cloyes]

November 30th, 2019
11:54 PM, PT
Satomi Towers, Coast City

---

Echo and Lightning Bug

Ezra

Room Inspiration

His room was much neater now, the more obvious bits of tech had been deactivated or otherwise covered so as to not be quite so obvious and eye-catching. His window, which had been stained by his glowing green blood earlier this morning, was now shiny and clear like it hadn't been since even before he'd moved in. Similarly his ruined clothes had been shoved in the trash and he'd located some bandages to cover his still healing wounds. There were still far too many glowing green pieces for Ezra's liking however, a power converter, a capacitor, some loose wires, even a neon green crystal he'd been slowly growing. All it'd take to lure Jessie in was a single peek at any one of the devices and she'd have a million questions.

He wasn't sure if he was ready for that particular conversation, sure he could just pass himself off as really smart, but there were too many alien concepts, and he didn't know enough about human engineering and science to properly explain the mechanics of his tech without giving away the fact they were alien. Jessie was too smart for her own good really, but it was part of what had allowed him to get so close to her, despite her very human appearance and mannerisms, she was smarter than most of her species, more akin to the average intelligence of his own people- perhaps smarter. Vaguely she reminded him of some of his parent's students; excitable young scientists eager to learn, tinker, and make waves. Those had been the sort of people who were at the forefront of technological innovation, truly great minds, and many of them had been friendly to him and his sister, but they'd also been... reckless, and sometimes their eagerness and their ambitions caused conflict.

At least Jessie wasn't in their position, those scientists had caused the apocalypse of their world after all, not that Jessie could do that. Small perks of living on a less advanced world right? He glanced to one of his work tables, eying the beginnings of an ecto-ray power core. Less advanced world for now.

He sighed, that wasn't his priority right now. Jessie's visit had thoroughly distracted him from the threat of the human government and his now dead friends, but regardless of the seemingly inane worry he needed to focus on appearing human to his human friend- his only human friend. It should have been a piece of cake but he just had to pick the smartest, nosiest, and sneakiest human he knew to be his friend didn't he?

He adjusted his glasses, which he didn't normally wear anymore but had dug up after this latest scare in hopes the frames would obscure even slightly the glow of his eyes. Speaking of glows, he turned on all the lights, even though the sun was already pushing its way through the window and providing plenty enough lighting.

Finally, after what seemed like only a short amount of time, Ezra was forced to give up on hiding the incriminating bits of alien paraphernalia when Jessie's voice called through the door to him; "Yo Ez! I got food for you, dude!"

Right. The macarenas she promised. Macarenas? Was that right? Something like that. Probably. So much for leaving them at the door.

He did his best to blush, knowing the action caused his pale face to tint an ever so slight shade of green, and then pasted on his most pathetic expression- which wasn't hard given he'd cried not hours earlier and even know was experience an obscene amount of stress- and then opened the door. "Hey, Jess." He greeted awkwardly, eying the mac... aroons? Eying the macaroons curiously. He didn't eat out much, but he was sure he'd seen the food somewhere before. Maybe in a box at the grocery store. Human food, what a nightmare. At least it looked... like something??

Then his eyes actually fell on his friend and he frowned at her eyewear. Surely those weren't actual glasses, they looked too techy for that, like something his parents would wear in their lab. Had she been tinkering again? What did they do, he wondered, hopefully they didn't see radiation or anything like that, this entire building was thoroughly drenched in low-level ectoplasmic energy, but his room was probably the worst- and he could only imagine what he'd look like, he was the source of that radiation after all. He did his best not to cringe at the gadget, hoping it only did something mundane like enhancing images or recording videos, like normal human tech.

Jessie

Jessie pasted on a big grin as the door opened oddly eager to see her friend despite all the strange circumstances surrounding the visit. She offered forth the tupperware of food, cocking her head slightly as an expression of what seemed to be confusion came over Ezra's face. Maybe he'd never had macaroni and cheese before? She had to suppress a laugh as he caught sight of her goggles, the confused look only getting worse. The goggles were doing their job nicely today, it seemed!

"Right, so this should still be hot but if it isn't you can pop it in the microwave for like, a minute and a half or so; it's baked mac and cheese, not stovetop so it's more solid than a lot of people are used to, and way better. Also there's polish sausage in it and it's incredible and do you mind if I bring this in?" Jessie asked, not going to bother for an answer. She needed to talk to someone about her rooftp adventure, and even if Ezra wasn't involved in it and it was some kind of crazy coincidence, he'd be the best person to talk to. And if he actually was sick, she probably wouldn't catch it anyway.

Though the hyperactive girl had mostly spent her long-range Piffs for the moment, the minutes she'd spent in the elevator and walking the halls had given her enough of a rest that she could jump about ten feet or so-- Right into Ezra's big open room.

PIFF

Jessie now stood in the middle of Ezra's apartment, adrenaline spiking again as her heart began to pound. Up until now, the only people who knew about her were her parents. They were the only ones she cared enough about to let them know. But now, she had a friend. And a cohort. And if they were going to get to the bottom of a mystery and maybe be a wacky bank-robbing duo, he'd have to know... And besides, she wanted to show off and it got her in the door.

Ezra

Ezra started to refuse, an excuse already on his lips, but then he blinked and she was gone with only a small 'PIFF' to mark her movement. He spun around, behind him being the only place in the immediate area he couldn't see, and there she was, standing in the middle of the room despite his body blocking the door. She hadn't walked through him, he knew what that felt like, it was almost as if she'd teleported... but she seemed so... human? "What?" He asked, perplexed, already running through a mental database of aliens he knew and their abilities. Off the top of his head he couldn't think of any teleporters, though the technology certainly existed he couldn't see any sign of it on her, not to mention the tech would be far too large to just carry around.

Jessie

Jessie grinned widely, setting the tupperware on a nearby table and pulling off her goggles. She knew what she'd look like right about now. Eyes bloodshot from exertion, wild-eyed with excitement, her hair was probably a mess too. But this... She'd been dreaming of moments like this since she first discovered what she could do. To show off. To impress. To be what she really was.

"Okay," Jessie began, sticking the goggles into her backpack and cracking her fingers. "This is gonna be weird for you, and trust me it'll be weird for me too. But you gotta trust me, okay?" Jessie held her hands out in front of her, palms facing each other, and with the barest hint of a though, conjured an arc of purplish lightning between her hands. She could feel the heat around the bolt, smell the rising ozone in the air, and laughed wildly as she got to show off for Ezra. "Remember when I said my dad used to be a geneticist. See, he saw the Activists back in the day, people who were the best at what they could do, after lifetimes of training. Looking at that, and some research of his own, he theorized that one day, humanity would evolve beyond what it currently is to form a race of 'Super Men'. People who could rival even those as powerful as the Activists at just their base, natural level. "

Jessie's eyes darkened a bit as she recalled the next part of the story and her left hand fell to her side. The purple bolt sparked andrecoiled to stick to her right hands, dancing along her fingertips as she held her hand up for Ezra to see. "He was called crazy. They said he was tretching, at best. Some people even called him a Nazi." She said, nearly spatting the word. "But the thing is... He was right. He calls me a Metahuman. I can... Do things. Teleport, control electricity... Find stuff I'm not supposed to find, more often than not. Which brings me to why I shoved my way in here." She said, clenching her fist and letting the apark die out.

"Did you know you have an 'Invasions of the Body Snatchers' pod on your roof?"

Ezra

So... what?

He became more and more bewildered as she spoke, showing off her abilities. His eyebrows rose at her display of electrokinesis. This was evolution? That... explained a lot. Well, it didn't, but offered some insight into the way the galaxy worked. Most species in the galaxy developed abilities such the Tamaraneans great strength andKheurbim shapeshifters, it'd even begun happening to his own people, though they had blamed the ecto-star for their abilities, not evolution. It was, oddly enough, extremely plausible that humans were experiencing such a leap in evolution, and not that Jessie was simply an adopted alien- which was a possibilty he'd only half begun to consider before her explanation clicked in his mind.

A metahuman huh? She looked... happy. Jessie was excitable, and usually pretty chipper, but this was somehow more genuine, more meaningful. Her wild hair and wide eyes, her huge grin and loud laugh, he'd never seen her like this before. Maybe it's because she hadn't been showing her real self to him, and wasn't that a stinging realization? He was the same.

Then the most bizarre comment came from her mouth, so utterly unrelated to this new development he couldn't comprehend it for a second. "Body Snatchers?" He parroted, bemused. Wait, the roof? "Oh-! ...oh." The realization sunk in. this was it, all that work and stressing to keep his identity revealed and now... this muddled situation was the result. He didn't have a choice did he? Well, he did, but not really, Jessie had been so genuine and honest with him, likely expecting nothing in return and risking herself by showing him her secret powers, how could he not do the same? Besides, Jessie was his friend, and after the events of the past night he could use an ally.

"Oh Zon, okay, here we go." He muttered nervously, mostly to himself, closing the door behind him quickly and taking a few steps further into the room, but stopping before he could start full on pacing. "Okay, here it goes, just gonna say it-" he took a deep breath, looked somewhere in the middle space between him and Jessie, steadfastly avoiding eye contact "-I'm an alien," he rushed out, then hastened to add more in a jumble or words; "andI'vebeenhidingonEarthforthreeyearsandnowthegovernmentishuntingaliensandIdon'tknowwhattodoandI'msorryforlyingtoyou!" He peeked up from where he'd been facing downwards and partially hiding his face, nervously searching her eyes for a reaction.

Jessie

Jessie blinked in surprise at Ezra's reaction. She had expected... She wasn't really sure what she expected. But it sure wasn't a reaction of nervousness and almost... Dread? Something was really strange here, and if she played her cards right--Did he just say alien?

"You're a freakin' whatnow from--Alien like outer space?!" She exclaimed, her exuberance shooting through the roof. "What the Hell are you doing on Earth, there aint a gawddam thing here that I would think you wanted what are you hiding from and what'd you do what do you mean the government is hunting you that thing on the roof is yours and I guess that'd explain why you keep running off do you have to recharge or is it like photosynthesis do you actually eat or--" Jessie cut herself off as the words tumbled out of her mouth in a torrent of activity. While she spoke her mind was processing the information. She had no real reason to trust that he was an alien, other than circumstantial evidence. Then again, nobody would believe in superpowers without a demonstration either. Plus that stuff on the roof was otherworldy, and now that she looked around she could see similar technology badly hidden in the apartment. And, well... The idea of aliens was really cool. Who wouldn't want an alien friend?

"Okay right, sorry!" She said, finally regaining control of her brain and mouth. "Priorities, right... What do you mean the government's hunting aliens? Like, Area 51 style, are they gonna put you in a research facility in New Mexico or something? Secondly, everything else. Like space and aliens and whatever that thing is." She said, pointing to a slightly glowing piece of technology poking out from behind a book.

Ezra

Some of Ezra's tension began to ease off as Jessie turned into just as much a motor mouth as he had been, rambling a long string of words before centering herself. Her reaction was... one fo the more favourable outcomes certainly, but he was just relieved she didn't turn that lightning ability of hers on him and make a break for it. "Right, so-" he paused a moment, hesitating over revealing the alien bar before realizing it was compromized already anyway, "-so there's this place for aliens under The Small Café, or there was one anyway. It was raided tonight by- here," he darted over to a wallet on his desk and plucked an ID card from it. He handed it to her with a nervous grimace, "I don't know, all I saw were government agents and dead aliens. I wasn't there when it happened, I just stumbled in after and managed to get away."

He wrapped his arms around himself wearily, and then committed and began emitting a harsher glow from his body, causing his clothes to smoke, the room to cool, and the dye in his hair to evaporate, revealing stark white hair. The harsh glow faded and he removed his glasses, flicking off a light switch and standing far enough from the window for the green glow in his eyes to be more noticeable. Then, just to send it home the fact he wasn't normal, he raised his hand and gathered an orb of glowing green energy in his hand. "I guess I should explain from the beginning right? Er, well my name is Edan Fo-To D'sra, and I'm from a planet called Ghol. My people were the Ectonians, but we- our- um, well Ghol doesn't exist anymore. I haven't seen another of my kind in a long time. The pod you saw is mine, I used it to escape- well, it's a long story, but- but you get it right? I- Earth is all I have now, I can't leave- it's like you said, Earth has nothing anyone wants, and under primitive world protection treaties there's no way off the planet. I'm- I'm stuck." He shrugged, a little hopelessly showing his dejection and despair at the situation, "And now the government knows about us and is hunting us? I'm, well," he gestured around the room, "I've started making things, to protect myself. My people's technology..." He trailed off, hesitant to ask for her help or offer her the chance to study it, but decided not to finish. Jessie would help herself anyway, no sense in telling her not to, no point in giving permission either.

Jessie

Jessie listened intently to the story, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow as she took in the new information. There were more aliens, right here in the city? A meeting place, a massacre... Sounded like something out of the X-Files mixed with Supernatural. Jessie nodded as Ezra, or... Edan finished his story, and she took a few steps closer to him. "Well Edan, I have to say," She started, reaching out and putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"This is absolutely the best day of my life. I mean, not so much the dead alien friendsand the raid and the government guys, but... I mean the rest of is freaking awesome. And I'm going to help you!" She said, finishing with a flourish as she reached over to pluck a piece of technology from it's barely-hidden spot. "See, I don't just shoot lightning and teleport, I also have an uncanny knack for gadgets like this. So whatever you're trying to make these things do, I can probably coax them into it! Aside from that, you now have an ally and a confidant, and we're gonna figure out exactly who these government asshats are and take 'em down! Cuz not a goddamn person in the universe is gonna take my friends away if I have anything to say about it!" Jessie exclaimed as she began to focus on the stgrange piece of alien machinery, extending her consciousness into it to try and understand its intended purpose...

Ezra

He was touched by her loyalty, the fact she just... accepted him, his story, and declared herself with him no matter what. "I- thank you," he said earnestly, and then added, "and I'm the same; if you need me, I'm there for you. This metahuman thing, whatever else, I've got your back." He promised.

He then made a split second decision; "this tech too, I'll teach you about it. You'll be the smartest human on this planet, and we can reinvent my people's technology. It'll be hard, it runs on ectoplasm, which isn't easy to produce, but it's powerful."

Ezra allowed his attention to be drawn to the gizmo she'd picked up; a Gholic translator, usually called a gabber, it functioned as both a long range communications device, like human's mobile phones, but also as a translator that helped the user understand foreign and alien languages by translating them as they were heard. That piece's partner was hidden elsewhere in his room, though he didn't remember where. He had yet to finish the software portion of their functions, mostly because he didn't know much about languages, but his pod had a similar system in it and he'd been building it based off of that one. It took him a moment to explain the device's functions to Jessie, using a bunch of terms that were very sciency and technical, "I can show you the original system if you want, you should probably see the pod anyway, it is the only piece of Ectonian tech that works on this planet."

Jessie

Jessie was only aware of Ezra/Edan's explanation of the device in the vaguest of terms, as she gathered information directly from the device itself. Her eyes unfocused as the internat design of the machine unfolded itself in her brain. It was incredibly alien, completely removed from anythign she had ever seen... And yet it made perfect sense. The power supply in particular was interesting, the ectoplasm Ezra had mentioned seemed to be a more stable and efficiant fuel source than anything on Earth. And even though the software of the thing wasn't finished, it knew what it wanted to be. She could feel the link too, to the second device over...

Jessie's feet began to move seemingly of their own volition. She walked slowly towards a shelf on the far side of the room, her eyes vacant as she reached behind a set of books and pulled out the partner piece to the one in her hand. Jessie snapped out of her fugue state as the second device was revealed, dropping it like a hot potato as she cried out, "Ectan Fra'Dak!" which she could only describe as an invasive alien phrase that she instinctively understood as a curse word. She reached up and rubbed her temple as she winced, looking back to Ezra.

"Sorry, sorry about that... Momentary feedback from the two being too close, like two microphones next to each other I guess... Uh, found the other one though! And a fun new curse word, apparently! I guess the little things picked up some of your home language?"

Ezra

He smirked, amused, "A Dazzan curse word, from a language closely related to my own tongue. Think of American sland and British slang, we spoke the same language but in Dazz it was a whole other thing." He shrugged, "Accurate though, very accurate." He didn't elaborate on the meaning. He held back a sigh, annoyed at how fruitless his programming had been. "The database would be the most difficult part, if I ever got that far at least, I can't open up the pod to get access to the systems stores without potentially damaging some of the more sensitive systems like the cryo-function." He hmm'd in thought, the new dynamic between them already normalizing itself. "Your ability though, it could vastly simplyify things if you can connect to it without needing to touch it." He theorized, already beginning to see how her 'connection' could be applied to a million other uses.

"Here, let's try this..."

[Bluetommy]

11:38 PM, December 1st
Berlin, Germany

Wilhelm roughly collapsed to the ground in a heap, unable to stand due to his broken leg, and also the fact that he was still unconscious. The pain of hitting the concrete finally awoke him with a start, and he laid on the ground, every breath painful due to his broken ribs.

"Thanks, doll," he said sarcastically, his words muffled due to the fact that his face was getting well acquainted with the ground. He looked at the number of German police officers and spat on the ground at their presence. "You've betrayed the cause that your forefathers fought and died for! You all disgust me, when the Reich returns, you will be the first victims!"

Wilhelm continued firing verbal abuse as one of the police officers finally approached him and hauled him to his feet. He stared intently at Karen. She fascinated him in a way he couldn't explain, this child had power above even his wildest dreams, and yet she refused to kill him, even after all he'd done. Either she believed in the same ideals as he, or she was truly naive, a form of naivete he'd never encountered, he was intrigued, moreso than afraid. He was too injured to read her mind, but somehow he could tell that as long as he was in her presence, he was safe.

He gave a short chuckle as he began to be hauled away.

"Don't forget me, girl, I certainly won't forget you," he said with a smile, no longer constrained by his mask. He meant that too, he would never forget the one little girl who foiled his plot, the plot which he had spent over fifty years on. The girl who halted the Reich's return, it almost sounded like something from a pulp magazine. "For an inferior, you're rather impressive, perhaps even impressive enough to be an honorary Aryan. But, I shall, no, I promise, that I will return. You barely broke a sweat fighting me before, I wish to see the power that you hide, and I wish to tame it!" He roared in fury, fighting against the police officers even with his heavy injuries.

"Karen Hernandez of Hub City! I will come for you! I will show no mercy! I will bury you!"

Finally Wilhelm was wrestled into submission, but even as he was hauled away, he gave one last look at Karen, a mixture between a smirk and a determined look set upon his face.

The Reich can wait, she's more important.

[Blackstripe]

9:32 AM, December 3rd
The Wedge; Hub City

"This has gotten so far out of hand I don't even know where to start, Karen," Samantha growled at the images flashing across the television. Images of Karen soaring through the air with the Nazi that had attacked the city, and of her delivering said goosestepper to the police in Germany. "You're all over the news, now! No matter the channel, you're all they're talking about!"

Karen scratched at the back of her head, unsure how to respond to being the number one headline across the nation...maybe across the entire world, for all she knew. Apparently, more people than she had realized had witnessed her battle with the man, whom was apparently identified as Wilhelm Silber, a former member of Nazi Germany.

"They even have your name!" Samantha continued with her rant, glaring daggers into her without remorse. "How could you be so careless?!"

"They only remembered my first name," Karen noted. Hernandez was apparently too foreign a name for startled and confused German police to remember that late at night. "How many Karen's are in Hub City?"

Burying her face in the arm of the sofa, Samantha continued to groan as only a cat could. "You lack any sense of gravitas for how absurdly dangerous this situation could easily become!"

"Well, it's not like I actually told him or anything! He stole it all from my head. Besides, what do you mean? I'm pretty much invincible, even to guys with super mind powers!" Karen pointed out.

Apparently considering this a sufficient cause for assault, the charcoal black feline leaped across the couch and gave Karen a light scratch on her arm, eliciting a yelp from the startled girl. "Wrong! Karen Hernandez is not invincible."

"Owww..." Karen rubbed at her arm with a pout. "Was there seriously no way to make that point without slashing me?!"

"Listen," Samantha jabbed her claws towards her face threateningly. "If someone learns who you are, then they have the power to kill you before you can even transform."

Pushing down a nervous gulp when threatened with further clawings, Karen slowly nodded. "O-okay, I get it, shit...I look like I'm 20-something in that form, though, so I doubt anybody would suspect me."

"Maybe not at first, but..." Samantha exhaled sharply. "Look, we can't take back what's happened, so just lay low and hope that it all blows over."

Bolting to her feet so quickly that Sam went rolling down onto the floor, Karen furiously shook her head. "No way, Sam! Now that I've officially made my public appearance, this is the time to kick things into high gear!"

"Seriously?!" Sam's eyes saucered. "Did you not hear anything I just-"

Karen sharply jabbed a finger at the cat, silencing her. "I heard, and unless I come across any more telepaths, I won't be giving my name out...but I'm not going to just hide away in here forever! Listen, Sam..."

She reached down, scooping the cat up beneath her front legs and holding her in front of her face. "I grew up in the shitty neighborhood where you can't go five minutes here without hearing a gunshot. Mom's gone because of that, and I know I'm not alone there. Places like this exist all over Hub City and who knows where else in the world! I..."

Karen looks away for a moment, biting at her lip. Her eyes mist over slightly, but she manages to hold it together. "I want to be a hero, Sam. I want to be the hero that kids like me don't get to have, because all we've got to look up to are a bunch of thugs effing each other over. The cops don't care about us, nobody does. I know I can do so much to help with these powers, so I just can't do nothing."

"But you have a duty to-"

"I'll still fight your 'horrors from beyond the veil', but I can't just be about that," Karen explained, placing Samantha back down onto the carpet. "I want to help people!"

Samantha lowered her head, shaking it slowly. She looked...tired. "I see there's no dissuading you from this course of action. Well, so be it, Karen. It is out of mt hands...all I can do is continue to train you as best I can, and hope you do not prove my worst fears to be correct."

---

News outlets from across the United States had almost immediately began filling the airwaves with news of a domestic terrorist attack on Hub City, even as it was still ongoing. The largest scale and most prolonged attack on American soil since the Business Plot of 1934, news of the numerous heavily armed militiamen running rampant in the street dominated the airwaves until still image and video captures of an extravagantly dressed woman engaged in a midair battle with an armored man in black.

On their own, these dubious shots might have been passed off as an elaborate hoax if not for follow up reports from Germany of that same woman delivering the armored man to police within the German capital of Berlin, with several officers managing to snap pictures of both.

As more information continued to trickle in to lend further credibility to the reports, it seemed increasingly difficult for people to deny their eyes: something had happened that night that, by all rights, should have been impossible.

[The Whacko]

December 3rd
9:43 AM, ET
The Wedge, Hub City

@Blackstripe

Hub City was as much of a shithole as Clayton had remembered, even after five years had passed since the last time he'd been here for work. To make things worse, the ley lines here were so goddamn strong that he swore even the Mundies could feel the power radiating from them, and he just knew that there would be dozens if not hundreds of people that would start to dabble in magics both light, dark, white and black. It would certainly be hell for whatever bastard had to manage those sort of things here. The big man sighed and puffed on his cigar, exhaling a pungent tobacco cloud before he looked at the apartment door before him. This was where the trail ended, and the Witchlight Lantern was glowing as bright as the sun as he stood there.

It didn't look like the place a superhero should have been living, but then again he also didn't look the part of a man who spent his life combating the powers of the occult and supernatural, so he supposed appearances were far from everything. Coming this far from home hadn't been his choice, but The Master had asked it of him, and he couldn't refuse his teacher. From what he'd seen from the reports from Germany, he could see why he'd been sent. A being with as much power as this one could be a force for great good in the world, or great evil if the worst were to come. The Master wanted to know the content of this woman's heart. Hopefully he hadn't brought the bag of salt in his pocket for nothing.

And so the necromancer knocked on the door, a quick, hard thump that would be sure that any inside would hear it. He didn't know what this young woman's reaction to a towering, broad bull of a man in a dark suit would be like, but he was sincerely hoping that it wouldn't be violent. It would be embarrassing to have to punch out the woman he'd been asked to interview because he looked like a thug. He sighed and stubbed out his cigar, setting it inside his coat and relaxing his shoulders to look as non-threatening as possible.