[IC] Your Friendly Neighborhood Government Sanctioned Superheroes

[Metronome]

Bleep Bleep

Bleep Bleep

Bleep Bleep

"Trouble, sir?"

A man with greying hair sat at the end of a long conference table, every set of eyes in the meeting looking at him with anticipation. The man reached into his pocket to pull out a pager. He glanced at the message flitting across the screen. Code 254: Non-super powered individual attacking downtown. Aided by large robotic animals.

"Nothing that can't be dealt with. Scramble Epsilon and Omicron and have them take care of it."

"Yes sir, Mr. Jericho."

---

The fresh air was a nice treat. Ka'van found himself visiting the rooftop park almost daily, in an attempt to pretend that he wasn't a captive. He sat adjacent to the pond, his legs crossed and his back straight. His arms laid relaxed across his knees, and his eyes were closed. Anyone who knew the alien well enough would recognize this as his meditation pose. It was best not to disturb him.

Ka'van meditated more frequently than ever now, trying desperately to keep his spirit strong. He knew his desires for freedom were selfish: here he was, better off than most of the human population surrounding him, and he still wasn't happy. He was provided food, living quarters, entertainment, and unlimited resources. But yet...none of it made up for what he lacked: contact with his people. He hadn't been allowed to so much as speak to them since his imprisonment here, and every day he could feel the life force he once shared with them grow weaker. The Tower was an impressive prison, but still a prison nevertheless.

Bleep Bleep

Bleep Bleep

Bleep Bleep

Ka'van eyes popped open, their burning red color glistening in the sun. He looked down at his wrist, at the HIVEMIND communication watch he'd been given. A call to arms. Well, time to go save the world. He stood and headed for the stairs. Not many people used them, but he found them to be faster than the elevators. Ka'van entered the stairwell and picked his feet up off the ground. He hovered over the railing, then began to descend down the center of the stairwell. He stopped upon reaching the 12th floor, where the last of the business offices were. This was where their briefing room was.

Ka'van hurried into the hall and down to the briefing room door. It was already open, several heroes having beat him there. It was common practice to give a short summary of what they'd be facing before they entered the field. On the table sat several headset devices that were linked into HIVEMIND. They often used these for hands free communication. Ka'van picked one up and put it on.

At the end of the table, which almost no one ever used, stood a middle aged man in a suit. He had his arms crossed, impatiently waiting for the heroes to pile in. They had ten minutes to report to the briefing room after a page, or else they would suffer through classes on how not to be tardy.

Once all the heroes were accounted for, the man began his summary.

"We've got another nutjob tearing up downtown. His motives are unknown, and he does not have any superpowers. He does, however, have a small army of giant animal robots at his disposal. The SWAT team who responded has reported that the animals seem to possess some kind of artificial intelligence, and can move and react on their own." The man pulled up a screen that had a live feed of the destruction, the said animals in clear view. "There's a lion, rhino, bird, snake, and elephant. I won't waste the city's time keeping you here any longer. Get out there and don't make us look bad."

Evil Animal Robots, beware!

These animal robots are huge and designed for mass destruction. Motive: because fuck you.


Lion is fast, has super strong jaws, and is probably running around eating cars or something.


Rhino is stupid strong. It's also got two plasma canons on either side of it. It's running around smashing it's big, dumb horn into buildings and shit.


The bird can fly, repeat, the bird. Can. Fly. Also it's got a plasma canon shooting out of it's mouth, because why not. It's like picking up buses and dropping them.


The snake can tunnel underground like super fast, so it's like tearing up roads and shit. It's got a spike on the end of it's tail. Why? Eh...I mean they can't all have plasma canons...


This elephant is like fuck you man. Boss battle right here. Super armored, got a canon on it's back, got a flamethrower at the end of it's trunk because of course it does. It's super slow, but like, massive. Shit man, good luck with that.

[CaptainSully]

Location | The Tower
Tags | None

The room was barely lit but for the light of a few well melted candles. Shadows moved and morphed with the flickering of the small flames scattered on the floor around Leolion. The visitor from another world had been in the Tower for little over three years and it was still something he detested. He was used to lushous trees and plants of every colour, waves of primordial magic floating on a gentle breeze and the sounds of animals as they called out to the warmth of the sun. His room was far from being that. A minimilists dream with a modern touch that was as far from what he was used to growing up. What little he could do to bring comfort he did, opting for candle light over the fluorescent tubes that were installed in every room. Candles were much closer to the magical infused lanterns of home and brought a small sliver of peace to his sorrow. The park was somewhere he frequented but only when the majority of heroes were deep in slumber. He didn't mix well with some of the more egotistical guests in the Tower.

After a couple of hours of sitting silent and dreaming of home, Leo found himself disturbed by the activation of his rooms fluorescent lighting. He let out an audible groan from the depths of his throat as his peace was further interrupted by a voice. Epsilon and Omicron teams, report to the briefing room immediately. I repeat, Epsilon and Omicron teams to the briefing room. As the voice disappeared Leolin rose to his feet and stretched his arms out wide, 'Time for work...'

In his heart Leo knew the work he did helped those who couldn't defend themselves, but the tug of wonder about the situation on his homeworld was a permanent distraction. He would haved happily helped those on Earth of his own volition after his arrival. Instead he was forcefully conscripted into the band of superpowered people locked away in the tower, given minimal freedom with the threat of destroying his only way home. He was stuck and New Horizon knew that, it was what they excelled at. They knew how to get leverage over people and on the rare occasion they couldn't, an explosive implanted at the base of the neck proved helpful in getting people on side.

Leo left his room and made straight for the stairs. His room was only two floors above the meeting rooms level so he often took the stairs, finding the elevator wasteful and lazy. As he descended the stairs he saw the familiar appearance of Ka'van float down through the gap between the railings, something he had observed him do plenty of times before. It was something Leolin was incapable of doing but he wasn't concerned, he had his own talents. Unfortunately for him New Horizon kept them subdued, not allowing him to meditate as regularly as he needed to keep them effective. However with this impending mission, he'd be allowed to meditate freely, restoring his powers to their maximum level.

Eventually Leolin reached the briefing room to see Ka'van amongst a couple of other heroes, a suited man stood impatiently at the far end of a table. He cast Ka'van a glance and a nod, while paying nobody else any mind. Of the people he had met since being on Earth, Ka'van was the most like Leolin. When looking at the half demon Leo saw a kindred spirit, someone who wanted nothing more than to return home. It didn't matter what they wanted though, they were bound to New Horizon like everyone else in the Tower. Soon enough the room filled and the presentation began.

[RumikoOhara]

---

Sydney heard the alarm as she was meditating on a temporal-neutral* yoga mat. (machine made and untouched)

Sighing deeply she unfolded herself and stood in a single fluid motion her lithe form moving with a slow grace. Then she kicked on her slippers and slid on her gloves to protect herself from accidental fallback before heading to the briefing room.

As she walked the corridor she was assailed briefly by the communications traffic in the tower now that it was on alert a punishment for allowing her self control to slip. But her loss of control of her Omnilingual ability did provide her with a brief idea of the reasons for the excitement.

The description of the events and the assets involved made it plausible that she and her team would soon be in combat against someone who was or had connections to a Technomorph or at least alien technology. Because of the snippets of information she was tempted to stop and focus her ability on the feeds of the tower and query the system for images but resisted the urge knowing it might delay her and force her to be bored out of her skull in the mandatory punishment class usually assigned for such. She had been bathing once when such a call came and shown up nude wrapped in only a towel as her passive form of protest and later defended her state of dress expressing a desire to adhere to the rules as her reason; today was different.

She loathed combat missions preferring instead to use her abilities to investigate crime scenes or to serve as a translator for visitors from space or dimensions. It wasn’t that she felt in danger in combat knowing her random effect on probability would at least blunt the blow allowing her to survive.

She stopped just outside the briefing room door collecting her thoughts and shifting her expression from annoyed to smiling saying softly to herself; “I am here till probability rescues me.”

Then she entered and stood at the back of the room looking at the chairs around the table her expressing still smiling but her communication power telling any who looked that she saw the chairs as if they were covered in some sort of unknown filth.

[Shard]

Mission Equipment - Assault Type.

Assault Rifle, Armor Penetrating Bullets.

Sidearm, Armor Penetrating Bullets.

​​​​​​​
Tags - @ShwiggityShwah@Metronome

---

The debate concerning freedom is somewhat of a constant within the tower. Indeed, talk of rebellion is unacceptable, but philosophical conversations cannot be hindered, lest one hopes to squander personal development in the heroes themselves. Indeed, Miles often found himself at the butt of a question hinting towards his upbringing as a weapon. He had never known freedom, not like most. Created in a test tube, he was brought forth using science of the most maleficent kind, all to bring death and destruction to key targets. The perfect assassin, they called it. Yes, Miles had been part of the tower for the past twenty, full years. On the streets, he was called The Agent, given his repertoire of abilities. Of course, one should not expect that action figures of the boy sold very well. He wasn't one of the more flashy individuals. He could neither shoot beams from his hands, nor his eyes. He had other abilities at the ready, and one should never discard his vigilance. 

Yes, on the subject of action figures, fans were quite abundant for the heroes of New Horizon. Miles, or Shrike, had been quite curious of the matter and sometimes found himself delving into the more awkward forms with a soda in hand, and cat on his lap. Worthy of cringe, he could not help but read the fan fiction brought forth by these people of a mundane pursuit. The most recent update was pairing Wraith with Phoenix Dawn. Light and darkness, as it was. Unable to stifle his laughter at the sight, Miles cleared his throat, a set of slender fingers running through his cat's fur as he chose to forward the scene to his fellow heroes. Ironic, in a way. This quiet, mellow and withdrawn young assassin did not appear to be of the mischevious sort, no, not at all. Rather, it is as they say. Watch out for the quiet ones. 

'This is wrong..,' Phoenix stated, feeling Wraith's hand tracing the length of the light bringer's arm, 'we can't do this...'

There was a short pause before Wraith spoke, 'then...,' the alien responded, 'I don't want to be right! No more talk, before their lips brushed against the other's, and Miles' downed a heavy swig of his soda. 

"To be fair, it's better than the last one," the boy stated, looking down to the cat playfully pawing at the keyboard of the mutant's laptop. He enjoyed sitting in his bed, being all but lazy in a pair of boxers, a soda in hand and fanfiction in front of him. Yes, he had come across some starring himself but they always tended towards the more typical variant. Shrike was portrayed as a shy, withdrawn young soldier, brought into the strong arms of another as a heavy blush coated his cheeks. It wasn't exactly wrong, but who wanted to read realism? 

Stretching his arms with a soft yawn escaping his lips, the mutant perked at the beeping sound emanating from his watch. He was being called. "Welp, time to work," he closed the laptop before lifting Wraith, his cat, and dropped the furred critter back onto the bed. He proceeded to slip into his clothes, before making his way down the corridor and towards the briefing room. Giant animal robots? Well, at the very least, this job never got old. There was always a variation in those who wanted to bring disaster. What was this man's misery brought form? Was it a personal disappointment? Did he simply want to make a statement? Was it that he had been slighted by the government? Miles still recalled the man who brought forth absolute destruction because of a love affair. Indeed, people displayed conflict in varying ways, each one ending up at the tail end of Shrike's scope when endangering others. 

Dropping to a chair, the assassin hugged his knees where he sat, a common position for him, as he listened to the briefing. A sniper rifle would not do well in this scenario. One shot could never end this threat. He needed something with more rapid-fire, something for a war zone. That was where he was headed. 

[ShwiggityShwah]

"NEVER FEAR! THE LIGHT OF PHOENIX DAWN IS HERE!"

"Hahahahah! Surely this will get their blood pumping!" Phoenix Dawn was at the gym as he always does before lunch. He truly believed that he could be faster, fast as the light that coursed through his veins. And while he would make sprinted laps around the track, his stamping feet almost ruining the tarmack, he would distract himself on how to best prepare the new bloods for life in service of Glory and Justice. Surely a morning run of 10 miles like this would be a great way to start each day. He felt invigorated, but then again, when wasn't he invigorated?

The sweat steaming off his burning form, the suit he was supposed to be wearing was zipped open and dangled at his waist. Of everything in the tower, it was those dang boring drab gray suits that he hated the most. He loved to feel the light on his skin, the cool air on his pectorals, the way his muscles looked like plates of armor over his god like form. Truly it would make his onlookers see simple beautiful perfection in motion; Men would weep manly tears and strive to better themselves; Women would squeal with delight and strive to great acts of personality to acquire his attention.

Dawn closed his eyes and made a fist. "If only I could see myself at all times." He despaired for missing out on what surely is the greatest of sights. He then clapped his hands, ready to grab a shower. "Oh well, time for lunch."

And then the greatest of sounds came to his ears. Every fiber of his being seemed to tense and grow cold in ecstatic thrill. "What ho!? A call to arms!?" He swung his arms out and screamed in a haughty laugh. "HAHAH! Truly this is a GLORIOUS Day! Stay strong citizens! For THE DAWN is coming!" He didn't even bother getting himself looking presentable. He only had less than 10 minutes to get down 20 or so floors and so the race was on.

Unlike the rest of his colleagues, Dawn did use the elevator. In order to prevent Dawn from just ripping the door apart, they installed a button to his thumb print that would allow the elevator door to open regardless of whether the car was there or not. After nearly toppling some of the Horizon Staff with nary an "Excuse me! Duty calls!" He reached the elevator and pushed the button. The elevators were all part of the same massive shaft along the inner spire of the tower. The car of that particular door was below him but he had room across the way to get down to the others. And with not a moments hesitation, the Dawn leaped.

He narrowly avoided one car, then another before finally plunging the 12 or so additional stories. If one were looking at one of the elevator tubes from the lobby they could see a flash of yellow and orange descend quickly before dipping out of sight with a massive BOOM as he dropped into the lower levels. It was enough to cause a small bit of rumbling, scaring an intern enough that she dropped the contents of her folder all over the floor.

At another part of the building, the boom boom boom got louder and louder as Dawn ascended one of the utility stairwells to get to where the meeting room would be. He nearly broke the door in the process before he broke off sprinting down the hallways like he had been doing not 5 minutes earlier, a massive excited smile plastered on his face as he moved only slightly to avoid those just trying to work, though they were avoiding him the same way one would avoid a car careening towards them.

Coming up to one of the doors adjacent to the war-room and trying very hard to not just burst through the wall (he has been told not to do that more times than his keeper could have ever thought) he swings the door open hard enough so that the handle embeds into the wall where it strikes, cracking it rather significantly. Silhouetted in the door from the dark room, he enters looking at his wrist. "76 seconds! HAH! A new record! I knew I was getting faster!" His voice bellows out and echoes in the small room.

He strikes a heroic manly pose with his hands on his hips and chest out. "Phoenix Dawn! Reporting for JUSTICE!"

[Prosaic]

---

LOCATION; THE TOWER.
INTERACTIONS; N/A.

---

Dreams.
Nearly everyone had them, nearly all of the time.
Silas was no stranger to dreams. Silas was no stranger to vertigo, or of the sensation of falling. It was strange how many people dreamt that they were falling, it was strange how it always caught him off guard. He'd acquired more than his fair share of bruises by forgetting to change the scene before he ended up chin-first on the pavement. He was not very reactive to falling dreams, he was still learning to become a little more reactive to falling dreams.

That was the thing about this power. You got what you got, you didn't get to pick and choose what people dreamt. If he accidentally slipped into one of his fellow heroes dreams and they happened to be having a nightmare then that was just his dream for the night. He tried not to change too much when he was in their dreams, it just seemed rude somehow. He was being invasive enough as it was, he didn't need to shift the natural course of their dreams.

The thing about dreams was that they went exactly how they should go, every time. It was abnormal to change them, it ruined the point of them. Falling dreams were something that he didn't feel bad about changing, if he could ever remember to change them in time. Today was one of those days where he just reacted too slowly. His body hit the ground before he could think to soften the blow or change the distance. Luckily, whoever he was scoping on, whether they be inside or outside the building, hadn't been dreaming about falling off a building.

He woke from his trance almost as soon as he hit the ground, it hadn't been too deep a trance but it had been deep enough that he hadn't heard the signal going off. He was still a little disoriented, white noise was hissing in his ears and that goddamn alert was beckoning him. He stumbled to his feet, his head was spinning and his vision was still a little unsteady. He stepped once, lurched forward, stepped twice and nearly careened to the side. Sometimes leaving the dreamstate could leave him feeling like he was drunk.

When he completely regained his balance, he took off at a brisk jog to get to the conference room on time. He dodged just about anything or anyone in his way. At one point, he was sure he'd accidentally elbowed something, he didn't have time to stop and check on it. He wasn't extremely fast like some of his more eager partners but he was fast enough. When people saw Sleeper, they didn't expect fast, they expected dreams. He didn't really have anyone to impress with his speed.

As soon as he crossed into the conference room, he was sweating through his shirt. He didn't exactly manage to break his last record either, in fact, he had shown up a with only a few moments to spare. He was out of breath and there was a fresh bruise blossoming on his arm. His hair was a rumpled mess, as were his clothes, and he was looking as tired as he always did.

He wheezed once, but it allowed him to gasp out a quick, "Sorry!" before he fell into his accustomed silence, listening closely as the target was described to them.

Great.
Robots. Robots didn't have an unconscious mind, artificially intelligent or not, they were still well programmed computers at best. It made him wish that they had a technopath on their team, someone who could really dismantle a computer at a touch. He'd have to focus on the person that was leading them, that was something that he could handle.

[Zoey Boey]

Alice Jefferson

@Shard@RumikoOhara@Duoya

Alice Jefferson was sitting on a comfy couch in her room, watching a cooking show and drinking the warm tea she had brewed herself. It was just after breakfast and she liked the tea in the morning. She looked down at her brown tea, when suddenly the beeper device attatched to her hip vibrating and- well, beeped. The message was dire indeed. Another loony was trying to take over the world again, God knows why.

While she was thinking this, she already had the sleek white boots of her battle suit on. In a moment's notice she had attatched the modern-armor to her chest, picked up the rest of her gear in her arms and began making her way down to the briefing room while strapping on a gauntlet.

Attentively, she listened to the quick briefing, eager to get started. The briefing finished as she snugly fit her left hand into the final finger of her left gauntlet, it's white and gold trim reflecting the lights above.

"All right, Omnicron, can you hear me?" She spoke with a friendly voice into her HIVEMIND device (ominous name for such a wonderful device). She spoke to her squadmates, Jane, Sydney, and Miles. She began striding down a long corridor, finishing putting on her armor and discussing her plan.

"Jane jelly, I'd like you to sticky up those big mean robots legs, sound good? Make it hard for them to move and easy for us to hit. I can help you out with that," She shoved her hand into her right gauntlet. Winking, a cup made of shimmering, clear-as-water glass appeared in the air for Jane to hop into. It hovered along behind Alice as she speedily walk down the hallway.

"Syndney, sweat pea, I'ma ask you to put a little focus on the civvies, okay? Roll the dice in favor of the people just tryna get outta the way. And maybe throw a little luck our way, too?" She finished clipping on her belt, securing the greaves of her armor firmly to herself.

"Miles, honey, you do you. Aim for the bits you think is right." With that, she held the helmet of the suit out in front of her, looking at it. It resembled a combination between a motor cycle helmet and a medieval helm. It was white, and around the glass visor was gold trim. Gripping it under her arm, Alice picked up the pace to a jog.

She stepped into one the elevators that would take the team downstairs and into the street, where Alice assumed a vehicle would be waiting.

"Y'all ready?" She asked one last time, waiting for her teammates to enter the elevator before pressing the button. The machine took them downstairs at a rapid pace.

Alice Jefferson clicked on the sleek white helmet, it's situational awareness UI coming to life. As she put the helmet on, one could catch a brief glimpse of the hardening of Alice's eyes and the tightening of a scowl on her face.

"Omnicron," Victory said, "Let's make this quick."

[Metronome]

Ka'van watched as Alice began barking orders at her unit on her way out. He knew it wouldn't be long before Dawn started doing the same. It wasn't that he didn't respect his leader, he was very good at what he did, but Ka'van tended to be more...independent. He enjoyed coming up with his own plans. He defeated an evil demon overlord when he was nineteen, for heaven's sake!

The alien tilted his head back, his form becoming engulfed in a dark, smoky cloud. A tattered, ash grey shroud burst from seemingly nowhere, settling onto his shoulders as the cloud turned his form a solid black. He was nothing more than a silhouette, so black that even light didn't reflect off of him. The only discernible feature was the glowing, solid red eyes. The air around him grew colder, and his breath was visible as a cloud, pillowing out of an unseen mouth.

"I'll meet you there," Wraith said to his teammates. With that, he picked himself up off the ground and flew towards the window. He phased right through it. The feeling of freedom lifted his heart just a little; even if it was only temporary. This is what he'd vowed to do when arriving on Earth: protect the innocent. At least he still had that.

Wraith arrived downtown into a scene of madness. The lion robot was picking cars up in it's maw, shaking them, and then crushing them flat. The rhinoceros was smashing itself into building, making at least one topple to the ground. The bird picked up a bus, carried it high into the sky, and then dropped it. Behind him, the snake exploded from the ground and burrowed up the side of a building. At the far end of the chaos, the elephant was spewing fire. In the middle, the villain, who was screaming "I AM THE ZOOKEEPER!" stood, his face red with excitement. It was a bit overwhelming, but Ka'van quickly pinpointed a place to start. Step one: catch the bus.

The citizens on board the transit were screaming bloody murder as they plummeted to the ground. Wraith flew upwards to meet them, holding out his hands and concentrating on the bus's mass. It was pretty big, and moving very fast. He had to be careful not to stop it too fast, lest he break every neck on board. The bus became engulfed by a dark energy, his telekinesis at work. It slowed, then stopped, mere feet above the ground. Ka'van swiveled in the air, the bus moving with him. He carried it a short distance away from the scene before setting it down. The alien phased through the side and stepped onto the floor, his form still not solid so that the citizens could get by, or through, him.

"Is everyone okay?" His voice was mesmerizingly calm. His ability to emit calmness in even the most dire of situations often came in handy. All of the humans scrambled from the bus, so clearly they were fine. Ka'van lifted himself up and through the roof, watching to ensure they got away safely. Then, it was back into the fray.

[Shard]

Mission Equipment - Assault Type.

Assault Rifle, Armor Penetrating Bullets.

Sidearm, Armor Penetrating Bullets.

​​​​​​​
Tags - @Zoey White

---

"Roger that, captain," Miles responded, equipping his gear. Step one, get the visor working the way it should, and by that, Miles was sure to maintain the music trickling into his ears. He had often been asked, why listen to music in the middle of a conflict? Surely it added nothing and rather stole attention from that of which sought to slay him. Miles' answer always remained the same. 'If I am going to die, I'd rather have something nice to listen to as I go.' 

"Ka'Van just cushioned a bus from going splat," Shrike commented, entering the battlefield with a sense of excitement washing over him, "I'll focus on the bird, let's hope it's allergic to bullets." Despite the joke leaving his lips, the agent sounded ironically monotone, much like he always did. Though, one is quick to learn that reading between the lines with the boy will get you further than listening to his tone of voice, as it will surely lead you astray.

Feeling most at home upon the rooftops, a wire shot out from Miles' bracer and pulled him towards a skyscraper with ease where he rolled back to his feet upon touching down. Spinning around, the agent took a breath and braced his rifle, allowing the visor to do its work. On his own, Miles was an excellent shot, but his visor offered another layer of technological assistance, locking onto his target. For an ease of function, it also offered a nifty hud directly linked to his health, and firearms. It proceeded to display how many bullets remained in his clip, as well as his stamina and physical capability. So far, so good. He was at a hundred percent and hopefully, this battle wouldn't be drawn out. 

The assassin's teammates could handle the ground units without an issue, but as far as Miles was concerned, he was the primary ranged assault trooper among them. That bird would not make a habit of remaining close to melee combat, leaving the mutant a prime option of counter-attack. "Engaging," Miles finished, pulling the trigger to fire a burst of three armor penetrating rounds into the flying machination. Indeed, they managed to tear through its armor but did little in stopping this engine of destruction. "Got its attention," the marksman stated over the communications device built into his headgear, "proceeding with combat."

No more words were needed before a plasma blast headed straight for the boy. With wide eyes, he leaped aside before meeting the full force of such a devastating attack. Rather, it tore through a large chunk of the ventilation device Miles sought shelter behind. "Okay, I don't get along with plasma," Shrike tumbled back to a standing position and unleashed a salvo of bullets onto the foe. He could clearly see the effects as sparks emanated from the impact, but it was far from enough. This creature was heavily armored, and while he attempted to seek out a weak spot, even his visor had a hard time managing the feat. This Zookeeper, the genius behind this construction had focused heavily on armor, and he had succeeded. 

With another concentrated blast onto the roof, Miles was forced to dash towards the metal door leading into the building but was quickly knocked back by yet another plasma strike. It connected with the door, nearly blasting it from place before sending the boy to his back. There was no time to focus on the pain echoing throughout his scrawny form, warranted by the shockwave. No, Miles maintained his focus on the task at hand. With the door now on its hinges, Miles was able to slip through the gap with ease before sliding down to the next level, using his frequently handy wire. 

A restaurant awaited him, one full of onlookers with massive windows allowing view of the city. "Head downstairs," the agent commanded, his voice quite robotic behind the surface of his visor. Even so, he did not sound alarmed in the slightest, almost casual in the way that he spoke. Though in a sense of panic, the civilians followed instructions given by a figure of authority. Heroes had that effect on people, indeed. It was a good course of action one might say, as a familiar enemy made its presence known outside the windows, blasting its plasma beam through the thin, reflective surface. 

Leaping behind the marble coated bar, Shrike turned to see the bartender still present, given little time to escape, unlike the customers. "Y-you're Shrike!" The man commented, equally excited to be in such a close proximity to a Horizon hero as he was terrified of a villain's minion close behind. 

"Hey," the boy raised a hand in greeting. "that's a big bird," he motioned over his shoulder as he reloaded his gun.

"B-but you'll beat it, right!?" The bartender tried, earning a short pause from the agent.

"Probably," Miles retracted the charging handle to load a first bullet into the barrel. Before the civilian was able to answer, the marksman extended his arm and shot the wire into an adjacent wall to gracefully pull him across the floor as he aimed his rifle at the bird. Wasting not a moment, the agent emptied his clip into the beast before jumping through the window to dodge another death beam shooting from the bird's mouth. 

Switching to his sidearm, Miles fired another five quick shots into the monster before grappling his wire to the next roof and fluidly reloaded his weapons with Imprinted ammunition. This was where his power truly shone. "This makes me miss recon missions..," Shrike sighed, seeing the fatigue level visible on his hud. Tapping the side of his headgear, he shifted the song he had been listening to, to something more upbeat. "You awoke me, unleashed the fire in my heart..," Shrike hummed softly, raising his rifle to once more fire a hail of bullets shredding the beast's armor. 

Switching its methods, the machination charged Miles where he stood, attempting to ram into him at full speed. Sprinting forth, the agent quickly dropped to the roof floor, sliding across its length as he braced his rifle and riddled the bird's underside with bullets before rolling back to his feet. With a graceful twirl, he released the rifle before drawing his sidearm. "The fuel in my fire won't run dry..," he continued, singing along softly as he pulled the trigger, once, twice and three times to see the armor penetrating rounds tearing through what remained of the bird before it dropped lifelessly onto the rooftop with a crash landing. "I came for a fight, yeah, until tomorrow's mine..," he finished, dropping to his back with a heavy breath. That pain was starting to really settle in, now. 

[CaptainSully]

Location | The Tower
Tags | None

The bulk and size of Phoenix matched the size of his personality and ego. When he entered the room Leolin dropped his head and sighed. In his mind Leo knew Phoenix was more than capable of being a functional member of the team, but he had a history of trying to show off and putting lives at risk. Collateral damage was a regular occurance, he needed to realise that fame wasn't the be all and end all. Focus on getting the job done, save as many people as you can and the fans will follow. Still, there were few who could take a hit like Phoenix and that made him useful to have around.

With the video finished Alice and Ka'van made quick exits, closely followed by the rest of the heroes. The problem for Leo was his need to meditate. It wasn't helpful that New Horizon would stop him prior to any mission briefings, the decision made as an extra security protocol. Leolin now had an empty room to himself and remained sitting where he was. The silence the room provided was more than sufficient for him to focus. Closing his eyes he began to concentrate deeply, almost instantly feeling the connection to the Aether grow stronger. A colourful aura began to form around him and was the give away that he had began his meditation. It was what had alerted New Horizon to his need to recharge.

After ten minutes of uninterrupted meditation, the colours surrounding Leolin faded into non-existance. The man raised himself from his chair and inhaled deeply. With the exhale that followed Leo shot towards his room, arriving within it mere seconds later. He changed into his battle garb and set off towards where his team would be.

[ShwiggityShwah]

"TEAM EPSILON ASSSSEEEEMBBBBBBLE!!!"

@CaptainSully@Metronome@Zoey White@Prosaic
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Phoenix Dawn wasted no time. He tore his drab gray jumpsuit from his form, as he always wears his battle gi in case of emergencies such as this. He remembered the time that Witness showed up in a towel and while he figured it wouldnt be a problem, they gave her a lot of hell for it so he thought it best to just always be prepared. He threw the waste of cloth aside and directed his team.

"Bring it in team!" He wanted his traditional huddle, but he managed to get his team to do it once before. They have since avoided that massive muscled arms forcibly tipping them over in a little football planning ring. Regardless they could hear him over their personal earpiece radios.

"Wraith! I want you-" He was gone from where Dawn last saw him. Dawn paused for only a moment before he raised his hand in a thumbs up. "Good thinking Wraith! You move on ahead and prepare the battlefield. See that all bystandards are brought to safety!" He knew Wraith was no doubt already there fighting the good fight.

"Draig! I need you to-" He was sitting down in the corner in his mediation riturals. Dawn paused for only a moment before he raised his hand in a thumbs up. "Good thinking Draig! You need to be at MAXIMUM power for the battle ahead! Catch up with us, give a final sweep of the area and then join us in the fray!" His blinding speed would mean that he would catch up once prepared. Dawn secretly hoped he had charged before but no use complaining now.

"Sleeper, its you an me again!" He said with a big mouth grin as he lifted his compatriot over his shoulder. It was the fastest way that Dawn carry his Dreamwalking colleague, which meant they were going to be leaping through the city. Sleeper should have been used to this by now, considering Dawns Eagerness. They left the room, out the lobby and out into the world at large. "TEAM EPSILON AAAWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!.... Phoenix Dawn took the air, jumping one mile at a time and only just barely missing the cars on his descent. His feet would also leave pretty massive pot holes on the impact and jump.

While mid-leap, he commed in to Victory. "No fair Victory, you had a head start!" He laughed over the comm. "Team Epsilon is running crowd duty until I get into the thick of it! I'm heading straight for that oversized Pachyderm! JUSTICE be with you Victory!" He gave his salutations and good wishes to his peer. She was a leader truly, running the others like a grandma threading a needle to fix a beloved teddy bear, full of Righteous Fury!

_________________________________________________________________________

He arrived on the scene just as the Bird had begun to assail Shrike, but that slippery devil would no doubt give that bird what for. He could hear the blasts of gun fire and knew that was a good sign. He kept the skies clear which meant that the streets were all his.

He landed a block away, finally letting Sleeper off his shoulder and let him go about his duty, "Sleeper, there is the vile villain! Attack with my dreams or give him a real nightmare! We end him, and we end this madness." He patted him on the shoulder, before moving into the fray. It was evident that Dawn didn't quite know how Sleeper's abilities worked, so he left Sleeper with orders that were pretty vague. He tried to think of something, day dreaming about his victory this day over the zoo keeper. And Tigers... Big Fire Breathing Tigers as he approached the fray.

Wraith was above, catching that bus, and seeing to the well being of those inside. A pang of pride for his team of truest heroes rang in the Dawn's heart. The rescue and the hero however got the attention of the Rhino who was already beginning to charge the bus of innocents. Dawn sprung forward at the metal beast to protect friend and innocent. He met it, metal against the DAWN as a ring of Hammer striking Molten Iron filled the intersection with a slight gust of wind. The 1000s of horse power behind the metal monstrosity was stopped dead in its tracks, its gears grinding as its legs kicked. Dawn held it horn and under its head, his fingers actually making dents in the metal plating. He struggled for a moment before his strength proved superior. He gritted his teeth and shouted with all of his might, his anger, and all of his sorrow!

"HURL TO THE HORIZON!" Phoenix Dawn took a step a with a mighty hoist, the Rhino was lifted off the ground, going almost ninety degrees in the air, its legs still kicking as its internal processes attempted to compensate to no avail. Phoenix saw his target. The fire breathing Elephant slowly trudging up the street, causing untold destruction to the good city. He pivoted his foot and swung the Rhino with a mighty roar. The Rhino took flight as if were nary a sack of flour to be tossed in the hold of a backery. It sailed over the battlefield, over the Zookeeper, and struck the Elephant with a mighty clang! The elephant stood firm though, merely jolted by the hunk of metal that careened with it. Meanwhile the Rhino, badly dented chinged off on one side and came to a rest beside it.

Phoenix Dawn then stepped forward, flames and sparks spilling from his form as his arms became covered in what appeared to be gold before they became covered with a bright orange flame. He took some steps forward and pointed at the Zookeeper. "What are you doing out of your cage Zookeeper!? Feeding hours are 9 AM and 3 PM!" It sounded cooler in his head. He stood in the path of the elephant, defiant and ready to turn it to the scrap it was made of. He was dwarfed by it, a lone hero against the monster. But in this instant, he was the Goliath.

He hoped he made enough of a show for his comrades to rain glorious justice upon the Zookeepers toys.

[Prosaic]

---

LOCATION; DREAMSCAPE/UNREALITY.
INTERACTIONS; PHOENIX DAWN - @ShwiggityShwah (BRIEFLY)

---

"No-"

When his teammate heaved him over his shoulder, he didn't have much space left to complain. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate that the Dawn was so exuberant and that he loved to act as a personal transportation service but he couldn't help but feel like there had to be a better way. The Dawn was fast and he was efficient, there was never a doubt that they'd get there on time. The Dawn was fast, faster than a car by a long shot but not saner than a car.

Normal people took cars, the Sleeper took the Dawn transportation service. He squeezed his eyes shut the whole way and tried not to succumb to motion sickness. There was something incredibly unsettling about being along for a ride that leaped at incredible strength and dexterity to get around. It made him a little sick. It reminded him of middle school and how the bus would go over potholes and the kids would cheer, he wasn't one of the kids that cheered.

When they finally hit their destination and the sound of wind wasn't roaring in his ears, he opened his eyes. The battle had already began. Victory had beaten their team to the field and that was fine by him, they could hold their own pretty well. Wraith had left before any of them and already seemed to be handling the damage control. That was good, everyone had their eggs in a basket and he had nothing to worry about. He just had to focus on what he did best. He had to dream.

When the Dawn gave him his orders, he saluted him like a nice little defensive partner. "I already have a strategy at the ready."

The Dawn was off on his heroic mission before Silas had even finished his sentence. He watched him go, always a little in awe of how well the man worked. Honestly, the teams in their entirety was a bit awesome. They all knew what they needed to do and they accepted responsibility with arms wide open. He only liked working for New Horizons because he was helping people, it was what he'd wanted to do from the moment that he'd discovered his powers.

He had to stay on the sidelines to use his power, it involved a lot of being still and if something came at him while he was in a trance then he was as good as dead. He carefully moved to a quiet place behind a car, hoping that a hundred and so pounds of steel could conceal him from any of the metallic animals that were terrorizing the city. He settled onto the ground, folding his knees underneath him and reaching out to the conscious mind of the Zookeeper.

It was harder to work into the mind of a person who was awake though, it was like trying to thread a needle. He could do it if he tried, it was just a complicated task. He had to find that one weak spot that he could infiltrate, a tiny part of the person that was tired or bored. Maybe the Zookeeper hadn't slept so well last night in excitement and anticipation of his crime, maybe he just needed a little push to take a nap and join Silas in his realm. When he found the weak spot, he chipped away at it.

It wasn't easy. The Zookeeper was focused on his task and that was keeping him awake. It took some time and it took all of willpower but Silas finally got the thread through the needle. The Zookeeper would immediately start to get groggy, the way someone might if they had been about to take a light nap on a couch. It was comfortably warm and the dreams would be immediate and vibrant, a picture of perfection. Dreams always grew more vibrant when Silas was around. The colors in the dreamscape would become very saturated, it was a way of warning the sleeper that something was afoot. Fortunately for him, not many people were good at lucid dreaming.

He chose a dream that made the Zookeeper happy, Silas always went for happy dreams first. It was easier to keep someone in REM if they weren't stressed out immediately. The Zookeeper wanted the usual things that villains did, his fifteen minutes of infamy. He wanted to be on top the food chain, he didn't care what he trampled on his way there. He was very proud of his robotic animals, he had made them himself after all. He was too busy basking in his dream victory to notice the skinny boy that was standing off to the side.

He didn't have the time to sit here and pinpoint every hair that was out of place on the Zookeeper's head. "I guess it's time."

That was the first time that the Zookeeper noticed him, he looked startled at the appearance of a strange young man in his dream.

"You either call off your mechanical monstrosities or this place is going to get really unpleasant."

Of course, this was just a dream to the villain and in a dream, he was always the winner. If some scrawny, twenty something year old kid wanted to threaten his new emperor then he would pay the price. The animals descended towards him, the metal creaking and groaning loudly. He would have been scared, if he wasn't in a dream. Dreams were his realm, they were the only thing that he could control. The raucous cry of the bird overhead was what caught him off guard, he'd forgotten the bird. He dove down as metal talons scraped into his back, his arm defensively covered his head.

It was hard to balance between two dreams, it was like splitting himself into two but Phoenix Dawn was projecting for him.
Big, fire breathing tigers.
Sometimes he loved Phoenix Dawn.

He heard the roar before he saw the beast, evidently the bird had heard it too because it wasn't lifting him up and dropping him through a dream building. He peeked over his shoulder and he could see the animal. It was beautiful, oversized and exotic with glistening amber eyes. It's coat was glossy and it looked nearly golden in the ruddy lighting of the dream, others were materializing to join it. They were quite an impressive army.

He rolled to his feet gracefully, ignoring the searing pain in his back and directed them forward. Soon, the area was filled with the sound of claws scraping through metal and metallic screeching. The sound of flame roaring out from the jaws of the lions and metal warping from the intensity of the heat. The bird was circling overhead in a panic, unsure of which of the tigers to target.

It gave him time to focus on twisting the world around him. Now that the Zookeeper was trapped in REM, he could pretty much do anything that he wanted. He was basically God here. He started with changing the scenery a bit, something more disturbing. The place aged around them, the buildings crumbling into nothingness and the trash building up around them. It began to reek immediately, the smell of rotting trash was burning into his nose.

Maggots that were the size of small dogs were writhing free from the trash piles. They had gaping maws that were full of tiny needle teeth and they were squirming and wriggling to get closer to the man. They were developing as they moved, stretching and evolving tiny little legs until they resembled white, disgusting, oversized centipedes.

They were pouring over the Zookeeper instantly, tiny legs scraping at his flesh and insect mouths biting into his skin. They wouldn't kill him, Silas liked to avoid causing damage that was too permanent but it certainly wouldn't be pleasant. All the Zookeeper would be feeling was teeth cutting into his flesh and scraping, squirming bodies. Smaller insects were emerging around him, busting out of the ground and burrowing beneath his clothing. These insects mostly consisted of cockroaches and spiders.

The smaller insects would start to descend towards his nostrils and his mouth and ears. It was a little bit cruel but Silas did what he had to do to get people to give in.

[RumikoOhara]

---

Sydney arrived via transport and was put out in a sector that held groups of civilians who needed to be evacuated so she began her work even though a police officer could perform the same function. Sure her prison uniform/new horizon cos made people want to listen to her but it also made her have to come into contact with people physically which could become difficult quickly.

First was a group of 20-25 office workers huddled in a Starducks who when she entered the store started mobbing her saying save them and demanding she do something about the monstrous animal machines but worst of all was that they touched her exposing her to events in their lives in the past hour. The worst of the lot was a woman who had been embezzling money to pay for a hitman to kill her boss so she could hide her criminal activity and advance into his place so she could steal even more money. This meant that when she returned to the tower she needed write a long report and submit herself to a deep scan by the mentalists so they could verify her evidence.

Once that crowd was sent up the street past the police barricades Sydney had to head back into danger which while she was protected by her probability alteration didn’t mean she wouldn’t suffer injury just less than she might otherwise and her life wasn’t in danger.

So deep in thought and looking more into the storefronts she missed the huge metal snake that slid up behind her and had not the light reflected off its metallic hide she might have been skewered by the spike of its tail which struck at her as she dove sideways. Annoyed if such a beast could be the snake tried once more making Sydney roll to avoid its lethal attentions and more focused on the snake than the terrain she ended up rolling into an open storm drain falling 6 feet to the concrete below.

The snake sensing victory drove its spike down into the hole thinking her like a fish in a barrel trapped and easy prey only to have its tail skid off the wall near her head where it became lodged at an angle that even its strength could not free it from due to the laws of leverage.

[Duoya]

Alkaline

---

The alarm resounded through Jane's slimy body, causing slight vibrations to ripple across the surface of her body. Immediately, almost instinctual, the surface of her body began to adopt a more viscous form, and the ripple effect stopped almost instantly. Almost three seconds after awakening, Jane was already dragging her being into the nearby bathroom - her room, unlike most of the heroes, lacked a large number of comforts - simply because she had no use for them. However, a bathroom was a necessity, and as she barely managed to turn on the shower, she rapidly began to absorb the water that fell onto her surface. Quickly, she began to expand, until she was roughly 6 feet in diameter. She had been told several times that constantly being at her maximum size was inconvenient in the narrower spaces of the Tower - and Jane was always the type to please.

As she remembered her awakening, Jane quickly ejected out the small wristwatch in her body - it was one of the few possessions she kept on hand. Looking at it on the ground, she quickly saw that the alarm earlier was a call to arms! A meeting! Jane dragged her body as quickly as she could which, to be fair, was not much faster than a normal person walking. She left her room, passed several other of the heroes rooms, and upon reaching the stairs, immediately loosened her body.

By lowering her viscosity and not focusing on keeping her body in a spherical form, she could easily slide down the stairs far faster than normal - a trick she learned after spending 30 minutes climbing down the stairs whenever she wanted to travel. Elevators, with their high buttons and decent amount of force required to operate, made them rather unweildly. As she slid down the stairs, similar to a sink overflowing, Jane was ecstatic - her first mission! She had been assigned to a team with one of the first heroes in the entirety of New Horizon - Victory! Along with that, Miles had been with New Horizon for over 20 years (at least, Jane was told that), and Sydney was the same age as Jane! And if that wasn't enough, Jane was even given some basic training in preparation!

Finally, a few dozen gallons of bright yellow liquid dripped onto the 12th floor - Where immediately, Jane reformed into her blob-like form, and began to drag herself towards the office that she was told meetings were held. She couldn't help but bubble and ripple occasionally - she was just so excited! Maybe she'd finally get a mission! A chance to be an actual hero! She had been waiting so long to actually do what she came here for, that she just couldn't restrain her glee as she pulled her body into the room.

Several heroes had already beaten her there - specifically, Phoenix Dawn, Leo, and Miles. Quickly, however, people began to trickle in. As soon as everyone was gathered, the mission was explained, and Jane was practically melting the floor in excitement. Actually, a little bit of carpet was gone... Jane quickly grabbed her HIVEMIND device, a smaller and plastic version of what everyone else had - designed to withstand her acidic nature.

Team Omicron made there away own the hallway, Jane doing her best to keep pace with the others brisk walk. As Victory addressed her, she thankfully realized Jane's discomfort and summoned a cup to carry her in. Thankful, Jane seeped into the cup, her body being slightly too much for the contents. However, a hero never complained - Jane said nothing, simply holding the extra mass above the rim, and keeping it from dripping.

"Anything you say, Victory! I'll be support for this one!"

Jane focused slightly, forming a very crude hand and giving a thumbs up - it wasn't the best, but hey, you have to work with what you got. The group entered the elevator, and Jane quickly readied herself. She wasn't used to the movements, both due to her body and simply not being on an elevator in a long time. Quickly, the group made their way downtown - only to be met with the ravings of the man known as the Zookeeper - so far, the plan was that Jane would take out the movement of the robots, which while not the most glamorous, was still a necessary job.

Luckily, Team Epsilon was able to take care of the bus, and Miles had already made his way into a nearby building in order to take care of the large bird. Considering the danger involved, Jane was terrified that so many civilians were nearby - but at the same time, she couldn't believe that she was on her first mission! It was time to make her debut!

[Blazion]

Shift

---

Soft, upbeat music of ‘40’s jazz drifted its fast paced notes through one of the various rooms of The Tower, the volume low but obvious. Even so, the even quieter humming that accompanied it was nearly drowned out – not that the hummer seemed to mind. After all, Valora didn’t exactly have an audience. No, instead the young woman was sitting by herself on one of the maroon couches facing the wall of her living area, legs crossed and holding a book in one hand. Her other hand held a fork, hovering halfway between the salad resting on her lap and her mouth as a particular passage caught her eye.

All in all, it was a nearly picturesque morning. The sun was drifting lazily into her apartment, no one had disturbed her the entire time she’s been awake, and the new book she had picked up was quite good! Really, all Valora could’ve asked for was perhaps a glass of her family’s wine.

Well, that and not being anywhere near here in the first place, or the sprinkling of feathers she could feel on the back of her neck. No, actually, she was pointedly ignoring both of those things. She was not going to lament how things could have been, and she was most certainly not going to quiver in fear knowing that the Tower’s avian presence was particularly active today! Her furniture was positioned in such a way as to create a barrier from anyone entering her apartment, she was hundreds of feet in the air, there was nothing to be afraid of-

Then came the caw. Instantly Valora stilled, tensed with anxiety flooding her every pore. A moment of hesitation passed before her one-eyed gaze slid over to the floor-to-ceiling windows adorning one wall, seeing the little bird that struggled to balance on the very edge. However on seeing the grey eye of Valora locked onto him the crow let out another caw, flapping his wings eagerly.

A heartbeat past.

Then slowly, ever so slowly, Valora rose. Her fork dropped onto her plate before she reached out to grasp onto the cord hanging from the window. With a slow and cautious pull the maroon fabric of the drapes closed shut. Immediately a breath of relief escaped the woman’s lips and she sat back with a slump to her shoulders. After a few moments of calming breaths the woman raised her arms to run her fingers through her hair, only to pause seeing the tips of her fingers. Her hands settled in her lap as she couldn’t help but stare mutely at the absolutely wicked length and curve that had overtaken her fingernails, even before her eye they continued to thicken and become more talon-like. All from the presence of one little bird. It was horrifying.

The silent reflection was cut short by the sudden beeping flooding the room. A surprised gasp slipped from Valora’s lips, and as her heart started to race knowing what the sound meant a small twinge, no more than a pinch, was felt in her bicep. Her gaze quickly slid from the watch on her pale wrist, nestled above the dark onyx bracers that kept her powers in check, to the small device adhered to her arm. As with every mission as soon as the alert went out the Injector did its job, and within seconds the potent mix of chemicals began to calm the blonde. Her heart was still beating abnormally fast, but the rise of a panic attack, knowing that soon she’d be turning into the monsters that haunted her dreams, settled.

The moments Valora took to fully calm herself probably took longer than putting her food away and changing into costume. As such Shift was one of the last to slip into the briefing room from her elevator trip, the patch of downy feathers having grown more prominently around her neck and starting down her arms by the time she did. All the shapeshifter could do was offer a weak smile to the suited man that was quite obviously impatiently waiting for them all.

Almost immediately Shift’s stomach dropped as the briefing went underway, paling as the live feed being broadcast to them showed the jaws of a giant, mechanical lion crushing a car in its jaws like butter.

A flash of teeth, a maw latching around her face-

Another pinch in her arm caused Shift to have a full body shudder, the small pain combined with another injection steadying the hero. As was expected the briefing, was brief. In her ear the communication device – Valora hated calling it the ‘HIVEMIND’ - sparked to life with the words of Omnicron’s leader, Victory. The experienced hero was already issuing orders to the others, but Shift had one pit stop to make first.

After all, can’t have the shapeshifter going out unable to shapeshift. With the Injector working its chemical magic, it was time to have the dampening bracers removed to unleash the beast.

Valora just wanted to be back in the safety of her room.

[ShwiggityShwah]

"Teamwork makes the Dream Work!"

Special thanks to - @Duoya
_________________________________________________________________________________

Phoenix Dawn would have went to give Witness a hand but at the same moment the snake appeared, the Hellephant blew its trunk, showering the street with a blast of hot fire. Phoenix saw the sweep and had to shield himself from harm. He put an arm forward and prepared himself for a blast that he could probably take. The force of the fire and heat actually was enough for him to grit his teeth, "Elemental Adaptation Prana!" He roared. The heat dulled to a warmth, but it was still a blast of fire, and his man muscles were actually quite singed by the attack. When the blast ended, there was a few burns on him that were smoking, but nothing The Dawn couldn't handle. "Sorry Zookeeper, you'll need to be hotter than the sun to turn me into toast!" He knew the Zookeeper was actually asleep, curtesy of his team mate but he couldn't help himself sometimes.

Then he was sucker punched with a blast. The Rhino was back on his feet and had aimed its hip mounted plasma cannons at Phoenix Dawn. The green bolts hit him with enormous puffs of gray black smoke. Phoenix grunted and felt himself being pushed back, he just barely stayed on his feet as another blob of super heated plasma went sailing over to him. Knowing that less than 100 meters behind him was the line of police and onlookers, Dawn had to take it, he heaved his shoulder with a might kiai and punched the plasma right into the ground, turning the asphalt to melted slag. Dawn felt he was getting his Justice back, feeling the adrenaline mix with his photonic energy. It gave him a huge proud smile. He thought this was going to be a boring fight.

Then his other team members arrived in the nick of time, Victory, Shift, Alkaline! They were all here now, and as if on cue, Dawn struck a mannly super hero pose with his comrades behind him. Worthy of a poster! He felt something cool touch his foot and noticed the giant yellow puddle that could only be-

"Thank GLORY you're here Alkaline!" He shouted, his muscles flexing as he thought of a plan, he raised his fist to her. "Lets show that metal wannabee unicorn what two of the world's greatest heroes can really do!" Phoenix knew this was Alkaline's first fight but he had a pretty good idea of what she could do and what she was capable of, and putting that Rhino out of commission, or atleast holding it in place for Dawn to destroy it, would make this fight all the faster.

Impossibly, with a single hand, Dawn picked up the puddle, yes. Jane was actually taken off the ground like a massive beachball and seemed to fit snuggly in Dawn's massive hand. He looked back to the Rhino who was preparing another charge and Dawn took on a wicked grin. "Are you ready Alkaline!?" He said in his heroic voice before addressing the Rhino. "Prepare yourself for the MOST DEVASTATING of Super Hero combos! THE FAST BALL SPECIAL!" He then reel his hand back as he raised his leg, almost as if Alkaline was a baseball and he the pitcher. "HURL TO THE HORIZON!" Dawn just had to call out his special moves.... he didn't need to, he wanted to.

And with that, Alkaline would be thrown at the Rhino, no doubt covering the mechanized monstrosity in her meteorious mass with a massively mighty-

*SPLAT*

Covering the Rhino actually worked to some degree as no doubt the Rhino would have to recalculate for being covered in a giant ball of jam, freezing its joints. Dawn laughed loudly. "Whats wrong Rhino? You don't like jam? You wouldn't. Cause the J in Jam stands for JUSTICE!"

He now looked to the other big bad on the block, turning his attention. "Now it's just you and-" The Elephant managed to charge while they dealt with the Elephant and was now bringing a pile driver foot on top of Phoenix Dawn. He caught the bulk on his shoulders just in time, his knees stiffened and the street itself seemed to crater under the massive force. Dawn gritted his teeth and actually showed some effort for once, he couldn't just throw it off! "Holy nine pounds eight ounce baby Justice! This thing is heavy!"

The Dawn could use a hand.

[CaptainSully]

Location | Downtown - Zookeeper Battle Location
Tags | Witness [@RumikoOhara] - Phoenix Dawn [@ShwiggityShwah]

It took less than a minute for Leolin to arrive at the scene, he arrived to see a group of giant mechs rampaging throughout the city. One of which was in the process of crash landing onto the top of a nearby building. The concern was immediately whether it would bring the building down but it fortunately appeared the hold the weight of the mechnaised bird.

At ground level things seemed to be going just as well. Wraith was stood atop a bus as it's occupants vacated, presumably the alien had pulled off another bus catch. Unfortunately Leo's strength wasn't able to be used to sparingly, at speed he would have shredded the bus and likely the majority of the people in it. Elsewhere Phoenix Dawn was posturing again, making a point of throwing the Rhino across as a titanic mechanised Elephant on the far side of the area. He spewed some line like a cliche superhero from the TV but Leo could make clear from the hulking mans face that he was disappointed with what he said.

It was then Leolin's attention was caught by Witness, she had attracted the wrath of a giant mechanical snake. For all her talents as a detective and general investigator, she wasn't cut out to be taking on such creations. She literally had luck on her side which meant she would most likely be unhurt, but even with her power everyones luck runs out eventually. As the Snake struck out she rolled into a nearby storm drain, the snakes sharp and pointed tail following her through the small gap. The ground shook as the metallic creatures attack hit the solid wall below. The sound of straining motors became prevalent with the Snake trying it's hardest to pull itself free.

Leo smiled, Witness' unassuming power had trapped the snake. While it still had motion on the upper parts of it's body, the rest of it wasn't going to be going anyway. Charging forward Leo headed straight towards the snake, everything around him appearing to move slowly. Within a couple of steps he could feel the sonic boom erupt around him as he broke the sound barrier. He didn't make a habit of breaking it unless it was important, the collateral damage it could cause to civilians and buildings was too risky. Coming up against a creature made of metal meant he needed to build momentum and use the full force of his body. In what had been less than a millisecond for those around him, felt like thirty seconds to Leolin. He planted his foot at the base of the snake and launched himself upwards towards the mechs head. With fist outstretched he tore through the solid steel head as if it was paper. Emerging from the other side Leo continued on upwards for a bit further, before falling back down to the street below.

As Leolin rose to his feet, the body of the snake began to fall as it's motors locked up with it's computer center destroyed. There was a tremendous crash and dust kicked up into the air as the mechanised monster hit the concrete. Leo rushed into the storm drain to see Witness getting to her feet, it was clear the tail had been quite closer to catching her. "You need to be more careful. Luck doesn't last forever." Leo motioned to reach out with his hand to help her before he felt the ground shaking, something big was moving and it was close. "Sorry I need to get back up there." As quick as he had come, he was gone.

The dust kicked up by the snake above ground still remained in the air making it difficult to see, but it didn't block out the booming voice of Phoenix. "Holy nine pounds eight ounce baby Justice! This thing is heavy!" Hearing the voice nearby Leo charged through the dust cloud, eventually clearing it. He saw the massive bulk of Phoenix struggle to stop the foot of the mechanised elephant from crushing him beneath it's weight. Pushing himself hard again the sound barrier split once more. Before Phoenix could blink, Leolin's six foot one frame was in front of him. He knew Phoenix would love him to shout some heroic slogan but there was no way Leo was going to even remotely consider it. The alien drew his fist back slowly as a signal for the man mountain to start pushing with all his might. As the foot inched away from the pair, Leo thrust his fist forward with a thunderous crack. The wave of energy unleashed from his hypersonic punch combined with the sheer power of Phoenix caused the elephant to stumble back several feet, but not much further. Usually such a combined attack from the pair would be enough to finish any foe, but this titanic mechanical creature wasn't just any foe. "This is going to be interesting..."

[Metronome]

Wraith's attention was kept by the citizens scrambling about. The task of keeping them out of harm's way proved difficult. A cry caught his attention; it was the shrill screams of a frantic mother.

"My baby! My son! Somebody, please save him!" Wraith looked towards the woman standing on the sidelines, then followed her pointing finger. The lion robot; it had a sedan in it's mouth that it was seconds from crushing. Hanging halfway out of the window was a young boy, screaming and crying. Wraith acted fast.

He flew up towards the beast, reaching out and using his telekinesis to keep it's jaws pried open. He phased into the vehicle, grabbed the boy and phased out. The second his attention was gone from the lion's maw, the beast crushed the car in half. Wraith flew down to the mother with the boy and handed him over. The woman, tears running down her face, threw her arms around the alien and thanked him profusely. Wraith went stiff, not quite sure how to react.

"You're welcome," He said softly. He quickly ushered the two away, lest they become victims once more. Just as they ran off, Wraith heard thundering footsteps behind him. He swiveled just in time to see the lion leaping towards him, razor sharp claws outstretched. Thinking quickly, the alien caught the creature's paw with his telekinesis. The animal's whole limb was engulfed in the dark energy. Wraith thrust his hands down towards the ground, the energy following. With a shriek of tearing metal, the lion's foreleg ripped off and landed limply on the ground.

Wraith cried out as a splitting pain shot through his head. The task of tearing the two ton leg from the beast had been a bit too much for him. He held his head, sinking to the ground on his knees. He was acutely aware, through the pain, that the lion was still limping towards him. Unable to lift himself up to fly away, all Wraith could do was conjure a shield as the beast bore down on him with it's gnashing jaws. It had him pinned to the ground, the shield the only thing keeping him from certain demise.

"I need some assistance please," Ka'van said over the HIVEMIND link, his voice strained.

[Zoey Boey]

Victory and Shift

@Blazion, @Metronome

---

Victory had taken to the streets, jogging in her full armor ushering civilians past her, shoving through them as they ran away from the conflict and she ran too it. Shrike had taken the bird down, the Rhino and the Elephant were in the next block over as far as she knew, but Victory had lost track of the Lion and the Snake.

"Does anyone have eyes on the snake or the lion?" She shouted into her headset, putting a hand up to her helmet, clicking in the button that projected her voice to her teammates. "I repeat, does anyone have eyes on the snake or the lion, over?"

High above the commotion on the ground a single crow glided along the wind, the only organic avian that hadn't been frightened off from the rampage in the streets and sky. With the mechanical bird that had once dominated the airs put down the little one-eyed crow swooped across the rooftop containing its metal frame, as well as Shrike. It flew in a tight circle overhead before dropping low, and when talons grasped onto the edge of the building they were far bigger than a simple bird's.

"Are you alright?" The words were mouthed to Shrike, not even audible in Shift's soft voice as the hero raised a feathered hand to press the button in her communicator. What was once a normal, if slightly bigger than average bird, now stood what was nearly a harpy from myth with long, downy black feathers along her arms, and legs that ended in vicious talons.

"The snake-" Shift's voice trembled slightly, clear even over the comm waves, "Has been dispatched by Draig and Witness. The lion I saw crushing cars-" A rather authentic 'caw' ripped from Shift's throat as from her advantage point atop the roof, nervous eye darting between Shrike and the streets below. A mere second later Wraith’s voice was filtering over their comms, making Shift's own words slightly panicked.

"Three – three blocks south of you, Victory! It's jaws are around Wraith!"

Victory narrowed her eyes at the news. "Thank you, Shift. En route." As opposed to the casual, welcoming manner of spekaing Alice Jefferson uses, Victory spoke with a steely determination.

Victory's armored silvery form erupted into a sprint, dodging between a few pedestrians. A crowd of officer workes parted as she ran thourgh them. There, Victory spotted the metallic king of the jungle. It had pounced on Ka'Van, it's missing foreleg giving it no pause as it attempted to crush through his shadowy shield.

"I need some assistance, please," Ka'van pleaded, as if there was a jar he could not open and not a giant metallic lion on top of him.

"On it," Victory radioed into him, sprinting into her engagement distance.

A shimmering glass-like javelin materializing in her right hand as she closed the distance. Converting her momentum into a mighty throw, the hard light javelin sung through the air, penetrating the lion's abdomen. With a roar of bursting static, the beast halted it's assault and glanced upwards, swiveling it's souless black eyes to Victory.

She summoned the javelin back into her right hand and threw it again, this time it glanced off the lion's armor. Still, she had gotten it's attention- the lion had to target it's new aggressor. Despite it's wound, the contraption roared again and did a three-legged leap towards Victory. Having predicted this action, Victory summoned forth a Hard Light wall in front of her, which the lion slammed into at full velocity. Grass spider-webbed across it's surface as the lion's nose smashed into it, halting it's mid-air momentum.

Another roar echoed through the air, rattling the windows of the nearby building. However this didn't come from the mechanical feline, but another predator prowling the streets. In a flurry of charging white fur an incredibly large polar bear leaped into the fray, even bigger than its normal size. The great weight of the creature slammed into the side of the mechanical lion, and with its missing leg the contraption went down with a newly formed dent. Immediately the bear's teeth went for the throat.

Sparks shot out as the powerful jaws began to crush the giant mechanoid's steel and wires, causing the one-eyed bear to flinch. With that one distraction the lion's back paw caught the bear by the leg, kicking it away - though a large chunk of its throat was torn out as well.

Almost as one the bear and lion rose, the former shaking its head before bristling, the latter now sparking wildly at its throat and hobbling to stay up. Shift nervously pawed the ground, four inch long claws leaving anxious grooves in the pavement as she prepared to engage once more. The little device nestled against the bear's inner arm was working overtime to keep the hero calm.

Seizing the moment, Victory dissipated the damaged Hard Light wall. The lion looked at Shift, then back over at Victory. As it reared it's ugly head, Victory saw the damaged section that was connectin the lion's head to it's body- the lion's head wobbled unsteadily.

"Guillotine!" Victory called out, hoping Shift would understand her plan. Victory summoned a rectangular blade sticking out of the ground behind the lion.

"Gwarf?" Was the reply, the polar bear tilting its head. however once the blade materialized the singular grey eye widened and a low rumble let forth. With a tensing of her muscles Shift leapt forward once again, a stuttering and scraping roar echoing forth from the lion's damaged throat in return. The two predators met head on, however rather than clash Shift clamped onto one of the thick cables hanging from the great mechanical beast's neck, sliding passed it. The near two thousand pounds of Shift jerked the lion's damaged body around, struggling to stay on its metal feet until finally, its chest touched the wall of hard light that Shift had slid by.

The polar bear reared up, still holding the cable in its jaws, and like that - Shift fell onto her back, her weight yanking the gaping throat of the lion onto the wall of light and decapitating it.

The head of the lion rolled to Victory's feet, where she stopped it with her boot.

"You okay over there, Wraith?" Victory spoke into her headset. Reassured of his health, the guillotine vanished and she jogged over to the massive polar bear, reached up and scratched it behind the ear.

"Good girl. Think you could take down an elephant?"

"Gwarf."

[Prosaic]

---

LOCATION; DREAMSCAPE/UNREALITY - BATTLE LOCATION.
INTERACTIONS; N/A.

---

"We're only human, y'know." he said conversationally to the man that was occupied beneath his swarm. "Me, you, we're both humans but while I can do all of this, you can't. What do you think causes it?"

Though Sleeper didn't expect an answer, the man was fairly busy at the moment. He was busy screaming and crying as a cockroach buried into his ear. He found that his nightmare victims were often far too busy to hold proper conversation with him, but he liked to try anyway. He didn't get much outside conversation, so even if the conversational partner was screaming and sobbing under six layers of hell, they were still a welcomed change.

This man didn't seem to have a high tolerance for pain and fear, he was cracking very easily. The only way that Sleeper was able to keep him in the dreamscape was by pinning him there forcefully. He just had to keep building on the dream. More insects, more torture, more of that terrible screaming.

He hated screaming but he was used to it. The flies came next, gathering in clusters on any of the small wounds that the man had gotten. They would be ticklish and uncomfortable, they would slowly start to get painful. The ticks followed the flies, burrowing into his flesh wherever they found the most warmth. The screaming was dying into a kind of stunned silence. He could only hear the gasping sobs now.

"You're not real-"

"Little did anyone know, that's the first step to fighting me."

"This is a dream!"

"Sleeper's the name, dreaming is the game." he confirmed, feeling just a bit bad and deciding to draw some of the more aggressive insects back with a flick of his wrist.

They disappeared, completely ceasing to exist in this dreamscape any longer. He had started to get tired of looking at the centipede maggots, it was good to see them gone. He let the smaller insects continue their burrowing but the man was sitting up and trying to knock them aside. He was practically flailing to get them off of his body. Spiders and cockroaches were scattering around him.

He was becoming too lucid for the Sleeper's taste, lucid dreaming could end in a full on dream fight.

That wouldn't do.
A frog materalized, leaping straight into his open mouth and pushing to get into his throat. The man began to panic and hack to try to free himself of the creature. When he did manage to hack it up, Silas changed it's form into a mass of dead insect carcasses. Their bodies were slimy and bloody, mashed together as if they had been chewed on and spat out.

The man retched at the sight and black slime began to drip from between his lips. His hands flew up to his mouth and he rubbed at the goop that was leaking down his chin. He spat and globs of black gelatinous material splattered all over the ground, insects quickly evacuating so that it didn't hit them. The man opened his mouth to wail, finding that the material had gotten thicker and stickier. It was steadily becoming a challenge for him to move his mouth.

It was sliding down his throat, the taste was tar and motor oil and he found that his teeth would part no longer. He tried to force his mouth open, clawing at his lips and pulling at his jaw. The black fluid was starting to leak out of his nose and bubble out the sides of his mouth through his saliva. He was gurgling and whimpering. Black began to dribble from his tear ducts, dripping into the ashen ground below.

His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. He wasn't dead by a long shot, just so scared that he fainted. The slime formed into one neat garden snake that exited through his nose, which probably would have scared him even more if he had been awake to witness it. The Sleeper kneeled close to the ground and held his hand out to the scaley creature, letting it inch closer before tapping it's nose with his fingertip. It disappeared, leaving behind a puddle of black ooze.

With the Zookeeper successfully wrangled, he allowed himself to pull back from the dreamscape. It was hard to pull back without being startled from it, he just had to slowly unthread the needle. When he finally pulled free, he opened his eyes to find that he hadn't been trampled yet and that the outside world was just as glaringly bright as he remembered.

Most of the metallic creatures had been beaten, except for the elephant. He tried to stand, the world tilted around him and he clutched his head. He stumbled a few steps until he was standing near the sleeping body of the Zookeeper, he crumpled back into a kneeling position beside him. His vision kept getting bleary, his back was stinging and his shirt was sticky with blood. His head was spinning and he was feeling pretty dazed, he tried to focus on watching his fellow heroes finish the battle though.