FacePunch

Divided We Stand

@ThundercrashReally, that's the only logical choice in life.

Divided We Stand

@lovely complex You're getting so many collab requests. You're so popular.

Divided We Stand

James Spinne

Location; Roof Top
Interacting With; Brenna @Smarty0114
Mood; Worried/Angry/Surrender/Hopeful/Joy/Dreary/Confused/Concerned/Shocked/SoMuchEmotion

"I'mlateI'mlateI'mlateI'mlate-" Pieces of clothing went flying in all directions as James dug through his sorry excuse for a wardrobe. He placed a tee shirt against his nose, sniffing it for cleanliness. Spinne gagged and tossed the shirt aside. "Not you. Not you. What the hell is this? Did when I get this shirt? No. No. AGGHHHH!" He grabbed the last thing in the drawer, throwing it into the air with the burning fury of a thousand suns. "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!" He shouted. Spider-boy turned his head toward the door, where a group of three floating heads were silently observing him. "Don't you have something better to do?!" The curious onlookers made their retreat, leaving Arachnid alone. In a pile of dirty clothes. He checked his watch, despair plain on his face. "Brenna's gonna kill me." He moaned. James buried his head in the laundry; perhaps if he pretended to be an Ostrich, this would all magically fix itself. Ya know, this doesn't smell nearly as bad as it should. The Delphina student brought his head back up, shirt still attached to his face. He pried the thing off and gave it another sniff. "YES! CLEAN!" Overjoyed by this discovery, James immediately removed his filthy, sweat-soaked outfit and covered his perfect washboard abs torso in the black and red garment. Spidey moved as quickly as he could. With one hand, he started to pull on a pair of ragged jeans. With the other, he shot a web out of his spinnerets and pulled a can of spray on deodorant toward him. "Come onnnn- stupid button...there we go!" James dashed out of his room and down the hallway, only to stop halfway there and turn around. "I forgot my shoes!"

The party was taking place on Spinne's roof; which meant he didn't have very far to run. A normal person would've taken the stairs, of course. That sounds like the most efficient way to traverse the interior of a dorm building. Oh, but James wasn't going to go charging up the stairs like a rapid animal. He knew there'd be three heroes there to stop him. Spinne was in the process of scaling the side of Mayweather Old East. An easy task for James, considering he could stick to walls. Based on what looked like a rope ladder laying on the ground below, he wasn't the first one to try this. He imagined the culprit had been successful. Boy, this is going to be fun. I hope. Is there pizza? I bet there's pizza. I love pizza. James allowed his thoughts to wander as he reached the top of the building. With one mighty pull, Arachnid cleared the half wall that kept exceptionally stupid people from accidentally killing themselves. The first thing he noticed was how bright everything was. Literally every decoration screamed happy-happy joy-joy; but what else could one expect from a Mayweather only event? Better than the Delphina only Halloween parties, I guess. James' mood darkened ever so slightly as he vividly recalled October of last year. So much blood...I still don't know if it was fake or not. The music was decent; fast paced, upbeat and exciting. It was your typical party dance music.

Spinne rotated his head from left to right, scanning the roof top for his friends. The mob of party-going Mayweathers made it difficult, however. Unable to find either of the girls, he decided to slip his hand into his pocket and retrieve his cellphone. He was in the process of texting Frosty the Snowwoman when a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, slamming down onto the roof. A roar of thunder followed moments later. I wonder who did that... Everyone's eyes were glued on Gianna and Samantha, James' included. He had no idea what Gia had done to piss off the Mayweather queen so badly; she didn't seem like the type to go starting fights, even with Delphina's top baddie. The two exchanged venomous words, the heat in their voices obvious. Sam definitely meant business. Yet, Gia wasn't worried at all. She had something up her sleeve. Spinne wouldn't be all that surprised if he learned this was part of some grand scheme, orchestrated by his school's elite. A number of students James recognized moved to intercept Sam before she did something she'd regret. Mitch was just there to make jokes and egg Youngblood on. Avalon appeared to be genuinely concerned for her friend-

An unmistakable voice called out to Sam's right hand girl. Brenna! James pushed his way through the crowd, following the sound of her sneering voice. If this whole thing turned sideways and a fight broke out, James wanted to be near Lancaster. To, like, protect her and stuff. His pushing and shoving came to an abrupt halt when Kayla ran right past him to stand between Gianna and her prey. Poor girl. She actually thinks Daniels' is in danger.

Once Kayla was out of the way, Gianna went on the offensive. She struck every nerve she could with her little speech. She didn't just insult her. No, that was below the queen. Gianna used the most painful weapon of all: the truth. She pointed out Hurricane's failures and faults. How she'd broken her precious moral code. How she had risked everyone's lives for the sake of her ego. Things that would dig into a hero's very soul, making them question their every decision. The attack ended in a way James would've never suspected. It was horrible. Heart-wrenching. He wanted to tear his eyes away from the scene, but he found he could not. Gianna had used her pheromones on Will and Avalon, forcing them to...Right in front of Sam. He'd heard rumors about the senior's budding relationship with Blake; and everyone was aware of how inseparable Ava and Will were. In his short time at the academy, James had never seen Gianna go this far before. She wasn't attacking Sam physically. No, Gianna Daniels was ripping her heart asunder. And nobody was doing anything about it. Even the so called heroes were just standing there, watching.

People started to leave. Sam had already run out, leaving them all covered in rain water. "Rained out again." James' joke wasn't taken so well, given the number of middle fingers he received for it. The dispersing of the crowd was enough for Spinne to spot Brenna once more. He made his way over to her, his emotions all over the place. He couldn't explain what he was feeling. His mind was still reeling from the previous display. Mustering all of his self control, James took a step between Lancaster and the exit. His voice was calm and steady as he asked her a simple question, "Did you know- know about all of this? That this was going to happen?"

FacePunch's Gallery of WIPs

Jessica Sterling

Location; Roof Top →
Interacting With; No One
Mood; Groggy → Thankful → Tired

Light crept into the corners of Jessica's vision. Her head felt like there was a jackhammer inside of it. The heroine's stomach churned, threatening to spill what little she'd eaten all over the floor. Sterling's hazel eyes flickered open. There was another student leaning over her, shaking her shoulder. His mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. Jess swung her head back and forth in an attempt to clear it. At first, all she could hear was ringing. But as her hearing started to clear, Jessica caught the tail end of whatever the stranger was saying to her. "-ake up." He repeated. She slapped his hand away with more force than she intended, causing him to wince in pain. "Sorry." She muttered. Her voice was groggy and slurred, as if she was underwater. "You missed the party." The boy grinned, pulling Jess to her feet. Sterling stumbled forward but he managed to catch her before she could fall. Everything after helping Eliana had been a blur. She remembered taking a drink of the punch...But it hadn't tasted right. Was it spiked? She briefly wondered. But that didn't make sense. Plenty of other people had been downing the punch when she arrived earlier, and no one else had passed out. At least, she hadn't seen anyone drop. "Looks like you had a little too much to drink." Another voice, this one more feminine, spoke from beside Jess. "I-I guess..But- I didn't have any beer. And I only had one punc-"

"Shhh. Dawn, would you be and dear and get the door?" The man asked his sister and Jess went silent. "You've had too much to drink." He repeated. "Y-you're probably right. I guess I blacked out. I should be getting back to my dorm. It's late." Dawn returned to Jess's side and the two students each put an arm around Jessica, leading her down the stairs. "Where do you live?" The woman asked. "Uh, Mayweather Old West. Room 1C on the first floor. T-Thanks for helping me. Uh, I don't think..I know you.." At this point, the two of them were practically carrying Jessica. She couldn't stand up straight, led alone walk. "My name's Dawn. And this is Clark." Their names sounded strangely familiar. Yet she couldn't put a finger on who they actually were. She mentally shrugged, allowing her fellow students to drag her back home. The sweet embrace of sleep slowly edged further into her distracted mind. She was glad she'd been found by such nice people. Jess shuddered at the thought of a Delphina finding her in such a vulnerable position. A month ago, Sterling could've fallen asleep anywhere on campus and had nothing to fear; after all, she was surrounded by aspiring heroes and selfless do-gooders. But now that those villain freaks were running around her school, Jess would need to learn to be more careful. No more long nights out. And certainly no more drinking until she dropped.

The three of them stopped as they arrived at Jess's dorm room, soaking wet from the rain. Sterling reached a shaky hand into her pocket and pulled out a key chain. "Here-" Dawn took the key from her and slid it into the locked door, pushing it open. "-you were holding it upside down." She explained. The two led Jessica to her destroyed bed and set her down beside it. They shared confused glances. "Um. What happened?" Clark asked. Jessica dragged the mattress clear of the rest of the bed frame, tossing it down in the middle of the room. "Lucas Farweight happened." She growled, falling face first into the soft fabric of her blankets. Dawn took a tentative seat next to Jessica and placed a hand on her back. "Before we go, I think you're entitled to know what happened before you...passed out. Farweight and Lovelace got into it. There was a lot of yelling...Both of them stormed off and disappeared. It was bad."

"That wasn't even the highlight of the night." Clark jumped in. By now, Jessica had rolled over and been listening rather intently. "Gianna Daniels went after Samantha. Not with her fists, of course. She's too much of a coward for that. No, Daniels went after Youngblood's soul. Suffice to say, that rain pouring out there isn't natural." Jess placed a tired hand on her forehead, sighing. "I'll deal with it in the morning." She declared. "If you would be a dear and meet the two of us in the cafeteria tomorrow for lunch, we know just how to knock Delphina's queen down a few notches." Clark's voice was seasoned with malice when he spoke of that she devil. "Come on, Dawn. Let's leave the lovely lady to her rest." With that, Jessica's heroes melted into the night.

And she was alone once more.

Divided We Stand

You don't post for a few days and come back to that.

FacePunch's Gallery of WIPs

James Spinne

Location; Roof Top
Interacting With; Brenna
Mood; Worried/Angry/Surrender/Hopeful/Joy/Dreary/Confused/Concerned/Shocked/...

"I'mlateI'mlateI'mlateI'mlate-" Pieces of clothing went flying in all directions as James dug through his sorry excuse for a wardrobe. He placed a tee shirt against his nose, sniffing it for cleanliness. Spinne gagged and tossed the shirt aside. "Not you. Not you. What the hell is this? Did when I get this shirt? No. No. AGGHHHH!" He grabbed the last thing in the drawer, throwing it into the air with the burning fury of a thousand suns. "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!" He shouted. Spider-boy turned his head toward the door, where a group of three floating heads were silently observing him. "Don't you have something better to do?!" The curious onlookers made their retreat, leaving Arachnid alone. In a pile of dirty clothes. He checked his watch, despair plain on his face. "Brenna's gonna kill me." He moaned. James buried his head in the laundry; perhaps if he pretended to be an Ostrich, this would all magically fix itself. Ya know, this doesn't smell nearly as bad as it should. The Delphina student brought his head back up, shirt still attached to his face. He pried the thing off and gave it another sniff. "YES! CLEAN!" Overjoyed by this discovery, James immediately removed his filthy, sweat-soaked outfit and covered his perfect washboard abs torso in the black and red garment. Spidey moved as quickly as he could. With one hand, he started to pull on a pair of ragged jeans. With the other, he shot a web out of his spinnerets and pulled a can of spray on deodorant toward him. "Come onnnn- stupid button...there we go!" James dashed out of his room and down the hallway, only to stop halfway there and turn around. "I forgot my shoes!"

The party was taking place on Spinne's roof; which meant he didn't have very far to run. A normal person would've taken the stairs, of course. That sounds like the most efficient way to traverse the interior of a dorm building. Oh, but James wasn't going to go charging up the stairs like a rapid animal. He knew there'd be three heroes there to stop him. Spinne was in the process of scaling the side of Mayweather Old East. An easy task for James, considering he could stick to walls. Based on what looked like a rope ladder laying on the ground below, he wasn't the first one to try this. He imagined the culprit had been successful. Boy, this is going to be fun. I hope. Is there pizza? I bet there's pizza. I love pizza. James allowed his thoughts to wander as he reached the top of the building. With one mighty pull, Arachnid cleared the half wall that kept exceptionally stupid people from accidentally killing themselves. The first thing he noticed was how bright everything was. Literally every decoration screamed happy-happy joy-joy; but what else could one expect from a Mayweather only event? Better than the Delphina only Halloween parties, I guess. James' mood darkened ever so slightly as he vividly recalled October of last year. So much blood...I still don't know if it was fake or not. The music was decent; fast paced, upbeat and exciting. It was your typical party dance music.

Spinne rotated his head from left to right, scanning the roof top for his friends. The mob of party-going Mayweathers made it difficult, however. Unable to find either of the girls, he decided to slip his hand into his pocket and retrieve his cellphone. He was in the process of texting Frosty the Snowwoman when a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, slamming down onto the roof. A roar of thunder followed moments later. I wonder who did that... Everyone's eyes were glued on Gianna and Samantha, James' included. He had no idea what Gia had done to piss off the Mayweather queen so badly; she didn't seem like the type to go starting fights, even with Delphina's top baddie. The two exchanged venomous words, the heat in their voices obvious. Sam definitely meant business. Yet, Gia wasn't worried at all. She had something up her sleeve. Spinne wouldn't be all that surprised if he learned this was part of some grand scheme, orchestrated by his school's elite. A number of students James recognized moved to intercept Sam before she did something she'd regret. Mitch was just there to make jokes and egg Youngblood on. Avalon appeared to be genuinely concerned for her friend-

An unmistakable voice called out to Sam's right hand girl. Brenna! James pushed his way through the crowd, following the sound of her sneering voice. If this whole thing turned sideways and a fight broke out, James wanted to be near Lancaster. To, like, protect her and stuff. His pushing and shoving came to an abrupt halt when Kayla ran right past him to stand between Gianna and her prey. Poor girl. She actually thinks Daniels' is in danger.

Once Kayla was out of the way, Gianna went on the offensive. She struck every nerve she could with her little speech. She didn't just insult her. No, that was below the queen. Gianna used the most painful weapon of all: the truth. She pointed out Hurricane's failures and faults. How she'd broken her precious moral code. How she had risked everyone's lives for the sake of her ego. Things that would dig into a hero's very soul, making them question their every decision. The attack ended in a way James would've never suspected. It was horrible. Heart-wrenching. He wanted to tear his eyes away from the scene, but he found he could not. Gianna had used her pheromones on Will and Avalon, forcing them to...Right in front of Sam. He'd heard rumors about the senior's budding relationship with Blake; and everyone was aware of how inseparable Ava and Will were. In his short time at the academy, James had never seen Gianna go this far before. She wasn't attacking Sam physically. No, Gianna Daniels was ripping her heart asunder. And nobody was doing anything about it. Even the so called heroes were just standing there, watching.

People started to leave. Sam had already run out, leaving them all covered in rain water. "Rained out again." James' joke wasn't taken so well, given the number of middle fingers he received for it. The dispersing of the crowd was enough for Spinne to spot Brenna once more. He made his way over to her, his emotions all over the place. He couldn't explain what he was feeling. His mind was still reeling from the previous display. Mustering all of his self control, James took a step between Lancaster and the exit. His voice was calm and steady as he asked her a simple question, "Did you know- know about all of this? That this was going to happen?"

Divided We Stand

Divided We Stand

We're all shipping those two.

All of us.

Divided We Stand

I imagine half the posts on the Delphina blog are Klaus's propaganda. Just hundreds of messages about how sucky humanity is.

All-Star Marvel: Audax Mundus Novus - Season 2

An expression of shock was plastered on Captain America's face. At everything. Everything around him was pure insanity. None of it made any sense to him. First, what looked like a man in a suit of armor straight out of science fiction burst through a nearby wall. Then the future knight pulled off his helmet and things got even stranger. Howard...? He wondered briefly. But something was off. Aside from the missing facial hair, Stark looked like a kid. But there was no denying the similarity. Steve had a man dressed in his uniform and holding his shield in his arms while a man in armor right out of War of the Worlds stood a few feet away, wearing a face likened to one of his closest colleagues. He was confused and, frankly, frightened by what he saw. He couldn't begin to wrap his mind around what was happening. Rogers' state of total perplexity would multiple tenfold when his hostage started to explain. Seventy years? He'd been gone for seventy years? Impossible- even in a world of super soldiers, magic and aliens, Steve never would have guessed that he'd up surviving; led alone being woken up nearly a century later by a winged colored man draped in an America flag and carrying his signature shield. He was so far out of his depth...What was the world like now? Had they won the war? Were his friends still alive? Steve was glad to know Dugan was still kicking. But Bucky...Had Klaiser- No. There's no time for that, Cap. Keep your head with the mission and leave the rest of it for later.

"I won't pretend to understand a single word coming out of your mouth. But if you know Dum Dum..." Steve released his grip on the now unarmed man. "We'll beat our gums about this whole thing later. Let's get out of here." Captain America (or the old Captain America, he supposed) looked down at his shield. He had bled with that thing in his hand. He had killed with it. And for a time, Rogers thought he had died with it. And now it was being offered back to him. Steve reached for the weapon. It was a completely involuntary action. But he stopped himself before he picked it up, looking at the red, white and blue stranger. "I'm out of my depth here. I haven't held that thing in seventy years. You keep the shield. You're this era's Cap. Not me." Steve turned toward the robot-man, staring at him. "If this is the future, and you're who I think you are...Are you Howard Stark's son?"

Steve caught sight of a muzzle flash in his peripheral vision. Instinct kicked in and he dove to the ground, his fingers wrapping around the downed shield. In one fluid motion, Rogers rolled, turned and threw the disk. He was fast enough to be little more than a blur of bright colors to the human eye. The shield smashed into the chest of the attacker; a man dressed like a bee keeper, holding some sort of machine gun. The weapon bounced off its target and ricocheted into the frame of the doorway. The shield tagged a second AIM scientist and then the third and final one, before flying back into Steve's waiting hand. He grinned, handing it back to Sam.

"Saw the flash from the devil's piano." He explained. "I didn't catch your name, son. I'm Steve. But you already knew that."

Nrosvekistan, Eastern Europe

"Help! Please, can anyone hear me?! HELP US!" Andrei Beckstov screamed at the top of his lungs. In all fifty-six years of his long life, Andrei had never been so terrified. The sounds of explosions and gunfire were deafening. No matter how loud he yelled, no one would ever hear them over the accursed cacophony of war. The building shook from a bomb going off nearby, causing the rickety apartment to creak and shudder. The roof had already partially collapsed, blocking the only stairway to the first floor. A group of his strongest neighbors had been digging at the rubble for fifteen minutes, yet had made no semblance of progress. With every excruciating minute that passed, another piece of the building fell apart. The structure had survived a single bombing. It was a miracle they were all alive. But their residence was crumbling by the second. If someone didn't find an exit soon, they would all perish. There was no fire escape to climb down. They were far too high to jump to the ground; and the building next to them was rubble. Some of the women had tried to create a makeshift ladder out of sheets. That plan had failed, resulting in the death of two young girls who had bravely volunteered to go down first.

All hope was lost. If the buckling roof didn't crush them or the floor didn't cave in underneath them, then the battle raging outside would do the job. Death was inevitable, as it always was. Who could save them? What divine intervention could free them from the grasp of Hell?

"Look, daddy! An angel!" Andrei's youngest daughter of seven, Vera, tugged on her father's tattered shirt. He bent down and picked his little angel up, tentatively kissing her forehead. "Oh, baby. I love you." Tears formed in the aging man's eyes. "We'll be with mommy soon. I promise." His words of encouragement fell on deaf ears, for the girl merely smiled. "Look out the window, daddy! He's right there!" Andrei placed Vera back down, taking a knee so as to look her in the eye. "There's no angel, Vera. Now I told you to stay away from the windows. Come on. Let's go see miss Dinah." But the persistent child wouldn't have any of it. She grabbed her dad by the hand and practically dragged him to the window. "What did I just s-" Vera placed one hand over Andrei's mouth and used to the other to point. His eyes instinctively followed her gaze. He didn't see it at first. He was blinded by the sun's light peaking through the clouds. But when he did see it, Andrei openly cried. A silhouette of a man. A shadow of a god. His flowing cape distorted the picturesque scene but the humanoid shape was unmistakable.

"Over here, angel! We need your help!" Vera stuck her head out of the window, waving frantically. "I don't think he can hear us, daddy-" The little girl leaned further out of the room. She didn't notice when her feet left the ground. "Angel! Look-" Vera went toppling out of the window, screaming at the top of her lungs as she rocketed toward the concrete road below. "NO!" Andrei tried to reach out to her. He nearly dove out of the window himself, only stopped by the hand of one of his neighbors. "Andrei. Andrei, don't." He comforted the broken man. "She's gone. Dear Lord, she's gone." Beckstov placed his hands over his face. "I can still hear her voice." He whispered. "Its like she's-"

"-ngel!"

"What?!" The two men gasped simultaneously. Hyperion floated in front of the window, Vera in his arms. "That's my daddy. And that's Piotr; he's my neighbor." Piotr fell prostrate, praying in Latin. Andrei held his hands out, his mouth agape. He tried to speak. All that came out was a rasp. Zhib-Rhan carefully set the youngling down, allowing her to run up and hug her father. Then, as quickly as he came, Hyperion vanished.

He had a war to fight.

A war to win.