Jumbus

《 H. E. R. O. 》

---

Starbright was enjoying the night and the conversation with Glacia. It was clear she had just joined Wings for the fame aspect, but he certainly didn't mind the other bonuses she mentioned. However the conversation was frequently interrupted by that bald drunken oaf Mr Impressive. While the other two heads were more than respectable, Mr Impressive clearly came to this party sloshed. It was a social gathering, no backwater piss up you expect to see in Brookside or some poor people places. But it wasn't until Starbright paid attention to the words Mr Impressive was saying that he actually decided to do something about it.

You see, Sea Serpent was currently flirting with a sportsman who looked suspiciously like Blake. It isn't too out of the ordinary, a lot of celebrities cheat on their significant others. Sea Serpent was just another industry secret so to speak. No, the problem was when Mr 'I've finished a bottle of whiskey before a social event and think thats' Impressive started threatening first-baseman, Bryan Colby. Only backing down when he realized it wasn't Blake. The next words out of his mouth were along the lines of "good I bloody don't want to see kindling boy ever again. If all goes right tonight no one will have to." It was of course the drunken ramblings of a seasoned alcoholic but it wouldn't harm to check in on Blake, just in case.

Starbright scrolled down, like way way down, his messages to find the invite to Blake's 4th of July party. But he didn't get a reply to his message after ten minutes. 'He is probably just passed out by now, Starbright. You don't need to worry about this, just enjoy the party.' But it kept weighing on him. 'Ok you should check in on him. But what have they ever done for you. Just last week you walked into the common room and no one even complimented your new haircut. Of course you get one every two weeks, but it would have been nice if they said something.'

'Wait no hang on they could be in serious danger, you need to leave.' With his mind decided he needed to excuse himself from Glacia, who had been watching his thought process from the outside. "Are you alright? You seem to have something else on your mind. Ooo I hope it the decision to join Wings. Eeeee!" She was very excited with this idea. "No don't be silly I'll have to check in with my manager first anyway. I just think the alcohol is starting to hit me and I better leave before I become a train wreck, like you know who." Starbright made a slight gesture toward Mr Impressive before immediately leaving the party. Glacia noticed Starbright had not been drinking at all.

Starbright only spent a good 5 minutes talking to news coverage outside. This was remarkably short for Starbright.

---

Starbright arrived to an empty Von Brandt house, his stomach sank. So Wings had tried, and clearly succeeded to take out the group. While his first question was why, the more important question is what to do now. Starbright would not be able to implicate Wings in this outright. In terms of media they had the edge on him when it comes to news and image of honesty. But he could still start the search and that required his special Starbright phoneline.

See, Starbright has a few places of special treatment in HERO as part of his contract and a line dedicated to him was one of them. "Hi, yeah, Starbright again. Hi Francine how are you doing? Hope that little problem in the office is patched up." He had begun a bit of banter with the response lady. "Yeah so anyway I have a little problem of my own. Namely the Firebird and the occupants of his party have gone missing. I believe it was a villain attack and a damn good one at that. If you could get an investigation team or something to come down as soon possible that would be great." "Ok thanks for that." With an investigation team already on response it should put pressure on Wings of Law, that was a good start.

---

Though Bateman Turnpike wasn't anything fantastic by any means, the road remained fairly clean as the dividing point between Brookside and Watervale. It was a perfect place to begin the turf war. Now Gugliano is out of the picture, an aspiring business man such as Midas can seize upon a few oppurtunities. Along it was a variety of small businesses in Brookside and the road itself was overall the center of much livelihood. It was among the safer areas of Brookside as well, though that wasn't really saying much at all. Because it hosted a little known but lasting gang the Turnpike Ratdogs, best known for distributing contraband and other illegal materials from Watervale docks into Brookside. While being trumped up delivery boys didn't pay well it is vital to gaining power over Brookside criminal markets as well as a reasonable stake in the Watervale markets too.

Midas and his newly fashioned gang, the Brookside Bruisers, were fighters, the Turnpike Ratdogs were no such thing. Once the Ratdog warehouse was found it took very little effort to succeed in a hostile takeover. Once everyone was on the ground Midas begun his speech. "This warehouse is now property of the Brookside Bruisers. Everything you do goes through me. You gave the Guglianos a cut of profits, that now goes to me. If any of you have a problem with that, you can speak up now." There was only silence echoing through the warehouse. "Great other than that its back to business as usual. You can also expect hands on protection from the Brookside Bruisers. You won't be paying your way and being left to the dogs anymore." It was a strong move to begin with, but only time would tell if a hotshot Watervale gang would step to the plate. Either way, Midas had to prepare for retaliation.

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

---

Rowan jumped a bit when her name was called from behind her. It was clear she had her head on a whole other trail of thought and the call had yanked her back to Earth. It was Rebecca, a talented witchling if Rowan ever saw one. A lot of witchlings, herself included, didn't even try mediumship due to the difficulty that came with it. But here Rebecca was seemingly adept with it. Rowan wondered if Rebecca would be able to contact her grandmother, but now was clearly not the right time.

"Hey, Rowan. Mind if I join you?" "Sure I don't see why no-" Rebecca wasn't waiting on a reply as Rowan was interrupted. "Any idea what they're going to throw at us? I've asked a few of the spirits, out of sheer curiosity, but they've all been careful not to let anything slip out." Rowan smiled as she was glad someone else shared her same level of excitement. She was, however, jealous she could share Rebecca's level of energy. But before Rowan could form a concrete reply, Kate joined in.

"Hello ladies! What this about talking to spirits? Are we are going summon Satan?" Rowan could help but let loose a very short burst of laughter before rushing to compose herself. Rowan had a professional look to hold up after all, and she didn't want to give Kate the satisfaction. Even though she had just done that very thing... 'Damn it Rowan' she thought to herself 'you are the best in your English class. Are you really going to get upstaged in jokes too?' "Well we were thinking about it, but I don't think Summer can hear us from here." This was delivered in a very off hand but joking fashion. Inside Rowan was proud of herself (even if she had to check back to make sure it really was out of earshot). 'Not today Shuang, not today'. "Haha as a matter of fact, we were talking about spirits. Apparently, they're keeping quiet about the initiation."

Rowan then returned her attention back to Rebecca. "Honestly, I'm not surprised they aren't letting you in on it. Initiation is a pretty important part to becoming a witch, any ghost that knows about it probably also knows to keep their lips sealed. Even my grandmothers reputation doesn't give me any exception I'm afraid. I'm going in just as blind as you, it's scary but we've been waiting our whole lives for it. What could go wrong?" Anyone paying attention could see Rowan was growing visibly nervous in the last couple sentences. But a wave of excitement once again flushed over her soon after and her demeanor greatly improved. This was helped by the view of the coven house that now stood before them.

---

Speaks with : Kate@sassy1085 Rebecca@blackdragon

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

---

Rowan had been sitting for a while now, mostly in silence. Not that she didn't like the people around her, just that they certainly were more sociable than her. In general, they seemed to have a lot more going on. She caught talks of college, which was a very daunting thought. While she was certainly more than capable of going, Rowan had planned to stay here in service of the coven. Maybe college could help out with that though. After all, she had barely been out of her town let alone state.

The speech from Sister Deborah was a good one and Rowan was more than happy to have the ceremony almost underway. "I think I will start heading over a bit early. Good luck everyone." She rose from her seat and begun the walk over to the house. On the way she passed by Kate Shuang, "good luck, you're going to need it." Again returning a cheeky smile to imply it was just banter.

After that Rowan proceeded toward the house where the group had been told to meet and waited.

---

Speaks with : @sassy1085

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Starbright was having the time of his life at Club 27. He had just finished his olive and admired the fashion of the golden toothpick. But he had no use for the pick, what star ever gets food stuck in their teeth? Starbright found the matter laughable, so he threw it back into the conveniently placed disposal bins.

Mingling was very easy, they all knew the true power of being a hero and that is star power. Those who weren't already members of Wings of Law in this club were certainly gunning to join it. Starbright could tell the difference between the two parties, one carried a likable and familiar air of smugness and the other desperation. He himself even got a few requests to team up from largely A tier heroes. As if their powers had anything to offer him. They were leeches in Starbright's mind, looking solely to ride off of his fame and he had no interest in helping them.

"Starbright is that you?" Starbright turned around toward the familiar voice. It was Glacia, a hero who was an 'old flame' from a year ago. They had both faked a relationship for the publications that lasted about a month. The break up was very 'emotional and heartbreaking' as well. "Glacia, its so good to see you it has been too long. Looks like the last year treated you nicely." Starbright pointed toward her freshly pinned Wings of Law badge. "I know, right? I just joined tonight and I'll guess you are here for that too right?" "Not exactly, I'm just here for the party. Plus if you and I joined on the same night, there might be a back together story popping up." He rolled his eyes and laughed. The two took a booth away from the main floor and continued talking. Star wanted to know all there is to know about Wings.

---

Earlier: Starbright entering the club.

"Starbright! Starbright! Can we get your input on tonight?" He turned around quickly posing with a soft angel-like light shining down on him, self made of course. He was never one to give press the cold shoulder and he wasn't about to start.

"What can I say, its the 4th of July. Time to celebrate the freedom we enjoy in this country, and a time to celebrate the heroes and law enforcement that keep those very freedoms. That's why I'm celebrating, to share drinks with other heroes that help keep the peace, much like myself." Starbright rested a hand on his chest feigning humbleness. "I would also like to take this time to congratulate the heroes responsible for the recent raid in Watervale. They have kept the streets safe very recently, so I will dedicate this night to them." It was certainly the right thing to say despite being quite dishonest. He then turned his gaze toward the camera man and interviewer themselves. "Now I am going to enjoy my night, I hope you get plenty of time to spend tonight with your families." In direct conflict, Starbright hoped they would wait on him for when he left.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Amethyst@Danvers

---

A few days had passed since the events of the Gugliano mansion. To Midas' shock and surprise Vinnie was killed the very night he had recorded his speech. This brought up a few questions. Considering the raid was conducted by HERO, did HERO attack because of these 'new allies'? Or did these 'new allies' turn out to be a Judas in their midst. The whole thing left a sour taste in his mouth, something was very wrong about it.

Today, Midas sat in the South Brookside Boxing Gym on a fold out chair. Before him stood a table with a tape playing device and an ashtray. He did not smoke but he knew at least one of the arriving guests did (Koshiki Devils). On the other side sat another 3 foldout chairs. Midas invited 3 gangs to send a representative here this morning to hear the news about the Gugliano's 'new allies'. He had worked with them all at some point in the past and knew he could trust them for the most part.

The Koshiki Devils were the gang Midas has had the most involvement with. He had helped them out of quite a few sticky situations. Because of this Midas considers them completely reliable.

The Dogpack is an up and coming gang. To be honest, Midas hasn't done work with them in the past. They first came onto his radar when a member of theirs starting busting up other contenders in the Proving Ground. You tend to build up good relations when you give any gang a stable source of money. Plus he knew he could count on the Dogpack wanting to make their stake on Brookside. Midas offered that very thing.

The Calaveras were a group that Midas can't trust on faith alone. Luckily he invited them with an offer. Without Ringmaster in the lead, the Calaveras have been struggling in recent years. The offer was simple, Midas would free Ringmaster for the Calaveras allegiance. This was an offer Midas could count on.

The morning sun shone down from the high windows of the boxing gym. The call had gone out to all three so there was nothing left to do except wait for the representatives to arrive. Near the edges of the room stood a few of the fighters Midas had recruited, though he doubted he would need the protection.

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

@sassy1085

---

So many people were arriving so fast, Rowan would have struggled to keep up. So instead she just got lost in thought, rolling an apple between the fingers of her right hand. Her contents of her thoughts frankly didn't matter, it didn't include anyone at the event not even the event itself. Just some outlandish scenario Rowan would play out in her head. Until her time of silent bliss was invaded by one face, Kate Shuang. Okay maybe not that extreme, in fact, it was a pleasant surprise. Rowan had never got an answer before on whether they would join the coven fully or not, and that answer was in front of her. She was glad to have another witch come into potion studies, and one that brought a challenge and new recipes were what Rowan needed.

Rowan initially tipped her chin up and to the left as if to impersonate a snooty rich kid. But that was quickly broken with a smile, yes she had royally shot herself in the foot last time they met. But Rowan wasn't above recognizing that and making a bit of fun at the situation.

After that Rowan decided to actually bite into the apple. Of course it wasn't any normal fruit, the fact that she hadn't been to the food table yet would be a hint for that. No it was a transformed potion, but nothing crazy in terms of effect. It was closer to just a pick me up, similar to a cup of coffee, to keep her on the top of her game for today.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Doppel gave a startled jump and switched into his clone, letting the heel thrown had his head pass through it. He turned to see Brookside and Jamie, both were a shock to him for different reasons. Anyone paying attention to him would see the gears turning in his brain as he processed it all. Doppel then switched back to his normal body, "uh yeah, I got a call from HERO about the mansion attack. Reinforcements should be here in about a half hour or sorry." Realizing that he took a while to reply, "sorry I didn't expect to see you here Brookside. I also didn't expect an S tier hero to be here, the situation must be serious."

"I just..," Azhar tried, "I need some air, I think.."

"I think that's best, the way out should be clear. You've done more than enough for your friends, I'll make sure to let them know you are safe." Was safe really the word to use there? Undoubtedly. Just by looking at Zee, Doppel could tell he wasn't alright. He was safe from anything more putting pressure on him, at least Doppel could hope.

Doppel was conflicted between feeling sorry for the guy or revealed to have him go as Zee walked down the tunnel. It was clear the guy did not have control of himself earlier and it was hitting him hard. At the same time the magnitude of what he let loose was nothing short of terrifying.

Sure Doppel was still conflicted on which side to choose. But if he could resolve it with the least deaths as possible that would be a win in his eyes.

But then there was Brookside. Doppel didn't know if anyone in the Gugliano's knew who she was yet. Doppel knew for sure that no one in HERO knew about his past and present against the Calavera's either. It was simple enough in his mind, if he could hand Brookside over to the Gugliano's, the Calavera's would come to get her back. The Calavera's would get crushed, problem solved.

It seems so easy and all he has to do is give a surprise attack. But, Brookside is innocent and has nothing to do with this except a blood relation. But its not like the Calavera's haven't done worse and its for the safety of many. But if he handed over an innocent hero to the Gugliano's he would be not better. His mind started going back and forth as he kept his facade. Doppel was once again lost at what to do.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Shard

Doppel saw a final amount of blood splash from inside the garage where Louis led. Immediately he held Louis back and dipped his head in to check. Doppel's confidence drained as he saw that thing inside. He had heard rumors about the monster HERO was holding and they let it out for this mission. It was clear to him that the task was no longer eliminating the heroes, instead it was evacuating anyone possible. Whipping his head back to Louis, "head back into the mansion and protect Vinnie, if they see us together we are both dead. I'll try and get rid of some heroes, they brought out the big guns tonight." The look of genuine fear in Doppel's face was more than convincing enough for Louis to head back the long way into the mansion.

Popping his head back to check on the situation in the garage, all that was left was a crying boy no older than him (and a field of corpses). The other rumor about that what he had called a creature was just a normal person at the end of the day. Doppel almost felt bad, if it weren't for the corpses scattered all around the garage. Either way he had to confront his fears eventually. "Oh my god, are you ok? It's fine now, you are safe, the HERO reinforcements will be here any second." Doppel jogged into the warehouse toward Zee, but made sure to keep an arms distance just in case. "I'll stay here with you if you need the support, but you should stay put. I think this has been enough fighting for you." Pretending to be HERO reinforcements was a good idea, Doppel had a good reason for why he was here now.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

It wasn't a nice journey to the Gugliano mansion. The streets were cold and dark, only interrupted by the blinding lights of cars that drive past. But it gave Doppel some time to think, even if his heart and mind were racing at a million miles an hour.

Why was this happening? No clue he hadn't got so much as an inkling from HERO nor the Guglianos that anything like this was going down. What heroes are even involved? Again no clue maybe some S tier ones where the knowledge is above Doppel's pay grade. The thought had crossed his mind that there are no heroes and the whole thing was just to test his loyalty. God he hoped that was the case, he didn't want to 'take care' of anyone in his life let alone heroes. But he knew Louis, this was no test. When he came to that conclusion, Doppel didn't want to think about it so much. He tightened his jacket and picked up the pace a bit, praying he wouldn't have to use his baseball bat tonight.

Going through the gate he met Louis at the door. "Alright, lets get this over and done with." Louis glared at him for a second, then loosened his posture. "I was starting to think you were gonna show up. Guess the boys were wrong calling you a HERO insider and such, you just made me about a clean hundred." "Yeah, yeah, whatever Louis I was eating dinner when you texted. Give me some forewarning next time will ya?" "Sorry about that we sorta got the trouble out of nowhere. Follow me." Louis led Doppel into the mansion. But when the mobster started leading Doppel below ground he got anxious, this is how people wind up dead. "I'll leave my clone outside to watch the mansion perimeter." Louis seemed to have little problem with it.

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

---

Rowan and her parents drove up to the summer picnic in her dads ranger wagon. Despite not being able to cast magic her dad was still able to attend these things because he is 'the first line of defense from normal humans discovering the witching world'. He still said it the same way in the same tone from when she was a kid. She also had the pleasure of riding in the back with Moxie, the family's German Shepard that was also her moms familiar. But Rowan didn't pay much attention to anyone in the car, instead her gaze was fixed on the trees going by on the forest road. She had a lot on her mind. Would she be able to live up to her Grandmother's legacy? Is she even good enough to become a witch? Despite her normal confidence about this, these doubts ate away at her in the last moments before it all began.

On arrival, she hugged her parents goodbye and watched them walk Moxie into the gathering. Rowan had something she had to do before she walked in and her parents were more than accepting of that. Before, when her powers weren't so developed she wouldn't of dreamed of being able to sense her grandmother's magical footprint in these woods. But now, brushing her hands across the many trees as she walked in the forest, as expected, they all had her grandmothers mark in some way. Rowan couldn't even remember what Elizabeth looked like and yet she was certain it was her. Could it be the entire forest was marked by her in some way? The very thought of it was daunting, how could she live up to something like that?

Rowan was deep in the forest at this point, looking back she could no longer see the car park. But she knew the way to the clearing more than well enough. But first, she stood in front of a sturdy looking tree and begun taking out ingredients, crushed rosemary and juniper berries. The tree was young and still growing, the perfect place to leave her first mark on this forest. Mixing the two ingredients in a small pestle and mortar she brought with her, she spread the result onto the bark. But one more ingredient was needed, switching the blade portion of her thumb ring up, Rowan cut her palm and pressed it onto the mixture. The blood soaked into tree, and Rowan began to cast. The process took around five minutes in total, but after releasing her hand a ghostly glow was left emitting from the tree. Ghostlight was a nifty little spell that allows a plant imbued with it to glow in the immediate presence of a witch. Rowan held pride in her accomplishment, it had taken even less time to perform than before. Even if she couldn't even come close to compare to her grandmother, this was a start.

Rowan's peaceful time in the forest was suddenly disturbed by erratic shaking in the branches above. She looked up to another young with riding on a blue board at breakneck pace above. There was only one witch that crazy, it was Kota! Rowan was glad to see another initiate coming in, and from the looks of it Kota had been practicing a lot since the last time they met. However, it wasn't long before the adrenaline junkie of a witch had all but past from Rowan's sight. 'I better catch up and head to the barbecue' Rowan thought, she gazed at her cut palm which was slowly patching up. A nice side effect from the special rosemary she used in Ghostlight.

---

The clearing was bright and sunny compared to the nice, cooling canopy of the forest. Rowan would need to take her coat of asap. As she walked toward the initiate table, she looked over to where her parents were and gave a wave to let them know she was back and all went well. They smiled back, but Rowan also noticed she was getting some looks from the other adult witches. The pressure of what she had to live up to was once again put on her shoulders. Rowan just kept on moving toward the initiates table. She also noticed the kids playing magic games, ones she was never be able to play because of her lack of quick casting. Rowan almost chuckled at how silly it all was, feeling so left out. Now she was regarded as high as any other initiate, maybe even a bit more because of her grandmother.

"I thought I saw you fly on in Kota. You got a lot better at it too." Rowan took a seat at the table, close but not directly next to any of the witches. Not out of any form a disliking to them, but because Rowan appreciates her space and is not inclined toward social situations. She turned her head toward Calypso and Uaithne."And its good to see you two again, I haven't seen you all in so long."