“Shit” Penny would run a hand though her hair as she processed the latest bit of information. An established group coming into Penrose after the Nexus? Yeah, this was going to be a pain to deal with. At least there was more of a heads up about this compared to normal.
She would glance up in time to see Finn and Oliver rushing away and would replay the past few seconds to make sense of why. Sighing she would turn towards Myra. “I’m up for a spar, just let me know when and where. So long as it’s not at the Sanctuary” She would say before turning to head out. “Freya’s got my number.”
Penny would once again nod at Dina, but wouldn’t interrupt her dealing with the crows. Animals tended not to enjoy Penny’s presence all that much. “We got cleaners inbound” She would inform the Regent. “I’m going to start getting everyone else to cleared out for them. I’ll explain the mess we just learned about back at the Sanctuary.”
‘Understood.’ Penny would reply to Elora over their private channel. ‘Survivor isn’t in the Industrial district as far as I can gather. Let me know if they need heavy fire support when you locate them. In the mean time I’ll start clearing the area for the cleaners. And I did see the request. I will be attending the meeting.’
Snoopy would belt out a few up beat beeps, both at Roxanna noticing him and at MDP’s typical joyous and bubbly greeting. It was enjoyable to be seen. The tilling beeps it gave off as a response to MDP’s question would be practically incomprehensible, unless one knew and could translate binary on the spot. And even then, it was little more than a confirmation of the fact that Penny had placed him in over watch of the area.
Penny herself couldn’t help but smile at the sight either. It was rather cute after all. She stayed back from interjecting for the moment however. She was a bit away still and was using the distance to get a better read on everyone that was present. In the middle of a fire fight there is only so much that can be gathered after all.
Nevertheless, she would step forward when the next lull over took the group still lingering in the alley. “Hey all.” She would greet casually as she stepped up next to her girlfriend, she knew most of the people here at the moment after all. “Angel, good to see you up and about again.” She would add with a nod to the demure seeming girl. She was one of the Penrose denizens that Penny respected even though they had never really interacted before, and with luck they would have a chance to do so more, or at the very least Penny would be able to thank the other girl for her actions back at the Rave.
“Not that I’m opposed to sitting here and chatting, but Beacon’s got a clean-up crew inbound” Penny would go on to explain. “So we might want to move to somewhere less likely to get in their way. Also, Alex, from what I hear everywhere else has been cleaned up for the most part. Though there might still be a beast or two scattered about.”
Aurelio was more than a little surprised at the dramatic turn of events. Poised for another round of aggressive negotiations Aurelio was unable to halt the facepalm at the rest of Sakura’s failed attempt at warding them away. Though it wasn’t without a smile on his face as he did so.
”No worries about that Alicia” He would say amused both at Sally’s complete lack of worry and at the situation that the now draconic girl had found herself in. “I’m pretty sure I can help with whatever it is she came calling for.” Walking over he would run a critical eye over Sakura’s new look, doing his best to asses just how hurt she might be. Though knowing his and Sally’s luck as soon as he started healing Sakura Sally would inadvertently pull the girl into the best position for his magic to work.
Back near Alicia one of his clones looked up from his phone with a soft look of confusion. “Are we brining her along to the café or are we holding off on that?” The clone would ask aloud. Wanting to know if they were heading out or not before he finished putting in the order he had queued up on his phone.
“This would be good to know for me as well” called over the last clone who had his eyes closed in concentration as he attuned the teleportation matrix for the quick jump over to Silverburg. Said clone was now slightly annoyed as he had to juggle the calculations for both three and four people until he had an answer.
Gizmo and Bee would wave their goodbyes as well before they both went their own way as well.
It was easy to blend into the crowds of students as she made her way back to the office. No one was really looking for her for one, and there were plenty of others who also holding onto their exuberance as they went about their business for two.
Really, anyone who didn’t know the truth about the academy wouldn’t be able to see anything out of the ordinary about it.
Jinny would come bounding into the Office just as Slade turned away from the front desk holding a small stack of ID cards. A small, honest, smile would slip onto the older man’s face at the sight of Jinny. “Just got all the cards” Slade would confirm as he held the stack of six cards up for emphasis.
Normally the cards were only given out one at a time. Slade had been able to persuade them to hand out a few extra. Presumably as backups. But also, so Slade could poke around at how they were set up. Plus, the blank extras that only had the room access on them.
“Arrived just in time it seems.” He would say handing over the three cards that were Jinny’s “I was just about to go and have a look at where they are housing me.” Slade would add as he began to lead the way to the elevators. “You mentioned friends. I’d assume that the boy we met was one, who else?”
The teachers living spaces on campus were located in the underground section of the school. They had an entire floor layer to themselves in fact. Not that the general hallways looked much different than any of the other halls that Jinny had seen. Still Slade’s first look at the halls had him shaking his head. “Never expected her to go all in on the bee theme.” He would remark as they walked.
Slade’s room wasn’t very deep into the floor, but was positioned at the end of a hallway. A card swipe and a six-digit code were needed before the door opened up. The living space itself was rather plain, and not all that dissimilar from the layout of the student dorms either from what it looked like. The walls were a steel color, the furniture and counters a simple black. There was a panel next to fridge on the wall that Slade knew held the controls for altering the colors of everything. As well as a system to order less basic furniture.
“Well first things first.” He would say as she started to sweep the room for bugs and other hidden things. It wasn’t as if he was expecting to find anything. But that was no reason not to check. He did however limit his search to the living room/kitchen for the moment. And seeing as he didn’t find any secreted away monitoring equipment, felt comfortable enough that even if the other rooms did have any, they wouldn’t be strong enough to pick up anything going on in this room. With a nod to himself he would step away from the last corner he had checked and return his attention to his daughter. The same soft smile from earlier returning. “So, musumé, I think we are in need of a talk” He would say casually as he moved to sit on the couch.
Penny once again was not able to simply stand down once the fight had concluded. She scattered her senses far as she searched her dominan quickly. She only returned her attention to Finn when she was relatively sure that things had actually calmed down. She was just in time to hear as he read the note aloud.
“I’ve got nothing.” She would admit after a moment. Eyes distant as she sifted through what parts of Beacon’s database she had copied. Not that anything she had saved was of much use to her at the moment. For all of her skill and power Penny was still only a basic Beacon member, a grunt, as such her access to some of the deeper parts of the Beacon database was locked.
And that wasn’t even considering the Ascendency adding their own checks and balances on top.
“Did you happen to catch anything from the perp who left the letter?” She would ask, with luck there was more to go on than just a vaguely threatening letter and a potential title of ‘Wonderland’. “Ominous monologue, eye-catching insignia, picture?”
She hoped that there was more that Fin and Oliver had seen, but even if they didn’t this wasn’t something she was going to keep quiet from Beacon. From there she hoped they knew more and were willing to share.
Penny would also nod an acknowledgement to Dina as the cat girl stepped into the factory. Dina’s appearance was a welcome one, Penny wouldn’t have sent out the three she did if her intel hadn’t been faulty. The Regent deciding to get involved was a blessing in that regard.
They would need to convene soon. The Sanctuary needed to be moved somewhere safer, or its defenses increased. Penny had her own ideas on how to do that, some already in motion, but Dina might also have some ideas and the Queen would take all the help she could get when it came to protecting the Sanctuary.
Still shrouded in her holographic armor, energy blades coating her fingers, Penny waited and planned. She could feel the storm on the horizon after all.
Even as Penny focused on the mystery that was who had tried to stir up trouble in her home she set aside a decent part of her processing power to check in with Beacon.
‘Elora’ Penny would message to the Ascendency’s second in command. ‘Industrial sector has been cleared but complications were, and are, rife. Will explain more later, right now I need info on Beacon patrol that got sent over here. I’ve got bodies.’
Over with MDP Snoopy was quietly observing everything that was going on, compiling a number of data points for his owner.
The little drone for the most part didn’t have the capacity to fully experience and understand emotions, but his bond with Penny did allow him more room in that regard than most drones. Due to that he did enjoy MDP’s company, partly because she liked to gush about him when she caught sight of him but mostly her presence smoothed out Penny’s processes notably.
Snoopy liked Penny. She kept him safe, but never forgot about his primary directive. One she was happy to find new ways for him to make use of.
Thus Snoopy was lightly distressed to see MDP distressed, not enough to ping Penny, but enough to narrow his focus to that conversation. The distress passed quickly for both MDP and Snoopy, but the little drone touched down on MDP’s shoulder anyway. Letting her know that Penny was still here if she was needed.
“We get it,” Ashlyn would say softly. “So does the Queen. That's why she opened her home to all of us. Her highness is unlike anyone I’ve met.” She would go on to say with a huff of subdued amusement. “That living bolt of lightning that dropped in before racing off was her, and if I know her the only reason she didn’t stick around is because she found more monsters lurking around somewhere and went to deal with them personally.”
“She cares” Belladonna would chime in “She understands us, because she has been where we have been, and doesn't judge us for what we had to do to survive.” She vividly remembered her own close encounter with the Queen.
“She will gladly accept any help you are willing to give” Monica would say. As she once again started escorting everyone to the Sanctuary. “But the Queen doesn’t ask for anything other than to not bring more danger to the Sanctuary. She wants it to be a shelter for us when we need it, nothing more.”
”Always happy to help” Aurelio stated with a bow and tip of the hat. Or at least one of his clones stated. The real Aurelio was stuck in marshmallow hell, which wasn’t exactly an unfortunate place to be, but trying to extract himself politely was something of a challenge.
“Though I’m curious who knows her” The same clone would ask gazing off in the direction the dark winged Valkyrie had flown away. ”I mean I’m pretty sure I saw her at the Christmas party, so someone in Penrose knows who she is.”
“Think they are just bad at people?” Asked another clone, though it wasn’t hard to tell they doubted the question even as they asked it. Never let it be said Aurelio didn’t take his Vow seriously.
“ Who knows” The first clone replied “But hey it’s still a win for us. No casualties after all!”
Across the campus, up in the main office for the surface school. One of the most feared men in the world was sitting silently stunned. It would have been entirely possible for Slade to stay sitting staring at his phone until the office closed, but his phone did what phones did and after only a short time shut off the screen to preserve power. Leaving Slade to be faced with own reflection.
‘Otou’
A simple title. One that the man wasn’t fully sure was Jinayah’s intention when she replied. But it rendered him awe struck all the same. Softly he would set down his phone and allow himself one full minute to simply breath.
After that minute passed Slade returned to finishing the last thing to do with the paperwork. Signing Jinny, his daughter, for a dorm room. No one in the area, in fact no one in the world, realized that Slade Wilson just became even more dangerous than ever before.
He had something to lose once again, after all. He was a father, again. And he did not have the words to articulate what that meant to him. All he knew was that Heaven help any who harm his family, and Hell have mercy.
For they would find none from him.
None of that mattered at the moment however, for now he finished the last of the work and went to turn it in and get the badges and keys they would need for their stay here. For their new life here.
He itched to reply in kind as well. But that could wait, when he was sure that his space was clear when he was sure that they would be safe. He would let her know he felt the same. That she was his musumé.
But not yet, not when there was a chance that it could be used against her. He lost one family to carelessness. He would not lose another to the same.
’I’ll hold you to that Jin’
“They are alright” Gizmo would answer. “I think they went for economical rather than ergonomic for the most part. No shared bathrooms however.” He’d add before nodding and gesturing once again to the giant student still working his way through a personal buffet table. “And yeah I room with him. He goes by Mammoth. He’s not the smartest, but I’ve seen him pick up an engine block with his bare hands.”
“Huh” Bee would look over her shoulder at the newly named Mammoth, “I’m rooming with my parents personally.”
“Why?” Gizmo would interrupt before Bee could say anything else.
“Harder for people to get at me, and I get to poke about their labs” She would reply with a raised eyebrow. Her wings buzzing ever so slightly as well, made it seem like there was more to it than that.
But Gizmo simply rolled his eyes, either not noticing or not caring about the tell “Figures” He would say, a tad sarcastically. “Well dorms are simple, as I said. Two bedrooms, each with a connected bathroom, a decent communal space and then a small kitchen.” He’d explain, a small projector peeking out of his harness under his coat to display a rough outline of the floor plan on the table.
As he said they were rather simply set out. The dorms were rectangular, with the bedrooms seated next to each other on one side, the kitchen on the other with the living room area in the center. The living room also connected the dorm to the hall, or at least that was what made the most sense as there was a door there on the floor plan. Gizmo didn’t bother explaining what it was for at any rate.
The bedrooms didn’t technically share a wall, the bathrooms did. With the closets on the other side of the bedroom compared to the bathrooms. And the kitchen seemed to have a fridge and a stove according to image, as well as a bit of counter space, but there wasn’t a dishwasher listed and neither was there a washer or dryer listed anywhere.
“Some of the Dorms will have an office space that has to be shared, but normally it’s for higher grades or particularly gifted students. Though they will take it away if you keep blowing things up.” Gizmo would add, sounding annoyed by that “Security on everything is decent, but the teachers don’t mind if you add your own stuff on top.”
“Wonder where you’ll end up” He would go on musing after letting both Jinny and Bee, but mainly just Jinny, have their fill of the projection. “Most dorms are situated up above, but there are a few down here.”
Despite the carnage swiftly ending Penny was reluctant to stand down again. Her gaze swept over all those that had gathered cataloging those she didn’t know and double checking over those she did know. The frankly absurd number of wendigos here had her on edge. As either Beacon had lied to her, which was unlikely, or someone else had been trying to blind them. An unsettling prospect for a whole host of reasons.
It was due to this continued awareness that Penny noticed the renewed combat happening not far away. Not in the mood to let it simply pass by without doing anything Penny moved to at least provide over watch.
Not that her assistance was needed. Something Penny was quick to note when she arrived.
[Scaling response configuration down to phase one.]
Nevertheless, she wasn’t going to simply watch. She kept an eye open for any openings to land a lightning round from her Gauss systems. Jumping into the fray would likely only throw off the rhythm that the combatants established. And it hardly looked like any of them were in any real danger.
Getting the story straight once all of this was done was going to be a pain, Penny could tell that already.
While Penny was busy making sure that the latest batch of monsters were killed. Snoopy was bobbing about keeping an eye on the after math of the mess that had brought her to this area in the first place.
The drone was happily bobbing around Dina and MDP in case either of them needed to contact Penny. But other wise the drone was simply observing the goings on.
Monica had heeded the Regent’s command and had started shepherding Belladonna and Ashlyn back to the Sanctuary, the latter not in as dire condition as one would have expected due to Ashlyn’s nature as a reinforcement user, when they over heard Hanna and Fubu. “We have a memorial space at the Sanctuary” Monica would chime in “If you want to want to make use of it.” She would offer. Sounding tired, but still able to inject honest warmth into her voice.
“We got off on the wrong foot I feel. And I would like to apologize for that.” Monica would go on to say “The Queen had warned us of Beacon and Wendigos in the area. So, we were all a bit on edge when we first met. But if you came seeking shelter at the Sanctuary she would take it out of my hide if we were to turn you away now.”
Ashlyn, who had been quietly hovering over about Monica, spoke up as well. “She’s also going to want to talk to you about what happened. Thank you possibly as well.” The Oni grimaced a bit as she felt a rib pop back into place. “We got bad intel, only one beast not that” She gestured back at the large clumps of ash still blowing away with the wind.
”Well that doesn’t sound ominous at all” Aurelio would say to himself as Sann flew off.
“Do you think the fact that we have a girlfriend would help us at all?" He replied to himself, one of the clones scratching the back of his head as they voiced the question.
“Doubtful.” Answered the other clone.
“Pity” They all said at once.
”Anyway. Here’s hoping for good news.” The original would say turning his attention back to Alicia as she checked in with home base.
“Nice, I’m a legacy kid as well” Bee would nod appreciatively. Completely misunderstanding Jinny’s reply, it was starting to be apparent that Bee was a surprisingly honest type of person considering the nature of the school. “My parents helped design some of the tech they use around here. I got in on scholarship because of that.” The older girl would go one to explain.
“I broke in.” Was Gizmo’s answer. “I stumbled across their firewall and got curious. Took me a week to crack the outer layer which is why I knew what I found was complete bull. So, I broke in to figure out what it was they were hiding and got caught.” The pint-sized genius seemed annoyed at the fact he had been caught more than anything. “Not really sure what the Headmistress was thinking when she offered me tuition. But the tech lab more than makes up for it.”
“Pretty sure she was thinking about interest you’d have to pay back if you skipped out on joining” Bee would reply, gesturing with her fork. She had gotten a chicken salad with what seemed to be a honey dressing of some description.
“Figures” Gizmo had gotten a plate of chimichanga’s “Not surprising that she’s that mercenary”
From there conversation devolved into generalities, favorite foods, hobbies, and other such conversations. Before Jinny was done eating however, she would get a reply from her uncle.
Glad to hear you are enjoying yourself. Paper work is done on my end, and I’m just finalizing a few things. On that, would you prefer to room with me or get a dorm room with another student?’
’Thank you Lady Luck!’ Aurelio was screaming internally as he escaped with surprisingly light injuries altogether. A nasty scrape and a light bit of lacerations on his leg were much less than he expected to get away with, but sometimes luck went his way.
That moment of elation was nearly lost as he glanced over and saw that Alicia had been a much worse recipient of the spear spell from their unnamed interloper. Aurelio wasn’t entirely sure he should count her as an ally anymore due to all the friendly fire.
He didn’t lose the Elation however; it was too useful of an emotion to give up after all. Holding it close to him he raced forward two copies popping into existence as he ran, they were simple clones no real magic in them. As he only needed them as lookouts, his entire focus was on Alicia.
As he approached the Elation he held shifted and grew as he tapped into the revisor of emotion he made sure to carry with him. In this revisor he only carried three different emotions. The three strongest emotions in his opinion. Love, Wonder and Hate. He never had any of those emotions in large supply as true displays of them were rare and hardly public. But he did have Love at the moment. And for a friend obviously seriously wounded in possibly hostile environment? It was no question that he would dip into his limited stock for her.
Sann was ignored as Aurelio knelt next to Alicia. The manifested blade of light was ignored as he gripped his cane tightly, his eyes closed in concentration. “Storgḗ” he would intone as a white flow of light would start pouring from his focus. And instantly Alicia was flooded with relief. The pain was simply gone and her injuries were mending. It was magical healing at its finest, even if it might not be at its fastest. But that was understandable as Alicia’s mana was also being restored and her appearance was being cleaned up as well. As this was more than just healing it was restoration.
The feeling it invoked were numerous; warmth, annoyance, pride, tenderness, acceptance, happiness, sadness, hope, comfort. Yet despite all that, the central idea in the magic was simple. Family. And that shown though the spell with blazing clarity. Alicia was Family. Because to Aurelio, Beacon was family. And family deserved the best when they were in need.
Chaos was the best word to describe the raging conflict in the industrial district. Allies and enemies kept appearing in equal measure, but the magical girls were holding. More than that they were winning! Slowly, but surely, they were turning back the tide.
Dina’s presence was a great boon to the Sanctuary girls, the other reinforcements just compounded that. Hope was on the rise, and it looked like they would be getting out of here mostly alive even if it was much more banged up than expected.
Then Justine quit the battle field. Redeemed Sinner that she was she was no insignificant contributor to the fight. A bad loss to be sure but not yet a fatal one.
Ashlyn was the first to notice her tactics shifting to compensate. She shied away from offense more, her arms now being used as living barricades more often than not as she also conjured basic translucent red walls of reinforcement to block what blows she could see. The urging in the back of her mind was growing louder and louder. She needed to protect them. Needed to Protect them. Her offense faltered even further as she was losing the focus needed to push her instincts away. Though her defensive timing only grew sharper.
Belladonna was the most effected by Ashlyn’s shift in tactics. She couldn’t go out and harass the enemies anymore, but that didn’t mean she was any less dangerous. Her ears were on a constant swivel as at last she had stopped laughing, though her manic grin had hardly dimmed. Her strikes simply grew sharper, her ranged was limited but her claws were easily capable of rending limbs, and her kicks were strong enough to decapitate if landed squarely.
Monica was still in the fight, the monsters trying to attack her running head long into walls of fire. Her mood was clear as day. So long as you understood Greek that was. As she was cursing and swearing near constantly as the fight progressed. It sounded like a chant due to the musical quality her voice had, but for anyone who understood the language she was cursing up a blue streak.
Then Mayra also chose to quit the battle as well. One ace leaving was painful, but survivable. Both of them? That was a death sentence for someone. Because as much as everyone was pulling together to face this onslaught, they were still outnumbered. There were thirteen Wendigos left, possibly more that were only playing dead.
Just like that the fight gained a desperate edge. Which only further drained them. How long could they last before they lost someone, this time permanently?
But the fight carried on, injures piling up as the fighters grew sloppy due to exhaustion. It was only a matter of time until someone made a mistake. And when it came it was Ashlyn. The cause was her degrading rationality. She needed to protect others, a noble set of instincts to be sure. But they denied her the ability to recognize herself as someone who needed protecting. So, she got so caught up in doing everything she could to prevent anyone else she could see from taking another hit.
She never saw the Wendigos sneak up on her. Three at once ramming into her unprotected side. Two trying to tear into her with their filthy claws, the last trying to gore her with its antlers. Her skin was naturally thick and tough, further bolstered by Dina’s enhancements. But there was only so much that could be done when Ashlyn simply wasn’t trying to defend herself.
The claws only left scrapes, ragged ones, but better than tearing any deeper. The antlers landed with a sick crack that could only mean badly broken ribs, possibly worse.
The oni was launched away, breaking the triangle formation, leaving the flank exposed. Her scream of pain was only eclipsed by Monica’s outcry of concern. The pack of Wendigos descended on the obviously downed member, and neither Monica or Belladonna could reach Ashlyn in time.
Luck had finally run out it seemed.
Monica was struck numb, unable to act, paralyzed by the fact she was about to lose Ashlyn.
Then the world shook as an impact rocked the alleyway. From above descended a bolt of living wrath that fell upon the beasts that converged over Ashlyn without mercy.
Rejoice; her presence seemed to command as the roar of her interjection at last resounded out. Four dead Wendigos flaking away around her.
Rejoice, for The Queen had arrived.
And bad things were about to happen to all who threated her Sanctuary.
one minute to impact The repeated attacks on her home, the threats that lingered in the dark unspoken by the Mint and by Ascendency. The gall and insolence of Monsters to strike into claimed territory. Her undiminished anger from earlier. The echo of a faded need to destroy. All of these things swirled inside Penny as she raced through the City.
Her home was on the other side of Penrose, and before this moment her record for crossing that distance on foot had been forty-five minutes. But that was because Penny played her capabilities close to her chest. No one really knew what she was fully capable at any given moment but her.
But she was done with hiding right now, done with letting her home look like a soft target because she was only so strong.
So that vast distance? Was gone in a fraction of the time.
Anyone connected to the local network knew when Penny entered the industrial district as well. Because her presence was suddenly everywhere within it. Every camera, every phone, every bit of GPS running software had Penny’s touch on it.
This area of the City was hers. Earned by right. And she was going to show everyone watching just why they needed to stop messing with it.
When she only had a street left, she would simply go up and over the last building in her way. Launching herself high she would take in the chaos below with a sharp and experienced eye. Then she let herself fall. Past the phoenix and through Shane’s pocket storm, though she did steal a stray bolt or two from the latter.
Impact
Penny wasted no time in showing exactly why she was so dangerous. She didn’t give anyone a chance to adapt to her presence, no moment to recover from her impact. She was instantly in motion again. Each attack she gave off was blisteringly fast, and savagely aimed. Death was her preferred outcome, but it was readily apparent that dismemberment was just as viable an alternative.
Earlier Belladonna bounced and ricocheted around the alleyway on her own like a violent wind of fang and claw. Penny now was all that and more. her claws would lash out with the force of of jackhammers, ripping though flesh and bone with frightening ease due to the projected energy blades lining her fingers. Her spider limbs brimmed with caged lightning and writhed about her lancing through skulls and chests with machine precision.
The bright blue of her energy fields, her elongated frame, and her near ephemeral appearance as steams of electricity arced off her as she tore into the host of beasts that dared attack her home gave off a freighting visage.
It was a sight that few people had ever seen. A Penny who wasn’t holding back to wear down her foe. A Penny who simply wanted you dead.
Penny would just roll her eyes at her girlfriend, and her question, an easy smile slipping onto her features as she did. A moment later three of her spider limbs were lashing out to comply with the request.
“Nice to mee you as well Ka’ris” Penny would return the greeting. “And yeah, it can take a bit of getting used to, lots of things to figure out.” She’d add on, not truly understanding what it was that the newer magical was meaning by their statement. Conversation was derailed however by the murder of crows overhead. “Not usually no.” Penny would answer eyes narrowing at the off feeling she could sense from them. It was at that moment that Snoopy would deliver Elora’s update, and with it a spark of dread.
“The Sanctuary!” Penny would exclaim. She was certain that the conflict over there should have been cleared up by now. The fact that it wasn’t meant that the original numbers were off, or it had escalated somehow. Either way. “More monsters I have to go.” She’d toss out quickly as her legs erupted in light as she activated her hover jets and raced off.
Unsure and worried about the situation Penny was hardly passive as she raced towards the coordinates attached. She focused inward, pulling forth blueprints, protocols, and subroutines. Speed was the name of the game right now.
The world seemed to slow down as Penny accelerated even further. Her systems already adjusted for the enhanced speed she was calling forth due to her Lightning Enhancement and Weapon Transformation. While Penny was normally fast, now she was even faster. A near living bolt of lightning as she darted across the city leaving a trail of arcing ribbons of lighting in her wake.
There was an inherent disadvantage of being outnumbered, one that normally Aurelio was more than capable of counterbalancing just by his magical capabilities. That said there was still a lot of work to be done to try and balance out a three vs ten fight. Even if the numbers had already shifted in his and Alicia’s favor.
Thus, it wasn’t a great surprise that one of the Wendigo’s had been able to close in on him. He bit back a cry as he felt the jaws close around his leg. But that hardly slowed down his retaliation. With a flourish he brought his cane down like a golf club into the back of the wendigo’s neck. Yes, it wrenched the beast’s jaws around his already hurt leg, deep enough to draw blood if the warmth that suddenly coated his leg was any indication.
But Aurelio’s cane was a focus and a weapon in its own right. At the moment of impact, it would draw as much Hunger from the Wendigo as was safe, mix it with the Anger already contained in the cane and then unleash all of the emotions as a flock of magical guillotine blades. The blades would be sent out towards the beats closing in on Alicia.
Which is why he was able to get Alicia’s warning of Sann’s impending attack. One he wouldn’t be able to dodge due to the incapacitated beast on his leg. “Crap!” Acting as quickly as he could he pulled as much Determined will as he could muster in a hurry and jammed his cane in the ground in front of him. A tall three sectioned Green box would rapidly begin materializing to encapsulate and protect the Magician.
Though he doubted it would be fast enough to prevent all the incoming damage.
The Sanctuary Vanguard was in a tight spot and they knew it. They were starting to collect injuries and they enemies still far outnumbered them. Not that this deterred them. If anything, it seemed to spur them on even more, though that might also just be the desperation starting to leak in.
Ashlyn, covered in wounds as she was, had planted herself like a stone guardian. Refusing to give any ground. Her ghostly juggernaut had faded in its place was a three headed Ashura. This spirit seemed to give her all around vision as she reacted to attacks and movement from all directions. Her weapons of choice were six large ghostly replicas of her own arms with would appear and disappear at her command. There was a growing mania in her eyes as well. She needed to protect Hanna and her friend. Needed to.
Monica was fairing better. In the fact that she was the least injured of the three. Her clothes were enchanted, thus hardier. Her weapon a gift from Hephaestus, thus deadlier. Her magic was fire, thus more lethal. But she didn’t have the stamina for long protracted fight, not like Ashlyn and Belladonna did. So, she was starting to flag. She still had one more trick up her sleeves if she needed it and it was starting to look that way.
Belladonna looked the worst, drenched as she was in blacken rotten blood, but she hadn’t stopped cackling yet. Though she had slowed. Not due to her injuries, which while numerous weren’t as serious as those that Ashlyn sported, but because now the Wendigos had started to catch on and catch up. She was still able to dart around, but now she was reliant on Ashlyn’s arms for support so that she wouldn’t get caught out and become stranded. The upside is now she had to take more time to make sure each strike counted so each time she went out she scored a solid blow, even if not a killing one.
Then they all heard a Voice that eased their worries, and soothed the growing panic. Or Monia heard it and transmitted it to the others. It had the same effect either way.
The Regent had arrived. Dina was here.
And without hesitation they complied with the Regent’s orders. Ashlyn moved the two girls, that had more or less started this entire thing, to behind her with Monica and Belladonna closing ranks as well to form a defensive triangle around them.
“Figures” Mikron would say with an eye roll, despite the fact he was the one to originally bring up the topic of food. “And whoever told you about leaving class spots open gave you good advice. Wasted time my first year here because no one told me I could just test into higher classes.” He would grumble as he led the way out of the gym and into the halls.
Said hallways were closer in size to subway tunnels than school hallways. Double wide and a bit taller, though it seemed necessary to some degree as at least one student Jinny could see needed to watch his head regardless due to his height. The width did a lot to combat crowding, not that it was very full at the moment. Still, overall it was rather normal, so long as you didn’t think too much about the honey colored steel that seemed to line the walls, the advanced motion or P.A.N. sealed doors, or the fact that most of the students that weren’t in the school uniform seemed to have some type of weapon on their person.
Mikron would continue leading them towards the Cafeteria. “Mechanics, Robotics, Advanced energy systems, Piloting, Quantum mechanics, Coding, Weapons, And Electronic warfare” He would answer the question about classes absently obviously thinking about her first question.
Bee, on the other hand, did seem to know who Jinny was talking about. “You ran into The Jinx?” She would ask, sounding a bit impressed. “And you saw a hex spark but nothing happened? She must have been on her best behavior” Bee would muse aloud.
“No one really knows much about her” Bee would go on to say “She’s a Dark Way Prep transfer. Which means she’s been with the school in some capacity since she was like four.”
“Oh! I know who you are talking about now.” Mikron would chime in. “She’s banned from just about any of the workshops due to her power. Though I did hear that she passed some competency test from the teachers so that might not be the case this year.”
“That’s frightening, her power was already dangerous and now she’s gotten a better hold on it?” Bee would shudder a bit at that. “Her sparks have destroyed cars before. Something about causing cascading failures. I’m guessing she can manipulate luck in some capacity, due to the name, but only she would know for sure and not many people are willing to befriend a living bad luck charm.”
“I think it has more to do with her body count” Mikron would add looking rather intently at his watch. “Seems she’s killed more than just a few students due to ‘Accidental Power Mishaps’ but she did also take out that asshole from introductory physics so she can’t be all bad.” A glance at his watch would reveal that it was not currently telling time, rather that he seemed to have hacked into Jinx’s personal file that the school had.
“Huh” Bee was looking more than a little off put by that revelation, but she would eventually shrug it off. “Jinx has good instincts from what I hear, so whatever it was she was after must have been good.” Bee obviously didn’t know of the encounter that had happened earlier. Assuming that Jinayah just saw something that had caught her interest.
“I’m in a Weapons course, as well as Leadership, Aerial Tactics, Close Quarters Combat, Stealth, and Gymnastics. I’m holding on to my other slots though I might just make them a study hour.” Be would answer as they reached the Cafetiera.
The Cafeteria was like many school cafeterias. Large wide open room with a lot of long tables running parallel to each other. There were four primary food lines, each line had a menu above the start of the line letting people know what was available in that line. Each line seemed to be focused around either a style of food such as meat dishes or vegetarian. Or a region of origin such as Spain or Mexico.
Jinny was informed that the lines slowly rotated what was in. New menus taking over the rightmost line daily, while all the previous lines shifted over.
“Food is all you can eat during the lunch hour.” Bee would mention “But you can’t take more than one meal from a line at a time.”
“You’re not supposed to take more than one” Mikron would correct, gesturing towards a student who seemed to have a feast in front of him. The fact that he was nearly seven feet tall and built like a brick wall might have had a lot to do with how he got away with it.
“How’d you come to learn about HIVE?” Bee would ask once everyone had gotten food and sat down. “You a legacy kid or do something that impressed someone?”
Penny didn’t look directly at any of the human in the car in front of her as she methodically unmade her targets. She knew well enough how she looked from the outside. Snoopy was live streaming this after all. She was a terrifying sight, as was her work.
That said she did make sure to pay special care to the car as she worked. And not once did she let any of the Monsters regain even an inch on the distance, she forced them in to taking. Not until she was ready to reel them in to finish them off. So even as violent as she was, the car remained within the eye of her brutality untouched and fiercely protected.
This was proven to the upmost when Ka’ris made her debut attack. She had been outside Penny’s scan parameters at first, the Monarch far too focused on her death dealing. But the discharge of the gravity-based weapon had Penny snapping into action. Her spider legs curled around the car as a shimmering force field sprang to life between the limbs, covering the car from the attack.
Penny maintained the barrier for the entire duration of Ka’ris’ attack. Though she only spent the first second analyzing the newcomer. The next second was spent with her attention on the family’s care once again. As Penny lightly touched the car, and used her magic to restore anything that was wrong with it, even wear and tear that came from before this attack.
The last second was when Penny returned to the monster task at hand. Slipping away from the car now that it was once again no longer in danger and plunged her hand into the chest of the downed wendigo. She made sure to cup its heart before once again discharging enough Lightning to reduce it to ash.
After that she would stand back up and cast a long searching look about for any more targets. Not finding any she would let out a short breath, her eyes regaining their normal gold as she did. Now calmed down and no longer on the edge of a transformation. She was able to appreciate that her girlfriend has also chosen this district to defend. ‘Wonder if she was nearby, or if it was just a coincidence’ Penny would wonder as she waved a tired greeting at MDP.
She’d gesture for MDP to come over, mainly so Penny could take care of the monsters she had captured. Something that was rather impressive, but even as she did so she would turn to walk towards the new comer. Penny didn’t recognize them, so she felt it best to introduce herself. They did help out after all.
“Hey there.” She’d call out as she got closer. “Thanks for the assist. You new around here?”
Snoopy in the meantime would ping Elora, inquiring if anywhere else was in dire need of assistance.
Ashlyn, much like Mayra, wasted no time in rushing into the main swarm of monsters, a ferocious war cry bursting forth as she did so. “Filthy Curs!” In the wake of said cry, the visage of a plated Oni juggernaut could be seen floating about the tall girl. One that mimicked her movements. The frightening visage also quickly proved it was more than just a figment as it’s mailed fists struck with resounding force. Her destination seemed to be the girl that Mayra was also assisting. Because that girl needed Protecting And the girl that had buried by the swarm was already saved by Mariette.
Having a psychic on hand was so useful.
Ashlyn waded in slowly using her size and physical might to her advantage to batter the Monsters about. A sturdy, unmovable pillar in the center of the fight.
Belladonna on the other hand had started cackling the moment the monsters retaliated, and had started bouncing about the battle field like a deranged pinball. Heightened bestial senses, inhuman Awareness, and razor-sharp claws combined into a hit and run style of combat that left long ragged slashes on those that she got in on, but before the creatures could retaliate, she’d already be off onto the next foe. An ever-moving whirlwind of claws and laughter. Distracting and dangerous all in one.
Monica was ever so glad that she stayed on the alert towards the creatures that surrounded them. And easily settled into the task of fending of what beasts she could, each swing of her axe leaving large swaths of flame in its wake. Even as she swung her weapon around one could hear her chanting. “Oh Hestia! Lady of Hearth and Home. Guardian of the innermost things. I beseech you to lend your humble follower a boon. These vile abominations have sought to ransack my home. To drive those that need its shelter from its doors. Grant my allies a measure of your flame, so that we might instruct these fiends of their transgressions!”
With that final declaration she’d bring her axe down in a heavy clash. And from that point of contact brilliant golden flames would race outward. The Wendigo’s were untouched by the golden flames, no, more than that they were ignored by the golden fire. Ashlyn, Monica, Belladonna, Myra, and the Dark magical girl were not however. The golden flame raced up and over the girls a genital warmth passing over them as it did before the flame settled onto their chosen weapons. Granting everyone present a boon of Divine Fire.
“By fire be Purged!” Monica would shout before diving into the swarm of beasts, fire spewing from her axe.
“Fuck!” One of the girls would shout as a Monster girl would drop out of a portal right in front of her. Mariette was a known ally to those living in the Sanctuary, the portal wielder had protected them back during the first time their home had been attacked. So, it wasn’t surprising to see the portal open up, though it would still be considered a rare occurrence.
It dropping a viciously injured Monstergirl was a different story however. “Silbrex! Leanna!” The girl would shout out as she began moving the injured girl over to the medbay. “Emergency! We need a healer!”
Aurelio was undeterred as the entirety of the pack of wendigos turned towards him and Alicia. That made their job all the easier really. Especially since the more important half was already taken care of! “That’s right you over grown flea bags!” He’d call out as he spun his cane about his fingers. The blatant Hunger pouring off the creatures was repugnant. But it was still a resource he had on hand.
Then reinforcements arrived. It wasn’t Beacon, Aurelio figured that other Beacon members had been scattered all about with mass of attacks, but more help was never a bad thing. [color=fff79a]“Glad to see you’re on our side here” The magician would say letting out a low whistle at the Valkyrie’s devastating attack.
“But let’s see if we can’t do better” He’d add with a smile. He’d draw on the Hunger of the Wendigo’s and temper it with his own righteous Indignation towards the creatures. Happy and cheerful he maybe, but he wasn’t blind to what it was the monster’s here were trying to do. Taking that mixed blessing he’d enchant Alicia’s bow with it, he was a support specialist after all. Her Light arrows already tracked her targets, now they would be nearly blood thirsty in hunting down her target’s hearts. Plus, they would bite deeper, dealing good damage even if they didn’t hit the heart out right.
“You are up Seraphim!”
With another wave of his cane a small flood of himself, Alicia, and Sann would surge forward. The small army was much less substantial than they looked however, as only one of the near sixty copies was actually real. That Aurelio one wore a dark orange color under its illusion, and luck preserving would be using the enemies Hunger against themselves. To provoke infighting as much as possible before it was found, as the illusions wouldn’t last beyond a single hit, even a glancing one would dissipate them.
While Roxanna put proof that mind over matter is a perfectly valid method of monster hunting. Oliver’s incendiary rounds brought a sudden a painful end to the final wendigo’s charge as they bullets caused the monsters legs to crumple leading it to face plant and skid painfully along the ground.
The Angel of Hope’s assistance then gave Finn the means finally put down the cannibalistic monsters as they roasted quite easily. The two of Roxanna’s had kills were easily taken care of as well. The decapitation and forced self-lobotomy too severe wounds to have been easily patched back together in such a short time, even by the foul nature of these spirits.
The first wendigo was a slightly different matter. It was healed, but it was a broken healing leaving it looking even more deranged than was normal for the beasts. Cracked skull still loosely connected and the burn on its chest was still ringed with embers. The hole also revealed that its heart hadn’t been fully burnt, but enough to damage it permanently.
It made a poor site as it tried, and failed, to push itself back to standing. Though if it was trying to flee or keep fighting was impossible to say.
Snowdrops
Mistress Dizzy
Light the Dark
Majoraa
Izurich
LG
twave