@Dervish, @Zombiedude101: Who posts? I'm aiming to get the CS for the monsters up shortly btw. There's about 10 of them, all male save for 4 which are female and a bit different than the males which will be explained in the CS. They are currently inside the Ship and will be eating a bit of... stuff as we try to play exterminator.
Written in collaboration with @Zombiedude101 New Raygate, Prince Edfield.
There was a desperate push for the exit.
Wendy was leading the great escape towards the exit, and having little idea where in the hell that is. She was honestly just running, hoping for a way out of here - and hoping the group could outrun the terrorists. Wendy looked up, and saw a sign that said "LOBBY" and where's there's a lobby, there's an exit!
She took a sharp right and started running dead ahead... and she realized her mistake when she remembered that the lobby is most likely where they'll be focused. But - oddly enough - there wasn't a single person in the lobby. Wendy raised an eyebrow at the sheer convenience of it - the base was going into high alert and nobody was guarding the front door - but had no choice but to continue.
"Step aside," Jessica said as she broke out into an all-out sprint, and rammed the front doors of the building with so much strength that they broke open. She stepped back in with a cocksure grin, and tilted her hat at them. "C'mon, c'mon!" Jess said.
Wendy, Rowan and the rest of the escapees ran through the doors pursued by the Intimidation Unit.... except for Kai. Who stood in the doorway fearlessly. Her body had transformed into a clear ice that exposed her organs, and then it got real cold. The men opened fire, but Kiri created a massive layer of ice that quickly engulfed her and filled the opening. The ice spread from herself to the ground and ceiling (to the point where Undertakers were tripping over it).
The Undertakers were slamming the wall with bullets, before Kai merely detached herself from the wall, and took careful steps away towards Wendy's group.
Now that they were outside, all the escapees separated and pretty much adopted a "every man for themselves" mentality as the Undertakers were trying their best to capture them. At best, they were a distraction for Wendy's group, but it soon became apparent that there were others on their tail as a few other guards spilled out from the garage where they'd made entry earlier on.
Up ahead as they reached the exit of the compound was a sliding gate, still locked, with access to the control booth locked down tight. A few of the other escapees were already trying to break in, but Rowan simply reached out, tightened his palms and spread his arms as though he were tearing a piece of paper in half; only that piece of paper were the metal links of the fence, leaving a huge gaping space for people to spill through. "C'mon!" He shouted to the others, unwilling to push on ahead without them.
Wendy was the first to run on through, followed by Kiri, then Jessica and Rowan finally coming last. With the whole situation gone to shit, there wasn't much they could do for the other escapees other than hope for the best.
They hauled ass out of there.
Veronica Emily Davis, Makoto Koda, and....
New Raygate, Prince Edfield.
"... Well, damn it." Makoto said as the lights faded away.
Veronica slammed her foot onto the ground repeatedly out of sheer anger. They were humiliated by some random ass loser, and outsmarted by a tiny dyke. Nothing could quell Veronica's rage right now.
Makoto laughed a little bit, "Don't get so bent up over this, Ronica. Everyone has a bad day every now and then."
"But, we were given a job, Makoto," Veronica seethed. "You know what'll happen when we can't do that job...?"
Makoto rolled her eyes.
"... The Black Hound will kill us." Veronica finished.
"That's what I find so cute about you, Veronica..." Makoto said as she shook her head with a smile that flashed her white teeth. "... You're so dramatic. It's what makes you interesting..."
Makoto laughed, that made Veronica tempted to shove a knife in her throat.
"... Other than those big ol' tits of yours." Makoto teased as she walked by Veronica, that made Veronica lose it and flick a knife at Makoto. It pressed against Makoto's throat, and the Japanese woman merely raised an eyebrow.
"Come now, Ronica..." Makoto said, unworried as she teleported right behind Veronica. "...You know you like me." She said as she walked towards the compound.
"Be-sides," Makoto said as she looked over her shoulder, spinning her chain around. "You know that taking your anger out on me won't solve anything, so just relax.... I can definitely help you."
Makoto's right... she let her failures blind her. When she should be worrying about the success... and the inevitable fall of the Founding Family. She'll let those cockroaches go for now. She followed Makoto back inside the garage, and the first sight they were greeted with was the last one Veronica wanted to deal with. Going off of how everyone was bowing down to him.
Ezekiel.
Veronica rolled her eyes up into her head as she gazed upon his massive frame, crossing his arms.
"... Not only do we lose every candidate we have gathered here," Ezekiel said, his voice was stern, and disappeared. "But, you let some commoners sneak in, and catch you off guard. Some security you turned out to be."
He rolled his eyes. "Who was it? The Philosophers? The Coven?"
But, Veronica merely stood her ground, she put her hand on her hip. "We're assassins, Ezekiel." She looked at her nails. "We don't handle the security around here..."
Ezekiel grit his teeth at this whore's insolence. "... You're whatever the hell we say you are!" He said as he shot a wave of electricity in all directions. Veronica and Makoto loudly yelled in pain as they hit the ground, and so did the rest of the Intimidation Unit. While Veronica was recovering, Ezekiel stood over top of her, and grabbed her by the collar.
"Don't forget you wouldn't be nowhere if it wasn't for us," Ezekiel said, grabbing onto her collar. "We gave you the opportunity to be great, and this is how you repay us?"
Veronica was tempted to spit in his face if she wouldn't get electrocuted again.
"Now, refer to me properly." Ezekiel ordered.
Veronica was going to savor the moment she kills him, and destroys everything they know and love.
"... Lord Ezekiel."
"Good." Ezekiel let go of Veronica and stood straight up. "I want an immediate evacuation of this facility, we are going to torch this base, and nothing valuable better be inside when it goes up in flames."
"... Lord Ezekiel!" Ezekiel's secretary said as she sprinted inside the room. She knelt over, and said,
"... The intruders were in your quarters."
"What?!" Ezekiel shouted as he immediately turned around and ran down the hallway. Makoto and Veronica glanced at each other, and ran down after him.
Ezekiel had kicked the doors of his quarters, and ran over to the library as his secretary, Makoto, and Veronica came charging in the room behind him. Ezekiel barely even paid them attention as he quickly shuffled through his library. "No, no, no!" Ezekiel said as his hands grazed over the empty space where his books should be. "My notes...." Ezekiel said.
"... WHERE ARE MY NOTES?!"
You see, Ezekiel had hidden his notes, and other sentimental items, hidden inside his bookshelf. His strategy was to hide it in plain sight, as he didn't fully trust the rest of the Blessed Three. How did they know where his notes were?
"Who..." Ezekiel tightly clenched his fists, they were arcing with electricity. He was shaking, his teeth was chattering as he resisted releasing all of that anger inside of him. "... Who was it?! Was it the Philosophers! Don't tell me it was the Verschlinger's bastards!"
"We do not know sir," Ezekiel's secretary bowed down as she apologize.
"Ugh! Useless! All of you!" Ezekiel shouted as the electricity got even more intense, to the point where Makoto and Veronica simply left the room before they got infused with another painful jolt of electricity.
Ezekiel walked over to his dresser, and pulled out a device.
"Thankfully! I have my notes bugged with a tracer!"
Ezekiel was pointed in a specific direction, and he marched after it.
"My lord Ezekiel!" The secretary said as she ran alongside Ezekiel. "Where are you going?!"
"Since my employees have suddenly become useless, I'm getting back my notes one way or another." Ezekiel said as he pushed his secretary aside.
"Wait, Lord Ezekiel!" The Secretary said. "Don't! I'll arrange for the Black Hound, or Veroni-"
"Enough!" Ezekiel discharged electricity towards the secretary and knocked her unconscious as the electricity made her tremble. He marched on like nothing happened until he made it through the front doors of his building.
Electricity was sparking off him as he marched on towards the bastards who stole his notes.
i
Wendy Emily Lucker & Rowan Campbell.
Written in collaboration with @Zombiedude101 Courtbridge, Prince Edfield.
The girl had ran all the way to Courtbridge (which wasn't that far away, actually). Finally regrouping in an alleyway.
"Woooo..." Jessica loudly groaned as she had her hands on her knees. "... That was... something else. Honestly. Nice jailbreak, sweetheart."
"Still wonderin' how you pulled it off?" Jessica said.
Then she wondered if she should tell Jess of her accomplice. "... I tracked Diana's phone here."
Having absolutely no idea how phones work, Jessica just shrugged.
"So.... that's how you knew... right?"
Rowan was still at the side of them, out of breath. His ribs were aching worse than before and his throat was burning a little, exacerbated from the all the running against the doctor's earlier advice. But it was worth it - he'd saved Wendy's friends. Just not her sister.
"Right."
"What now?" Kai chimed in, putting her hands in her pockets.
"First, we contact RAVEN, DOVE, and whoever the hell else and tell them everything that happened." Wendy raised a finger. "Then I'm going to find Diana regardless of how many bases I have to knock over."
Jessica grinned. "I'm with ya'," She laughed despite all the stress. "Think we oughta' get a move on... I was never a fan of big city alleyways." She tilted her hat.
"Yeah, before they catch up," Wendy spoke, before she began walking over towards the street, with the intent of walking her ass out of here. "Let's go somewhere with a lot of witnesses... I think the Orchestra Mall isn't that far awa-"
When Wendy turned the corner, she caught eye of a very tall, blond, man wearing one of the fanciest suits she has ever seen. He stood in her way, with his hands in his pockets. He gave them a stern look that just told Wendy "trouble." He pointed at Wendy.
"... You four?" Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. "Are you all the Verschlinger's lapdogs?" He asked. Before his face contorted into subtle rage. His arms had arcs of electricity bouncing off them, and he took a step forward.
Then Wendy took a step backwards, terrified. "... I don't know who that is!" She said, honest to God.
Ezekiel hung his head for a moment and laughed. "... Very well then." He raised his head with a slasher smile that made Wendy double-take. Now even more electricity began to aura off the gigantic man.
In a sudden movement, Ezekiel pulled his hands out of his pockets, and clawed his fingers as he swiped them across the air. A parking meter was ripped out of the ground, and sent flying towards the center of the group, only it halted mere inches away, crumpling like a train crashing into a mountain as Rowan exclaimed and raised his arms to shield them, palms shaking.
Wendy screamed, before she stopped when she realized Rowan was helping them.
"Huh?" Ezekiel said, raising an eyebrow. "So, you're a metal manipulator? A magnetic-type?"
The scrawny teen didn't answer or even acknowledge the question, instead dropping the meter to the side and staring at him with a mixture of fear and uncertainty racing through his mind.
"Silent type, eh? No matter..." Ezekiel said as the electricity around his hands intensified. "... I'll make you scream!" He pointed both hands at them and fired a bolt of electricity, laughing like a madman.
Wendy thought fast and put both hands out and absorbed as much of the electricity as she could. She was shaking because she never absorbed this much at one time before, she was almost brought to her knees but she remained strong.
Kai turned into ice, and fortunately, ice doesn't conduct electricity (but she certainly melted a little). However, Jessica was electrocuted, and fell down to the ground.
Ezekiel didn't let up on his offensive, began floating in the air, and put his shoulder forward, and the electricity surrounded him as he launched himself forward like a cannon... straight for Rowan.
There was barely any time for him to get out of the way, yet as Ezekiel reached within a few meters' proximity of Rowan, a sudden crack could be heard as the man's electrical charge recoiled off the scrawny teenager's own electromagnetic field. Rowan tripped in the midst of the chaotic glow and hit the ground with a thud, yelping with pain as he felt his already bruised ribs being smashed against the asphalt.
"Annoying." Ezekiel said as his attack got utterly deflected. So he knows that the boy and the girl has electromagetic abilities. He could sense it. Which makes them his priority. Ezekiel raised his foot up into the air over Rowan, and prepared to stomp on him, but...
Wendy had stepped in and had used electricity to propel a can at Ezekiel's face. The rusty can had scraped his face enough to draw blood, and he grazed his hand over his face. "You insolent whore!" Ezekiel shouted as he turned his attention to Wendy and charged her with immense speed, his shoulder smashed against her chest at high-force and made the girl fall backwards and shout in pain as she hit the ground.
"Wendy!" Jessica shouted as she reached out to Wendy.
"Leave her alone!" Another voice, Rowan's called out, seconds before a can of aerosol paint was sent flying towards Ezekiel's direction.
It was a simple exertion of his ability to stop it dead in it's tracks. Ezekiel took a step back as Jessica threw a haymaker at him, and he put his hand out and electrocuted her to the point where she fell down again.
Ezekiel spoke as he reached into his suit and pulled out a pocketwatch. "I was holding back.... up until now that is..." He wiped the blood off his cheek..
Electricity surrounded every ferromagnetic object in the vicinity. From cars, to random trash cans. Then they began to float up in the air - every car in the street included - like they were weightless.
Wendy shivered in fear as the vehicles began to float. Even from here, she could feel his power and oh God it was immense. She had to think fast... and realized that nothing metal or electricity would bother this man. A hand reached into her satchel, and touched a piece of paper, which traveled up her arm and turned the rest of it into a white paper.
"... You see, you never had a chance to begin with," Ezekiel said as he adjusted his suit collar slightly. "... Because you were never on my level."
He flicked his finger - but Wendy had created a paper airplane made out of paper she had compacted together and sent it right for his eyeball. Ezekiel's strength was focused on holding the the cars up that he didn't have any time to react.
The paper airplane hit him dead center in his iris with surprising accuracy, and utterly embedded itself in his eye. Ezekiel let out a loud cry of pain as he grasped his eye and thrashed around. All the metal he was manipulating fell to the ground in a cacophony of chaos. Car alarms were set off, and it was a nonstop barrage of metal hitting concrete.
Wendy had to sigh... That was one hell of a gambit, but he left himself open there. But, there was one thing that came to mind,
"... Run!" Wendy said as he hopped up to her feet and ran like hell away from Ezekiel, whilst Rowan and the others soon followed suit,
If they weren't on his level, then why bother?
By the time Ezekiel had recovered, they were gone... but, he wasn't going to give up despite all this pain he was experiencing. He wasn't going to let a child get the best of him here of all places.
He took his hand off his bleeding eye after ripping the paper airplane out. He began marching after the four.
Wendy and her gang were hauling ass away from Ezekiel, praying to God that they could break the line of sight. Where's RAVEN? Where's the police? They can't defend Courtbridge on this Tuesday night? Wendy kept running, but then she looked behind her and... Oh God....
It was Ezekiel pacing after them, covered in an electrical aura that made people haul ass away from him.
That was just motivation for Wendy to pick up the pace. The group ran across the street right as it was turning red, and prayed that it would slow the bastard down. It didn't. Not one bit. He merely walked out in the middle of the street like there was no threat.
A car was about to crash right into Ezekiel, the driver slammed on the horn - but with a swipe of his hand, Ezekiel sent the car careening towards the group. It crashed into the building right in front of them, going through the concrete, and killing the driver on impact.
Wendy and her group had to stop or else they would have gotten killed. Okay... if he was able to redirect a speeding vehicle like that, then he has to be a real heavy hitter. There was no way Wendy could take him on directly, he was simply too powerful. But, at the same time, he's relentlessly pursuing them to the point where they have little options. They have to come up with something.
Every man has his limits.
Ezekiel bled just like the rest of them, that's why he freaked out so much when Wendy stabbed him in the eye, and when she scraped his cheek with a can. That means they can catch him.
"Guys," Wendy said as she watched Ezekiel approach them. "I have an idea..."
He was getting closer. There was something else off here, but Wendy couldn't tell why he wasn't hitting them from this distance. She would have to take advantage of it.
"There's a park around here - I'd know because I took pictures of every angle of this place - but that isn't important right now," Wendy said. "Let's all split up, and regroup at the park, luring him there." She then pointed in the direction of it.
She prayed to God that she could make this work.
Rowan looked ready to argue with her logic, but with the man on their tails there wasn't any time to complain. "Okay, just make sure you get there."
And like that, they dispersed.
When they all split up, save for Wendy, Ezekiel was quick to look at his tracker... She has it. Which makes this easier. Just kill her, take his notes back, and then head back to the Founding Family's headquarters. Ezekiel would have to be careful, if he gets carried away, then he'll damage his notes. He put the tracker back into his suit pocket and cracked his knuckles.
Wendy was trying to see what he'll do next.
Ezekiel broke off into short choppy steps before taking long steps. He began to float up into the air and tried to charge Wendy with his shoulder again. Wendy was prepared this time, and she turned into paper, and scattered herself as far as she could.
"Huh?" Ezekiel looked around, he pointed his fist at a mass of the paper scraps, getting ready to fire a bolt of lightning... "Wait!" The electricity dispersed right as he realized he may destroy his notes. He would just have to follow them....
... They all went in separate directions.
Right when Ezekiel looked down at his tracker... and the signal was dead. He crushed it in his hand in irritation, before he charged after the nearest scrap.
That girl will have to reform eventually....
Rowan didn't stop running until he felt himself forced to catch his breath once again. His chest was pounding so hard that he could feel as though his head were pulsating in rhythm, his aching ribs burning as he stopped to lean against a park bench, if only for a second.
That man could do the same things that he could've and more. Being overshadowed and overwhelmed like that was a mind screw, a terrifying one at that - it left him feeling in a way that he hadn't felt since his childhood days, dealing with the old man standing over him.
Despite it all, he was still worried about Wendy - that asshole had gone after her. Even though he'd knocked him down, Rowan was stubborn enough to just keep picking himself back up, no matter what. He wasn't the old man. Nobody would make him afraid like that, never again.
Especially not with a friend like her at stake. He could only hope they'd meet up soon, in one piece.
Sucking down another breath of air, Rowan shrugged off the ache as best as he could, before continuing down the path towards the park, when all of a sudden he felt a strange, metallic tingling sensation that seemed to tug at him from a particular direction.
Wendy? He thought, before setting off to find out.
Flying through the air until she had to catch her breath, Wendy reformed right in the park. In a pathway. She didn't know where he was, but she knew he was going after her specifically. Perhaps she can lead him away, or... No, Wendy, have to stick with the plan. Wendy had to remind herself. "The Plan" being drag out this confrontation long enough for this maniac to leave them alone.
"... Found you!" Ezekiel charged in shoulder first, before swinging his arm around in a wide "hook" motion. Wendy turned into paper and dove off to the side, and made Ezekiel whip around and direct his fist at her, and fired a stream of electricity.
Wendy had put her hand out, and immediately absorbed the electricity to activate her electrokinesis... but, Ezekiel wasn't letting up for a second. Wendy had no choice but to continuously absorb the energy.
Oh God, I'm going to ash at this rate... Rowan, Jess, somebody... help!
Wendy silently called out.
Jessica and Kiri were holding hands as they were hauling ass to the park. The bastard wasn't on them... which gave them a little bit of breathing room. Jessica put her hands on her knees, and started panting. "Jesus, Kiri," Jessica said before huffs. "When Diana suggested we head up to Washington, I never expected any of this."
"Strange things happen." Kiri was quick to reply.
"Yeah, but..." Jessica then stood straight up and scratched the back of her neck. "... Nevermind. What we gotta worry about is getting Diana back from the Hound."
They heard a cracking of electricity.
"Wait... is that?" Jessica said, before breaking out into a sprint. "C'mon, Kiri!"
Can't take it...
Wendy thought to herself as she was being loaded with so much energy that she couldn't possibly take much more. Was this man a living powerplant? She never encountered such a powerful Metahuman before... Electricity began to pour out of Wendy, dancing across her skin. She risked ashing if she absorbed anymore, so she had to quickly discharge it.
In a desperate attempt, Wendy pointed her hand at Ezekiel, and fired a bolt of lightning at him. Which forced him to go from overloading her with electricity, to absorbing it right back. Before he absorbed all of it effortlessly.
"... I'm surprised," Ezekiel crossed his arms. "You have so many powers... Paper, and electricity. You have to be a replicator."
As he made his evaluation, the man remained unaware as from behind him came a broken tree branch clumsily swung towards him.
Ezekiel was caught off guard by the branch slamming into his back. He groaned and turned his head around towards Rowan. Of course... the rats come to defend each other. Ezekiel thought to himself. But no matter.
He whipped around with his elbow coated in electricity, driving it into the teen's face, roughly knocking him down as the electricity arced in a sphere around the two of them.
Ezekiel ignored him for now and focused on Wendy - who had already launched her counter-attack, sending a barrage of batteries flying right for Ezekiel's face. It was elementary, because all he had to do was wave his hands across and his superior control overpowered hers - and the batteries came to a stop.
Each of the batteries were crushed and dropped to the ground oozing battery acid.
Before Ezekiel could kill Wendy, spray of ice came from behind and hit Ezekiel in the back. He let out a hoarse cry as his back was frozen, and began shivering as he fell down to his hands and knees.
"Everyone, hit him at once!" Wendy shouted, before she grabbed a piece of paper and switched back to her paper manipulation. She condensed paper together to form thick paper airplanes that were as threatening as a pocket-knife.
Meanwhile, Jessica had grabbed a rock, and threw it at Ezekiel powered by her strength. Which was enough to pierce through a car door. Well, if this bastard's slingin' lightning, then Jessica has no reason to hold back.
While on the ground, Ezekiel was loudly growling, growing more and more intense, until Ezekiel let out a loud yell. Which was drowned out by the thunderous crash of electricity as he shot a massive bolt of lightning up into the sky. The blinding light was too intense that it would cause eye damage if you stared into it for too long.
When the light faded, Ezekiel was loudly panting... his shirt was burnt off by the electricity, and he had many burns on his upper body. His pants were perfectly in tack... but, now, he was getting pissed off.
He was channeling his electromagnetism deep underground. The ground was violently shaking as the earth split. The lamp posts around the area were torn out of the ground, as the ground finally gave up and the pipes and deep plumbing were ripped out of the ground.
"Leave us alone!" Rowan's voice yelled from behind and at that, Ezekiel could feel the metal being pulled from his grasp, as the scrawny teenager made a desperate attempt to exert his own will against it.
Electrical energy arced and crackled as it formed into an electromagnetic tug-of-war between the two metahumans.
"... And the only way to get Ezekiel to calm down is to get his notes back."
The Foundation Woman spoke to Makoto and Veronica on the comms as the two ran down the street. Following the trail of destruction that Ezekiel had left.There were sirens everywhere... so they were following the trail of destruction. Veronica didn't want to be the one that retrieves Ezekiel during his hissy fit, but she seems to be the only one that could.
"Copy that." Veronica said rolling her eyes.
"At this rate, even if they don't connect the Family to him, Ezekiel will be branded a nation-wide criminal for going on a rampage through downtown." The Foundation Woman said. "I don't care about the brats he's going after..." She trailed off for dramatic effect. "... Just get him back into a base before he digs us a hole we can't get out of."
"Yeah, yeah," Veronica said. "I'll carve 'em up if they get in my-"
They were stopped by the giant bolt of lightning piercing the sky. They both stopped, and stared at it in awe for a moment.
"... I get the feeling he's there." Makoto said as she started running towards him.
Ezekiel was exerting his electromagnetic will on the metals he was pulling out of the ground. The boy was strong, he'd give him that, but Ezekiel was Blessed with such amazing abilities that would make even armies tremble. He could hear one of the girls running up from behind him, and Ezekiel laughed.
"... I am a God!" Ezekiel loudly shouted before he yanked the metal out of Rowan's control. and sent a lamppost swinging behind him. Jessica was trying to sneak in a hit, one hit, that would end this damn fight once and for all, but the lamppost was so damn sudden that it caught her off guard. It hit her square in the ribs, and sent her flying into a tree so hard that she went through it.
Jessica began coughing blood.
"... Okay, got a lung collasped there." Jessica hoarsely said as she tried to force herself to her feet, but to no avail. Kiri tried shooting another blast of freezing mist at the man, but all she got in return was a painful bolt of lightning. She let out a scream of pain as she shook violently, falling face forward when her body couldn't take anymore.
"One by one, your friends fall!" Ezekiel said. "You're going to regret stealing my notes, you whore!"
"... Stealing?" Wendy said to herself.
He sent an utter barrage of objects at Wendy with no care that he would damage his notes. Pipes, lamp posts, and whatever the hell else he could get his hands on.
A gasp escaped Wendy's lips as she turned into paper and flew high off as she could. Reforming high up into the air, she used her ability to cancel her weight and flow like paper. She looked over her shoulder, and the pipes impaled the trees and dirt around. Causing so much damn destruction
When she turned around, Ezekiel was rushing her through the air, shoulder-first. It was a mixture of reflex and instinct that caused her to turn back into paper and regain her weight as she hit the ground. She looked back up, and saw Ezekiel floating down. She could see him grit his teeth.
Okay, her plan to drag this fight out until Ezekiel gets tired isn't working... He's just too damn powerful for them to last against. But then came Rowan, stubborn fool trying to come up from behind when the scrawny kid reached into his bag. As the man turned, ready to smack him down, the scrawny teen pulled out a can of aerosol paint and squeezed on the nozzle, aiming its projected contents at his face.
Ezekiel grabbed his face, and let out a loud yell as the contents sprayed his face... and he looked at his hands and they were covered in yellow paint. This... worthless... child.... sprayed him with paint.
Ezekiel couldn't help but break out in laughter.
Loud maniacal laughter.
It was disturbing to both Wendy and Rowan. While he was laughing, he was pulling out a small pipe that he had previously attempted to kill Wendy with out of the ground, and sent it flying at Rowan at speeds that were a blur,that nobody could've properly reacted to.
Instead, the scrawny kid had barely a second to mitigate the damage it could've done, but it came in all the same like a ton of bricks and speared him through the side, leaving him at Ezekiel's mercy.
"Rowan!" Wendy shouted as she put her hand out... wait. She was coming about this wrong the whole time. She pulled her satchel out as Ezekiel walked over to Rowan, and pulled out the books she took.
"Now..." Ezekiel said as he grabbed onto the pipe that was firmly embedded in Rowan, eliciting a pained yelp, and then turned back around to see Wendy pulling out the books she stole. He stared at Wendy with eagle eyes as he clenched his fist with rage. "My notes..." He pointed at the First Edition Copy of Lord of the Rings where he had hidden his notes. "... Give them to me!"
His eyes went wide with rage.
Wendy noticed his anger, and had to stay strong. "... No." Wendy quickly said, and held the LoTr book up high. "Don't hurt Rowan or I'll destroy this book! And don't underestimate me, I can restore books that have been ruined beyond belief... Imagine what I can do if I do the opposite...?"
Ezekiel raised his fist, which was shaking with rage, and crackling with electricity. "... You whore!" He seethed in between breaths, spitting out a cloud. "If you touch my notes..."
Then Ezekiel realized what was at stake here. This child is certainly a powerful one, and could definitely surprise him. And nothing he can do to these kids can bring it back. It was a matter of whether or not he could dispatch her without damaging the book, and without her destroying it at the first sign of hostility?
That was when the rage-prone Ezekiel used his head. He dispersed the electricity and took steps away from Rowan, towards Wendy, and put his hands in his pockets.
"Fine, child," Ezekiel said. "If you safely return my notes to me, I'll spare you and your friends' lives...." He gave her a look of sheer detest, but Wendy wasn't afraid.
"Fine." Wendy said.
"Just leave it on the ground, and walk away from it," Ezekiel calmly ordered, and Wendy complied. Leaving it on the ground, and Ezekiel walked up, grabbing it, and shifted through the notes to ensure everything was in order, and the contents weren't even touched. He scoffed.
"... Maybe next time, you shouldn't go taking what doesn't belong to you," Ezekiel said as he felt calm. He merely walked past Wendy, getting what he wanted. "I'll spare you this time, but if you dare cross me again...." He looked over his shoulder at Wendy. "... Make no mistake, I will kill you."
That's the second time I received such a threat today.... Wendy trailed off mentally as she kept her eyes on Ezekiel... but, while he was shifting through the pages, something fell out of the book. Like a photo. While she was worried about Ezekiel, she wanted to know what it was.
She quickly used her paper manipulation to will the photo over to herself, and quickly absorbed it into herself before Ezekiel turned his head.
Wendy quickly ran over to Rowan as he dropped to the ground, and realized the severity of his wounds. He was impaled. He was fuckin' impaled! "Shit, Rowan, I'll get you a medic!" Wendy said, before she looked up to see some flashlights.
It was the BPD, she could tell from the uniform and badges.
"... Do you kids need some help?"
After expressing his rage, Ezekiel had little reason to continue his rampage through Courtbridge. He casually scrolled out the front gates of the park, ignoring all the destruction. Because to him, getting his notes back was the only thing important to him. He would have questioned those kids about who they are... but, that's irrelevant to him - No, beneath him. He'll leave that to the Black Hound and his Intimidation Unit.
However... there was a little problem when he stepped out.
"Freeze!" The BPD had formed a line right outside the park, and aimed all manner of pistols and rifles at him like that was going to do something. Ezekiel looked to the left, then the right. Before he sighed.
"Get out of my way." Ezekiel said as he merely continued his march like it was nothing. "I'll slaughter the whole lot of you."
"I said freeze!" The BPD captain shouted again, and didn't get a single response from Ezekiel. "Open fire!"
The officers just let loose with pistols, shotguns, and assault rifles, a barrage of bullets that would kill anyone in mere seconds. However, the bullets came to a slow halt in the air before they even got close to Ezekiel.
"... Weak." Ezekiel rolled his eyes as he raised a finger in the air. That calmness was replaced with sheer lunacy as he swiped his hand downwards with the most maniacal smile, "... Get ready to die!"
The bullets were all launched back at the police officers at the same speed they were sent. A bloodbath followed as police officers were killed by the boatload, and their vehicles were filled with holes. Few officers were already taking cover... but at this point, they were just stalling for the fully equipped RAVEN to show up.
The few that weren't killed in the initial attack were swiftly wiped out when Ezekiel lifted up an armored truck, and sent it tumbling over the vehicles. Sending an organized police force into chaos as they desperately tried to get away from the rolling vehicle. Ezekiel stopped his rampage and continued marching-
"... Lord Ezekiel!" A familiar voice shouted in the distance as Ezekiel looked up to see Veronica and Makoto running up. Makoto in particular teleported right before the massive Ezekiel. Whom looked down on her.
"Did you retrieve your notes?" Makoto asked, smiling under the mask.
"No thanks to you." Ezekiel shoved her aside and kept marching, which made Makoto frown. She teleported back to him, and grabbed onto his arm, giving him a seductive look from under her ask.
"... My lord, Ezekiel," Makoto said with a smile. "You've gotten so angry today... don't you think it's time to relax?"
Ezekiel looked at her wordlessly.
"My, my, my, you know you have all your secretaries - and me - waiting for you in your quarters?" Makoto seductively said. "Come now, let's leave. There's nothing more for us here anyway."
Veronica floated over and pressed her earpiece.
"... Zenith."
And a portal opened behind her.
"... And Veronica can join us!" Makoto said as she lead Ezekiel into the portal.
"Wait, what-" Veronica tried to say before Makoto shoved her in.
Written in collaboration with @Zombiedude101 RAVEN/DOVE West Coast Joint Headquarters.
Not too long after seeing Wendy, the doctor had given Rowan the all-clear and had him released from their custody. But that hadn't exactly gotten him off the hook - he'd been told to get some rest and check back in with them if he started feeling more pain where the Black Hound had knocked him down, though in truth he had his stash of painkillers to handle that.
What did concern him was once he'd gotten back to the dorm, he couldn't find any sign of Wendy, anywhere - not at any of their usual hangouts or even by her dorm area. Asking around didn't help either - the only one who'd seen her had mentioned her heading outside, wherever that meant. With no alternatives and worried for what was probably an only friend, Rowan grabbed for his phone and sent a text.
where are you? back at dorm cant find you anywhere. im sorry i was useless please just talk to me
Guilt had welled up at the back of his mind. Was it his fault, maybe? If Wendy hadn't tried to help him then maybe she could've got her friends and sister back. His phone soon buzzed with a response.
It's okay Rowan. I'm out at the moment, don't worry about me, I'll be back soon.
That didn't sound good. He shot another text back.
where? seriously im worried, just tell me
Rowan... keep it to yourself, but I'm getting Diana back the hard way. Sorry, but I have to do this.
What? Rowan's concerns proved to have good founding. He frantically tapped out another message.
wait hold up im going with you. not doing this by yourself
Sorry, but I already got you in enough shit.
I got you in shit not the other way round cmon where are you
It was a few minutes before the next text came.
1731 Minoma Vale... be careful, and try to come in through the garage and open it with your power.
It didn't take Rowan long to recognise the address; New Raygate was a place that the old man had been to enough times and the place that Wendy had given wasn't too far from one he'd seen before.
Throwing on his hoodie, Rowan quickly downed a dose of painkillers to dull the ache in his ribs and set off straight for Wendy.
Wendy Emily Lucker & Rowan Campbell.
Written in collaboration with @Zombiedude101 New Raygate, Prince Edfield.
After a quick bus ride, then "borrowing" a bicycle to make the trip a little quicker, and then finally walking a shorter distance, Rowan eventually found himself in an alleyway opposite the compound that Wendy had spoken of, hoodie drawn up to avoid making his identity obvious. Whipping out his phone again, he shot another text.
I'm across the street
Wendy was pressed up against the wall of the facility, not too far away from the entrance where she first made infiltration. She peaked around the corner and noticed some guards coming up. She quickly stepped into a janitor's closet, before she looked at her phone. Rowan was here....
Try to get across the fence. I'm heading to the garage now. Hurry.
Wendy said as she stepped out of the supply closet, and walked back over to the garage.
Rowan steadily made an approach, sticking to the shadows as he crossed the street. From what he could ses, there were a few people inside the compound, though it was clear they had better things to do than stare put into the street all day and Rowan soon recognised the pattern of their movements.
The fence itself looked pretty damned tall however, with barbed wire making it difficult to climb over without making a scene. Not that it made much of a difference - Rowan had a couple gunning for him here. Waiting until he had a clear path, he searched for any handhold he could, then started scaling the fence. As he approached the razor-sharp barbs at the top, all he had to do was just concentrate... and they soon parted and deformed, leaving him a gap to climb over.
Now on the other side, his eyes darted for any sign of the "garage" that Wendy had mentioned, but he soon had to scrabble for cover behind a nearby trash canister as another of the security guards started walking past his way. He was, at least, thankful that he could probably screw up the video feed on any security cameras he'd missed.
The two security guards simply scrolled by, and ignored the trash canister. They were having a conversation, and didn't think anyone except the stupid would come near here. They continued past the building.
By this time, Wendy made her way back to the garage, and had her hand up against the garage door button, and her other hand was texting Rowan.
Are you there yet?
She sent.
Then she received another text from her benefactor.
What are you doing?
Her benefactor sent, Wendy didn't respond.
The more people you get involved, the harder this gets.
Wendy could just feel the stern irritation, but if this is what it takes.
Rowan peered out again, then just about made out the garage she'd mentioned this time. After glancing from one side of the compound to the other to check he was clear, he broke from cover and made a steady beeline for Wendy's position.
I'm there
Wendy pressed the button, and the garage door opened - but when it was low enough for Rowan to crawl through, she stopped it. Opening the whole thing was just a recipe for disaster!
Just as quickly as she'd opened it, Rowan ducked down and slipped through the slim gap that Wendy had opened. His scrawny frame only served to help him fit through with ease and as he caught sight of his friend in need, he couldn't help but ask with a rasping voice, "Little help?"
Wendy quickly closed the door behind him before anyone could notice, and hopped down. She scratched the back of her neck as she said, "... Thank you for coming." Wendy said as she looked around. She grabbed Rowan by the wrist and dragged him into the depths of the base. "... Come on, we have to go - I'll explain later."
Going down the path that her contact told her, Wendy and Rowan were lead along. They were crouching through the area. She peaked at her phone occasionally for directions. She was going to try to get in and out of here as quickly as possible.
Head for Subject Capitivity, there should be a sign directing you right to it.
... Also tell your friend to stop screwing with the cameras.
Wendy nodded her head as she looked up at the sign that was pointing them right for the subject capitivity. She peaked around the corner, and saw that the coast was clear....
There was a giant crash right from where they came from, and Wendy turned around as it sounded like a literal storm was going on inside the garage. "... The hell?" Wendy said to herself as she turned around.
That's when the alarms started blaring, and all hell broke loose. There was some gunfire coming from the garage, but that was the least of her concerns. She heard a group of men running towards them, shouting. Wendy was more than certain they weren't after them... but, maybe it wouldn't have ended that well if they were seen. She made it to a T, and quickly turned left with Rowan in tow.
"Quickly!" Wendy said in a hushed tone as she moved fast as she could, whilst the scrawny kid was straight on her heels. Eventually, they made it to a wooden door that looked expensive as hell. On the door "EZEKIEL'S QUARTERS" were engraved in gold. Wendy tried to pry the door open, but it was locked. "Shit..." She hissed, before she looked at Rowan. She could hear footsteps.
"Rowan," Wendy urgently said. "You have to open the door."
"I need a sec." Rowan said in an equally hushed tone as he slipped past Wendy, bending his fingers inwards as his attention was shifted to the lock. Focusing, he twisted towards the left until he heard a faint click, then frantically grasped the handle and pried the unlocked door open, quickly pulling Wendy inside before he shut it behind him.
Wendy locked the door behind them, and pressed her ear against the door, trying to listen to see if anyone was coming. Fortunately, all she heard was people running past. She sighed in relief as she tried to figure out where the hell they were... She turned around and looked around the room and all she could see was a mansion. Like, it looked different from the evil compound that she stepped into.
The floors were coat in lush carpet that matched the fancy wooden interior of the building. Mixed with all the fancy furniture, Wendy knew that this was someone's quarters. For Rowan, this was the kind of place you only ever really saw on TV - and here he was standing, out of place.
"... Wow." Wendy said as she walked in, and then her eyes centered on one thing, and one thing only.
The bookshelf.
She skipped over to it, manuevering around the chairs, and scanned it with her fingers. It was a nice distraction from the whole tense rescue mission she was on. Then her hands rested on one book in particular.
"Oh!" Wendy said as a sense of excitement had overcame her as she grabbed the book.
Rowan picked up on her curiosity but realised that this was probably not the time or the place. "So uh.. what next?
"Rowan!" Wendy said, holding onto the book, "Do you know what this book is?!" She said, giddy as a schoolgirl, almost jumping up and down.
She presented it to him, and... the book was a very rare book. The first edition copy of The Great Gatsby. Printed in 1925, it had to be worth thousands of dollars. But, to the bibliophile, it was priceless. Even though she read the book a thousand times, the fact that she managed to get her hands on a first edition was going to make her book collection great.
Rowan shrugged at that, oblivious to the book's value or contents. He'd never been much of a reader to begin with. "What is it?"
"What is it?" Wendy tilted her head in disbelief, her eye twitching slightly. "What is it?!" Wendy loudly said.
"This is the first edition of the Great Gatsby, printed in the God damn nineteen-twenties! You know how valuable this book is?!"
"Five hundred?" The poor kid was out of his league when it came to such a literary counisseur.
"Two. Thousand. Dollars!" Wendy said in excitement, before she calmed down. "I looked it up on Ebay... waiting for the day I can buy it!"
"Holy shit!" He finally exclaimed, fumbling with his bag. There had to be space for more. "Any others worth that much? We can grab 'em, then get Diana and the others, we'll be loaded!"
"Sell it?" Wendy said, raising an eyebrow. "Hell no! This is going in my book collection, and staying there."
"Come on, you don't need all of them, do you? Any you don't like?" He thought about all the uses he'd have for the cash. It was more than anything he'd ever had before.
"Well... maybe I'll grab some of the less valuable ones...." Wendy looked at the bookcase, and saw some other rare and valuable books. Man. This Ezekiel guy not only has good tastes, but money! She'd feel bad about robbing him if he wasn't, you know, evil. She put the Great Gatsby in her satchel, as she looked around.
She used her paper manipulation to pull books such as an older edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula, first edition of Cat in the Hat (Which was odd for a grown man to normally have if they weren't a book collector, after all), and the first edition of Lord of the Rings... though, there was something off about the last book when it came open for a second - like there was something in it.
But, Wendy didn't care because she would check out all these books when she gets back.
"Alright," Wendy said. "They probably won't mind if I borrow some of these books... given that we're, you know, intruding in their base."
She shrugged as she slung the satchel over her shoulder.
"Now, let's get out of here, we have to save Diana," Wendy said as she walked back towards the door, and unlocked it. Peeking out, she saw the coast was clear. Whatever happened certainly distracted them, whatever helps Wendy. She gestured for Rowan to come along as she left Ezekiel's quarters.
"Lock the door behind you." She said. Rowan obliged her, leaving the door as it was on his way out.
Then they were back into this base.
Following the instructions of their contact, Wendy made her way to the Subject Captivity... It was awful thinking of what they were doing to Diana. She prayed that she got here in time. She made it to the metal door that looked like it belonged in a scifi movie. It was like an elevator door, but thick, and durable. She knew that it'd be difficult, if not impossible for them to force it open... not without causing a hell of a lot of noise.
There was a keypad for the locked door off to the side, and Wendy stared at it for a moment. She comteplated texting her contact, asking if he could tell him the code. Or if she could get Rowan to do some weird magnetism...
29854. Hurry up, your distraction has ended, and the base is going on full alert.
Wendy nodded her head as she punched the code in, and quickly opened the door. Immediately, Wendy was exposed to the sight of a long hallway with jail cells... and each cell had bars on them. She hesitantly stepped inside with Rowan as the doors closed behind them, only to be caught off-guard by Rowan gasping with shock. There were... so many people here. With each step she took, she saw more people behind the bars.
"What the fuck..." Rowan murmured, the many faces staring back at him.
There's no time to look for the keys, just use your magnetism to pry the locks.
Wendy nodded her head as she put her phone back in her pockets. She has to be quick. She reached into her satchel, and grabbed one of the batteries tightly. There was the light crackling of electricity as it funneled into her hand. The electricity traveled down her wrist, as she activated her electrical powers.
"Alright, Rowan, we gotta unlock these doors the hard way...." Wendy said as she put her hand on the lock, and funneled electricity into it as she unlocked the cell doors. There was a loud click as they opened, and the occupants came running out. Those who didn't soon did once Rowan tore the damned things off by the hinges, fuelled with a sudden rage at seeing so many people like him and Wendy caged up like animals. Just like how the old man would've had it.
"Wait!" Wendy said as she put her hand on their power suppressant collars, and snapped it open with electricity. It fell to the ground, and Wendy said, "Try to get everyone else free. This is a jailbreak."
"Yeah, c'mon!" Rowan beckoned in encouragement, helping others by breaking their collars in half with sheer overwhelming force.
It wasn't long until a few escapees became many, and Wendy was doing what she could to take their collars off... but, it was becoming apparent that they weren't just kidnapping Metahumans. There were regular, powerless, people here. What did the Founding Family want with them?
One cell that Wendy opened had Jessica, and Kiri... and some other girl, but not Diana? Wendy opened the bars, and the two came running out. She quickly broke the collar off Jessica, before the super-strong girl simply just ripped it off.
"Wow, I didn't expect you to come save us," Jessica said, putting her hands on her hips.
"What... where's Diana?" Wendy had to ask.
"I don't know... she was with us, but that big bastard came by and took her, and put another girl in her place." Jessica raised her eyebrow.
"The Hound?" Wendy asked.
"Oh, yeah," Jessica said. "... I don't know why, he just opened up, reached in, and snatched her."
Wendy clenched her fist tightly. "I swear..." Wendy hissed. "I came so close to finding Diana, only for her to slip between my fingers...." She was holding back tears.
"Look, Wen," Jessica said, putting her hand on her shoulder. "We'll find 'er, eventually... but, for now, I think we ought to get out of here."
"But, wait..." Wendy stopped them because she had to ask. "... What did they do to you down here?"
"Nothing...." Jessica shrugged. "They just said we were going to be needed later."
".... Oh my God!" Someone shouted in the hallway, through all the panicked chattering, the arrival of the Intimidation Unit went all but inaudible.
"Everyone get down!" The armed man shouted as he shot in the air.
Everyone took their chances, and hauled ass out the other exit... or began to fight back. A pyrokinetic filled the hallway with fire, and left some pretty scatching burns. However, he was gunned down with some heavy crossfire.
Which gave Wendy enough time to turn and haul ass to the other door. "Move!" She shouted as she pushed the scared people aside and moved over to the keypad. Reason would be leading her to believe that the other end would have the same code. However, her hands were shaking. When she mean to put in nine, she pressed eight. And slammed her fist against the side the keypad when she had to start over.
"Sorry, Wendy!" Jessica shouted as she ran up to the door and punched it hard as she could in the center. She then pried open the door with all of her strength... and that was surprising since Wendy was unsure of whether or not she and Rowan could force it open with their magnetism. "We gotta move!" Jessica said as she kicked over what was left.
Mixtape Ghost N,
RevekaRed,
FernStone,
Atrophy,
AtomicEmperor,
Byrd Man,
NoriWasHere,
DELETED08741,
xxjessicaxx,
Bartimaeus
