Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

[Charmera]

Cora followed Katie into the lab. Katie seemed very anxious and nervous as she was moving very quickly. Cora didn't blame her, this situation must be very stressful for her. Cora frowned when she heard Katie's words. She took a look at the blood herself."this blood certainly isn't human. It almost seems toxic. You're right that it seems alive." She put one of the drops of blood under a microscope. "These cells are moving, I've never heard of blood like this. The toxicology machine hasn't been able to detect any poisons in it. Something must have mutated her blood to be like this. We'll have to find the source if we want to synthesize a cure."

Roy meanwhile had wandered around the JQ headquarters, and went to their computers systems and their archives. He sat down and began to quickly search through everything he could find. He saw some footage and newspaper headlights that chronicled them fighting crime. Roy was trying to hack into all their passwords, but their security systems seemed pretty tough. He was determined though, he needed to see if they were hiding something.

"I think we might need more-" she paused for a second. She could feel another presence in the JQ section of the building with them. "Hold that thought. I'll be right back. See if you notice anything Val." She spoke. She then disappeared, going through the electrical system and to the computer being accessed. She then suddenly popped up, sitting on the keyboard of the computer Roy was access, pushing him back slightly. "Does the "No boyz allowed" sign not mean anything anymore? is it the z instead of s? The blatant yet hillarious sexism? Or are we just so irresistible we draw men like magnets?" She joked, smiling. "Now, why were you trying to hack our system exactly?"

[Tomia]

Cora was listening to Katie speak when suddenly she stopped and said she'd be back before traveling through the computers. Cora wondered what could be going on.

Roy was still working at hacking the network when suddenly Katie came popping up out of the computer and pushed him back. Roy shouted in surprise and nearly fell over his chair in surprise. He listened to her speak and he knew he was busted. How the hell did she know what he was doing? And how did she cone through the computer? Then he remembered that he had read at her abilities in her file. He should have realized that she might be able to sense his activity. Luckily Katie didn't seem too mad at him. He noticed that she had a kind smile and a calming presence. Then she asked why he was hacking their system. He knew he shouldn't lie at this point so he spoke honestly. "To see if you're who you say you are. I know this was dishonest, but I had to be sure. I've been taken in by bad people in the past. I couldn't let that happen again." He told Katie honestly.

[Mavorpen]

"Will they be okay?" Phyla asked as she and Jamal flew through the Stargate the rest of the way to Kvch. Her voice gave away the fact that she was worried for the group who went to combat Ronan.

"They'll be fine." Jamal replied. "They have Ruby." Though his voice was smooth and confident, he was slightly worried as well. However, he refused to let that become apparent through his voice. It felt like only yesterday when Annihilus attacked and Jamal was forced to become a leader in the Intergalactic forces who fought against him. He understood what was necessary to be a good leader. One of those things was being confident -- and if that wasn't possible, convince everyone else that you were.

"Speaking of which, what's with her? She's...strange. I mean, even for someone who hangs out with you." Phyla chuckled.

"I couldn't explain her to you even if I wanted to. She's an enigma as far as I'm concerned." Jamal then began realizing that he really didn't know anything about her. Like, nothing significant at all. Sure, he knew she was weird, but he din't know anything about her background or history. Every time he tried to bring it up, she'd either ignore him completely or wave it away with a distraction. One thing he was sure of though, was that he trusted her. He wasn't sure why, but he did. She simply gave off the air of someone who instinctively knew what the right course of action was.

The two then exited the stargate and Jamal immediately felt a sharp pain in his head. "AGH!" He screamed and gripped his head. As though he was being forcefully pulled forward, he rocketed to a nearby planet.

"Jamal!" Phyla shouted and she chased after him. Jamal crashed on the planet. Phyla entered the atmosphere of the planet and began searching for him. The planet was dead,as far as she could tell. The air was yellow and the sky dark. BRoken metal structures, large and small, littered the landscape as though the planet was a technological graveyard. Phyla found him on the ground writhing in pain as black, jagged lines began spreading across his body. She took off his helmet and set it aside on the ground. "Jamal, what's wrong!?" It became apparent that he was in too much pain to even respond to her.

Phyla looked down at the helmet and picked it up and placed it on her head. "Worldmind, can you hear me? What's wrong? Help me!"

"[Phyla-Vell, it is critical that you pay attention at this time. There is not enough time to explain. You must transfer energy from your Quantum Bands to his body in order to help stave off the infection.]"

Phyla nodded and placed her hands on Jamal's chest. Yellow energy encased him and then rushed back to his chest and was absorbed into him. The black lines began receding and he suddenly shot up. Phyla gave him back his helmet and he "What...what happened?"

"[The transmode virus overwhelmed you once we exited the stargate. I nearly had to send you into a coma.]"

Jamal struggled to stand up and Phyla grabbed his arm, helping him up. "We can't --nnhh-- waste anymore time. We need to reach Kvch."

"[Jamal... this is Kvch. It's likely that being in the vicinity of the planet triggered a response in the virus.]"

"But... there's nothing here." Jamal said, looking around. "Damn it, we can't have come here for noth-"

"[Alert Jamal, I am detecting movement!]"

Phyla tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around to face her. She was seemingly facing and pointing up at the sky. Jamal followed her line of sight and realized that she wasn't pointing up at the sky. "What the..." He said under his breath as he gazed upon a giant mechanical creature of some kind.

"Is...is it alive?" Phyla asked.

"I'm not sure. Worldmind, check."

"[I have already attempted to scan the creature, but it appears to be impervious to them. I am simply receiving back readings that state 'data-void.' I am now attempting communication with a greeting signal. No response. It is as thou-]"

"Wait!" Jamal exclaimed as the creature's head turned down to face them. "It responded. It must have-" Suddenly, the creature was thrown back by two giant beams of energy. Another creature of the same size, resembling a scorpion, charged at it. "Another one?"

"Jamal, we have to move!" Phyla shouted, and the two flew out of the way just before the two creatures slammed into each other. Almost immediately, Jamal began thrashing in pain.

"I..can't...!" Jamal once again plummeted to the ground and Phyla rushed to his side, putting up an energy barrier around them.

"Jamal, we have to run!" Phyla said, with no response from Jamal. A "foot" of one of the mechanical giants came crashing down next to them. All of a sudden, Phyla heard a mechanical voice come out from the scorpion-like machine as the two fought.

"[Alarm! Two Lifeglows detected in immediate vicinity! Stand down!"] The scorpion machine released a powerful blow into the chest of the other. "[Cease combat drill, now!"] The beast opened up at the head and something emerged from it. Phyla dropped her shield and stared watched as it descended down from the giant, with chords attached. "[Lifeglow recognized as humans. Poor human. What have we done to you?""] It asked, staring down at Jamal.

[Charmera]

Cora was listening to Katie speak when suddenly she stopped and said she'd be back before traveling through the computers. Cora wondered what could be going on.

Roy was still working at hacking the network when suddenly Katie came popping up out of the computer and pushed him back. Roy shouted in surprise and nearly fell over his chair in surprise. He listened to her speak and he knew he was busted. How the hell did she know what he was doing? And how did she cone through the computer? Then he remembered that he had read at her abilities in her file. He should have realized that she might be able to sense his activity. Luckily Katie didn't seem too mad at him. He noticed that she had a kind smile and a calming presence. Then she asked why he was hacking their system. He knew he shouldn't lie at this point so he spoke honestly. "To see if you're who you say you are. I know this was dishonest, but I had to be sure. I've been taken in by bad people in the past. I couldn't let that happen again." He told Katie honestly.

"Well technically, we're not who we say we are. After all there's the whole secret identity thing, though naga and Val don't seem to do that much." She explained. "We're superheroes really, I think you figured that out by this point (Should really put our files on the restricted section.) but really we keep that secret to protect ourselves more than anything."

"I understand you must be distrustful of us, but please understand that eveb though we're doing good and stuff, we have secrets we need to keep. Things that can't really get out and that we can't tell you unfortunately." She explained.

[Tomia]

Roy nodded slowly at Katie's words. "Ya, I've seen you help people from the film and the newspaper. It's just, sometimes people aren't who they say they are. You're right though, you have a right to keep somethings to yourself. I'm sorry for snooping, I should have trusted you. I'll leave now." Roy told her sincerely. He was surprised that she didn't yell or hit him. Floyd would have kicked his assistant if he aught him snooping like this, infact, he had before.

[New Neros]

-snip

Val's lips curled into a sweet, yet vicious smile at Ashy's acceptance of the offer, nodding to Mir to see if he was alright with this development as well. "Well, I think this ring keeps our powers to a limit. Something Max copied from some sleazy bar in Gotham. We can shut it off if we need to, but why don't we go just based on skill for now?" She asked Ashy, Mir stepping into the ring as well, taking a spot between the two ladies. Looking from one to another, he nodded in confirmation.

"I'll referee this fight, I suppose. No cheap shots, hair pulling, things like that. Strikes, grabs, throws, all are acceptable. Understood?"

Val nodded quickly, "I don't doubt your power right now, Ash, but I do think your skills might be rusty since you last used your body." Mir looked at Val with some confusion, wondering how the girl knew about this, to which, she responded readily. "What? I can eavesdrop if I want to." She sneered, sliding a mouthpiece into her jawline and clenching her gloves together, bouncing up and down to warm up before lowering her upper body and bringing her hands up to protect her face - swaying her shoulders side to side as well.

Mir sounded in his most official voice possible, "Alright then, begin!" Val launched forward with aggressive offense, stepping into a powerful straight punch with her right hand, but it served only as a diversion, executing a by-the-book one-two punch except reversed, with her right hand being the lead while the left was the main attack, bringing it full-force with the added momentum of the first blow, her aim at Ash's head despite her foreign fighting stance.

[Finland SSR]

snip

Ruby and Adam Warlock turned around after the newcomer emerged from the stargate. They listened as she explained that she didn't know how she got here and that she was randomly sucked into a portal. "The fissures... They're growing deeper." Adam Warlock whispered under his breath.

Suddenly, a yellow flash of light flew past them and grabbed Kylie. "Hello, Green Lantern. Are you prepared to know true fear?" K'Ragnar asked as he pulled her away from the rest of the group.

"Oh, that's right. This is the part where we're attacked." Ruby said as the Kree Sentries came upon them and began firing beams of energy.

Atiala Hypernova, SPAAAAAACE

---

It was a bit rude of me to just storm up in this seemingly important mission uninvited, and the just say "What happened?" without even explaining myself. I guess I should probably introduce myself, apologize and-

Oh, wait. Just not yet. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a Yellow Lantern pulled away the Green one that spoke with me earlier. I was about to rush to help, but my way was stopped by large muscular robots. I think I know who these things are... maybe. I don't think I've read much about the Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, one of the robots attacked me, charging up an energy blast or something. I crossed my hands in a defensive position, closed my eyes and prepared to endure the hit. One second, two, three... Did he actually shoot? I opened my eyes and saw that he did - just that it didn't do much.

"Hah! Tin can, tin can't-" I lowered my guard and tried to send a quick insulting remark, when the robot, seeing that energy blasts can't do shit, charged at me and sent a punch at my right cheek. This time it actually did something! Well, only moved my head a little bit and got almost completely countered by my bio-electric aura, but hey, it's something by definition! However, this time I did not try to just defend. If my parents ever see this, they would ground me for a month, but they're millions of light-years away. I cocked back my right fist, and then sent it right to the robot's chest. Unsurprisingly, it immediately punched through. Electricity was sparkling everywhere, and then I placed an energy blast inside the hole I made, resulting in a massive explosion.

I moved back, proud at myself, and then I actually opened my eyes. Figuratively. Around me were dozens of the same robot, ready to attack me. "Oh."

[Charmera]

-snip

Val's lips curled into a sweet, yet vicious smile at Ashy's acceptance of the offer, nodding to Mir to see if he was alright with this development as well. "Well, I think this ring keeps our powers to a limit. Something Max copied from some sleazy bar in Gotham. We can shut it off if we need to, but why don't we go just based on skill for now?" She asked Ashy, Mir stepping into the ring as well, taking a spot between the two ladies. Looking from one to another, he nodded in confirmation.

"I'll referee this fight, I suppose. No cheap shots, hair pulling, things like that. Strikes, grabs, throws, all are acceptable. Understood?"

Val nodded quickly, "I don't doubt your power right now, Ash, but I do think your skills might be rusty since you last used your body." Mir looked at Val with some confusion, wondering how the girl knew about this, to which, she responded readily. "What? I can eavesdrop if I want to." She sneered, sliding a mouthpiece into her jawline and clenching her gloves together, bouncing up and down to warm up before lowering her upper body and bringing her hands up to protect her face - swaying her shoulders side to side as well.

Mir sounded in his most official voice possible, "Alright then, begin!" Val launched forward with aggressive offense, stepping into a powerful straight punch with her right hand, but it served only as a diversion, executing a by-the-book one-two punch except reversed, with her right hand being the lead while the left was the main attack, bringing it full-force with the added momentum of the first blow, her aim at Ash's head despite her foreign fighting stance.

Ash shrugged. "That sounds acceptable. I would make this a magic duel, but that wouldn't work seeing as you don't really have any magical powers or skills. Your boyfriend does though however... I will have to see what he is capable of there..." She commented idly, getting off track. She realised this and focused once more.

"You're probably not wrong." She replied to the comment about rusty skills. "Well have to see. Even I can't remember how this body works. It's been so very long."

Sharing the attack coming, she reasoned it would be a strike towards the face, considering her opponent was pissed with her and would like nothing better than to see her face bloodied and marred. She didn't even need to read her mind to guess her behaviour patterns. She had studied psychology, behaviour and human minds for some time, so her knowledge and experience would give her the edge in this fight, while her opponet would be used to things like pain and, like she said, ash was a little rusty. Her form was far from perfect and she hadn't put too much attention into hand to hand combat. After all she was a scientist.

As a result, she quickly took action. She dodged the attack to her head by ducking. She then counter attacked with a forceful strike to the stomach. She quickly popped up again, hopping back to react to whatever came next. Allthough, she found herself suddenly distracted by somewhat foreign thoughts, yet they were familiar too...

A thousand eons of numb darkness have robbed our people of sight.

"The blind cannot see the light they must find. And so the people need a sheppard to guide them to-" she stopped herself, realising she had been whispering something. The other two might have heard her, and Val would definetly know she is clearly disteacted...

[Charmera]

Empty City, near UAE

"Damn, Rocky." Odysseus said. Your GF's beating the shit out of that Android. He sure is getting his ass handed to him."

Magnus shuddered. Every blow tina dealt to the android was letting off at least a Magnitude 7 or 8 earthquake. Packing the energy of 30+ atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, it was amazing how the android was managing to maintain intact. As well as having his metal insides tore up by the Archon, he seemed to be visibly choking up blood, from each blow.

The android decided it was enough. Muscles rippling and clothes tearing, he flexed his muscles as he pushed forth his palm, Catching the Archon's rocky fist. Exerting a massive amount of force into his palm, he fastened down onto the Archon’s fist, visibly crackling and breaking her rocky arm. He would have then pushed forth a small Ki wave, enough to push the Archon off of himself.

Super 17 stood up, groggily, visibly bruised and scarred from Tina's attack. One arm was limping, while the other had cuts all over. "God damn you both!"

Magnus and Odysseus looked at each other. Super 17's weakness was clear: beatings. He was durable, but so was tina, and she could dish out a whole lot of pain, too. Since he could already tank Myosai's ki based attacks, it was clear that he needed a good beating.

"Tina! Try kicking his ass more! That worked!"

The Android's head snapped towards them both, as he dove down towards them. Feet first, he crushed a car nearby Odysseus, sending out his opposite leg to strike the super soldier. Odysseus held up his weapon, watching in horror as it snapped in half in front of his face.

"Durability buff.." He kept telling himself, visibly feeling his bones and skin harden. "Don't die.."

Super 17's foot connected to his side, and he felt several ribs snap. Odysseus went flying into a building, slamming into the wall with a THUD.

Magnus dove out of the way of Super 17, forming a rocky Volcanic rock barrier around himself. The android lifted his good arm, a Ghastly, black ball appearing in his palms, charged up by red electric bolts. "Tank this, freaks!" He said, flying upwards to Slam the ball downwards.

Myosai snapped to attention, bolting from the building suddenly. Judging by the amount of energy emitted by the blast, it had the destructive capability of several nukes, and likely would destroy them all, if they had not prepared for it.

"Look out!" She called, sending her foot down right onto the Android's neck.

Super 17 went straight down, through several layers of the city. He penetrated the sewers, and the subway systems, finally landing in an abandoned underground complex, likely a bunker system.

As most everyone recovered, they looked down into the hole in which Myosai had slammed 17 into. "Is he down?" She asked.

"Only one way to find out." Magnus said. "Who's going down there to kick his ass?"

Tina frowned. She began to feel a laziness come over her. "Nah. I got a better idea. Let's bring him to us. " She spoke. She pointed at the hole and forced all the earth, metal, gems, Lava... Anything including the android into one big, massive ball of rock and earth. And then she began forcing It to compress. The android would have to make his way out to avoid being compacted, and Tina was ready to slam his face into even more earth. She had a determined look on her face. "No one hurts my friends. No one..."

[Charmera]

Roy nodded slowly at Katie's words. "Ya, I've seen you help people from the film and the newspaper. It's just, sometimes people aren't who they say they are. You're right though, you have a right to keep somethings to yourself. I'm sorry for snooping, I should have trusted you. I'll leave now." Roy told her sincerely. He was surprised that she didn't yell or hit him. Floyd would have kicked his assistant if he aught him snooping like this, infact, he had before.

"It's okay. Just don't do that again please." She said to him. Then her mind turned back to the computer and the usb stick in her pocket. "Almost forgot about you." She muttered, quickly. She shoved the device into the usb port and quickly uploaded the program within. The progress bar seemed to be quite quick, which made Katie smile, thankful for the incredible internet this place had. "Your lucky I didn't put this in. It's the new security system my boyfriend created. Our powers are keyed into it, so it knows that we're supposed to be here, but any individual who has different powers or none at all coming up here will automatically alert one of us. Me by sending out a electric pulse across the city, which also has a wifi element to warn Cora, our Green Lantern power ring will be able to detect it. Eric and I still have to work on ways to alert our other two members but otherwise, it's rather nice."

She paused. "Oh. Is there anything else you wanted? You know besides hacking our system."

"Eh. We'll see. All goes according to plan we probably won't have to kill anyone at all." She paused, then sighed. "Nope. Completely homeless. I kinda just sleep wherever. I mean I can summon a bed..." She remarked. "I do have money too. Once let the government study me for a bit. Thankfully they didn't screw me over or anything. Which is actually kinda surprising all things considered." As she spoke, she leaned into Nightmare, their bodies pressing against one another.

"That works. Most people are willing to listen when they're wetting themselves in fear. I don't sleep... I can, I just don't have to. Yay! Homeless us. Though it's not that difficult to make money nowadays." He said. "Wait. You did? And they didn't screw you over? Huh. I didn't know that was actually possible. Especially since Martians are pretty strong. I heard the one... Jonn. Knocked around Superman... Ooooh..." He said and put his arm around her. "If we're gonna do... That. Maybe we should go somewhere... Not in public. I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

"It is. That is if your talking about sex or something. Then yes it is rather illegal." Julie replied. "Plus we would probably cause tons of damage or something doing that. Superman and wonder Woman did that and it didn't end well..." She was surprisingly relaxed when talking about sex. She didn't exactly consider it a taboo and wasn't the type to sidestep around things. "We could find a lonely planet somewhere in the galaxy... though you have to take me out to dinner at the very least first." She said, smiling.

[Charmera]

Daniel Carter/NightBlade-38 Yrs-Devil's Den

Just as I had predicted, Ceecee had used the scizzor kick to throw me off balance, and score her second point. While also falling herself, throwing a point in my own direction. She must had believed that the trade off was worth the risk. Perhaps, I have allowed her to get too confident. Regardless, it seems as if she has not suspected me of throwing the point. So, it is time to move in for the end game. I will fight for a win, and I am certain, that a draw will likely fall into place with her head start. As I fell onto my back, I hastily recovered and placed myself up. And entered a stance that was very alien, a form that would be impossible for her to recognize.

That is the case, because the style is that of the White Martians. My most favored alien martial style. One that forgoes almost all thought of defense, and creates a unrelenting onslaught of speed and power. The alien aspect of it, the movements I am hoping will also throw her off form.

White Martian, a style practiced by a now near extinct species. One that could go several rounds with the likes of Superman, so that should convey what kind of power it can achieve in the hands of a white martian. But I am human, so I can only use it to human limits. Even so, it is a brutal style.The reason to use it? Rather simple...

I am showing off now.

I then lurched into the attack, with surprising speed and momentum, delivering a frenzied offensive, of powerful kicks and punches, coordinated in a sporadic pattern and to use the sheer ferocity to back Ceecee into a wall. Where the point will be assured.

August Carter/Ranger-13(20ish Years)-Devil's Den

My real name? She really wants to know? Well, if she is that interested, I suppose I should tell her. I began scratching the back of my head, in my now signature nervous nature. Averting my eyes as I introduced myself. "Well, my name is August." I piped up, keeping my own last name a secret for now.

Alissa? That is much better than Chorus. A beautiful name.

"Alissa, that is a pretty name. It sounds nice, why dont you use that name rather than a stage name?"

I watched as she began to take a sip of her drink and alternate between that and the ice cream.

My own glass was filled with white milk, always a nice treat with ice cream. She then wrote on another napkin, asking if I was a super hero. I had certainly painted myself as one. I gave a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, but...I am pretty new. I was trained by my dad though, he is pretty famous. His name is Sentinel. Also, my mom also trained me some in ki usage and other martial arts, she used to be Robin. But my dad is the strongest at martial arts, no one can beat him." I droned on, oblivious to the fact I was spilling everything about my identity, as my family had been in the news non stop since my father's trial. And my own...disappearance.

Another raised eyebrow. No one can beat him you say? She thought cockily. Challenge accep-

Work some more on your technique, review your sword skills a little more and get your voice back. And then maybe we can do that. Until then you would have to challenge him without a sword.

Chorus paused. You know Sentinel?

Of course. He was on the list.

What list?

There was a pause.

I... can't remember now... I could have sworn I knew

Oh! I know what that is! That's the list of potential wielders for Verse here isn't it?

What? There was a list like that.

Yup. Can't remember why we made it though... Or anything else about it... I think deadpool was on the maybe section.

Before they got too off track, Chorus quickly grabbed another napkin and began writing again.

So you're Daniel Carter's son?

Chorus kept an eye on the news. She remembered little about the trial itself though. She then smiled a little.

So, you're used to talking to celebrities then?

As for my stage name, it's a little hard to explain.

She quickly paused. Then continued writing again after showing him the napkin.

It's more of a Title really.

Also, thanks for calling my name pretty. No one's ever really said that before.

[Tomia]

Roy nodded at Katie's words. He watched her put the USB in the computer and heard her describe what it did. "Really? That's pretty cool." He said with admiration. He thought about her question. He didn't exactly want to go back and sit at a kitchen table alone. "Well what are you working on? You fighting a villain right now aren't you? Maybe I can help." He said to Katie. He really did want to help, to feel useful.

[The Republic of Atria]

Roy nodded slowly at Katie's words. "Ya, I've seen you help people from the film and the newspaper. It's just, sometimes people aren't who they say they are. You're right though, you have a right to keep somethings to yourself. I'm sorry for snooping, I should have trusted you. I'll leave now." Roy told her sincerely. He was surprised that she didn't yell or hit him. Floyd would have kicked his assistant if he aught him snooping like this, infact, he had before.

"It's okay. Just don't do that again please." She said to him. Then her mind turned back to the computer and the usb stick in her pocket. "Almost forgot about you." She muttered, quickly. She shoved the device into the usb port and quickly uploaded the program within. The progress bar seemed to be quite quick, which made Katie smile, thankful for the incredible internet this place had. "Your lucky I didn't put this in. It's the new security system my boyfriend created. Our powers are keyed into it, so it knows that we're supposed to be here, but any individual who has different powers or none at all coming up here will automatically alert one of us. Me by sending out a electric pulse across the city, which also has a wifi element to warn Cora, our Green Lantern power ring will be able to detect it. Eric and I still have to work on ways to alert our other two members but otherwise, it's rather nice."

She paused. "Oh. Is there anything else you wanted? You know besides hacking our system."

"That works. Most people are willing to listen when they're wetting themselves in fear. I don't sleep... I can, I just don't have to. Yay! Homeless us. Though it's not that difficult to make money nowadays." He said. "Wait. You did? And they didn't screw you over? Huh. I didn't know that was actually possible. Especially since Martians are pretty strong. I heard the one... Jonn. Knocked around Superman... Ooooh..." He said and put his arm around her. "If we're gonna do... That. Maybe we should go somewhere... Not in public. I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

"It is. That is if your talking about sex or something. Then yes it is rather illegal." Julie replied. "Plus we would probably cause tons of damage or something doing that. Superman and wonder Woman did that and it didn't end well..." She was surprisingly relaxed when talking about sex. She didn't exactly consider it a taboo and wasn't the type to sidestep around things. "We could find a lonely planet somewhere in the galaxy... though you have to take me out to dinner at the very least first." She said, smiling.

"I was.... It that obvious? But yeah... We would, wouldn't we?" He asked. "Exploring the universe is always fun. That could be something we do. It's not like Earth really needs us... There's at least 2 Kryptonians, Blondie. And a bunch more people who can fight them. I'm sure they don't need us around. I wonder if we could start a Rent-a-Hero thing... I mean Earth ain't the only one with problems." He explained. "Sure it's probably a terrible idea. But come on. People look at Superman and they feel safe and protected. Everyone deserves that feeling." He thought. "We're shapeshifters. That means so much more than just making us look more attractive. It doesn't matter what they look we. We can take their appearance and give people hope."

He grinned at the dinner comment. "I would love to. But you're the one with the money. I mean I could always steal some from the many meth labs. Victimless crime."

[Bentus]

Mia Aveline – Devil’s Den
During the fight

---

Mia’s eyes brightened, her mood performing an immediate flip, as soon as Sentinel brought up the possibility of a battle between him and CeeCee. She held back a girlish squeal of excitement, her hands tightening on her dress instead in an effort to contain a noticeable outburst.

“I am sure Mia here would like to, see you in action.”

The implied hint behind Sentinel’s words forced a slight rose tint to once again rise up in Mia’s features, as she averted her eyes sheepishly. Had it really been so obvious that Daniel could have figured out her intentions so quickly? At the same time, Mia felt a flush of vindication and giddy pride well up in her chest. She risked a momentary glance in CeeCee’s direction to see if the woman would react; surely they must’ve had some kind of mutual connection if Sentinel had so easily picked up on it. Mia’s thoughts raced on ahead optimistically, imagining that she and CeeCee had both shared a moment that had awoken both of their minds to the other: it could only mean that they were destined to be soul-mates. However, the young woman felt a nagging disappointment as the hero seemed to miss out on Sentinel’s subtle double-meaning entirely; but it still could do little to dissuade her passionate excitement for the upcoming battle. Even if it was to be fairly tame.

While the fight between CeeCee and Killer Croc had been magnificent, it had left Mia parched for more. She’d hoped against hope that she’d be able to see CeeCee in battle again, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that she’d be fortunate enough to watch the two most amazing heroes in the world go toe-to-toe. It was all that Mia could do to sit breathless between them, her eyes darting from left to right as the pair of expert warriors sparred with their words even before the fight – sizing up their opponent and their capabilities out of mutual respect. The calculated, matter-of-fact tone of Sentinel sent a slight shiver down Mia’s spine: it was devoid of over-confidence or narcism, purely composed deference and observations of his opponent – the man was entirely in his element. CeeCee seemed to be almost as eager for the bout as Mia herself, but refused to make the error of underestimating her opponent.

Even as the duo entered into the arena, surrounded by the ecstatic shouts and encouragement of the spectators from the sidelines, they continued to assess the other like a pair of hawks. They were gauging each other’s movements with an almost subconscious ease, assessing their strengths and the slightest weakness. Mia looked at the pair with something akin to admiration and longing, a sharp pain in her chest as she realised just how far above her league the pair of them were. One day. One day, I’ll be good enough for them – and then they’ll fight me like this. Butterflies fluttered in Mia’s stomach as she pictured herself where Sentinel now stood, receiving the same look of recognition and attention from CeeCee – being treated as her equal and looked upon as such. And then Daniel launched himself into the first kick.

Mia’s wide eyes desperately tried to follow every fluid movement, tracking each punch and each swing without even daring to blink for a moment – lest she fail to commit a single scene of the fight to memory. She could hear bets constantly being placed, overwhelmingly in CeeCee’s favour of course, and felt a sudden sense of indecision as to whom she was supporting. Cries of support and energetic encouragement got caught in her throat as they found that they lacked an intended target. On the one hand Mia would never wish any harm to befall her precious CeeCee, if Sentinel beat her in a fair fight and she was being taught by Sentinel… then would that make her appear more experienced and worthy in the warrior’s eyes?

While she struggled to deal with this pressing moral dilemma, Mia suddenly felt the uneasy sensation of being watched. At first she tried to ignore it in the hopes that it would go away, uninclined as she was to turn away from the bout in the arena, but in the end she risked a quick glance over her shoulder to the bar. Her eyes widened in shock as they fell upon a familiar red silhouette, one which had been seared by hatred and fury into her memory. What is he doing here? Mia looked back nervously at Sentinel and CeeCee in the arena, fear suddenly gripping at her heart as the prospect of all of her delicately groomed plans collapsing in a moment. She’d come so close, able to stand right beside her hero, and now he could mess it all up. All thoughts of enjoying the spectacle escaped from her priorities as Mia realised that she had to do something before that man ruined everything she’d achieved.

Kross was still sitting at the bar, turned away from where Mia had been standing, when she pressed the serrated edge of her parasol up against his neck – only barely preventing herself from digging it into his flesh since she knew it wouldn’t do any good in the Den. “Who the hell are you?” Mia hissed through gritted teeth – whispering in case anyone overheard. She was unsure why she actually cared to hear the answer and irritated by the realisation that she did.

“Hey Missy, put it away – club rules.” The bartender gave the instruction in almost a bored tone, as if he'd seen too many almost-bar-fights to really care enough to pay too much attention.

Mia shot a threatening glare at the bartender, holding her position behind the focus of her loathing for a few more moments before lowering her weapon and trying to sit down on the stool beside him without drawing anymore undue attention. She couldn’t allow CeeCee or Daniel to realise who he was, it was too early.

“Leave. Now.” She smirked, "Or did I not kick your butt hard enough to get the message through your thick, neanderthal skull?"

---

Mia Aveline - Gotham City
After the fight

---

Mia tried to push all thoughts of her encounter with Kross from her mind, focusing on the mission with Daniel and CeeCee. The city seemed to be pretty much deserted, although the almost omnipresent sounds of gunfire and screaming which had greeted her the last time she'd come home didn't seem to be present. She was looking forward to being able to see Jester and Silver Queen again, certain that they'd enjoy her surprise visit as much as she was going to. The prospect of meeting the Joker was less thrilling. While the man was infamous throughout the world, Mia thought that he was pretty old new, a tad cliché. Moreover, he had no sense of honour or moral standards - how could Mia ever respect someone like that? Still, fighting him was sure to be interesting in it's own right - and doing so alongside CeeCee and Sentinel promised to be thrilling.

A quick shake of the head was sufficient to respond to Daniel's request for any questions, although Mia turned to look at CeeCee before they temporarily parted ways. The young woman smiled innocently and tilted her head slightly. "Stay safe, CeeCee."

[Charmera]

Roy nodded at Katie's words. He watched her put the USB in the computer and heard her describe what it did. "Really? That's pretty cool." He said with admiration. He thought about her question. He didn't exactly want to go back and sit at a kitchen table alone. "Well what are you working on? You fighting a villain right now aren't you? Maybe I can help." He said to Katie. He really did want to help, to feel useful.

"Well. I'm not sure what you could do exactly..." She replied, then sighed and shrugged. "But I suppose I should keep an eye on you, don't want you sneaking away again. Plus we probably could use all the help we can get on this. It's a real headscratcher." She replied, winking softly as she suddenlt grabbed Roy's hand and jumped towards the computer. Though instead of smashing into it they both were electrically transported back to the lab. "Sorry guys, gonna have to break the rules." She spoke as she appeared before Val and Cora. "But Roy wanted to help us, so i decided to see if he could."

"It's okay. Just don't do that again please." She said to him. Then her mind turned back to the computer and the usb stick in her pocket. "Almost forgot about you." She muttered, quickly. She shoved the device into the usb port and quickly uploaded the program within. The progress bar seemed to be quite quick, which made Katie smile, thankful for the incredible internet this place had. "Your lucky I didn't put this in. It's the new security system my boyfriend created. Our powers are keyed into it, so it knows that we're supposed to be here, but any individual who has different powers or none at all coming up here will automatically alert one of us. Me by sending out a electric pulse across the city, which also has a wifi element to warn Cora, our Green Lantern power ring will be able to detect it. Eric and I still have to work on ways to alert our other two members but otherwise, it's rather nice."

She paused. "Oh. Is there anything else you wanted? You know besides hacking our system."


"It is. That is if your talking about sex or something. Then yes it is rather illegal." Julie replied. "Plus we would probably cause tons of damage or something doing that. Superman and wonder Woman did that and it didn't end well..." She was surprisingly relaxed when talking about sex. She didn't exactly consider it a taboo and wasn't the type to sidestep around things. "We could find a lonely planet somewhere in the galaxy... though you have to take me out to dinner at the very least first." She said, smiling.

"I was.... It that obvious? But yeah... We would, wouldn't we?" He asked. "Exploring the universe is always fun. That could be something we do. It's not like Earth really needs us... There's at least 2 Kryptonians, Blondie. And a bunch more people who can fight them. I'm sure they don't need us around. I wonder if we could start a Rent-a-Hero thing... I mean Earth ain't the only one with problems." He explained. "Sure it's probably a terrible idea. But come on. People look at Superman and they feel safe and protected. Everyone deserves that feeling." He thought. "We're shapeshifters. That means so much more than just making us look more attractive. It doesn't matter what they look we. We can take their appearance and give people hope."

He grinned at the dinner comment. "I would love to. But you're the one with the money. I mean I could always steal some from the many meth labs. Victimless crime."

"True. Though we don't really need to take payment for that. And I think the idea of instilling people with hope is a good one. It's one I've tried to do myself for so long. Something I hope I can aspire to." She remarked. "It's part of why I have the no killing rule for myself. You kinda have to set an example after all. And if your doing stuff that is kinda like what the baddies are doing, then it gets all muddied." She commented. She then gave him a wide smile and another kiss on the cheek. "Well I wouldn't mind being surprised by something. And there are other ways to earn money with superpowers than stealing. Though meth labs kinda do have it coming..."

[Siliarba]

CeeCee & DeeDee
Gotham City

Three to three, seems it ended in a draw, it was to be expected in a way, but regardless it was time to get the real show on the road against the Joker. Assuming Daniel was right about his location, but there was no reason to disbelief him, he had a better chance of knowing what this Joker was up to than me after all. Before leaving the Den a quick chat was needed with DeeDee though, she was to be found at the bar, where else would she be. "Hey D. I'm leaving for a bit, how about we test how this barrier influences our separation if one leaves and one stays." DeeDee laughed a bit, she had trouble not straight up yelling out what was going on with that Mia girl to CeeCee, but she kept it to herself and being random is what she did best.

"You lovebirds go had fun, but at least let me draw a magic circle on your suit first. That way if I feel something pulling me away from here to you, I'll teleport and minimum the fusion damage." CeeCee was confused with how DeeDee opened her sentence though "Lovebirds?" she quietly said under her breath, but quickly shook it off as DeeDee just being DeeDee, in the end she was beginning to get drunk and CeeCee could feel it. "Fine draw your circle, and take care of this place wile I'm gone." "Got it boss" DeeDee replied giggling like a schoolgirl. As soon as CeeCee left the building and left the building's suppression field she was relieved to not instantly feel a pull dragging her back to the Devil's Den. At this point DeeDee climbed the bar at the Devil's Den though and began shouting "Next round is on the house people, let's celebrate this places opening wildly!" CeeCee nearly turned around and ran back to the place realizing putting DeeDee in charge wile she was gone might not be the best idea. But there was no turning back now, and the Devil's Den would survive. It was good publicity after all.

"We will split into two teams. Myself and Mia, will head straight for the front door of the Funhouse Toy Factory. Drawing as much of the attention as possible. Ceecee, you will be our shadow team, move unseen and disrupt their efforts covertly. Trigger alarms in the wrong places, bring down communication equipment, hack files and send false orders if you can. Ensure these gangs cannot act in a coordinated manner. One we are on the inside of the factory, we will regroup and search for the Joker and his company. No one should be alone when they enter the Joker's Funhouse." I then drew my blade, while holding a submachine gun in my off hand.

"Sounds good to me." CeeCee activated her suit, it almost looked like a liquid before she had it completely on and it turned in the suit it was designed to be. It was completely repaired again having no trace from the fight with killer Croc left on it, but it did adorn a magic circle on the back of the suit it didn't have before. It looked purely like a sort of decoration as with no magic to activate it, it was simply a pretty drawing. As the suit was on CeeCee moved to the wall of the building and prepared to begin climbing it.

A quick shake of the head was sufficient to respond to Daniel's request for any questions, although Mia turned to look at CeeCee before they temporarily parted ways. The young woman smiled innocently and tilted her head slightly. "Stay safe, CeeCee."

"Don't worry about me I can handle myself and wounds heal rather quickly for me, you saw the condition I was in after facing Croc, I was healed before sunrise next morning. I'm more worried about you, stay in one piece Mia." Having said that CeeCee began climbing the wall of the building in a way that resembled Catwoman's climbing skills and quickly reached the roof where she found an entrance in to an air duct big enough for her to sneak through. She first threw a mine that she could detonate remotely to the other side of the roof in case she ever needed to cause a distraction and jumped in the air ducts.

[New Rob Halfordia]

"Oh please." He snickered sitting down Obviously unimpressed. "I've killed beings that would fart you out of existence with one hand tied behind my back. Not only that, you barely held your own against me the last time we fought. And that was when I was holding back. Go ahead, flail around and try to hit me. You've never touched me Frosty. And you never will. I've had a bit of a revelation in the last few days. I've been feeling sorry for myself because of some things I've done in the past. And then I realized... I'm beyond such silly nonsense. Just like I'm beyond you. You are no greater threat to me than... For your sake, I'll say an ice cube. If I'm being generous. I could draw angry eyes on it so it represents you." He was through pulling punches and horsing around. This Speed Demon was more than happy to go all out at the beginning.

Frostbite's suddenly realized that this fight wouldn't be a very easy one, with Kilian not holding back. He had hoped that it would be like before, when Kilian was just messing around. With his new powers, Frost could have destroyed that Kilian, but that was no longer the case. Frost's eyes changed again, as he realized the Omega Effect would not be enough to win this fight. His eyes turned black, with small star like specks, and a white square indicating his pupil. An incredible amount of strain was put on his body, and mind, as a vast amount of knowledge entered his mind, and his power took a massive spike. But, he still wasn't sure is even the Power Cosmic would be enough to defeat an unrestrained speedster.

Suddenly, he realized something, and spoke to Kilian, "Speed Demon, let us take this fight somewhere else. My people don't need to suffer for our battle. Besides, this bridge is somewhat small. Too small for this battle to occur.", he said, using his cosmic awareness to search out a barren planet not far from Arcos, "There is a barren desert planet about a lightyear from here. With you speed, it shouldn't take you long to find."

With that, Frost teleported away, arriving at the planet, and well expecting Kilian to have been their for some amount of time. He was the type to show off.

[Treko]

-snip-

Westley Adams/Kross Stitch - Devil’s Den

"Look! There seems to a margarita in my hand which means I'm drinking!" I said while I finished off the margarita before nodding to the bartender for another. This girl..umm...what's her name? Oh yeah, Marionett. She must not really be an observant person or something to not notice the 5 drinks around me. Well, I can't really get mad at her for something as little as this, but I let her dwell on her actions. I did the same thing not so long ago, I mean, it was with a knife in my chest though. God...how did I managed to go around without noticing it for a week? Guess it wasn't really hurting me or the fact my ass got kicked by her was impeding my ability to feel pain. Love it's a weird thing, right? No...I can't be falling for this shit. She kicked my ass and now I'm falling for her? What the literal shit!? This not how my 16 Candles dream was playing out for me. Where was my handsome man? When do I go to a church and get picked up? I was going to need to have a talk with John Hughes. He is going to answer to me even if that glorious bastard is dead.

I really must have been into talking myself for I had almost missed what Mia had asked me, “Who the hell are you?”

"Who am I? I am the great...no...the powerful? No. I'm Westley Adams or Kross Stitch." She must not remember me or something. Poor girl, the ass kicking I gave her must have really hurt her.

“Leave. Now.” She smirked, "Or did I not kick your butt hard enough to get the message through your thick, neanderthal skull?"

"Whoa, calm down there kitty. Retract those claws first then we'll talk." I said while pretending to block with crudely made kung fu defenses, "You know you're pretty cute when you're angry. Plus, that pink is really growing on me."

[The Republic of Atria]

"Oh please." He snickered sitting down Obviously unimpressed. "I've killed beings that would fart you out of existence with one hand tied behind my back. Not only that, you barely held your own against me the last time we fought. And that was when I was holding back. Go ahead, flail around and try to hit me. You've never touched me Frosty. And you never will. I've had a bit of a revelation in the last few days. I've been feeling sorry for myself because of some things I've done in the past. And then I realized... I'm beyond such silly nonsense. Just like I'm beyond you. You are no greater threat to me than... For your sake, I'll say an ice cube. If I'm being generous. I could draw angry eyes on it so it represents you." He was through pulling punches and horsing around. This Speed Demon was more than happy to go all out at the beginning.

Frostbite's suddenly realized that this fight wouldn't be a very easy one, with Kilian not holding back. He had hoped that it would be like before, when Kilian was just messing around. With his new powers, Frost could have destroyed that Kilian, but that was no longer the case. Frost's eyes changed again, as he realized the Omega Effect would not be enough to win this fight. His eyes turned black, with small star like specks, and a white square indicating his pupil. An incredible amount of strain was put on his body, and mind, as a vast amount of knowledge entered his mind, and his power took a massive spike. But, he still wasn't sure is even the Power Cosmic would be enough to defeat an unrestrained speedster.

Suddenly, he realized something, and spoke to Kilian, "Speed Demon, let us take this fight somewhere else. My people don't need to suffer for our battle. Besides, this bridge is somewhat small. Too small for this battle to occur.", he said, using his cosmic awareness to search out a barren planet not far from Arcos, "There is a barren desert planet about a lightyear from here. With you speed, it shouldn't take you long to find."

With that, Frost teleported away, arriving at the planet, and well expecting Kilian to have been their for some amount of time. He was the type to show off.

"Whaddya know, there is some sanity in there after all. Sure. Whatever planet you want to die on is fine with me." He said and followed Frost to the planet he chose. "God... I feels so good to let go... For years I've been that goofball. Arrogant, mouthy, stupid... I've grown. I've learned and lost things. For instance. I saw that one of my biggest weaknesses is that I hold back. Because I want to see the best in people. I wanted to give second chances. I wanted to be like Flash! Like Superman! But I've learned that some people don't deserve that." He smiled and his eyes had lighting arcing between them. "Let's go Frost. The only way you're leaving this planet is when you're nothing more than a greasy smear on the end of my fist. Let's go. I'll even give you the first shot."

[Empire of the Siberian Flaming Eskimos]

Salis' eyes widened in surprise as Jenny split the bullet mid air. Suddenly a cold feeling crept up his legs as she began to blow. Annoyed with himself for being shocked into inaction, he quickly formed portals around his feet in order to break the ice's hold on him. He then reeled back as a sudden blow came towards his hand, barely missing it's mark. Dissolving the portals on his legs, Salis ran forward in retaliation. As he passed by the girl he shoved his glock into her gut and unloaded the last of the clip into her. Continuing to move forwar, he ran into a portal and appeared on the other side of the arena, reloading as he went. Salis the. Created a portal eight feet in diameter directly under Jenny and set the exit high in the air a few feet in front of her. As she fell through, Salis closed the entrance around her ankles in order to keep her suspended there.

[New Rob Halfordia]

Frostbite's suddenly realized that this fight wouldn't be a very easy one, with Kilian not holding back. He had hoped that it would be like before, when Kilian was just messing around. With his new powers, Frost could have destroyed that Kilian, but that was no longer the case. Frost's eyes changed again, as he realized the Omega Effect would not be enough to win this fight. His eyes turned black, with small star like specks, and a white square indicating his pupil. An incredible amount of strain was put on his body, and mind, as a vast amount of knowledge entered his mind, and his power took a massive spike. But, he still wasn't sure is even the Power Cosmic would be enough to defeat an unrestrained speedster.

Suddenly, he realized something, and spoke to Kilian, "Speed Demon, let us take this fight somewhere else. My people don't need to suffer for our battle. Besides, this bridge is somewhat small. Too small for this battle to occur.", he said, using his cosmic awareness to search out a barren planet not far from Arcos, "There is a barren desert planet about a lightyear from here. With you speed, it shouldn't take you long to find."

With that, Frost teleported away, arriving at the planet, and well expecting Kilian to have been their for some amount of time. He was the type to show off.

"Whaddya know, there is some sanity in there after all. Sure. Whatever planet you want to die on is fine with me." He said and followed Frost to the planet he chose. "God... I feels so good to let go... For years I've been that goofball. Arrogant, mouthy, stupid... I've grown. I've learned and lost things. For instance. I saw that one of my biggest weaknesses is that I hold back. Because I want to see the best in people. I wanted to give second chances. I wanted to be like Flash! Like Superman! But I've learned that some people don't deserve that." He smiled and his eyes had lighting arcing between them. "Let's go Frost. The only way you're leaving this planet is when you're nothing more than a greasy smear on the end of my fist. Let's go. I'll even give you the first shot."

Frostbite glared at Kilian, "You are the only thing truly standing between me and the cleansing of the universe. Even you aren't invincible, and I'll find a way to get rid of you.", Frostbite said, suddenly focusing. The Power Cosmic was limited within him, as it was still but a fraction of Galactus' full power. But, he found what he was looking for in almost no time. He snickered, "Well, that could work.", he said, sticking out his hand, and channeling a large amount of cosmic energy.

Suddenly, the planet around them dropped massively in temperature, by hundreds of degrees almost instantaneously, before sitting at just under −273° Celsius. Absolute Zero. The desert planet quickly went from sand to ice, and the atmosphere began to freeze over. Frostbite snickered, "Fitting, given my name, don't you think?", he asked condescendingly, hiding his exhaustion from such an act. Using the Power Cosmic was so easy task, and he lost a majority of the power he gained from it in that one act, and in attempting to maintain this power. But, even if barely, he was able to continue using it.

Breathing somewhat heavily, the Arcosian continued his taunting, "So, would you still like me to take the first shot?", he asked, with a snicker.

[The Starlight]

Roy nodded at Katie's words. He watched her put the USB in the computer and heard her describe what it did. "Really? That's pretty cool." He said with admiration. He thought about her question. He didn't exactly want to go back and sit at a kitchen table alone. "Well what are you working on? You fighting a villain right now aren't you? Maybe I can help." He said to Katie. He really did want to help, to feel useful.

"Well. I'm not sure what you could do exactly..." She replied, then sighed and shrugged. "But I suppose I should keep an eye on you, don't want you sneaking away again. Plus we probably could use all the help we can get on this. It's a real headscratcher." She replied, winking softly as she suddenlt grabbed Roy's hand and jumped towards the computer. Though instead of smashing into it they both were electrically transported back to the lab. "Sorry guys, gonna have to break the rules." She spoke as she appeared before Val and Cora. "But Roy wanted to help us, so i decided to see if he could."

Val frowned slightly at Roy's appearance, and the fact that they had come through a computer, meaning that he had been accessing a computer. And since Katie had sensed something, he must have been doing something nefarious, or something like that. It seemed like he had trust issues, and it appeared she would have to as well. She had wanted to trust him, but she knew nothing about him, and until she found that out and observed his behavior, trust would be something she would withold. He had started off badly, but it would have to be seen how he acted.

"I've been running a few tests, and it seems that the blood is volatile to fire or really any kind of heat, definitely supporting that this new villain is at least part-demon. Based on the fire, I next tried ice, and the blood almost seemed to shy away from that, suggesting a weakness there. And taking a look at the DNA, I'm no genome sequencer, but something's definitely different from human DNA. There are parts of human DNA, and then there's other things..." Val said, not quite sure how to describe them.

[Tomia]

Roy was glad when Katie said he could help. Then suddenly Katie grabbed his hand and jumped into the computer. He was sure they were going to crash when suddenly they disappeared and we're traveling through the wires. The experience was surreal and before Roy knew it they were standing in the lab with Cora and Valancy. "Wow, that was awesome!" He exclaimed, smiling out of character. He then saw Valancy frowning at him and felt bad. He should have trusted her. She had been kind to him and he her wrong. HD was glad that she didn't say anything about it in front of Cora and Katie. He gave her an apologetic look before she began to speak.

Roy listened intently to Valancy's words. He was fascinated by them. He was quite interested in science and this villain seemed really cool. He then thought of something, something Floyd had told him a while back. "Well, I've heard about these plants that exist. Apparently they OK nly grow in the harshest climates in the world. It's said that they hold magical properties, that they can heal you or make you achieve incredible feats... but there's a price. They take away your humanity, in terrible ways. I don't know how specifically. I never really asked. Apparently it's dark magic that was created centuries ago. I tried not to think about it." Roy said, blushing a but as he realized he had just spoken out like that.

[Bentus]

-snip-

-snip-

Mia Aveline – Devil’s Den
During the fight

---

Mia looked at the bar in front of Kross, seeming to notice the liberal helping of empty glasses for the first time with a look of disdain. She seemed to be almost repulsed by the used vessels and the copious quantities of alcohol which they implied that this Stitch had consumed. Never in her life had she understood some peoples’ obsession with the effects of alcohol, Mia had never really touched the stuff – it was just dirty and filthy and foul. Who would ever want to put something like that into their body? It seemed to irrevocably confirm her first impressions of the man: he was nothing more than an uneducated barbarian.

"Whoa, calm down there kitty. Retract those claws first then we'll talk." Mia bit back an immediate retort, mulling over her options. She could feel her anger rising incessantly, there was simply something about being around this Kross that set all of her nerves on edge – and Mia hated it. Still, perhaps it would be useful to endure for a few moments, after all she’d already gained one essential piece of information: the man’s name. Mia glanced over at the arena, where the fight between CeeCee and Daniel was still approaching its climax. The young woman bit her lip in dismay, incredulous that she was actually choosing to miss the fight of the century in return for spending some time with this insufferable baboon. It’s what CeeCee would do, she would’ve been entirely focused on her mission and wouldn’t have allowed anything to distract her. The thought solidified Mia’s determination. Yes, she was sticking around to see what information Kross would let slip; it was purely for professional reasons.

"You know you're pretty cute when you're angry. Plus, that pink is really growing on me."

“Thank you, it’s my favourite col – NO. You’re not allowed to do that! I’m…” Mia sighed to herself. She had instinctively started to respond, momentarily forgetting who it was that was sitting next to her. She bristled at her error, immediately cutting herself off in frustration and turning to the bartender in an effort to prevent Kross from noticing the slight rush of colour to her cheeks. No one had ever so bluntly complimented her before, or at least not in a setting like this, or at least not someone like Kross – and most definitely not when she was the ‘Marionette’ instead of ‘Miss Aveline’. It was such a crude way of praising somebody, so direct and unimaginative! Honestly, everything that Kross did seemed to be intended to push her buttons in the wrong way.

Just then, the bartender returned with Kross’ next round of margaritas. Mia glowered at the glass, for some reason feeling like the man was mocking her in some way. Anything he can do, I can do better. “I’ll have one of those myself, please.” She asked the bartender sweetly. The man raised an eyebrow, failing to understand the situation at all, but merely shrugged his shoulder as he presented the woman with the beverage. Mia wasted no time in lifting the glass to her lips, downing half of it in a single draught – which elicited a feeling of success. Hah! This is easy, let’s see him one-up that.

“Fine. How about this, I ask you a question and then you get to ask me one?” She didn’t wait for Kross to respond. “Where’d you get your powers?” Mia had to admit that she was more than a little bit curious, noting how similar the man’s abilities seemed to be to her own – although her’s were evidently by far superior. “And you’re not allowed to lie.”

An unexpected hiccup shook Mia’s petite frame, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. Where had that come from?

[The Republic of Atria]

"There are plenty of people who will stand against you. If not me, then that chick who's acting as the new Odin. Or Ponyboy and his admittedly attractive girlfriend. We've dealt with stronger would be conquerers. You're just really not worth the time for more than one of us." He said and noticed that the temperature began to drop sharply. He began to vibrate to counter it, but it was close if not absolute zero. "A-And here... I-I thought we were g-gonna have a real fight. I'm d-disappointed. You must be really scared to fight me f-for real if this is h-how you do it. F-Fine. K-Kill me now and I'll die happy knowing that you were too afraid to face me in real combat." A gambit. Frost was using the power cosmic. He wasn't sure if Frostbite would run out of gas before he froze to death. But by attacking his ego, calling him a coward, hopefully would mean that Frost would fight him for real rather than using tricks to win. It wasn't like he could fight at this temperature. All of his speed was going to keeping himself alive.