We Were Never Heroes (A Superhero RP) IC

[United Human Planets]

Zaahir jumped when Blake yelled, and whipped around to see what the fuss was about. He hadn't really processed her words, he was just surprised at the sudden noise. It wast until he was already looking that he realized what she had said, and he tried to decide how he felt when she wasnt naked. In the end he decided that he didn't really care, though he wouldn't have minded if it it was the opposite case. Most people probably would have felt dirty at that realization, but Zaahir was already to busy petting his sweater again.

The blonde boy started stammering, and Zaahir stared at him blankly as he followed Blake up the hill, before he started walking after them, taking up the tail of their little precision. They passed through the yard of a neighbor, and Blake waved pleasantly at an old woman who peered out at them, suspicion on he face. Zedekiah didnt seem to notice her, and as Zaahir passed he gave the woman a look, trying to tell her with his body language that what was going on right now, that didnt concern nosy neighbors.

Blake called out to another person when they got to the top of the little hill, overlooking the target house. He came up beside her and Zeke, and saw Victoria, the girl from the warehouse. The three made their way down to meet her, and the younger girl looked the three over, her eyes noticibly staying longer on Zedekiah. The three started talking, and Zaahir just waited by. He wasn't totally sure what they were supposed to be doing, now that they were there, but he figured they needed to get inside somehow.

[Independent States of Tula]

Włodzisław "Hussar" Sokoloff
Driving to the Warehouse, Seattle, WA

“Thanks, Hussar.” Sarah replied to Sokoloff's praise before adding “Though to be fair, if I could walk off being shot in the gut, I’d probably take bullets more often; build up an immunity or something.”

Sokoloff chuckled a little bit at that before replying "Trust me, it still hurts like hell, you wouldn't want to make a point of getting shot every time you could if you were in my shoes."

After that Sarah jumped back into the backseat to keep an eye on Mike Cross and do an impromptu search of his pockets. This left Sokoloff alone to his thoughts as he drove through Seattle, doing his best to remember where the warehouse was in comparison to his location.

As he was taking a turn though Sarah suddenly came to a realization and called up to him from the backseat “Wait…Jumper? The hell with that, I’m picking a proper name when we get back to base…”

Sokoloff just smirked and shook his head slightly before replying "Well, I can't well call you by your actual name, so don't blame me for the codename. If this guy somehow escapes the first thing on his mind will be who we are and how to get back at us, we'll need to leave as little of a trace as possible, even if we dispose of him permanently afterwards. Hell, I even have to burn the passport and IDs I used to get to this country...hmm...I'll have to burn the car too...at least the rental agency thinks someone named Gerig rented the thing."

[Beiarusia]

HOA “BLAKE” NZUYEN
the Home of Robert Klein, Ames Lake, Seattle, WA

---

...

“Zaahir and Zedekiah,” Blake said as she introduced the others, pointing at each in turn. “Two Z’s in a pod. So… I guess you already tried the door since you’re all out here? That means we have to break in, right? I’ve never did anything like this before, but it’s so cool, like, we’re detectives working on a case but we play by our own rules.”

Blake skirted around the dusty car and made way towards the back door. It was a glass sliding door with vertical venetian curtains. Placing her face against the glass, Blake peered inside as best she could, and though she couldn’t see much she was quite certain that no one was home. She tried the door anyway and, surprise, it was locked. Blake was never a rebel and so had no clue as to how to break in aside from finding a large rock and smashing the glass, but even she knew that that was likely a bad idea. Maybe the others could help out.

“Any of you guys know how to pick a lock?”

[The Warriors of the Sun]

Zedekiah McMurry
Ames Lake, Seattle

Zedekiah waved awkwardly and offered an even more awkward attempt at a smile to Victoria when Blake introduced him. Something he immediately regretted, but let go of quite quickly. This day had been full of blunders in his eyes that something as small as waving oddly didn't seem like a big deal in comparison. However, Blake was soon on the move again assumidly excited by the situation they were in. And Zedekiah was getting the feeling that Blake was the kind of person who didn't stay still for long.

Zedekiah trailed a few feet behind Blake, not sure what to do next, but sure that Blake probably knew what she was doing. He had been sticking to her side this whole time and he hadn't befallen any misfortune yet, save for the social suicide he felt he comitted on a daily basis. Blake headed towards the back of the house and tried the door to no avail. “Any of you guys know how to pick a lock?” asked Blake after trying the locked door.

Zedekiah felt in his stomach flutter as he realized he had a solution. With a bit too much enthusiasm for Zedekiah's taste and with a rare smile he said, "No, but I think I can get the door open!"

He walked over to the sliding door and put his hand up against the door while softly saying, "Hey buddy, do you mind moving out of the way?" To his relief the sliding door complied rather than attacking him or his companions as was the case in past attempts. A click could be heard as the lock opened and then the door began to inch itself open. Bending upward and pushing its body forward like a caterpillar until there was a gap big enough for a human to enter comfortably. Zedekiah placed his hand on the door once more and softly said, "Thank you," as the life left the door, stiffening.

As he removed his hand a second time he caught his reflection in the glass. And he realized in his excitement he forgot about the cost of his power, blood was pouring out of his mouth. It wasn't enough to be a medical emergency, but it was enough that simply wiping his arm across his lower lips did nothing, but smeer the blood. Zedekiah stepped to the side and turned away from the group, embarassed about his blunder, and quickly kept attempting to wipe the blood away before others could notice.

[Beiarusia]

HOA “BLAKE” NZUYEN
the Home of Robert Klein, Ames Lake, Seattle, WA

---

...

Blake watched in amazement as the door simply caterpillared itself open. She had never seen anything like it before, whether it be in comics or on the television, and simply trying to understand how an object could seemingly come to life with only a mere touch was mind boggling. Variants could do so much more than stereotypical heroics that the girl was simply at a loss for words.

Well, for a brief moment she was. “That. Was. Awesome!” She said aloud as she peeked her head through the curtains and into the kitchen which was bigger than her entire apartment alone. Blake pulled back and allowed the curtains to swing back into place with a plastic crack they made when each blind hit another. “How do you do that? Is there some magic word you have to say? I saw you say something but I didn’t quite catch it. Can you do it with anything? Like, can you touch my skirt and make it come to… eh, on second thought let’s not try and find out. But, like, awesome.”

The excitable young woman was about to wave the others inside when she saw Zedekiah wipe at his face as he stepped away from the group. Blake, always the one to act on impulse, hurried over and peered around to get a better look. She paused at the sight of blood.

“Oh my god! Are you… are you okay?” She looked around in a small panic, finding that she didn’t really have any way to help him. Then, as quickly as she’d come over to Zedekiah she was gone, pushing her way inside the house and coming out with some paper towels that she had found on the counter. Bunching several in her hand she forcibly placed them against the bleeding man’s face and chin in a misguided effort to help. Fortunately for Zedekiah she had the good sense to simply hand him the paper towels and allow him to handle himself. “Sorry. Are you alright? Is that… is that normal?”


Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
the Twins, Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

...

Maria was still fuming when the vampire asked where each person needed to be dropped off. The painted woman had been so caught up in her agitation that she hadn’t even given thought to what to do now that they had failed. There wasn’t much else they could do, so it would likely be best to rethink their strategy for another day. The delay was painful to accept but there wasn’t any other choice.

“The warehouse is fine,” Maria told Leonid.

She’d discuss the matter with the Benefactor and would send for the others in the morning once they had an idea of where to go next. It was something.

[Altito Asmoro]

Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
the Twins, Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

...

Maria was still fuming when the vampire asked where each person needed to be dropped off. The painted woman had been so caught up in her agitation that she hadn’t even given thought to what to do now that they had failed. There wasn’t much else they could do, so it would likely be best to rethink their strategy for another day. The delay was painful to accept but there wasn’t any other choice.

“The warehouse is fine,” Maria told Leonid.

She’d discuss the matter with the Benefactor and would send for the others in the morning once they had an idea of where to go next. It was something.

Leonid Chernikov
the Twins, Downtown, Seattle, WA

"Alright, Bloody Mary. I'll drop the rest of you at the warehouse too, if it's fine. It's not gonna be morning soon, but I would like to sleep in my coffin as soon as I can," Leonid told Mary and the rest. The night was a failed night, and the Benefactor surely won't approved this much. Therefore, now is the time to rest.

The limousine stopped in the middle of the night in front of the warehouse. The others went down, so did Mary. "Ciao! And good night!" said Leonid, as he closed the door and the vehicle went into his house, a two-floor with mid security details as well as his favorite place to sleep. Once inside, it only took a moment for him to took a shower and retired himself in the coffin, James helping him.

"Where's...Kelly?" asked Leonid to James, now lied inside the coffin and ready to sleep. Kelly is his other ghoul, a student in Computer faculty who interviewed him twice for her assignments since he's an investor in tech-based business. She also acts as his secretary and computer whiz.

"She's in her house at the moment, you want me to get her here?" asked James knowingly. Kelly is also lover of Leonid, but to be fair, it is just a temporary fulfillment of his empty heart...

"No, just ask her to look for information regarding Mike Cross, if she can. You help her too, James. Find his siblings, family, who is his father, anything. Since the mission failed and we don't have Cross, perhaps it means I have to do my own mission to finds his connections, deeper connections, with the Syndicate."

"Okay."

[Beiarusia]

Mike Cross
Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

...

Mike Cross still hadn’t fully grasped the gravity of his situation. He was in the back of a car, hands tied behind his back, and with a trauma induced headache that could drop an elephant. Could elephants get headaches? Simply put the young man had the situation awareness of a potato. His mixture of a good time and whatever he had put in his body had finally come back to bite him.

A woman was suddenly at his side, reaching over and fastening his seatbelt before going through his pockets. He was confused for a long moment but that was only a temporary setback for the playboy. “I’m all for the kinky stuff, but shouldn’t I know your name before you break out the handcuffs?” Surprisingly he managed to speak coherently. “So we going to your place? Don’t mind if he watches” – he nodded his head towards Hussar – “but I’m gonna need a lot more to drink first. And maybe an aspirin.”

[Glaswegistan]

“As far as I can tell, he’s not got anything to track him by, though you might want to do your own search.” Sarah reported, intentionally elbowing Cross in the gut as she finished her search. Politeness had its place, Cross needed to stay in his, though Sarah made sure she didn’t hit too hard; someone with a bit more tact than her could conduct an interrogation, she reasoned.

“Believe me, if there were any painkillers in this fucking city, I’d have found them by now.”

Satisfied that the captive wasn’t going to move, Sarah sat, arms folded, waiting to get back to the bunker.

“We’ll let you know what we’re bringing you in for once we get back, uh…” Sarah hastily dug into her bag, picking up her spare balaclava and using it as a makeshift blindfold for Cross; “Don’t get any funny ideas, wise guy, just can’t have you knowing the route. Also, seriously? You get jumped by a couple of superheroes and your reaction is what, to act like a creep?” Sarah grumbled with genuine disappointment, and then, not missing a beat, she perked her head up towards Hussar.

“Angel of the North? Nah, too long, plus I’d sound like a twat…”

[Vacif]

Lin Kai Soe
Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

Kylen disappeared into the Seattle night time as he drove deeper into Sodo. It was sobering, seeing that their actions had real repercussions on the city. People were on their phones, but for a different reason, calling loved ones, checking the news, or browsing social media. Traffic was backed up because of their kidnapping in broad moonlight. Emergency vehicles were still moving towards the scene of the crime. They were splitting up between the club, and the intersection where they nabbed Cross. This was the most police he'd seen outside of the police station. He'd already passed at least a dozen dark blue, and white SPD SUVs, and unfortunately a number of red, and white ambulances.

News stations were all talking about it tonight. There had been at least 8 fatalities, as well as a still rising number in injuries that night. Stories of a group of heavily armed individuals with weird looks started to circulate. Crazy theories were already popping up. Criminals, terrorists, vigilantes, drugs, criminals, hell, even the Illuminati. It was rampant speculation. Police would be launching a massive investigation, and a man hunt, but they had nothing. The bouncers had destroyed most of the important camera footage, and there would be few witnesses that could provide useful information. In fact, there were even rumors circulating that camera footage found at street corners were missing footage. He wondered if that was the Benefactor's doing, or if it was just rumors. The fallout of this "May Massacre" would be heavy to say the least. People, and police would be on edge, and the city would be visibly more solemn.

As he rode back in silence, he silently wondered if he was doing the right thing, after all, numerous people were dead. Granted, most of them were employed by a less than reputable organization dealing in the illicit, but that didn't necessarily mean they were bad people, or that they deserved to die. On top of that, the one who had started the entire fiasco was not among their original party. So there was that. They didn't start the slaughterer, but they sure as hell looked like accomplices to it.

It was kind of funny, that downtown, there weren't as many bright, neon lights as you'd expect. The ones that did show up glowed lightly, silently projecting its existence in a warm, and soft, subdued fashion. A contrast to the club's intense lighting. Lively clubs, or super flashy elite establishments were not at the end of every street corner. Or at least they kept to themselves, not garnering attention from the quiet surrounding. Here, there was a lot of dark grey. The streets, the buildings. All of it. Contrasted starkly by the intense white street lamps. Making the lights more intense, and making the dark more ominous, however it was oddly calming. The streets were quiet here, few people were on the streets late at night. The sirens were in the distance now, not nearly so close as it had been. There was an air of peace. You could see the lights still on in the buildings, pockets of light escaping from the windows, each with a story to tell. The ones with shut off lights were just a story for later.

Slowly, the apartments, and highrises of downtown faded off. The buildings gradually becoming shorter, and dropping off. Apartments became motels, which then became factories, distilleries, and warehouses. Some more modern, and more in use than others. It was a mix of modern, and decrepit, live, and dead. The old brick buildings showing their age. Foggy, or broken windows, which had been boarded up. It was kind of creepy, but he took the time to appreciate the city's history. Even though he was wearing a jacket, and helmet, he could feel it was a bit of a cool night, 59°F (15°C). Dark clouds had started to form as the city's infamous rain started to come out. Wanting to minimize the amount of time he'd spend in the rain, he increased his speed, but the rain set in fast. Before he knew it, haze started to appear on the road as water impacted the road, and bounced back up.

Seeing as he was already caught in the rain, and didn't want to risk skidding across the water, and potentially dying, Kylen slowed down once again. It had become hard to see, but there wasn't likely to be any vehicles out at this hour. Conversely, he was out on the road at this hour, and with a certain Ford Fiesta that he may recognize. After an indiscernible amount of time spent navigating through the thick rain, he found what he presumed to be the warehouse in which the Bunker was situated under. As he approached the security gate, he searched for identifiers, to which he found none. He pushed open the chain link security fence, and rode his bike towards the entrance before dismounting. Not wanting to leave his motorcycle out in the rain, he wheeled the black bike indoors. He knew the area was more-a-less abandoned, but he still didn't want to take any chances with his bike. He did not want the rain to damage it, nor did he want anyone to steel it.

The warehouse was pitch black, which was annoying, but Kylen always carried a flashlight. Flicking on the power button, the entire area ahead of him was blasted with an intensely bright light. Carefully, he pushed his bike further into the building towards the cargo area, before searching for the maintenance elevator that lead down below. With the current weather outside, Kylen would likely be staying the night at the secret bunker.

[Independent States of Tula]

Włodzisław "Hussar" Sokoloff
Driving to the Warehouse, Seattle, WA

“Angel of the North? Nah, too long, plus I’d sound like a twat…” Sarah commented from the back as she thought up code names.

Sokoloff thought a few seconds before saying "What about just Angel? Short, sweet, and a proper callsign."

However, Sarah would only have enough time to get a response to that suggestion before Sokoloff pulled up in front of the gate outside the warehouse. By this point it had begun to rain hard and so Sokoloff turned in his seat to look over the prisoner and Sarah.

Sokoloff stated "Get him inside. I have to go drive this somewhere else so the police don't find it near our little safe house. I'll be back here soon, you know the code to get in, get him situated and I'll take the lead with interrogation. I don't want any of the others getting near him, we got him, now it's our responsibility to deal with him. Besides, I don't trust too many of our compatriots know what to do in a situation like this, they might try pulling something straight out of that old American show 24 or some shit like that."

[The Glenn Nation]

Aria Parker, Eagle Eye
Downtown Seattle

Aria was sitting in the driver’s seat of her unmarked police car. She had just finished eating some food she had gotten from the store and was getting ready to go back to her apartment, or so she thought.

“010, I repeat 010 at The Twins Club, possible 049. Requesting back up.”

Aria sighed after her radio went off. A homicide was happening, possibly gang related. Usually, she would jump at the chance to prove herself again to those who doubted her skills, but she was ready to go home. However, she was close to the scene and couldn’t bring herself to ignore it, “This is Detective Davis, I’m a few miles away from the crime scene and on my way now.” She turned on her police lights and siren and made her way to the nightclub.

The Twins, Seattle

By the time Aria got to the crime scene, a few other officers were already there, as well as the CSI unit. It looked like all the action had ended, but she could tell it caused a lot of damage as soon as she got out of her car. She walked to up to her Sargent who was already at the scene.

“So what’s the situation boss?”

He gave her a quick glance before answering, “10 dead and counting. It looks like there were multiple shooters during the accident. Some people are already calling it the May Massacre. The bad part is we are having a hard time finding any witnesses who can give us much detail and the worst part is the camera footage in the club and surrounding street corners have been deleted. Though fortunately there some rumors that Mike Cross was targeted."

“Mike Cross? You think it's some type of new gang trying to take down the Syndicate? Being able to hack street cameras isn’t something your average mass shooter knows how to do."

“That’s what I’m thinking. We have a few men in there who haven’t been able to find much. Go in there and see if you can spot anything.”

“Of course,” Aria responded before walking through the front door of the club. Immediately she saw some bodies lying on the ground, with the CSI, taking some pictures of them. Immediately looking around, she could tell something was wrong with the crime scene. Although she had never seen an actual scene of a mass shooting, this just felt too weird to be one. Aria guessed it was her powers that allowed her to sense that. She was always able to sense unusual things around her in a blink of an eye.

She made her way to a bathroom in the basement where she saw a man who looked like he was thrown into the mirror, by the broken glass and bloody head. That wasn’t very interesting, relative to her situation, but what was interesting was the long contusion marks he had on his body. It was like several arms were squeezing the life out of the person before he was thrown. But, the way they were positioned made it look like it was from one person. While it seemed strange, she learned a long time ago never to go against her instincts. This had all the signs of a variant. No wonder she thought the crime scene looked so weird. Some of the attackers were most likely super powered.

She walked back up to her commanding officer to give him her perspective. “It looks like their’s signs of a variant attack. Tell the CSI’s to look for the abnormal in this case.”

“You're telling me we possibly have a gang of variants on our hand?”

“Exactly what I’m telling you. I want you to put me on this case boss. You know I’m the best detective in the department and we need the best right now.”

“Yah, of course. I’m just thinking about how we can deal with a gang of super-powered criminals. I guess the first thing we need to do is find Mike Cross."

[The Warriors of the Sun]

Zedekiah McMurry
Ames Lake, Seattle

Zedekiah couldn't help, but smile with blood-stained lips as Blake praised him. Since discovering this ability he had only ever used it to make pets to keep him company when he felt alone, the idea of using to do "good" never actually crossed his mind. He felt pride as he turned away from the group and Blake threw string of questions at him. He wanted to answer, but never felt like he had a chance as Blake continued on in her wonderment of his power. He snickered, causing the blood on his mouth to bubble, as Blake retracted her question about her skirt. He never thought about it or done it before, but there was no reason he wouldn't be able to make her skirt come to life.

He immediately felt a bit of embarrassment at the thought of doing that, perhaps Blake was right in calling him a pervert moments before. Though in the midsts of such praise and accomplishment the thought seemed merely embarrassing and amusing rather than shameful. For the moment it seemed things were going fairly well for Zedekiah as the group was heading inside at the behest of Blake, as far Zedekiah could tell without looking at any of them. He didn't notice Blake come back to check on him as he distanced himself from the group and was completely caught by surprise as Blake said, "Oh my god! Are you… are you okay?" right beside him, nearly causing him to jump.

She disappeared as Zedekiah began to more furiously attempt to rub the blood away from his face, but his arm was drenched at this point doing little to help. She came back as disappointment in his self began to set in, he should've been more subtle if he wanted to have avoided notice. The bliss from her praise now gone as the now worried Blake frantically pushed a bunch of paper towels against his face. Zedekiah eventually took them and the rest of the roll when they were offered. He began to wipe his face clean and then began to work on his arms which were now just a covered in blood.

As he cleaned himself he replied to Blake, "I think I am fine, it never really hurts, I just sometimes get tired if I do it too much." This was a bit more blood than was typical of an item that large, Zedekiah could only guess that it had to do with the fact that he hadn't used his power for quite some time, content with the origami crane he often kept with him.

He turned his head to the side as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I am really sorry...I uh, kinda forgot about the bleeding when you asked if someone can open the door. I, well I wanted to show off to you that I can be...useful." His gaze slowly fell from the side down the ground as he felt a bit of shame take over. "Didn't want to keep following you around and um, just continue being a burden I guess. Y'know, especially since you uh, I mean I um..." Zedekiah fell silent, catching himself as he didn't want to finish the statement and reveal his reasons, they were far too embarrassing especially in light of recent events. He almost revealed those thoughts in this atmosphere of concerned feeling a bit more comfortable as Blake visibly showed such concern. Instead of finishing his statement with an apology instead, "Sorry about that..."

[Beiarusia]

HOA “BLAKE” NZUYEN
the Home of Robert Klein, Ames Lake, Seattle, WA

---

...

Zedekiah was wiping the blood from his face and arms, and though the flow was lessening to an extent it did little to stem Blake’s worry. She wasn’t squeamish but that was a lot of blood. Neither was she a doctor, but even she knew that losing too much of the red stuff was a good way to end up in the hospital, or the morgue. “You sure you’re okay? You’re not, like, light-headed or anything?”

The young man waved off her concern. Apparently this was normal.

Blake wasn’t too convinced – if the pout on her face was any indication to go by – but she didn’t say more on the matter of possible exsanguination. “You’re not a burden. And you’re loads more useful than me. Drawing pretty pictures isn’t gonna solve anything, but you can open doors and who knows what else, so stop putting yourself down, aight? And if anyone says otherwise then I’ll sit on them. Trust me, it’ll hurt. Now let’s find this guy and play hero!” She offered a sincere smile as she took charge and barreled once more into the home of Robert Klein.

The kitchen was rather normal save for the missing roll of paper towels. Nothing out of place. No corkboard with photos and red string. Just your everyday appliances and decor. Some pots and pans were out and sitting atop the granite counter near the stove, as if Klein was preparing to make himself dinner. Perhaps he had changed his mind at the last moment and had possibly forgotten to clean up after himself? Snooping, Blake found the refrigerator to be well stocked for the next couple weeks, and recently at that seeing as how the milk was still good for a long while. A Washington magnet was all that decorated the fridge. Glancing over the half-wall it was apparent that no dishes were set out in the dining room.

“Doesn’t look out of the ordinary to me,” Blake commented as the others came inside.

[Ubaria]

Lucio Martelli
Somewhere in Downtown Seattle

Sirens pierced the chilly air, rattling through the district and steadily grew louder no matter how fast Lucio ran, he had flat out sprinted several blocks and then some, only coming to a stop when he could physically run no more, his legs ached and his chest stung with a mix of heartburn and rising bile from the potent mix of lactic acid and stress induced nausea. He had ran blindly in one direction and so had ended up in a completely strange part of town, the street was practically empty and even the shopfronts were bare, Lucio went to lean on a lampost for some rest when a red and blue glow started creeping from the opposite direction.

'Fuck'

Lucio was the only person in the street, it was guaranteed that the occupants of the vehicle would see him, there was no other choice but to make himself look as inconspicuous as possible which was hard considering he looked like the epitome of suspicious with his collar pulled up to the side and his baseball cap sitting low on his brow. Lucio broke into a painful walk and pretended eyeball his phone, closely watching the police car with the other, it seemed to work for a moment until the police car slowed up, he could feel the officers staring at him from within. He was about to give up and stop when the cruiser blasted its siren and picked up speed straight past and around the next bend, obviously having more important things to attend. Lucio exhaled with relief, and exhaustion.

---

Lucio's Apartment

The door slammed with a thunk, Lucio slid down into a hunched up ball with his back pressed against it, clenching his hair in both hands. Adrenaline had well worn off by this point and now he was reduced to little more than a quivering wreck, his mind abuzz with a whole variety of situations. If the police were to check the CCTV of the establishment (if it had any), they would surely see Lucio entering with the gunmen, did that make him an accessory to the crime if he didn't take part in it? With one hand pressed to his eye, he flipped his phone out with the other and thumbed over the E-mail app, the message from the Benefactor was still in his inbox, after all it refused to be deleted.

'Fuck you'. Lucio mouthed quietly to himself. He had gathered a group of psychotic murderers, not heroes, if the Benefactor knew as much as he let on, surely he would have seen that situation coming, if he really was about justice then those people should have been locked up the moment the Benefactor found them. For 10 or so minutes Lucio remained sitting by the door until he forced himself into the kitchen, thrusting a glass under the cold tap and letting the liquid refresh his dried throat.

[Beiarusia]

Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
the Warehouse, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

...

...

...

Bloody Mary had spent the last hour or so having a quaint discussion with the Benefactor. He didn’t blame here for the fiasco at the Twins, and if anything he complimented her for handling the situation as well as she had, but the gunman had been an unforeseen complication that had very nearly jeopardized the entire plan. There would be some effort made in discovering the gunman’s identity, information that would then be leaked to the SPD. Though the Benefactor had more pressing concerns the lunatic could well prove troublesome if left unchecked. Bloody Mary wanted to find the bastard herself, but the arrival of their would-be heroes meant that such thoughts of petty revenge would have to be put on hold for the time being.

The painted woman took the elevator from the Bunker to the warehouse’s lower level, finding that the lights on the main floor had already been turned on. Climbing the cement steps, Bloody Mary saw Lin Kai pushing along his motorcycle. “You look fantastic,” she said with painfully apparent sarcasm, and was about to add more when the young teleporter waltzed in with a very special guest in tow.

Bloody Mary felt her jaw drop. Even with his face covered the woman knew who stood before her: Mike Cross. The very same asswipe that she and the others had failed to capture only hours before.

“How the fuck you manage this?” she asked, dumbfounded almost, as she pushed pass Lin Kai towards where Sarah and the blindfolded Cross stood. Maria ripped the balaclava from the man’s face. The man was disoriented by the bright lights, but quickly recovered to his arrogant, and somewhat drunk, self and very quickly made a sexual comment towards Bloody Mary and her face paint. She slapped him, hard, but left it at that.

Cross seemed unfazed. “I like it as rough as the next guy, but I think maybe I’ve bit off more than I can chew. How about we reschedule this little date for when my head doesn’t feel about to crack open?”

Bloody Mary refrained from slapping him again, but only just.

Miranda Marie Tallow (Network)
Lucio’s Apartment, Seattle, WA

---

...

Miranda had heard the news while running an errand for her boss. The shooting could have been anyone’s doing, but the girl’s suspicions had been proven correct when the Benefactor had contacted her in a manner that was more business than pleasure. The would-be heroes were no doubt playing their part when something unexpected had happened. How or why didn’t really matter, but people were dead and the incident would undoubtedly make national headlines. Making an excuse, Miranda had left work early and had made her way towards the scene. It wasn’t far and it was easy enough to blend in with the gathering crowd. It had been easier still to find the CCTV cameras and to conveniently erase the tapes. She didn’t even need to leave her spot on the corner a half-block away. That done, Miranda had been dispatched on an atypical assignment.

According to Maria one of the heroes had gone AWOL, no doubt frightened by whatever had taken place within the nightclub. As the least threatening of the Benefactor’s assistants Miranda was to go and find out why and to ascertain if the man, Lucio, would be a security risk if he did decide to leave. Aside from the fact that the girl was the complete opposite of Bloody Mary – which was to say that she was as threatening as Maria was altruistic – Miranda wasn’t really an extrovert and had little joy in conversing with others face to face. But she willingly did as told.

It was easy enough to find Lucio’s apartment. After all, she knew where he lived. Having put away her phone, Miranda approached the door and knocked. Three times, light but with enough power to be heard. She was pretty certain that he was home so now all she could do was to wait.

[Ubaria]

- - -

His experiment still remained all set up over the adjacent end of the apartment but Lucio needed to be in the right mindset to continue his research, with his attention wandering elsewhere it was likely he would make a mess of things, fornow it was best left untouched until the current situation resolved itself, instead he crashed backwards onto the couch and stared upwards into the blank ceiling trying to make sense of the last few hours that had turned his life upside down for the second time, there was only so many life changing events one man could take, two was pushing the threshold. It was quite a shock when the three raps rattled off the wooden door no less than a minute later, Lucio whipped his head around and stared in apprehensive horror, was it the police, one of the Variants from the club, or worse? All manner of unlikely scenarios started firing off inside his imagination but none could be confirmed without him going to actually check the other side of the door, so he slowly approached the peephole and cautiously pressed his eye against it.

A single person stood on the opposite side of the door, a quite unassuming woman and from what Lucio could recall, one of the Variants from the warehouse. Even though the woman looked relatively harmless, she was no doubt a Variant but her power remained to be seen, did she have the strength of an adult Silverback gorilla? Or something more subtle like teleportation or invisibility? Either way she was probably intent on coming through that door whatever decision Lucio opted for, opening the door seemed like a risky move.

How did she? ... The Benefactor, of course. Lucio thought to himself, almost forgetting about the practically omnipotent reach of the Benefactor. Reluctantly and with utmost caution, he peeled back the door, leaving a few inches to peer his head through as he checked each end of the corridor, once he was satisfied nobody else was watching, without warning he pulled the girl through and swung the door shut behind her.

"Let me guess, you've come to reconcile me back into your little club." Lucio cut right to the chase, not even bothering to face the woman as he paced over to the opposite side of the room, staring at the panoramic view of the city below through the glass balcony doors.

[Glaswegistan]

Sarah led Cross into the hideout, the presumed lair of the benefactor; hopefully someone inside would have an idea of what to do with him. The adrenal rush of the car chase was wearing off, the pain from the jump was finally gone and all Sarah wanted to do was sleep. As soon as she brought Cross in, she was face to face with Bloody Mary.

“How the fuck you manage this?”

Sarah couldn’t tell if she sounded angry or confused. It took a moment for the question to register, in which time Cross had already ran his mouth at Mary. Sarah thought she saw Mary clench her fist, but concluded it was probably the tiredness and lighting playing tricks on her; she wouldn’t have complained if someone brought Cross down a peg anyway.

“We sort of ran into him, had to stop his car, no collateral as far as I know asides from his guards. Hussar can fill you in a lot better than I can.” She blinked, taking a hand off Cross to rub her eyes. No effect. “He should be back soon.”

Swallowing any shred of professionalism she might have had, Sarah sighed and tried her best to look Bloody Mary in the eyes.

“Boss? Not to be insubordinate or anything but I am on the verge of passing out here, unless we’ve got some coffee lying around I’d really like to crash, can I leave this guy with you?”

[Independent States of Tula]

Włodzisław "Hussar" Sokoloff
SoDo, Seattle, WA

Several blocks away from the warehouse Sokoloff was moving quickly in a vacant lot. He'd pulled out his luggage bag from the trunk of the Fiesta as well as a long plastic case. He'd set them off away from the car with a plastic bag over them to protect them from the rain. As those two pieces of luggage sat Sokoloff was messing around with a small 1.25 Gallon red can of gasoline. He was strategically pouring the fuel over the interior of the Ford, making sure that when it burnt so too would any evidence of the people inside.

When he was satisfied with his work Sokoloff soaked a rag in gasoline and lit it with a lighter he kept on him. It began burning and Sokoloff threw the rag into the Ford before promptly turning and collecting his luggage. With both his luggage case and the long plastic case, Sokoloff began walking casually to the warehouse, arriving minutes later as his car burned blocks away in an empty lot. He must of been quite a sight, soaked from the rain, still wearing his wrap-around sunglasses, and with blood coating the front of his suit's shirt from the three rounds he'd taken earlier. As he arrived he saw a heavily tattooed woman and Sarah conversing with Cross still a captive.

Sokoloff approached the group and stated "Alright, I'm back, let's get this guy inside a nice small room so he can think about his life choices for a few hours."

[The Warriors of the Sun]

Zedekiah McMurry
Ames Lake, Seattle

Zedekaih didn't necessarily agree with Blake's comparison of their uses to the group and being heroes, but he didn't argue the point. Instead he blushed immediately after matching her gaze and seeing her smile, whether or not he agreed with her it still felt good to be told so. As she walked away to lead the group in the investigation by example he blankly stared after her with a shy smile. He quietly said, "Thank you," though she was already entering the house by the time he said his thanks.

After a short moment as he waited for the warmth of his blushing face to subside he walked into the home just as Blake said, "Doesn’t look out of the ordinary to me." And to Zedekiah's own fairly unperceptive eyes she seemed correct. At first glance it all looked very ordinary to him. Though as he walked by the kitchen he began to wonder what were they even looking for.

He walked towards the living room, passively glancing around for anything that seemed like it didn't belong. But things weren't going to be like Scooby-Doo with a blatant clue just lying around, even with the blatant signs of a struggle such as the overturned table and broken TV, it wasn't likely the assailant would drop their wallet or anything with easy information to follow. If Robert's criminal ties came to kidnap him he doubted they would leave much of a trace behind. The best Zedekiah could think of was if there was some sort of document or letter that could hint at the location of this criminal group Robert had ties to, if they were even the cause of his disappearance.

Zedekiah raised his voice so whoever was in the next room could hear, "Looks like there was a fight in the dining room."

[Beiarusia]

Miranda Marie Tallow (Network)
Lucio’s Apartment, Seattle, WA

---

Miranda didn’t have to wait long before the door unlocked. Lucio peeked out from behind, as if wary that someone else may be hiding in the shadows, but before the ill menacing girl could assuage his fears she was quickly, and quite roughly, dragged into the apartment and the door locked behind her. Lucio cut right to the chase.

"Let me guess, you've come to reconcile me back into your little club."

“Something like that,” Miranda deadpanned as she straightened her blouse, still dressed for work. She didn’t like the treatment she received, or close contact for that matter, but making an issue of it would be a bother so she dropped the matter entirely. Her voice remained the same dull, somewhat bored tone that was unique to her. “Maria saw that you had left on your own. I was sent to see if you just had cold feet or if you were dropping out entirely.” She didn’t mention checking to see if he was a security risk. “The Benefactor wanted me to assure you that the gunman had no affiliation with the group, and that efforts are being made to identify him when possible. The Benefactor was quite certain that this was your reason for leaving. If you still wish to step out then I won’t stop you” – not like she could – “but it’s important that you forget everything you’ve saw and heard if you do so.”

Or else Bloody Mary would have to pay a visit.

This was by far the longest Miranda had spoken uninterrupted in a long while. She didn’t bother to seat herself and merely stood where she was near the door, watching as Lucio looked out the window and to the city.

“I can answer any questions you may have.”

[Ubaria]

- - -

"Or what? You'll put a bullet in me too?"

Lucio chuckled mockingly and turned on his heel to face Miranda directly, the woman didn't seem at all enthused about the entire situation, infact she showed no inclination whatsoever and spoke with little infliction in her voice, she didn't want to be here that much was obvious.

“I can answer any questions you may have.”

"Who's the Benefactor?" Lucio shot the question almost immediately after she stopped speaking, but before she could answer again, Lucio gave a condescending grin and rolled his eyes.

"Who am i kidding? He could be the god damn president or some two bit gangster with way too much money and time for all i care." He gave a resigned sigh and strolled over to the open plan kitchen which seamlessly connected with the rest of the apartment, his improvised laboratory was still bubbling away idly, a wisp of vapor curled up from a beaker of boiling liquid. At a first glance it would look like some kind of meth kitchen and in all honesty, it could be used as so.

"Thing is, he sees us all as Heroes because of our power. Do i look like a Hero? Do i feel like one? No. This power is a curse as much as it is a blessing. I had to drop my life, my family, to stop it getting into the hands of people who wished to use it for a great evil. Now some unknown entity pops out of the blue claiming to know about my powers and wanting to use them for justice and equality. Now do you understand my reservations?"

Lucio calmly placed both his hands flat on the countertop and stared deeply into a frothing green liquid, looking through it at Miranda who was magnified in the convex shape of the glassware.

"I'll join your band of misfit freaks. But if the Benefactor want's something from me, i want something from him."

[Beiarusia]

Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
the Bunker, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

...

...

...

Maria led them all – Hussar, Sarah, Lin Kai, and Mike Cross – down the cement steps and to where the elevator would take them into the Bunker. Compared to before the elevator was spacious with only the five of them. Stepping into the rotunda, Maria pointed to the left hallway where the quarters could be found as Lin Kai had made mention of needing a place for the night. The rooms were pretty spartan with only the most basic of necessities as, when the place was constructed during the 1980’s, they were intended for only temporary staff housing when needed. Regardless they would do well in a pinch, and should someone need a more permanent residence the rooms could be personalized as desired. Bloody Mary had already done well to mark her room as her own. But the group didn’t head to the quarters. Instead they took the right hallway which led to a more open area whose original purpose was never realized as construction had been stopped prematurely when the bunker was abandoned for whatever reason all those years ago. The spacious area could now be made to serve whatever purpose which, for now, was the interrogation of Cross.

A chair and some cable was dragged from a utility closet and Cross tied in place and left to sit in the center of the open, rectangular room. Like the rotunda the ceiling was high here, but was flat rather than vaulted, and the walls were metal and likely reinforced, though the same lighting and tile floor remained. A few auxiliary rooms could be found on the far end which had been converted into storage space for the time being. If a smaller room was so desired for the questioning one could easily be made to fit the bill.

Cross faced away from them, his smug attitude having faltered just a bit now that he realized just what sort of situation he was in. Bloody Mary crossed her arms and looked to the others. “So how do you want to do this?”

Miranda Marie Tallow (Network)
Lucio’s Apartment, Seattle, WA

---

...

Miranda watched the man, he having finished his tirade and now retired to the kitchen where the makings of a meth lab bubbled. Who was the Benefactor? There wasn’t an answer to give. She had quite possibly met the Benefactor given what he knew of the girl, and she had her own assumptions, but his ability to keep his identity unknown was excellent even on his worse days. In any case she wouldn’t be at liberty to disclose such information even if she wanted to. As for what else Lucia had said…

“You look like someone who doesn’t know what he is,” she answered truthfully. Again, she spoke more than she was accustomed. “Whether you accept it or not you are different. You’re a Variant, and how you handle such a fact will dictate your life. And what of Ambrose? He can make Variants. Isn’t that something that no one person should be capable of? Things are odd for us all, but the Benefactor truly does have the good of the world at mind, but what can one person do alone?” Her voice almost had some inflection in it. As for the final request, well, Lucio had agreed to keep himself involved, but at a catch. “I’m just the messenger, but I’m sure the Benefactor can help you with whatever you need.”

[Aghrabia]

Stephen had been snooping around the house for only a few minutes when he had found the unlocked door leading to the kitchen. It was clean, too clean- no mess at all, with a few exceptions (various kitchen objects scattered around on the counters, some spilt milk on the floor, that kind of thing), but nothing to suggest a struggle. Stephen scratched his chin, he filed the information away in his mind for later study before he crept out into the hallway and slid up the stairs. He was careful in scouting out the corners of the hall for cameras or something similar, then he reached out to open the door to the room opposite him…

That was when he heard the noise.

A slight noise, but a noise you came to recognise when you were a thief. The sound of a door unlocking- he started to panic for a split second before he collected himself. He crept to the top of the stairs on the balcony, careful to keep himself out of sight- but still able to see the area in front of the entrance. The ink of his tattoos flowing into a pair of knives in his hand and some into near-impenetrable armoured plates on his body. This was worrying, the worst part of a job, when you were uncertain if the person on the other side of that door was friend or foe.

Stephen lay in wait behind the bannister, he heard voices from behind the door. They were oddly familiar, yet he couldn't place them for the life of him. Crouching in wait, his uneasiness increased when the door popped open and a man and a woman came inside. There was that feeling of recognition again. They came towards the stairs, he waited, preparing. The woman went in and out of the kitchen, holding something in her hands- moving towards the man, who appeared to be bleeding from his mouth. They then went into the kitchen together, he followed silently behind them.

He came from behind them, studying them. What happened next came about extremely quickly. Within seconds Stephen had pinned the hitherto unknown man to the floor- the ink knife held against his next. It was now that he realised who the people were, Blake and Zedekiah- two of the variants from the bunker.

'Shit! Sorry!' he exclaimed jumping back up, helping the man he had knocked to the floor up again. 'I... yeah, sorry.' He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to think of something to say.

Instead of trying to explain himself he stuck out his hand. 'Sorry about that. Stephen Andropov, from the bunker, if you remember me. Blake and Zedekiah, right?'

[Ubaria]

- - -

“I’m just the messenger, but I’m sure the Benefactor can help you with whatever you need.”

"I'm sure he can. As you can see here this isn't the most professional of setups. When i left my job, i lost the privilege of a safe and sterile working environment and a lot of hard to obtain equipment." Lucio spoke as he circled the island in the middle of the kitchen, taking care to step over a trail of leads and plastic tubing leading to other beakers and glassware. He picked up the green liquid and swilled it around for a moment, observing it with a keen eye.

"You can probably tell what i'm going to ask." Lucio set the beaker down back where it previously was, took a deep breath and started scribbling down words on a nearby peice of notepad.

"If the Benefactor is half as powerful as he makes himself out to be, i'm sure he can source some of these 'hard to find' items, so i can continue my research into my own powers and hopefully i can find out how to use my powers without killing myself in the process" He tore off the notepad sheet and held it out towards Miranda.

"Oh and also, i'll need to set up a laboratory in your secret bunker. You see, this equipment needs a lot of power, i'm sure the bunker is tapping directly off the cities grid and nobody will bat an eyelid at obscure industrial machinery being moved into a warehouse"

[Nachfolgia]

You'll regret this decision.

These were the last words that Clarissa heard her parents say. These were the words that she hated the most. She hated her parents for not visiting her after her incident. She hated that they kept her locked up in their "ivory castle" away from the rest of the world. She hated that for 16 years, she was empty inside with no knowledge of joy and happiness. Those days were long behind her now and she has never looked back. She threw away her life of pomp and circumstance for a chance to actually live. She traded her golden blonde hair for fiery red, her flawless porcelain skin for one with scars and piercings, and her kind and caring personality for one that was both merciless and condescending. All of these transformations is what made-up the new Clarissa and she never regretted doing down the dark path she now walks.

Clarissa casually walked down a busy Seattle street just before noon. The street was filled with men and women alike wearing their neatly pressed suits, going every which way to conduct business. The street she was on was in the heart of Seattle's financial district, a hub for the rich to get richer. Needless to say, Clarissa stuck out like a sore thumb. As she strolled down the street, Clarissa got weird looks as the commuters went out of their way to avoid her. She didn't what they thought of her at all, she was proud to look the way she did.

Walking a little further, Clarissa came to her destination, a high end jewelry store. Since she no longer had any ties to her parents, there was no way she could afford to shop here. Fortunately, Clarissa wasn't there to "buy" anything and was more interested in "window shopping." Clarissa walked into the shore and immediately got a dirty look from the woman behind the counter. The portly woman tried her best to maintain her customer service facade as Clarissa walked up to the counter.

" Anything I can help you with...young lady?" The woman hesitated to say.

Clarissa pulled out her phone and typed away, much to the confusion of the woman. She held her phone out to the sales associate, the message reading Do you have any Ippolita 'Stella' Long Station Necklaces?

" Oh...ok. Yes I believe we do. You do know that they cost $2,700, right?"

Yes, that is fine. Clarissa typed.

" Then I will be right back, ma'am." The woman said before walking to the back room. Clarissa gave a sinister smile, assured that this was going to be too easy. A few minutes later, the woman returned with a tray full of the type of necklace that Clarissa asked for.

" I think you will find our selection to you satisf...action?" The woman said confused, not seeing the young girl at the counter. The woman put the tray down on the glass counter and looked around the store for the girl. Unable to spot her, she looked down at the tray to pick it up, noticing that the necklaces were replaced with thousands of spiders. The woman let out a ear shattering scream as the spiders swarmed all over the counter and on her hands. The other patrons and employees of the store glanced over to see the woman freaking out. Very concerned, her fellow employees ran over to see if she was ok. All the portly woman could see was millions of spiders consuming the interior of the store.

" NO!!! NO!!! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!! KEEP THEM AWAY, OH GOD!!" The woman screamed as she frantically ran into the backroom and closed the door. Unfortunately, the spiders continued to crawl under the door, much to the sales associate's nightmare. Clarissa was in the store the entire time, watching the chaos she created unfold. She got sick, cynical enjoyment out of turning people's worst fears into reality and this one was just as entertaining as the others. Honestly, she was expecting the "large" woman to have a heart attack from the fear by now, but she knew that it was only a matter of time. Clarissa has actually caused victims to die of fright, but she held no remorse for those people. To her, they were all scum that needed to be dealt with.

Still under her own illusion, Clarissa grabbed the expensive necklaces on the counter and turned to leave. She noticed that the screams had stopped and she glanced back at the door, watching the other employees called out their co-worker's name and tried to break down the door. Clarissa smiled at the fact, knowing that it was only a matter of time. She put the necklaces in her coat pocket and strolled out of the store, pleased with her most recent score.