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

[Deminis]

Search for greater minds

Damian stepped out from his ship as a number of locals passed by in what seemed complete dis-care. He sniffed as he whipped his nose, already feeling threatened by the feeling of being thought inferior. He quickly made his way to to closest noticeable tavern, praying they at least serve a human edible alchohol. As the pubs door slid open, Damian smiled at the sight before him, Empty. Save a few partisions whom each were, so far, keeping to them selves. He stepped toward the bar and took a seat, keeping a seat or two between him and any others. Before long the barkepper stepped up to him, a tall lanky looking humonoid with only six fingers and a very noticeable lack of hair. The keep looked him over for a moment before asking in english,"What can i get you, Beer, whiskey, scotch or burbon?"

"I'll take a beer, you take Earth Credits though?" Damian made sure to ask, for fear of attracting any unnecessary attention. "We'll take it, we have a private exchange man, if its worth anything, he'll get its value in a usable currency." Damian smilled as he pulled out a twenty and placed it out on the bar, "Beer it is then." In only a moment or two, Damian was popping the cap off a leinenkugel and making his way to an empty corner booth. As he took his seat, three brawny, scaly, jackasses opened the doors of the tavern, shouting with another loudly it was evident they had been drinking all day. After they each picked their own drinks, one of them points their finger towards Damian, and he knew he was in for trouble.

The three quickly made their way over to Damian, who took a drink to try and dissuade them before one of them hit the bottle away from him. Damian quickly thrust his fist underhanded into the creatures lower gut, sending him flat on the ground a meter and a half backwards, into another table whos user's drink was also spilled resulting on his boot ramming into the lizards face. The two remaining lizards quickly found them selves surrounded by the other partisans of the bar. the stood in shock for only a moment later before quickly making their way out of the bar, dragging their now unconscious friend with them. Damain nodded slowly in thanks to the other drinkers whom helped him and quickly waved down the tender to replaces the ones drink.

After a minute or so the ambiance of the tavern returned, calm and quieting, letting a sooth fall over the air. Damian drank one more beer before raising and exiting the bar, looking around at what he first ignored of the city. It was much darker now, his kind of people had replaced the snobs and spoiled of the day folks. He made his way down the street reading the various shop signs and taking the occasional peek at an interesting piece in a window. After five or six blocks the mutant stopped at a sign reading "Broken Cogwheel" Written on a fragment of a shattered cog. He turned his head to look into the window and saw clock work powered weapons, not very practical or efficient, but the ideas behind the designs were amazing. The first piece was a chain bladed sword, powered by a music box, it had no power as a weapon, but a more powerful power source would most definitely let it cause havoc. The second item was a large gravity feed clock, jury rigged to a home crafted transmission, all connected to a human sized mechanical man. A small computer next to it controlled the Transmission, taking control of the machine with amazing accuracy. The final Item was what must have been the most complex transmission in the universe, atleast 10m^3, connected to a gyrospshere, moving so quickly it was containing what appeared to be a micro black whole. Damian almost lost it for a second, What he was looking at was a particle accelerator made out of completely clockwork.

After another minute of gazing in awe, Damian stepped into the shop. The man at the front desk was clearly the owner, but not the crafter. "Can i ask where those devices came from?" The shop owner looked up with four distorted eyes, the right two evidently blind. he lifted one of his four arms and pointed to the back room, " My son builds them" the man said, almost shattering Damians hopes. "By any chance are you looking to further his education? I am a master inventor in search of an apprentice, and your son has serious potential. Join the club, you think you are the first guy to come in here and try to steal my son from me? go Grign yourself. Sir, I can completely understand where you are coming from, But I am not lying to you. I am in a private guild on earth, one of few Earth based groups with the ability to communicate let alone visit extra terrestrial being and planets. Come back tomorrow and help him with his projects, if you can improve three of his designs, I'll beleive you. But that doesnt mean you can take him anywhere. Damian smiled wildly,But your not saying i wont be able to yet either. He took a single step towards the door before looking over his shoulder How much for the computerized automaton [/b] Two thousand five hundred, earth credits.[/b] See you tomorrow then.

Damian stepped out side and took a deep breath to calm down again, after a moment he started making his way back to the bar by his ship, as he stepped in a few of the partisans had left, a few new ones had come. The ones he recognized looked up and nodded as he made his way to get another beer from the bartender, another 10$ and he was sitting down again drinking a lieny. He closed his eyes and layed his head back taking the occasional sip, after an hour or so, he made his way back to his ship and clicked on his computer, he switched the files and opened another series, from a file reading Rosaria Vampire.

[Charmera]

Hannah dismounted from her wolf guardian, walking alongside him as the jungle trees parted to reveal a clearing, in which there seemed to be a city of sorts. Partly ruined, but Hannah recognized it from the few times the sisters had dipped down into South America. Sarah had a few friends there that she visited, not the weirdest of which was a talking cat with an eye patch. Hannah had never remembered his name. She noticed a few black furred figures form from the jungle. Hannah paused in her steps, her bare feet halting as she saw a bipedal Panther stand on the top of the nearest structure. She walked until she was at the base of what seemed to be a large temple of sorts. She gripped her hammer tightly as she stopped in front of the temple. Her wolf guardian seemed to sense her tripidation, as did the bipedal Panther. The latter said nothing, but looked back at Hannah.

"You must master the Panther within you. Prove you are worthy to the guardian, and then you must pass the test." The wolf told her.

Hannah paused. "What will this test be."

"I know not welp." Spoke the Wolf. "I know less of the Guardian. Though I do know there is a maze somehow involved."

Hannah nodded, then looked around. All around her the Panthers looked at her with eager eyes, their jet black fur blending with the moonlit jungle canopy. She looked up at the Panther at the top, whom looked back at her and... smiled?

Hannah took a step forward. Then another. She assented the stairs up to the dias of the temple, only to hear sudden chanting. She heard the low purs in an unknown language, the song they seemed to sing picked up in pace and volume the higher she got up the stairs. She had no idea whether or not it was the Panthers she had seen or some ethereal chorus summoned for just such an occasion. She did not wish to turn to find out, lest they pounce on her for such a slight.

She reached the top, her eyes locking with the Panther there. They stayed still for a moment. Then the Panther grinned again. She nodded to the entrace of the temple. "You will be tested inside." She merely said, then walked in.

Hannah noticed many Panthers working through the temple, much of it's grandness seemed to be worn with time, but it could still be seen.

"The way of the Panther is not one of force, strength or savagery." Spoke the Panther. She seemed somehow more deserving of that title with her mysterious and shadowy allure. "The Panther's way is one of cunning. It takes great skill to track, hunt and stalk."

Hannah soaked all this in. "So... I once had that skill?"

The Panther smiled. "Yes. Though you were very direct, you were also capable of hiding in the shadows and you were a natural at tracking. Though you rarely displayed it, you had a keen intelligence..." She led her to a table, where a single stone lay and three cups.

"Watch the stone." She spoke. Then suddenly covered it. Swiftly she began to move the cups around. Hannah could barely keep track. It went swifter and swifter, panther hands nearly a blur, untill she stopped. She smiled, then put her arms behind her back. "Now guess. Where is the stone."

Hannah paused, then looked at the cups. She knew which cup the stone had been put into, and was about to guess that cup, when she stopped-

---

"I don't get this game... I can never tell where the stupid ball is. You move it too fast!"

Sarah smiled at the little Hannah, whom now had a pout on her face. Her sister was always so cute when she was annoyed or purplexed, with her little droopy ears. She even folded her arms. Still, it would be best to remedy the situation for poor Hannah.

"You want to know the secret?"

Hannah paused, then nodded. Sarah's grin widened. She took the porcelain cups and the ball, and the went through the motions again, just slower. Suddenly Hannah noticed something.

"HEY!" She exclaimed, then stood and pointed, her six year old form much shorter than she would be, which was saying a lot. "You moved the ball with your shadow powers into the other cup! You cheated!"

Sarah laughed, and then Hannah sulked. Sarah sighed.

"It's just a game Hannah, don't let it get you down." She spoke, but Hannah was still upset. Sarah cast her eyes to the aztec ruins they sat in. She had to think of something to cheer her up...

"Hannah, people are always going to try and trick you, or lie to you." She spoke. "What you have to do, is learn how to spot their tricks, then you can get them back."

Hannah paused, then turned slightly, to hear what her sister had to say...

Hannah looked at the cups, going through the movement in her mind or at least as well as she could remember them.

"They're going to want to distract you, to cover up what they plan to do. You have to spot the distraction. Of course, I don't have to try very hard to distract people..."

The cups. They were distractions. She shouldn't have been watching the cup that the stone went into, but the stone itself. Hannah frowned. Now how was she going to get it? She had a one in three chance, which looked good on paper but...

"When people play tricks, they like to make things seem more simple than they really are."

Hannah paused. One in three. Or was it?

"They always have a tell. it's like when Sam and I play poker. They do something that reveals themselves."

Her hands.

"it's in your hands."

The Panther chuckled as she revealed the stone. "How did you guess?"

"You put your hands behind your back when you finished and have kept them there since you finished. You had to be hinding something in them."

The Panther smiled. "Good, you saw through my ruse. It shows you have a good nose for this." She responded, "But, to move forward, you're going to have to show you have more than a good nose..."

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Prototype
Glace smirked and Cier cackled as the beam flew toward it's target, however the sight of the attack being split in half, and the sight of Black Sun's damaged face flying toward them caused them both to exclaim "What?!" At the same time, and then they were both sent soaring by the twin blasts. Gelus laughed and clapped his hands. "She's not half bad! Not half bad at all!" The blue-skinned Android remarked, laughing again as Glace and Cier were sent into the side of a nearby mountain, carving out two new holes in it.

Meanwhile Conundrum cheered and Prototype smiled. "Agreed. Nice move." He said, patting the girl on the back. Glace and Cier now dashed out of the holes in the mountain and levitated before the two warriors, both of them bruised but still alive. Cier chuckled. "Do we look like we care? If you can't take a hit, then your life is pathetic, and I'll gladly remove it from you!" The Arcosian said, and then they both dashed at the pair of heroes, Glace delivering a punch to Prototype's jaw, and Cier giving Black Sun a kick to the stomach.

Conundrum in the meantime stood there, completely powerless against the the Arcosians.

[Syrixces]

Pyrkagias was taken aback by the Earthling. Not only had this life-form been able to identify his specie, but it had been able to correctly estimate and analyze his main ally, his telepathy. He grinned wickedly, flaming knives spreading into a smile across his face, as he settled his deep black-orange eyes on that of Craig's, scorched, ashy orbs, matching the eternal flame that consumed his body. He opened the third eye in his mind, silently scanning the mind of the man before him, absorbing the tale of his life, almost impressed by the life this being had left. None compared to what he had known or done, but impressive none the less, especially for a human. The giant flaming creature folded its hands, directing his thoughts towards Craig, speaking directly to him telepathically, in case others might be observing.

I am Pyrkagias. A Burning Martian, as you surmised. And the very last of my kind, from what I've ascertained. I have a desire to help you. Not altruistically, but of my own will, none the less. My species is nigh on extinction. We must grow once more, grow to power. And in order to do that, I need chaos, I need war. And your little Civil War, is simply the most convenient opportunity for myself. I also find myself slightly sympathetic to your cause. I was never one to follow the laws either. Not that my people had any. I've already searched your facility telepathically, and I can tell, that while you have plenty funds, you lack in numbers. So, I offer you my assistance, Craig Thomsen of Earth. All I want in return, is an opportunity for my people to breath once more.

Craig stared up at Pyrkagias for a moment, and then stiffened alarmingly as he felt a mental spear headed his way, beginning to read his thoughts and his mind. An outright frown and scowl appeared on his face as if by magic, shutting off the area of his mind that held his inventions, thoughts about Etla, and other private things, and his torture, setting mental walls around those areas, walls in which he was very confident with.

Craig responded likewise. "Well that was rude. I welcome you, uninvited, into my home, and you pay back my hospitality by trying to read my mind? Is this Martian courtesy?"

A flash of pain appeared on his face, and he continued, angrily. "I was captured and tortured for a year for my mind's secrets. One woman who could inflict 10,000x a normal man's pain threshold. The ultimate torture machine. A man who could see 5 seconds into the future, which averted 12 attempted escapes. And a woman, a telepath, like you, who constantly tried to read my mind. You know what I did to her? In my eventual escape, I opened up the walls of my mind and led her into the dark corner where I stored the pain of that year. And then I locked it shut behind her, and watched her scream. So I do not appreciate having my brain violated. That is Rule 1, if you are to join us, You try to read my mind again and I will kick your butt back to Mars. Do not underestimate me when I'm angry." he said, telepathically, glaring, some calm coming over him eventually.

"Now, on to you, Pyrkagias. You say you're the last of your kind. How is a war going to help you reestablish your people. Are you looking for a mate, wife, soul-partner, or whatever you Burning Martians call your women? Because I am not a dating service, I'm a technopath. I'm not going to help you find your own true love," he said, sending a telepathic smirk over. "But yes, we lack numbers. We need more people. And so...despite your breaching of my mind, and your worrying lack of commitment and loyalty, you're in. Rule 2 is, we don't kill, and keep civilians out of this. Rule 3 is that you follow Cap's orders, and then mine. You have your own agenda, sure. But you're in a Movement now. Follow those rules, don't read our minds, and don't stab me in the back, and I will commit all my resources to helping the Burning Martians breathe again. Do we have a deal?"

Pyrkagias almost registered a physical expression at the apparent ferocity within this human. Most minds he rummaged through effortlessly, like drawers within an endless filing cabinet, memories, hopes, desires, fears, playing to his whim like an open book. But...but this mortal was different. Not like the others. Stronger. His mental blocks were stronger, but the Martian's were masters of telepathy. Even this earthling's exceptionally strong mental blockades were but toys to him. But he maintained his distance, exiting the mind of the man before him. He grinned slowly, razor teeth clicking in a row, consumed with flame, and raised a taloned, massive hand, in the gesture of hand shake.

My apologies, Craig Thomsen. On my world, the connecting of minds was a customary greeting. I did not realize just how sensitive humans were to mental intrusion. I have exited your mind, and will remain outside of it, with the exemption of speaking to you. I did not know you would respond as such. But I'll keep that in mind from now on. As you Earthlings would say, 'Pun intended.' And my species does not require mates. We reproduce asexually. But I do still require a few outside forces, so yes, I am in this for my own benefit. However, it is my belief my species will be able to flourish unhindered without the 'Registration Act.'

So, what is it that you require of me, Craig Thomsen. I will not lie to you. I am no hero. I am a soldier though, and will fight your battles when you need it of me. I will provide support when necessary. But I would prefer to fight upon the front lines. Or was I wrong in assuming a Civil War wold involve fighting. Because I'm yet to see any. Give me a target, Craig Thomsen. Or at least explain what you do, in this little Civil War.

Johnny Scene

Johhny woke up suddenly, his very fuzzy mind, obscuring the events of the past few hours from memory. God only knows what he had done in his drug-fueled, drunken haze. Of course,that's when he noticed the gray steel walls, slight weightlessness, and, oh, the goddamn space-port window. How he'd missed that initially, was beyond him. He groaned, rolling out of bed, with as little effort as he summon, and sat up, walking to the showers. At least they'd washed his clothes for him. He had grown sick of the vomit and booze smell. Smelled wayyyyyy too much like his last apartment. He showered, taking the first hot one for over two months, letting the hot water flow over him, washing away the grime.

Walking out, he went back to his room, finding his clothes stacked neatly, and instantly slipped his hand into the left pocket of his trench coat. Mother fuckers! They took his fucking Coke! Pissed, he punched the nearest wall. You know, the one made of dura-steel, in space. Wincing from the pain, the stumbled down the many corridors, desperately aching for a bottle of Patron, and found himself in the main chamber. On the massive screen in front of him, was a circulating of at large members of the resistance. Excellent. Nothing better than beating down on some fools, to make him feel better.

He looked up and down the list, scanning it for a somewhat easy target. Avenger. X-man. Avenger. Avenger. Defender? That was a thing? Anyway, he continued looking down, until coming across a name, even he recognized. Hercules. A God.

"Fuck the easy knock out. I'm going for the jugular. "

He grinned, looking down at Earth, closing his eyes, thinking of the first Earth - bound location that came to mind, willing himself to the spinning blue orb. He felt a flash of heat, and opened his eyes.

A strip club. Perfect.

[Illica Falki]

Vera, wanting to end the fight before the Cyborg gets any ideas, drops her staff. Without missing a beat she grabs the assailant by the head, steps around the cyborgs leg to trip her, and quickly pushes the cyborgs head into the barred door leading to the balcony. Not wanting to give the cyborg time to recover, she lets go of her head quickly punches her in the gut, before throwing the cyborg to the ground, and kicking her once to make sure she stays down. Only after doing this does Vera realize how over the top it was. Even for a cyborg, those attacks would have done serious damage. She quickly checks the cyborg for injuries, even taking off her helmet to get a better look, worried she may have gone completely over the top.
"Where did that come from..." she mutters to herself, shocked she would switch to such a potentially damaging fighting style so quickly. After confirming the Cyborg is still alive and isn't going to die, she sits back and sighs, starting to rub her own head. She remembers seeing someone go into a similar state, but she couldn't remember where...

[Urran]

---

Still crouching in front of the terrified stranger as tears streamed down his hooded face, Nelli waited for a response, her expectant brown eyes peering into him curiously, hoping that he would indeed accept her offer. It was clear that he was completely lost, as she had been the first time she had made her way down to Earth from the celestial strata, but he was taking it far worse, and understandably so: he did not have the protection and the concealment of darkness, like she did, and in any case it did not seem like his arrival in this world had been voluntary, like hers. A person in such circumstances had every right to be scared, and though she did not expect to be able to dispell that fear very easily, if it was possible for her to do so at all, she did wish to help out this stranger and make him feel more at ease, at least to the point that he could think or speak.

Because of this, when he nodded at her, the winged girl's lips parted into a warm smile. She was happy that he agreed to let her help him, as she believed he would be safer with her than with someone else, knowing well that some of the people of this world could be cruel or simply unscrupulous. Rising to her full height, she took a few dainty steps towards him, and extended her free hand, offering it to him so that he would stand up as well.

"I'm glad." She said. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Maybe you're tired after being so scared for who knows how long. I can take you to a place where you can lay your head down, if you would like that." The girl offered, before pausing and looking at Yoshi with curiosity once again. "My name is Nelli." She introduced herself at last. "What's yours?"

In fact, Yoshi strongly wished to take full advantage of everything that Nelli had offered him. He was hungry, he was very thirsty, and more than anything he wanted to dive onto or under a bed and make a fort of pillows and blankets in order to hide himself away from this strange new world, at least for a time. However, because of Yoshi's unimposing temperament, he could not simply jump up and say yes to everything. Instead, he paused and thought and he though and he thought. He searched her eyes, there was a certain something in his, a spark that completely betrayed his kind and caring inner nature. After careful consideration on his part, he finally managed a reply.

"S-some food would be nice." he nodded, readjusting himself on the ground so that he was on his knees instead of sitting with his bottom squarely on the ground. "M-my name is Yoshi." he answered, shrinking back a bit under his hood. He was certainly a cute little thing.

[Tomia]

The Dark Damned Heart

Chapter 8

Alpha Squad
Night Wing had been in a number of strange fights before, but joining forces with a bunch of prisoners to fight a giant crocodile in the sewers definitely stood out. Most of the prisoners they had freed were unarmed, and not exactly stable after all this time in jail, however that didn’t stop them from shouting furiously as they charged the enemy demons clearly wanting revenge on their master.

Kylie was flying through the crowd of enemies, blasting apart demons with lantern ring, as Harley Quinn was dancing around, doing backflips to avoid enemy strikes. Nightwing witnessed her kicking a demon square in the face. Even though he hated the insane criminal, he had to admit that her skills were impressive.

They were dealing with the minions fairly well, but Killer Croc was proving to be another story. He was casually swatting away prisoners with his massive claws, moving and striking with devastating speed. Dick realized he needed to do something about that if they had any hope of escaping. He looked around for someone who could help him fight the scaly meta-human. He saw Henry standing nearby, looking quite nonchalant and disinterested in the fight around them. Grayson took a step towards him, “Henry what are you doing? We have to fight!” He shouted incredulously. The older man merely shrugged apathetically.

“I just want out of this hellhole, and I’ll accomplish that regardless now. I have no reason to step in here.” Henry said causally before suddenly he was grabbed around the collar of his ragged shirt by a visibly angry Nightwing.

“What the fuck do you mean no reason? I let you out to help us, and you’re just going to stand back and watch while people are being killed?” Grayson asked furiously.

Henry pushed Nightwing back, forcing the younger vigilante to release him. “Don’t act so high and mighty. You and your friends let me rot in that prison for years. I don’t owe you a damn thing.”

“Maybe you don’t.” Nightwing replied, “But I think this whole ‘I don’t give a shit’ thing is just an act. Sure, maybe this hell killed whatever kind of faith in humanity you have had before had. But I think you still care, I think you still want to make a difference. So go ahead, sit here and do nothing. I’m going to try to make things better.” Grayson said angrily before charging off towards Killer Croc, his electric batons whirling in his hands.

Croc gave a throaty chuckle when he saw Nightwing charging at him, turning away from a prisoner who he was currently crushing under his foot. “The bat-wanna be comes to play! Time for dinner!” Croc shouted, before pouncing towards the hero with lightning speed.

Nightwing quickly barrel rolled out of the way to avoid the attack, rising back to his feet and rushing back towards the meta-human. He slid under Croc’s legs, slamming his batons into the creature’s stomach. Croc recoiled from the attack but soon recovered, slashing his razor sharp claws in anger.

Dick managed to roll away once more, but it was dangerously close this time. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for ever. He needed a new strategy, but Croc’s scales were like armor, it would be impossible for Grayson to knock him out on his own. He had no chose but to try however so he took a deep breath and got back to work.

He got back into a fighting stance and tossed the baton in his right hand directly at Croc’s face before charging at him to follow up with a flurry of punches. Croc growled in pain as the electricity from the baton crackled against his reptilian skin. He stumbled backwards against the flurry of strikes being delivered to his torso.

“Enough! Die puny man!” Croc shouted, slashing his left claw right towards Grayson, who was too slow to react this time. Nightwing tried to get out of the grip, but it was impossible with how strong the enemy meta-human was. “Now you’re mine hero! Time to die!” Croc shouted, baring his teeth as he prepared to sink them into the chest of his victim.

“Dick!” Someone shouted from across the sewer. It was Wonder Girl who was trying to make her way through a line of demons to get to him. However, Nightwing could tell she would arrive too late and was preparing himself for death, knowing that Croc’s horrible looking face would probably be the last thing he ever saw.

Suddenly however, Croc’s grip loosened around Nightwing’s throat. Dick looked surprised as he fell to the ground until he realized that someone was now standing in front of him. It was Henry, his fist deep into the stomach of the human crocodile.

Wonder Girl finally arrived at this moment, and she smashed her own fist into Killer Croc’s nose, you could hear a sharp crunch as blood splattered to the nearby wall. The meta-human staggered backwards and Nightwing saw his opportunity to end it. He grabbed his batons and flipped into the air, jumping behind Croc and landing four consecutive blows to his ribs.

Croc was flailing his arms aggressively, trying to fend off his multiple attackers but he was clearly dazed. Grayson spun past one of Croc waving arms, centering himself in front of the monster, giving a smug smile.

“See you later you ugly crocodile.”

With that Nightwing flipped in the air, kicking Croc square in the chin, knocking the massive villain out cold. His body making a huge splash as it fell to the ground.

Nightwing fell to his knees to catch his breath, as the remaining demons were overwhelmed and defeated around him. Nightwing was exhausted and not sure he could stand when suddenly a hand was offered before him, pulling him up to his feet so that he was standing eye to eye with Henry.

“So, what made you change your mind?” Nightwing asked, his eyebrow raised curiously.

Henry merely shrugged, “Was bored, thought it would be fun to kick Croc’s ass.” Henry said, before frowning and adding, “Don’t read too much into it. I still don’t give a damn about any of you.”

Dick managed a small smile as Wonder Girl, Miss Martian, and Lady Lantern gathered around him.

“Well, we’re work on that later.” Grayson said, turning toward the faint light at the end of the tunnel.

“Right now, our friends need our help, and we have a battle to fight.”

Beta Squad
Rin had made her way to the broadcasting room of the radio station with Nia in tow. Rin stood still for a moment, her eyes staring at the large and complicated equipment. “Wow, so much noise.” Rin said as she stepped forward to the controls and put the headphones over her head. She turned to Nia, realizing she was still there. “Uh, you should probably step outside. This might get loud and I don’t want to hurt you.” Rin said, sounding genuinely concerned. Nia nodded, quietly making her way out of the room, standing guard at the door.

Once Nia was outside, Rin took a deep breath and concentrated. The sound was almost overwhelming; she could hear everything. It was like a picture of the entire city was painted into her mind. She knew where everyone was, the whole battle was in front of her. She narrowed on to the frequency that Sam had told her to use to contact her. Rin spoke into the microphone in front her, using extreme restraint over her voice to ensure that she didn’t destroy the radio or Sam’s eardrums.

“Sam, it’s Rin. I’m in control of the radio. Wow, so much going on. Alright, well here’s what I know…”

---

“Stop struggling Roy” John said smugly as the teenager was trying to get out from under the older man’s foot.
“I’ll kill you, you fucking traitor!” Roy shouted, his anger brazenly clear.

“I didn’t betray a damn thing Roy. Your little cause was doomed from the start. This world is the Demon’s now; you just refuse to admit it. You hate her because you don’t understand. If you just submitted, things would be so much easier.”
“Never!” Roy, shouted, spitting in John’s face hatefully.

John growled at this, wiping his face off before applying more pressure to Roy’s neck. “I could snap your neck right here kid. It’d be so damn easy.” Roy was struggling to breath under the pressure, his fingers desperately trying to pry John’s foot off of his neck.

Craig was trying to pull himself back up to his feet to help Roy, but was struggling to find the strength. As he reached for his shield in an attempt to help Roy, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A woman, perched high up on one of the building’s support beams. Craig raised his eyebrow, wondering who it could be and who’s side she might be on.

Suddenly the woman dropped down with incredible speed, jumping toward John and aiming a steel toed kick right at John’s face. John’s reflexes were quick though and he raised his hands to block the attack. He jumped back, taking his foot off of Roy’s neck as he prepared himself for another fight.

Roy rolled away, catching his breath as he tried to process what had happened. He looked around to see who had come to his aid. He was shocked to see that it was Garnet. What was she doing here? She wasn’t on this mission, she was supposed to be with Sam and the main army.
Garnet didn’t even acknowledge him however; she was clearly focused on the fight in front of her. Agony materialized around her wrist as it began to glow red with energy. John saw this and responded in kind, concentrating his own stored energy to increase his strength.

The two launched at each other, their fists meeting in consecutive blows, as energy exploded around them. They continued to land strike after strike, neither backing down. John jumped back, taking a second to catch his breath.

“You have some nice tricks up your sleeves, but so do I.” John said, pressing the center of the watch on his wrist as it expanded quickly into a full set of metal armor, the same armor that he had once wore as the guardian, but now it was pitch black. “Let’s see what you got now.” John said in the mechanical voice of his suit as he charged at Garnet with heightened speed.

Garnet grunted as John landed multiple punches to her stomach, but she managed to withstand it and used her enhanced speed to dodge the last one. She quickly pulled out her gun Misery, firing a bullet straight into John’s chest. The former Guardian flew back from the impact, slamming hard into the wall, a loud cracking sound could be heard and the concrete behind him broke.

Garnet took a deep breath, thinking that the fight was now won. She slowly approached the defeated enemy, wanting to check whether or not he was dead. Suddenly as she bent down, a mechanical hand grabbed her by the throat, chocking her violently. John was awake, and on his feet. “Nice try” He told her smugly.

Garnet looked, shocked and chocked out a response, “But how? Your soul… It should have killed it.”

John chuckled grimly as he tightened his grip around Garnet’s neck. “Sorry, I haven’t had a soul for years.”

Suddenly then a metal shield slammed into John’s head, it was Craig’s as the Silverwing was standing nearby definitely as Garnet fell to the ground. “You may not have a soul, but you still have an ass we can kick.” John growled and charged at Craig who readied himself for the attack. He blocked a punch, and responded with an energy blast at John’s chest. John merely absorbed that however, taking a deep breath as he was recharged.

Garnet then rejoined the fight, brandishing her sword that she brought down on John’s back. John was now being relentlessly attacked on two sides until he shouted in anger, “ENOUGH!!” He shouted before releasing a large blast of energy, knocking both Garnet and Craig to the ground.
John advanced on them, until he heard a voice behind him. “Stop!” It was Roy, standing with his staff, his whole body glowing with dark energy.

“This is between you and me, let’s finish this!”

John turned around, looking at him. “Fine, if you want to get your ass kicked again before I drag you off in chains, that’s fine with me.”

Roy snarled before charging at John with incredible speed, punching him over and over again with incredible power. John was barely fast enough to block any of them, his armor starting to break down under the pressure of the attacks. Then Roy began running around John in circles, so fast he was basically a blur.

“Fight me you coward!” The frustrated Guardian shouted, firing blasts of energy, but never being able to hit Roy.

Roy then suddenly turned and launched his fist towards John’s face. The punch shattered John’s helmet caving it in as the warrior fell to his knees, finally defeated.

Roy fell to his knees, clearly tired as Garnet to her feet and approached him. “You okay?” She asked as Craig ran off to check on Etla and the others, relieved to see that they were still alive. Roy turned to Garnet, looking at her skeptically.

“What are you doing here?” He asked her, not willing to admit that Garnet had clearly saved him.

“Grimm’s orders, Beta was behind schedule, she needed to know what was happening. The better question is what are you doing here. The Commander gave you direct orders to stay at base.”

Before Roy could respond and start the inevitable argument, he saw a strange shadow like figure begin to appear in the corner. He scrambled to his feet, staff in hand as Garnet cocked her pistol, ready to fire at any intruders. The shadow began to move closer to them before it suddenly began to take human form. Garnet raised her gun to shoot, while Roy merely stood there shocked.

“…Hannah?” He asked in total shock. Indeed, the body of Hannah Grimm was standing before him. However, her eyes were no longer red, but now pitch black.

“Hello Roy” She said in a deeper, less emotional voice than before, it was the Demon, not Hannah. “I’ve been longing to see you again.”
Roy gritted his teeth at this, “Let her go you monster! Let her go!”

Garnet fired her pistol at the Demon but it merely flew right through. It was not actually the Demon, merely an image of it.

“You misunderstand Roy. I am Hannah. She let me inside, we are one. I know you miss the Hannah you knew, but I can make it better. Join me, and we can live in peace together.”

Roy slammed his staff through the image, knowing it wouldn’t do anything but in the moment he didn’t care.

“You are not Hannah! I will NEVER join you. You’re a freak. And I swear that I will find a way to kill you.”

The Demon didn’t seem concerned with the threat, as if Roy was a pet that was misbehaving. “You are angry, I understand. But your submission is inevitable. You will be mine Roy. It is merely a matter of time. You can resist as long as you like, but your destiny is tied to mine. Goodbye for now Roy. We will meet again soon.”

With that the image of the Demon disintegrated into shadows, leaving Roy to stir in his anger. Garnet turned to him, not one to dwell on tense moments. “Come on, we need to get the wounded out of here.” She said, heading over to help Craig.

Roy didn’t follow, staying still, staring at the spot where Hannah was just standing. “I swear Hannah; I will find a way to get you back. I promised to keep you safe, and I’ll die trying to keep that promise. I love you.” He said quietly to himself before slowly following along with Garnet out of the abandoned theater.

Delta Squad
Xyri had gone flying from the top of Wayne tower, like a small gelatin meteor. She landed on the ground with a loud cracking sound as the pavement beneath her strained under the pressure. The noise got the attention of a large number of dark heart foot soldiers that were patrolling the streets of Gotham. They started encircling Xyri, who was getting incredibly worried, shaking excessively in fear until an obvious realization finally came to her mind.

“Wait, I can just nom them.” She said to herself, breaking in to a slimy smile as she quickly expanded and swarmed into a wave of enemies. She smothered them and absorbed them into matter which made Xyri grow larger and be able to stretch farther.

Soon, Xyri had absorbed dozens in not hundreds of soldiers, and was now 6 stories tall and still growing. The enemy soldiers realized what was going on and began to flee in terror from the giant Jell-O monster. Xyri was starting to enjoy this letting out a playful roar as she chased down the bad guys.

Suddenly however, she heard another giant roar, making her pause and turn around toward the noise. A giant monster came charging toward her, a flaming blade drawn as it approached his new foe. Xyri began jiggling in fear once more, beginning to regret her childish antics earlier.

The demon gave another primal roar and threw a large fire ball at Xyri. The alien’s eyes widened in horror as she just barely managed to dodge the fire, but not without it scorching her a bit and melting some of her matter. That made Xyri mad, her fear getting replaced with anger.

“Meanie! Fire Bad!”

She shouted her massive arms shifting into huge hammers as she advanced on the enemy demon. She swung her right hammer right into its chest, throwing the demon backwards. It slowly rose to its feet, slashing its sword at Xyri, who continued to dodge and morph away from the sword before it finally caught her right arm, slicing it clean off.

Xyri yelled out in pain, fearing for her life. She was terrified of this demon, and didn’t know what to do. However, then she remembered Mars and Kiris, and all of her friends. She couldn’t let them down, she couldn’t die.

“No! You won’t win!”

Soon Xyri’s right arm began to regrow in the shape of a massive longsword. “You’re not the only one with a sword!” She said, before attacking like a mad-slime woman. She slashed at him with the sword and swung the hammer overhead. The demon tried to fight back, but was clearly being overwhelmed. His fire began to dim as he took multiple hammer fists to the ribs. The Demon roared in frustration and raised his sword in the air and swung straight down. Xyri predicted it this time however and was ready for it. Shebroke down her form and slide under his legs, reforming behind him. The monster looked around confused, with Xyri smiling behind him.

“Boo”

Xyri reformed both her hands into hammers and slammed them together with the demon’s head in the middle, squashing it like a watermelon as it disintegrated into the dark energy it was made out of.

Xyri barley had time to celebrate her victory as Cybrog came running down the street, looking ready for a fight before seeing the giant demon disintegrating in front of him. “Uh… What happened here?” He asked the giant Xyri.

“I killed a baddie” Xyri said simply, “Where are the others?”

“Don’t know,” Cyborg responded, “Was going to ask you that.”

Xyri frowned, “Well we were together and then an android attacked… Cora! We need to help her!”

---

The whole of Wayne Tower began to shack as the battle between Cora and Android 22 raged on. Cora had beaten the Android before, but that with her team around her, and Katie giving her the help she needed. She was alone now, no one was there to help her.

The two flew against each other at supersonic speed, each delivering heavy blows but neither gaining an advantage. 22 instantly flew over across the room, picking up a desk and tossing it at Cora. “Give up, you’re in over your head.”

Cora dodged the desk, putting her hands together and charging a ki blast, “Infinite Blaster!” She shouted as a red blast of energy came from her hands. It hit 22, slamming him through the office wall, as books and paper flew everywhere. 22 was not gone for long forever, flying back through the chaos and slamming into Cora with incredible speed as visibility was low.

Cora cursed herself for making such a silly mistake and getting distracted, as she tried to keep her hands up to protect herself from the oncoming blows. 22 was too fast though, and he slammed his fist into Cora’s stomach. Cora recoiled at this crying out in pain as she was caught off guard.
Android 22 gave a cruel smile, planning to exploit his opening. He followed up with two brutal uppercuts to her chin, before teleporting behind Cora and kicking her square in the back knocking her through three floors.

Cora landed hard on the ground struggling to get up. She was so angry and frustrated with herself she was having trouble concentrating on the fight. Damn it Cora, get up! What the hell are you doing? What would Katie say?

Cora thought in her mind as she forced herself to her feet. Unfortunately, Android 22 was waiting for her, sending a swift kick to her head sending her backwards.

“You’ve grown weak! See, this is what emotions get you. This is your reward for kindness! You’ve grown soft, you’re no match for me.”
Cora couldn’t help but feel that 22 was right. She was weak. She was laying here beaten and broken, sure to be killed by her sworn enemy.
22 advanced on her, showing no mercy as he grabbed her by the throat, delivering blow after blow to Cora’s gut. The female cyborg began to violently cough up blood as the relentless assault continued.

Cora prepared herself to die, and as she did so her mind filled with regret. She would never see her daughter grow up, she would never grow old with Katie. She would never see the light again.

Suddenly the roof was ripped right off the building, Android 22 looked up wondering what could possibly could be happening. Towering above him was a giant woman shaped slime monster, and she didn’t look happy. “LEAVE HER ALONE!!” Xyri shouted, as Cyborg dropped down from her shoulder, slamming into Android 22. “Let’s see how you deal with this bot!” Cyborg shouted, as he caught Android 22’s fist that was flying toward his face.

Cyborg raised his energy cannon, firing it at Android 22, hitting the villain straight in the face and shooting him out of the tower. 22 stabilized in the air, however he didn’t charge back into the fight. He realized he was now outnumbered, and he was satisfied with pummeling his rival.
“Fine congrats, she gets to live today. But you’re better off just putting her out of her misery. She’ll never survive in this world. Weakness will not be tolerated anymore. You’ll all be dead soon enough.” He said before flying off into the sky.

Cyborg turned his attention Cora was barely conscious, and blubbering hysterically. Cyborg was able to make out words like “Katie, and Sorry”. Cyborg turned to Xyri who had shrunk down to regular size, “Come on, we need to get out of here and find the others. Cora will be okay, but we need to get her to safety so she can rest.”

Cora laid limp in Cyborg’s arms, crying softly as she was carried away down the stairs of the building. She was embarrassed by how badly she was beaten and bloodied. A part of her wished that 22 might have just killed her right there, it might have been better than living with the shame of defeat.

---

For Mars, carrying the sedated Kiris through the halls of Wayne Tower was kind of like carrying a sleeping panther, trying not to wake it up. That was terribly difficult for Mars, as his heart was racing and he was silently freaking out after having pushed his ex-girlfriend into darkness. It was something that he didn’t know if she could ever come back from.

How could he ever live with himself? Only now did he realize how much Kiris had loved him, and how horrible he had been to her. He now knew what he had to do. He had to cure the darkness that he set forth onto Kiris, and he wouldn’t rest until he had. First thing was first though, he had to get back alive first.

Mars rushed toward a nearby stairwell, trying to find a way back to the lobby. He had almost completely forgotten about the others and was solely focused on the Hadrian on his back. Speaking of the Hadrian, Kiris began to stir behind him. Panic flashed in Mars’ mind. If she woke up in the middle of the stairwell, she may very well get her revenge on Mars right there and then.

Mars pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he made his way down the stairs, finally reaching the ground floor. Mars was getting exhausted however, and he began to stumble, falling to the ground as Kiris fell of the ground onto the worn carpet. That was all that was needed to draw the darkheart from her sleep. Her black eyes jumped open, and she quickly let out a snarl and began to rail against her restraints. Mars was now panicking, he didn’t have another sedative, and there was no way to bring her back without it.

For the first time in a long time, Mars felt lost. He almost just wanted to break down and cry. He was filled with feelings of guilt, despair, and regret. He did the only thing he could think of doing it that moment, turning to Kiris who was currently struggling to gain freedom.

“Kiris” He said, his voice hoarse, tears filling his eyes. “This is my fault. I pushed you to this. You were so kind and so optimistic, and I crushed that. I don’t know why, but I hated you for being so happy when I was so miserable. I know you don’t understand any of this right now. But I don’t believe what I said to you. I want you to be alive, I need you to be alive. You’re my best friend, and I can’t lose you, I just can’t.” Mars said, dropping to his knees as he silently cried.

Mars suddenly heard footsteps coming from the lobby and he jumped to his feet, pulling his pistol from his side and aiming at the door. He had no idea whether it was friend or foe. A woman then came into view, a surprisingly friendly face considering the circumstances.

“Mars? Is that you?” Valancy asked, her eyes turning quickly to the snarling Kiris. “What is wrong with her… Is she… Is she a dark heart?”

All Mars could manage was a nod, and Valancy’s expression turned to one of morning sadness. “I’m so sorry Mars. I can give her a painless death. She won’t feel a thing.”

Mars jumped at this, “No, I’m taking her back to New York. I’m going to find a way to cure her. I have to.”

Valancy looked very unsure but it didn’t seem like Mars would take no for an answer and nodded, “Okay, then let me help you.” She closed her eyes and focused and plants began to breach the carpet, blooming beautiful purple flowers. The flowers opened up around Kiris and released spores into the air that landed around the dark heart. Soon Kiris stopped struggling and her body went still. Valancy spoke before Mars could object. “She’s just asleep don’t worry. It’s a very positive natural sedative. She’ll be out for a while.”

Mars nodded to Valancy in thanks before carefully picking Kiris up once more, holding her in his arms as the two rebels walked out to the lobby. They barely made it towards the door when Xyri and Cyborg came running toward them.

“There you are! We have a situation!” Cyborg said, motioning to Cora in his arms. Valancy tensed up immediately, fury in her eyes. “What happened to her? Who dare hurt her?” Valancy asked, her voice almost shouting.

“It was Android 22, he beat her pretty bad. She’ll be alright but we need to get her to safety.”

Valancy carefully took the beaten and crying Cora into her arms, making a calming shushing sound as she stroked the cyborg’s “There there Cora, you’re safe now.” Cora curled up in Valancy’s arms, feeling small and weak but in enjoying the comfort of her close friend’s arms.

Cyborg then say Kiris in Mars’ arms and raised an eyebrow, Xyri jiggled in concern. “What’s wrong with Kiris?” Xyri said frantically.

“She’s fine.” Mars said probably a little too quickly. “She got hurt, but she’ll be okay. She’s just resting now.” He lied, making sure to hide her face from view.

Cyborg looked like he wanted to question that story but luckily Valancy spoke up before he could. “We should go, getting back to camp is our top priority. The battle will be starting soon.”

“For better or worse, this city is about to be a very dangerous place to be.”

Amerigold Bridge
The smell of blood and rotting flesh was almost overwhelming, even to the senses of a battle tested commander like Samantha Grimm. She had seen the human body mutilated in the most unimaginable ways, been in the most repulsive environments from swamps to sewers, and even had to once use magic lace to reattach her own leg. However, she had never experienced anything like the medical tents outside of Gotham.

Sam was walking along with Elena Galadera, once the famous hero known as Stormlight now one of Sam’s highest ranking officers. Sam had wanted DeeDee to be with her, mostly for more support, but her demon mentor had runoff behind enemy lines to hunt down other demons for sport. Sam knew she should have expected that, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Sam walked through the entrance of the large tent and was immediately met with sounds of screaming, moaning, and other cringe worthy bodily noises. The only thing more distracting than the sounds were the smells, mud, blood, flesh, and pus. It was like the most disgusting air freshener you could imagine. She passed by the wounded, looking into each one of their eyes as she did, stopping by some of them and talking to them. It was important that the troops knew that they had a leader worth fighting for.

After making her rounds through the rows of wounded Sam made her way back to her command tent alone. Sam’s temporary living quarters were very modest as most of the members of the invading army were. She could have used her magic to quite easily make the place a paradise, Sam refused to live in luxury when most of her troops couldn’t. Her tent had no rug or carpeting, merely the dirt beneath her feet. There was a large stove in the center of the tented room, steam and smoke emanating from it as it subtly filled the room with heat. The soft crackling of the fire could be heard and the flames sparked on.

Sam sighed heavily as she took off her armor, laying her helmet and her chest piece down on the bed, leaving her in her leggings and a simple T-shirt. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Her bones ached, and her eyelids felt heavy over her eyes.

They had fought hard for over 7 hours, the minutes had seemed to blur together as wave after wave of demonic charged before them. The Free Earth Army had managed to push the demon army back to very edge of the Amerigold Bridge, but it was with heavy costs. They lost so many soldiers. Wives, husbands, sons and daughters, dead. There were even significant casualties among their hero cores. Van Zant was killed by a demon lord, and Raven was killed by Klarion right before Sam’s eyes. She had been in Commander Grimm’s vanguard during the battle. Raven died in Sam’s arms, her blood spilling onto the young leader’s uniform. The young half demon’s face still burned into her eyes.

Sam sat silently on her bed, tears beginning to stream down her face. She was a failure, and her people were dying because of it. She failed Raven, she failed her sisters, and she failed her army. The blood of the fallen stained her silky white hands, and she had no idea how to wash it off. She couldn’t even defeat Klarion the Witch Boy. She felt so alone, and so abandoned, like she was drifting in an roaring sea with no end in sight.

“Sam?”

The voice broke her out of her voice, and the witch jumped visibly, scurrying to wipe the tears from her eyes as she turned to see who was at the door. It was Elena, her black hair flowing past her shoulders as she looked intently at Sam.

“I’m sorry if I disturb you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Are you… alright?” Elena asked softly, her voice gentle, but edged slightly with worry.

Sam looked away, embarrassed by her tears and not wanting Elena to see her as weak. “I’m fine Elena. I just need to rest. Thank you…” She took a deep breath. “Thank you for checking up on me.” She said, her tone as firm as she could manage at the moment, hoping that Elena would leave.

However, Sam soon felt the mattress under her shift as it adjusted to the newly added weight. Elena had sat down, taking the witch’s hand in hers. “It’s alright to cry Sam. We’re at war. We need to be able to deal with our emotions, and not hide from them. That doesn’t make us weak, it makes us strong.” Elena told her commander.

Sam was a little shocked by Elena’s words, but her expression softened and she gripped her friend’s hand a bit. Elena was so strong and confident; Sam didn’t know how she did it. Sam secretly looked up to Elena, and well her smile… Sam pushed those thoughts aside though, her throat tightening from embarrassment.

“How are we supposed to keep going Elena? So many people lost… We’re not making enough progress, and Raven.”

Elena’s expression tightened, “No Sam, stop that right now.” She said, in a strong authoritarian tone. Sam might have reprimanded her for speaking like that if she wasn’t so shocked.

“We can’t think like that. Raven died for us, for our cause. Everyone we lost died because they believed in what we were doing, they believed in the light. We owe it to them to keep fighting. We owe it to them to survive.” She then turned and looked right into Sam’s eyes.
“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’re the only person who can lead us, because you’re the only person people are willing to die for. You will beat Klarion, and you will lead us to victory today, and I won’t let you think otherwise.”

Sam sat silently for a few moments before finally speaking up softly. “Thank you Elena, I needed that.” She said almost breathlessly, looking into Elena’s eyes, their faces mere inches from each other. They sat there silently until Sam started slowly moving closer to Elena, as if almost in a trance.

The moment was broken however when CeeCee entered the tent flap, “Commander Grimm, it is time for leadership meeting.” CeeCee said dutifully as Sam and Elena abruptly broke apart from each other, both flush in the face.

“Thank you CeeCee, we’ll be there in a moment.” Sam said, gaining her composure back as best as she could. She and Elena got up from the bed and headed out of the tent, a few steps apart from each other as they walked.

Sam turned to CeeCee as they walked, “Can I ask you to refrain from mentioning what you saw to DeeDee?” The commander asked her lieutenant.

CeeCee turned to her, “We share each-others experiences Ma’am, I’m afraid she already knows.”

The three of them soon arrived at the command tent, walking through the flap, as the people inside came to attention and saluted. Among them were Katie, Naja, Xander, and Jamie, dressed oddly as a U.S. military general. They stood around a large war table that looked like it was from the 20th century. It was incredibly meticulous and had little figures for each major force on the field.

“The enemy is concentrated at the base of the bridge.” Jamie said, pointing her long stick at the bridge. “They are building fortifications and have stationed siege weapons across the nearby roof tops. Demon artillery as it were.” Jamie said, pausing, looking at Sam. Sam was listening, but she was also staring intently at one piece in particular. It depicted a young boy with spikey black hair and a devilish smile.

Everyone was now watching her and she picked up the piece slowly and rolling it through her fingers, before looking toward the map. “The bridge will be a death trap for us. We’ve lost too may troops already. I won’t risk an all-out assault. I’ll draw Klarion out with a small force, and we’ll split our troops up and force our way through the water, and flank the enemy. We’ll use the bridge against them and box them it.”

One by one the generals nodded, including General Jamie, the tassels of her medals waving a bit as she did. Sam looked down at the piece in her hand one more time, before her fingers sparked with flames and the face of the figure began to melt away. She dropped it on the ground and looked to her lieutenants as the figure burned beneath her.

“Come on, we have a battle to win.”

[Tomia]

Young Bloods: One Day Later
The Cyborg had finally been dealt with and taken off to prison, and the Young Bloods were able to return to their normal lives. Well as normal as they ever got. Nico had gone to school that afternoon and it was around 5 o'clock when he returned. Cat caught him up to speed on what happened with the Cyborg, and it seemed to Nico that she might be a little upset that he wasn't there. Still Nico put that thought aside as he worked on the homework he had been putting off.

Mars meanwhile was sitting on the living room couch, reading a book Isaac Asimov. He was staying out in the common spaces more often than before, he still often sat in silence, but he was much more comfortable with the presence of others. Soon, he got a message on his phone, which led him to jump up off the couch and head to the computer in the living room.

His security network was finally paying off, and the robberies he was tracking were finally being traced. A large pharmaceutical company in Jump City was being robbed and they had a chance to stop it. Mars tripped the alarm on the computer that would alert every team member to come to commander center. Mars was excited about this one. He had been tracking whoever this was for weeks, and now he finally had a chance to catch them.

[Charmera]

Everyone Deserves to Have Their Story Told: A Tameranian's Quest: Part 1

Ph'Kora tucked her hood around her more Tameranian features as she observed the humans in the other building. The Binoculars were a useful invention indeed from these earthlings. The only flaw seemed to be that it couldn't magnify sound, so she could not hear what the two men and their bodyguards were saying. One seemed hunched over in some sort of coat, as did his entourage, while the others seemed to be in black suits, one of the men in particular stood out, with a sharp suit and an even sharper smile. A smile that hid a killers heart. For this was the man who killed her brother.

Dawnstar's research had led her right to him. He was one of the agents working for The Organisation. Mysterious name, and even more mysterious purpose. All she had been able to glean was that this was the man who performed the majority of the "Problem Removals", which sounded like thinly veiled assassinations, or perhaps a blanket statement for all sorts of nefarious deeds. What she did know was that there was definitely some skulduggery going on.

She saw a lull in the conversation, and decided that the tim for observation was over. She stepped out of the window and flew towards the warehouse, moving swiftly towards the top, and then she elegantly swan dove strait through the building and into the room with the meeting.

Now that she could see them up close, the hunched figures seemed very rat like. They suddenly jumped, startled they threw off their disguises and revealed their true rat forms. "Fool-Skum! You said we were not followed!" The lead rat shouted at the agent. Whom grabbed one of the guns on the table, pointing it at her. it seemed futuristic, and Dawnstar realized that the deal must have been for them. Exchanging money or something for weapons. They kind of shady deal she expected from the Organisation.

"Why did you kill my brother?" She asked. "Choose your next words carefully, the lives of your comrades depend on it."

The rat thing looked from the Agent to Dawnstar. Then growled. "Skit-Skit has no time for human foolishness!" She spoke, then grabbed a syringe from the table and stabbed one of his minions, injecting him with a foul liquid. He seemed to exponentially bulk in size and muscle mass. He was a hulking rat thing. It seemed to be twice the size of the hulk in muscle mass alone, though whether or not that translated to true strength would be revealed. The Rat named Skit-Skit pointed at Ph'Kora. "Kill-Kill!" He ordered.

The hulking rat charged her, Kora was hit into the wall and then pummeled into the ground. Then smashed several times. The Rat howling and smashing with dumb glee, drool rolling down onto Kora. Who winced with every earth shaking hit. Until she suddenly grabbed his fists.

Her form was now clad in a red symbiote, it's bug eyes trained on the Hulking rat as it held it's arms aloft. As Kora looked at him, she was in agony, but it only pushed her rage.

"StUPId RAt." She gargled out before slamming her fist into its chin in an uppercut, breaking it's jaw and most of it's teeth. Then she grabbed one of it's Legs and pulled very hard.

It howled in pain as it's leg snapped off, then Dawnstar rammed the leg into the rat, the broken sharp bone piercing through it and killing it instantly.

Suddenly she was accosted with four more rats, with needles sticking out of them, Skit-Skit crying. "You are the stupid one Woman-Demon. I have more minions than you have fingers. But that will soon change. Yes-Yes."

"GoOd" She retorted, suddenly ploughing her hand through a Rat Things chest. "MoRe BlOoD fOr Me" She spoke, before draining the rat she killed dry. She seemed possessed. As if the pain was taxing her. Luckily these rat things were nothing to feel guilty killing. Even the most peaceful pacifist would not mind the extermination of their foul kind, it seemed almost a part of them itself. This natural generation of loathing.

She suddenly unleashed a torrent of hot searing blood on one of the Rat Hulks, then she was suddenly grabbed by two of them and restrained. Then the rat leader walked towards her, smiling his fanged smile as he looked at her. But before he could utter a gloat, suddenly the two Rat Hulks were speared by Dawnstar's hands, turning into weapons of stabbing. She then used all of her strength to drag the two of them forwards, suddenly creating two very large and very heavy mallets which slammed into the Rat Leader, crushing him to a pulp.

Dawnstar retracted her bloody appendages from the rats. Then glared balefully at the Agent. "YoU'rE NeXt"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Black Sun smiled as her two companions cheered her on and complimented her for her maneuver, her smile then turning into a wide grin when she saw the two Arcosians both smash into a mountain, which she found quite humorous. Even the praise given by Gelus seemed to improve her mood, despite the fact that he was the leader of the enemy forces, and she chuckled lightly while running her free hand through her hair. "It was nothing, really." She said, with modesty that was painfully and obviously false. However, her mood soured when the two Arcosians returned from the crater they had left, looking worse for wear but unfortunately still able to fight. Frowning as she heard their retort, the female cyborg watched them carefully, not willing to be taken by surprise once again. "Oh yeah? You're the creepy weirdos who have to tag team a little girl in order to beat her up, and I'm the pathetic one?" She shouted at Glace and Cier, before bracing for their attack. Thanks to her cybernetic senses, she was able to see the blow coming towards her stomach in time and sidestep it, before swinging her blade towards Cier in a wide arc, while creating a thin but powerful barrier of solar energy around herself in order to prevent further damage.

---

---

Once more, Nelli found herself waiting for the stranger's response, though this time she did so eagerly, content that she had made some progress. After all, he had been utterly terrified of her at first, fleeing from her touch, but now, though he had refused to take her hand, he had agreed to allow her to help him, which meant she was doing well so far. The winged girl smiled at him once more as she noticed him staring into her eyes, patient as ever, free of the prejudices and pressures of those who were born into this world, at the moment preoccupied only by the helpless stranger in front of her.

Pulling back her hand as he continued to ignore it, Nelli listened attentively as the young man finally answered her question, also glad to see that he was introducing himself, taking this as a sign of growing trust. "Nice to meet you, Yoshi. I will try to get you something quickly, alright?" She said, before looking around and pausing, thinking about something, before walking up to Yoshi. She leaned her parasol against a wall for a moment, and then took off the shroud that was currently draped around her neck, gently placing it on Yoshi's shoulders instead. Then, for an instant, Nelli seemed surprised, but she brushed it off and simply continued looking at her new friend, or at least, in his general direction.

"This will keep you safe. Just wait here until I get back, alright?" The girl with the butterfly wings told him. Then, she took her parasol and turned around, walking out of the alley, confident that her shroud of darkness would protect Yoshi like she had assured him. After all, who would want to harm something they're not even aware of?

It was a few minutes until Nelli would return, bearing a small plastic bag in her free hand. She seemed as calm as ever, though there were a few red stains visible on her otherwise pristine white dress, apparently left by some drops of blood. She did not seem to mind at all, though, and simply walked back to Yoshi, sitting down next to him and pulling out a pair of plastic-wrapped burgers, handing one to him. "Here. You said you were hungry, I hope this helps. During my stay in this world I've learned these are pretty tasty." She smiled kindly at him, before unwrapping her own meal and happily digging into it, or at least, as happily as the calm-spirited girl could be.

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Planet surface
Cier felt the blade cut across his face as a nasty gash formed on his cheek. He screeched in pain and then flew backward clutching his face. "Y-you... You! You little brat!" He exclaimed, flying at her and delivering a full-force punch to her. At least that's what he planned to do, but Glace was now flying right into him due to Prototype delivering a powerful kick to the Arcosian, and now both of them were on the ground.

They both sprang to their feet, both with displeased looks. Gelus sighed. "Oh just finish them already you idiots!" He commanded, and the two Arcosians nodded. They flew at Prototype and assaulted him from all sides. Prototype was matching them blow-for-blow, not letting a single one through. Glace then threw an uppercut which got past Prototype's defenses, and it sent him soaring into the air with the Arcosians behind him.

The two then unleashed a devastating combination of kicks and punches, and finished it off by sending the helpless Android flying into the mountain with a kick. The Arcosians then pointed their hands at each other, and a blue sphere of energy began forming between them. The sphere grew rapidly, and within a few seconds it was bigger than both of them.

Then with a shout of "Twin Burst!" The sphere shot at the mountains, impacting them with devastating force, shaking the entire area, and vaporizing the mountains completely. All that was left was a large crater, and a huge mushroom-cloud. "Prototype!" Conundrum exclaimed, thinking that the Android must have been killed by the blast.

However he appeared right in front of Cier, with parts of his skin missing, revealing silver metal beneath it. He grabbed Cier by the neck, and growled at him. "Hey... You wanna see something cool?" He asked the Arcosian. Cier growled. "And what might that be?" He asked. Prototype grinned. "OVERDRIVE!" He exclaimed.

Emerald energy surrounded him like fire, and he screamed in pain as his "muscles" suddenly got larger, and his green hair became longer. Sparks of energy came off of him occasionally, and his eyes no longer had pupils, but were instead pure white. Cier cried out in pain as the energy surrounded him, and Prototype threw the Arcosian at Glace, however Glace dodged him. Cier crashed into the ground, now unconscious.

Prototype simply floated there in front of the now shocked Glace with a scowl on his face. "You scared?" He asked. Glace growled, shaking his head. "You should be." Prototype replied, moving forward so quickly it would look like he teleported, and he smashed into Glace, sending him soaring into the ground.

[The Templar High Council]

---

Feeling Kylie's arms wrapping around her and pulling her close, Jamie immediately seized up, expecting pretty much anything from the older girl at this point except for a hug. She was very tense and scared due to the situation she was going through, not to mention how Kylie's angry demeanor had put her even more on edge moments ago, so it was not surprising to her that she found herself unable to appreciate or enjoy the gesture. Still, in a moment of lucidity, she reasoned that, if Kylie was doing this, then it was unlikely that she was as angry as before anymore, and that brought her solace. Despite Cora and Marybeth's arrest and now the looming prospect of a reprimand from the older members of the group, the black-haired girl managed to relax ever so slightly for a moment, before moving away from the hug and rubbing her shoulders a little. She was luckily still affected by the powers of her ring, which had been active since she had rushed back to the tower, so she was not affected by the hug, but she could still tell that it had been very strong.

Then, for the second time during that conversation, Jamie was taken by surprise, this time due to Kylie tossing her a Green Lantern ring and urging her to lead the way to where Cora and Marybeth were arrested. The girl was quite astonished by this: she didn't know that there were more than a few Green Lantern rings, given how she rarely kept up with other superheroes and preferred to shut herself in and play videogames, and it was very surprising to have one thrust into her hands, much more so after Kylie's vehement reaction to her story. Still, she put it on without saying a word, not wanting to turn away the gift, even though her own powers could likely allow her to lead the way to the crime scene just as easily.

"A-alright then... Um, follow me." The meek girl known as Final Boss said, and took to the skies, heading towards the destroyed cyborg factory.

Kylie took off after Jamie, matching her speed as both girls flew cloaked in green light. She could see Jamie wasn't comfortable talking about what happened, so she didn't try to strike up a conversation unless she needed to. So she just sailed along, silently, letting Jamie lead her to the factory where Cora and MB got arrested. Upon landing, the two girls looked around for... tracks, I guess? But they couldn't find any concrete evidence as to where the police had gone, except guessing that they were headed back to the station.

"Wait, duh!" Kylie reached into a pocket that had formed on her suit, and pulled out a pocketwatch-sized device with the letters JQ on it. Kylie had the idea after watching some documentary about a superhero group from Jump City, and she forced those more technically inclined to build it for her. She called them "JQmunicators," and could track the location of others with them. Though only Kylie, Katie, Naja, Cora, and Valancy had them, and they didn't always remember to carry them around. So it wasn't that reliable. But on the chance Cora had hers today...

"Hey, I got something!" Kylie pulled Jamie over and showed her the device's screen, which showed a red blip on the edge of a navy-looking radar scanner. "Cora's that way, let's just hope she's not in too much trouble." Kylie took off again, following the blip as she flew back towards more populated territory.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Soon enough, with Jamie leading the way, the two Justice Queens reached the ruined site that was the remnant of the cyborg factory that she had destroyed alongside Cora and Marybeth. As swiftly as they had taken off, they landed, and Jamie tried to help out Kylie as much as she could in finding a lead towards the whereabouts of her arrested friends. Unfortunately, she was unable to find any leads; not only was she distracted by her terrible nervousness about the whole ordeal, but there was also a distinct lack of tracks leading anywhere. The cops had clearly cleared out of that place shortly after she had left, and there weren't any of them around anymore, though there seemed to be police tape in the distance.

Suddenly hearing Kylie's voice, she turned around and looked at the older girl as she pulled out her fancy communicator. She didn't have one, so she didn't think of using it to track down Cora, but she still walked back to Kylie and followed her around, thinking that it was a good idea. Walking alongside the Green Lantern in the direction indicated by the communicator's radar, it did not take very long for the two of them to find themselves just outside of the police station that Cora and Marybeth had been taken to. Now in the presence of several cops, Jamie was less than thrilled to continue, and turned to Kylie with pleading eyes.

"C-can I wait outside...?" She asked.

[Tomia]

The Song of Venus and Mars

“From the sky, fire shall rain. A demon shall appear from the flames to bring Rome to her knees. Pray to the Gods, they are our only hope.”

The year was 120 AD, and the Roman Empire holds dominion over most of the known world. It is the third year into the young reign of Emperor Hadrian, a wise and experienced military general. Under his rule the empire has prospered under an unusual era of peace. The people of the Empire are experiencing an era of prosperity and luxury. However, both Roman and Christian priests across the empire have begun to warn of omens in the sky. Signs of the coming of a great evil approaching, that would threaten to destroy Rome itself. Most believe this to be superstition and nonsense, after all what could threaten Rome? Little did they know that the world would soon be changed forever. Fire would rain from the sky, and bloodshed would follow it.

A young boy stands at the base of a river, the sun shining brightly down on his head as he filled a large basin with water. His name was Fulco, and he was a member of the small Germanic tribe that referred to themselves as the Sarogins. They were a weak and little known tribe, that was merely trying to survive in the harsh terrain north of the Danube River. Fulco was about 12 years old, his body lean due to a hard life of labor. Even at the age of 12 he has been a major provider for his family and his tribe. The Sarogins needed every person in their tribe able to contribute, if they were going to be able to sustain themselves.

Fulco filled up the basin with as much water as it could hold, before strapping it to his back, shifting under the weight as he made his way towards the dirt path that would start the long journey back to his village. The wind howled a bit as he walked. It was early fall and therefore not unbearably cold, but the fall was notoriously cold in Germany. Fulco didn’t know much about the world beyond the territory of his small tribe. He had never left the territory and only heard the occasional story about the outside when a wandering traveler stumbled upon their village. From those people Fulco had heard stories of massive cities filled with banquets of food and flowing water. Fulco couldn’t even imagine what those cities must be like, what kind of people must live there.

Hours later as the sun was setting in the sky, Fulco reached his village. He entered through the tall and narrow wooden gate. Village might be a generous term for the circumstances in which the Sarogins lived. It was more like a large collection of huts and small cabins, structured in circles around large square fires. In the center of the village was a large wooden cabin, with multiple floors. There lived their chief, the richest and most powerful man in the tribe, Gerulf. Gerulf was nearly a living legend within their tribe, having killed a wolf when he was only 5 years old. He was a man of great determination and ambition. He would not be satisfied with being the ruler of a few tents and fires for long.

Fulco returned to his family tent, placing the water jug carefully on the ground before heading over to his family’s fire to join them and their neighbors for dinner. Fulco had just sat down and began to dig into his smoked meat when suddenly the sky exploded. A bright red light streaked across the sky, it was almost blinding with how bright it was. Everyone in the village immediately stopped what they were doing, staring up at the bright light in awe. Some began shouting about how it was the end of the world, others shouting that it was god falling to Earth.

Soon the entire village was on their feet, running out of their gated community and headed to the forest where it seemed that the sky rock had landed. Smoke filled the air in the forest as hundreds of trees were flattened by the impact and hundreds more were set ablaze, causing a sanguine light not unlike that of twilight to permeate the space beneath the forest canopy. The villagers were scared, but Chief Gerulf urged them on and inspired them to continue alongside him.

They soon arrived by the rock that had landed in the midst of the forest, making a new clearing under its own power. The flames were not as present there as they were elsewhere, and so, without fear, the villagers could observe the rock. It was smooth and seemed to reflect the light of the sun and the forest fires. The tribe surrounded the rock, and Chief Gerulf boldly stepped forward until he was in front of the strange object, waiting, knowing something was bound to happen.

His expectations were fulfilled in a way he could have never expected. A part of the giant rock soon exploded outwards, narrowly missing Gerulf. Most of the villagers were frightened, but the chief stood his ground, and the others did the same. From within the rock, something rose. A large, vicious claw covered in scales gripped the side of the hole in the rock, and then another. A figure soon pulled itself out from within, but when the villagers saw it… they were surprised. The creature that had emerged from within the burning stone was not a demon as they had expected. It looked like a person, like a girl in fact, with long hair the color of roses. She looked like a woman, but at the same time demonic, for along with her claws there were a pair of horns on her head and a long white tail that was a meter long.

The villagers stared in awe at the not quite human creature in front of them, some in wonder, some in terror, but all of them in reverence. The girl stood tall despite her small size, and let out a roar that would not be heard from the fiercest beasts of all. The ground shook, and the fires were put out, and the clouds parted before that girl, and the villagers fell to their knees, clutching their heads. When the noise subsided, they rose their heads up to stare at the creature before them, before once again lowering them and bowing in awe.

Gerulf however rose to his feet, taking a step toward the strange woman, a bright look of determination in his eyes. The power before him was incredible, it was the power of a god, and he planned to harness it. “What is your name, O great Goddess of the Sky?” He asked her in Gaelic. The so-called goddess looked down at the elder, and spoke with a voice that was soft and melodic, nothing like the powerful roar from before.

“Kirisvala.”

[The Templar High Council]

---

Soon enough, with Jamie leading the way, the two Justice Queens reached the ruined site that was the remnant of the cyborg factory that she had destroyed alongside Cora and Marybeth. As swiftly as they had taken off, they landed, and Jamie tried to help out Kylie as much as she could in finding a lead towards the whereabouts of her arrested friends. Unfortunately, she was unable to find any leads; not only was she distracted by her terrible nervousness about the whole ordeal, but there was also a distinct lack of tracks leading anywhere. The cops had clearly cleared out of that place shortly after she had left, and there weren't any of them around anymore, though there seemed to be police tape in the distance.

Suddenly hearing Kylie's voice, she turned around and looked at the older girl as she pulled out her fancy communicator. She didn't have one, so she didn't think of using it to track down Cora, but she still walked back to Kylie and followed her around, thinking that it was a good idea. Walking alongside the Green Lantern in the direction indicated by the communicator's radar, it did not take very long for the two of them to find themselves just outside of the police station that Cora and Marybeth had been taken to. Now in the presence of several cops, Jamie was less than thrilled to continue, and turned to Kylie with pleading eyes.

"C-can I wait outside...?" She asked.

"Why's that?" She questioned back. "I thought you said you didn't get arrested? What's wrong with talking to police officers? We do that all the time." Kylie paused in the parking lot to find out why Jamie didn't want to go in. At the same time, she recalled her Deputy Ring, the green light dissolving off of Jamie's hand into the early evening light. Kylie pocketed the tracking device, after verifying that Cora, or at least Cora's communicator, was inside.

"Chill out, OK? There's no reason to be scared unless yo did something wrong." Saying it less like an accusation and more like a statement of fact, Kylie stepped proudly into the police station with her mask on. On the plus side, her outfit was familiar enough to the people of New York, so the officer at the desk didn't demand that she put her hands in the air, or anything of the sort.

"Ms. Lantern? What are you doing here?" The officer looked at her with surprise, definitely not expecting any superheroes to drop by today.

"Oh, I just heard that one of my friends was here. In a holding cell. So I came to bring her home." Kylie leaned on the front desk, smiling as she described Cora and MB. "Red hair, dark clothes, probably a sideways-figure-eight somewhere, along with a girl with REALLY bright blonde hair and who likes to yell." The officer watched in shock for a moment, before reaching for a phone on his desk.

"And these two girls are part of the Justice Queens?" He asked, needing the answer for his call.

"Yes. One's been with us for a while, the other is kinda new." Hurriedly, the officer called inside the building to those interrogating in the back. "Hey, those girls we brought in are part of the Justice Queens... Yes, those Justice Queens... I don't know why they didn't say anything, but let them out! One of them is here to pick them up, and so far they haven't done anything THAT bad... Yes, alright. Thanks." The man hung up, and turned back to face Kylie. "You all are responsible enough, but I need to make sure they're reprimanded to an extent. We don't quite have the ability to punish any of you... but be glad we haven't called SHIELD or anyone like that."

"Oh, don't worry." Kylie smiled her Mindy Smile. "They're going to be reprimanded for what they did. I can assure you that."

[Tomia]

Kylie to the Rescue

Cora was still sulking in her interrogation room when suddenly the door opened and an officer came inside. "You're free to go." The officer said to him. Cora looked at him in shock.

"Really?" She asked, not sure what was going on.

"Ya, one of your teammates came to bail you out." He said leaving the door open before walking away.

Cora tensed up, she didn't know which teammate it was but hoped it wasn't Katie. That would be bad. Either way, it wouldn't be good. Any of them would certainly be furious at her, Cora knew that going into the mission. Now that she was about to face it though, she felt like she'd rather just stay in jail.

Cora made her way to the front of the police station, where she saw Kylie waiting for her in her lantern costume, she remembered to be careful not to say Kylie true name. "Ms. Lantern, thanks for coming to get me. Things didn't go exactly as planned." Cora said meekly, not really sure what else to say, preparing for the tongue lashing she would certainly receive.

[Galnius]

Kylie to the Rescue

Cora was still sulking in her interrogation room when suddenly the door opened and an officer came inside. "You're free to go." The officer said to him. Cora looked at him in shock.

"Really" She asked, not sure what was going on.

"Ya, one of your teammates came to bail you out." He said leaving the door open before walking away.

Cora tensed up, she didn't know which teammate it was but hoped it wasn't Katie. That would be bad. Either way, it wouldn't be good. Any of them would certainly be furious at her, Cora knew that going into the mission. Now that she was about to face it though, she felt like she'd rather just stay in jail.

Cora made her way to the front of the police station, where she saw Kylie waiting for her in her lantern costume, she remembered to be careful not to say Kylie true name. "Ms. Lantern, thanks for coming to get me. Things didn't go exactly as planned." Cora said meekly, not really sure what else to say, preparing for the tongue lashing she would certainly receive.

Marybeth had had fun messing with her officer, even muting her a few times. Finally, much to the police woman's chagrin, another officer came in when the woman's every moved was amplified. "You're free to go", said the second officer.

"Wait, what?" Said the first one in distress. "She is clearly up to something, she-"

"Is one of the Justice Queens." The Officer finished her sentence from her, taking off the cuffs.

"Oh, did you just find that out?" Marybeth said teasingly. "I would've said so sooner, but I must admit, she was much too fun." Snickering as she was leaving, she threw the female officer one last smirk. She was in high spirits, she found this all quite fun. When she came out, she saw Cora already there with Jamie and none other than Kylie. "Oh, are you my knight in shining armor Miss Lantern? Come to save your damsel? I thank you, m'lady."

[The Templar High Council]

Kylie looked over to Salis after she and Nelli had finished dressing. "Well look who wants to get busy now? You sure you want to head out to find him? Or would you rather go tear down an orphanage? Maybe stab an old lady?" Kylie stared daggers at Salis; with good reason, his former actions have warranted it. All the same, Kylie turned back towards the other changing rooms to see how the other two guys had turned out with these medieval clothes. She was already starting to think to when she would meet her great-however-many-times-grandfather. Hopefully it wouldn't be very hard to ask him how he beat the Red Knight, and do it herself in the future, and she was still pretty excited about this whole ordeal of time travel.

Salis' temper rose at Kylie's jab. He didn't kill because of some sadistic joy he got from it, and he didn't appreciate being compared to those who did. "You may not agree with my methods, but I do not do this because I enjoy it," he said with and edge to his voice. "I do it because your methods don't work. You're too soft to do what's necessary, and people suffer because of it." Done explaining himself, he looked around impatiently as the others continued to change into their medieval outfits. Sitting around was not his strong suit, and the sooner they got moving the sooner he could go back to advancing Ra's plans. He'd been away from the world for too long it was time for him to get back to it.

Camelot

"Excuse me!" Kylie exclaimed, offended at his words. "At least I try to do good! Instead of hurting people for no good reason!" Kylie steamed for a bit, before becoming impatient at the other 3 taking too long to dress. Somewhat angry, Kylie tore open the door to the guy's changing room and shouted in: "What's taking so long? Nelli and I could figure it out easy enough, shouldn't be hard for you guys—"

Upon looking in, Kylie noticed an arcane circle on the ground, with Boxer, Rip, and Simon inside of it. Simon had just finished chanting and pushed his hands forward, enveloping the three in light. A bright flash came, and in the aftermath the three men were gone. "What!?" Kylie exclaimed, seeing that Simon had taken Boxer and Rip back home. If he could've done that, why didn't he do it in the beginning?

Kylie sighed, closing the door and returning to Nelli and Salis. "The others went home. Simon cast a spell to take them back. So now... it's just the three of us." Her shoulders slumped, now not so certain if this mission would be as easy as she thought it would be. And they've barely begun the actual quest...

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

"Yes, it was me. Are you speech impaired or something?" Black Sun asked the Arcosian with genuine concern as she flicked her sword; an unnecessary gesture, given that what little blood may have landed on the blade was undoubtedly obliterated instantly upon touching the radiant green energy. Her acute senses fed her enough information that she knew not to worry about the fist barreling towards her, and simply stood by with a falsely sweet smile on her face as she waited for Cier's attack, which never came. Looking at the two Arcosians who were now on the ground, she giggled a little. "Try a little harder next time. He could probably take you two without me if you weren't a pair of cowards." She teased them.

Afterwards, she simply stood off to the side and watched the fight taking place. The stakes were rising, she could see that much from the way Prototype exchanged blows with Glace and Cier, but she didn't feel that she was needed there and in any case, she'd probably be more helpful by watching for an opening and exploiting it, not that she felt that was necessary either. She was content to simply observe.

She was definitely taken aback, though, and even scared, when the Arcosians' Twin Burst seemed to destroy the area around Prototype. When he appeared and began pounding on the Arcosians once more, she breathed a sigh of relief, happy to see that her new friend hadn't been pulverized by a pair of alien weirdos. Flying up to him when he was done smashing Glace into the ground, she lightly smacked him on the head.

"Don't scare me like that, you meanie." She said playfully, before turning to Glace. Holding out a hand towards him, she conjured solar energy once again, but this time instead of a blast, she created a solid construct similar to a chain which attached itself to Glace's leg. Making use of it, she began swinging the Arcosian around like a flail, smashing him into the rocky ground several times before finally releasing him. Approaching the battered alien, she drew her glowing green sword once again and pointed at it, looking back at Prototype. "Do I kill it or something?" She asked.

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

-snip-

Cier would have hit the girl harder due to her utter lack of understanding sarcasm had he not been knocked away by Glace. Then the two Arcosians would have attacked her for calling them cowards, but Prototype was there, and now they were both on the ground in shambles. Prototype simply looked at Black Sun with his pure white eyes, with no trace of his pupils left. He nodded. "Sorry." He said simply, turning to look at the two Arcosians.

Glace growled. "Impossible! We can't lose to two low class warriors like y-" He never finished that sentence as he was grabbed by the chain, and thrown around wildly until he was nothing more than a crumpled heap of Arcosian lying on the ground moaning. Prototype nodded at Black Sun, however the red-skinned alien woman that was named Solmu suddenly appeared, and grabbed Black Sun by the neck and squeezed.

"Okay little girl, that's enough." She said harshly, flinging her away from her and into Prototype. Prototype was not pushed backwards however, and he simply caught the girl in his arms. "Are you alright?" He asked her. Then he looked at Solmu. "Beating up teenage girls? That's low even for monsters like you." He said, setting Black Sun down. Solmu cracked her neck and her knuckles as she laughed. "Hey, is it my fault that she's such an easy target?" Asked the woman as she got into a fighting stance.

Prototype rushed at her, however the woman was much faster than he expected, and he received a knee to the chest as his own momentum was now used against him. Solmu grabbed him by the face and smiled slyly at him. "You know, for an Android you're kinda cute." She noted, giving him a peck on the cheek. She then delivered a punch to his gut, causing him to gasp. "Not that cute though." With those words Solmu delivered a mighty kick to the Android, throwing him backward fifty feet, and he landed on the ground hard, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Solmu then looked at Black Sun. "Aww. You feel left out don't you little girl?" Solum then vanished, only to reappear right in front of Black Sun. "Don't worry. You'll get yours too." She said, throwing a punch at the girl's face.

[Illica Falki]

Ava
Ava was bored. There's not much else that can be said about that. There's only so much to do alone in a garden on the roof of a tower, she's the only one up there usually, and the same flowers and trees get boring the hundredth time you see them all.
Ave finally had enough of sitting on the branch of her home, she got up and flew into the the tower. She wanted to find something to do so she would be not so bored. Flying through the living room she didn't even notice Mars reading on couch, and flew right out of the room without even knowing he was there. She instead went to Kiris's room, and landed on the dragon-girls head. "Hi Kiri, Whatcha doin?" She doesn't realize she mispronounced Kiris's name...

[The Rebel Alliances]

Daniel Carter/Killswitch-24 Yrs-Cathedral Terra

It seemed as if an understanding of my enhancements was programmed into my brain as I seemed to have an innate knowledge of all my weapons systems. Meaning that I was fast to act, blitzing into action with a burst of speed that was easily comparable to the Sentry Serum I used before. Planting a blow that delved deep into her stomach, but due to her elastic nature, the impact caused next to minimal damage, which was fine with me. My aim was never to harm her anyways. The sparring match was still ongoing however, and her rubber limbs began to wrap themselves around me. Constricting my entire body like an army of boa snakes. With her hands placed firmly over my eyes, her voice next to my ear.

"Dont bother struggling. Not even Shatterstar can break free once I have him in a bind like this." She was not bluffing, as I found it difficult to even move my limbs inches under her suffocating bind.

"I am not Shatterstar." I calmly uttered as I used a powerful concussive beam from my eyes which seared her hand. I used levels only powerful enough to hurt, but nothing permanent was inflicted. As I am well aware that extreme heat and cold is...painful for Catherine.

With a surprised yelp of moderate pain she loosened her hold enough for me to place a punch capable of dropping a skyscraper into her gut, forcing her to loose her hold enough for me to escape. As I deployed three spheres the size of volleyballs from a device resembling a backpack around me. Prepared to continue, Catherine stood hunched over as a result of me hitting her. Hesitant of approaching her as it felt like bait, after a few moments I began to second guess that I may have unintentionally injured her.

Stepping closer to her, her long hair covered her face from my view and all I heard was the occasional sound of a pained grunt.

My synthetic voice displaying what concern it could.
"Should we stop? I-" I did not get to finish. As her fist quickly expanded into the size of a refrigerator as she uppercut me with crushing force.

Standing over me, her fist was back into its normal shape. As she looked down on me.

"You should remember that there is no such thing as fighting fair." My left hand cupped my chin where she had hit me square in the jaw. I coordinated my drones as they flew around me in a scattered fashion. Rebound launched a barrage of stretching punches and kicks, several of which passed me and wrapped around as she attempted to hit my blind side. The drones however were supplying me a constant feed of their visual range, and with them focused on my blind spots meant I could literally see behind myself.

Able to see, react to and counter the blows it did not take long for Rebound to get wise to the tactic, so, she turned her attention on destroying the drones. This is where the difference of being a cyborg was made evident by her inability to divide her attention and actions against so many targets at once. Her limbs crossed around the room resembling a titanic game of twister. But the drones just bobbed and weaved over and under her limbs. Taking my chance I surged forward and snatched a her leg as I promptly begun to spin her around increasing the force of impact before letting her go, crashing into and denting the far wall.

As Her body reshaped itself to a normal figure I wondered just what these walls were made of that she did not crash all the way through it. Regardless she shook herself off and pulled both fists back before unleashing a veritable flurry of blows. Despite each punch having to stretch across the room to reach me they contained such speed as if she was standing in front of me, and vastly increased force. I dodged a few but several hits struck home. Each one thowing me back a small ways until a final punch scored a center blow, but this time she did not pull it back, rather it continued forward forcing me to the far opposite end of the room as I braced myself against it. My cybernetic arms battled with her elastic limbs as we entered into the largest arm wrestling match ever, only to be interrupted by a Forever Knight who had arrived to deliver a message.

The knight addressed Rebound in a tone of respect, while seemingly ignoring my presence. "Godbreaker Rebound, Max and his forces have engaged Xander in Praetoria, just before he arrived there, he sent a request for you to take..." His voice trailed off as he considered what to refer to me as. "The experiment with you and lay siege to New York. In order to take focus from our King's forces." As he finished and was about to leave Rebound called after him. Despite his armor I could tell by his body movement he was surprised.

"You will address the experiment as Killswitch with respect. After all he works for our King as you and I." The soldier made an about face and looked over at me.

"Of course, begging my pardon...Mad Cyborg." The way he spoke 'Mad Cyborg' had a touch of venom to it, but it was good enough. With him dismissed, me and Rebound started out the doors, to prepare an invasion against the United States.

[Urran]

Once more, Nelli found herself waiting for the stranger's response, though this time she did so eagerly, content that she had made some progress. After all, he had been utterly terrified of her at first, fleeing from her touch, but now, though he had refused to take her hand, he had agreed to allow her to help him, which meant she was doing well so far. The winged girl smiled at him once more as she noticed him staring into her eyes, patient as ever, free of the prejudices and pressures of those who were born into this world, at the moment preoccupied only by the helpless stranger in front of her.

Pulling back her hand as he continued to ignore it, Nelli listened attentively as the young man finally answered her question, also glad to see that he was introducing himself, taking this as a sign of growing trust. "Nice to meet you, Yoshi. I will try to get you something quickly, alright?" She said, before looking around and pausing, thinking about something, before walking up to Yoshi. She leaned her parasol against a wall for a moment, and then took off the shroud that was currently draped around her neck, gently placing it on Yoshi's shoulders instead. Then, for an instant, Nelli seemed surprised, but she brushed it off and simply continued looking at her new friend, or at least, in his general direction.

"This will keep you safe. Just wait here until I get back, alright?" The girl with the butterfly wings told him. Then, she took her parasol and turned around, walking out of the alley, confident that her shroud of darkness would protect Yoshi like she had assured him. After all, who would want to harm something they're not even aware of?

It was a few minutes until Nelli would return, bearing a small plastic bag in her free hand. She seemed as calm as ever, though there were a few red stains visible on her otherwise pristine white dress, apparently left by some drops of blood. She did not seem to mind at all, though, and simply walked back to Yoshi, sitting down next to him and pulling out a pair of plastic-wrapped burgers, handing one to him. "Here. You said you were hungry, I hope this helps. During my stay in this world I've learned these are pretty tasty." She smiled kindly at him, before unwrapping her own meal and happily digging into it, or at least, as happily as the calm-spirited girl could be.

Yoshi had not moved much. Nelli would find him sitting Indian style on the ground, thinking over the past few hours, or at least trying to. He remembered everything up until about three hours prior to his arriving in this strange new world. He had been doing his grocery shopping extra late. He'd gotten his flour, his rice, cooking oil, some fresh vegetables, and all of the necessary snacks like chips and pastry cakes that late working journalists needed. He'd been alone in the train car. Then nothing up until the past few minutes. This gap troubled him greatly. There was no rhyme or reason to it that he could think.

However this was soon forgotten by Nelli's re-arrival. He noticed the blood. That was what he focused on. Blood. Red blood. where did that come from? Just who was Nelli? Did she kill someone? Was he next? While he tried to focus on what she was saying, he could not help but stare at the stains as he tore open the wrapping on his first burger and began stuffing his face. Ordinarily he might have thought twice about accepting free food from a stranger, but he was too starved to think about that now. If it was poisoned, it was poisoned, what could he do about it now?

[Deminis]

Search for Greater Minds

In a small corner of the Tauren city known as Galarack, Jerimiah watched a young male calf run about the innards of a tavern, filling cups and busting tables but tinkering with an old earth like torsion pendulum clock every now and then. Having come in and watch the boys progress for the past week, Jerimiah was surprised to see the device was nearly working, only the minute hand was skipping every fourth tick. He also witnessed as the young bull was bullied and jeered at, his unusually small frame made him an easy target for any average steer to pick on, but also gave him the finesse to work with the tiny gears of the clock work. There was no doubt in his mind, this child was ment for another destiny, unlike those of the Tauren expectations. Another minute after another drink, the boy placed the perfectly ticking clock on a clear spot on a shelf among several other different clocks and ticking toys. Each one a small brass plate with Argo engraved upon them.

Another two days later, Jerimiah entered the tavern at his usual time, the boy looked down at him as he passes the main counter, still being taller. The barkeeper had learned his drink, letting the large glass of scotch whiskey slide down the bar, a large golden coin rolled past it as Jeremiah caught the glass, smiling and taking a shot sized swig. He looked at Argo and motioned him over, "Your name is Argo ,Yes?" He nodded slowly in response, " Yes, What do you need sir..." his voice much lighter than the others, but still very raspy. Jerimiah smiled lightly, "I need a worker, and you don't seem to like it much in here" He had already made arrangements with the bartender to take Argo off his hands, the attention the boy drew often resulted in broken glasses from harsh bulls. Argo tilted his head, You have been planning to find some one since you arrive haven't you? Argo asked, tensing up noticeably, " Yes, But you don't have to come if you don't want to, I'm sure the work will bore you after little time. A Bull such as your self, surely has no time for such finesse things and clockwork, or computers" Argos tall thin ears perked up, "I'm listening." Jerimiah started explanation, his search for an apprentice, the dedication to his work, and most of all the amount of skill required to be considered as a candidate. After nearly an hour of discussing work, wages hours, and living conditions, Jerimiah made his voice as stern as he could, "Now don't let any of this go to your head, Your the first candidate i have found, and you will likely not be the last." He stood from his seat, the last of his liqueur downed, Meet me at my craft tomorrow, We start by finding a shop." The Intellect had left out any information about the Technocracy, the need to return to earth, or that more than one apprentice can be taken.

[hr]

The next morning Jerimiah, opened his main hatch to see Argo already awaiting, some documents in help under his arms. [/b] I found a couple of shops recently closed, they would make excellent locations for new business' of any kind. I also located a open area in the outskirts that would be nice for a larger shop perhaps."[/b] Jerimiah chuckled, "I see you're dedicated at least," As much as he wanted a fresh structure, It would be pointless to make a new shop for a temporary dwelling, "Lets look at some of the closer shops first, I'll need something large enough for a metal working units and jewelers tools." The craft began to lower a basic hovel behind him, a loud thud can be heard as a table unfolds within, dropping a foot or so to the ground. "Lets talk inside shall we?" He asks as he pulls the soft metallic fabric aside. the next few hours they looked over various shops and garages, open for rent or sale. Going over building designs, and architectural flaws, locations and any local trouble makers that may be in each area. After seven hours they decided on a mid sized garage, the tools and equipment were removed long ago, but the space was perfect for larger sized projects, an the location was in a more open minded community of the city. Jerimiah looked up and Argo, leaning over the table, "You have thought about all this before haven't you?" The bulls grunts back in a very tauren manner, before sighing "Yes, I've thought of it many times, but I could never afford a shop, let alone the gear required to bring life to anything, or the materials even" Jerimiah left it at that, quickly changing the subject " Do you know where we could find some decent equipment?" He asked pulling out a list of gear that they would need. Argo was already pulling a file from his pile.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Kirisvala was currently in her room, practicing her magic. After both the mission against Nico's parents and the incident with the cyborg intruder, she felt that she hadn't been very useful in combat as of late, so she was trying to remedy that. Alongside the combat training she had recently taken up, which had sadly not gone very far just yet, she was also attempting to learn how to make her magic both more efficient and more powerful. She wasn't quite sure how to do that, but she wasn't going to give up at it. So far, she was just repeating the spells she knew to see if she could perfect them throug practice. Her melodic voice echoed through her room as she sang one of her spellsongs, before abruptly switching, and then doing so once again. In a short span of time, the dummy in front of her was crystallized, set on fire, and then shielded from damage.

Before she continued on, however, she felt something odd on her head. She blinked, and then listened as a familiar voice spoke to her, the voice of the cute fairy she had met a while ago. Smiling, she looked into her mirror, seeing that Ava was indeed on her head, resting inbetween pink locks of hair. "Oh, hi Ava." The Hadrian said cheerfully, before sitting down on the side of her bed, opting to stop training for now. "I was just practicing my magic a little. I don't really want to be a burden next time we have a mission..." She said, sounding a little down, though she cheered back up quite quickly. "Anyways, how about you? Did you come here just to see me?" The girl asked.

A moment later, however, she, like the rest of the Young Bloods, received Mars' call, and stood up to head down to the Command Room. "I wonder what it is... Oh, well. We'll find out soon enough, right?" She conversed with Ava as she left her room and walked into the elevator.

---

---

Black Sun saw Prototype nod at her and then turned back to Glace, ready to bring down her sword upon him and finish him off for good, but before she had a chance to do so, she was grabbed by the neck, the red-skinned woman from before having seemingly jumped to her friend's aid. Struggling, the white-haired girl was about to use her blade to stab through Solmu's chest and get rid of her, but once more she was too slow, as Solmu simply tossed her away. Needless to say, Black Sun was beginning to grow mildly annoyed by this point in the battle. Whenever she tried to do something to one of her enemies, one of the others jumped on her, and it was frustrating to say the least.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay. Thanks." The female cyborg said, now a little embarrassed that she needed a less advanced machine's help, not that she was going to speak that out loud.

Once she was on her feet again, she watched the fight taking place between Prototype and Solmu, all while preparing a surprise attack in order to get back at the red-skinned woman. In her hand, she began building up solar energy, but once she had charged up enough, she simply clenched her fist, containing it and saving it up for the right moment.

When Solmu addressed her and then appeared in front of her, Black Sun smiled. She wasn't expecting someone else to jump into the fray before, but now that she knew that the woman had entered the fight, she was alert enough for her senses to allow her to keep track of the woman, and so, she sidestepped to dodge Solmu's fist.

"I wonder if you'll talk like that much longer!" The cyborg shouted at her opponent, before sending her fist barreling forward. Charged with copious amounts of solar energy, the fist impacted Solmu's face with such force that she was sent flying away at high speeds. The sheer stress from the blow caused some metal plates to break apart and fly off of Black Sun's arm, though a silvery mesh soon spread over the exposed areas in order to patch them up, the process being similar to the previous one, but a little slower. Following up her attack, Black Sun hurled her sword at Solmu, hoping it would impale her, though in case the attack failed, she had placed a cuff of solar energy around the hilt in order to retrieve it. If the blade were to touch the planet's soil, the results would be catastrophic.

---

---

While she calmly ate her hamburger, seemingly having no other care in the world for the time being, Nelli also took a moment to look at Yoshi. He was the reason she was doing all of this, so it was only natural for her to pay some attention to him. And as she did so, she noticed where his gaze was going. He was staring at her dress, and more concretely, at a few blood stains that were on her dress. Realizing what must have been going through his mind, she placed her hamburger on her lap for a moment, not minding the grease stains as she would have to her dress either way.

"It's mine, Yoshi." She said gently. "The blood is mine. I did a small magic ritual to get these. It was the simplest way for me to get you food." The winged girl explained, before staring into Yoshi's eyes. "Nobody was harmed, so don't be afraid, alright?" She told him, before resuming her meal.

After a few moments had passed, however, she remembered something. Reaching out for the plastic bag she had brought her and Yoshi's burgers in, she retrieves a small plastic container with a straw on it, and placed it on the ground next to Yoshi. "You said you were thirsty too, so I brought this." She stated. "I didn't know what flavor you liked, so I just picked something at random. I hope you don't mind orange-flavored soda."