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

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars couldn't help a small smile when Rin asked if Rocket had a rocket punch, "Its nice to meet you too Rin. And no, he doesn't have that quite yet. But I'll have to think about adding that at some point." He said to her as Professor X and the X-men left. He was then shocked when Kiris was suddenly speaking in his mind. He had no idea how she had just gained that ability, but he didn't even have time to think about it before he started worrying that she would blow the secret that Professor X had shared with them. He was relieved though at her actual comment and resisted the urge to make a sarcastic response. He didn't see a reason to hurt her feelings over a simple mistake. "They're called the X-Men because the Professor's name is Xavier, so its named after him." Mars explained kindly. "We'll figure out what happened later Kiris. But its probably your language assimilation. Maybe that allowed you to take on the telepathic ability." He said to the Hadrian. "But come on, we should head back now." Mars said, gesturing to their nearby ship. Red Arrow then spoke up, "I think its time I head off, but it was good working with you two." He said to Mars and Kiris. "If you two are ever in Star City, make sure you hit me up." Red Arrow said with a smile. Mars nodded, offering Arrow his hand to shake. After finishing goodbyes the Arrow heading off into the night and Mars turned back to Kiris and Rin. "Come on, lets get back to the ship. That fight with Bain really took a lot out of me." Mars said, indeed looking quite tired and sore from the fight, though he knew it could be much worse, considering who he had been fighting.

[Tomia]

The Dark Damned Heart

Prologue

You know, I’m really not looking forward to this. This was Katie’s idea. She said we should write down our thoughts, “for future generations” and all that. She also said it might be good therapy, help us with stress or whatever. I think she’s full of shit, but it’s not easy to win an argument with her so I eventually just gave up.

Anyway, I suppose you want to hear what happened right? How the world just suddenly went to hell? God, things went bad so quickly, it all started on that day in Egypt over two years ago. I should know, after all. I was there when the darkness was unleashed.
It started out like an ordinary vacation. We were all excited to get away to Egypt for once. It was the six of us like usual. Me, Sarah, John, DeeDee, Sam and… well ya, there was six of us. Anyway, the trip was Sarah’s idea. She said she wanted to see the pyramids. We all took John’s jet. Him and Sarah had been dating for almost a year and a half by that time. You know, he was planning on proposing on that trip. He showed me the ring and everything. Sam and DeeDee had been causally dating since that trip that we met at Disney World, I think at least. They’re still casually dating, I think… I don’t really know what goes on between them, and I don’t really ask. And I was there with… Well I was there with someone too.

The flight was fun, we were all laughing and having a good time. I never had any friends growing up, and those people were the some of the first people who really cared about me. We were all so happy and care free back then. I can barely even remember what that feels like.
But, I’m started to ramble, so I should get back to the story. We arrived in Egypt after a really long flight. The air was hot and dry. It was late fall and still the hot sun was beating down on us unrelentingly.

The trip started out fun, but things went bad quickly. We snuck into an abandoned pyramid that was closed to the public. That was DeeDee’s idea. She said it would be a fun adventure and that even superheroes can break the rules sometimes. It wasn’t too difficult for us to break in. Between me being able to manipulate shadows and Sam and DeeDee’s magic, we had no trouble getting in.
The moment we entered that place I knew we had made a mistake. Something felt wrong. In the pit of my stomach I just felt that something really bad was about to happen. God, if only I knew…

We made our way through the abandoned pathways, the light from John’s flashlight illuminated the walls, as did a strange glowing fire that DeeDee had sparked from her hand. The walls were creepy, there was archaic writing scribbled across them, and drawings of strange creatures on them. When I looked closer at them, I grew more and more disturbed by them. There was one creature in particular that seemed to be staring directly at him. It was a huge black dragon with terrible spikes running across its spine and eyes that were the color of pure hellfire.
I thought about saying something, about telling the others we should head back, that it wasn’t safe, but I didn’t. I just followed along in silence as we came across a huge chamber in the center of the temple. The place clearly hadn’t been visited in years. It was filled with two large stone tombs that were both caked with dust. Again, there was that feeling that we shouldn’t be there that something was terribly wrong.

Look, I know what you want me to talk about. You want me to talk about her don’t you? That’s what you’re dying to hear about isn’t it? God… Hannah, I still can’t believe it. None of you know the real story, you don’t know what she was like before. She was sweet and kind, and gentle. But none of that matters anymore. That’s no longer the world we live in.
The world we live in is one of darkness and fear. It’s a world ruled by the Demon, the King of Darkness. We don’t know where he came from, or what he is, but his wrath has swallowed the world whole. Every day his darkness spreads and his army of shadows grows. But there is hope, at least some people think there is.

We continue to fight, we continue to resist the darkness, even as it attempts to consume all life. We… I will never stop fighting. Death doesn’t scare me, I’ve been dead since that day in Egypt.
You know what? I’m tired of this writing bullshit. I’ve got work to do, I’m done.

-Roy Damon, Vice-Commander and General of the Free Earth Army.

Chapter 1

There would still be a few hours until the sun rose into the sky, however Roy Damon's room was empty. His bed sat undisturbed, his sheets and blankets looked like they hadn't been used in days. Roy hated sleeping, and he barely did much of it these days. Instead Roy was went where he usually did at this time of night, the workout facility to take out his anger on some poor unsuspecting punching bag. It was a large rectangular room filled with training equipment and weights. During the day it was often crowded, but right now the only person in there was Roy. The only sounds that could be heard was the smacking of Roy's fist against the bag as it swayed back and forth in a steady rhythm.

The Vice-Commander of the Free Earth Army was currently in their underground headquarters, beneath the streets of New York City, or at least what was left of it. They were a group of rebels, the Earth's last hope against the tyranny of darkness that was the reign of the Demon. No one really knows what the Demon is or where it came from, but everyone knows what it has done. It's clouded the world in darkness, corrupted the souls of the weak will and the evil, and killed off anyone who it couldn't manipulate. The FEA was the only thing standing between the Demon, and total domination of the Earth. The rebel group was spread out and scattered across the world. With little pockets of resistance spattered all around, and about a dozen large bases like the one in New York located in major cities across the continents. However they were out matched and out manned, and it seemed like the strength of the darkness was growing each day.

The lights flickered slightly as Roy continued to strike furiously at the punching bag. It was a miracle that they had lights at all. Because even if the rebels lacked in manpower, they certainly didn't lack in will power or intelligence. The whole success of their operation was largely thanks to people like Katie Prince and Craig Thomsen who managed to get them electricity and heat. Not to forget Valancy Stirling, Roy's adoptive mother, who was responsible for growing fresh food and creating fresh water for the rebel camp to consume. Roy shuttered to think what the place would be like without them.

"You know, I'm starting to think that punching bag did something awful to you."

Those were the words that broke Roy out of his rage filled silence. Standing b y the door was Samantha Grimm, the commander of the Free Earth Army, and his best friend. Roy could never get over how much Sam's appearance had changed in a matter of a few years. She was still quite beautiful, but she had become slightly more muscular and toned, and her face had a more hardened and experience look to it. Like a woman who had seen the the absolute worst in human kind, because she had. Roy always admired her though, despite all the horrible things she had seen and gone through, she never lost that hope, the hope that things can still get better.

"Couldn't sleep" Roy said as he finished up his session with a few hard hits, and grabbed a towel to dry off his bare upper body as he turned to Sam. "What about you?" He asked the commander. "I never thought DeeDee let you out of bed this early." He said dryly to her. DeeDee was known throughout the resistance for her sexual appetite, and it wasn't a secret that she and Sam spent most of their nights together.

Sam gave a small smile as she sat down in a nearby chair, "DeeDee's asleep, she was tired from her latest recon mission." Roy merely nodded, as he continued to dry his hair with the towel. DeeDee was a member of the resistance, but Roy had a feeling that was mostly because Sam and CeeCee were, not because of any sens eof duty to defeat the Demon. DeeDee was the kind of person who did what she wanted when wanted, and most of the time Sam happened to be that thing.

"So what are you doing here Sam? You just here to watch me hit inanimate objects?" Roy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sam shook her head softly, clearly deep in thought. "We need to talk about Gotham. I don't think you should go tomorrow." Sam told her second in command and best friend calmly.

Roy froze and stared at her. Gotham, was their next target, their most important target. In the dark world, Gotham was the /demon's strong hold in North America. That was their headquarters where they launched all their patrols from, and most importantly, its where the enemy kept their stocks of weapons and resources. They had been planning this mission for months, and it was finally time for them to strike.

"What the hell are you talking about Sam?" Roy said, his look demanding an honest answer.

"I'm worried about you Roy. So is Valancy and Katie, and everyone else. You're not eating, you're not sleeping, and you're lashing out a lot. We can't afford any risks tomorrow Roy. You know how important this is to our cause." Sam said calmly, still keeping her voice level and patient.

"You're damn right I've been lashing out. You know why? Because I'm angry. This monster destroy our world, killed our friends. I want revenge! You have no right to deny me that!"

Sam finely stood up, her face breaking from its calm look and fianlly betraying her feelings. "Look Roy, I know you;re angry, we wall are. But you aren't the only one with something at stake here and you aren't the only one who wants revenge. She was my sister too Roy, I loved her just as much as you did, so don't act like you're special here." She said with an icy tone that demanded compliance. "And don't you dare question my authority again Roy, or I swear I will have you shot. Is that clear?" She said, anger creeping into her voice.

Roy's jaw was clenched hard and it was clear he was holding back as he threw up a stiff salute. "Yes ma'am" He said before hitting the punching bag hard one last time and storming out of the gym.

Sam sighed, her anger fading into exhaustion as she rested her face in her hands, her mind drifting back to simpler days, when the fate of the free world didn't rest squarely on her shoulders.

[Tomia]

At the Wedding
Cora felt Katie lean closer to her as the mutant spoke. Cora noticed that her girlfriend was feeling quite affectionate today, though that was usually just the type of person Katie was. Still, Cora felt like something was different, and she could almost feel powerful thoughts working in her mind. Cora really cared about Katie a lot, and even though they hadn't said it to each other yet, Cora was sure that she loved her.

Cora continued to hold her girlfriend close as Katie spoke. "Ya, we are a cool couple." Cora said simply, before adding, "I wouldn't want to be part of any other one."

Nico
Nico was a little surprised when Cat started talking about how their parents and how they would often sit alone when they went out for dinner. He was wondering if maybe she was coming around to what he was trying to tell her. "Ya, I remember that." He said softly. "You know, Mom and Dad care about us a lot. And I'm sure there's a lot they don't tell us to protect us. But... what if some of that stuff is bad Cat? Like really bad? I don't want to believe it either, but I can't just ignore it either." He said sincerely to her, hoping she'd believe him this time.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars was surprised when Rin told him that there was some blood vessels broken in his neck. "How do you know that?" Mars asked in genuine surprise, but intrigue as well. He didn't want her to think he was upset or anything, so he decided to add, "It's cool though, and thanks for the advice. I think that's a really interesting ability." He had a scientific mind and so he was interested in learning more about Rin's powers. "So, what are your powers Rin?" He asked as they made their way back to the plane. It was black and inconspicuous, Mars hadn't gotten a chance to upgrade it yet. It was smaller than the X-jet, but looked similar even though it was much similar. As they started to board the ship Mars turned to Rin, "We'll be going to Jump City, that's where our tower is. Our other two members are on a mission themselves now, but they should be there when we get back." He said to her as the four of them stepped inside the ship. Mars sat down on the small medical table that was in the plane and sighed. He thought about taking off of his armor because of his bruises, but he was self conscious since he was around two girls his age who also happened to be his teammates.

[Tomia]

Cora
Cora was shocked when Katie suddenly lifted the hammer and was then told that she would be able to keep a version of it. Cora clapped and cheered, giving Katie a warm hug when she sat down. "I'm so proud of you sweetie. I knew you would be worthy!" Cora said as she hugged her girlfriend, forgetting about the other people that were at the feast for a moment.

Disney
Sam smiled at her sister's enthusiasm about Hannah's new friend, and began to lead her and John toward where she had seen the two last. "Well, his name is Roy. But I didn't learn too much else about him. He seems really shy, but nice as well. Hannah said he was alone at the park, so they decided to walk around together." Her face then broke out into a bit of a grin, "She clearly was not happy when I showed up. I think she wanted some alone time with him." Sam said, a small giggle escaping her lips. Soon they managed to find Hannah and Roy through the crowded park, and Sam pointed them out to Sarah. Roy was still looking around at the numerous men in red hoods with suspicion. Something seemed really off with them, and he didn't like it at all.

Mars
As Rocket got into the cock pit to fly the plane, Mars looked over to see Kiris sitting with him on the medical bench. He was not used to someone paying as much attention to him, but he actually silently appreciated it. "It's okay Kiris, the injuries aren't serious. Just a lot of bruises and scrapes." Then he gave a small smile, "But, sleep does sound pretty good right now. You should rest too, you're probably exhausted also." He said to her. Then she brought up the flask of tears, and suggested that he use them to heal himself. "Ya.. I still have it." Mars said, pulling the flask out of one of the compartments of his suit. He remembered that day when he had collected Kiris' tears in it. It was the day they first met, the day that the Young Bloods had formed. Him and Kiris had not started on the best of terms, and this flask was evidence of that. Still both the flask, and the new memory attached to it were quite important to him, so he kept it with him often.

He was a little uneasy about the idea of drinking Kiris' tears. That seemed quite strange to him, but she seemed confident that they would help him heal, so he decided to trust her. "Alright, I'll give it a try." Mars replied softly, pouring a small amount of the liquid onto his finger before putting them to his mouth and swallowing them. The tears had a strange sweet taste to the, but Mars felt their healing effects almost immediately. The tightness in his neck was soon relieved, and the pain in his shoulders and ribs was beginning to feel numbed. "Wow Kiris, this actually really works." Mars said, not able to hide the surprise in his voice. Meanwhile once everyone was inside Rocket began the take off, and the plane went up into the sky, beginning its journey toward Jump City.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars gave a small smile at Kiris' playful banter. Usually he didn't like when people made jokes at his expense, but he trusted Kiris, and knew she would never mock him. Even though they hadn't known each other for long, Mars felt a connection with Kiris that he hadn't felt with anyone since his parents. He didn't know what it was, but he felt like he could trust her. "Its not that I didn't believe you, its just I've never seen magical tears before." He said with a smile. He then nodded when she said he should hold on to the tears, frowning a little when he thought about the last time that Kiris had cried, which he had undoubtedly caused.

Mars nodded when Kiris said she was going to sleep and watched her walk away to her seat. He was about to lay down himself when he saw Rin sitting nearby. He looked over to her and figured he should try to talk to her a bit so she felt welcomed and not excluded. He made some small talk about the X-men and how she liked it there. It was noticeably awkward and Rin only gave short succinct answers. Then when Mars started asking about her powers she got very shy and non-responsive. Mars was worried that he might be bothering her so he stopped asking questions and told her she was going to get some rest.

Mars was asleep almost immediately after his head hit the pillow and it seemed like to him that no time had passed when their plane had landed on top of the Young Blood's tower and he was awoken by Rocket's voice, telling them that they had arrived.Mars sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he looked around to see if his two teammates had awoken.

[Tomia]

The Dark Damned Heart

I’m sorry about Roy. He’s been through a lot over these last few years. We all have. He’d kill me if he found out that I read his journal, but I felt like I had to, both as his commander and his friend. Roy’s anger has been getting worse and worse, I’m really worried about him… Anyway, I should probably continue the story where he left off.

We entered that strange chamber, and I’ll admit, as much as I was scared I was also impressed. The art work on the walls was exquisite, and almost seemed to glow in the dim fire light. Then the pitch black dragon began to speak… and that’s when things got weird.
I heard the voice clearly in my head. It was deep and booming, as if echoing in an endless cavern. “Free me” the voice commanded. The voice was filled with so much anger and hatred, it was startling. I looked around to the others, to see their reaction, knowing they must have been just as startled as I was. However none of them seemed to notice, or seemed to be alarmed at all. Everyone was just standing there… Everyone except Hannah. Hannah had an intense, focused look on her face. She was staring at the black marble crypt intently and started to take a step towards it.

I tried to rush forward to stop her, but I felt like my feet were frozen in cement. I didn’t know what was happening but all I could do was watch as Hannah got closer and closer to the crypt, until she suddenly turned and began to stare intently at the large red sword that was leaning against the wall. The sword was broad and thick, its hilt embroidered with a large ruby at its base.
The voice in my head was getting angrier and angrier, and the room began to swing around in circles, until finally everything disappeared in a bright flash of light.

I woke up with a loud buzzing sound in my ears as I felt DeeDee shaking me awake. I looked up wearily and saw Roy doing the same to Hannah, except she wasn’t responding. Then I realized something else even more frightening. The chamber was collapsing around us, and I felt DeeDee suddenly pulling to me to my feet and basically dragging me out of the chambers. “Come on Pantsless.” She said in an urgent tone. It’s a nickname… Don’t ask. Anyway, the six of us were rushing out of temple as the walls were shaking around us. Roy was carrying the unconscious Hannah in his arms. I don’t know who’s face was paler, Hannah’s or Roy’s.

Dust was falling everywhere, and loose bricks were toppling down around us. I was worried we weren’t going to make it, but then finally the light came into view. We rushed toward it as fast as we could as it got larger and larger until we finally escaped that terrifying place.
It was still pitch black outside as the moon was the only thing illuminating the night. We staggered out over the cool sand, as the icy chill of the night began to hit us. I shivered a bit and DeeDee saw this, wrapping an arm around me to keep me warm. I joked that she just wanted an excuse to touch me.

We made our way back to John’s plane, Roy never took his eyes off of Hannah. “Is she breathing?” Sarah asked in a shaky voice that was filled with fear. “Ya, she’s breathing.” Roy said, his voice shaky as well. I heard Sarah take a deep breath. “Thank god”, I heard my older sister mutter under her breath.

We all hurried inside the plane as the lights flickered to life around us. Roy quickly laid Hannah down on a collapsed row of seats. Then we waited, and waited…And waited. We waited for what seemed like forever until Hannah finally awoke with a gasp, sitting up frantically. Roy rushed down to meet her, holding her shoulders and gently urging her down on her back. “It’s okay Hannah, you’re safe.”

Hannah stared up at us, pure terror in her eyes. I’ll never forget that look as long as I live, or the words that followed it. “There’s something i nside me. Its…Its talking to me. It keeps telling me to let it out. It keeps calling itself… The Demon.”
-Samantha Grimm, Supreme Commander of the Free Earth Army

Chapter 2

Katie Prince rolled over lazily in her bed as her alarm began to go off. There wasn’t any access to sunlight below the surface, so they had to use alarms and watches to make sure they knew what time it was. Katie was draped in bed sheets, but was naked underneath. When she rolled over, she saw something that made her smile brightly. Her wife Cora was fast asleep, laying on her stomach as the blankets laid up to her shoulders. The android was also naked under the covers and thoroughly exhausted from the night the two of them had spent together.

Cora had been away on a scouting mission in Gotham City for the last few days and had only just returned last night. Needless to say, she and Katie were quite happy to see each other. Between her work and Gotham and the nightly activities between her and Katie the night before, Cora was exhausted.

Katie smiled brightly at the beautiful android and bent down, softly capturing her lips with her own to wake Cora. The android slowly opened her eyes and smiled sleepily, looking up at the mutant with her bright blue eyes. “Morning love” Cora said as she lifted her head and took Katie’s hand.

Katie smiled back, “Morning to you too sweetie. Last night was wonderful, I wish we didn’t have to wake up.” Katie said a little wistfully.
Cora nodded and pulled her wife toward her playfully. “I do too, but we can’t. We’ve got our meeting soon, and besides we need to get Lizzy dressed and fed. Now come on missy, it’s time to get dressed.” Cora said with a grin as she pulled her mutant wife out of bed. Katie giggled in response and followed. The two dressed slowly and finally emerged from their room about fifteen minutes later. They were both dressed simply in jeans, with Katie wearing a yellow t-shirt and Cora wearing a blue blouse.

They held each other’s hands as they walked down the hallway when suddenly they heard a high pitched voice calling to them. “Mommies!” A voice shouted as a little blonde girl with pig tails came running toward them, hugging both of them by the legs. Cora grinned and picked the small child up in her arms and held her against her shoulder.

“Lizzy, we were just about to come get you? You dressed yourself already?” Cora asked in surprise.

Lizzy was short for Elizabeth, who was the adopted daughter of Cora and Katie. She was six years old with long blonde hair and bright green eyes. They had found her shortly after the demon attack when she was only four years old. Her parents had been killed, so Cora and Katie decided to take her in and raise her as their own. They’ve been in love with her ever since and done their best to raise her properly.

Lizzy grinned at the question, “Nah, Auntie Valancy helped me.” She told her adoptive mother, as the scientist and earth primordial in question came into view, waving at Cora and Katie. “Hey friends, its great to see you back safe Cora. How were things in Gotham?” Valancy asked.
Cora’s faced darkened a bit, “Well, things were… Maybe its best if we wait for the meeting.” Cora said a little cryptically. Katie frowned at that, Cora hadn’t even been willing to tell her what had happened on the scouting mission. She had been eerily silent on the question.

Seeing that a change in subject was needed Valancy spoke up. “Well, what do you say we get breakfast huh? I’m starving” She said, and the others nodded in agreement as they headed off to the mess hall of the facility, Lizzy riding along in her mother’s arms as she played gently with Cora’s hair, humming a lullaby childishly.

The mess hall was filled with people and quite loud with chatter. A larger number of people were at the facility than usual, as a number of them had been called in for the upcoming mission.

The party of four got their food and sat down at a nearby table, where Mars was already sitting alone. “Hey Mars, how are things going in the lab?” Katie asked friendlily as she sat down with her wife and friend.

The young man turned, reveling his now robotic arm. He had lost his left arm during the attack on the Young Blood tower during the first year of the invasion. He was the lucky one though. Vera had been killed, and he lost Rocket forever that day. Since then Mars’ inventions had become more militaristic and his hatred of demons fueled his desire to continue to build machines to help his side win this war.

“They’re going alright.” Mars responded, taking a bit of his eggs and bacon before speaking again. “Craig and I are still working with Xander to come up with something to cure dark heart, but there are still complications.” Mars told them. Cora and the others frowned at this, except Lilly who had wandered off to another table to play with the other children. Dark heart was the term they used for someone who had been possessed by the Demon. Ever since the Demon showed up people had begun to fall victim to it. When they are highly distressed or angry, the darkness in their heart takes over, and they become a demon themselves. Too many people had lost friends, lovers, and siblings to this and they knew they needed to put a stop to it.

Suddenly a woman around Mars’ age approached the table. She was wearing large headphones and looking a little nervous. “Hi everybody,” She said quietly. They all waved back and greeted her, then Rin turned to Mars.
“Hey Mars… I was wondering if you wanted to maybe… I don’t know… Go to the party with me tonight? I just thought it’d be more fun if I went with someone I’m close to.” Rin said, blushing brightly.

Mars was a bit surprised at Rin’s remark. The party she was referring to was the going away party for those involved in the Gotham mission. It was a way to blow off steam, and say goodbye just in case. He thought about her question and then answered, “Sure Rin, that sounds fun.”
Rin gave a relieved and nervous smile. “Awesome, see you tonight.” She said before waving goodbye and hurrying off.
Katie couldn’t help but grin when she turned to Mars, “Well, it’ll be interesting to see what happens when Kiris sees that.” Katie said, making Mars pale a bit.

Kiris was his ex-girlfriend and former teammate. They had been a really serious couple, but the lose of Rocket and Vera slowly drew them apart and they often argued about Mars’ new militarized outlooks and his obsession with work. Until one night they had a serious fight where horrible things were said. That was 3 months ago and it was clear they still loved each other, but neither was willing to apologize and was still hurt by what the other had said.

“Shut up,” Mars grumbled, “We’re just going as friends. Besides Kiris isn’t the boss of me.” Mars said, but his voice didn’t portray too much confidence.

Soon a number of old school pagers went off throughout the cafeteria, including from Mars’ table. They were the pages given to the Leaders’ Council and signified the beginning of today’s meeting. “Come on, Sam will kill us if we’re late again.” Mars said, as Cora went to get Lizzy and the others threw away their trash as they started to head toward the council chamber where they would discuss what would possibly be the future of the planet. But that was just another day in this world, something that they hoped would change soon, so their children didn’t have to live in darkness.

[Tomia]

Disney World
Roy was still glancing over at the suspicious men in red hoodies when Hannah's sisters and two people he didn't recognize approached them. The girl came up and ran over to Hannah, and Roy guessed by appearance that she was Hannah's sister as well. He was about to greet Sarah in turn when suddenly Hannah seemed to tense up. She said she smelled agression and an attack was coming. Roy was about to ask what she meant by "smelled" when suddenly he realized was was happening. The men in red hooded had surrounded the large consession stand, that had to be their target.

There were a large number of people surrounding the stand though, and he had to warn them. He knew there wasn't time, so he decided to risk a direct approach. "Bomb!" He shouted as people began to flee the stand in panic. The men in red the red hoodies then began to take off their vests, and threw them into the concession stand and then began to run away from it quickly.

Roy knew those bombs were about to go off, and he had to protect the epoepl around him. Even if that meant reveling himself as a freak to his new friends. He raised his hands and closed his eyes and focused, shoring out a bit in exertion as a wall of dark energy emerged from his hands, emcompsing Hannah, Sam, Sarah, and John, as well as other civilians that were in range.

When the explosion was ovee, Roy fell to his knees, out of breath from such a large blast of dark energy. He didn't look up, as he was worried Hannah and the others would see him as a freak.

[Tomia]

Asgard
While Katie was at the forge with Valka, Cora had stayed at the feast and had started to get to know Darian and Serene. Serene was quite nice and friendly, and even though Darian didn't speak very much, he seemed nice too. Serene and Darian talked to Cora about their powers, but they were quite evasive about where their abilities had come from. Cora was very curious as to why, but she decided not to press them on it.

Still, their conversation was quite fun and as they ate they shared stories and even a few laughs. Cora quite liked the two siblings, and knew that she'd have to leave with Katie soon but hoped that they would see each other again.

Disney World
Roy was shocked when suddenly Hannah began to transform, slowing taking the shape of some kind of humanoid dragon. Relief immediately filled his mind. She had powers too, which meant he wasn't alone, and she wouldn't be freaked out by his own abilities.

He watched as she grabbed the two men in hoodies and started speaking in some language that he couldn't understand. Sam could understand it however, and watched as she suspended the two men in the air. Sam was glad to see that Hannah was still in control of herself and she stepped toward the two men to question them.

"Who put you up to this?" She demanded, figuring that they weren't just acting on their own. "Tell me, or you'll be my sister's next meal." She threatened, even though she knew they would never kill them. Still, the thugs didn't know that so it was good threat.

The one of them looked quite scared, the other defiant. The defiant glared at Sam and spoke, "You can't intimidate us. We're done just following the script. Anarky will..."

He was cut off by a booming voice that had apparently come on to all of the TV monitors and voice boxes in the park. Sam looked over at one of the nearby TV monitors to see what was going on. She saw a young man wearing a white mask and a red hoodie similar to the one the thugs were wearing. There was a symbol painted on his chest. It was like an A surrounded by a red circle. The man was looking into the camera and began to speak.

"Hello uninformed citizens. I am Anarky, the voice of the people. This 'amusement park' is the heart of American consumerism and greed. This place is the symbol of corporate lies and propoganda, built off of suffering and the labor of the people, yet you people continue to shop and spend in ignorance. Well it's time you got a wake up call. This park now belongs to the people, not the corporations. Anyone who doesn't like it should leave , but don't try to stop us. I have insurance to make sure people behave. I have placed bombs throughout this park. If I see any police or military, then this place goes boom. This is the beginning of a new coporation free America! Have fun, and enjoy a taste of what's to come! Anarky out."

Then the broadcast cut out and the screens all froze, with the symbol of Anarky plastered all over them.

John looked around, frowning. "We can't take the chance that he might be telling the truth. We have to find those bombs." John said seriously, his mind going into hero mode now.

[Tomia]

Disney World
Sam saw the two men hit the ground and before they were able to run she cast a spell on them that froze them in place so that they couldn't move for the time being. John and Roy loomed quite confused at Hannah's words and had no idea what she was saying. Luckily though, Sam was able to translate for them. John then nodded at the question and turned toward Sarah. "Hey Sarah, do you think you could use your... abilities on these guys? Maybe they have some information that could be useful." He asked her. They hadn't really discussed what her powers were exactly, but he had experienced her ability to manipulate first hand and was sure it would work here. However, he couldn't deny that he wasn't exactly excited about the idea of her flirting with two random criminals, but it was needed to stop Anarky so it had to be done.

Meanwhile Roy saw Hannah standing nearby and looking right into his eyes. Even in her dragon for, Roy recognized the look on her face, because it was one he had worn many times before. It was that look of fear, fear of rejection, fear of being a freak. Roy had to admit, he was surprised by Hannah's transformation, but was not scared or repulsed. He watched as she took a step towards him, clearly a test to see if he would step back. However, Roy looked into Hannah's eyes and slowly took a step forward instead, sending a silent message that he wasn't afraid of her.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars saw Rin merely sitting up straight like she had been when he had fallen asleep. He wondered if she had been awake this whole timr, though he wasn't sure if that was even possible. Still, he decided not to worry about it. He got up from his seat and turned toward Rin. "Come on, we're here Rin." He said to the girl kindly as he stepped out the plane, expecting her and Kiris to follow him outside. He walked out towards the roof entrance with Rocket in tow as the four of them headed downstairs toward the main floor of the tower. It was a large living room and kitchen, with a huge skyline overlooking the coast of Jump City.

"Welcome to the home of the Young Bloods Rin. It's your home now too."

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars looked up curiously when Rin said that she could hear the computers. He decided not to question it, because clearly she was shy about it, but that statement made it more clear to Mars what Rin's abilities were. Between hearing the computers and being able to tell that Mars had broken blood vessels in his neck, it was clear that she had incredible abilities to hear sounds. He hoped he'd be able to learn more about her powers soon.

"Well, we have a lot of computers here. There's an AI that controls the operating system in our team headquarters downstairs and I have my own personal network downstairs. I can show it to you sometime if you want." Mars said, not really sure what to do next so he cleared his throat a little awkwardly and turned to Kiris, "Hey Kiris? You think you could show Rin to one of the free rooms?" Mars asked the Hadrian.

[Tomia]

The Dark Damned Heart

So I guess it’s my turn to write and stuff. I’ll be honest, I find this pretty boring. I mean, why should I care that people are able to read about our lives? But, Sam promised me a favor if I did it and it wasn’t like I was going to pass that up. I really like her “favors”.
Anyway, I suppose I’m supposed to pick up where sweet cheeks left off? Well, after Hannah delivered that ominous line about there being some kind of demon in her, things got really tense. Roy had pulled her into a hug like she was going to fly away if he didn’t hold on tight enough, and John and Sarah were questioning Hannah about what had happened to her. Sam was off in the corner, sitting alone in silence and staring out the window like she was oblivious to everything else around her.
Now I’m not great with feelings, and stuff like that, but I knew Sam was upset so I went over to her. Sam and I had known each other for a while at that point, two years or so I guess. She wanted me to teach her how to become a better magic user, and well, she was really fun to mess with so I decided to say yes. Turns out that was a very good idea on my part. Not only is Sam now leading a rebellion to save the world, she’s really good in bed too.
Anyway, I should probably get back to the story. I sat down next to Sam and took her hand gently. “Hey, you okay sweet cheeks?” I ask her, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Sam didn’t even blush like she usually did when I used her pet name, she merely continued to look on out the window.
“I’m… I’m fine.” Sam said softly. “I’m just worried about Hannah is all.”
I frowned a bit, I wasn’t satisfied with Sam’s answer so I put my hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her toward me so that she was looking into my eyes. “Come on sweet cheeks, you know I can tell when you’re lying, and I don’t like it when you do.”
Sam sighed in that cute way she did when she reluctantly obeyed a command. “Well, I heard a voice too DeeDee.” Sam said in a shaky voice. “Hannah said this Demon or whatever was speaking to her, and I heard its voice too. It told me to free it.”
I didn’t really understand what Sam was saying at that time, but I knew she I told her was upset so I put my arms around her and I held her. “It’s okay Sam. We’ll figure things out.” I told her, not necessarily believing it but knowing she wanted to hear that at the moment.
Sam and I sat together for a little while as the plane flew into the sky. I overheard a bit of what going on with the others. Roy and John were arguing about something while Sarah was trying to get them to stop acting like idiots. So, it didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary to me.
Poor Hannah though, she was a sweet girl, even if her boyfriend could be a blockhead sometimes. I wasn’t there the day everything went bad, but Sam told me about it. It was pretty ugly. Anyway, that’s probably not my story to tell and I’m bored. I’m going to go find something fun to do.
DeeDee, Whatever I Want to Be

Chapter 3

About two dozen people began to pile into what served FEA’s Council Chamber. It was a large room, filled with memorabilia from the past, and small statues honoring the dead. Eventually they just stopped with those however, they lost too many of their friends to keep up with it. The council itself was made up of 24 of the highest ranking members of the resistance, who would coordinate and lead missions. Who was in the council didn’t have as much to do with skill or power, as it did with who Sam could trust. Controlling information and secrets was vital in this war, because if the Demon discovered their plans or location, their cause would certainly be doomed.

The room was structured in a large circle with a small stage in the middle. Mars and Craig had done a lot of tinkering with design, so that holographic imaging of the current speaking could be displayed in the middle of the stage. Currently Sam was sitting alone at the far end of the table, looking through a stack of papers and charts as people began to trickle in and take their seats.

Nightwing and Aquaman came walking into the room and taking their seats on Sam’s left. They were both two of Sam’s top generals and strategist and some of the few remaining members of the Justice League. The league had been all but eradicated early into the regime of the Demon, as most were sent off on a fake mission in space, and were cut off completely from Earth when the Demon encased the Earth in its dark aura, cutting it off from the rest of the galaxy, and the other planes of existence such as Asgard. They had been working on serving the barrier so that they could bring in reinforcements, but so far they had had no luck. Most of the other Justice Leaguers were hunted down and exterminated, even the whereabouts of Batman were unknown. The few that managed to survive went underground with the resistance, and provided vital aid to the FAE.

The rest of the council began to take their seats as well. Cora and Katie took their seats near Sam, accompanied by Valancy and Kylie. Cora and Katie had given Lizzy off to Xyri to baby sit during the meeting, as Xyri was Lizzy’s favorite babysitter. Apparently a giant woman made of slime was ideal entertainment for a six year old.

Mars had entered the room too, sitting with his usual group science and magic experts that he worked with. Craig, Cyborg, and CeeCee sat with him, all discussing and debating about some technological issue the facility was having. Mars glanced over at the other end of the table where Kiris was sitting with Chorus and Verse. The three of them had spent a lot of time together since they had met and had become quite close. It wasn’t very surprising, since they all had a great love for music in common. Rin was also part of that friend group, however she was not a member of the council. Sam believed that would be dangerous, due to the real possibility that Rin could be manipulated enemy. Both Mars and Kiris had tried to argue against the decision but Sam wouldn’t budge. Commander Grimm never played favorites or let personal feelings influence her decisions. That was why DeeDee was not a member of the council either.

The Hadrian and the Mutant’s eyes briefly met, and they stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. They could each feel a sense of unsureness and unease coming from the other, like they didn’t know how to feel about each other. Their break up had been quite messy, but they both had a secret longing to be back in the other’s arms that neither of them were willing to admit.

Their gazes broke from each other as Sam cleared her throat and her holographic image appeared on the center stage. “Hello everyone, you all know why we’re here today. Tomorrow, we begin Operation: Free Gotham. Now, before the plan of action for tomorrow is announced, I want to share with all of you what our recon team had discovered, so that you know exactly what you’re up against.” She then turned towards Cora, “Cora was the leader of the recon mission, so I’ll let her give you the debriefing.”

Cora took a deep breath as her image was displayed on the holographic stage. “Thank you Commander Grimm. My team, consisting of DeeDee, Black Canary, Wonder Girl and Garnet did a full sweep of the city to discover the enemy’s defenses, as well as checking to ensure our mission objectives were still intact. And well, the good news is all of our objectives remain uncompromised. Stormlight has ensured us that the Wayne archives are still intact, and our mole within Blackgate prison is ready to instigate the riot as planned once the attack begins.”

She then paused before continuing, “But, things aren’t all that simple. There’s a large enemy force concentrated around Gotham. Hundreds of demons are gathered in their main encampment, and squads of dark hearts are patrolling the streets routinely. But that’s not even the worst part. The worst part is, they’ve brought in a Death Squad.”

The room began to fill with quite mummers and the grim shaking of heads. Death Squads were the name given to the Demon’s elite enforcer units. They had become feared across the Earth for their brutality and ruthlessness. Sam then cleared her throat and the room soon fell silent as Sam gestured to Cora to continue.

“The Death Squad consists of Klarion the Lord of Chaos, Killer Croc, Android 22, and Killer Frost.” Cora’s voice clearly caught a bit when she mentioned Android 22. He had been designed by the government to kill her, but he escaped their custody and went on a rampage. The Justice Queens had stopped him and put him in jail, but when the Demon took over he was released with the other incarcerated villains.

Cora sat down now her report was finished and Sam then spoke up again, her holographic image returning to the center stage. “Thank you Cora, that information will be quite important for us. Now look everyone, I understand that this mission will not be easy, and that we’ll have sacrificed much before it is over. But we must cast aside those fears and doubts now. Too long have we lived in fear of the Demon and his minions. Tomorrow we change things, tomorrow we go on the offensive and we free Gotham from the darkness!” Sam said and she was met with applause and cheers from around the table. When the noise died down, she began to speak again. “Now, I’ll announce the assignments for tomorrow. I will be leading the main assault against the city. My lieutenants will be Katie, Naja, and Xander. DeeDee will also accompany me, as I suspect we will be Klarion’s main target, and I’ll need all the magic users at my side that I can get.” “Now for the team assignments. Nightwing will be in charge of Alpha Squad, and will be accompanied by Wonder Girl, Miss Martian, and Kylie. Your mission is to meet up with our contacts in Gotham and facilitate the overtaking of Blackgate prison.”

Roy, who had been sitting with Valancy instead of his usual place next to Sam, stood in anger and stormed out of the room when Sam announced the alpha squad. That was supposed to his mission before Sam had taken him off it this morning. Everyone was staring at Roy’s empty chair, but Sam continued on as if nothing had happened. “Beta Squad will be led by Craig, and will be made up of Elta, Chorus, Verse and Rin. Your mission is to compromise the enemy’s communication’s center, so that they cannot call out for help. And the final squad will be Delta Squad. That is yours Kiris. You’ll be leading Cyborg, Cora, Mars, and Xyri into the remnants of Wayne Tower. We need the information that is supposedly in the archives. Your job is to access its main servers and download as much information as you can before the enemy is alerted. That’s all the special assignments for now. Everyone should rest and get ready for tomorrow. Also enjoy the party tonight, spend time with your friends, and your families while you can.” With that the meeting was concluded and the council began to disband. Mars began to walk out of the room when he felt the familiar sensation of a claw resting softly on his shoulder.

“Hey Mars, can we talk?” Kiris asked him softly, by the look on both of their faces it was clear they weren’t exactly excited to be paired up on the same squad for the mission. “Ya sure” Mars said with an unsure look on his face as they walked over to the corner of the room. Mars had to admit, Kiris looked very beautiful that morning, even though it was clear she hadn’t been trying to. Her hair was a bit messy and she was wearing basic Hadrian armor, but she looked amazing in Mars’ eyes. After a few awkward moments of silence Kiris spoke. “Look Mars, I just want to make sure we’re okay for tomorrow. I know it’s the first mission we’ve had together since…”

“Since what Kiris? Since you dumped me?” Mars said, anger creeping into his voice. Kiris looked at him, frustration and sadness in her eyes. “Mars, you know it wasn’t like that. I didn’t want our relationship to end, but the person you were becoming… I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
“So the answer was just to abandon me? Just toss me away like a toy that doesn’t work anymore?”

That made Kiris quite mad. “Hey, our break up was hard on me too Mars. I tried to help you but you just pushed me away! You weren’t the only one going through hard times, and you weren’t the only person who lost friends to the darkness. You can be mad all you want, but don’t pretend like I didn’t love you.” Kiris said before storming off in anger, leaving Mars behind. Mars stood there stunned, taking one of the empty council seats and looking down at the ground absently as he thought of better times. When Rocket was alive and he and Kiris were together. Those memories were just absent dreams now though, and only the future was ahead.

[Tomia]

-Snip-

Mars had gone up to the roof over an hour ago to check on Kiris. She had been training for a long time and it was getting dark so the team had began to worry so Mars had run up to check on her. He had found her passed out on the ground, and looked over her with a frightened expression on his face. Him and Kiris had grown quite close over the past few months and though Mars had never dared to admit it he had feelings for her. So he was quite worried about something happening to his crush teammate. Once he made sure she was not physically injured he had picked her up gently in his arms and carried her downstairs to her room where he laid her down in her bed to rest. He sat down in the spare chair in her room and had been sitting there, waiting for her to wake up.

Mar's appearance had changed slightly since the formation of the team. His hair had grown out a bit longer and wilder and he had grown about an inch and a half as well. His face had thinned out slightly and his build had become more muscular with the exercise and training he had been doing since he joined the team.

Mars nearly jumped out of his chair when he suddenly saw Kiris lift her head from her bed. He had a relieved look on his face as he spoke to her. "Hey Kiris, glad to see you up. You passed out on the roof during your training. Do you remember anything that happened up there?" Mars asked, trying to figure out what had happened to make her lose consciousness.

Disney World
The thug was unable to resist Sarah's abilities, despite his desire too. "There are three collections of bombs in the Magic kingdom." He confessed dutifully. "One inside the giant hat in the center, one under the Tower of Terror, and another inside the big castle. That's where Anarky's HQ is." The thug said, telling Sarah everything she wanted to know. John couldn't but smile at his new girlfriend. "Well, I guess I shouldn't have underestimated you Sarah." He said to her with a grin. "Now, we have to focus on disarming these bombs. How should we go about it? Split up and go after the bombs individually? Or take them out one at a time?" He said, asking the group's opinion.

Cora
Cora was surprised when Katie suddenly reappeared in the feast hall. She excused herself from Serene and Darian and stood up and turned to her, grinning at her girlfriend. "Hey sweetie, you ready go or something?" Cora asked before she saw that Katie looked preoccupied with something. "Katie? You okay? Is something wrong?" Cora asked, frowning a bit with concern.

Nico
Nico saw Cat hesitate and thought for a moment she might believe him, before she reverted back to her old position. Nico frowned deeply at Cat's words. He was really hurt that his sister wouldn't believe him. "Cat, I'm your brother. Why would I lie to you? You think I want to believe it either? I would give anything for it not be true, but I saw what I saw. I saw men unloading guns into our house. What happened between us sis? We used be so close but now you barely ta..." Nico was interrupted by shouting and sirens as police cars began heading toward the near by Jump City Bank. "Nico froze, he knew he needed to help, but he couldn't do that without exposing his powers to Cat. He decided he had to go for broke and hope his guess about Cat was right. "You know you're not alone Cat. I'm different too:" He told her, letting a bit of his had break apart into sand and fall onto the table as his hand quickly reformed. He knew other people were around so he spoke quietly and hid the sand with his other hand.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars looked up at Kiris and waited patiently as Kiris began to compose herself. He then listened to her answer and was quite puzzled, a flash of purple light in the sky? Random beams of energy? Some weird voice telling Kiris she was the goddess of names? Mars mind was flooding questions and he was eager to have more information but just as he went to inquire further he stopped himself. He realized Kiris had told him all she knew and that questioning her further would only make her more startled. So he decided he'd leave them for later.

"It's alright Kiris, I'm just glad you're safe. Don't worry, we'll figure out whatever it is that happened. When you're feeling better and are rested, I'll do an examination." He blushed at that and quickly clarified. "Just a blood test and stuff, just to make sure everything's okay, it won't be a big deal." Mars told her to try to put her mind at ease. In reality though he had no idea what he would find. He had never heard of anything like what Kiris had experienced before.

He was then caught off guard by Kiris' question and it was now his turn to be flustered. He blushed brightly and stammered a bit before answering. "Well... I mean ya. But, it... wasn't a big deal or anything. I was just, scared you were hurt was all. So I wanted to get you to your room as soon as possible." He said, speaking a little quicker than he normally did, diverting his eyes so that he was looking a bit more at the floor than he was Kiris.

[Tomia]

-Snip-

Mars saw Kiris' almost disappointed look when he tried to downplay him carrying her and he was quite confused. It almost seemed like she was hoping for a different response, though Mars had no idea what that was. He pushed that thought out of his mind however as he listened to her discuss her condition. He was visibly relieved to hear that she was feeling alright, but was also clearly puzzled. She had clearly been through some kind of trauma that caused her to pass out, so it seemed strange that she was feeling very good physically. He tried not to show his confusion and worry about this since Kiris seemed to be in a pretty good mood about it. "Well, let's go downstairs to my lab, and we can see if your vitals have been effected at all." Mars said as they began to walk downstairs to Mar's large laboratory together.

They walked toward Mars' medical station in the corner where he had an examination table, a number of tools for examination, even an MRI machine and a small centrifuge. Because of Mars' advanced knowledge of science and medicine he had become what was basically the team medic, and helped them out whenever they were injured or sick. Mars paused when Kiris pointed out that her arms were coated in scales and not accessible to needles. He blushed a bit in embarrassment, he should have realized that. He was still getting used to some of his teammate's strange physiology and while he had done a large amount of research, he was still trying to get used to it. "Well, the arm is usually the best place. Bu the neck or the feet will also work too. Whichever you're more comfortable with I guess." He said to her, preparing the small needle and kit to extract the blood from Kiris so he could test it.

-Snap-

Cora
Cora smiled when Katie took her hand, and said goodbye to Serene and Darian, promising to call Serene who she had exchanged numbers with. Cora wrapped her arm around Katie as they walked toward the rainbow bridge that would bring the, home. Soon they were encompassed in a bright light and were instantly brought back to the living room of the JQ headquarters. Cora smiled to Katie, glad that they would finally have a little time alone. "You were really amazing today with the way you helped Otis." Cora said to Katie, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and pulling her into a kiss. The kiss continued for a little while until Cora was suddenly hit by a stabbing pain and she pulled away from Katie suddenly, failing to her knees from the pain as she was surrounded in a strange golden aura. Then suddenly a voice filled Cora's mind.

Rise Goddess of Redemption

The strange voice said in an ominous tone and then the pain suddenly vanished and Cora was left laying on the floor breathing heavily as she wondered what the hell had just happened.

Nico
Nico was very relieved that his bluff had worked, but now he had to try to keep it up. He had a strong feeling that his sister was a mutant, but he had no real idea what her power was, other than that it made her afraid to touch him. "I could see it Cat, because I know what its like to feel alone, to feel like a freak. But just cause you're scared of hurting me sis, doesn't mean you should shut me out. We need each other, now more than ever, and I'm never going to abandon you, no matter what." Nico said sincerely, looking softly into his sister's eyes. "So what do you say? Can we face our problems together? Brother and Sister?"

-Snup-

Mars had been exercising when suddenly the hologram of Craig appeared before him. He was quite surprised, since Craig Thomsen was a very famous inventor and had been in the news recently after having escape government custody and exposing a plot to target superheroes. Mars was even more surprised when Craig invited him to the summit. "Really? You want me to come?" Mars asked in shock, adults had never really taken him seriously before and never treated him like an equal as Craig was. He hadn't heard of Praetoria before, but he was eager to be at a conference with brilliant minds from across the world.

"Of course, I mean I'm very interested in attending. I have duties with the team, but I can take some time off to come. I want to do my part to help." Mars told Craig, trying and probably failing to hide his excitement at the prospect of this conference.

[Tomia]

Cora
As Cora was starting to regain some composure she saw Katie convulsing on the floor,"Katie!" She called out in concern as she started to rise, but her movements seemed rigid and didn't seem to be completely her own. Cora slowly rose to her feet as she reached down to help Katie up as well. She heard Katie mutter electrons and wondered what was going on with her, but realized they might have had a similar experience of some sort.

"I don't know sweetie, but I think we just went through something similar. There was a sharp pain all around my body, then I heard a strange voice calling me something. 'Goddess of Redemption' I think it said? Whatever that means. What about you Katie, you seemed like you were in a lot of pain. Are you okay now?" Cora asked, clearly concerned for her teammate and romantic partner.

Nico
Nico broke out in a wide smile when Cat extended her hand out to him. He shook the gloved hand slowly and gently, very happy that they were finally making progress. "Thanks Cat, this makes me really happy. I'm sorry if I haven't been there for you through your struggles. I know I haven't always been the best older brother, but I'm going to try to be different. It'll be the two of us together from now on alright?" He said to his younger sister before nodding when she said she wasn't sure about their parents yet. "I understand Cat, you don't have to believe me yet. Trust me, I get why you don't want to, and it makes sense for you to be skeptical. We can deal with that later. Right now, what do you say we go try to do some good huh? I feel like there are a lot of people at that bank over there that could use our help right now." He told her before pausing, his fear breaking through his outer confidence. "I can't help them alone Cat. I need you r help too."

[Tomia]

Cora
Cora looked quite concerned when Katie said she had been electrocuted. Cora didn't think that was supposed to happen either. She was quite nervous about these mysterious circustamnce, but she couldn't help but realize that she actually felt quite good. There was a rush of energy and power in her that she had never felt before, and it felt pretty amazing. "You say you can feel electrons Katie? I feel pretty different too, I feel a lot stronger and full of energy... Maybe whatever it is that effected us isn't too bad." Cora said, thinking out loud a bit as this sudden change had caught her quite off guard.

Nico
Nico managed a small smile as he ran off after his sister. "Just think of ourselves as good samaritans sis. We're just trying to help people, I'm sure you'll like it if you give it a chance." He said as he ran after her toward the bank. The police had barely had time to establish a perimeter by the time they had arrived and things were clearly in chaos as guns shots could be heard from inside the bank as a crowd of people began to scatter away from the bank. Nico and Cat slowly made their way inside where police officers were engaged in a fire fight with about half a dozen armed robbers. Nico turned to Cat. "Their distracted, so let's stick together and take them out by surprise." He said as they snuck up on one of the robbers who was currently firing at the police. "Watch me" Nico mouthed silently to Cat before closing his eyes and focusing his energy on the task at hand. His arm began to destabilize and turn into a wave of sand as it slowly made its way toward the robber. It then quickly rose up and grabbed the foe by the leg, lifting him in the air before dropping him back too the ground. Nico smiled at Cat. "You take the next one sis. Don't be afraid, I'll be with you just in case. Don't be scared of your powers Cat. You can control them, they don't have to control you." Nico told his younger sister, hoping to encourage her and ease her fears.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars nodded when Kiris answered his question and he approached the examination table with the syringe and the small pieces of cotton and the bandage that he would need. "Alright, I just need you to tilt your neck a bit so I can find a vein." He told Kiris, and once she had he placed his fingers gently on her neck to find a clear vein, trying to ignore the embarrassment he was feeling at being alone like this. Soon he found a vein and was ready to draw blood from it, "Alright I'm going to draw the blood now. It'll sting a bit, but it won't be anything close to what we've dealt with in battle so it should be no big deal." Mars said to Kiris as he carefully began to draw blood from her neck. Soon the process was over and Mars gently dabbed the entry point with cotton swaps before wrapping a small bandage around the puncture. "Alright, all done Kiris. I'll take a look at the blood under a microscope and see if anything out of the ordinary pops up. It'll take a little while, but you can... You know stay if you want." Mars said to Kiris a little awkwardly. He usually liked to work in his lab alone, but he figured it'd be rude to kick Kiris out, especially when his work directly involved her. Besides, he found himself enjoying eh company more and more, and felt bad that they didn't spend as much time with each other as they could.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars nodded to Kiris when she took up his offer to stay and then set out to test Kiris' blood and see if her strange incident had affected her physiology at all. He took some of the blood and ran a toxicology scan on it, while he put a sample of her blood under the microscope and began to examine it it. It took him a while to adjust himself to Hadrian blood, as it functioned quite differently than human blood. He sat with a strange looking book, take a crash course in Hadrian biology.

As Mars' worked he heard the faint hum of one of Kiris' songs as she explored the lab. The tune reminded him a bit of the lullabies that his parents used to sing him when he was younger.

The young superhero's lab had a number of smaller automated machines working on small projects across the lab. Some were busy sodering pieces of metal, while others were carrying tools and parts for other robots to use. This was all perfectly common for Mars, who was quite used to robots being around. Off in the corner however was the most eye catching robot. Rocket stood idle in his large resting chamber, hooked up to a metal brace that kept him up right. Mars had upgraded him significantly, and added a number of small, mostly non lethal, guns to Rockets wrist compartment, that expanded and revealed the weapons when Rocket was in battle. Rocket was clearly well cared for as his armor was shiny and unscathed, showing no signs of the battles he had previously fought.

After a little while Mars was finally able to analyze Kiris' blood and the results shocked him. Her cells were mutiplying at an incredible rate, and there was this strange purple aura surrounding them that Mars couldn't for the life of him explain. He had another theory though, one that he wasn't sure if he wanted to be right or not. "Hey Kiris?" He called trying to keep his tone even. "Could you check on your puncture mark for me? I just want to make sure it's healing properly." He asked her, this way he would be able to test his theory without letting on what he was thinking incase he was wrong.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars turned to Kiris and stood up when she said that her wound had in fact healed completely. He went over and even checked for himself, just to make sure. This had confirmed what the blood test had showed him, and Mars had no idea what to think about it. He had to tell Kiris the truth though, she deserved to know what was going on with her own body.

"Um... Kiris, there's something we need to talk about." He said as he sat down in a nearby chair. "Your body, it's regenerating itself at a remarkable rate. I don't know how or why, but it's happening to the point where you may not be able to sustain permanent injury or damage to your body. Which... I think... would make you functionally immortal." Mars said letting the words hang in the air for a moment. Still having trouble comprehending it himself. "I don't know what this thing was that passed through you, but it seems like it has changed your body and your abilities quite drastically. Though luckily, there don't seem to be any noticeable negative effects, at least that I can tell so far." Mars explained. "I'll keep running tests to see what else has changed, but it seems like you might have a number of new abilities that have come from this strange entity that you encountered."

[Tomia]

-Snip-

Cora
Cora was standing with Katie at their tower when suddenly a group of strange men in colorful costumes came toward the tower out of no where. Cora saw that Katie was frowning when she say them, and knew that this "Brotherhood of Mutants" was clearly not friends of theirs. She heard the large man in the overalls make a derogatory comment about Katie not being a mutant, and Cora clenched her fists in anger and called out,
"Hey!" "Don't talk to Katie like that!" Cora said in a strong defensive tone.

She was then shocked when the man named Magneto said that they had tried to recruit Katie to their group before. Cora would definitely have to ask Katie about that later. Katie had been quite about her past, so Cora didn't really know much about what had happened in Katie's life before they had met. Cora then turned back to Magneto, "What do you want Katie to do anyway? What is this 'Brotherhood' of yours?" Cora asked the man in the metal helmet suspiciously.

Nico
Nico was worried when he saw the robber's bullets head toward Cat but then they suddenly bounced off of her as Cat grabbed the enemy and he suddenly collapsed on the ground, while Cat made a comment about how great it felt. Nico was starting to become more clear about Cat's powers. She seemed to be absorbing the energy of the robber as she touched him. That must have been why she did not want him to touch her recently. "Great job Cat, come on lets get the others." He said to her, glad to see she was becoming more comfortable with her powers. They continued to move along and suddenly they were face to face with two gunmen. Nico quickly threw his arm at one of them as it burst into a wall of sand, knocking of the men away, however the other was pointing his gun at nico and was ready to fire at the boy while he was distracted.

[Tomia]

At Disney
The group decided to split up to tackle two of the bomb clusters, and then regroup to take on Anarky together. Sarah and John went off to take about the bombs under Mickey's Hat, while Sam, Hannah and Roy went after the bombs in the tower of terror. Hannah didn't exactly seem excited about the fact that Sam would be joining them, but her older sisters agreed that the two youngest should not go off on their own for safety reasons. So they sent out in their own directions to defeat Anarky and disarm his bombs.

Sarah used her abilities to manipulate and disarm the guards while John used his kinetic energy abilities to overcharge the bombs and diffuse them. Meanwhile Hannah, Roy, and Sam were dealing with the explosives at the Tower of Terror. Sam used her magical abilities to locate the bombs, as well as cut the lights in the tower. This allowed Roy to use his invisibility in the darkness to bring all of the hostages to safety without the guards noticing. Then Hannah went to work and knocked all the guards out with relative ease in her dragon form. Then Sam used her magic to freeze the bombs and neutralize them.

With the two alternate sites neutralized the five heroes headed towards the Castle in the center of the park where Anarky had established his base. The castle was crawling with armed guards and all of the megaphones across the park were playing various propaganda speeches. John spoke up to the group as they approached the castle. "Alright, Here's what we do. Hannah and I will charge the gates and draw their attention while Sarah you cover Sam and Roy as they sneak into the castle and disarm the bombs. Once that's done, we'll take on Anarky together. That sound good with everyone?" John asked, gauging the room's feelings about the plan.

[Tomia]

Disney World
John could tell that Sarah was getting tired and he looked a bit concerned for her. He knew she wasn't exactly having a great time chasing down these villains, and he knew this trip hadn't worked out exactly the way they had planned. He then heard Sarah object to Hannah storming the front of the castle. He nodded, recognizing that Sarah was just worried about her little sister. "I understand Sarah, but we really need her help in order to stop Anarky. Don't worry though, I promise I'll keep her safe, and I won't put her in unnecessary danger." John promised his girlfriend. Then Sam translated Hannah's words for John and Roy and John nodded at Hannah's words. "I'm glad you're okay with it Hannah. Let's getting going then. The sooner we finish off Anarky the sooner we can get back to enjoying the rest of our day." John said with a smile before turning back to Hannah. "Come on Hannah, let's go storm a castle." He said to her while Sam turned to Roy and Sarah. "I already have a spell active that's searching for the bomb. So we should start by moving around the perimeter to find a way in." She said to the two of them. Though she too was worried about Hannah she trusted that she and John could handle the guards.

Mars
Mars sat by as Kiris dealt with the implications of his words internally. He was trying to deal with them himself, would this mean that Kiris was immortal now? Would she outlive the team? Would she out live him? He didn't know what effect that might have on their friendship but he knew in that moment that he didn't want to lose their friendship. He hadn't thought about it much, but it meant a lot to him and it wasn't something he was willing to give up.

Then Kiris pulled him out of his thoughts when she asked what he thought about what had happened. He paused, thinking about the question. It seemed like Kiris was feeling quite insecure about herself, and he knew she might be afraid of him not wanting to be her friend anymore. He knew immediately how he wanted to answer though.

"I don't think it changes anything." Mars told her simply. "You're my friend Kiris. I told you on our first mission that I'd be there for you when you needed me, and that's not going to change. Whatever happened today, we'll figure it out together alright? Nothings going to change that." Mars told Kiris sincerely, reaching out and putting his hand on her arm softly.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars felt Kiris press her hand against his as she spoke to him and he kept his hand perfectly still so she didn't accidentally cut him. It was more for Kiris' sake than his, because he knew she would be terribly upset if she had. Mars was a little concerned when Kiris began to cry and was worried that she was upset or sad, but started to soon realize that they were tears of joy. There was then an awkward silence that began to grow as they sat with each other and it was becoming clear that neither of them really knew what to say. Mars cleared his throat a bit to try to break up the silence and then spoke. "Um... Maybe you should try to get some rest Kiris, or at least try to do something relaxing. You've had a pretty stressful day after all." He said, trying not to sound too terribly awkward.

Disney
John managed a bit of a grin at Sarah's threat, and gave Sarah a kiss on the cheek in goodbye before he and Hannah headed off to charge the front of the castle.

Meanwhile Sam nodded at her sister's words as the two of them and Roy headed around the castle to try to find another way in. Soon they found a back entrance that was covered by two guards. "The bombs are near here. This is the door we need to go through." She then turned toward her sister, "Sarah? You think you could take those two guys out so we can get in without alerting the others?" Sam asked, knowing the answer was most definitely yes.