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

[Tomia]

Grimms
Sam was quiet fascinated by DeeDee and CeeCee's discussion of their relationship and how they co-existed. She did indeed have questions however a lot of them were answered. Still there was still one thing she couldn't help but wonder about. "So, how did you two end up like this? Were you born like it? Or was it... Something else?"

Sam was then shocked when CeeCee spoke about sharing DeeDee's experiences, every experience. She brought up Sam specifically which made her want to crawl under the table and hide in embarrassment.

Meanwhile John had a question to ask as well, "So you two feel each others physical sensations, does that mean you share each other's thoughts as well? Can you see through each other's eyes and capture each others; experiences?" He asked, before noticing Sarah taking a sip of his drink. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her, but it was more in a playful way than a negative one. She seemed quite comfortable with him, which John enjoyed. Sarah was pushy and a bit aggressive, but John didn't mind. He enjoyed her confidence, and it was a nice change from people who treated him either like a hero to put on a pedestal or treating him like a freak. Sarah wasn't too impressed with his strength at all, and that was quite refreshing.

Young Bloods
Nico finally began to stir from behind the shield that was Rocket. "Glad to see you awake." Mars said as he continued to protect his teammate.

"What happened?" Nico asked clearly a little dazed.

"You got knocked out by some gas. Nico, you're parents are here."

This got Nico's attention and he seemed to regain focus before jumping and running forward as the troops firing upon him were taken out by his teammates. He ran towards the man in the suit jacket, his eyes glaring with anger. "Dad!" He shouted through the fighting and the gunfire. The turned, ceasing his gunfire and looking into his son's eyes. In the middle of a battle father and son stared each other down, then the crime boss finally spoke.

"Nico, I wish you hadn't come here son."

[Tomia]

Darian and Serene
Serene was a little surprised by Etla's observation and the non-nonchalant attitude that she spoke about the possible ending of the world. Etla was much more perceptive than Serene had once expected. Serene decided she should finally explain since she basically knew anyway. "Etla, I guess we should finally be honest about what's going on. About a year ago my brother and I were possessed by two spirits, mine is known as the Angel and his is the Demon. The Demon is incredibly dangerous and we're trying to find a way to get rid of it."

Haldran merely nodded to Etla and did continue like she said. "This isn't just some prophecy my lady. I've seen this play out time and time again. Each fight between the two forces moves us closer and closer to an inevitable confrontation, that will destroy this world. It is not some mystical prediction by some seer. It is an inevitable conclusion, it is fact." He said plainly, with a grim confidence in his words.

Serene frowned deeply at this. "You mean... Darian and I will fight each other?" She asked in shock.

"Yes, I am afraid so."

She seemed to get angry, "Well we can't just accept that! We have to fight!" She said looking to Darian for support.

Darian finally spoke up after being silent for a while. "He isn't wrong sis, the Demon told me months ago." He said quietly, looking down instead of at her.

Serene couldn't believe what Darian said. They never kept secrets from each other, at least Serene thought they didn't. She looked hurt, "You knew Darian? Why didn't you tell me?"

He was silent for a little while before he finally spoke up, "Because I figure it would make it easier for you to do what you need to. To kill me."

"No! No I won't do it Darian! Never!" Serene shouted, tears strolling down her cheeks as she ran out of the cave leaving the others in silence.

Sam and John
Sam couldn't help but laugh herself as she saw CeeCee and DeeDee speaking at the same time as if they were children playing a game. "That's a pretty neat trick you have there. It must be really fun at parties." She said with a smile.

John meanwhile was taking a sip from his glass when he heard Sarah's comment. He nearly choked on his water but soon composed himself and gave a bit of an embarrassed grin. It wasn't like the comment surprised him, it was just surprising how abruptly she brought it up. "You're just full of surprises aren't you?" He asked her quietly in a playful tone.

[Tomia]

"Frank!" Shouted Cat's mother as she ran towards her husband, She still had the gasmask on and her hair was now a mess. "We need to leave. Now!"

"No Mom!" Shouted Cat suddenly. She pointed a finger. "You need to explain everything."

Cat's mother sighed. She heard the getaway car in the distance. "What we did Cat. We did it for you and your brother." She spoke. "One day we'll meet again, when your older. I can explain everything then. But not now. Now we have to finish some unsettled business.

Suddenly their getaway car pulled up next to them and the Mother got it quickly.

Frank turned from his son when he saw his wife approach. He nodding at her words before turning back to Nico. "Until we meet again son." He said before firing his machine gun to give himself cover.

"Dad!!" Nico shouted but was forced to cover himself to block the bullets as his father escaped with his mother through the hole in the wall where their get away car was waiting for them. They were driving off and before Nico could regain his awareness they were already gone. He turned to Cat, tears in his eyes and anger clear on his face. "We have to chase them! We can't just let them get away!"

Meanwhile Mars saw Kiris in front of him as the bullets stopped. It seemed like things were over, at least for now. The front of Rocket's chest opened up and Mars hopped out. "I'm fine Kiris, I'm glad you are as well." He said to her before turning and looking into her eyes, blushing a bit but keeping his gaze. "And I wanted to thank you. When I was out, I... Well I heard your voice. I think its what helped me wake up somehow. I don't know why, it just did. So.. thank you, for being such a great friend." He told her sincerely. He realized they were standing very close to each other, but in the moment it didn't seem as awkward to him as it would any other time. For some reason it felt very nice. An urge suddenly came over him and despite his great shyness and nervousness he leaned in to kiss Kiris, hoping it wouldn't end in him being hit in the face with razor sharp claws.

[Tomia]

Young Bloods
Mars was quite surprised when he suddenly felt his lips press against the bridge of Kiris' nose. He was horrified, had he missed and in his clumsiness ruin the kiss. He saw Kiris staring at him in horror, and wished the ground would just swallow him up. This had been the first time he ever tried to kiss a girl, and he had made a total fool of himself.

Then he realized that Kiris seemed to be upset with herself, and she was throwing herself on the ground in embarrassment. Mars had no idea what was going on, he was too shocked to say anything as his crush began to cry furiously. It finally came to hid mind that they clearly had different understanding of what kissing was. Why hadn't he thought of that before he did it? Of course someone who grew up on a different planet would have a different understanding if kissing. He was the supposed genius, how had he not thought of that? It might have almost been comical except for how devastated that Kiris was, screaming out she was sorry and running away in shame. Mars honestly didn't understand why she was so upset. It was an accident, and certainly didn't change his feelings about her at all. He wanted to reassure her of this but then he heard Nico saying that his parents were escaping.

Mars paused, feeling torn between what he should do. He didn't want to just abandon Kiris. She might think he doesn't care about her or his mad. Mars was afraid of losing what they clearly had between them, something that Mars had never felt for anyone else before. However, he had a responsibility to his team and his city to stop criminals. He decided he needed to help, and hope Kiris would be able to forgive him for leaving.

He ran over to Nico and Cat, after having hopped into Rocket, "Come on, we have a job to finish." He said resolutely, determined to catch the two criminals who had caused so much harm.

[Tomia]

Serene
Serene was sniffling outside the cave when Etla came running from behind. Serene nodded in acknowledgement when she saw the rainborn girl. She didn't really know what to say though, she was still shocked. "This all happened so fast. Everything was fine until we went to Egypt." Serene said, tears strolling down her cheeks. "Then everything was ruined. We lost our family and our friends. The only thing I have now is Darian. How can I lose him too?" She asked, her voice a little hoarse.

Mars
"Come on let's go!" Mars shouted as he went through the hole that the Alvarez couple escaped through. Nico followed behind her determined to stop her parents from escaping. Mars was still worried about Kiris, but he also needed to do his job as a superhero. Unfortunately in this line of work he needed to learn to but his personal troubles on the back burner sometimes. Nico moved quickly using his sand and caught up to the vehicle that was driving through the underground tunnel. Soon the moon roof opened and a body guard popped out and began firing upon the mutant who bobbed and weaved to dodge the fire. Mars wasn't sure how to stop the car without harming the people inside, hoping the others would follow behind them and be able to offer a solution.

[Tomia]

Grimms
Sam was a little surprised by CeeCee's sudden outburst and spoke trying to calm her. "It's alright CeeCee, a crush isn't anything to be ashamed of. I know its a new feeling for you, but that doesn't make it bad." Sam said, trying to calm the sibling of her teacher. It was slightly strange to hear CeeCee speak about all of DeeDee's former sexual partners, but Sam didn't know why it bothered her. She knew who DeeDee was after all, and it wasn't like they were together or anything. Sam tried to shake the thoughts out of her head as she listened to Sarah and CeeCee talk.

Meanwhile John smiled at Sarah, "Like you'd let me run away." He said playfully with a smile though part of him couldn't deny that it was true. He then turned to Hannah and Roy and talked to the two of them for a while as Sarah spoke to CeeCee. Then he stopped and turned back to Sarah's conversation just in time to hear Sarah's comment about CeeCee. It was another shocking comment but he didn't even have time to respond to it before Sarah asked him a question.

"Ya, you're right. We should get going. I don't want to keep my pilot waiting too long." John said to her. Their trip was only temporary after all, though John wasn't sure where they'd be going from their. He and Sarah would have to talk about what the future would hold for them, as John really had no idea. "It was very nice meeting you CeeCee, DeeDee, I hope we meet again." Before turning to the others and telling them it was time to go. Roy had asked for a ride back to New York so he would be coming with them as well.

Serene
Serene was shocked when Etla suddenly dropped her mechanical rabbit on her head. Serene frowned, she was clearly not in the mood for games. However then Etla sat down next to Serene and started opening up about her brother. Serene listened in silence, kind of shocked that Etla was talking about something so personal. Etla was right though and Serene knew it. Serene put her hand on Elta's shoulder to comfort her. "I'm very sorry Etla, I know how difficult that must have been to talk about, You're right, thank you. I can't give up, we can still change things, we have to." She then wiped her eyes and spoke You know... I'm really glad we met you. You're a really cool person." Serene said reaching over to pet Cloudy.

Cora
Cora was doing another one of her training sessions in the basement of the JQ headquarters. It was something she usually did when she was nervous or angry. She smashed robotic dummies with incredible speed and ease as they came upon her. Even with the great effort she was exerted, it was very clear her mind was elsewhere. Cora had never been very political, never really cared who was president or what congress was doing, she figured she would leave that to more interested people like Valancy. However this on coming conflict over this registration act had gotten her attention.

Cora didn't know what to think about all of the arguments being made for and against, it was all confusing to someone very new to the world like Cora. However there was some news that made Cora's blood boil. She had been monitoring the activities of the former employees of the company had that had created her. The news had been pleasingly quite for a long while, however there was recently a rash spread of disappearances of children in juvenile prisons. The official story was that they escaped but Cora's investigation made it clear that that was not true. She talked to some of her contacts in the government who after some hot tempered convincing admitted that there was a secret project being developed to create more cyborg type androids in case they were needed to fight against rogue heroes.

Cora couldn't allow it. She wouldn't let anyone go through what she had gone through. She spent over a week doing research to find out where this new facility was and though she hadn't found it yet, she had a lead as to how she could. However she would need help. Normally Cora would go to Katie, but she knew Katie wouldn't want to resort to violence and Cora didn't want to fight about it.

That's what brought her to Jamie's door. The two weren't particularly close yet, but Jamie was a teammate so Cora trusted her. Besides, Jamie was the one Cora could trust the most not to tell Katie about what Cora was planning on doing. Cora knocked on Jamie's door hoping she was there to answer. "Jamie? It's Cora. Could we talk about something? It's important."

[Tomia]

Serene
Serene smiled at Etla's comment, feeling like the two of them could really become friends at some point. Etla was quite sweet, if a bit goofy sometimes. She wasn't sure how to answer Etla's question however. It took her a bit off guard. She had been so worried about losing her brother she didn't even think about what they'd do next. "Well, I don't really know to be honest. But... I have this feeling. This feeling that we should return to Egypt. It's where this all started. There must be something we could learn there, something we've missed." She said, pausing before continuing:

"You know, you could come with us if you want. I understand if you're busy, but the offer stands if you want it." Serene said a little shyly, not used to speaking to new people like this. She didn't know what Etla said, but Serene imagined she might want to get back to her boyfriend Craig. Serene couldn't help but wonder what he must be like.

Cora
Cora frowned a little bit when Jamie asked how important her issue was, not wanting to shout it through the door. However she then saw Jamie open the door, asking what was going on. "Hi Jamie, sorry to interrupt." She said walking into the room and standing nearby Jamie's bed. The room was filled with video games and televisions. Cora didn't have many possessions herself, so she always marveled at how much stuff people seemed to own. When Jamie closed the door behind her Cora spoke again. "I never told you how I came to be did I?" She asked softly before continuing, "I was kidnapped at a young age, though I don't remember anything before that. The people who kidnapped me put me in this underground lab. They kept me there for years, forcing me to learn to fight, running tests on me. They... tortured me, until they finally turned me into a cyborg. Soon after that I managed to escape after the lab was shut down." Cora paused taking a deep breath trying not to cry.

"Now though, the same people that stole me from my family are doing it again. They're stealing children from juvenile prisons and turning them into super soldiers for the government. I just... I just can't sit back and let them get away with it. Let them put kids through the same hell I went through. I'm going after them, and I'm going to stop them. I want your help Jamie. I know I'm asking a lot. It'll be dangerous. But I really need your help."

[Tomia]

Serene
Serene smiled when Etla agreed to come with them to Egypt. She was a little surprised, but it would definitely be nice to have her there for emotional support and support in combat as well. "Great, I'm glad you'll come." She told the rainborn when suddenly her brother Darian came out of the cave. Serene stiffened a little when she saw him, but let him approach.

"Hi" Darian said awkwardly, looking down to the ground and pausing before speaking again. "Serene I'm sorry. I should have told you early. It's just... It's not something that's easy to bring up. But I should have found a way. We shouldn't keep secrets like that."

Serene nodded slowly, "Thank you, I know it must have been difficult. But that doesn't have be to be how it ends Darian. I won't let it be. We'll find another way and we won't stop until we do." Serene said firmly clearly taking Etla's advice to heart.

Darian looked a little surprised, "Well what are we supposed to do? It's destiny, even the Angel says it."

Serene paused for a bit before responding, "We're going back. Back to Egypt. We have to learn more about what is going on here and that will be the best to find it."

Darian looked skeptical but merely nodded, deciding that he owed his sister the benefit of the doubt. He then turned to Etla, "Are you going to come with us? Or do you have something better do?" He asked with a bit of smile. Before turning back to Serene. "I trust you sis, if you say we'll go to Egypt we'll go." Darian told her making Serene smile.

Careful child, this boy shall be your death. The Angel said in Serene's mind and Serene replied strongly,

At least we'll die together then.

Cora
Cora was relieved to hear that Jamie was willing to help her, but then she stiffened at her question about Katie and the others. "I can't tell Katie." Cora said after pausing for a moment. "She won't understand, she'll tell me not to. I don't want to fight and I want to put the others in harms way. This is my fight, it'll be really dangerous, but I need help and I felt like I could trust you to help. I also trust you not to tell the others. I understand if you want to change your mind now that you know this. I won't hold it against you." Cora told her teammate, feeling guilty that she was keeping a secret from her girlfriend and her friends but she didn't have a choice. She had to do this, she just had to.

[Tomia]

Mars and Nico
Mars and Nico continued to chase down the car holding the couple in charge of Jump City's criminal empire. Mars was forced to continue to duck and dodge bullets being fired by the remaining guards in the car. Then the man standing out through the moon roof was handed a missile launcher and began firing rockets at two heroes. Explosion boomed all around them and Nico just barely managed to avoid getting hit. Then however the shooter changed tactic and fired at the roof behind the vehicle.

"He's trying to collapse the bridge!" Mars shouted but soon it was too late. Huge chunks of concrete began to fall all around them as the tunnel began to destabilize. The car continued to speed away and as Nico attempted to follow a large piece of debris fell towards him. He was barely able to use his sand to push it away before Mar and Rocket was able to smash it away with their fist. However when Mars turned his head he saw the road was blocked and the car they were chasing was most likely long gone now.

Nico got up and tried to climb up the debris but Mars followed and put his hand on Nico's shoulder. "It's over Nico I'm sorry. We'll find them though, I promise."

Nico looked like he didn't want to give up but after giving a long sigh he finally nodded slowly as they both turned back to find the others. Mars was particularly worried about Kiris. He wasn't sure if she'd be mad at him or how they would move forward from that mistake. They arrived back to the underground facility and Mars spoke to his teammates that were still around, "We gave chase but they got away. Come on, its been a long day. Let's call the police to clean up and get out of here."

[Tomia]

Grimms
Sam wasn't surprised by DeeDee's flirtatious attitude as she left. "Bye DeeDee, I'll see you soon." She said with a smile. Sam was surprised however at what CeeCee said, and almost a little scared. Sam had to admit she had feelings for DeeDee, she was very fascinating. and Sam admired her. However CeeCee seemed to imply that DeeDee might resort to violence if Sam didn't move their relationship along. She couldn't even bring herself to voice her concern and gave CeeCee a meek goodbye.

John saw this and turned to Sam, "Sam, are you okay?" He asked with concern.

Sam merely nodded, "Ya, I'm fine." She said though it didn't sound terribly convincing. John was worried but decided he'd leave it for her sister since she was obviously more comfortable opening up to them than him.

"Okay, lets get going then. We have a plane to catch." He told everyone as they headed toward the car that was waiting for them that would take them to the airport.

As they sat in the car Roy turned to Hannah, "So, do you and your sisters have any plans? If you want you know... You could visit New York. We have plenty of room in the tower and I'm sure my friends the Justice Queens would love to meet you. And well... It'd be great to see you again." Roy said, trying to hide his blush but not succeeding too well.

[Tomia]

Grimms
Soon the Grimms, Roy, and John arrived at the airport. Sam suddenly tensed up when they arrived though. Something felt wrong. She couldn't explain what it was, she just had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"What's wrong Sam? You look troubled?" John asked with concern. Sam tried to smile and respond, but the smile felt forced even to her.

"I'm fine its just..."

Suddenly the limo they were sitting in suddenly flipped over in the air as it was it with a ball of dark energy. Sam knew that could only mean one thing and it filled her heart with dread. The wizard had found them. She grunted as the vehicle hit the ground hard, she managed to put a shield around them to protect from shattered glass, but the impact would still hurt.

Sam struggled to crawl outside, seeing Roy hurt on the ground outside the limo and John trying to get out to help him. "Come on Hannah, Sarah, we need to get out. He's here." She said to them. She then saw him. He was much larger than he usually was, at least 8 feet tall. His robes were a deadly shade of black and he looked down towards them with a horrible grin.

"Hello children of the moon, I have returned for you once more!" He said to them raising up his arms to cast another shot of black magic.

Young Bloods
Cat and Nico were clearly upset about their parents escaping justice, so needless to say it was not a very enjoyable trip home. Mars was also getting increasingly worried about Kiris. He wasn't upset about her leaving, not after how upset she was. Still, he was mad that he had let the Alvarezs slip past him, after he had promised Nico and Cat that he would stop them. He had failed to keep that promise and that ate at him.

He was glad to arrive home and turned to Cat and Nico, "I'm sorry this couldn't have gone better, but you two did well. We could really use your help on the team? You could help a lot of people. What do you say?" Both Cat and Nico shared an unsure look.

"You don't have to decide right now. Stick around for a few days, see what its like. Then you can decide." Mars continued. The two nodded before Mars smiled and headed upstairs to the living room. He was looking for Kiris and he found her but she wasn't alone. Rin was there, along with a strange small woman who almost looked like a fairy from children stories. Mars turned to meet Kiris' eyes before forcing himself to turn away. "So uh, what's going on here?" Mars asked, clearly confused.

[Tomia]

After a while of being within the JQ, Marybeth was becoming quite accustomed to life here. Having only taken on a few gigs, she wasn't really known besides being a member of the JQ, which suited her just fine for now. As long as no one finds out about the past ten years, of course. She sat in her room, music blaring quite loudly, destressing. I wonder what everyone else has been up to recently. Having seen much of them, perhaps hermit life isn't for me. Yawning, she turned off the music and went upstairs. She paused by a room, just outside of it, she wasn't sure which, and heard two voices. Cora and Jamie. Extending the sounds within her area, she listened. Something about Cora, and helping. Sweet, something to do. Peeking in, she called out. "Hey, anything I can help with?" They don't need to know I was eavesdropping.

Cora seemed to freeze when she heard a voice behind them, afraid it was Kylie or even worse Katie. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was Marybeth. Cora then wondered what she should do. Having Marybeth along with them could help, but she didn't want to endanger anymore people than she needed to. Still, they were teammates so Cora decided she needed to trust her teammate and at least tell her the truth. "Well, come in close the door." Cora said, making sure that only Marybeth could hear them now. "I was asking Jamie to help me on a... personal mission. There are some very bad people, kidnapping children and well... they're turning them into cyborgs like me. I can't allow this to go on, so I asked Jamie to help me. I understand if you don't want to get involved Marybeth, there's a reason why I won't ask the team as a whole, I know that this is a controversial move and I don't want to drag you into it but I would be honored it you would join us." Cora told her team sincerely.

[Tomia]

After pondering it for about a second, realizing she was incredibly bored at the moment, Marybeth agreed offhandedly. "Sure, why not", she said. Then...something struck her as what Cora had said began to sink in. Kids...kidnap...turning them...that's all that truly processed within her. Feeling a familiar yet rare rage creep inside her, Marybeth nodded sternly. "I'll definitely do it. Just don't stop me from doing what has to be done." Flashbacks, uncontrolled yet hidden flashed through her mind rapidly of the experiments done upon her when she was in HYDRA's possession. She raised her hand to her forehead. "As soon as possible please."

Cora saw Marybeth's anger and was a little surprised. She rarely saw the girl lose her cool, she was always very aloof."Alright Mary, I appreciate your help. It's nice to know my teammates have my back." She told the two of them genuinely. "Well, I'll need a little while to prepare. Meet me in the garage in a half an hour?" She asked the other two before heading out of the room. The garage was more of a giant hangar at the base of the tower than it was a garage, but garage was just easier to say. That was where they kept the vehicles for the team. Cora was hoping she would be able to get one of the jets out of there before people noticed they were leaving. She would explain why they left after they were gone.

Cora went down to her training area, packing up her things, not daring to go to her room where Katie might be. She felt terrible about keeping a secret from Katie, but she was so worried about what she would say. The last thing in the world she wanted was to hurt her. Cora sat in silence for about fifteen minutes contemplating what she was about to do. She then saw it was about time to go. She took a picture of Katie out of her pocket where she always kept it. She looked at it for a few moments before giving it a quick kiss, putting it in her pocket before heading to the garage to meet Marybeth and Jamie, pushing her guilt and doubts from her mind as best she could.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars nodded as Kiris explained the news about Ava. Mars decided that she didn't seem like a threat and figured Rin would probably be able to handle it. He then turned to Kiris when she apologized. Things still felt awkward, but she didn't bring up their less than perfect attempt to kiss neither would he. "It's alright Kiris. I understand. You were upset, you were right to take some time to calm down." He told her sincerely. "I'm sure the others do too. It didn't end up going too well though. Nico and Cat's parents escaped." Mars said, looking guilty at that moment. He felt as it was his fault that the criminal masters got away.

Cora
Cora heard Marybeth's question. "Well, the prison that the victims are disappearing from is about two hours away by car, but maybe that will be less conspicuous than the jet. The longer it takes the others to realize we're gone the better." She told the others, heading with Marybeth and Jamie to the car. Cora had never driven before and now was obviously not the time to learn so Marybeth drove the car instead. Cora was silent for a while as they drove, clearly worried and anxious about what they were going to do, and the consequences of her decision. She was mostly worried about Katie, what if she was so mad that they broke up over this? That was the last thing the cyborg wanted, but Cora had to do this. She felt like she didn't have any other choice, she couldn't sit by and doing anything. She decided to talk to try to take her mind off of it.

"So, how have you two enjoyed the Justice Queens so far? I was honestly surprised when more people wanted to join our team, but I'm glad you two did." Cora said sincerely. She had been working on making friends since she joined the team, and she felt like she was making progress.

[Tomia]

"It's better than my last place, that's for sure", said Marybeth, giddy behind the wheel. Hardly ever bothering to go the speed limit (though not going fast enough to be pulled over) she generally kept her car at a nice, fast paced cruising speed. Sure, she could probably get there quicker without a car, but it simply wasn't as fun. "So, when did you join up?"

"Well, I joined when it started I guess." Cora said in response to Marybeth's question. "After I arrived in New York City. I... well I was down a bad path. I started threatening people into liking me. Katie was a local hero at the time and she came to stop me. Well, we ended up talking instead and Katie was really nice. She took me to her apartment, and Valancy happened to be living next door. Kylie came by too, she was friends with Katie. The odd thing was, none of them knew that the others had powers. I guess they were just nervous or not willing to tell each other. Anyway, we got along well, and I was starting to realize what it might be like to have friends. Then the city was attacked, by someone who was trying to kill me. The other stood up for me, and stopped him from hurting me or other people. Naja even showed up to help, even though we didn't really know her at the time. Then we all kind of just decided we wanted to keep working together and help people. Then the Justice Queens were born. Ya... That's pretty much it."

Grimms
The Wizard merely laughed as the dark tentacles bounced off of him harmlessly, "Your tricks won't work on me any longer my dear. Nothing can stop me now!" He said in a maniacal tone, his laugh sounded wicked and demented. He launched a fire ball at Sarah who was knocked out of the way John, who landed on top of her to shield her, just barely able to escape the flames himself.

Suddenly the wizard's hand stretched almost like some kind of magical putty and grabbed John, holding him in his hand as John struggled, firing energy blasts at the wizard but to no effect. "How cute! The brave knight tries to save you!" The wizard taunted Sarah as he held the struggling John in one hand.

[Tomia]

"Ah, I see", said Marybeth, pondering that. " You know, you and I aren't all that different... " she said quietly, almost to herself. "Except it is quite unlikely that anyone would ever come after me to kill me. I'm quite positive my issues are dealt with permanently." Except those in my head, apparently, she thought, remembering the flashback and loud of composure when she initially learned of Cora's plan. "You know what? I think I might have a slight plan when we get there. You know where the kids are, right? Focus on them. I'll go in first, create a distraction. Cyborgs won't be a problem for me, not if they aren't completely invulnerable to vibration. Just... Get the kids and get out. Alright?"

Cora was a little surprised by Marybeth's comment, a little confused by her insistence of a plan. It sounded like it'd work, but why did she want them to split up? Still, Cora knew she shouldn't question her teammate though, especially when she was doing her a favor. "Alright, that could certainly be helpful. I don't know where the children are yet though. That's why we're going to prison first. I know someone there who is willing to help us."

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars couldn't help but smile when Kiris did her best to comfort it. It really made him feel good that he had someone who he could confide in, who would comfort him when he was upset or vulnerable. He noticed Kiris staring at him, which made him blush a little, reminding him of the moment right up before their kiss. He found himself staring at her a bit too before forcing himself to look away, nodding when Kiris quickly went off. He headed to his own room to try to clear his head as well. When he arrived however he was met with the thick smell of paint. He raised an eyebrow as he stepped inside, wondering what was going on. He then walked inside and realized that everything in his room was painted red. Luckily basically everything important to him was in his lab, but still this was clearly not what he needed in this moment.

Um, is everything in your room covered in paint? Mars asked Kiris telepathically. He was clearly not happy about this. If this was a joke it wasn't funny.

Darian and Serene
Darian and Serene were shocked as they flew off into the sky and very quickly arrived in Africa. They were both disoriented for a little while before they came to and were shocked to see an army of strange alien creatures around them. They both took out their weapons after transforming into their warrior forms. They were prepared for a fight but Etla seemed to knock out or scatter the enemies in their close vicinity so they turned to her instead.

"Uh so Etla?" Serene said as she looked around. "So, do we know what we're doing here? This place doesn't look terribly friendly.

Grimms
The Wizard swatted at Hannah and Sarah's attacks, his arms being cut apart and reforming. "Hannah, you've always had trouble with you manners!" He shouted as he tried to knock her out with his free hand.

Meanwhile Sam heard her sister's order and was torn. She wanted to help Sarah and Hannah, but Roy was hurt and getting him out safe was important. She couldn't disobey her older sister so she quickly moved to grab Roy, who looked like he may have broken an arm in the fall. She helped him up slowly and started to move him away from the car when he was suddenly grabbed by the Wizard. Sam yelped in shock and tried to create shadow claws to grab him but it wasn't enough. Sam was confused, why did the Wizard seem to be targeting John and Roy and not them? She wasn't sure what was happening, but she knew it certainly wasn't good.

[Tomia]

Cora
Cora heard Jamie's question about her knowing someone in prison and couldn't help but smile slightly. "Well, they're not in prison exactly. He's a guard there. He used to work for the government but he's retired, that's how I know him." Cora told her teammates and soon after they finally arrived a the prison. Cora showed her clearance badge at the gate before the security guards let them inside. It was a large gated facility, with nothing but open field visible for miles beyond the service road. They made it to the lobby of the prison and Cora realized they'd have to pass a metal detector. "Um, we should try to find another way to the holding facility. I'd rather not have to explain why I set the metal detector off." Cora whispered to Jamie and Marybeth, clearly a little embarrassed that she hadn't considered that detail.

[Tomia]

Darian and Serene
Serene smiled and nodded to Etla, Darian did the same. "Killing weird creatures is something I can get behind!" He said, lifting his massive blade into the air. Serene smiled at Craig when he introduced himself. "So you're Craig huh? Etla has talked about you. She says your a genius." Serene told him. "I'm Serene, it's nice to meet you. And this..." She looked aorund and saw that Darian was already hacking through enemies. "Well that's my brother Darian. Well, I should probably help him, we should talk after though!" She called before rushing off with Darian to join the battle, firing arrows that soon turned into giant blasts of light, killing dozens of enemies at a time.

[Tomia]

Sarah

Hannah

Sam rushed over to the others as well, helping Roy who was struggling to his feet. He was clearly hurt but was trying not to show it. Meanwhile John struggled valiantly, if futilely against the Wizard's grip. "Sarah! don't listen to this bastard! He's trying to get in your head!" He called to his girlfriend from above. He tried to say more but the wizard cut him off.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat, but John and I have places to be. If you want your beloved toy back Sarah, I suggest you start working harder for it. Don't take too long though, I may get bored of him and throw him away! And don't worry about finding me, I'll make it very easy for you when the time comes!"

And with that John and the Wizard both disappeared in a flash of light, leaving only Roy and the Grimm sisters, to lick their wounds and figure out what had just happened and how they could possibly fix it.


Cora
Cora nodded at Marybeth's suggestion. "Alright, that works Marybeth. Just... don't hurt him alright? His name is Andrew Hadson. He's a tall African American man, in his late forties. He has thinning brown hair, and a small scar on his hand. If you ask around for him, you should be able to find him. Just tell him that Infinity is here and wants to talk to him."

[Tomia]

The Dark Damned Heart

Chapter 7

Alpha Squad
Nightwing made his way through the grimy infrastructure of the infamous government prison. He crawled through the vents, moving slowly to make as little noise as possible as he did not want to alert anyone beneath him.

For a moment, Dick Grayson wondered what he was doing here. Risking his life in a prison for a man he didn’t know, who might not even want to help them. How had things gotten this desperate? The state of society went south so quickly, so many people were dead, so many friends gone.

Dick couldn’t help but think of Batman, even the Dark Knight couldn’t survive the demon. Bruce Wayne’s death had been incredibly hard on the hero, he even refused to believe it for a while. He was sure that Batman would reappear with a plan to save the day. After a few months though that sad dream faded away, and Grayson realized they were on their own now.

He forced those thoughts from his mind as he continued to move through the ventilation shafts. Those memories were distracting, and distractions would get him killed. He had to focus on the present, and trying to win a war.

He finally made it down to the lowest level of the prison. Somewhere no one wants to find themselves, where the Demon’s worst enemies are left to die. Fortunately dying wasn’t really an option for the man Nightwing was looking for.

Dick pushed through the vent grate as it clanged against the ground in a hollow echo. He wasn’t worried about making noise down here. There weren’t guards on this level, they didn’t need them.

Grayson made his way slowly through a dark lit hallway, past the many decrepit cells. The air was filled with the sounds of screams and mindless wails. The poor occupants of this hell were left here to go mad and starve to death. A fate that Nightwing wouldn’t wish upon his worst enemy.
The man he was after had been on this level of the prison for almost a year and a half, soon after the fall of Gotham City to the Demon’s armies. He wouldn’t have starved to death, but Dick questioned his mental state. He didn’t know what kind of man he was about to encounter, but he didn’t have many other options. This was the only ally he could reach, and they desperately were in need of allies.

Nightwing made his way to the cell at the end of the hallway where sitting against a wall was a heavily bearded man who clearly hadn’t seen sunlight in a while. He stared at Dick, almost as if he was looking through him rather than at him.

“Hello Henry, glad to see you’re still around.”

The man refocused his eyes, looking clearly at Nightwing now. “It’s been years since someone called me that. Who are you?” The man said, his voice hoarse, but surprisingly and almost eerily calm.

“My name is Dick, I’m here to get you out of here.”

The name raised an eyebrow, “Well, what are you standing around for? Or dicking around I suppose.” He said before breaking into a fit of almost maniacal laughter. Grayson stared at him, wondering if this man had truly lost his mind.

Henry finally calmed down before speaking again, “Sorry about that, haven’t had anyone to joke with in a while. All my neighbors do is moan and scream endlessly they’re quite boring. But seriously, if you’re here to get me out why aren’t you doing it?”

“Waiting on some friends. These bars are being controlled by some weird magical system the Demon created. Some kind of totem that’s controlling the exits. We’re working to get rid of it. Before that happens though, we need to talk. Before I let you out, I need to make sure you’re on our side.”

“And what side would that be? If it’s against that bastard Demon and her cronies. Then we’re on the same side. I want that bitch to suffer.”
Nightwing nodded, his own anger was not negligible and he understood the desire for revenge. “Alright, but when I let you out you follow my orders alright? I’m not letting your anger get us killed.”

Henry merely rolled his eyes at that, “I forgot that that is a concern for you normal people. But fine, you’re the boss. For now at least.” Henry capitulated.

As Dick waited to get the signal that the defenses were down from Miss Martian, he voiced his mind about something.
“So I’m curious, how did you end up down here?”

“Hmm? I wonder, a super charged Demon from hell takes over the world and my home city. However, did I end up rotting in a cell?” Henry answered back facetiously. Grayson merely stood there silently waiting for a real answer. Henry then sighed and continued.

“Shit got bad quickly. We tried to defend Gotham, the GCPD did what we could but we were slaughtered. The Demon was relentless. Hordes and hordes of abominations kept storming the bridges. We just couldn’t hold them back. People turned into monsters in front of our very eyes. Eventually they caught me. Tried to kill me, but well it isn’t that easy. So they’ve stuck me in this hellhole ever since.”

Nightwing felt as if Henry was leaving a lot out, but before he could press further a voice was heard in his head.

Dick, I’ve done it.

It was Miss Martian’s voice, and Dick nod his head glad that things seemingly went well.

Kylie, Wonder Girl, have you moved to unlocking the prisons?

Dick said through the mental connection they had established. There was no response and Dick was getting worried as Henry merely looked on, wondering if his rescuer had lost his mind.

Kylie, Wonder Girl, come in.

Finally, after a few moments there was a response.

We’re on it Dick, don’t worry so much. Kylie said, and even though he couldn’t see her, Nightwing imagined that the Green Lantern was smiling.

Grayson then pulled open the cell door, letting Henry free. “Come on, we have plenty of work to do.”

The two rushed through the lower level, and as they got closer to the stairs, they could hear the rioting that was happening above them. Captured heroes, criminals and even civilians were bursting out of their cells and charging at the guards. Many of them were being mowed down the enemy guards, but their sheer numbers began to overwhelm the Demon’s troops. The rebellion had had an army sitting here this whole time and they had finally unleashed it.

Nightwing had expected Henry to join the fray and attack, but he merely followed along with Dick, showing very little interest in the battle around them. Dick wanted to help in the fight, but unfortunately that wasn’t their mission. Their mission was to gather a specific group of people that were imprisoned that they believed could help them turn the tide in this battle over Gotham.

Nightwing finally reached Kylie, Wondergirl, and Miss Martian who were working to find the recruits as well. Nightwing couldn’t help but be glad to see Kylie was alright. Which was ridiculous since she was a Green Lantern after all. But he pushed those thoughts from his mind as he spoke,
“So, I got Henry here. What about the others?” Grayson asked the others, Miss Martian spoke up. “Beast Boy, Hulk and most of the others are out. The rest are unaccounted for but we don’t have time to look. But Dick, some of these people… They’re villains.” Miss Martian said and Dick merely nodded grimly. She wasn’t wrong. They were rescuing people like Death Stroke, Lex Luthor and others who refused to be ordered around by the demon. These were dangerous people, people Dick had fought all his life. But that didn’t matter anymore. They now had a common enemy.

“It doesn’t matter, they’re enemies of the Demon and that means we need their help.” He responded. It was true unfortunately, they didn’t have many other options.

“Isn’t this so much FUN!!!” Shouted one of those previously mentioned villains. It was Harley Quinn, mercilessly kicking a dark heart in the face before doing a back flip and landing before Nightwing wrapping her hands around his waist. “Come on bird brain, we have to get out of here!” She said in a playful tone before Dick growled and pushed her hands off of him.

Kylie was clearly not happy about this either and took a step toward the infamous Harley Quinn before Dick raised his hand, telling her to stop.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” He told his teammates, ignoring Harley as they gathered every useful prisoner they could. Now they had a powerful army that if they could arrive in time could turn the tide. The key though would be convincing them to help once they were out of the prison which might prove difficult.

They led the rather large group out through the halls of the prison back towards the large sewers beneath. Dark Hearts began to swarm around them to try to retake control of the prison and Nightwing smashed his fists into as many, faces, ribs, and joints as he could find as the others attacked as well.

They finally were able to clear a path down to the sewer as they headed down one by one, the disgusting smell of the sewage hitting them as they entered. “Well, this is actually a step up from my last residence.” Henry said, trying to make light of the situation.

“I like this one, even if he looks like a coot!” Harley cackled as she gleefully skipped through the sewer trail.

“That woman is still so many flavors of annoying.” Henry said, shaking his head as they walked.

As the rag tag army of prison escapes made their way through the sewers the walls and ground beneath them began to shake ever so slightly. Nightwing felt this and stopped, halting everyone behind him as well. Suddenly the ground in front of them broke apart and out arose Killer Croc, as dozens of demons appeared around him in various forms.

Croc looked around hungrily and licked his lips in anticipation, “Well, it looks like I have a full course ahead of me!”

Beta Squad
“You can’t keep this up forever Silverwing!” Killer Frost taunted, relentlessly firing spikes of ice into Craig’s shield. The shield was almost entirely covered in ice, and Craig was clearly starting to strain from the weight and pressure that the attacks were exerting on him.

Rin was doing her best to help, but her powers were limited in this situation. If she tried to attack Frost with a sonic blast, she might hurt Craig in the process. She wouldn’t be able to get far enough away from him either, his shield was the only thing keeping her from getting turned into an ice Rin-kebab. However, she knew they had to do something to break this stand still. She just didn’t know what.

Then suddenly the lights in the radio station began to flicker, which gave Craig, Rin and Killer Frost alike pause. Soon the lights went dark completely and Frost shouted out in surprise as there was suddenly a loud banging noise coming from behind Frost. Craig turned on the flash light on wrist to figure out what was going on. Rin didn’t need it, as her hearing was already painting the entire picture she needed.

“Roy!” She shouted out, confusing Craig who raised an eyebrow.

“Quite Rin, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on here.” Craig responded as he shinned the light toward Frost. That’s when realized that Rin’s comment actually made sense after all. Luckily his flashlight was attached to his suite or Craig might have dropped it.

Roy Damon was standing over Killer Frost, his whole body covered in shadows, his face wasn’t even visible, not Craig had seen him in this form enough to know it was him.

Roy’s double ended spear pressed against Frost’s neck, her arms and legs were pinned to the ground by shadow energy. Roy’s blade was dangerously close to Frost and the look in his eyes was not a friendly one. Frost looked up at him with a cruel smile, “Didn’t know you were going to be here shadow boy. I haven’t seen you since that fight in Paris. How’ve you been?” She asked sarcastically.

Roy snarled and dug his blade a little further into her neck, drawing blood from the frozen villain. “Shut up Frost, or we’ll see what blood colored ice looks like.”

The villain looked genuinely afraid now, and this is when Craig stepped in, shining the light on Roy.

“Roy! Stop! She’s down, she’s not a threat anymore.” Silverwing said to his fellow rebel.

“Ya, your heart rate is really high, you should calm down.” Rin added to Craig’s statement.

Roy cringed from the light, almost as if it was burning him. “Shut that off will you? I just saved you, don’t I get a thank you?”

Craig stepped forward and knocked Killer Frost out with his shield before turning to Roy. They needed to have a private conversation.
“What the hell are you doing here Roy, you had a direct order to stay behind!” Craig shouted, getting in the younger man’s face.

Roy didn’t back down, glaring at Craig, “So what? I’m fucking sick of taking orders. I wasn’t going to sit there while we were at war. “She’s still out there Craig. I need to find her.” Roy said, pain clear in his voice. It’d take Rin’s super hearing to tell that.

Craig softened a bit, he was one of the few people in the resistance who knew the truth about the Demon. As almost no one in the resistance had ever seen the Demon, well no one that had survived at least. Craig knew however, Sam had told him about that terrible day, about the truth about Hannah.

“Roy, I’m sorry. Look, I understand what you’re going through, but we have to be smart. We have too many people counting on us not to be.” Craig said in response putting his hand on Roy’s shoulder. Rin watched on, taking in all the emotions and physical responses of the two men to the conversation.

Roy pushed the hand off of him, “You don’t know what I’m going through man. How is Etla doing? You saw her today right? Told her you loved her right? What’s that like? You have no fucking idea what I’m feeling man, so back off. How would you feel if you lost Etla right before your eyes, and she became something out of your worst nightmares? Would you calm down?”

Craig started to get angry as well, “Don’t you dare bring Etla, into this. I’m trying to protect her, just like you’re trying to protect Hannah! Now you’…”

“Guys, shut up. Someone is coming.” Rin suddenly blurted out, leading Craig and Roy to stop yelling at each abruptly and turn down towards the hallway, Craig and Rin had come from. Their weapons were drawn, expecting a threat.

They were surprised however, when Nia came running along, stopping and trying to catch her breath. “We were overwhelmed. I managed to escape, but the others… They’ve been caught. There’s a man with them, I’ve never seen him before but he is ruthless. He… he scares me.” Nia said, Rin walked over to her side. “It’s okay, bad man can’t hurt you now. “She said, putting her hand on Nia’s back.

Craig looked shock, guilt clear on his face. How had we let this happen? “We have to go find them. We have to save them.”

“They’re being held in the old theatre across the street. But what about the mission Craig? Sam is counting on Rin’s help.” Nia pointed out.

Rin nodded at this, “Yes, I need to get to the control room.” She said to Craig, who was silent for a moment before he finally sighed. “Alright, Rin and Nia, you two head to the control tower and make contact with Sam and the others. I’ll go after the others.”

“You’re not going alone. I’m going with you.” Roy told Silverwing. “You’ll get killed on your own. You need my help.”

Craig was unsure, he didn’t know if it was the best idea to take Roy out into the field but he needed help. He needed to save his team.
“Alright, but I’m in charge. You’re not even supposed to be here, so we do things my way.”

Roy reluctantly nodded, and headed off with Craig back down the hallway towards the exit. Meanwhile Rin turned to Nia, “Come on, let’s go play with the radio.” Rin said, taking Nia’s hand and pulling the surprised girl toward the large control room.

Craig and Roy made their way down the street, using Craig’s cloaking technology to keep themselves hidden. Craig was on edge, his heart racing, his mind spinning. What if something happened to Etla? What if she was hurt? He didn’t even want to think about it and forced the idea from his mind. It was a possibility he did not want to consider.

They made their way past the debris and broken down cars to the abandoned theatre across the street. The building was run done and most of its windows were all shattered, but it was still standing.

They made their way passed the broken down door and saw to large demons standing on the ground floor, holding massive axes made of dark energy. Craig looked over his shoulder to Roy, but the young man was suddenly gone. He had charged the large demons, slamming huge balls of dark energy at them. The energy hit the two demons and smashed them against the wall with a loud crash. Roy then charged at one of them with startling speed and slammed his spear into its chest. The beast howled before disintegrating into a puddle of dark energy.

Craig sighed as he fired his wrist rocket at the other demon, killing it instantly. So much for being subtle. He had to admit that Roy had gotten impressively stronger though. In just a few years his powers had grown exponentially.

To Craig’s surprise, enemies weren’t charging down the stairs to meet them. In fact, the streets had been ominously clear of enemies. He had been so worried about his team, he never stopped to think that this could be a trap. He turned to Roy. “We have to be careful. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Roy nodded, his spear at the ready as he and Craig made their way up the stairs. The upstairs was a large theater, the stage abandoned and rotten but it still resembled what was once a popular source of entertainment.

As Roy got up the stairs, he noticed people laying on the balcony. It was the rest of Beta team, knocked unconscious. That’s all Roy was able to see however, as suddenly a fist slammed into his face, knocking him hard across the room.

Craig turned and saw a man in a black combat uniform, wearing a ski mask as well to cover his face. It was the same man he had seen in the hallway of the radio station with Rin. Craig quickly tossed his shield at the man, but the unknown foe grabbed it efforlessly, tossing it aside as he charged at Craig with incredible speed. Craig rolled out of the way, lashing at his foe with a nanobite whip to try to slow him down. Roy recovered and was not happy, shouting angrily as he raised his spear over his head and jumped towards the man in black. This put the soldier on the defensive as Roy relentless slashed at him, forcing the other man to dodge and step back quickly. Finally, Roy got sick of the dancing game and created a ball of dark energy, slamming it into the other man’s chest.

The man in black went flying to the ground, and Roy caught his breath for a second before following, and placing his blade on the man’s chest.
“Who are you?” Roy demanded, wanting to know the identity of this new foe.

The man merely chuckled, it was a throaty, deep sound that was eerily familiar.

“Well, nice to see you again Roy. It’s been a long time.”

Roy looked absolutely shocked at this. That voice, it couldn’t be, it couldn’t be. Roy quickly and roughly ripped off the man’s mask, revealing a face that Roy thought he would never see again.

John Morgan was staring back at him, his eyes not nearly as soft or kind as they had once been. They were now the eyes of a killer, a soldier who ended life without mercy. The worst part was, they weren’t black. He wasn’t a darkheart, he was doing this on his own accord.

“John? But… You died. In Egypt, you disappeared!”

John then suddenly blasted Roy in the chest with his own dark energy that John had absorbed, knocking Roy to ground and scattering his sword across the floor.

“John is dead Roy. He died years ago. All that’s left, is a shadow. You should know something about those right?” He said mockingly, pressing his foot hard against Roy’s neck.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you Roy. The mistress wants you alive.”

Delta Squad
“How is this possible? Sam told us she was dead!” Mars said to the others, clearly shaken by the footage he had seen just as the others were. How could their leader, the woman who had saved them from disaster time and time again, be the sister of the demon? Mars knew that it wasn’t actually Hannah, at least not anymore. But still, this looked very bad.

Kiris could almost tell what Mars was thinking and turned to him. “Mars, we can’t tell anyone. Sam told me that we had to keep whatever we find a secret. I promised her.” Kiris said softly. Xyri nodded, jiggling in agreement.

Mars looked almost shocked, “How can we keep this from people? They have a right to know!”

“Why? So that they can panic and turn on each other? What good would it do? It’s best for everyone if we just leave it alone for now.” Kiris shot back to Mars.

The young genius glared at that, “And you always know what’s best for people right Kiris? Maybe for once you should let people make their own decisions!” It was clear that he wasn’t just talking about Hannah anymore.

“Well at least I don’t just give up! How about you stop feeling sorry for yourself and try to make things better!” She shouted, Xyri was getting upset again and about to yell at them to stop when suddenly the windows around them began to shatter, glass flying everywhere. Mars instinctually grabbed Kiris and brought her to the ground, his bubble shield expanding around them as the shards of glass bounced off of the force field.

Mars landed on top of Kiris, their faces right next to each other. Mars quickly realized this and rolled to the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment as he figured out what was going on. Kiris got up and ran out of the shield, making sure that Xyri was alright. Of course, the gelatin like alien was fine, though she had to absorb a few pieces of glass in the process.

“Look what we have here, intruders.” A voice called, and Kiris turned to see a man hovering outside the tower. He had a smug grin on his face, and though Kiris had never met him. However, she knew from the briefing who this was, and it wasn’t good.

“Android 22” She said, her teeth clenching and her claws raising offensively. “You won’t hurt my teammates!” She shouted angrily as she suddenly opened her mouth and released a blast of sound at the Android. The android sent a ki blast in return, causing the whole building the shake from the strain.

Mars got to his feet, and fired the machine gun on his wrist at Android 22 but the bullets were merely bouncing off the metal android. “Nice try puny human, but that’s not going to work against me.”

Xyri then got involved and shot herself towards the Death Squad member, trying to absorb him. The android was too quick though and dodge the attack, landing behind her in the office and hitting her with a ki blast that sent the slime woman flying out the window.

“Xyri!” Kiris shouted and she tried to go help her friend, but was cut off by the android who slammed his fist hard into her stomach.

“You know why you rebels are losing?” He said as he launched a kick at Kiris’ face, which she just barely managed to block with her claws.

“Your feelings make you weak. Friendship, kindness, all of these things are liabilities not strengths. Darkness is the future; ruthlessness is the future. You are the past!” He shouted as they fought.

Kiris was barely able to hold off the attacks, wondering how much longer she could last at this rate when suddenly Android 22 was knocked hard into the ground, replaced by a red headed woman with an angry look on her face.

“You’re not the future. You’re a cheap knock off.” Cora said, standing firm as Android 22 got to his feet.

“So, you finally showed up. I’ve got stronger since the last time we’ve fought. You don’t have your justice friends to save you either. This time you die.” He told Cora, charging ki blasts in his hands.

Cora turned to Kiris and Mars, “You two, get out of here. I’ll buy you as much time as I can. Find Xyri and Cyborg, get the information to Sam. That’s what matters.”

Both Kiris and Mars looked shocked. “We won’t leave you!” Kiris shouted but Cora wouldn’t have it.

“Go!” The Android shouted before charging at her enemy. Mars grabbed Kiris by the hand and pulled her away as the two of them ran towards the elevator as the building began to collapse around them as the result of the fight that was beginning to rage. They just barely made it into the elevator in time before the roof above them collapsed. Debris was flying all around as Kiris and Mars stood sullenly in the metal box that was keeping them safe. Mars got the elevator working, but after a few floors the power gave out. “Well, looks like we have to walk.” Mars said, finally breaking the silence as he began to climb up to the roof of the elevator car to find a way out.

He then offered his hands to Kiris who carefully took them and allowed herself to be lifted up as they climbed to the nearest floor above them.
They walked through the dark hallways, no idea where they were, or if they’re friends were even alive. Kiris finally spoke as well, breaking her own awkward silence.

“Thank you for saving me back there. You know, with the glass.”

Mars merely shrugged, “Forget it.” He said dismissively.

Kiris frowned at this. “Can’t you be civil for just a minute Mars? I was being sincere. What is your problem?” Kiris demanded, stopping the mutant in his tracks as he turned and looked at her.

“You want to know what my problem is Kiris? You keep acting like things are okay. Like everything is sunshine and rainbows. Well guess what? They’re not. My friends are died, the rest will probably die soon enough, and world is being ruled by a possessed woman who can turn people into monsters! Life fucking sucks, and I’m tired of pretending like things can go back to normal. Like we could be friends. So stop pretending alright? I’m sick of it.” Mars shouted at her.

Gold tears slowly dripped from Kiris’ eyes, but her hurt was quickly replaced with anger. “Fine Mars, you want me to stop pretending? Yes, life sucks, I know it so does everyone else. But you are the only one who is dedicated to making everyone else as miserable as you are! I tried to help you, tried to love you despite everything that happened. But you didn’t want that! The only thing you wanted was anger and spite. So yes, I dumped you Mars, yes I left you. Because you weren’t the guy I fell in love with anymore. You’ve become something else and I can’t stand to see you like this. So there, I’ve given up. Are you happy now?” The Hadrian demanded, grabbing Mar’s by the collar to force him to look her in the eyes.

Mars shoved her away, clearly hurt by her words as well. “Don’t touch me! I hate you!”

He shouted furiously at her, forcing Kiris to take a step back in surprise.

“Mars…” She said, her voice softening and clearly heartbroken. Mars was relenting though.

“I don’t need you Kiris! I don’t need you to save me! Things would be better without you. I wish that it was Rocket who survived instead of you!” He shouted, his words full of spite.

When Mars’ saw Kiris’ face however, he immediately regretted them. Kiris had a look of utter devastation on her face, she couldn’t even bring herself to speak as she burst into tears.

“Kiris…” Mars said quietly, his voice full of regret, realizing he had gone too far.

Kiris suddenly stopped crying though, her body tensed up and her eyes closed instantly.

Mars was clearly scared, what was happening? Then he came to a horrible realization. What had he done?

Kiris opened her eyes, but instead of their usual red, they were pitch black. The veins in her face and limbs became sickeningly clear and she gave out a feral growl.

Mars couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Kiris, the love of his life, his best friend, his teammate. How could he have let it come to this what kind of monster was he?

Kiris was no longer herself, she was a darkheart, and it was all Mars’ fault.

“Kiris?” Mars said, almost as if he hoped for her to respond. Kiris looked at him, but there was no sense of recognition in her eyes. She looked at him with primal rage and hunger.

She shouted and charged at him wildly, her claws flying through the air. Mars was barely able to bring himself to move out of the way. For a second he even considered letting her get to him. He deserved to die after this, what was even the point of living now?

He snapped out of that thinking though. He had to do something, he had to help Kiris, that was all that mattered now. He had to bring her back and he wouldn’t stop until he did.

He activated the taser in his wrist gauntlet, he couldn’t risk using anything that might cause permanent damage. Mars continued to dodge Kiris’ wild attacks, trying to get close enough to use the taser. “I’m so sorry Kiris.” He said softly, tears rolling down his cheeks as he finally managed to connect the taser to Kiris’ neck. She shouted out in pain before collapsing on the ground.

Mar’s took the two pairs of restraints he carried with him and attached them to Kiris’ ankles and wrists. He also took out the medical kit he carried and gave her a sedative, so that she wouldn’t wake up as they traveled. He needed to find his teammates, and then get Kiris safely back to New York where he could work on a cure.

He ignored the fact that the resistance would probably kill her on sight, or that so far they had had zero luck finding a cure up to this point. He couldn’t think about those things; hope was the only thing that would keep him sane. Even if that hope was naïve and childish at best.

I’m sorry Kiris. I made so many mistakes. I’ve been so terrible to you. But I love you, and I will save you.

[Tomia]

Young Bloods: 5 Weeks Later
Nico was hanging out by his locker at his local high-school, leaning against it as if he was waiting for someone. It had been five weeks since Nico's life had basically been turned upside down by the uncovering and destroying of his parents' criminal organization. It was obviously a tough spot for both him and Cat to be in, but the Young Bloods made it easier. They had found a new home there and they were slowly getting used to their new lives, including being super heroes. There were also other changes in Nico's life as well.

One of those changes came walking up to him at his locker. A pretty blonde girl around Nico's age, smiled at him and gave him a kiss when she arrived at his locker. She was his new girlfriend Alex Callahan. They had met soon after the attack on his parent's company, and they hit it off right away. Nico really liked her, she was sweet and very funny, also incredibly smart, much more so than Nico was at least to him anyway. There were a few problems though. He wasn't exactly able to be too open with her, not ready to tell her the truth about where he was living or who he really was. But Alex had a troubled past herself, so they were both willing to give each other space on their pasts. Also Alex lived on her own because her parents had died, so they spent most of their time hanging out there, which gave Nico a good excuse to not show her where he was leaving.

"Hi sweetie," She said to him when they broke their kiss.

"Hi, class was boring but seeing you makes me feel better." He says smiling, taking her hand as the two of them headed out of the school, going to the local dinner to get dinner together.

Meanwhile Mars was in the Tower of Youth's Gym, which was an open air facility on the room of the tower. He decided he needed to get some fresh air and take a break from working for a while. His mind was clearly his greatest asset, but he had to keep his body sharp as well. The project he had been working on was a string of robberies allegedly being committed by some dragon like creature. Mars had been coordinating with ADAM to triangulate the next most likely target. If any of the possible places where attacked, then ADAM would be notified.

That wasn't the only thing on Mar's mind however. He and Kiris had moved on pretty well from their awkward failed kiss, and they were even better friends now than before. But there were still some awkwardness between them, and it came up especially when they were alone. Mars wasn't sure how to overcome that, he was too nervous to actually share how he felt with her. Though he very much wanted too. He knew Kiris wouldn't wait around for him forever, so he needed to figure something out soon, but the boy genius was terribly lost on the question of romance.

[Tomia]

IJ 4000
Samantha Grimm stood up when her sister finally arrived on deck, standing at attention like the others. It was awkward to salute her younger sister, but it was necessary that Samantha and her sister did not let their relationship as siblings effect their relationship as captain and first officer. They had both been prepared extensively for this mission, but they were both secretly nervous about how this would go. There were high expectations on both of them to preform, but Sam was more focused on her sister than herself. This was Hannah's big shot, and Sam knew how important it was to her, and so Sam would not let anything go wrong.

When Hannah sat down in her chair, Sam sat down in the officer's chair next to her as the crew prepared to take off. "Captain, the engines are in good shape, so are our oxygen levels and supplies. The shield generators and defense systems are online." She said to her sister, giving her a report of the ship as it headed off into deep space.

Once the ship was in its flight path and everything was stable, Sam got up from her seat and turned walked up to Garnet, the head of security. "Officer Garnet, I want to speak to you about our landing preparations. We will no doubt be setting off on an exploration and I want to make sure we are prepared with both equipment and a good strategy." Sam told to the Security Captain.

Meanwhile Roy was unpacking his things in his room since he was not currently on duty. He didn't have much besides clothes and and basic supplies, so it didn't take long. He wasn't sure what to expect on this trip, but he figured it had to be better than his options on Earth, so he was willing to take his chances. He made his way to the Ship's bar, to maybe relax and play some pool before his shift started.

In that bar was a muscular man in his late 20's wearing a plain black shirt and jeans. John wiped down the bar in front of him, expecting people to come in now that they had taken off and would most likely have some free time on their hands, assuming they didn't run into trouble. John wasn't too excited about the prospect of being surrounded by military types for an indefinite amount, but the prospect of adventure was also exciting. He knew most people were gathering on the deck, but he planned to avoid that place as often as he could. That wasn't who he was, not anymore.

[Tomia]

Darian and Serene
The two siblings decided to take a break from killing enemies and headed back over to Etla where she was talking to her friends. "Hey, I don't think we've been probably introduced." Serene said to the group. "I'm Serene, this is my brother Darian." She said as Darian waved casually. Serene then noticed something, "Wait, you two are superheroes aren't you? I feel like I've seen you two on tv?" Serene said to the two women in front of her.

Cora
Cora saw Marybeth coming back with Andrew, glad to see nothing unexpected seemed to happen. After all, Marybeth didn't seem like the type to enjoy dealing with strangers. When they arrived in front of Jamie and Cora, the android heard Marybeth's question. "Not here, let's go somewhere more private." Cora said and led the group outside of the facility back out towards the gated entrance.

"Infinity, I'm surprised to see you here. Something wrong?" Andrew asked her.

"I need your help Andrew, I need to figure out where the abducted kids are being taken. Do you know where they're going?" Cora asked him, Andrew looked nervous.

"Look Infinity, I'm happy to help, but this is dangerous."

"Andrew, don't you want to help these kids? Isn't that why you contacted me? Well this is what you need to do." Cora said sternly, clearly not about to back down.

Andrew sighed, "You're right. I don't know where they go, but trucks leave the loading dock of the prison, and the kids are inside. There's a trip being made today, that's your best chance of finding them."

"Thank you Andrew." Cora said before turning to her teammates. "We need a way to track that truck, any ideas?"

Mars
Mars had finished his workout and was heading downstairs to shower when he got a phone call from Cat. She had been busy for days, combing through everything she had about her parents. He wondered what she was calling about. "Cat? What's up?" The mutant asked his teammate.

Grimms
Sam was also quite nervous about her injured sister rushing off when she noticed that she needed more attention than Roy. "Hannah, set Sarah down, carefully. I think she's broken some ribs and be don't want to make it worse." Sam told her younger sister as she shuffled through her bag of potions to find what she needed. First she casted a spell, that basically served as an x-ray, the damaged parts of Sarah's body began flash an unnatural red color. "Yup, that's what I thought." Sam said as she moved next to Sarah, hearing her talk about John. "We'll get him back Sarah, I promise. But first we need to focus on getting you better." Sam told her sister, putting a hand on her check and pressing the small glass bottle to her lips.

"This is going to taste gross sis, but you need to drink all of it. It's the only way your ribs will heal quickly." Sam told her sister, slowly pouring the liquid into her mouth.

[Tomia]

"No problem, leave it to me!" Jamie said, perhaps a bit more enthusiastically than she should have, though she was simply excited to be able to do something for the good of the mission at last. Holding up a finger and signalling for the group to wait a moment as she shoved her hand into her jacket to search for something in its inner pockets, her gray alien ring glowing for a moment before being obscured by the purple cloth. She seemingly struggled for a few moments, but eventually, she smiled. "A-ha!" She called out triumphantly as she pulled out a small, greenish object, clearly technological in its nature, which she handed to Jamie.

"Just make sure that gets planted on the truck, and we'll be able to find it." The black-haired girl assured.

Cora smiled when Jamie was able to make the tracker, it was an odd request but Jamie handled it easily. "Thanks Final Boss" She said, before turning back to Andrew, "Andrew, can you help us once more? We need you to place this tracker on the truck. We won't be able to get anywhere near it but you can." Cora said, looking at him intently, but hopefully. Andrew sighed but nodded, "I can do it, but I'll have to lay low after that. Good luck Infinity, I'll be rooting for you." With that Andrew was gone, and within about 15 minutes the tracker activated and indicated the vehicle was on the move, Cora perked up at this, "Come on, we need to follow that truck." Cora said, rushing to the car.

Sarah gritted her teeth as she felt Hannah putting her down, the pain having dulled slightly but still very intense, if bearable. As Samantha approached, however, she did not react, simply allowing herself to be diagnosed and then accepting the potion that was poured down her throat, not even pausing at the horrid taste. The pain and the shock of John's loss and the realization of the wizard's plot had her far too distracted to pay much attention to her senses at the moment, though she did note that just a few moments after drinking Sam's potion she began to feel better, the pain subsiding far more swiftly than it would have on its own. A few moments more, and the eldest of the Grimm sisters was able to stand up, although with some effort and supporting herself on her younger sister.

"I... We... No, I need to get stronger." She mumbled, saying nothing more. For the longest time she had been able to keep her sisters safe and more or less comfortable with her gifts, and she had grown complacent, but now she realized that she couldn't simply rely on what she had to make things better, not with threats like the wizard running around. She had to become stronger, much stronger, if she wanted to protect her sisters and rescue John.

"You need to rest first sis. We'll figure out how to stop the wizard together, but not until you're better again." Sam told Sarah as she helped her to her feet. Sarah was clearly shaken up by what had happened, and it worried Sam a bit. Once Sarah was stable with Hannah Sam went over to Roy to help him as well, using a similar potion to heal his broken arm. Roy got to his feet and made his way to Sarah, in pain but feeling a little better. "Thank you for saving me." He told her softly, feeling guilty that John was taken and he wasn't. "I'll do everything I can to help you get John back, you have my word."