Venture of Heroes [IC/Open]

[Tomia]

Jamie

Cora had softened a little at her girlfriend's attempt at reassurance. But that didn't mean she was happy when Diva completed the training course without much difficulty. It was clear that Cora was holding a grudge about what had happened. But she also just didn't feel like Diva was Justice Queen material.

Cora was then happy when Jamie provided a distraction, and the cyborg listened as Jamie described the offer that had been made To them. Cora wasn't sure she liked the idea of someone having authority over them, even if they promised to be a malignant and benevolent one. Granted, Cora's upbringing gave her a strong mistrust of authority, whether that mistrust was earned or not.

Roy then spoked up, walking out of the kitchen to address everyone. "Well I mean, it could be cool right? Having a bunch of heroes working together? That's the point of a team isn't it?"

Cora then spoke up as well, "While the assistance would be benifical, I'm wary of associating our team with an organization we know so little about? It is possible that the beliefs and methods of current and future members may not match our own. We wouldn't want to be attached to them in that case."

[Sivio]

Jasmine Corckerthy
The Sky Tower
Orbit

Jasmine's eyebrows twitched upwards a little at Mister Jacob's reaction before her vision went blue and she felt that horrible tingly feeling of teleportation before she could see again. And it wasn't the prettiest sight in the world out here. Actually, it could have been just as accurately described as the end of the world. Or what Hollywood usually portrayed as the end of the world, anyway.

Far above her was a towering cloud, a threatening black as it rumbled, the sound deadened by distance into a low, ominous growl. Across the sky, red streaks flashed and died, veering off course before a final flare of orange marked their deaths. For a moment, awe rooted her in place as she stood, paralysed by the apocalyptic sight playing out above her. Slowly pulling herself back into reality, she brought a hand to her earpiece and pressed into it.

"Guys, this is Lilith." She said simply, the new name feeling strange on her tongue, "Sorry I'm late to the party: where do you want me? I can run last-minute deceleration on anything which gets past you, if that's needed. I'm not sure if Ill be able to fly high enough to do much else."

"Then let's get a bird's eye view of the ground, Lilith," Agent Spider said. "If there is still anything that needs to be done, you can direct me where needed. Be on the look out for anyone still not rescued, any buildings that haven't crumbled yet, and see where the craters are." Then he headed back into the city and went from building to build, light post to light post, street to street. Everywhere he saw people getting treated and law enforcement directing everyone to areas of the city still mostly intact at best. "Why didn't we see this sooner?" Spider asked curiously. "Sure several space agencies would've been notified on the fact that meteors were headed to Earth, and towards New Delhi on top of that." He thought about it as he stood on the side of the building. "Maybe the information was blocked by someone? I don't know."

---

"White, this is your final warning," said someone from the UN Security Council. "While everyone appreciates everything you and the Agency does for humanity, we also notice all the things you have done, especially in the time that Agent Spider relieved himself of being an agent. Either step up, be demoted, or continue this reckless behavior." Then the screen went blank.

White slammed his desk. "F**k," he said. "The UN gave me authorityover the Agency. That hasn't been the case since forever. Then again, I am going against them by secretly creating cloning projects."

[Charmera]

Warhounds
Hannah awoke with a start. A bad dream. The same one she had every night. Visions of blood and gore and wolves. Then what sounded like an arrow wistling through the air. Then silence and a black stillness which felt all too familiar. She couldn't help but feel it was a familiar memory, yet couldn't place where or when it happened. It was all quite hazy. She got up, changing into her regular leather jacket, shirt and skirt. Gloves went on, and then Hannah found a pair of sunglasses. Smiling, she put them in a pocket. "These are gonna look Sweeeet." She spoke to herself, then headed downstairs to see everyone congregating. She smiled again. "Let me guess, we got another mission?" She asked.

Meanwhile, in the Alaskan Snow
The ground rumbled, splitting and cracking before the eyes of the watching township. Far in the mountains of snow, a massive [url]stone collosus stired[/url]. It's name was Colloson. The product of a mad scientist who wished to give the very earth bellow a soul, he managed to create an army of stone warriors which the JQ defeated, leaving all but one who hid beneath the alaskan snow and dirt until this moment. It lumbered towards the township, it's Footfalls crushing tree and rock alike , towards the houses of the people who had thought this a mere earthquake, but were surprised to find the stone itself had awoken. As it got closer, some of the townsfolk ran, attempting to escape the inevitability of being crushed by a giant rock beast.

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a figure appeared and stood in the path of the giant monster. Green plant like flesh demarked her as not from this world. Her alien eyes looked upon the monster.

"You're a big one hub?" She spoke, then she looked to the town behind her. She frowned slightly. Then she shouted. "Turn back now, and I wont have to cut you open."

it refused, still walking towards the village at a slow yet deadly pace.

Then the Knight smiled. "Have it your way." She spoke. She sent a blast of cosmic energy to slam into the monsters face, staggering it. The magically reinforced stone was incredibly durable. The magi-science wards which gave it sight were momentarily overloaded with the cosmic energy, giving Julie the chance to act. She swiftly ran up the monsters leg, at a high speed giving the stone construct little time to react as she moved to it's shoulder, then sliced into the rock as if it were butter. Though she managed to slice it, seperating the arm from the shoulder would take far more time then it would be worth. Then there was the other arm too, which now swung round to brush her off. She jumped in time, then stabbed that arm and ran up it to the other side of the stone giants head.

She took a slash at it, then another. She frowned. This head was far too thick. She could slice through it easily, but that didn't matter if the stone wasn't going to be hurt. As she was thinking she was nearly hit by the collosal arm, which she stabbed into to use for transportation. She frowned. Looks like she had no choice but to use her ace.

Suddenly, the eyes of the fae glowed red as she floated into the air. "Fire's heart. Tear them Apart." She spoke, and suddenly a ball of flame went forward, engulfing the moster in flames, then disintegrating it. Julie exhaled, calming herself, lest she burn down the village too.

She paused, tempted to accept the townsfolk's thanks, but she could not rest. She had other matters to attend to.

"A creature born of malice, bred for war.
Created to fight the dark, made as an unnatural armor
Now ally to his own selfish desires,
Left unchecked, he will consume all in unearthly fires

Slay him before he begins his crusade of woe
Remember, you must determine friend from foe

[Tomia]

Wanda
Wanda gave a bit of a child like smile as Weiss ruffled her hair. She was glad to see her teammates coming down and either congratulating her or offering advice. "Thanks Weiss, I appreciate that. You always do a great job leading, I'll try to be just as good as you." She told him, then she saw him pull Reven aside, wondering what those two were talking about. Weiss hadn't been too fond of Reven before, so she wondered what had changed. Then she heard what was being said and really raised an eyebrow. He was giving him a really thoughtful gift, that put Wanda at ease. She thought about the cryptic reasoning Weiss had gave for why he helped, was it for her? Did he just want her to be spared a death on her first mission command?

Then Lance came up to her and made her chuckle with his comment. "Hey Lance, It'll be easier to take the lead with someone like you having my back. I was surprised too though, Floyd's never trusted me with command before..." She trailed off, clearly a bit self conscious about the whole situation. She didn't know if she was ready with having a whole team depending on her in a life or death situation. But she didn't have a choice now, she wouldn't let her teammates get hurt on his watch.

Then came Elfie, wearing her usual uncomfortably skin tight suit that she wore under her armor. Wanda had tried to gently convince the girl not to come out wearing it, but Elfie was never deterred. Wanda couldn't help but stare a little bit as the naive swordsman approached her. Elfie got on Wanda's nerves sometimes, but she was very sweet and very pretty. Wanda just wanted to be friends of course, seeing a relationship between them as a recipe for disaster. Still, that didn't mean she was any less attracted to the swordsman. She blushed a little when Elfie hugged her and gave the sniper a kiss on the cheek. Wanda hoped no one would notice her blush and hugged Elfie back. "Hey Elfie, great to see you. You ready for today? You should read over the briefing, I want to make sure everyone is prepared for what we might face." Then she added, "I want to get in and out as quickly as we can so we can come back home and celebrate eh?" She said with a smile.

[Imperium Americae]

"Great thinking!" Tempest yelled, smiling at Sylph before directing more wind towards the meteor.

He watched in aw as it actually seemed to be slowing down, though not as fast as he would have liked. As it approached, Tempest noticed a strange green glow emanating from a crack in the meteor. If something was truly alive in that thing, then that crack was probably the fastest way to it.

"Sylph, try to aim for the glowing green crack!" he yelled as lightning shot upward from a cloud, striking the crack with all of its might.

Sylph eyed the crack that Tempest pointed out. She wasn't going to break into there with some heavy winds any time soon. She was gonna need something a little bit... sharper. Keeping a generous amount of air flowing up towards the meteor, she began densifying and swirling air into a small funnel above her. Once she felt the funnel was spinning at sufficiently high speeds, she muttered, "Okay... let's see if this works..." and forced the vortex up into the crack, using it as a drill and blowing her hood down in the process. "Is it working?" she shouted. "I can't see cause of all the hair flopping around my face!"

Tempest smiled, watching as the crack widened a bit more. Clenching his hand into a fist, he commanded the electricity in the air to come together, creating a final, massive bolt of lightning. As the electricity gather, he punched towards the crack, a giant streak of electricity flying towards it, allowing more green to spill out. His smile fell as he saw it still plummeting towards the earth.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" he asked into his communicator as he stared in shock at the massive rock.

Inside the meteor falling to earth, air was rushing into a pocket of sorts, the oxygen swirling into the small space. A green being was held in the center of the air pocket, seemingly in some form of suspended animation. The fresh air caused all life support systems to fail, quickly bringing him back to consciousness. The creature could feel himself plummeting, and panic instantly took over, a yellow tint starting to replace the green color of his body. A few deep breaths allowed the green to return and his mind to clear. Raising his hand, an emerald beam raced from his fingertips, finding its way through the crack and surrounding the meteor.

Tempest looked on, utterly confused by the bright, emerald barrier that was now slowing the meteor.

"Hey, Overseer, you seeing this?" he asked.
"Yeah," Elias replied, "And the signs of life just spiked. Whatever's in that thing is awake and trying to get out."

[Sivio]

Aegis stood on a building looking up. "I see it, too," he said. "What is that thing?" All around him, people were screaming and running. The police, firefighters, and the Agency were all trying to get as many civilians as possible out of the city. "Overseer, should we evacuate as well? If not, I will try to make contact upon impact. Looks like it's heading in my direction. Who knows? Maybe this thing is friendly." Then he turned around. He saw a couple families refusing to go, believing this to be the end. So in turn, Aegis decided to protect them somehow. "I got a couple families here refusing to leave. I think they're praying and refusing to leave. I'll put them under my watch. Tell me when that meteor lands, if it's really a meteor." Then he managed to get them inside a random building and coated the room they were in with much of his webbing as a precaution.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

"There. Now you look super cute and you blend in just fine! No offense sweetheart but nobody was going to overlook the fact that there was someone in the city who looked like he came straight out of a necromancer meeting or some Diablo game. This way you're not gonna attract everyone's looks. Well, maybe the ladies'." Sylvia told her savior in a rather casual and carefree manner as she nudged him more than would have been polite or even sane. Lizgaltrim however simply stood by, completely still, not particularly minding the nudging. He wasn't very well aware of its connotations, but in any case Sylvia was friendly enough and she wasn't hurting him with it due to his innate sphere's physical enhancement, so he figured that the polite thing to do was simply wait until she was done.

Speaking of Lizgaltrim, he was dressed in a completely different garb now. No longer he wore a thick cloak of dark brown cloth over his body, and no longer he wore a hood over his head. Now, he was clad in an attire far more adequate for the city, wearing a rather simple pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with a golden symbol of Leo at its center. He wore a simple pair of sandals on his feet and a pair of small, red-rimmed eyeglasses on his face. His tail was conveniently obscured from view by a sweater that was tied around his waist, though his feline ears were still fully visible. After saving her and giving her back her money, Sylvia had insisted that Liz should go with her to the store, and while he had intended to receive no reward, it was a rather difficult task to speak through Sylvia's enthusiasm long enough to decline her offer, so he had no choice but to go with it. There, he was given new clothes and was forced to put up with the woman's excessively talkative nature.

When Sylvia was done nudging him, Lizgaltrim still had a blank expression on his face and looked at her, nodding. "I understand, and I am grateful, but..." The young Nari began, his cat ears twitching right on cue, which made the woman squee a little, much to his dismay. She was apparently quite the fan of cats. Nonetheless, it seemed like she had understood the message just fine, since she soon headed towards a nearby rack and returned to Liz with a plain white baseball cap which she placed on his head. The Nari frowned a little, his ears not entirely comfortable while trapped underneath the cap, but he knew that such a thing meant that they were hidden away from plain sight.

"There we go. Look complete. Now you can go on with whatever business you had before, and nobody will know that you're actually a cute kitty cat! Thanks again for stopping that man and if you ever need anything, feel free to come back here to get it. Bye!" Sylvia spoke, and Lizgaltrim nodded and waved at the woman, turning around and picking up a small cloth satchel that Sylvia had prepared for him, which contained a few cans of tuna and part of the money he'd taken back from the Phoenix Gang vandal. It had been very thoughtful of her, and he felt a bit bad for taking it when she had just recovered it, but he couldn't deny that it was likely to be a big help.

Then, Lizgaltrim left the shop. Putting aside his somewhat peculiar but still human features, he blended in perfectly with the crowd. At first, he had been worried that the markings on his arms would give away his otherworldly nature, which was a big reason he had opted for a cloak, but Sylvia had assured him that "tats" were nothing new in America, so he was no longer concerned about it. For the time being, he simply took to wandering the city, wanting to see if there wasn't any other situation he could help with.

Unbeknownst to him, though, the gang whose member he had defeated was already out and looking for him, unwilling to let his transgression pass.

---

---

---

Reven was still looking at the watch on his wrist, wondering why the man who used to wear the puffy cap had told him that he wasn't doing anything for him, when he had very clearly given the evacuation device to him. In fact, he wasn't sure what the evacuation device was for in the first place; he didn't think he would be in any danger. In all of the visual anecdotes he had observed while the others slept, not once had the active party (in this case, the Warhounds) been defeated or fended off. To some degree or another, they always succeeded, and since they were the only reference he had of the type of work they were about to do, he felt that he had little to worry about. Though he supposed he did see the protagonists of those stories use gadgets like the watch on a few occasions.

Out of curiosity, be attempted to bush the button repeatedly, only to see it do nothing. He tilted his head at this, and soon heard an angry bark from behind him. "You idiot! What are you doing pushing that here? It's only gonna work when we're on the mission!" Weiss spoke. Reven instinctively backed off.

Right around then he saw Elfie walking into the room, cheerful as always, her demeanor soon proving contagious as he smiled a bit upon watching her antics. His usual confusion settled back in, however, when he looked around and was unable to discern why everyone seemed to be staring at Elfie, and it was accentuated when the girl asked him to sign something for them all to change their names. He wasn't sure why she wanted him to do such a thing, he knew for a fact he preferred Reven to Gallant Geese and he suspected that the others felt the same way, but her enthusiasm was hard to turn down. Fortunately for him, Wanda soon addressed Elfie. Grateful, he flashed the girl with the hawk a smile and then quietly scurried away to another area of the kitchen, where he saw Hannah just arriving and asking about the mission.

"Yes, we are going on a mission. I am told it will be like the events recorded on the television... 'action movies', I think?" He stated, before attempting to imitate some of the simpler martial arts movements that he had seen on TV, rather poorly. After a moment of making a fool of himself, he stopped and scratched himself. "But I don't have one of those noisy artifacts..." He mumbled, referring to the guns shown in those movies.

[Aeternabilis]

Ann Aludra / Sylph
Several miles above New Delhi

"Uh... should we try to stop it or anything?" Sylph asked into her headset. "Or are we just gonna let it do what it's doin? 'Cause I'm really down for either. And," she looked up above her and Tempest. There were still two or three meteors falling to Earth. "Seeing as space is still attacking us, something should be done about that too..." She rubbed her head pensively. God, this was tiring. She had never used her powers this intensively for such a long period of time. She was going to have to up her superpower workout after all this was over. "Okay, tell everybody what. I'm just gonna stay up here and and finish up. Let me know if things go totally screwy down there and I'll fall a bunch, okay?"

[Spindle]

Jasmine Corckerthy
New Dehli
Site of the Apocalypse

Jasmine looked up as someone spoke in her ear, telling her to act as spotter for anyone who was still here. Leathery wings sprouted from her back with a wet cracking and popping before flexing once as the bone structure solidified into her body. A few wingbeats had her in the air, gaining height steadily. Around her, she could see more and more of the devastation which was pockmarking the city as emergency services desperately tried to keep the city in some semblance of order.

And then more voices were on the comms, talking about another meteor which had...life on it? Glancing around the sky, she saw a green glow brightening the sky, spilling out from one of the descending streaks. It took her a few seconds to understand what was happening, but then realisation hit her. The others had to be burning up the meteors in atmosphere and they couldn't do that if there was something in it. Which meant they'd need to cushion it somehow.

"Uhh...I think I can get the green, glowing one to the ground safely, if you can deal with the other rocks." She said into her earpiece, "If it's passenger isn't massively nice, I'll tell you. Just listen for the screaming."

For a brief moment, she contemplated waiting for a waiting for a reply before deciding against it. She didn't have the luxury of waiting right now. Her wingbeats increased in tempo, sending her higher until the entire city was spread out beneath her like a children's playmat. Above her, the clouds continued to grow and thicken, the green light shining out of them shedding some bleak illumination on the scene below. Looking down at it, Jasmine raised her hands and called to the shadows below.

Heeding her call, the shadows tore away from the ground, flocking upwards to coalesce around Jasmine. Slowly, a form began to take shape, an enormous, umbran bowl with which to catch the glowing meteor. And in the centre of the cup, Jasmine floated, wings beating furiously to keep her aloft. Slowly, the cup moved to track the meteor, until Jasmine was sure she was in the right position to catch the falling rock. It grew larger and larger in her vision, from a speck to a dot to a circle to a defined rock tearing through the air towards her.

Oh. Maybe putting myself in the path of this wasn't such a good idea.

[The United Equstrian Front]

Nightingale

She growled and stopped her ascendance. She dropped to the ground and with a flourish of her coat materialized in a market stall and spoke into the earpiece,
"Alright then me and Spider boy are on the ground I would like some support for Jas." She walked out and started directing some civies into what seemed to be a temple. After doing so she reached within the temple itself for some shadows, after encasing the building with hardened shadow she moved onto the next building and the next. She stopped at 5 temples and 2 houses. Soon she came upon a tunnel beneath her and ported in after walking though a very dark room,
"Nightingale reporting in I have about 7 buildings filled with people and currently waiting for the all clear in a tunnel." She sank to her knees and meditated focusing on keeping the shadow shields up.

[Siliarba]

Wanda

Wanda gave a bit of a child like smile as Weiss ruffled her hair. She was glad to see her teammates coming down and either congratulating her or offering advice. "Thanks Weiss, I appreciate that. You always do a great job leading, I'll try to be just as good as you." She told him, then she saw him pull Reven aside, wondering what those two were talking about. Weiss hadn't been too fond of Reven before, so she wondered what had changed. Then she heard what was being said and really raised an eyebrow. He was giving him a really thoughtful gift, that put Wanda at ease. She thought about the cryptic reasoning Weiss had gave for why he helped, was it for her? Did he just want her to be spared a death on her first mission command?

Then Lance came up to her and made her chuckle with his comment. "Hey Lance, It'll be easier to take the lead with someone like you having my back. I was surprised too though, Floyd's never trusted me with command before..." She trailed off, clearly a bit self conscious about the whole situation. She didn't know if she was ready with having a whole team depending on her in a life or death situation. But she didn't have a choice now, she wouldn't let her teammates get hurt on his watch.

Then came Elfie, wearing her usual uncomfortably skin tight suit that she wore under her armor. Wanda had tried to gently convince the girl not to come out wearing it, but Elfie was never deterred. Wanda couldn't help but stare a little bit as the naive swordsman approached her. Elfie got on Wanda's nerves sometimes, but she was very sweet and very pretty. Wanda just wanted to be friends of course, seeing a relationship between them as a recipe for disaster. Still, that didn't mean she was any less attracted to the swordsman. She blushed a little when Elfie hugged her and gave the sniper a kiss on the cheek. Wanda hoped no one would notice her blush and hugged Elfie back. "Hey Elfie, great to see you. You ready for today? You should read over the briefing, I want to make sure everyone is prepared for what we might face." Then she added, "I want to get in and out as quickly as we can so we can come back home and celebrate eh?" She said with a smile.

Elfie

"Okidoki Wanda, I'm going to take part in the meal of the morning and do the reading of the mission, but I shall do it in my room as I still need to don my skin of steel. Good luck with the role of leading our group to the glorious victory that shall befall us." Huh, her cheeks are adorning the color red I guess the idea of leading is making her nervous "Friend Wanda the redness of your cheeks is giving you away, but you don't need to worry I feel the same way! I know that if i was being made the leader it would also make me nervous as you must be now. But you will do great so the nervous feeling of leading should not make your cheeks undergo the redness."

I quickly grabbed the mission briefing and something I could eat while dressing myself further, hmm, maybe something with low calories, the skin of steel has felt a bit tight lately, perhaps I am just still growing even if only slightly. "Perhaps after this mission we must celebrate with the getting of new clothing, my armor is beginning to sit to tight. With you and Hannah being the other girls of the group, perhaps one of you can help me with the measuring of my body later so I can verify if I have grown or simply gained weight. In any case I shall hastily don my skin of steel now, I will be back within the hour my friends."

[The Starlight]

Ajax

"Yes, we did find it. Your bacon is..." Lorn trailed off, taking a long bite, blushing as she saw Ajax's toned figure, "extraordinary. Worthy of praise indeed. Thank you, Craig, " she said, taking a piece of toast and buttering it thickly, pairing it with some more eggs, bacon and orange juice before digging in, eating voraciously, awkwardly, but still using the fork and knife these Earthlings were so accustomed too. It was very strange indeed. On Solunae they had used soft, easily bendable utensils, formed out of variety of gum for which they had multiple uses. Thusly, the fingers found comfort, and something to occupy them, the Alar having an enhanced touch.

Tara: What about second breakfast?

Etla

"You sound like a hobbit, Tara." Craig stated in reply, chuckling a bit. "Breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. Though they are fictional creatures. Anyway, to answer your question, it really varies. Some people, a stereotype being farmers, have huge breakfasts because they have so much work to do. But generally, no, some people have snacks between lunch and dinner, and I don't think anyone would mind if you ate some more.

Nodding in reply to their words of thanks, Craig lifted an eyebrow at the ruckus, Etla soon sweeping in. "More food is always welcome, Etla. That's really good to hear!" he said. Passing the bacon, he frowned at how he had not managed to see Ihra, even though she had been down for several minutes. "Good morning to you too, Ihra. Want some bacon?" He asked with a hopeful expression.

"And speaking of parent permission, I should probably head out and fly back home soon. I kinda broke my curfew...by a lot. I hope Dad isn't too upset..." he trailed off, smiling and shrugging sheepishly.

Jamie

Cora

With the bread now in the oven, Valancy had a little break-time and walked out of the kitchen as well, just in time for Jaimie's announcement. "I also am a bit wary of this. Though I'm sure they have good intentions, I don't think we should pack up and head to this orbital station. Even though we live in a tower, we've always tried to convey the message that we are accessible and not lording over people, and I think looming over them isn't the best for humanity's peace of mind. Going up in a space-station conveys that we're not like the rest of humanity, and while we are indeed not like humanity, Earth is still our home, and we still consider ourselves human, whether other people attach prefixes like meta or words like cyborg or android. The offer is benevolent enough, but I don't know enough about Elias Jacobs, and looking at the Capestagram message, the whole salary thing rubs me the wrong way. We're not in this to get money. We're in this to protect the world, and live our lives. I do, however, like the idea of a mass communication network to gather heroes when needed, but I don't think it's right for us. The best response would probably be a polite refusal, but an offer to work with them, and our contact information and likewise. Those are my thoughts on the matter, feel free to agree or disagree."

Mindy the receptionist took a glance at the badge, her access to her old spy networks allowing her to know who SEEKER were and what they did. "And you expected guns to be able to contain a pyrokinetic female soldier? Either you are packing something more powerful than your words, or you are simply ignorant, or perhaps simply a victim of a superior scrambling to provide a response. The rogue "asset"," Mindy said, using quotation marks to let the agents know what she thought of the term, "is indeed in the Justice Tower. I do not believe that she neither requires nor wishes containment. Nevertheless, in respect of the fact that you have not come in guns blazing--although that's sure that's a response your superiors considered--I will call down one of the Queens and then you can discuss this matter.

She then pressed a button on her traditional wired phone, and picked it up, thus activating an intercom to the main floor of the JQ. "Hello girls, sorry to interrupt. But we've got some agents who have come to contain our recently-acquainted fiery guest. If one of you could come down to the lobby, that would be appreciated. Thanks!"
Ending the call, she looked up to Beck, "One of the Queens should be down shortly. Can I offer you some coffee, in the meantime? I was just about to go for a refill when you arrived," she said, looking down at the dregs of her cup.

Jasper: Look at my awesome eyes

She listened as he spoke, raising her eyebrows in surprise at the revelation of Garnet's occupation, cracking smiles at his jokes about montages, her mouth full of pizza all the while. "I always kinda liked those montages, though they're really cliche nowadays. And your making it sound like your camera has superpowers," Elena joked, chuckling. "But you didn't turn out too bad," she said, in reference to his second-to-last statement. The human Starkindler, however, stopped eating her pizza upon seeing his eyes, leaning and peering closer. "They...remind me of space, and all the stars. When I'm up there, I see and walk through eternity. But your eyes...in them I see infinity...." She paused for a moment. "That sounded really melodramatic, didn't it?" she asked, laughing at herself. "But...it's true."

[Tomia]

Wanda
Wanda couldn't help but laugh a little at Elfie's strange request and awkward phrasing. From anyone else it would have been very uncomfortable but with Elfie it was just part for the course. "Well uh sure Elfie. I can go shopping with you, and ya maybe Hannah would want to too. She's always hated shopping, but she usually makes an exception for armor." She told Good Girl, before her friend turned to talk to Reven.

Wanda wasn't sure whether to laugh or be terrified at Reven's response to Hannah. He was acting as if what they were about to do was going to be like a scene out of a James Bond film, and he didn't even know what a gun was. Wanda shook those thoughts from her head though. Getting frustrated wouldn't keep Reven any safer.

"You mean a gun Reven." She told him gently. "If you want one, well we can arrange that. But we have to make sure you understand how to us it." She told him before turning to the group as a whole. "Alright, now that everyone has eaten and said their hellos, it's time to get ready to go. We'll meet on the roof in an hour, move out."

Wanda was once again the first to arrive, this time on the roof of the building. There was a large white tent on the roof, Floyd had put it there to conceal their transportation. Their transportation was in fact a large attack helicopter, one that Weiss had hooked up with a stealth cloak so that it could take off inconspicuously.

Nose Dive sat on Wanda's shoulder, pecking down at her idly. Her prized sniper rifle hung from her back, as well as a bag that contained a number of smaller guns, basic medical supplies, and some small snacks in case there was some down time.

[Siliarba]

Wanda

Wanda couldn't help but laugh a little at Elfie's strange request and awkward phrasing. From anyone else it would have been very uncomfortable but with Elfie it was just part for the course. "Well uh sure Elfie. I can go shopping with you, and ya maybe Hannah would want to too. She's always hated shopping, but she usually makes an exception for armor." She told Good Girl, before her friend turned to talk to Reven.

Wanda wasn't sure whether to laugh or be terrified at Reven's response to Hannah. He was acting as if what they were about to do was going to be like a scene out of a James Bond film, and he didn't even know what a gun was. Wanda shook those thoughts from her head though. Getting frustrated wouldn't keep Reven any safer.

"You mean a gun Reven." She told him gently. "If you want one, well we can arrange that. But we have to make sure you understand how to us it." She told him before turning to the group as a whole. "Alright, now that everyone has eaten and said their hellos, it's time to get ready to go. We'll meet on the roof in an hour, move out."

Wanda was once again the first to arrive, this time on the roof of the building. There was a large white tent on the roof, Floyd had put it there to conceal their transportation. Their transportation was in fact a large attack helicopter, one that Weiss had hooked up with a stealth cloak so that it could take off inconspicuously.

Nose Dive sat on Wanda's shoulder, pecking down at her idly. Her prized sniper rifle hung from her back, as well as a bag that contained a number of smaller guns, basic medical supplies, and some small snacks in case there was some down time.

Elfie

After donning my skin of steel it was time to move to our whirlybird to take us to the sky and to our mission objective. It seems friend Wanda has already arrived there together with animal friend Nose Dive, whom I have not seen diving for noses yet "Greetings again friend Wanda I am ready to follow your commands today, in even the darkest tidings I shall be a shining beacon of hope and loyalty for you to use, my sword is yours. May I fly the whirlybird? Out of 27 attempts with the simulator I managed to land once safely with only the tail of the whirlybird being destroyed on landing. I believe I can replicate that and avoid death by crashing as happened in the other attempts. We may require a second whirlybird for return however."

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Wanda

Wanda couldn't help but laugh a little at Elfie's strange request and awkward phrasing. From anyone else it would have been very uncomfortable but with Elfie it was just part for the course. "Well uh sure Elfie. I can go shopping with you, and ya maybe Hannah would want to too. She's always hated shopping, but she usually makes an exception for armor." She told Good Girl, before her friend turned to talk to Reven.

Wanda wasn't sure whether to laugh or be terrified at Reven's response to Hannah. He was acting as if what they were about to do was going to be like a scene out of a James Bond film, and he didn't even know what a gun was. Wanda shook those thoughts from her head though. Getting frustrated wouldn't keep Reven any safer.

"You mean a gun Reven." She told him gently. "If you want one, well we can arrange that. But we have to make sure you understand how to us it." She told him before turning to the group as a whole. "Alright, now that everyone has eaten and said their hellos, it's time to get ready to go. We'll meet on the roof in an hour, move out."

Wanda was once again the first to arrive, this time on the roof of the building. There was a large white tent on the roof, Floyd had put it there to conceal their transportation. Their transportation was in fact a large attack helicopter, one that Weiss had hooked up with a stealth cloak so that it could take off inconspicuously.

Nose Dive sat on Wanda's shoulder, pecking down at her idly. Her prized sniper rifle hung from her back, as well as a bag that contained a number of smaller guns, basic medical supplies, and some small snacks in case there was some down time.

Elfie

After donning my skin of steel it was time to move to our whirlybird to take us to the sky and to our mission objective. It seems friend Wanda has already arrived there together with animal friend Nose Dive, whom I have not seen diving for noses yet "Greetings again friend Wanda I am ready to follow your commands today, in even the darkest tidings I shall be a shining beacon of hope and loyalty for you to use, my sword is yours. May I fly the whirlybird? Out of 27 attempts with the simulator I managed to land once safely with only the tail of the whirlybird being destroyed on landing. I believe I can replicate that and avoid death by crashing as happened in the other attempts. We may require a second whirlybird for return however."

Lance Norton

After the breakfast, he went right to his room to get his gun. He carried less guns than the rest of the Warhounds, mostly close range ones and sidearms. As he readied his weapons, he couldn't help but laugh at Elfie saying about the "skin of steel", and how the term actually had a literal meaning to his abilities.

After one hour, he was at the rooftop. In a holster in his thigh, .50 pistol that he often used while in missions, and in his hand a light machine gun, useful when holding ground. In a big bag at his back, something that he found useful if he had to rush forward quickly: A shotgun, along with some extra ammo and supplies.

"Elfie, Wanda. May we return alive!"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

---

---

Kirisvala smiled softly at Mars' compliment, blushing slightly. They had been together for two years, but even then she still felt quite happy to hear that sort of thing. Taking his hand and heading downstairs with him, she soon arrived in the kitchen, where most of the others were currently having breakfast. She smiled and then gently let go of Mars' hand before sitting down and serving herself something to eat as well, the scent of bacon making her realize that she was quite hungry. "Good morning everyone. Good to see that you're all getting along." She said, glancing at Ihra and gently patting her on the back as if to reassure her, hoping that it would help her with her shyness.

Etla beamed as she saw her sister greeting her. "Ihra! Did you hear the good news? We have permission from father to stay here and join the team. Isn't it great?" She told the younger girl, full of enthusiasm, before turning to Craig, grabbing a handful of bacon and biting down on it in a very un-princesslike manner. After eating that, she spoke. "Why, thank you. I will tell the servants to come in and unpack right away. And if you would like, I can go with you to see your father. Perhaps I could convince him to give you permission to join this group?" She offered to Craig, currently not thinking about the impact that a princess might have on Craig's father if his son arrived with one.

Afterwards, she turned to Mars. "Ah, the ruckus was me. I may have opened the door a bit forcefully. Oh, but if I caused any damage, I will be happy to pay for it." She stated sincerely. "In any case, it was not a tornado. Although... Perhaps that could be my alias?" She wondered out loud. Kiris heard that and looked up from her breakfast.

"Tornado sounds a bit long and not quite fitting. How about Cyclone?" The Adaian suggested. Etla practically beamed at the older girl.

"Yes, that's perfect!" She exclaimed.

---

---

Jasper simply smiled as he saw her leaning closer and closer, and waited until she was done speaking before raising an index finger to her forehead and gently pushing her back. "Be more careful, Elena. Keep that up and I'll steal a kiss one of these days. I would say that's a promise rather than a threat, but I think there's been enough melodrama here." He spoke calmly, before taking another slice of the pizza that he had barely touched and biting on it. Afterwards, he simply took his camera and freed his neck from the strap, before holding it up in front of Elena. "As for my camera having superpowers, well, that's not exactly true, but you were close. Take a look if you're wondering what it might be like to see the world through my eyes." He stated, lightly tossing the camera at her before going back to eating pizza.

There were a great many photographies present on the camera. Most of them were mundane scenes observed through Jasper's mystic eyes, but a few of them were a lot more special: there were a few, for example, from when the Xantheians invaded Earth. The very first photography was almost a decade old, and was of an attractive woman with curly blonde hair who smiled at the camera as she wore a number of esoteric-looking artifacts. Then of course there were the photographies that Jasper had taken recently: the desolate landscape and the vortex above, the mansion surrounded by the forcefield, the Inquisitors that had gathered around the collapsing house, and the selfie he had taken of him and the Inquisitor with the green blush. Of course, there were also the couple shots he had taken of Elena while she wasn't looking, pictures that would let her observe herself in more detail than she ever had before.

---

---

---

Jamie looked up from the couch at the others as they expressed their views on the Heroes Inc. matter, raising an eyebrow at them. "Wow, you guys sure are looking deep into this whole thing." She said, feeling impressed and also a bit inapproprfiate as she noticed that the others were considering things such as PR and the team's principles and such, while she had mostly considered the practical side of things. But then, that was just who she was, and if anything, she supposed she should be content that she could leave the deep stuff to people like Elena and Valancy.

"I was leaning towards not joining myself, really, but only because I don't think we're going to need any help; and if we do, the threat will probably be large enough to warrant other heroes joining up without being prompted by Heroes Inc. anyway. Now if someone else needs our help, that's a different matter, but they can always ask, it's not like we aren't easy to reach and we travel quickly." The android stated, shrugging even though she was in a horizontal position.

"Sorry 'bout ganging up on you, Roy." She added afterwards, looking at the young man with a sheepish smile.

---

---

Weiss was quick to arrive at the rooftop as well once the hour was up. After everyone had scrambled to prepare, he had simply remained in the kitchen and made himself a healthy breakfast to last him through the mission. He had gotten himself ready for the mission since the previous night, after all, so he did not need to do any last-minute preparations. Thanks to Leonidas' ability to move without a wearer, all of his gear had already packed itself within the attack helicopter that was their transport, so he had little else to do until the agreed upon time, which accounted for his early arrival. Since he relied on Nihil and Leonidas for combat, he did not carry any firearms with him.

"I'm going to go ahead and make a last-minute check, make sure everything's in working order." The techno-empath stated. Even with a part of his powers suppressed by the pill he took, he was still the most technologically-oriented member of the group, which allowed him to do that sort of thing, both for his own equipment and for the transport they were to take. They couldn't afford having anything wrong with it before heading onto their mission, after all, not to mention that he was the pilot and it was his duty to get everyone to Delta Point. With that in mind he glared at Elfie. "And no you are not flying this thing." He barked, before heading onto the helicopter.

Not too long after that, Reven arrived as well. Much like when Wanda had found him, there were several small holes in his chest, slowly exuding a black fog that, save for its color, might as well have been ethereal. Despite this, however, he seemed to be able to move around and act without issue, just like before. He also had a gun in his hand, which probably explained everything.

"I now know how this thing works." He announced, inadvertently inserting a hint of pride in his voice.

[Taigawa]

The elevator went down, and while it did so, they could see the city around them through an energy field. Once it reached the entry structure, Makayla led them to the east and through her city. Stopping several times in order to open several doors that were locked with a biometrics scanner that required the Mirali to use her necklace to open them. Eventually, they reatched a large, triangular room. Blast doors were above, and there was a triangular, metalic-looking ship hovering just above the floor. "Enter the ship and I will start the launch sequence before I join you. Thas room will flood before those blast doors open."

The two men nodded and walked into the research ship. Once they were inside, Jim looked at Yamashiro and said to him in a concerned voice," I do trust this woman. But my men might not. I don't want them to attack her and force her kill us all." Yamashiro turned and said to Jim with a smile," Don,t worry my friend. I am sure they won't attack her. Besides, if one of your men are that foolish, then let them meet their fate." The two men then waited for the ship to take off.

The Mirali activated a console near the center of the room. This started a five-minute countdown. As she entered the ship herself, the door into that chamber was sealed. The floor of the ship too sealed shut, and a seat and controls materialized from hardlight, with a display that allowed navigation. After 3 minutes, the chamber began to rapidly flood. After two more, the blast doors opened and the ship lifted out of the hangar. Upon reaching the surface, the ship cloaked and began to move towards their hotel. Upon reaching the building, she told them to leave. Her ship hovered above the building, forming an anti-gravity elevator to allow egress.

[Sivio]

"It's Agent Spider," said Aegis. "Spider-Boy is a stupid name." He coughed loudly. "Anyway, from the looks of the way things are, we won't be able to evacuate every single person in New Delhi, even if they go in an orderly fashion. Can anyone confirm the odds?" He decided to go outside to direct any civilians into the building the two families were in. Aegis also went out to watch the green glowing meteor. "Sylph, Tempest, I don't mean to rush you, and I can that thing is getting closer, but how long until you change the decent pattern and speed?"

---

The Agency HQ -- The Himalayas
"You what??" one of the UN SC ambassadors stated. "Your department knew about the oncoming meteors and blocked all space agencies from knowing about it? Are you insane, Director?" White was in a fairly large room that was big enough to fit a round table of 15 people. There was a hologram of the UN Security Council. Every member of said council was there except Ukraine.

"No, Ambassador," stated White. "I am perfectly sane. I had my reasons."

"What were they?" said an ambassador. "Chase the one called Agent Spider? How many times have we told you to leave the kid alone? He has done nothing to you. So what if he left The Agency. We could always recruit more heroes."

"So what?" White said angrily. "If one kid could leave the agency, and be left alone, what about the other agents? Did you think that maybe if a kid left, maybe the other agents could want to leave as well." Then someone came in, interrupting the meeting. He whispered into White's ear, "The meteor is emitting a green light and has traces of life on it."

[The Republic of Atria]

Both of them went to sleep. Gabriel didn't physically need to sleep, but he needed it for his mental health. His powers kept him from physically getting weaker, but being active for prolonged periods of time caused him to get much more aggressive and irritable. Even with his best research, the only reason he could find for needing sleep is because it was needed. Xiuh had the same issue. So they both slept regularly. Gabe was the first one to wake up. And he decided that he should make a nice big breakfast. Obviously she was going to have to take some time to adjust to her situation and to her new life, so what better way to help that along with bacon and pancakes? The smell seemed to be powerful enough to wake the dragonness, because she cautiously walked out of her room. "Good morning. I know yesterday was kind of... Bad. So I thought that I'd start this day on a much better foot. With food."

She was still hurt about what happened yesterday, but food was food. No sane person would turn down food. Especially not food that smelled as delectable as what Gabe was cooking. "Thank you." She said and looked at the food Gabe gave her. What appeared to be a flat piece of bread covered in some sort of goo. Several strips of what was obviously some kind of meat and, a glass filled with a strange orange liquid. Being who she was, she started with the Bacon. Which was just slightly crispy. Gabe even noticed that her face lit up when she ate it. "I've had many varieties of meat, but this meat is by far the best. What do you call it?" She asked as Gabriel gave her the entire plate. "This is meat, correct?"

"Yup. From the pig. Fat land mammal. Surprisingly smart. Even more delicious. The cakes are called Pancakes. Because, get this, they are cakes... Made in a pan." He snickered. "They're covered in a syrup. Imported from the land of Syrup: Canada." Gabe explained and was about to explain how to eat them, when she grabbed the syrup covered pancakes and stuffed them all into her mouth. "Umm... Okay. That's not how we eat pancakes. That's what the forks and knives are for. Wash your hands. Though I'm happy to see that you like them." He said, turning on the sink for her. As far as he could tell, she seemed to be decently happy. Which was a step in the right direction.

"I apologize." She said washing the stick syrup off of her hands. "...Thank you. For the food. And lodging." She said. "I've a question. Aren't you concerned that your superiors will come after you for what you did?" She asked, siting back down to go back at the food.

"Not really. I was the only super powered guy in that area. On top of that, I hit the freakin' jackpot with my powers. During the day I'm strong as hell. At night I'm one of the most powerful beings on the planet. Also during the day, your powers work. And they're not gonna march an army through the city after us. Since, ya know, we can both fly and are pretty damn strong at that. So I'm not too concerned. They probably know I'm here, I'm just smart enough to know that they won't come after me. And even if they do...What? You think their guns will do anything? Even during the day, nothing short of a tank shell is gonna do anything more than ruffle my hair. We're safe. Speaking of which... How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm..." She trailed off. "Better. Thank you for asking. I suppose I should learn this world. I've heard many rumors about your cuisine, which have been confirmed. I have heard much about your human entertainment. For a, no offense intended, primitive species, you have many, many ways of entertaining yourselves. So I've heard."

"You have noooo idea what you're getting into..."

[Imperium Americae]

"It's Agent Spider," said Aegis. "Spider-Boy is a stupid name." He coughed loudly. "Anyway, from the looks of the way things are, we won't be able to evacuate every single person in New Delhi, even if they go in an orderly fashion. Can anyone confirm the odds?" He decided to go outside to direct any civilians into the building the two families were in. Aegis also went out to watch the green glowing meteor. "Sylph, Tempest, I don't mean to rush you, and I can that thing is getting closer, but how long until you change the decent pattern and speed?"

---

"Working on it," Tempest replied, directing more wind up to Sylph as he kept an eye on the glowing green meteor.

Tempest watched as Jasmine, or Lilith as she chose for her codename, became a giant shadowy creature. He wasn't gonna lie, it was pretty cool, and he made a mental note not to get on her bad side. Tempest continued to watch, unable to do much except provide support and stare in awe as the giant rock continued slowing. A few moments later, what appeared to be giant parachutes made of the emerald light seemed to grow out of the barrier, aiding in the slowing of the rock.

"Overseer, what do you make of this?" he asked, the answer being stunned confusion.

[Spindle]

Jasmine Corckerthy
New Dehli
Site of the Apocalypse

Above her, the meteor continued its descent, bearing down upon her like the hammer of Thor itself. Green energy seemed to arc away from it, forming what could have been parachutes, and the rock began to slow even further. But by now, it was so close that even the towering thunderhead above her was blotted out by its bulk, fixating Jasmine's gaze as she watched its slow, laborious descent towards her.

And then it slammed into her, pulverising both of the arms she'd raised to try and slow it. Jasmine shot through the shadows of the cup moments before the meteor hit it, send shocks of pain into her soul. She spent a moment to communicate apology to Rei before intensifying the shield, letting it drop with her body and the meteor. She was certainly slowing it down, she could see that, but she could also see that she didn't have a lot of space to slow it down with.

The green light and the writhing shadows fell through the skies, before finally coming to a halt ten metres above the ground in an open square. The people in it had long since scattered when they saw the sinister star streaking towards them and Jasmine's feet finally touched he ground again, her arms already beginning to reform. Two long tentacles were sprouting from her shoulders, other tentacles making their way up them and weaving a flesh around them, with skin beginning to grow back onto her upper arm.

"Alright...I've got it." She said into the earpiece, "I'll try and set it down slowly."

Looking up, she began to lower the meteor to the ground in a steady fashion. Darkness was crowding at the edge of her vision now, the strain of maintaining such a large construct beginning to wear on her despite Rei's comforting presence in the back of her mind. It had sunk down a metre. It felt like it should have done more. Parts of the cup were boiling away, evaporating into nothingness and revealing pieces of rock beneath. Two metres. Jasmine's vision had narrowed down to just the meteor. Four metres? When had that happened? She wasn't sure if she was standing up or lying down any more. She just felt as if she were floating in an endless void.

And then everything went black and the cup disappeared, the meteor falling the remaining six metres to pulverise the unconscious Jasmine's legs as it slammed into them.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars raised an eyebrow when Etla mentioned servants. He knew she was royalty, but it wouldn't do to have members of the team being waited on hand and foot by hired help. He wanted to teach this team not only to be heroes, but to be strong people as well and self reliance was a part of that. Besides he wanted the teens to start relying on each other in daily life, that was part of becoming a team as well.

"I'm quite glad to hear that your father agreed to let you and Ihra join the team. But I do hope when we settle somewhere, it will be just you two. You're servants are welcome to bring your things here, but after that I think it best if the team functions self-sufficiently." He said to her gently but definitively. He wasn't angry at all, but he wanted to set ground rules for how the team would function.

"And cyclone is an excellent name by the way. Kiris has always had a creative talent when it comes to names. She came up with Dragon Knight after all."

---

Ajax
Ajax blushed a little at Lorn's comment and the way she was looking at him, "Uh thanks, just glad I could help out." He told her, taking a seat and grabbing a piece toast from the plate. "Thank you for cooking Craig, I appreciate it." He told the other boy sincerely. He was a little perturbed by the small wind storm caused by Etla, but said nothing as she delivered the news that she and Ihra would be allowed to stay with the team. "Well good to hear Etla. Glad to hear you two will be sticking around." He then reached down for the hilt of his sword out of habit, frowning as he remembered it was gone. He didn't know how much help he could be without it. He tried to push those thoughts from his mind though, being negative wouldn't help anything.

"You know, we should got out into the city toward. There's bound to be a lot of chaos and people that need our help." He told the others, hoping they'd agree. Ajax had an intense desire to help people and constantly pressured himself to do more.

---

Roy
Roy smiled at Jamie's comment. He still felt like the team was a good idea, but the others had good points and he could tell when he was outvoted. "It's fine Jamie, this is the Justice "Queens" after all. You gals are in charge." He told her playfully. Though it was kind of true after all. He wasn't actually a member of the Justice Queens after all, at least not officially. He was kind of just the team's adopted younger brother which he was fine with. "So, maybe just send them a polite capestagram message to decline?"

[Charmera]

[

Etla

"You sound like a hobbit, Tara." Craig stated in reply, chuckling a bit. "Breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. Though they are fictional creatures. Anyway, to answer your question, it really varies. Some people, a stereotype being farmers, have huge breakfasts because they have so much work to do. But generally, no, some people have snacks between lunch and dinner, and I don't think anyone would mind if you ate some more.

Nodding in reply to their words of thanks, Craig lifted an eyebrow at the ruckus, Etla soon sweeping in. "More food is always welcome, Etla. That's really good to hear!" he said. Passing the bacon, he frowned at how he had not managed to see Ihra, even though she had been down for several minutes. "Good morning to you too, Ihra. Want some bacon?" He asked with a hopeful expression.

"And speaking of parent permission, I should probably head out and fly back home soon. I kinda broke my curfew...by a lot. I hope Dad isn't too upset..." he trailed off, smiling and shrugging sheepishly.

"These hobbits sound like they live well. Their meal practices are indeed worthy of admiration." Tara spoke, almost worried that she had offended the earthlings when Craig called her a hobbit. She thought that perhaps a hobbit was someone who was intensive in times of dire famine, which was a likely explanation for the lack of food. However Tara was relieved to hear not only that it was more a term of endearment but that there was plenty more food. "Thank you, comrade Craig. I was beginning to worry that food would be scarce." She spoke, the looked towards the white device in the kitchen. She aproached it, noticing a handle. Careful not to breath the earth metal, she opened it, and felt a cool breeze from the machine. Then she noticed several items of what she could only assume was food. Her eyes widened as she put this together. "You... humans put food in these magical boxes of frost so it does not spoil?" She asked. "That is pure genius. None of my people have even conceived of such a device." She paused, then lifted the fridge upwards briefly before putting it down. "Hm. A bit small though. Though I'm sure it could do for a meal..." She paused, then looked at the others.

"Assuming of course you don't mind?" She said, already a wheel of cheese was in one of her hands headed for her mouth.

Meanwhile, at the helicopter

Hannah walked into the light of the outdoors, her eyes protected from the suns rays by two lenses of sunglasses. Two earbuds of white led down to a small ipod on her side from her ears, and anyone with good enough hearing could tell she was playing AC/DC's Back in Black as she walked towards the helicopter, her arms swaying in motion as the various swords and knives (two and four respectively) swayed in time with her walking. One might also be able to detect that she was chewing what was mostly likely gum.

"I'm calling shotgun" She declared, walking up to the front seat of the helicopter and plopping her wolf butt in regardless of the wishes of others.

[Tomia]

Wanda
Wanda soon realized that leading a mission for the War Hounds was much like running a circus. Her main job was to make sure the lions stayed in the cage and keep the clowns from burning down the tent while you're not looking. With this in mind she heard Elfie declare her loyalty and smiled at the over the top gesture. Then she asked to drive the helicopter though, and Wanda immediately knew that was a bad idea. And Elfie's own case wasn't exactly convincing. Still, Wanda needed to find a way to be nice about it. Luckily Weiss was willing to play the bad guy, which Wanda was grateful for. "Sorry Elfie, I think I'll let Weiss pilot this time. We really only have one whirly.... I mean helicopter. So we need to be careful." She told the swordsman. Then Hannah called shotgun and even though Wanda didn't want her to be annoying Weiss the whole time, she didn't object. It wasn't worth getting into an argument over.

Wanda then took a seat in the helicopter after storing her gear and giving the coordinates of the facility to Weiss. "Let's get going then Weiss. There's a forest nearby the facility, there's a clearing there where we'll want to land. Everyone should keep their radios and headsets on them. I want to be able to reach you at all times."

Then Wanda saw Reven, who was carrying a rifle after claiming that he "learned how to use it". That made her nervous. "Uh Reven, how did you learn exactly? I mean, its good that you have protection... Just don't hurt yourself okay? That's a weapon not a toy." She told him, concern that bordered on motherly in her voice.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

A boy ran through the streets in one of the poorer areas of Pandora City, being pursued by a pair of rough-looking men. The boy was quite young, no older than ten, and in his hands he held an expensive-looking wedding ring that he held close to him as he ran. Behind him, the two men were chasing him angrily, their faces betraying their less than benevolent intentions. Though the boy had a head start, the two men were slowly but steadily gaining on him, and the desperate child was well aware that it was only a matter of time before they caught him and then... he didn't want to think about it. He just kept on running. He didn't even notice as more people began chasing him, undoubtedly associates of the first two.

"Come back here kid! Your whore of a mother gave us that ring, it's ours!" He heard one of them say as he turned a corner.

Meanwhile, in the same area, a young-looking, attractive woman leisurely walked through the lonely streets, gazing all around her. She wore a knee-length black skirt and a simple red blouse, her blonde hair cascading down to her waist. Though the area wasn't quite a slum, it was still nothing special to look at according to most people's standards, but even so, she looked around in admiration. Admiration, in concrete, of how far humans had come since they lived in caves, in awe of the sun. She didn't quite know how she knew about it, but the fact was that she did, and it was something that she found very respectable.

Amidst her musings, though, she noticed a boy running in her general direction. This made her feel both curious and concerned, and so, she moved into the boy's path and stopped him when he was next to her. It took some effort, but the boy soon realized that the woman could not be with those men from before, so he relaxed, as much as someone being chased by a mob could relax.

"What's wrong? Why are you running?" She asked him as she crouched to his level, looking him in the eye. There was a motherly quality to her voice, the boy thought, and that made it feel easy to trust her, but even then, in his alarm, he was barely capable of coherent speech.

"I-I have to run! Sorry!" The boy cried out, tears beginning to stream down his face. His evident suffering made the woman feel compelled to help him, but before she could offer her assistance or even say anything more, the boy saw something that terrified him. The woman looked in the same direction, and saw the mob that was chasing him.

"HEY!" One of the men shouted as they continued running after him. The boy immediately broke off from the woman and fled, and she realized that she would not learn what was truly going on here unless she used her powers. Focusing, she dismantled the barrier that she had put around her mind, its walls keeping foreign thoughts away, though not without a conscious effort. Immediately, she felt the weight of the several minds that were now touching hers, putting pressure on hers. She endured, though, as this was not the worst she had dealt wth, and scouted the minds of those people.

It was not hard to find out which one belonged to the boy, as even despite the hardships of his life he retained a certain innocence that she was able to pick up on. Looking through his memories, she understood everything. The ring that the boy held had belonged to his mother, a widow, who had given it to the thugs pursuing the boy so that they would stop harassing her and her family. The blonde woman easily picked up on his intentions as well, which were nothing if not noble: he wanted to return the ring to his mother, as it was the only heirloom they had of the boy's father. Another thing that was now plain as day to her were the intentions not of the boy, but of his pursuers, and they were dark and cruel.

Making a decision, she ran after the boy, quickly catching up with him and dragging him into a backstreet, momentarily disorienting the thugs that were chasing him. Scouting the surrounding area with her mind, she noticed that one nearby building was devoid of psychic signatures, meaning that either it was abandoned or the inhabitants simply weren't there at the moment. Either way, it was as good a place to hide as any, and so, she headed inside with the boy in tow. They hid in the furthest corner of the house, a bedroom's closet, where the blonde woman told the boy to be quiet. However, he couldn't help it and sobbed a little, moved by the kindness that a complete stranger had shown him, something he was in no way used to. The woman frowned at first, but then, her expression softened and she simply stood there, scouting the surrounding area to make sure the sobs didn't tip off the thugs to their location.

After the boy had calmed down a little, he looked up at the woman. "What... what's your name?" He asked her. Surprised to hear him, the woman looked down at him and offered him a warm smile. "My name is Melissa. It's nice to meet you, Dylan." She told him kindly, and he smiled in turn, not even realizing that he hadn't actually told her his name. Afterwards, Dylan looked back down while Melissa peered through the gaps in the closet's door. The boy saw something odd on the ground, though, something shaped like an animal's fang, but larger, and picked it up, looking at Melissa and assuming she had somehow dropped it at the end of their racing to get there.

"What's this?" He asked her innocently. Looking back at him, Melissa's eyes widened as she saw the object he had in his hands.

"Give me that!" She urged him, reaching out to grab the object, but it was too late. Even though it was now in her hands, it had already become active, and a blinding light emerged from it.

"I saw something over there!" A voice came from outside. Unfortunately, the thugs in pursuit of the child suspected him and the woman to be nearby, and so, they had remained behind, exploring the backstreet. It barely took them any time to reach the house and approach the closet.

"Come out, lady! You look like someone we can have fun with as thanks for helping that kid!" One of the men shouted, laughing, before throwing open the closet's doors. Melissa's face was fair, but her expression was fierce, to the point that the man hesitated for a moment. However, he was not about to show fear of a woman in front of his associates, so he harshly grabbed Melissa's arm and tried to pull her away.

"Come on, don't play hard to get!" He told her. But in a surprising display of strength, by human standards at least, she shook him off, backing away and staying close to Dylan. Enraged, the man raised a baseball bat and prepared to hit her in revenge. But all of the sudden, before he could act, an invisible force hurled him away, sending him crashing against the wall on the other side of the room and knocking him out cold, several cracks now visible on the wall. The men looked at her in shock and fear, and even Dylan felt in awe of what the woman had just done.

"She's one of those supers, kill her!" Spoke the man who appeared to be the leader of the pack of thugs, and many of them suddenly pulled out pistols, training their guns on her. Having anticipated their actions thanks to her mind-reading, she put up a wall of invisible force in front of her, to protect herself and Dylan from the bullets. Gunshots rang through the house as a hail of bullets crashed against the invisible wall, and the men were surprised to see both Dylan and Melissa still alive, but they weren't about to relent, and so, they continued shooting in hopes that they could break the wall.

"Go away..." Melissa spoke, her voice barely breaking through the sound of gunfire, though even if they heard her the thugs clearly did not care to comply. The woman frowned, the stress in her mind steadily growing as she made an effort to maintain the barrier.

"Go away!" She ordered them, louder this time, but still they did not feel like obeying, continuing to fire. She was beginning to grow desperate; she did not want to hurt anyone in the same way she had hurt the man she had knocked out, but she didn't see any other way out. She was hoping they would stop, but eventually, the stress became too much for her.

"GO AWAY!" She shouted. But this time, it was not something physical. It was a psychic scream that was charged with psionic energy. Almost immediately, all of the thugs around her fell to the ground, their minds overloaded. However, that was not the extent of her scream, which had turned out far more powerful than she would have wanted. Its effects spread in a radius of a couple blocks, knocking out most people present in the area, causing a handful of traffic accidents and other things of that nature. Those further away from her were only unconscious, but those near her, the thugs, had received the brunt of the psionic energy overload, and their brains were fried as a result, rendering them lifeless.

Dylan, on account of being next to her and due to Melissa's desire to protect him, had been unaffected by the scream, though he still managed to perceive it. Scared out of his wits, the boy ran away with the ring, only wanting to go home and forget about everything.

"Dylan, wait!" Melissa called after him, but the boy did not heed her words and simply left. She was now alone, and with care, she crawled towards one of the bodies. Some of its functions were still active, she noticed, but even so their minds had been completely destroyed, and even if they were saved they would be nothing more than fleshy husks that had once harbored true life. Regretting her actions, she slumped down on the ground with her back against the wall. She hadn't meant to kill anyone, even if they were less than reputable men like these, but now she had their metaphorical blood on her hands, and who knew what else she had caused outside of the house?

She didn't know what to do, so she simply continued to sit there in shock.

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Etla listened attentively as Mars addressed her, already showing some respect for the one who was going to be her and the team's mentor, along with Kiris of course. When the man was done speaking, she nodded. "I understand. I didn't mean to make it seem like I was going to start pulling strings all the time; most of the things I had my servants bring are gifts, and of the rest, some of it belongs to me and some of it belongs to Ihra. But I assure you I don't intend to rely on them, mister. I'm not a spoiled princess. I learned to polish my armor when I was a kid." She stated and then showed a beaming smile.

Afterwards, she turned to Ajax, nodding and smiling at him as well. "Thank you, Ajax, and thank you for having my sister for the night as well, my father and I appreciate it. Also..." She trailed off, and headed out of the kitchen, approaching one of the servants who were already going around the house and placing the things they had brought. Etla opened a case and took an ornate sword from it, returning with it to the kitchen and offering it to Ajax. "I saw that your weapon was broken yesterday, so I was hoping to offer you a suitable replacement. It may not be the type of blade you're used to, but I hope you'll find a use for it." The princess stated.

"And I will be more than happy to patrol with the rest of you, but I wish to accompany Craig first." She said.

Meanwhile, Kirisvala smiled softly as she heard Mars complimenting her creativity. It was certainly a quality of herself that she placed a lot of value in, so she felt happy to see it being appreciated. Still, she couldn't help attempting to show some modesty. "Oh, you're giving me too much credit Mars. I just wanted us to have matching names, you know? And you weren't exactly open to the idea at first." She giggled, remembering those times when she and Mars were not too close yet. They were awkward times, but quite fun in retrospect.

Noticing Tara attempting to eat an entire wheel of cheese and seemingly asking for permission to eat the rest of what was on the refrigerator, Kiris blinked. "Um... Well, if you need it, I suppose there shouldn't be a problem. The princess did bring a lot more provisions." She stated, glancing at Etla, who simply shrugged and nodded in response.

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As he was making sure that the controls and everything else in the vehicle was in working order, Weiss noticed a certain wolf girl walking up to the vehicle and sitting down on the seat next to him. At this, and at her extravagant demeanor, the brunet merely sighed, shaking his head and returning to his duties. "Someone's trying too hard to be cool I see." He mumbled with disinterest as he finished checking the vehicle and gently pushed the hilt of one of Hannah's swords away from him. A brief exchange then took place between him and Wanda, where the leader of the mission gave him the coordinates. Taking a look at them, he memorized them and prepared to take off, though he evidently needed to wait until everyone was inside. He neglected to use the headsets and radios provided by Floyd, as his armor and watch both allowed him to communicate with his teammates.

Reven tilted his head, somewhat disappointed that he had only caused Wanda to become more worried than before. "I actually learned hurting myself." He stated, completely serious. "It's easy. It was painful though. But I won't do it again." He assured her, before looking around, unsure of what to do now.

"Get the hell in." Weiss calmly ordered from within the helicopter. Reven tilted his head yet again and then looked around, not quite understanding what Weiss was telling him to do.

"But... that is... impossible?" He wondered, taking the order rather literally. After a moment, though, his eyes widened. "Oh, it was a curse!" He realized. After a moment's pause, he frowned. "That is mean." He commented, before getting into the helicopter, sitting down next to Wanda and Elfie and putting on one of those strange things that some of the others were wearing on their heads.

Then, off went the Warhounds in their VTOL, Weiss engaging the cloaking device and taking off towards the forest clearing.