Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[United Kingdom of Poland]

“I’m Wendy.” She told their new ally after Mike and Casimir introduced themselves. “But you can call me Wifi. As the others said, we’re a bit new to this whole Superhero team thing. Do you want to join us?”

Just then she heard Mike’s remark about opening up with her disabling attack sooner. While his tone might have been of a joking nature, it only further to reminded her how she had almost been too late to help the others. “Sorry,” She told him. “I got a little caught up trying to find where everyone was on the zoo’s security system, but they must have fried every camera they came across. By the time I got over to you guys the fight was well underway. I’ll try to get to the fight sooner next time.”

[Segral]

Carter Graystone
The Telephone is Screaming, Won't She Leave Me Alone?

By this point, Carter was on one knee keeping the cyclone up. By this point, his heart was pounding very hard, and he started to feel dryness in his throat, vision swimming slightly. But he persisted, ready to keep going as long as it would take to get everyone out safely. The gravel was cutting into his knee, and he shifted it slightly, trying not to focus on that. He could either concentrate on a few pebbles, or keeping a deadly airborne toxic bioweapon away from countless civilians and metahuman ragtag teenage heroes.


However, a sudden event occurred, which a certain TV group of superhero animals would say: "The phone is rin-ging!" to. That's right, some dipshit was trying to call him while he was over here making cyclones to whirl around some poison. The sounds of Cannibal Corpse started echoing through his pocket, as he had forgotten to set his phone to vibrate. And it did that too, shaking all around his pocket like some fat guy doing the swim. He started cursing under his breath and muttering questions to the heavens about why someone was calling him at this very crucial moment. He dragged it out of his pocket, only for him to miss the call, finding a new voicemail from...Alexis. Great. He quickly started listening to it, managing to get up to the part about her place. However, his hand shook, causing him to lose control of his air gusts briefly. His phone blew right off his thigh and into the vortex, swirling around before being tossed high into the air, only to come with a hurtling smash on the pavement.

Just. great.

[New Neros]

Broadcast from KSAZ FOX 10
Phoenix Local News, SimulCast across the Southwest

"Who is Gaul?"

The reporter asked with purpose and intent, facing the camera sternly and without fear, almost robotic in her reading from the teleprompter. "A superhuman sensation that is taking social media by storm." She began, amateur footage of the fights Gaul has been a part of, even surfacing confrontations with heroes before the incident at El Paso and Tuscon, playing while the news anchor spoke. "His ideology is hard to pin down and his motives are murky, but what we do know is that he is dangerous, and his recent defeat by Solar proves that he is much more of a threat than we can understand."

Transitioning to a scenes from the recent battle in Phoenix, Gaul is seen fighting wildly against a moving blur of red, each punch shaking the camera phone while the recorder whispers expletives out of fear. "The villain showed an uncanny ability to come at Solar harder and faster with each punch he took, leading some superhuman experts to attest a damage or fighting empowerment, on top of notable martial artist skills." The footage came from a different angle, showing Gaul's moves with fluidity and expertise, dancing circles around Solar who simply used more overwhelming power to blow away Gaul. "But his true power seems to be in the force he's making on social media."

"lol this kid is just DICKING on solar #whatajoke" Read one tweet, "aint heroes supposed to flatten clowns like this? #gaul" Read another as the news segment continued, "yo but the things hes saying makes sense lowkey, why heroes gotta hate villains so much?" ... "aint solar like the biggest hater on villains? free my nigga #gaul" The tweets continued, showing a darker underbelly of the civilians the heroes are meant to protect and cherish so dearly, who expressed joy at the heroes' near-defeat and dismay at the sudden victory. "Gaul claims to represent the frustration of villains and criminals outcast by society, but he has found a cult following online in social media, and, according to our deep web analysis, he has been the subject of intense debate on several villain-friendly message boards."

"We are left with more questions than answers, and several more remain about his associates, their motives, and what they are planning. Some report he has been sighted headed west, others say he has arrived in San Diego, others still report sightings in Las Angeles, Las Vegas, and all across the southwest. All we know is, be careful out there, do not approach the villain, and immediately report any suspicious activity to your local law enforcement." The segment ended on that note, briefly showing a picture of Gaul and two blurry photos of Nile and Mar, with attached rewards for their capture, before finally transitioning to a more light-hearted and silly report on increased adoption rates across Maricopa County. The trio stood in the sports bar stunned, the thin mask of anonymity slipping off, and the room suddenly becoming closer and claustrophobic.

San Diego

Gaul, Nile, and Mar slipped out of the sports bar unnoticed, bouncing on the check and tumbling into the parking lot feverishly. "Holy shit, holy shit..." Mar said over and over again, ducking her head and covering her face as she entered into panic mode over the sudden amount of detail spread about them, mostly Gaul, but she was included in all of this. Though they met under the least of friendly circumstances, it was Punk's choice to continue following Gaul, she had every opportunity to kill the man she made a habit out of healing. Everyone else would call it Stockholm syndrome, but Punk felt a genuine connection and friendship with Gaul, a sort of kindred spirits if you will, but the sudden realization that she herself was a villain by aiding a villain just sunk like a lead weight in her chest.

"Holy shit," Nile said, "We're fuckin' famous!" He said excitedly, "They got your name plastered all over the news and they got us as accomplices, that's insane!" Nile continued, whipping out his smart phone and excitedly typing away at it. Gaul looked at the two of them with a confused stare, watching two very different reactions to being on the news unfold before him. "Oh man, oh man, just wait until the group chat hears about this one. I already have a meet up planned, but this is just icing on the cake."

"Hold up." Punk suddenly snapped, grabbing Niles phone from his hand. "You've been posting about us online?!"

"Well, yeah." Nile fully admitted, "I have a program that makes followers, and I used 'em to boost some of Gaul's videos. I also frequent a couple darknet forums for villains, and I've been chatting with some guys who want to collaborate here in San Diego."

"That's so fucking reckless!" Punk screamed, "We could be walking into a trap! A few days ago, me and you were both heroes but now look at us! We're about to hunted and thrown in jail, holy shit..." She said, Nile carefully stealing back his phone while Mar continued with her meltdown. "Now we have to go meet some other villains, or a bunch of cops waiting for us, or a bunch of villains ready to jump us..." She muttered, sinking down onto the pavement.

"I don't see the big deal." Gaul bluntly stated, "More exposure means more eyes on me. More attention to my cause and what we stand for." He walked over to Mar and placed a hand on her head. "This is what it's like to be on the run constantly, never finding a place to settle down or stop for a rest. Villains, outcasts, criminals, they all face the same persecution that we're going to experience. But..." He said, looking at Nile, a bit frustrated, "I'm not sure if other villains feel the same way as we do, or if this entire meeting is just a set up like Punk said."

Nile threw his hands up defensively, "I'm just saying, these guys said they were interested and wanted to be apart of something bigger than just a criminal organization in the underworld. You always wanted a loyal fan club who would parrot your philosophy, I think you owe it to them to at least do a meet and greet." Nile smirked for a second, "Honestly, if something went sour, you can punch your way out of it, I can just phase through it, and Mar?" The both of them looked at her briefly, "She can just obliterate her way out of it." Mar shrugged and Gaul nodded, Nile motioning for the duo to follow. "I got the meeting site all picked out and everything, abandoned warehouse and all, very villainous."

Gaul sighed at the cliched spot for a nefarious meeting between members of the underworld, but sat patiently as Nile drove the trio through a twisting maze of alleys and backroads, fumbling with his phone now and again to make sure he was headed the right direction. "Oh hell," He said quickly as his phone buzzed, "Looks like some action is going down at the San Diego Zoo. Some villains are causing a ruckus, heroes are on the scene, be advised, yada yada." He said quickly, Gaul looking out the window, trying to picture the on-going battle that he could be in the middle of, rather than the politics he'd have to get involved with in a moment. "No-name heroes by the looks of it, youngsters."

"Graduates from Thomsen?" Mar asked, diddling away on her phone as well, reading some news articles on the developing story. "Some good villains are there, Weatherman for one. Thunderstruck, another. Then there's Dante and Marionette." She continued, googling the names and reading snippets of their biographies and history. "High powered, I wonder what their end goal is." Mar looked out of the window as the car crept to a stop, a nondescript gray building filling her vision. Several work hazard signs dotted the place, clearly painting the picture of a loading dock. Without a word, Nile and Gaul stepped out of the car, adopting stoic demeanors to face the villains they were about to meet. "I guess we're here..." Mar said solemnly, stepping out from the back seat and stretching herself out a bit, standing next to Gaul.

Despite her stretch, she was still dwarfed by the man, but they all walked in unison into an unlocked side door, Gaul going first, Mar behind him, and Nile at the end, fiddling with the handle a bit to make sure it didn't lock behind them. Dimly lit and covered with a smell that mixed sweat, concrete, and wooden pallets, the warehouse was very true to it's name, hosting several boxes and shipping containers neatly stacked around each other. The scenery didn't catch the eye of Gaul so much as the small group standing near a red container, who immediately stared as the trio entered. "Looks like you found the place, alright." One of the masked men said, one who wore dark clothing and concealed his face behind a starry-lit helmet of sorts. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Legion."

He then motioned to the other members of his clique, pointing out his other three comrades. "This here is Cannon. He's able to induce explosions with kinetic impact, heavy hitter and high up on our destructive scale, supernatural condition." The man gave a nod, but was very clearly sizing up both Gaul and Nile, Mar having no register on his radar. "Next to him is Blaze Luminous. She's able to emit black flames, they apparently burn hotter than normal pyrokinetic flames, and can only be extinguished by her mental command. Mostly suited to medium range, enhanced condition." The girl looked at the trio before her and gave a slight wave, appearing friendly and inviting despite her ominous power. "And the similarly dressed man is Black Luminous. He calls himself a living black hole, and is able to finely and accurately control gravity, in small amounts and large. Black and Blaze tend to work together, while Cannon and I operate on our own."

Legion presented himself to Gaul, Nile, and Mar with open arms, waiting for their response, before continuing. "Oh yes, that's right, I almost forgot, my own power." Legion touched the helmet on his head, his entire body shivering and vibrating abnormally, before the shaking grew so bad that two fully-formed, identical men in costume stood before them. "In short, I make clones." One explained, the other continuing, "They are virtually identical, they only disappear when suffering fatal damage, in a puff of smoke no less." The original continued from there, "They all share my condition, it's slightly above peak human, and I can make as many as I can handle at once, but after a certain number, they take a mind of their own. We tend to call our little group Dread Force, but we are by no means formal about it." Legion clasped his hands together and peered at the trio from behind his helm. "Now, that's who we are and what we can do. Show us what you can do."

Gaul stepped forward, affirming his leadership of the clique. "We've decided to name our group Orion." Legion tilted his head at the name, interested in it, clearly. "We are hunters, and heroes are our prey, it's simple as that. Now," Gaul continued, allowing his voice and presence to fill the huge storage room. "I am Mustafa Gaul, my background is irrelevant, but what matters is my motivation. I do not seek to annihilate heroes, I seek justice for outcasts, villains, and criminals that are hunted by heroes, by in turn hunting them. What I do, it is not right, it is not just, even in my own definition, but it is what I can do for my cause. I become a villain in order to protect those like me. I am a martial artist, a brawler and fighter of no equal, my physical condition exceeds the finest of Olympic athletes, and I draw more strength and power as I fight, from the fight itself and from the damage I sustain during it."

Legion nodded approvingly, Gaul yielding the floor to Nile. "I'm the guy you spoke to online, but my name is Nile. I was once a hero, just a few days ago, actually, until I decided to start following Gaul and his captive around." He said with a smirk and a laugh, "But honestly, there are merits to Gaul's worldview, there are things that need changing in the dynamic between heroes and villains. There are questions no one wants to ask, there are mental problems at the heart of true villainy that needs to be addressed without beating the absolute shit out of them. My power is simple intangibility, but I can control it to such a precise degree that I can pass sowing needles through my body while the rest remains solid. I am a peak human physically, and I tend to be both the ride and IT support guy."

All eyes suddenly turned to Mar, who looked absolutely unready to deliver such a passionate and from-the-heart speech about herself, her powers, and why she's here. She swallowed hard, and just rolled with it. "My name is Mar. I came to Gaul... Gaul took me after he soundly defeated my teammates in battle, I'm a former hero, like Nile. As we spoke on the train ride from El Paso to Tuscon, I learned a lot that I hadn't known before, but Gaul just made so much sense. I never felt like a captive, like I was there against my will." She laughed nervously, "As a matter of fact, he tried to get rid of me a couple of times... But anyways," She continued, feigning confidence. "I can manipulate any matter that I come into physical contact with. For a long time, I used it just for healing by touch, but it's recently grown into something much more."

Legion gave a small victory clap, enjoying the personal flares that the members of Orion had, the sheer charisma was infectious. "Quite the introductions, not simple at all, very confident and full of vigor. You are all dedicated to a cause, something that we severely lack. We do not lack power by any means, but our drive is at our wits' end. Most of us are villains by, well, nature and choice. Theft and robbery are our main source of income, not just as a collective, but as a means to survive outside of the costume. We also do hired bodyguard work for organized crime, things of that nature, but murder and torture is a bit too extreme on our end. One thing I happened to notice, you lot don't exactly have alternate names or outfits to separate your personal lives, why is that?"

Gaul answered quickly, "Because I don't have a life outside of this. I don't need a title to hide behind, Gaul is scary enough."

"Fair point." Legion replied.

Nile added, "As shitty as that sounds, yeah, he's kinda right. I never felt the need to protect my family or personal life, as a hero or as a, well, villain now. It's something I'm willing to attach to my face and name for as long as I'm alive."

"...I didn't bring my costume." Mar said, "You know... Pink Punk? It was torn to shreds in Tuscon."

"Right," Legion continued, "So, we held a vote prior to your arrival, and based on what Nile explained to us online, we were willing to work with and work for you lot. We desire a purpose, we have enough money and security to make sure our families are safe and sound, but heroics are beyond us. We can't work with the stigma on our name, and honestly, that kind of life just isn't for us. We want to be the change you want to see in the world, so, as a collective, will you let us join Orion?" Legion asked, Gaul giving a stern nod of approval. "Thank you, we can hammer out any existing details in a moment, but what is our current course of action?"

Nile stepped up in place of Gaul, "As you're well aware, we recently suffered a major defeat by Solar. We're intending to cut him down to size for his frequent mistreatment of villains, and his terrible tract record with overwhelming force, and several down right homocides that he's able to get away with due to his status as a hero. We're looking for a rematch, and that was to take place after we joined forces. We'll return to Phoenix and face him once more, but for now, we should make our name known." Nile said, approaching Legion, and giving him a firm handshake, Gaul following suit.

"You know," Legion said, shaking Gaul's hand, "Solar is looking for you, searching high and low to find just you, Gaul." The warrior was interested, and lingered in front of Legion, waiting to hear more. "He has a lot of heroes and intelligence operatives looking for you as we speak. Once he finds you, Solar wants a rematch right then and there. Would you be able to beat him this time around? After what he did to you on television, I have some serious doubts about your answer. Not about your powers, don't get me wrong, anyone who can stand up and trade blows with Solar is a living legend in my book, but I need to know if you can beat him right here and right now."

Nile cut his eyes at Legion and turned his entire head, his face enraged and full of murderous intent. "You fuck man!" He suddenly screamed, rushing to Legion and grabbing him by the neck, his allies jumping to attention and igniting their powers, quickly getting closer to the tension zone. "You worm looking fuck, you sent out a beacon, didn't you? You fucking called us in?"

"No," Legion gasped, letting his clone speak while his main self was being choked. "Not to the authorities, to Solar's search party, confirmation of Gaul and his whereabouts."

"Why?" Nile hissed, tightening his grip on the main body while the clone continued to speak.

"The first reason was insurance, if something went wrong, Solar shows up, we bail, you're up shit creek. Second reason is if everything went well and good, we decide to be friends who don't choke each other, Gaul has a perfect opportunity for a rematch, especially in San Diego, where Solar's most dreaded memory occurred. This is sacred ground to him, he'd definitely show up, and given that I sent the beacon the moment you walked in, we have seconds until he personally shows up, so," The clone continued, Nile finally dropping the main villain. "Gaul, I need an answer. Can you do it, or do we have to pull a team effort and murder a god?"

Grimly, Gaul finally admitted his answer. "Yes, I can beat him." His face was confident and ready, brimming with passion and heat, "He doesn't stand a chance." Legion smirked, Nile staring long and hard at Gaul, searching for a sign of a lie or a stretching of the truth, but he found none, Gaul hid his emotions behind a thick cloud of willpower and hard-headed stubbornness. Either Gaul could do it, or he'd die trying, there is no other option. "You all need to be scarce, now." He said, everyone wondering why with a confused look. "Because I can hear his sonic booms getting closer."

---

Downtown San Diego

It truly was just seconds, as the literal roof of the storage building was lifted off of it's beams and rafters, flooding the dark hideaway with fresh sunlight, the columns of dust forming solid pillars of sunshine through the entire roof. Holding up the massive piece of concrete was a familiar face across the Southwest, the Hero of Sunlight himself, Solar, and his opponent looked little more than a rat caught a cage. Staring up at the man-sized-monster, Gaul felt a deep seed of revenge fester within his gut, and prepared himself mentally for the confrontation. Standing behind him was no one, his allies elsewhere, and his new recruits alongside them. They would certainly be watching the fight take place, but this was a battle only Gaul could participate in. "Mustafa Gaul," The man thundered, his powerful vocal cords announcing his presence across several city blocks, "At last I've found you."

Casually, Solar tossed the concrete ceiling onto the nearly empty parking lot, damaging only a single parked car, the powerful hero descended from the heavens to meet his unworthy opponent. "You have a dark heart of villainy brewing within you, armed with unimaginable power and drive. As a hero, you'd be well-admired and respected, but as a villain, you have nothing but my hate and damnation. You may choose to come without a fight, but you will answer for your crimes in Tuscon and El Paso, with or without force. Speak now, villain."

There were no words, only a single action, and that was Gaul ramming his fist as hard as possible against Solar's smug face. Before Solar made his entrance, Mar touched Gaul's body, transforming it into a harder, stronger version of his own skin, and muscles but at the same time, giving him some hints of damage to increase his overall power. The impact knocked Solar clear through the wall on the other side of the open-roofed structure, and the shockwaves ripped apart the wooden storage boxes around Gaul. His fist still steaming from the impact, the mad villain bolted towards Solar, intent on continuing his offensive.

[Tomia]

Weatherman Fight
"Pick me up" The strange shrunken girl said to Mars, who now stood over nine feet tall within the metal frame of Rocket. He was confused and unsure what was going on, but figured it couldn't hurt to listen to her. Besides if he didn't she might hurt Kiris' cover with Weatherman.

"Uh okay" He replied, bending down as quietly as he could so to not alert the villain before gently picking up the mouse sized woman. Once she was safely in his hand he decided he needed some questions answered, "So who are you? And why are you so small?" He asked her with a scientific curiosity.

"The name is Megamorph, and as for why I'm so small, well why are you a giant robot? Superheroes usually are strange right? Well there's no time to exchange stories, right now we should focus on stopping the weather weirdo. This is not my natural state, I can shrink but I can also grow. So you throw me at the old wind bag over there and..."

"You grow in size and take him down." Mars said, finishing her thought.

"Exactly! Now come on, let's do this!" She said, turning in Mars' hand and taking a position that looked like she was at the starting line of a marathon.

Mars was unsure about throwing a human being, but she seemed sure so he took a deep breath and braced himself. Then Rocket's arm flung forward, strongly but clearly with restraint, and Megamorph flew from his hand. Suddenly her form began to grow until she was at least as tall as Rocket if not taller. She gave out a strange battle cry and swung her fist towards the unsuspecting Weatherman. He went flying from the mere strength of the impact, slamming into a nearby gift shop boutique.

"Ya! I did it!" Megamorph yelled out, but suddenly started to lose balance from her large size. She toppled over like someone on stilts, and Mars realized she was falling towards Kiris.

"Look out!" He shouted as he dove towards his teammate, Rockets ankle boosters activating moving him at high speeds. He reached her just in time, and grabbed her while diving out of the way of the falling shape-shifter.

"Ugh, sorry, need to work on my balance more." Megamorph said, reverting to human side as she rubbed her back for relief from the impact.

"That's an understatement." Mars said in an annoyed tone. He had clearly been worried about Kiris in that moment. "But thanks for your help, we..."

Suddenly he froze as he saw Weatherman rising from the wreckage of the gift shop, pushing himself to his feet. "What insolence! Running my time with my adoring fans! You will pay for this!" He said, raising his hands menacingly as lightening sparked from his fingertips.

Mars braced himself for the attack but suddenly he saw figures move towards them from behind weatherman. They were flying, and holding hands which Mars found a little strange. As they approached, he realized they were superheroes, ones he recognized even.

"Weatherman, don't you ever get tired of this." The Los Angeles Star Red said as he dropped from the sky, landing with graceful ease. Red's suit was a tasteful combination of body armor, and what looked like a NASCAR driver's track suit. He wore a red helmet, that fit tightly on his head, but had a clear glass screen that allowed his eyes to be seen.

"We certainly do." Blue said, dropping to his other side. Her outfit was quite different. She wore a blue skirt, and a white shirt that said the words "Team Blue" on them. She didn't wear nearly as much in the way of armor, and instead of a helmet wore a visor that covered her eyes but allowed her hair to flow free.

"No fair!" Weatherman shouted. "You heroes are always interrupting!" He shouted, sending a blast of lightening towards Blue who avoided in effortlessly by simply moving to the right. Mars had never seen someone move so quickly. She ran towards Red, the two high-fiving before it was suddenly Red with the super speed. He ran towards Weatherman, grabbing him with a single hand before swirling him around like a terrifying merry go round.

"You know Weathy, if you want to get people's attention" Red said, before stopping suddenly and holding the villain in the air. "You should try being less easy to beat." He said slamming the weather fiend into the ground.

With that dealt with Red and Blue turned their attention to the three young heroes. Mars felt a little intimidated. Red and Blue were famous members of the Los Angeles Stars. At 22, the twins were the youngest heroes currently on any NASL team. Needless to say he was a little star struck(hee-hee).

"So uh, who might you three be?" Red asked, standing over Weatherman's unconscious body.

Dante
Roy was running out of ideas fast, and things seemed to be falling about. The new kid with the snakes was screaming in pain, and while Roy wasn't sure why he imagined he might have some emotional connection to the snakes that had died. That, and Carter seemed to have gotten distracted and the wind storm that had been the only thing holding back Dante had stopped.

"Alright, we need to get out of here. Start running, I'll buy as much time as I can!" Roy told the group, stepping towards Dante, with his staff extended forward. If needed to die fighting Dante so others didn't have to he was willing. "Come on you glorified Xbox, let's see what you've got!" He shouted, swinging the staff down towards her head.

Dante quickly blocked the strike, grabbing the staff and twisting it from Roy's grasp before using her left had to grab his throat, lifting him in the air.

"Your death will be meaningless." She told him as he struggled to breath.

Suddenly the ground beneath Dante started to shake and her grip on Roy loosened as she looked around, unsure what was happening.

"HELLO SAN DIEGO!!!"

A man in a colorful spandex outfit was suddenly flying through the air, his foot slamming into Dante and forcing her to drop Roy entirely. Roy breathed deeply in relief, turning around and realizing who had come to his rescue, the eccentric Captain Quake.

"Now Dante, I thought we agreed that your whole apocalyptic pandemic thing had a much more east coast vibe right?"

"We made no such agreement." The robot stated matter of factly before charging the leader of the Stars. Quake lifted his hands in the air and the earth beneath Dante shook violently, so much so that she lost her balance, face planting right into the ground.

"Don't be embarrassed darling, everyone makes mistakes." He said with a smile, leaping out of the way when Dante got to her feet and charged him. "Yours was coming without real backup." He said, and that's when Roy noticed there was someone behind Dante.

The suddenly glow and warmth that reminded Roy of a heat lamp confirmed to him that it was Star Queen, Los Angeles' second in command. She wore a white spandex uniform, with the image of a supernova emblazoned on the chest.

"Let's find your melting point." She told Dante as a massive ball of energy grew in her hands. Dante's metallic skin began to peel at the intense heat as she was forced the to her knees by the exposure to such intense energy. "Huh, I'm disappointed." She said mockingly before suddenly dispelling the energy and slamming her fist into Dante's head, seemingly knocking down the killer robot for good this time.

"Another great win for the Stars!" Quake said with a pleased tone,before seeming to notice the group of teens for the first time. "Huh, you there, who are you? Children shouldn't be in a place like this, it's far too dangerous." He told them, his tone getting more serious. Roy saw Frost Bite stepping forward, he couldn't see her face but her body tensed up as if she was about to be in the fight of her life.

"We are NOT children! And this wasn't YOUR win! People almost got killed because you took your time getting here!" She shouted at him. Quake's expression dropped like a stone. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. "An..." He started before catching himself, people were watching. "Listen little girl, it's not my fault you and your friends decided to play hero. We got here when you could and you should be glad we did." He then turned to the rest of the group. "Now, get out of here before...."

Suddenly they were no longer alone, as paramedics and police, but reporters as well began flooding the zoo. As Dante was being dragged away by Star Queen and the police, the press hurled questions at Captain Quake.

"Quake! Quake! What did it take to defeat Dante! Do you think this will effect your NASL rankings?" A reporter brandishing a League News microphone and camera shouted.

Meanwhile the press were starting to notice the Young Bloods as well. Reporters from various local news organizations came up to the heroes, clearly curious. When they saw Night-Shade in particular, they really got excited.

"Night-Shade! Are you a member of the Stars now? Did you help take down Dante? What is your reaction to Hero Weekly naming you the hottest hero bachelor?"

Roy absolutely hated this part of the job, hated it to his core. "No, no comment, and absolutely no comment." He told the swarm that surrounded him as he pushed through to find the others. One by one he collected them, made sure they were okay and gathered them in a group. They would have to answer questions so they should do it together.

"Alright, we'll answer a few questions." He told the eager crowd of reporters, "And I really mean a few."

"Are you a new super team? What's your name? And how old are your members?" Mike Thompson from San Deigo News asked, and Gabriela Cortes from the local league news chapter wasn't far behind. "What's your team name? And who is your leader?" She asked as the whole crowd flashed pictures and awaited an answer from someone.

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

“I’m Wendy.” She told their new ally after Mike and Casimir introduced themselves. “But you can call me Wifi. As the others said, we’re a bit new to this whole Superhero team thing. Do you want to join us?”

Just then she heard Mike’s remark about opening up with her disabling attack sooner. While his tone might have been of a joking nature, it only further to reminded her how she had almost been too late to help the others. “Sorry,” She told him. “I got a little caught up trying to find where everyone was on the zoo’s security system, but they must have fried every camera they came across. By the time I got over to you guys the fight was well underway. I’ll try to get to the fight sooner next time.”

Park In-hyun
San Diego Zoo

"Yeah, I think I'm going to join you all," she readily agreed. Wasting time here would be a waste, and to be part of these...heroes seemed to be the best choice she had at that time. "Why Wifi, though? That's a strange name for an alias, unless your powers have something to do with the internet connection," she continued to responded to the Wendy's statement. Oh joy to the world.

They were on their way to the main scene of the enemies (or rather, what left of the villains in this zoo) when Park spotted something. "Hold on, you all go ahead, I'll...saw something," as she made her way to the cafeteria. There is a cafeteria, abandoned. Except, for a woman, in a red-colored skin, scrounged on what seemed to be a collection of plates, empty and half-filled. "Ew," was all she could mustered as the woman sensed her position and lunged at her, knife at hand. She avoided it quite easily, but found herself a little bit flustered by the sudden attack. She dodged one of her lunge before she rushed into her and put her to sleep via a heavy blow to the head.

"Bang, or at least that's bang," she said, muttered in the end. She took the photograph of the woman, as an evidence. "Is this the result of the drug, infused by our blood? Nasty piece," she investigated closely to the woman, unconscious as ever. But it's as if the woman was tired when she attacked her. Unknown to her, the body would slowly withered until it turned into an ashes. She left the scene hurriedly, confident that the photos she had would be sufficed as evidences for now, not knowing that the woman is dead and turned into ashes...

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Kirisvala realized as she saw a giant fist smash into Weatherman that her question about whether he could control or somehow induce volcanic explosions or not would have to remain unanswered, the man now lying in a wreck some distance away, presumably unconscious. Needless to say, the pink-haired girl was very astonished at the fact that a giant person had appeared from out of nowhere and knocked the villain out. She was further bewildered by the fact that Mars wasn't anywhere to be seen, but that fact quickly dropped in priority when she noticed the shadow looming over her and looked up to see the giant girl about to fall right on top of her. Eyes going wide, she froze in fear for a moment, but fortunately for her, Mars rushed in and picked her up in an instant, the girl instinctively throwing her arms around his neck and clinging to him.

Looking at the giant fall over completely, Kiris let out a sigh of relief, quite grateful that she hadn't been caught underneath. But when she turned her gaze up to look at her savior, she jumped a little, startled. She obviously hadn't seen Rocket before, nor had she seen Mars get inside of the robot, so when she saw the metallic creature that was holding her, the first thing that came to her mind were the stories of the great war that her people waged against the Theocracy, which understandably made her quite fearful. But hearing Mars voice from within as he chastised the other girl, the alien relaxed a little, though in turn a warmth spread across her cheeks as she realized that it was the boy who was currently holding her, feeling embarrassed and a little happy about it and the same time.

Her attention, much like his, was brought back to Weatherman as he stood up from the wreck he was buried under, somehow having withstood the giant's fist. "Um, I'm not really a fan, I was just tryin' to trick you. Sorry about that!" She told the villain as he chided Mars, sincerely feeling a little bad about it even though she knew that he had to be stopped one way or another. Before she could say anything else and before he could react to her words, though, two people arrived from behind Weatherman, a man clad in red and a woman dressed in blue. They proceeded to, in few words, firmly kick the villain's cloudy butt, before turning their attention to her, Mars and the former giant, questioning their identities.

"Oh, I'm Kiris!" She cheerfully introduced herself to the two heroes, before pointing at the robot still holding her. "And I think that's Mars in there, and that..." She continued, pointing at Alice this time, but coming up blank. "Um... I don't know who that is, actually." She stated plainly, before regaining her upbeat demeanor and turning back to the heroes. "But! We are heroes! We're just gettin' started though." She explained.

After a moment, she looked up at Mars again. "Um, by the way... You can let me down now..." She said, blushing a little as she remembered her situation. Once Mars let her down, though, she smiled up at him, speaking sincerely. "Thanks a lot for savin' me."

Then, she turned back to the heroes, tilting her head. "Also who are you guys?" She asked them, curious, having never seen them before.

[New Neros]

Gaul | Solar
San Diego

Titanomachy

A thunderous noise shattered the skies as fist met flesh, a punch thrown by a superhuman colliding with another superhuman and creating a sound loud enough to break apart glass for a block around. Locked together, mere inches from each other, Gaul and Solar traded blows of equal weight and power without regard for skill, wanting only to inflict maximum harm on their opponent. Blinded by ideals and armed with iron-clad willpower, neither force of nature would yield until the other was ground from existence. People fled out of fear, but the brave remained, capturing the fight on camera and in video. It was a sure-fire viral video, Solar in San Diego, fighting against the upstart villain, Mustafa Gaul.

Safe from the masculine atmosphere of the battleground of City Center, Nile and Legion stood side by side, watching the fight take place through binoculars supplied from the gift shop of One America Plaza, the tallest building in the city. Situated around them was the other members of Orion, all of whom looked rather disinterested in the brawl or were preoccupied with other matters. Mar sat next to Cannon, the two scrolling through their phones at rapid pace. "Looks like Weather Man and his people are getting thwarted." Cannon said calmly, his voice monotone and uninterested.

"Of course." Legion replied, "When that bastard didn't want to wait around for Gaul, I dialed him in." He spoke but didn't take his eyes off the fight, which was getting increasingly harder to watch as the speed and momentum picked up. Next to him, Nile was more on edge, putting himself in Gaul's shoes and just continuously finding himself overwhelmed. Gaul, however, pulled through and continued to fight despite each earth-shaking hit he was given. Even from the height of the building, the sounds echoed loud up the skyscraper. "Not like I did anything though, they probably knew he was up to something the minute he announced himself."

"Do you have no loyalty to your comrades?" Nile asked, seeing Legion just repeatedly plot and scheme.

"Weather Man wasn't one of my people. We know of him, he's a friend, but not one we like to work with." Legion answered honestly. "He's an idiot that just wants attention."

A titanic blow knocked Gaul down the street abruptly, slamming him into the base of an office building full of worried on-lookers and white-collar workers. Solar was quick to pursue, flying at the villain at high speed, yet Gaul ignored the blow and the damage it inflicted, leapt out of the crater he had made, and slammed into Solar prematurely with a clothesline. The sudden hit rocketed Solar to the street, cracking apart the asphalt and leaving Gaul's forearm steaming, but the fight had no room for stops. Gaul whipped himself around and assumed a fighting stance as Solar leapt from his own crater, sending a hard straight punch at Gaul.

The villain leaned to the side instinctively to dodge, mentally noting that the speed was unreal, he didn't even see or hear the punch coming. Down the street, the failed strike created enough force to blow away car and shatter what little windows remained on a skyscraper several blocks down. Gaul responded with a kick to Solar's midsection, which caught in an admirable fashion, the sheer force thundering across the abdominal wall of the hero, but the brute simple took the punishment with a slight grimace. Solar used his left arm to pin Gaul's leg into his body, and prepared to slam him into the ground. Before he could, Gaul responded again, and smashed Solar's face with his other leg, coming completely off the ground and twisting his leg out of Solar's grip.

Solar lunged forward with both hands to grab the villain, but he was just as quick, throwing two hands up to lock onto Solar's grapple attempt, firmly planting his feet and center of gravity. It was evident that Gaul had learned much about Solar's fighting style from their initial bout, Gaul flashing back to that fight every time he noticed a muscle fiber move on Solar. Little was spoken in their engagement so far, no need for words when fists conveyed meaning and purpose, a nonverbal debate raging between their philosophies and outlook. Gaul grit his teeth as Solar pressed down with significant force, the ground giving way around Gaul. In a moment's notice, Gaul threw his right knee up against Solar, and collided with his sternum.

Solar exhaled heavily and backed away from Gaul, clutching his chest with one hand. Gaul stood his ground and did not advance, unsure of the hero trying to lure him in with a feint. A burning rage took hold in Solar, however, as his emotions started to boil forth. Gaul was an opponent he had flattened just days before, but now, the villain stood toe to toe with him and was actually hurting him, driving him back and countering each strike and move with ease. Solar initially chalked it up to Gaul's martial artist abilities, but these specific counters were tailor-made against Solar, like Gaul could see them coming before they happened.

Solar unleashed his white-hot fury against Gaul with blinding speed, cracking a sonic boom as his roared forth, Solar gave Gaul an uppercut at supersonic speeds, spending him high into the air before he could even register. The hero followed through, however, and blitzed ahead of Gaul with his flight, punching the man's face once more and sending him crashing back down to the asphalt with significant collateral damage to the road and sidewalk. The villain barely opened his eyes before Solar finished his combo, yet was unable to prevent the hero from following through. Solar, using both feet, slammed his heels into Gaul's chest as hard as possible, tearing the entire road and sidewalk apart, shaking every building in a five-block radius with earthquake-level forces, and driving the crater Gaul had made deep into the road, cracking through to the sewers.

Gaul couldn't breath, every time he tried, his lungs simply would not inflate. His entire ribcage was shattered apart like glass. His eyes were wide open, and floating above him was Solar, a hateful, vengeful look smeared on his face. One that felt indifference at the lethal means he was willing to go for the sake of heroism. Gaul grit his teeth together as his breathing still refused to resume, and a trickle of blood began to soak through the gaps of his teeth as his internal organs were undoubtedly ripped apart. "Do you feel that, villain?" Solar quietly asked over the struggling sounds of Gaul. "It's defeat. It's death." He said plainly, without remorse. "Your kind are nothing but killers and murderers, your death will be celebrated. The kind of people who committed great sins on Wonder Island all those years ago... Every time I see your face, I'm reminded of them."

Solar floated down and stood over Gaul, watching as the villain continued to just move, let alone breath at this point. People started to crowd around the deep crater, steadily filming the scene unfold. Solar placed his foot on Gaul's head and applied slight pressure, causing the villain to struggle even further. "With those people watching, even with millions, if the entire world was watching, I would still end our fight like this. No one else would dare risk their reputation in such a way. I live with so much shame for what happened in this city all those years ago, that I do not care what the outside world thinks of me. You could not have picked a worse hero to challenge, because my pain is far greater than yours."

The Hero of Sunshine put even more pressure on Gaul's head, and despite his inability to move, an inner debate raged within Gaul. "Not here, not now. I have so much more that I have to accomplish. Of all heroes, of all people, Solar doesn't deserve the right to kill me. I feel it... A darkness in his heart. I'm dying, there's no doubt, but I won't. I just won't die. Not here." His mind screamed, racing, his eyes opening as wide as possible and becoming bloodshot as Gaul forced everything into his body, every ounce of mental willpower to move at all costs, regardless of pain or damage. "I refuse to die." With impossible speed from torn muscles and ligaments, Gaul grabbed Solar's ankle and violently twisted, completely breaking the foot he was holding him down with. Solar roared in pain and took flight, his right foot limply dangling while he readied his left to finish the job.

He brought his leg fast and hard, driving deep into the cement, but Gaul moved at the last minute, crunching himself up and twisting himself violently around, punching Solar in the face with every ounce of strength he had left. What Gaul didn't realize was the effects of his damage empowerment were kicking in, and the amount of power he could put out was far greater than what he could have dished out previously. The sloppy strike broke apart Solar's cheek bones and orbital, exploding his eyeball with a deep, sinister red tint. The hit sent Solar tumbling hard against the wall of the crater, while Gaul reluctantly stood up and grabbed the sides of his chest. He yelled in agony and pressed hard against his broken ribs and flexed his abdominal muscles, forcing his ribcage to open once more, allowing blood-stained oxygen to inflate his lungs.

He could physically feel the blood pooling his air ways, and knew he had precious little time to end the fight, so Gaul planned accordingly, jumping from the crater and back onto the street, causing many of the amateur superhero film opportunists to scatter and scurry away. Solar sprung forth from the crater after a moment, colliding with Gaul and dragging him across the asphalt. Gaul dug his heels in at one point and stopped Solars momentum, pivoting on those heels, and planting him against the ground. Wasting no time, Gaul reared back and punched his face once more, driving the broken facial bones into the side of Solar's face and completely destroying his right eye with the impact.

In an unexpected move, Solar moved his entire body forward and smashed his forehead against Gaul's face in a loud, wet snap, flinging the villain away and depositing him upon the street. Gaul opened his eyes and saw tears and stars, feeling his nose for a moment and finding it's cartilage and bone dislodged deep into his face. Still, despite the overwhelming injuries and the pain he was enduring, Gaul stood back up, and watched as Solar lazily limped toward him. His foot was broken, ribs cracked, face completely bloody and unrecognizable, and worst of all, his eye hung from it's socket, left attached by a few strands of his optic nerve. Gaul gave a concerned look, feeling bad for the hero for a moment, but remembered his own grave injuries, and wondered how much the two looked alike at this point.

"Don't give me that fucking look." Solar snapped, spitting out blood and bits of bone or teeth as he spoke, "You think this is over? It's far from over, I won't quit, I can't quit!" He yelled, galloping quickly at Gaul and lazily throwing a punch. "I... I can't..." He said, throwing strike after strike, which Gaul easily deflected or blocked entirely. "I can't lose in the sunlight... My energy, I'm so tired... I won't quit!" He screamed again, regaining some momentum and hitting Gaul across the face. The villain recalled his own internal conversation, how similar it was, the willpower Solar held was just as extreme as Gaul, as were his viewpoints, but they could not coexist. There would be another fight at this rate, and neither wanted one. Win or die, at all costs, both agreed to themselves.

Solar grabbed Gaul's tattered shirt and pulled him forward into a vicious headbutt once more, undaunted by the damage or pain it would give to both parties, driving his nose deeper into his face and closer to his brain, Gaul recoiling quickly from the hit. "You need to know something, Gaul." Solar said plainly, his words slurred and almost unrecognizable as blood pooled in his mouth repeatedly, Gaul sitting on the shattered ground for a moment. "I'm not a hero, not in my own mind at least. I've adopted violent tendencies and measures to fight the very thing I hate the most. Heroes are people who save other people." Solar explained, "And no one is going to save you."

Those words struck Gaul harder than any hit he'd ever been given, they tore at his very soul and his very being. To Solar, he was someone not worth saving, his life was meaningless or forfeit, just because they were on opposing sides. It hurt, because Gaul knew it, too. By now, the battle at the Zoo was concluding, and the heroes who ended it would be racing to Solar's aid. Gaul was alone, against the wall, out of options, and full of hatred at the ugly truth he had been told. He leapt up from the ground and curled his fingers together, slamming himself into Solar with sharp force and impact, enough to stagger the hero, but not enough to send him back, surprisingly. Gaul looked bewildered, and saw his entire forearm sticking through Solar's chest, his knuckles covered in scarlet red as Solar himself looked surprised.

Gaul stepped back quickly, pulling his arm free of the hero, who quickly just dropped to his knees with a glossed over look to his eyes. The villain stared at his hand for a moment, wondering what went wrong, but remembering Solar's complaints about energy. Gaul had forced him to rapidly deplete his energy storage and he couldn't replenish it in ample time, so the same hits Gaul had been giving him before were absolutely lethal now. It was not Gaul's first kill, but something about it seemed unpleasant and wrong. All at once, he started to feel drowsy and faint, recalling also that his time to finish the fight was about at it's end. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell forward, but a strong gravitational force prevented him from falling onto the ground.

The curious onlookers captured the entire incident, including the murder and now the floating villain. From a nearby skyscraper, several individuals floated naturally above the destroyed cityscape, Gaul floating up towards them. Legion spoke quickly and with vigor, laying claim to the life of Solar and doing just as planned, putting the team's name to fame. "Mustafa Gaul has slain one of the mightiest heroes on the continent, Solar. Together, we will forge a new identity for the outcasts, criminals, and villains so mistreated by heroes in every day life. Those oppressed and downtrodden will rally behind us for support and unity, as well as protection. We are Orion, and we are hunters who prey upon heroes." With that statement, the group quickly moved away, Black Luminous having manipulated the team's gravity to fly alongside him. Quickly, the team of villains vacated downtown, and disappeared over San Diego Bay.

[Tomia]

Mars was a little concerned when he saw Kiris' frightened look, it was then he remembered he hadn't shown or explained Rocket to her and had no doubt that seeing the machine for the first time would be startling. "This is Rocket, by the way. I built himself." Mars said referring to his mech suit with pride. before suddenly Red and Blue arrived on the scene and defeated the Weatherman. Mars was shocked, Red and Blue here in person? Mars had always been a huge Los Angeles Stars fans and see two of the team's high profile members left him more than a little star struck. Mars nodded when Kiris' told them his name, glad that his stupefied expression was invisible to them.

However he was pulled out of his stupor by Kiris asking to be let down. It was only then that he realized he was still holding her and was once again glad his face was concealed as he was blushing furiously at the thought. "Uh ya sure thing, sorry about that." He said as he hastily but gently let Kiris down towards the ground. He was happy when she thanked him, pressing a button near Rockets chin that opened the mask portion of the suit, so that Kiris could see his face as he smiled. "You're welcome of course, I didn't want to see you get hurt." He told her, then turned back to Red and Blue, shocked that Kiris didn't know who they were. Before he could comment on it, Red smiled at Kiris,

"Never heard of us? That's actually a bit refreshing. I'm Red, and this is my side kick Blue." He said with a mischievous grin, as Blue elbowed him in the side. "Don't listen to him, the Stars only took him on because I wouldn't join without him." To that Red stuck his tongue out before turning back to Kiris. "Heroes you said? Well, glad to hear you all weren't here looking for trouble, but aren't you all kind of young?"

"We may be young sir, but we want to help make the world a better place. There's no right age to start trying to make a difference." Mars said sincerely, and Red gave a friendly smile.

"Can't argue with that kid, you seem like you've got guts. Just be careful, I don't mind kid heroes, but others don't feel the same. Keep your head up though, maybe when I'm captain of the Stars there will be a place for you on the team." He said and Mars really lit up at that thought.

Then they heard commotion nearby, and Blue raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like media, come on, we should get over there." She said to Red and the two ran off. Mars figured the team would be there as well so he went after them and waved at Kiris and Alice to follow. Before he approached he stepped out of Rocket and placed the mech back into the suitcase, figuring it was best not to attract too much attention. Unfortunately that seemed impossible for Kiris, as multiple reporters noticed her and started to surround her.

"You there, what planet are you from?" One short and balding reporter asked her, raising a microphone towards her. Another reporter approached, holding a video camera. "What made you decide to fight crime here on Earth?" They asked as cameras flashed, taking pictures of her.

[The Flutterlands]

Andrew Marks

The agonizing pain in Andrew's head, feeling the deaths of his snakes finally passed. The connection between him and Rango, severed monetarily by the death pain, reconnected. The boa constrictor looked around, Andrew finding himself surrounded by dozens and dozens of people with cameras and microphones shouting everywhere. Andrew was confused at first, but then fussed that fight was over.

At Rango's urging, Andrew got back onto his feet. However, he was immediately spotted by a reporter who ran right to him. "You there!" She shouted as a cameraman caught up with her, "Are you one of these dashing young heros? What is your hero name? What is your power? What are you? Where did you come from? Are you related to Naja?"

With shock from the sudden outburst of questions, Andrew just stood there gapping. "Huh? What? Uhhh...?" spoke thr snake boy, lost for words at having a camera and microphone shoved into his face, "My name's just Andrew and I talk to snakes. I-i was just asked to help. So I... Huh? Who? I don't know who... uh... Have you seen my-"

"THERE YOU ARE!" Cried a sudden voice as Andrew's caretaker shoved herself through the great crowd to grab hold of her foster child, "Where were you? Ms Cartwright and I were so worried about you?! Why didn't you stay at the Reptile House so we could find you? Ms Cartwright and the other kids are already on the bus..."

Andrew was even more lost for words, but utterly gratefulnto find his caretaker. Rhe snake teen hugged back at the old woman. "Uh... I... I got scared Ms. Page." he replied nervously, "The snakes told me that bad guys were close by. I got scared and wanted to find you guys. Ran into the bad guys actually but..."

Andrew's snake Rango turned to Carter and the other kids who were close by. "I got rescued by them." He said, "They have powers like I do and they fought the bad guys..."

The snake boy turned to the other Meta kids and smiled to them. If they had powers like him, then obviously he wasn't anymore a freak than they are. "Uh... Thanks guys." he said, grinning in a way that showed his fangs, "You guys really saved my neck... Think we could... Think we could be friends?"

[Absolon-7]

Roy absolutely hated this part of the job, hated it to his core. "No, no comment, and absolutely no comment." He told the swarm that surrounded him as he pushed through to find the others. One by one he collected them, made sure they were okay and gathered them in a group. They would have to answer questions so they should do it together.

"Alright, we'll answer a few questions." He told the eager crowd of reporters, "And I really mean a few."

"Are you a new super team? What's your name? And how old are your members?" Mike Thompson from San Deigo News asked, and Gabriela Cortes from the local league news chapter wasn't far behind. "What's your team name? And who is your leader?" She asked as the whole crowd flashed pictures and awaited an answer from someone.

At a blinding speed Kabuto raced ahead of the rest of the Thunderstruck-group with a plan for distracting Dante already in the works. It would never see the light of day since or ever escape his mouth since by the looks of it the Dante and Weatherman front had been neatly finished by the arrival of professional heroes. During the past year he had not really bothered to learn about any of the local superheroes he mostly operated at street-level and had never thought he would interact with any A-listers. He was walking towards his teammates when suddenly a horde of reporters were flooding the zoo right behind police and paramedics. Just what I needed...freakin' paparazzi and journalists!, he thought bitterly has he tried turning tail but Roy had a different idea as he found him among the crowd .

"Do we really have to do this?" he mumbled under his breath on the way to the group. As the team settled they were hit with a barrage of question that he took the liberty of answering a few. " Well, we are the Young Bloods and I don't really think we have a leader maybe?" He answered bringing up his hands to show his confusion. Unbeknownst to him, he had brought up the very hand holding Thunderstruck's helmet which reignited the passion of the reporters which a few were now focusing on him.

"Did you defeat the villain Thunderstruck! If so who are you?" said a particularly attractive female reporter.

"N..no I didn't beat him myself. But uhm I'm Kabuto just so you know," responded Kabuto attempting to answer any way he could.

Who was followed by a middle aged one with a receding hairline asking who shoved her out of the way, "Since you have his trademark helmet does that mean you killed him? How does it feel to kill so young? How does your team feel abut having a murderer in their ranks?"

"Listen pal,I didn't kill shit!" barked Kabuto back at Receding Hairline Man.

Relentless on his attack Receding Hairline Man countered, " Then how do you explain the blood on the helmet? Does your team condone the trend in superheroes using excessive force on villains?"

"What! No this is just oil..." he retorted at the reporter his defenses wavering. "We only use necessary force."

"Then where is Thunderstruck now? Was his corpse fed to the zoo animals to dispose of the evidence?", returned Receding Hairline Man now bringing out the cavalry.

Freaking hell!, Kabuto thought frantically looking at his sides hoping one his teammates would back him up.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

"I'm gonna be honest, kid. I'm amazed that you don't have any major bone fractures or anything of the sort after what you just went through." Spoke an old man with short grey hair as he rummaged through an old cabinet on the wall of the dining room of a small house not far from the park. Sitting nearby with a disgruntled expression on his half-concealed face, Icarus shrugged.

"Yeah... It's nothing miraculous, but I suppose I do heal quickly." The young man admitted, eyeing the house with mild curiosity as he conversed with the elderly figure. "Not that I enjoy putting that to test, though." He added as an afterthought. A pair of seasoned brown eyes glanced at him.

"Then why keep doing this? You know this is going to happen again, sooner or later." The old man announced with an almost prophetic air about him, before turning back to the cabinet to continue his task. In response, the vigilante simply shook his head.

"I can't do that, doc. There's people out there that need to be taught a lesson, simple as that." He responded.

"Then why not get rid of the problem altogether? Why not make an example?" The doctor questioned as he picked up a small bottle from within the cabinet and struggled to read the text on its label. A long, heavy silence followed his question, and though at first he did not bother breaking it, he eventually spoke again. "What's the matter? Did I bring up a touchy subject?" He asked. More silence followed.

"...It may not look like it, but..." The young man finally replied, mulling over his answer even as he spoke. "I don't want anyone to die." He stated, silently wondering how much truth there was to his statement, when it was the anger and darkness inside of him that first drove him to his path.

Much to his surprise, this time it was the doctor who kept the silence alive, only speaking after a long pause. "It might not make miracles, but your healing's nothing to scoff at, kid." He spoke, completely changing the topic. "You're not a monster that can grow back limbs, but you still do in minutes and hours what others need weeks and months for. I know a lot of people who could use that." He said as he finally picked out a bottle of pills from the cabinet, closing it and walking back to Icarus. "And I believe you. One instance is by no means enough to prove decisively that what you're saying is true, but my grandson is alive thanks to you. If you say that, I can only believe you." He said, offering the bottle.

Nodding at the man, Icarus took the container and eyed the label. "What are these?" He asked.

"They don't teach you to read at school these days?" The old man replied, earning a glare from the vigilante. "Just painkillers, in case you get all beat up again. Your nose's fine now and you've mostly healed on your own, though you should still take care not to use overwhelming force when your own body can't take it; either way, this is the most I can do for now." He stated. "Just don't abuse them, they're strong."

Pocketing the bottle, the young man nodded once again. "Is this... legal?" He asked, earning a laugh from the doctor.

"No, but neither is what you're doing, so just take them. Come back if you need a few sutures or something like that." Was the response given, along with a light shove in the direction of the door. Muttering a vague affirmation, the vigilante walked past the living room, nodding in acknowledgment at the two other inhabitants of the house, an adult and a teen, both displaying a striking resemblance to the doctor.

Stepping outside, the man in black took to the rooftops once more, unwilling to allow the tribulations of that day to get to him. He was growing weary for certain, but he still had energy inside of him, and so, he began patrolling the city once more, keeping an eye out for anyone who threatened to make the lives of others miserable, no matter whose side they were on.

He soon realized he wouldn't have to look for very long. Though unaware of the events taking place nearby, Icarus was relatively close to the San Diego Zoo, and soon came across someone who had only recently left the area, an armed thug who escaped the heroes that had taken down the rest of Weatherman's henchmen and all of the villains that had invaded the park. Running away with a bag of stolen jewelry in tow, the thief suddenly stopped as he saw Icarus leap down from the rooftop of a nearby building, landing in front of him. Before he was able to react, the thug suddenly had a fist bury into his face and flew back from the sheer force of the impact, his face now smeared with blood.

"Think of that pain the next time you have the brilliant idea of stealing or pointing a gun at someone." He said as he picked up the pistol and sliced it in half with a small blade of crackling blue energy, before tossing both halves away and picking up the bag instead. "Now, tell me where you stole this from, or I'll make you, and you won't like that." He threatened the criminal, not knowing that someone else approached.

---

---

Kirisvala listened attentively as the two heroes, intuitively calling themselves Red and Blue, introduced themselves. She smiled at the friendly manner in which they spoke to them and each other, though she was more than a little confused when Blue mentioned something about being 'taken in by the stars'. To someone who was unfamiliar with superhero teams from the US (and indeed, superhero teams in general), the phrase took on a rather cryptic meaning. But before she could bring that up, Red changed the subject, pointing out their age. She frowned a little at that, and tried to think of something to say, but Mars was unsurprisingly faster with it and made a comment that seemed to convince Red that they were serious about their duty and that being young was not an issue.

All the noise going on nearby caught the group's attention, and Kirisvala was no exception, turning her head in the general direction of the mass of reporters that currently surrounded the rest of the team and the other members of the Los Angeles Stars. Red and Blue quickly ran off, and Mars soon followed, waving at her so that she would come along. Nodding enthusiastically, she ran after him, quickly catching up as he shed the robotic armor and smiling as she saw him in his regular human form once again.

However, she was hardly ready for the barrage of curious journalists that soon surrounded her. Though she was outgoing by nature and didn't mind the sudden crowd, she wasn't exactly acquainted with Earth's media culture enough to understand what was going on. Hearing the questions that were sent her way, she tried her best to answer them while sticking close to Mars for comfort.

"Oh, I'm from Adai! I was living in New Adai for a year though. And I started fighting crime to help my friends!" She answered in her usual cheerful demeanor, though these first few questions only gave rise to several more.

"What's your heroic alias?" One of the reporters asked, pen and paper in hand.

"Um, my what?" She asked back, but before she could receive any clarification, the man was interrupted.

"What team are you from, if any?" Another journalist inquired. "Are you aware of the Young Bloods Massacre? If so, what are your thoughts on it?" Another one questioned. "Who's your sponsor?" Asked a third. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the barrage, she gently tugged on Mars' arm, taking care not to hurt him or damage his combat suit with her claws.

"Um, Mars? Who are all these people and why are they asking so many questions?" She asked him.

[Anxiety Cafe]

In San Diego Zoo

"Thanks a lot, Nathan, you really saved my ass there. As bad as I might feel now I would feel much worse if someone else got hurt or worse because of something I built. Not that I'm not sorry that you had to burn yourself! But, you know what I mean. Oh, and sorry for, you know, snapping. I guess it didn't work despite being so complex, anyway," Alexis stammered, grabbing his hand as he helped her up. She awkwardly pulled her hands out of his and he blushed a little.

Laughing, Nathan managed to say "It's no problem. I'm sure you'll get it to work. No one ever gets anything right on the first try, so you're just one failure closer to success!"

She smiled at that, going to help out their bruised and battered teammates, when Roy yelled something about poison on their comms. Nathan couldn't feel anything but tired, and worried about how he could possibly combat an airborne poison, but he still sprinted towards their last location. Unfortunately, he got lost in the large zoo, making one too many wrong turns in the twisted layout. Cursing the ridiculous of the situation, he ran around more, trying to find a map.

"Why couldn't I have flight too?" he muttered, out of breath. It wasn't long before he found Roy and the others, but it was long enough. The two remaining villains had been vanquished. Feeling a little relieved he didn't have to fight the villains he had no clue how to fight, and then silently scolding himself for it, he walked towards the rapidly growing crowd, made up of both his teammates, coming from all directions, and reporters.

His teammates looked uncomfortable under the barrage of questions, as Nathan joined silently, trying his best to ignore the cameras.

"Roy!" he called, looking for the boy. "Are all of them safe and locked up?"

Unfortunately, him calling out led to the wrong kind of attention.

"Who are you?" an young woman asked, holding out her microphone. "Are you another member of the team?"

Nathan nodded in response, not wanting his voice on television in case his parents were watching. And they would be watching, looking for new targets for Lycan. He shuddered at the thought, then steadied himself and melted back into the crowd while she looked for a new victim in the mayhem.

---

In San Diego Zoo

Marionette and Violet were now a couple stories high. Marionette seemed unable to move outside of the field, or perhaps she thought that moving out would do nothing. Violet, however, struggled like mad against Marionette's threads. New lines of blood arced their way across her body, cutting into her new outfit (No!) the more she struggled against the girl's hold.

"Let me go, you sick bitch!" Violet screamed in her face.

They would both definitely injure themselves from that height, although she was sure neither would be fatally affected.

Marionette simply giggled, stretching the threads tighter.

Violet tried headbutting her, a sharp crack echoing as their skulls collided. Violet reeled back in pain, writhing against the threads holding her. Her concentration faltered for a moment, and the two fell a couple feet before their descent slowed and they began to slowly rise again.

Marionette cocked her head, looking at Violet with sick fascination. She laughed again, using another thread to grab the baton Violet had been clenching in her hand.

"You gotta flip the switch, hun," she taunted, before using her thread to jab it into Violet's side. The two girls fell, Violet released from Marionette's threads. Violet hit her head on the grass below, knocking herself unconscious. Marionette, on the other hand, cushioned herself with her threads, managing to stay conscious as she walked over to her inert opponent. Staring at her curiously for a couple of seconds, she bent down and carefully took off the mask Violet wore, which covered the lower half of her face.

"Hmmmm," she cackled. "I wonder who you are..."

With that, she put the mask back on, and escaped from the zoo through a side entrance.

Violet woke up a couple minutes later, her head pounding and her muscles aching.

"Ughhh," she drawled, feeling the blood at the back of her head.

She slowly made her way to her car, driving home haphazardly as she nursed her wounds.

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

Park In-hyun
San Diego Zoo

Needless to say, she didn't expected the waves of reporters coming in through the gate to get their reports on the just-recently happened field conflicts between the villains and the heroes. Not helped when the neighboring team of heroes came in as well. "Oh, this is just great. Now what am I supposed to do with evidences for them?" She couldn't saw the others, as the waves of reporters, paramedics, police officers, they all went in, barged the gate through.

"Did you part of this group? What is your name? What is your powers?" all these questions put her on the edge. She wasn't supposed to be known! For one, it's dangerous for her. This masquerade could be broken in no time, and well...that's bad. She hurriedly dodged down the questions, but then she saw Kabuto and saw an opportunity for assistances, considering his attitude with the reporters. She hurriedly went to his side, "Oh, he still alive. Barely, maybe. But still alive. And no, zoo animals didn't disposed him of evidences," as she moved along. She already put on her mask, to conceal her identity.

"Kabuto," as she whispered to him, "You owe me an assistance to my own investigation, right? I want to send a photo to you, of that drug dealing investigation," she said.

---

Jonathan Jackson / Symbiote
Somewhere in Algeria

Jonathan hid inside a cave of rocks, near the sea. For the past few weeks, he has been busy. Busy with his own struggle...with his powers. Busy with the fact that he needlessly killed civilians for their life souls. He was in San Diego, he charted a travel to North Africa for a living eke out of existence. Far from dangers, but even then he made the dangers of himself. His symbiote wasn't too much of a hassle, but it forced him to absorb life souls. There were several heroes that he met, most of them D-list or maybe C-list, if ranked.

He has been living out in the beaches, struggled and unable to kill himself out of mercy. He wants to live, he wants to use his powers for good, but it seemed he was destined for the evil life...

[The Republic of Atria]

Wyatt watched as Dante was quite viciously taken out by Star Queen and Captain Quake. It took those two mere seconds to make more progress than the entire team had made during the whole trip. It only deepened his concern that maybe this wasn't the right profession for him. Too much danger, too little payoff. That coupled with his frustration over his lack of control made him seriously reconsider why he thought this would be a good idea.

Thankfully the paparazzi hadn't noticed him yet. Mars seemed to just ignore them and push through to get away. The advent of a new teenage super team was going to be a big story, one that he was going to try and avoid. Sneaking around during a fight was one thing, but getting around the press was going to be a completely different problem. However, he swore he saw one of the journalists look straight at him... And nothing. No pointing or yelling or anything. Could they not see him? Was it his magic doing this? Was he invisible the entire fight? That would be hilarious in hindsight, however, he was interrupted when he felt a hand on his should and jumped, almost hitting his head on the ceiling and landing on his rear end.

He caught the look of a Dra'Qunni woman. However, she was much taller than he was, easily two whole heads taller and bore a half smile presumably at his antics. Her scales were a dark gray, and she clearly exercised quite often. "Who-Who are you? And get down! They'll see you!"

The woman looked at him, and then back to the press. "They won't, I've made sure of it. I've been trying to locate you for several weeks. You may have heard stories about me from your parents. I am Naligura."

That answered one question, and raised about a thousand more. His parents had told him stories about the Elders when he was young, but they assured him that both of them were supposed to have been killed long ago. How was she alive, what did she want with him, how was he going to keep his blood pressure within safe levels at this rate? "I have too many questions."

"And I will answer them. Come. Don't worry about being seen by the humans. They cannot see or hear you." To demonstrate her claim she stepped out into the open, and not a single person batted an eye. She then urged him to follow. Wyatt complied after a moment's hesitation. "You clearly don't want to be here. Why stay?" She asked.

Wyatt carefully made his way over to her, still nervous. True to her word, no one noticed despite both of them clearly standing no less than 50 feet away in broad daylight. Naligura reached out and grabbed his shoulder and with a brief flash of light, they were back at his home. His parents both had to work today, leaving it just the two of them. "How did you find me? What do you want with me? How did you survive all this time? Are you going to kill me?" He asked rapidly.

The Elder simply sat down on the chair the family had in their living room, she motioned for him to sit across from her. He complied. "You must relax. I realize adolescents have quite a store of energy, but you must calm yourself. This stress is unhealthy and you should not be subjecting yourself to it. I will answer your questions in order, but remain silent until I have finished speaking. I am able to track the high amount of magical energy you release solely by living. I want to teach you how to use that. Carefully. And of course not." She figured that telling him the story of how she survived for so long was secondary to why she was here now. "You possess great magic potential. You however, do not possess the means to learn how to use it properly. Through no fault of your own have you made no progress, it is simply due to the lack of proper instructors. Tell me, what are you called?"

It took Wyatt a moment to realize he had been asked a question. "Oh uh, everyone calls me Wyatt."

"An odd name."

"It's a human one. Mother and Father wanted to ensure that I remained as human like as possible. Though now some people are aware that I'm not human. They're strangely accepting of it." He replied.

"I see. And what is it you are doing with your friends?"

"Well, it's a long story but they all wanted to be superheroes. So they're going out to use their abilities to fight criminals. I..."

"Accomplished little. Due to your lack of skill. Something I intend to rectify. Do not worry about explaining to your parents. I've already spoken to them. Their biases aside, we both realize that you have no other place to go for this teaching and the sooner you learn how to control your magic the sooner you will no longer be a threat to yourself or others. I will also answer any more questions you may have. And, to better assist you if you still wish to be this 'superhero' I will provide you with some combat training as well. Or rather, I will get someone who is far better at it than I to teach you. Which. Why do you want to do that?"

Wyatt perked up immediately when she offered to help him control his magic. "Yes! I'll take anything to help! As for why I want to... Well. I'm sure you know by this point, but more and more of our kind are waking up from stasis and humans are somewhat wary of those who are not them. I wanted to set a precedent. That when it's found out that I'm not a human, but a different species all together, that they would accept us because those of us who they know, they know to be good people. It would make the inevitable transition much easier on everyone." He explained.

"I see. How noble of you. Now, if you want to get started right away, we can. If you are willing to trust me I promise that this time, tomorrow you will return to your friends with renewed confidence and vigor." She offered her hand and Wyatt took it almost immediately.

"Let's do it."

[Segral]

Carter Graystone

All in all, shit was bad. Andrew was collapsed on the ground with his head split open, mentally or physically or socially or something like that, everyone was running in all directions, and now Carter had just sent bio-weapons to his teammates with love because he couldn't concentrate for five seconds without his phone ringing. All in all, what Carter and a lot of Internet users call; a shitshow.

However, some idiot in stupid-looking spandex came in to save the day, along with his, *ahem*, fiery second in command. Compared to idiot and superhero over there, Carter looked like an idiot, still kneeling looking he was doing a hadouken or kamehameha like some idiot. But honestly, the spandex wanted to make him yell "Hey, Quakey-Face, the 70's called, they want their look back!", but held his tongue in fear of getting quicksanded six feet under. But, they got the job done. A few quakes, fireballs and left hooks later, Dante was a pile of scrap on the ground, the other three had been rounded up....or so he assumed...and the reporters were coming in to capture it all on camera. Despite the overwhelming joy he felt that he had scraped through his first mission alive, there was another feeling in his mind...exhaustion. He hadn't realized how much that cyclone had taken a toll on him. His muscles ached and shook with cramps, and they just felt weak, like he could barely clench his fists. Everything kind of felt muted, like he had just gone on a plane and his ears were popping. His head was all heavy and sore, not searing, but just dull pain. Everything was just...dizzy.....

He caught sight of a few things before he flopped on the concrete like a fish. The reporters, Wyatt walking somewhere, some guy yelling in front of a camera, and Andrew motioning to him, near some older woman. Maybe that was his caretaker. Again, at least he had saved one life. That was all he was capable of thinking as he just laid down, throat dried out, itching with thirst, hands shaking slightly.

"What's wrong with me?" he croaked out aloud.

[Auropa]

Mike Mathews
Zoo Interview

He felt a strange mixture of emotions as Roy grabbed him from the horde of bystanders. Until then, he had been steadily trying to sneak his way out without drawing attention to himself but gave in when he realized Roy was gathering other members of the team as well. Not to mention that he was still recovering from the roller coaster of emotions after taking down thunderstruck, hearing the team’s situation with Dante and forcing himself to push his limits nearly non-stop. On top of everything, it seemed like the Young Bloods were only able to narrowly avoid disaster by the sheer luck of the pros arriving in time.

With all the cameras around it was safe to say that the Young Bloods were making their first debut as a team and while he was far from being back at 100%, Mike was just happy he could stand straight and that his mask was still intact. As for the rest of the team, several were still scattered around and tying up loose ends but as for the ones here, there looked to be a range of emotions across them, one that surprised him being Frost Bite’s. As much as he like to joke about her, he respected her. She was detached, quiet and stoic but undeniably capable, now though, now she just seemed angry, seething even. While he couldn’t be certain, he figured it had to do with the flight against Dante, ‘maybe something happened, or maybe she gets angry when she fights’ Mike figured. Interrupting his thoughts however was a line of questions that instantly sent his thankfully covered face into a scowl.

"Night-Shade! Are you a member of the Stars now? Did you help take down Dante? What is your reaction to Hero Weekly naming you the hottest hero bachelor?"

‘Of course’ he figured. ‘No need to talk about safety, damages or actual news, let’s all gossip and talk about our super clubs instead’ he bitterly thought to himself. Thankfully Roy answered with a wave of no comments before finally giving in and agreeing to answer questions, seeing the opportunity, Mike figured he’d tried to answer a few when he could. He wasn’t naïve enough to think he could change anything but he wasn’t going to back away from his first opportunity. Before he had the chance to say anything though, Kabuto took the lead. It seemed to be going well until Mike realised the unmistakable metal helmet he held in his hand ‘that’s going to be a problem’.

“Well, we are the Young Bloods and I don't really think we have a leader maybe?"
"Did you defeat the villain Thunderstruck! If so who are you?"
"N..no I didn't beat him myself. But uhm I'm Kabuto just so you know,"

The next reporter turned out to be some drama-hungry tabloid desperate for a story.
"Since you have his trademark helmet does that mean you killed him? How does it feel to kill so young? How does your team feel abut having a murderer in their ranks?"
"Listen pal,I didn't kill shit!"
"Then how do you explain the blood on the helmet? Does your team condone the trend in superheroes using excessive force on villains?"
"What! No this is just oil...We only use necessary force."
"Then where is Thunderstruck now? Was his corpse fed to the zoo animals to dispose of the evidence?"

While Park In-hyun spoke to defend him, Mike couldn't help but feel like she was adding fuel to the fire. Finally at his limit, Mike spoke up.
“We appreciate and understand your concern…” fighting back the urge to sound angry or curse, he worked to sound calm and controlled. As much as he disliked it, his parent taught him how important the media could be to a hero and their influence. “… As of now Thunderstruck is being detained by local law enforcement, I'd even encourage you to speak to them, their as much responsible for the safety of citizens as us. As for the helmet, understanding the danger of his armament, Kabuto took the lead in dismantling his highly weaponised armour, limiting the threat our officers need to face.” For a moment the questions stopped. Understandably it must have been a strange picture, as it was, Mike was wearing a scratched-up mask and a shredded hoodie with black Kevlar exposed beneath it. As far as costumes went, not exactly heroic or imposing.

“And who are you? What’s your role within the Young Bloods?” another reporter asked
Knowing he couldn’t use his real name, Mike managed to think up what he figured was a relatively fitting code name “My name is Ashe, and like all of the Young Bloods, I work to help law enforcement however I can. In this case, we worked to contain the situation, as they ensured the safety of the nearby public.”
“You still haven’t answered how old you all are, and why are you fighting criminals at such a young age.”
“While I can’t say my age, we’re doing this to make a difference and protect those who need our help.”
“Are you saying that the current heroes are failing to uphold our safety?” A familiar, balding reporter asked.

At this, Mike hesitated. So far, he had known what to say from watching his parents. He knew how to express his ideas and ideals publicly and watch his words while doing so, but that topic was toxic, because while he could easily deny it, it was exactly how he felt. By agreeing to it though, he’d drag his team through the mud but by denying it he’d be going against his own principles. After a slight pause, he finally decided on some neutral words but knew his moment of silence spoke volumes.

As he continued to speak, one figure caught his attention. Carter, who was usually full of energy and life, was lying down. Looking closer, he realised that he was face down and starting to shake. For a moment Mike hesitated, on one hand, it could be a side effect of using his powers too much. Causing a commotion over Carter just trying to catch his breath would only undermine the team’s debut. On the other hand, in the off chance this wasn’t normal, Carter needed help.
Deciding on an action Mike took a step back, as though he were done answering questions, and tried to stealthily open his com, hoping the others hadn't turned theirs off.
“Do you guys see Carter? He’s lying down in the crowd, anyone know if somethings wrong with him?”

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

Running through the now completely trashed zoo, the sound of Yoshiro's headset crackling to life forced Red and Yoshiro to temporarily stop as they waited to see what the message was. Thankfully, it turned out to be good news: The villains had been defeated, meaning their mission was finally over. The two Young Bloods gave each other weak smiles, neither seemingly able to feel true satisfaction out of the whole ordeal. Sure, they'd technically won, but based on what they'd seen it was clear that the casualties of this attack were going to be high. Sure, they could at least take some sort of comfort in knowing that they'd likely saved countless people thanks to them showing up, but knowing that there were many that they didn't save made their victory seem rather hollow.

Still, a win was a win, and for that much they could be grateful. And while he would refuse to admit it, Red knew that he was on the brink of exhaustion. Even if they'd managed to meet up with the others sooner, he doubted he would've been much good in a fight. The same could be said about Yoshiro, although Red had no doubts the girl would've once again pushed herself past her limits. Heroic as that may have been, pushing herself further could have resulted in her getting seriously hurt. Red made a mental note that he'd do some tests with her later to help her better understand these limits as well as how to minimize the damage that occurred after she overused her powers.

However, in order to do that they'd need time to rest back at Wonder Island, and based on the swarm of reporters that had surrounded the rest of their team, it looked like it would be a while until they'd get a chance at that. Red swore under his breath as the reporters drowned the other Young Bloods in questions, most of them being downright disrespectful. Not wanting to get caught up in the mess, Red tried to find a way past the crowd. Unfortunately, before he could a young female reporter caught a glimpse of him, causing her and several others sprint towards where Red and Yoshiro were. Immediately, a barrage of questions began.

"What's The Mask doing here? I thought you worked alone!"

"Were you working with these villains before changing your mind?"

"The Police Chief says you're a public menace. Do you plan on turning yourself in?"

"Some people say you're just a rip off of Nightshade. What's your response to that?"

Red wasn't the only one the reporters were interested in, as several questions were bombarded at Yoshiro as well.

"Who are you?"

"Are you with the Young Bloods?"

"What's your powers?"

"Why are you associating with someone the police call a public threat?"

Red gritted his teeth at the last one, but decided to keep quiet. That is, however, until the next round of questions came out.

"Who's the hottest member of the Young Bloods?"

"Do you think it's Nightshade?"

"Are you in a relationship with Nightsh-"

The sound of a safety being clicked off made the reporters freeze, looking over to Red to see the vigilante having his sidearm partially slid out of its holster. Now that they had finally shut up, Red finally spoke up.

"Neither of us want you hyenas barking at us any more. In case you haven't noticed, we just went through hell and back dealing with those assholes. Go find someone else who's nice enough to humor your stupid questions, because I'm definitely not the type that's going to do it."

The reporters stood in shock for a few second before practically all at once ran off elsewhere, knowing fully aware the reputation Red had. Once they were gone, Red slid his pistol back into the holster, letting out an exhausted sigh as he did. He'd sooner shoot himself in the foot before giving these people anything, especially since all they ever seemed to do was throw him under the bus at every possible opportunity. Even if he hadn't done that little stunt there, he didn't doubt for a second that they'd somehow paint him still as a dangerous vigilante who deserved to be put behind bars. Might as well live up to the reputation, he grimly thought before glancing back towards Yoshiro, doing his best to wipe away the deadly glare he'd given the reporters earlier from his face.

"Sorry about that. I just can't stand those people. All they care about is the equivalent to celebrity gossip, trying to find anything that will grab the attention of readers regardless of how much truth is behind it. For them, who's dating who is something to put on the front page while people who were hurt and killed are given a small notice in the back of the paper."

Red glared at the flock of reporters he'd chased off, only to see them hammering away even more questions to the other Young Bloods. While he did his best to control himself, his voice betrayed the pure contempt that he felt for them.

"It's so sad it's almost funny, in a messed up sort of way."

Turning back to Yoshiro, he continued speaking, his voice growing softer than before.

"I'm sorry if what I just did ends up reflecting negatively on you there. I should've kept my emotions in check. Hopefully they'll just focus on the whole 'Rouge Vigilante' bit about me, and they won't take note of you. But in case they don't, it probably wouldn't hurt to talk to them and make it clear you're not associated with me."

And like that, he began to walk in the direction of where the jet was waiting for them. After a few steps, he turned his head back to say one final thing to Yoshiro.

"Tell Roy I'll be on the jet going through what information I can gather from the security cameras and such. And also warn him that he's probably going to have to do some...damage control because of me."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

---

---

Having patched up both Mike and Casimir to the best of her ability, Alexis was about to head off to look for the others and see if she could help at all against Dante (though she doubted it, given the limited nature of her current arsenal and the total failure of her mech's arm). However, before she went, she noticed Kabuto addressing her, and listened to his words, a frown forming on her face as she did so. While she could definitely appreciate his efforts to make her cheer up a little after feeling so down for being unable to contribute to the battle, the exact content of his words didn't exactly make her happy. After all, if she couldn't trust her machines to get the job done, then what could she do? Considering how her skillset was tailored for working with machines, gadgets and the like, she was a little annoyed.

However, she then heard Roy's warning cry and immediately worried for the fates of her teammates. Reacting a moment later than Mike and Casimir, the blonde girl rushed towards the area around the aquarium, using her rocket sneakers to move faster and arriving right behind her two friends. Fortunately, it seemed that the poison didn't really do a lot: not only were her friends fine, the area was also now crawling with paramedics, police officers and, more importantly, paparazzis. While she didn't particularly mind them, she was not looking forward to having to speak with them after such a stressful situation. However, it seemed like Roy, as well as Kiris, Casimir and some others, had most of the media's attention focused on them.

Of course, that did not save Alexis from being approached by a couple reporters. Putting on a smile, she did her best to answer their questions.

"What's that robotic-looking arm you're carrying?" One of them asked once the more basic inquiries were out of the way.

"Oh, this? It's, er, part of a project I'm working on. I took it here for a test ride and to help us deal with the villains." She replied, wisely opting to leave out the part about her test ride being a near-complete failure.

"What's your superheroine alias?" Another one asked. This time, the question took her by surprise. Truth be told, it was not a topic she had thought much about during the past two weeks, as she had spent most of her time improving the state of Wonder Island and its facilities or working on her personal projects; adding to that, there were a myriad names a person with her skills could take. However, one look at her failed project and a thought about the haphazard nature of her invention process were all she needed. A moment after the question was asked, she had her answer.

"Makeshift." She stated, resolve in her voice.

She didn't have the time to say anything else, however. Her comms suddenly spoke up, something unexpected now that the fight was over, and she took a step back from the paparazzis, raising a hand as if to tell them to wait a moment and placing the other next to her ear. Frowning as she heard about Carter's status, she took a quick look around in order to spot where he was.

"I got him." She replied through the radio, before walking over to where her fellow Young Blood was lying on the ground. Looking at him through her blue visor let her know more or less what was wrong with him, and fortunately, while it was no laughing matter, exhaustion was by far one of the less serious things that could have happened to him. Kneeling next to him, she offered him a smile as she placed one of her gauntlets above his body, the same green glow from before radiating from it and essentially working as a slow-acting agent that would help him recover his energy and regenerate any wounds sustained faster than he would otherwise.

"You'll be fine, buddy. Come on, lets get you back to the jet so you can rest a little, alright?" The blonde told Carter, attempting to help him up so that she could sling his arm around her shoulder and help him get to the jet. Getting him a beverage would have to wait until after that.

[Segral]

Carter Graystone

Carter was now starting to feel terrible. His heart was pounding hard, leaping out of his chest, smacking against his ribs. He was now breathing in in rapid gasps, sucking in air. His skin felt all cold and clammy, sticky even. "Fuck..." he muttered, his face still pressed against the asphalt. He had been in some tough spots. When his daddy had locked him in a small closet and forgotten he was there. When he had fallen off his bike during a jump and he broke his ankle in the middle of the woods, he wasn't sure how he'd gotten out of that one. But this was terrible. Not only did he feel more exhausted than he ever had, it was like no one was watching. No one cared. This sack of rollerblading shit was gonna die here because he couldn't control his tornadoes and some horny female reporters came for some Nightshade action. Not exactly a great way to go.

Suddenly, his com, still on his head, crackled to life. Mike had actually noticed him, and someone, Alex, Lexi, Alexi, whatever the hell it was, he was too tired to think by this point, was coming over. He thanked whatever God was shining above him, only to realize that was green light and Alexi staring out a visor with a cheerful smile. His breathing slowed a tiny bit, his heart beating a little less aggressively, a little strength returning to his limbs.

Carter waved off her attempts to help him, trying to get slowly but painfully to his feet. "Nah..I gotta get up myself, don't need help, thanks anyway."

It...really didn't work. He could barely sit up, let alone actually stand. His legs trembled too violently, were too weak to support him, and he collapsed back to the ground. "OK, scratch that, I need help. Now." Eventually, with Lexi's help, he managed to lumber up, slung on her shoulder, and start making progress to the jet, hampered by his sliding rollerblades. However, they couldn't escape all public eye, and a cameraman and reporter soon practically assaulted him.

"You there, are you a member of the Young Bloods? What's your name?"

"Er...um...yeah, I joined them. Muh name, it's...Carter. C-Carter Graystone. Hey mum, dad!" he said, waving to the camera.

"So, why did you decide to fight crime at such a tender age?"

"Er...for the money and girls?" he said, giving off a wheezing laugh. "But no, ser...iously, I just like...helping people, stopping c-criminals."

"You look a little fatigued, what happened to you? Did a criminal do this to you?"

"W-well, I thought it was a cool idea to make a massive windstorm and basically almost kill myself on accident. D-Don't worry, I'm fine, nap and I'll be fine. Peace, San Diego!" he said with a sign to the camera before continuing to walk off.

[Scotatrova]

Diego Belcourt

Ever since that terrible night all those months ago, Diego has spent his life running. Unlike the real world, with its boundaries and pervasive fear, out here, it was a simplier place. You knew were you stood. Survival of the fittest, and no one, not even the lone son of the Belcourt family of sorcerers, was "the fittest" all the time. As night came cascading down to turn the world into an almost black gloom and with the light of the moon illuminating the path ahead of him, his inner voice yelled Hurry up! He ordered his legs to sprint instead of run, but they disobeyed. She was probably about sixty paces behind him, or maybe fifty. Hurry UP! He ran lightly, ducking under branches and leaping over gutters, running no faster than his ability to perceive the danger out there. Soon, the clouds blanketed what remainded of the moon light.

In this darkness the best hunter in the world couldn't find someone hiding, especially one that can wield magic. crack. There was a sound, soft and close. Diego slipped into the shadows between two palms. He listened, sound was deceptive. Without a second noise it was difficult to determine from where the sound came from. Ahead and to the left, or was it off the trail? There was a rustle, definitely off to the left. He saw a piece of shadow detatch itself and move from left to right, it was a quick movement. The figure was coming his way, but from the body language it was clear the person had not seen him. The head was turned more toward the north. The shadowy figure emerged into a slightly brighter spot of light. From the soles of her boots to the top of her black flowing hair, the woman was tall and solidly built, with knife handles and pistol butts jutting in all directions. In her right fist she carried a huge bowie knife with an eighteen inch blade.

Diego looked away, still in place, and leaned back against one of the palms. His heart was pounding so hard and loud he could not understand why it didn't sound like a bass drum. He turned his head slightly and saw that she was still there, and he wondered how much time had just passed. Three seconds, ten, an hour, or no time at all? He couldn't tell at this point, none of this felt real. Hurry! screamed over and over again in his head. Be smart, find a way. Diego nodded, but in truth he had reached the top of his threshold for panic. One wild idea after another flashed through his mind, and he slapped each one away. Brash heroics, a suicidal charge, plans that were filled with tragic sacrifice and empty of practicality. He had to consider everything. The place, the time, the light, the breeze. Slowly, but surely, he began moving with the breeze, becoming part of its movement, away from the woman. There was a loud and sudden CRACK!

What he saw punched the air out of his lungs and nearly dropped him to his knees. It was too far away to see her eyes, but he was sure, in fact, dead certain, that one was blue and the other red as flame. She was staring right at him, and smiling. It didn't matter now, she had seen him. In panic, he used whatever he could muster to shoot a blast of energy in her direction. As swift as the blowing breeze, she evaded the blast as it then turned a nearby tree into a stump of smoldering ash. Now, he did the next thing that came to mind, the only logical thing. He turned and ran. Diego Belcourt ran for all he was worth. He ran for his life. As he ran, he could feel those eyes upon him, burning like cold fire into his back. God, what had went wrong and led to all this. He thought he heard the mocking laughter of the woman that he had just seen standing there. It was around 10 seconds after he ran that he heard her voice in the black, obscure darkness. "If fighting wasn't enough to save your family, what makes you think you can run from me?"

As he continued to run, he approached this building, too blinded by fear to make out what it was. He lept over some railing, and ran through what was the parking lot. The first thing to get his attention was this large, yellow school bus. Not thinking, and now running out of breath, he opened the door to the bus, ran to the back and hid between the seats. It took him a numb to second to finally realize where he was. Exhausted, he rested between the seats as the woman now made stride outside the bus. Twirling the the large knife in her hand, she carefully surveyed her surroundings. Diego was still wedged between the floor and seat, only then to hear the doors to the bus open. He felt his blood go ice cold and as he looked below the seat, he could see the boots of the woman approaching slowly. She slowly observed the row of seats as she made her way toward the back of the bus. She gave a cold smile as she passed each row. Diego rose up suddenly and began blasting bolts of energy at her, though she dodged them all. Finally, he just blasted the floor of the bus, which happened to temporarily, and miraculously disorient her. Using the seats for support, he leaned back and kicked her down with all his force. Then, he blasted the door off of the bus and just continued doing what he had been. Running. As the moon managed to break through the clouds, its light illumanted the front face of the building. Letters across the top, with no one around to read them, spelled "Thomsen High".

[United Kingdom of Poland]

As the fighting died down and other heroes joined their group in defeating Dante and the others, Wendy breathed a sigh of relief. While it hadn’t gone perfect, she knew she had at least done her part in taking down Thunderstruck. Maybe this hero gig would work out after all. She thought to herself as she ran towards Roy and the others.

But before she could regroup with them, the area began to swarm with cops, emergency personnel, and reporters. Panic welled up inside her as the they converged on her friends, not wanting to risk anyone who might know her past ca Pulling at her hood and scarf until only her eyes were visible, Wendy nudged her way through the crowd. Most barely paid her any heed as they jockeyed for position to talk to the more famous members of her group or the legitimate heroes, but she wasn’t to avoid all the attention.

As she burst through the edge of the crowd and turned behind a kiosk, she felt a hand brush against her shoulder as one of the reporters grabbed at her. “Excuse me miss. You’re one of those Young Bloods, correct?”

“Y-yes.” She stuttered, caught off guard. “I’m sorry but I can’t talk right now. I have to get going.”

“What do you say to people who think people your age shouldn’t be out playing hero?” He asked, shoving a small camera in her face. “That you’re causing more problems than you solve?”

“… I really need to get going.” Wendy responded, backing away from him.

“What’s your name?” He asked, ignoring the fact she hadn’t answered his last question.

“Please leave me alone.” She begged.

“Just answer the questions.” The report responded, grabbing at her scarf. “Unless you have something to hide.” Suddenly, he pulled back, dropping the camera as smoke poured from the device. If Wendy thought that destroying his camera would stop the man though, she was sorely mistaken.

“How did you… never mind. Do you realize how much of an invasion of privacy your powers are?” he began as Wendy whispered out a cry for help over the radio.

[The Republic of Atria]

Just before he grabbed his teacher's hand, he stopped. "Oh... Right. One second. I kinda left without telling anyone. I'd rather not have them scared that I'm gone." He said and picked up the phone, thankfully Naja's phone number was still on the memory. Otherwise he's probably get yelled at by... Everyone. She was probably busy dealing with the press still, which explained why he got her voicemail. "Hey uh, I'm not dead or in danger or anything. I left. I promise I'll explain everything tomorrow." He said and hung up. "Alright. I'm good to go. Sorry. It would make her look really bad if she lost track of someone she was supposed to watch over. And probably screw over everyone else."

"No need to apologize. I may not understand the culture of humans, but being entrusted with children and losing them is quite bad." She offered her hand and Wyatt grabbed it. She whisked the both of them to a large, dark room that had lights turn on shortly after they arrived. "I realize you were raised alongside the humans. So you are likely unaware of much of our culture."

"Yeah... Most of what I know comes from my mother and father telling me stories of the old days. They said that we had better technology than the humans, but that it was buried and no one knows how to use or maintain it. What is this place?" He asked. The room appeared to be quite sterile, if a bit dusty. It was also almost completely empty save for a large metal device in the shape of an arch and various cables coming out of the back. "What's this?"

"This was a device used to train the Hunhow. Do you know what they are?"

"A little. My parents said they were basically super soldiers, right?"

"Hm. Yes. In a way. Their original intent was to be servants of the Elders. Those with excellent talent in sorcery volunteered to be augmented with various improvements, both technological and magical. Increasing their prowess in combat to border that of myself and-" She cut herself off and made a disgusted face. "They are meant to be the greatest warriors of our kind. Unfortunately, the project did not make it very far and only a few Hunhow were made. After they were augmented, this was used to train them. One of the finest pieces of technology ever created by us. A pocket dimension where time moves faster than it does here. You can get several weeks worth of training done in mere hours. What will feel like days to us, will be hours out here. By the time we are finished, you will at least be competent in your magic and your parents as well as your friends will have only missed you for a few hours. To further ensure you do our name proud-" She stepped out of Wyatt's way and motioned towards a red scaled male stepped out.

Clearly the augmenting process wasn't perfect. But the results spoke for themselves. "I'm... Not going to have to get that done to me, right?"

"No. Unless you truly want it."

He didn't and breathed a sigh of relief. He was not fond of doctors, and even less so at the thought of surgery. "And what's he going to teach me?"

"I will be your instructor for sorcery. He will be teaching you how to fight. At least the basics. Teaching you any more than that would take far too much time. And most of your skill will come from experience. We will ensure you are not helpless when you are with your friends like you were today. You will still have to apply yourself mentally and physically for the situations you will be encounter. There is no way we can prepare you perfectly for every situation. But we can ensure you have the tools necessary to deal with it."

"That makes sense." He was still nervous, but more than a little excited as well. He was probably going to be sore for what would feel like awhile, but when he marched back to his team the next day, he was going to be a new man.

[Anxiety Cafe]

On Tolaer

Yierneg explored his new home for a little bit after the woman, Jennifer, had left. He found that his home did not exactly resemble his childhood one from Tolaer. While it was structurally the same, it also had a few Earth commodities that he found quite useful, most notably the refrigerator, the television, and a magic dumbwaiter that could make whatever food he requested.

He considered reading further into the spellbooks, but as soon as he opened it he got a headache remembering the disaster he had caused in the library. Instead, he set out to explore the city that the magicians called home. He began to walk towards where had had first entered the city, attempting to start conversations along the way. Most he greeted simply smiled and walked away. Some whispered, loudly, to their friends. Apparently word of his stunt at the library had spread fast, and it wasn't doing him any favors.

Soon, he gave up on conversation, choosing instead to make his way to the cafe he had seen in the desert earlier that day. As he entered the courtyard, however, he noticed Jennifer off to a corner, talking to someone and drawing with chalk. When Yierneg drew closer, careful not to make a sound, he noticed that she was drawing a rune, and muttering a spell! She stopped, satisfied, and Yierneg froze. The rune glowed as she neared, jumping into it and disappearing.

That must lead to the outside world!, Yierneg thought, galloping after her and jumping in.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a foggy area, boiling hot. He started sweating almost immediately. Tripping on a tree root, he fell to the moist earth, cursing all the way.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jennifer whisper screamed at him, her face not having any of the kindness she had before.

"What are you doing here? And where is here?" Yierneg asked in response, standing up and trying to brush all the dirt off of his fur before giving up.

"This is a demon's realm, you idiot! I was supposed to be here to save a golden goose!"

Miffed at being called an idiot but not wanting to make her any angrier than she already was, Yierneg stomped his hoof. "Well, get me out of here!"

"There's no time! He must have noticed our not-so-quiet entrance by now!"

As if on cue, a blue, scaly creature exited the forest around them. It was hideous, like an octopus with snake tails for legs. It's red eyes looked directly at them, and Yierneg immediately felt an overwhelming fear.

"Why have you entered my realm, Tolaerans?" it said, emphasizing disgust at the last word.

"It was a mistake, my great lord. If you'd allow us to return home, you would be rewarded," Jennifer bullshitted confidently, bowing.

After noticing Yierneg was not following her example, she looked at him through the corners of her eyes. "Bow, dumbass!"

Yierneg's nostrils flared. He was a prince! He would never bow, to anyone!

"I refuse to bow to this hideous lesser being," he snorted, tensing his muscles and preparing to run.

"Shit!" she muttered, reaching into the bag at her side and discreetly pulling out a pouch.

"Lesser being, you say?" the demon questioned, inching towards Yierneg with a dangerous air around it.

Jennifer launched a handful of gold dust at it, and it flinched, trying to bat it away.

"My eyes!" it screamed, all eight legs squirming. "It burns!"

In a single movement, Jennifer threw the pouch into her bag, and jumped on Yierneg's back.

"Run!" she yelled, her arms around her waist.

Once again, Yierneg's nostrils flared and he stomped his hooves. "I am not one of your Earth horses, Earthling. I demand you get off of my back, now! I will not be ridden!"

In response, she grabbed one of his wings, pulling it at an uncomfortable angle. Out of instinct he began running, launching himself over tree roots and branches and leaves, trying to flap his wings for takeoff before remembering she was holding one.

"Let go of the wing, human!" he yelled, glancing back at the demon, which was scarily close to his tail.

For once, she listened to him, and he tried flapping. The trees were too close for him to gain any height, especially with the extra weight, so he launched himself into the air with his legs and tried to flap his wings then. It worked! They rose higher and higher into the constricting fog, as the air became less and less breathable.

They landed in an empty clearing, far enough from the forest that the demon wouldn't be able to catch them for at least ten minutes. She jumped down, grabbing clay from her bag and forming it into a block. She muttered some words in a foreign language at it, and it began to grow until it surrounded them in a tight circle. She threw magic salt around its perimeter.

"That should keep him out for a while," she started, glaring at Yierneg like she was daring him to argue. "I'll get started on a rune."

She searched through her bag but found the chalk useless on the ground, so she instead grabbed a spellbook and flipped through it frantically. After finding a spell she liked, she held the book up in the air with one hand, holding out another at the grass. She began muttering another spell, grass burning in a direct line from her hand. Satisfied with the drawing, she casted the transportation spell on it.

She waved a hand at Yierneg, who sighed in relief and jumped onto the rune, only to find his hoofs hitting the solid ground of the grass. Confused, Jennifer flipped through her spellbook again, when the eerie silence of the realm was interrupted by a malicious laugh.

"Your tricks will not work here, sorceress. Rarely do you find a place for energy from other realms to seep into here. And all you have done is made yourself a cage!"

They looked up, only to see the demon's red eyes staring down, while the wall extended five feet up and a grate appeared at the top. Her bag was drawn out of the cage through the wall, along with the spellbook. Thinking quickly, Yierneg grabbed his Temporal Talisman and grabbed the book before it hit the wall, hiding it behind him. He called down more fog in the hopes the demon would not see.

"Perhaps your friends will give me back my other treasures once they learn of your imprisonment," the demon mused, apparently unaware of Yierneg's deception.

He released a breath he didn't even know he was holding when the eyes disappeared and he felt the demon's presence disappear.

Glaring at Jennifer, he angrily said "What did you drag me into?"

---

In the Ocean

Asha and Del had gone around the tip of South America into the Atlantic, following the cries of injured sea creatures. Their desire to help these creatures led them all the way through the Strait of Gibraltar, into the Western Mediterranean. A pod of Blue Sharks had been distressed, three of the children had gotten too curious and gone too close to the Algerian shore. Their bodies returned to the ocean less than an hour later. As Asha left Del behind to console the sharks and neared the shore, she noticed dozens of aquamarine corpses floating on the surface, in some sort of sick graveyard.

Almost bursting into tears at the sight, Asha continued with resolve. She surfaced, gasping in her first few breathes of air, and noticed a strange humanoid black creature inhabiting a cave of rocks. Suspicious and not wanting to leave the ocean, she devised a plan.

"Help!" she gasped, her voice echoing off the rock face. "I don't know how to swim!"

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

In the Ocean

Asha and Del had gone around the tip of South America into the Atlantic, following the cries of injured sea creatures. Their desire to help these creatures led them all the way through the Strait of Gibraltar, into the Western Mediterranean. A pod of Blue Sharks had been distressed, three of the children had gotten too curious and gone too close to the Algerian shore. Their bodies returned to the ocean less than an hour later. As Asha left Del behind to console the sharks and neared the shore, she noticed dozens of aquamarine corpses floating on the surface, in some sort of sick graveyard.

Almost bursting into tears at the sight, Asha continued with resolve. She surfaced, gasping in her first few breathes of air, and noticed a strange humanoid black creature inhabiting a cave of rocks. Suspicious and not wanting to leave the ocean, she devised a plan.

"Help!" she gasped, her voice echoing off the rock face. "I don't know how to swim!"

Jonathan Jackson/Symbiote
Algeria

As he sat down, lied his back on the wall of rocks on the shore, he snored. With nightmares, to a natch.

You should keep me as your front all the time. You can't handle it alone.
Those aquamarines deserved less than me! I helped you escape! They didn't!
You're healed. You should know better than try to restrain me!

Definitely not your normal nightmare dream. He woke up, strangely sweating and sort of despairing. This parasitic symbiote turned uglier, and the struggle to not embraced it fully kept weakening. And more. And more. "It's...not...good," he said it to himself. Soon, however, someone called out from the ocean. Of help. "I...need...food," life souls from ocean creatures were enough, but the fact that he devoured their souls and left too many died proved that...non-humans are not enough.

"Hold..on!" as he put the symbiote to encased him in the Symbiote Human form and moved slowly to the ocean, to the direction of the sound. He kept moving ahead, "I'm...coming!"

[Indo-pasif archipelago]

The last thing I saw was Dante charging at me, before a blur stopped it on its track. I used the chance to try to run away, but I barely able to move before somebody turned off the light and I couldn't see anything.

For an unknown time I the world went dark until I opened my eyes and saw that a person had switched the light back on. I blinked a few times before I stumbled to my feet. With some helps from a near by light pole I managed to stand up. It seemed that Dante had been knocked off and our backups had arrived. Lots of people with camera flashing around and hundreds of voices screaming questions at my ears. Roy tried to dismiss them with no luck, much to his (and my) disgrace. Couldn't they see that somebody had a goddamned headache right now?

I glanced at our helpers. The LA Stars were dealing with their own bunch of reporters and newsmonger. Oh well, at least that means less problem with the media. Still, the ones around us annoyed me greatly. Others tried to answer them, but I knew better to ran away from the swarming reporters. Things could get problematic with the media.

I moved slowly backwards, away from the flashes of cameras in front of me, just to bump into another group behind us. Like Piranhas and a bloody meat, they questioned me and the other Young Bloods ferociously. I tried what Roy did, again in futile. Damn these guys just wouldn't give up, would they?

"Calm down Wendy, just ignore the tabloid ones." I told her through the earpieces. "Try to come here, they won't be as much as a shark if we're together. Or you know what? Told him he offended you. That should make him go." Some of the ones I'd ignored started to look annoyed. Would not be good if they decide to make up some phony headlines from this. I fiddled with the communication device, try to see if I could have a recording function. At least if they try to twist my words, I could post this record on YouTube or something.

"Okay slowly guys, one by one. We're a little bit tired so please don't push us around." I tried to reason with the reporters. "Alright, let's start with your name, what is it?". I contemplated the question for a while before answering. "Ah, I have never really thinking about it. I'm not here for making a show, I'm here to try to help my city." One of the reporters pushed forward and asked: "You haven't got a name for yourself? Are you just having fun around disaster or what?" I frowned at that, and quite visibly some of the other reporters give the guy a sour look. From the grin on his face I almost sure he's one of the guy from sensational magazine or something. "Well I do have a name, but it's not my priority. A name is nothing without a cause behind it. But if you insist, call me Wondermaker." Another reporters asked me, "What's your opinion on those that fight against young Superheroes?". I couldn't help but smile at this question. "We live in America, everyone can have their own opinion. All I'm trying to do is making small wonders for San Diego, and maybe other people would have more faith in these world. If people want to oppose that, well it's their choice to do so. But I believe that everything happens for a reason, and the gift God has gave to me would be most useful if I use it to help others."

The crowd was getting larger, and everything overwhelmed me. I told them I wouldn't be answering any questions for now and waved them away, much to their chagrin. Now's just waiting for Naja to help us from these paparazzi and brought us back to the Island.