Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Tomia]

You're sure that we'll do better than the Wonder Warriors?"

Blue hadn't been expecting such a serious question when she came to meet Mars and Mizu. Honestly teenagers were usually either too excited or intimidated to ask something like that. But she owed them an answer, and had a feeling her words would matter a lot to them.

"I think from what I've seen you're an awesome group of kids, and yes I have faith in you that'll do better than the Wonder Warriors. The trick is, when you all get famous and swarmed with admirers, don't let it go to your head alright? Stay the same humble and determined people you are now, and you'll be great." The LA Star said with a charming smile.

Mars beamed up at her, it was incredible to have one of your ideals give you such high praise. "We'll do our best ma'am, I mean, Jenny, I promise."

"Well, its getting late. Mars and Mizu you two should get some rest." Naja told her wards.

"Well, here's my card if you two ever need advice or want to talk, just remember you have Red and Blue in your corner." She told them, handing them each a card and giving a wave before heading off.

[Bentus]

Yoshiro/Scarab
Wonder Tower, San Diego

---

As the team’s celebration continued on in full-swing back in the dining hall, Yoshiro had found it easy to sneak away without drawing much attention to herself. Walking calmly through the Tower’s corridors, the sounds of conversation and the bustle of the gathered heroes increasingly faded from earshot. Smiling, the young girl was totally at ease within the team’s hideout and was still riding high from that last fight. Things couldn’t have been going better for the Scarab: she hadn’t felt much resistance from Yoshiro since her encounter with Lech, and she was quickly getting comfortable in her new mental home. It didn’t even seem to matter that some of the Young Bloods had learned about her presence, with the team’s leaders keeping the information to themselves as they slowly realised that she was the one holding all the cards.

The girl’s grin widened, and she even started humming happily to herself as she continued on towards her destination. She could really get used to this whole hero gig, she’d decided. Despite her initial doubts, the Scarab was starting to understand the appeal. It was all excitement and action, without all the pesky responsibilities that came with actual leadership - it seemed like the best of both worlds to her, and the plentiful chances to tug on the strings of her teammates was just the icing on the cake. Still, it didn’t pay to rest on her laurels. Coming to a stop at a door midway along the corridor, Yoshiro’s eyes idly scanned the name tag that had been added to identify it as the entrance to one of the few inhabited residences within the Tower: Red.

Trying to door knob, the Scarab wasn’t surprised to find it had been locked while the boy was out of town. Smirking, she rolled her eyes at the thought of him thinking that would be anywhere near enough to keep her out. Reaching behind the door with her mind, she felt for the series of locks and latches that had been done up on the other side. From within the room, it seemed like a series of invisible hands suddenly pulled and twisted open all of the locks on the door at once, each one flicking open in a rapid fusillade of clicks and snaps until the entrance slowly swung open to reveal the smug teenager standing on the other side.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Strolling into Red’s room, Yoshiro flicked on the light switch as she took in her new surroundings. Now, let’s find out what you’ve been up to. Although the clutter had been reduced by Red’s packing, he had clearly left in enough of a hurry, and cleaning up his desk hadn’t been high up on his list of priorities. Empty cans of energy drink lay scattered around the hero’s workstation, while a few of his gadgets in various states of maintenance also sat throughout the room. He’d made his bed at least, so that was something, although it looked like Red had hardly slept in it as he’d dedicated his nights to his desperate research on the Scarab.

That had been a source of amusement for the girl, and she had to hold back her laughs whenever she saw the boy’s growing fatigue during his futile efforts. It was cute, in a way, to see how deeply he cared for his dull little girlfriend, which made severing that connection all the sweeter for the Scarab. Still, she hadn’t broken in just to gloat over an empty room.
Approaching Red’s desk, the Scarab sifted through the stacks of papers that he’d left strewn about. She scowled at the omnipresent coffee and cup stains that dotted his notes, with handwritten scribbles and highlighted passages adorning the pages alongside them. Scanning the array of research articles and conspiracy sites that the hero had sifted through, the corner of the Scarab’s mouth twitched upwards into a smile. She could practically see the kid’s descent into desperation as he drifted further and further away from reputable sources, until he was grasping at straws on the fringes of the internet. It was comical. Or at least it was until the Scarab’s view froze on a single word peering out from a page buried in the pile. Narrowing her gaze, she reached out and pulled the document out from the stack, careful not to scatter the rest of the print-outs and photocopies. Scanning the paragraph, it was the typical conspiracy garbage that jumped from aliens to secretive government agencies to mystical arts. It hardly even flowed coherently, but that one word stuck out like a red flag, somehow having crept into the author’s rambling.

It was her name.

Frowning, the Scarab felt her pulse quicken in concern. If that was there, then it meant that there may have been more nuggets of truth scattered around than she had thought - and it meant that Red might have been able to pull some of them together, despite his obvious incompetence. Acting with a greater sense of urgency and seriousness than she’d done before, the Scarab grabbed Red’s computer mouse from the clutter and made to turn on his computer. The screen burst into life, with a simple log-in screen illuminating itself and causing Yoshiro’s brow to furrow. Of course she wouldn’t have been lucky enough for the idiot to leave it unlocked. Sighing in frustration, she realised she’d have to go through all the scattered documents to try and figure out what he was up to. With her shoulders slumped in resignation, the Scarab was about to get to work when a crumpled up page on the floor caught her eye. Curious, she leaned down to pick it up and immediately felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the flight ticket receipt. With a sense of dread, she read the intended flight destination only to have her fears confirmed.

Dropping the printed receipt, the girl turned and left the room - the earlier smile having been wiped from her features. Using her powers, she slammed the door shut behind her and re-engaged the locks just in case another one of the Wonder Brats tried to poke around. How Red had found the information was something she could worry about later. For now, she had to put a stop to whatever it was he was planning and get ready for whatever he might have found back there...back where it had started.

And unfortunately time - as ever - wasn’t on her side.

[New Neros]

August 4th
Darklight and Cosmic

-Ashen-

Barely able to give Alexis a quick wave, Cosmic was pulled by the mutant girl out of the main room and into the hallways of the tower. He would have been concerned that Ashy was leading them in the right direction a few turns ago, but truth be told, he was too enthralled with the hand holding. Mark's face was flushed with scarlet when the girl finally released his palm, the young hero quickly wiping it on his pants, embarrassed that he was sweating a bit from nervousness. Still, he followed closely behind the girl, his own mind racing at that point.

"How do I not sound creepy if I tell her that she looks cute when she's lost?" He pondered, turning around as the moth girl seemed particularly worried about finding the infirmary. "She's trying really hard, though, and this place is big enough to get lost in without even trying." Cosmic frowned as the girl looked defeated and accepted that she was lost, but listened intently as she apologized and even asked him for help. "It's fine, it's fine, I don't mind being lost for a bit with you." He replied, thinking to himself, "Navigated. Wait, she mentioned a scent, right?"

"I'm afraid not, I'm only really good at fighting and blasting things with energy." He brushed his hand against his pocket, and produced his cellphone, clicking it open. "Darklight's in the infirmary with that guy Casimir, let me call her and see if she can help us." As he spoke, he pulled up her contact and made the call, putting the phone to his ear and waiting patiently for the heroine to pick up. "Hey, Ava, it's me, Mark. I'm lost - How do I get to the infirmary?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" The girl answered back pretty clearly on the phone as Cosmic put her on speaker, "Turn your location on." She instructed, Cosmic pulling the phone away from his head and swiping down on the top part of the device, letting Ashy watch as he did so. Swiping one of the buttons to 'On', Darklight's voice was quick to respond. "Okay, let me zoom in on our location. Okay, keep going down that hallway and turn right. Infirmary is the last door on the left. See you soon." With that, the girl hung up, and Cosmic smiled wide.

"Doesn't sound too bad, right? Let's shake and bake." He said, grabbing one of the girls' hand this time, and leading her down the halls as Darklight instructed, "We'll see our friends in no time, like they never even knew we were gone." He flashed a grin at Ashy, "You should introduce me to some people when we get there, too, I, uh, still don't really know a lot of people."

-Kiris-

Though still cheery and warm, Darklight could see the shift in the Hadrian's mood as she recalled the fight in greater detail. Maybe it wasn't the bet time to talk about it, since she may be hung up over not being able to do much against Hex in the final bout, or how she basically lit an entire house on fire, villain and teammates includes. She gave a slight wave as Kiris began to exit the infirmary, "T-talk to you later, nice to meet you, too." She managed to say, wondering about the girls' offer. "Join up?" She wondered, figuring that an invitation like that would have Cosmic through the roof.

Speak of the devil, the man was calling her abruptly. She gave her instructions and worked her way off of the bed, swinging her legs over and planting her feet firmly on the linoleum, ensuring her balance was good. She walked to the door quickly, the doctor, Jacob, flashing her a look. "Does every teenage heroine need to put on a brave face and be strong nowadays?" He asked, Darklight giving him a sheepish grin. "I shouldn't let you go, but I'm not exactly going to stop you." Darklight took that as permission, and slid out of the door quickly, leaving it open as nearly no one in the small crowd was needing any rest.

"Hey! Darklight!" Boomed Cosmic's voice down the hall, the heroine turning her head to see her friend walking quickly toward her, the young moth girl they had met in the other dimension in tow. "I just passed this one guy slumped up on the wall. Is he all good?"

"They called him Icarus." She responded as the pair came closer, Cosmic turning Ashy's hand loose. "He was actually on the bad side, but was under some spell, or something, I don't know, I tried not to eavesdrop despite the yelling." Looking over at the mutant girl, Ava gave her a quizzical look, then recalled the bug-themed hero who was with Icarus just a little bit ago. "Oh, I'm Darklight, nice to meet you." She said, extending a hand and shaking one of Ashy's. "No offense, but you're looking for Bug Boy, right? They were pretty careful not to say any names, just seems like someone who would be right up your alley. He went to go get some tacos, and that sounds real fricken' nice right now."

"Lead the way, star boy." Ava said, narrowing her eyes at the hero, but giving Ashy a warm smile.

[Absolon-7]

The Amazing Ashen Moth!

Darklight and Cosmic

Casimir Herman August 4th
Casimir in the team's cafeteria eating half a dozen tacos in one sitting. His helmet sat next to his food as he chowed down on the smorgasbord. If anything he might need another half dozen to feel full since his regeneration was really putting in the work healing him. Jacob did a good job but its not like he could stop his own. The areas he felt were in need of healing the most felt hot to the touch as his body repaired its internal damage or at least what was left after Jacob was done. Besides that he couldn't help but feel slightly pissed at Icarus or annoyed be the better word for it? Whatever, its not like he'd be okay with forcing the dude to go have fun eating.

"Yohoho!," hollered a familiar female voice as he felt two arms wrap around his neck.

"Oh hey, Vivi," greeted Casimir, as he looked up at her, "How'd your mission go?"

"It went fan-tas-tic! Or sorta. The whole almost getting blown up along with the entire city block wasn't fun by some giant mechwolf. Long story," said Viviana dismissing the comment with a shake of her hand as she slid to a seat next to Casimir, "Everyone was so cool! Especially Angelica, she was like all professional in every move. Quick like lightning!"

"Hey I was pretty cool myself. Punched the hell out of the armored crook...which happened to be my best friend," said Casimir his voice trailing off on an awkward note.

"Oh? You mean Icarus? Jeez, what made the guy attack some police station?" questioned Viviana.

"I don't know. I just guessed the Cabal. Could be mind control. Could be some hypnosis. Hell, he could've eaten something real bad," snickered Casimir as he swiveled around on the stool to place his elbows on the table.

"Like what? Your perogi?" said Viviana with a smug smile.

"Vivi how could you?," faux gasped Casimir as he finished his sixth taco.

"Relaaaaax, I'm just kidding. Anyway I'm tired so Imma go to bed. My bed. Feel a bit too exhausted to sneak into yours. Like wow I literally feel like jelly," said Viviana who soon devolved to a snorting laughter. The brunette would kiss his forehead before she meandered away to her room.

"Pssh," remarked Casimir stuffing a seventh taco in his mouth.

Casimir wouldn't be left alone for along as it looked like his ward Ash came into the cafteria-living room but she had a guy with her? Who the hell was he? Another stray Naja picked up? There was also some black haired girl that was easy on the eyes with them as well. He grabbed his helmet and put it back on his head as he got up from his seat. Casimir studied the two strangers and from the looks of it the tall guy seemed flustered for some reason and the girl seemed irritated. This calls for some snooping. Casimir stopped right in front of them with both hands confidently on his hips.

"Yo," said Casimir bringing one open palm to wave at them before he put it back, "Heard you did pretty good out there in the riot Ash. Good job giving those troublemakers a good licking. Although I gotta say you're still as clumsy as a foal when it comes to fighting. But nothing a few lessons from me couldn't fix. " He extended one hand to pat her head a few times before he tapped the side of his helmet, "So these guys friends of yours or are they your fanclub?"

[Tomia]

August 7th

---

As the sleek black car pulled up at the small parking lot just beyond the bridge connecting the coast of San Diego to Wonder Island, the blonde woman riding in the back seat pulled out a banknote from her purse and handed it to the driver, offering a few kind words alongside it. With that done, she stepped out of it and looked at the large building that loomed in the distance, right at the center of the island. She had been closely following the teenage heroes who now inhabited the once ill-fated tower, but this was the first time she had the chance to set foot in it, and it had cost her quite a bit of persuasion and a certain contact putting in a good word on her behalf.

Well, at least I'm here. Now I have to make the most of it. She told herself, starting towards the central building, the clacking of her shoes against the concrete of the parking lot soon replaced by the rustling of the island's grass as she went. She'd decided to dress smart for the occasion, with a blazer over a dress shirt and a pair of slacks - not the suit she wore to make a good impression on local news outlets when presenting her work, but it did the trick.

Heading towards the tower, she couldn't help but note that not a single one of the numerous boys and girls who made their home there appeared to be out and about, which was surprising at first, though it made plenty of sense given what they had gone through just a few days ago. Hurrying along, it didn't take her long to reach the building proper, and it was easy for her to find her way around once inside, in no small part thanks to the map that was helpfully set up right by the entrance. A short walk and an elevator ride later, she found herself knocking on Naja's door.

"Miss Reyna?" The blonde called out.

"Come in!" Naja called from her seat from the office. She was finishing up some paperwork to get the Young Bloods officially recognized by the city government in the wake of the team being thrown into the public eye. She had hesitantly agreed to allow a reporter write a story on the team - Naja's past with the Justice Queen made her weary of the press but articles would be written about them regardless and it was important that their point of view be represented. Thus, after some research about which local reporters she could trust, she agreed to an interview with Riley Page. Page was a freelance journalist who was known for writing on superheroes. Naja felt like based on her past, Page was more interested in good journalism and finding the truth than making a big name of herself at the expense of others.

When the reporter entered the room, Naja gestured to the seat on the other side of her desk. "Hello Ms. Page, it's nice to meet you. I appreciate you taking your time to come out here." She said with a friendly smile.

"It's not a problem, Miss Reyna, I appreciate the opportunity to have an interview with you. And the pleasure is all mine." Riley replied as she walked into the room and closed the door behind herself, taking a seat opposite of Naja. She offered the reptile woman a warm smile before taking a pen and a notepad out of her purse in preparation for the interview - a recorder or even a phone would've perhaps sufficed, but she liked doing things the old fashioned way.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to start off with a bit of a personal question first - why did you decide to schedule interview at all?" She asked, her tone relaxed yet professional . "Don't get me wrong, I'm quite happy that you agreed to this, but you could just as easily have declined. Is there anything that led you to feel this was necessary?" She clarified, her eyes on the reptile woman.

"After all, the relationship between the Justice Queens and the press was never a very friendly one."

"You're not wrong. There were times we were treated quite unfairly in New York." Naja admitted to the reporter. In her mind she remembered some of the particularly unkind headlines that were directed towards her. "Still, its undeniable that public opinion is important to the life of superheroes. And for the Young Bloods this is especially true. People don't like the idea of young heroes, and they are skeptical of this team we have assembled. My team may be skilled but they are still teenagers and too must negative press can be stressful, and besides it's unfair to them. So I am hoping that this interview will give the public a chance to see what our team is really like. A chance to see them for the heroes they are."

The journalist nodded along at Naja's words, swiftly writing down the reptile woman's words with practiced ease - she knew that her job was to seek out the truth rather than conform to any sort of agenda, even Naja's, but for the time being, she opted not to show any skepticism towards the Young Bloods.

"I see, I'll do my best to give your team a fair treatment then." She said with a nod. "Since you mentioned New York, though can you tell me about your decision to move all the way to San Diego? Your turf during your tenure with the Justice Queens and afterwards was the East Coast, so many people were surprised when you resurfaced here on the other side of the country."

"It's as simple as I needed a change really. Somewhere that I'm less familiar with... and frankly one that was less familiar with me." Naja said, a bit of a distant look on her face. "I appreciate the interest Ms. Page, but maybe it would be best if we shifted focus to the team? After all, plenty has been written about me as I'm sure you know. They are the far more interesting story here."

Riley offered the superheroine an apologetic smile. "I agree, they are. My apologies, Miss Reyna, we'll continue with the team then." She stated, quickly writing down the answer along with her next question. "So then, can you tell me about how it formed? In blunt terms, they came out of the blue: without anyone expecting it, they showed up on the 4th of July to respond to the threat of four supervillains attacking the Zoo. Many were surprised by the team's members, too - people saw known heroes and vigilantes such as Nightshade, Frost Bite and the Mask, who had not previously shown any interest in a team-up, fighting alongside total newcomers such as Aeolus and Forge. What's the story behind that? How did the team come to be?"

Naja gave a soft chuckle at the question. "Well, there's a simple explanation for why no one in the public expected it. It wasn't meant to happen. It wasn't a planned or organized event. Rather, the teenagers who would come to form the team were mostly all here for a party to celebrate the end of the school year. They were attacked by escaped inmates, some of which inexplicably had powers, and they not only managed to protect themselves and their classmates, but they defeated the inmates as well. Nightshade had called me and I arrived right as the fighting was ending. While I wasn't pleased about the messiness of the situation, I had to admire the great skill and teamwork these mostly untrained teens showed. Then they insisted they wanted to continue fighting crime and so I felt I had a responsibility to give them a structured and safe environment to do it in. But beyond that, I admit I saw potential in them that night. I believed they had the possibility to really make a difference. I like to believe my intuition was correct."

The journalist hummed to herself at times while listening to Naja's answer. She was glad to be the first to hear about the story behind the creation of the Young Bloods - something that would undoubtedly help her negotiate a payment that could help her brother pay their bills - but at the same time, she was skeptical of various points that were brought up. In particular...

"So you would say that the Young Bloods have a safe environment to practice superheroism in?" She questioned the snake woman. Her face remained neutral, but her tone was clear. "I am aware of the service they've done to our city, and I understand that having professional heroes such as yourself and Nightshade by their side acts as a safety net, but that hasn't stopped various villains from harming or even capturing them."

Naja frowned at that question, obviously her team getting hurt under her watch was a painful thing to think about for her. "Unfortunately, hero work is never without risk. Every time a hero goes to work they are putting their life on the line. I understand the concern with teenagers taking this risk, believe me it weighs on me sometimes. But they made it clear they would continue to fight crime with or without me, so I felt it necessary to provide them a guide, not to judge them and ridicule their natural desire to want to help people."

Riley nodded along as the snake woman replied, noting her defensive tone. "Of course, miss Reyna. I understand that." She said in a conciliatory manner - it wouldn't help her at all to make her interviewee mad. "Then, while aware of the fact that superheroism is inherently dangerous to those who practice it, would you say that you've provided the Young Bloods with an environment where those risks are minimized?"

"I can't say it has been perfect, no. Managing a large group of super powered teens is about as difficult as it sounds. But, I think the team is learning and maturing, and I think I am learning from them. We've made mistakes yes, but we've also learned from them. And sometimes that's as important as not making mistakes at all."

"I agree." The blonde woman stated with a nod. "However, sometimes mistakes can be very costly, especially for young heroes such as the ones you've taken under your wing." She stated - a grimace on Naja's face let her know that she could see where this was going. "I apologize for bringing up a sore topic like this, but I have to ask - what makes you think this project will not go down the same route as the Wonder Warriors?"

Naja sighed. She knew talking about the Wonder Warriors was inevitable, but she still never felt comfortable about it. "You know, I never actually met the Wonder Warriors, at least not all of them. A lot of people assume I did, that this is some grand statement in their honor. It's not. It's just a bunch of kids trying to do the right thing with the extraordinary gifts they've been giving. There is no way I can promise we won't be attacked by like the Warriors were. No amount of security or planning could prevent that. But the biggest difference between the Wonder Warriors and the Young Bloods is we have them to learn from. My team does not think themselves invincible, and they know exactly what they are risking by doing this."

"I see, that's very enlightening. Thank you for your honesty, miss Reyna, and do forgive me for bringing them up again - with the name they chose for themselves though, it's impossible not to." Riley stated. Before Naja could say anything else, though, the interviewer's tone lightened up. "But I suppose that's enough about the past. I'd like to know more about the team proper. Tell me, what is it like to manage these young heroes on a daily basis?"

"As rewarding of a job it is, I will admit it can be trying at times. There are a lot of personalities on the team and sometimes they clash. We have team meetings as expected and often they argue as you might expect. But I would say it's also a lot of fun. They are a very lively group of kids, funny and good-natured."

"Funny, huh?" The journalist smiled - this was a good opportunity to learn more about the internal team dynamics of San Diego's young saviors. "Anything in particular you could mention that you enjoy about living with the Young Bloods or working with them?"

"Well, I would say I enjoy their enthusiasm for being heroes. The team takes responsibility they've taken up very seriously, but they also know how to take breaks and relax. I feel like they've really come to embrace each other as friends as well as teammates. For example, they threw a surprise birthday party for two of their teammates, and I think that sort of thing shows that even as celebrity heroes they manage to stay the good nature kids they were before."

"That sounds very idyllic." Riley commented. "However, you said earlier that sometimes the members of the team clash and arguments often break out. With that in mind, I'd like to ask, are there any significant conflicts between the teens? And if there are, do you think they're likely to affect their superhero work?"

"Of course when you bring together a bunch of teenagers not everyone is going to get along. I would rather not share the details of that out respect for my team's privacy, but its fair to say that most people on this team have the personality of leaders, so sometimes they disagree on what leadership looks like. So yes, not everyone on the team gets along all the time, but no I trust my teams to be professional so I expect them to keep any personal disagreements at home when they go on missions."

Riley hummed some more as she jotted down Naja's latest answer before bringing her pen to her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well, what about the flipside, then? A group of twenty-something enthusiastic teens with quirky personalities living together on a tower is bound to foster fast-growing relationships, especially when they're putting their lives on the line together. Leaving all the potential gossip aside, this makes me wonder if such relationships might not have an impact in their work. After all, the public knows of at least one such couple - they're quite popular online."

Naja allowed herself to smile at that last remark. "Yes, I'm well aware of the video you're referring to. Relationships are inevitable, especially among teenagers. And while there is potential for something like that to interfere with the team, it is a also an important learning experience in professionalism."

"Professionalism, huh?" The journalist repeated. "Would you say they have been learning well in that regard? The interviews and press conferences that the Young Bloods have held seem to indicate that some of them have no issue adopting a professional attitude to address the public, especially those with previous experience in sanctioned superhero work, but some others don't seem to have that ability. I know the Mask and some others aren't fond of the media at all."

"Given your reputation for going against mainstream media yourself Ms. Page, I'm sure you can understand why some of the team wouldn't be too trusting of your peers." Naja said thoughtfully. "In truth that's a large part of why I am here. I recognize the importance of keeping the media on your side, even when that can be unseemly and frustrating. So yes, some of my team have acted out in public in the past. Ultimately the Young Bloods are a learning process, not a finished product."

Rather than respond immediately to continue the conversation, this time Riley leaned back on her seat and remained silent for a few moments, looking over her notes and mulling over Naja's words. "Hmm... you've mentioned quite a few times that the Young Bloods are learning from their mistakes, from the past, et cetera, that they're in a learning process unlike other superhero teams across the nation." The journalist pointed out.

"But if that's the case, shouldn't they still be in training? I can understand the appeal to on-hands training, but, favorable results aside, things like sending a group of inexperienced teenagers against several villains - one of which is among the world's deadliest killers - on their debut mission doesn't sound very responsible, especially if they want to avoid a fate like that of their predecessors."

Naja narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at Riley, wondering at her intentions. "I respect the question Ms. Page. And maybe you're right. Maybe sending them to the Zoo was not the best choice for their first mission. But I think your question falsely presumes that any situations a hero finds themselves in is safe. A bank robber with a gun can be as threatening as Dante if not careful. If I lined up a bunch of easy targets for them, the team would grow over confident, and that is when tragedy strikes."

"So do you consider that an underprepared team is at less risk than an overconfident one?" The reporter asked bluntly.

Naja paused for a moment. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. Arguing with reporters never ended well especially one you needed on your side. "You're good Ms. Page, you don't pull punches I respect that. But I think your question is oversimplified. An overconfident team is unprepared. Yes, a hero's first few missions are always risky but unless you face the gravity of those risks, then you never actually prepare yourself for what is to come. So yes, facing Dante was by no means perfect, but the perfect opportunity never presents itself in this business so I worked with what I had."

"Working with what you have. Well, that's something I can respect." Riley said with a chuckle upon hearing Naja's answer. "I suppose it's true that no amount of preparation can prevent every tragedy, and all things considered, being a hero isn't about acting when it's convenient, but about acting when it's necessary, right?" She said in agreement with Naja's position while scribbling down the latest answer.

After a brief pause, the blonde woman looked up again, leaning back and adopting a more casual posture. "So far you've given me quite a bit of insight into the story and inner workings of the Young Bloods, which I'm sure the public will appreciate. And on that topic, is there anything you would like our readers to know about America's youngest heroes?"

Naja paused for a moment, considering her words regarding the finale question. "I would say, I would like them to know that they are good kids. And whatever nasty rumors or criticism they hear, they should know that like everyone else the Young Bloods are people, and they truly have nothing but good intentions."

Despite keeping her composure for the whole interview, Riley couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at this. “Sorry, sorry, but did you really just say your parting words are ‘they’re good kids’?” She said with a smile on her face. “That’s… a lot simpler than I was expecting.”

Standing up, the journalist quickly packed up her things and then extended a hand towards Naja. “Thanks again for the opportunity, Miss Reyna. I assure you it means as much to me as it does to you. I hope you’ll allow me to work with you again in the future.”

Naja returned the hand shake, a small smile on her face. “It was my pleasure Ms. Page. I look forward to reading your article.”

With a polite nod, Riley excused herself from the snake woman’s office, retracing her steps to head out of Wonder Tower and make her way back home.

August 9th

---

Naja was making herself coffee in the Tower's kitchen early in the morning. None of the teenagers she shared the island with were awake at this time, or if they were they hadn't come for breakfast. She was scrolling through social media when she came across an email from Riley Page. It was a link to her article, attached with a thank you for the interview. She gave a small smile and quickly clicked the link, anxious to read the final product.

It began giving some brief background of the team for the unaware reader, particularly regarding the history of the Wonder Warriors, and then it dove into the conversation Riley had with Naja. Naja anxiously read her own words, hoping she sounded persuasive and not too defensive. This article was very important for the team after all, after the incident with Warwolf they needed to paint themselves in a positive light more than ever. Even more than that, they had a real opportunity to establish trust between themselves and the city of San Diego. After taking a few minutes to read it over thoroughly she reached the conclusion of the article.

As a city, San Diego has long been haunted by the loss of the Wonder Warriors. I was only a child when the city lost them, and I've lived my whole life without a team of heroes guarding over my home. Admittedly, I am skeptical of how safe this Young Bloods experiment is, but it is hard to argue that it isn't filling a hole that has eaten away at this city for far too long. This is the message that Naja had for the people of San Diego when asked.

"I would like them to know that they are good kids. And whatever nasty rumors or criticism they hear, they should know that like everyone else the Young Bloods are people, and they truly have nothing but good intentions."

While many might want to mention where good intentions are said to lead, I have come to believe that the Young Bloods deserve a chance. They have already given youth across the city hope, you can see that in the merchandise they wear and the videos they post online. I have to admit, I felt hopeful after I left the island. Maybe that's what it feels like in others cities with teams to call their own. At any rate, may I formally introduce you to the Young Bloods, vanquishers of Warwolf and the Cabal, the heroes that San Diego deserves and, perhaps, the ones it needs.

Naja found herself satisfied, closing out the article and putting her phone down to make herself some toast. Just as she sat down to eat that toast her phone began to buzz. She looked at the caller ID and raised an eyebrow. It was Jordan Scott, she wondered what he could have wanted.

“Hello?”

“Naja, great work with that interview. I’ve been getting calls all morning congratulating me on the Young Bloods new found fame. They’re the talk of every morning news show and newspaper in the country.”

“Well that’s good to hear.” Naja replied. “I guess giving Warwolf the boot and saving the mayor makes you pretty popular.”

“So popular in fact that I have some very big news for you. I just got a call from the Commissioner of the NASL. Arizona dropped out of the coming tournament, and they need a replacement.”

Naja dropped her toast onto her plate. “Are you saying?...”

“You bet I am. In one month the Young Bloods will be in New York City for the opening ceremony. Welcome back to the big leagues, Naja.”

[Absolon-7]

Casimir Herman August 7th
The loud background cacophony of the mall burnt Casimir’s nerves like an open fire. Why again did he agree to meet at this stinkin place again? You could barely take step before tripping over some middle class schmucks. Plus the allure of some of the food places and stands tempted his hunger unfortunately he had more important matters to attend to. He stood with his arms crossed and legs apart on a mall bench in front of some clothing store. Several bags were next to him and the floor with even a few behind. He tilted his head back and his mouth watered at the thought of just sneaking off to go eat something, anything, but it looked like the purple haired woman he was waiting for had just arrived.

“Least you could’ve done was come with me to pick up the gift, hombre,” said Morgana with the fake spanish at the end being incredibly forced sounding.

“What’s the point if you don’t choose it yourself? Not much of anniversary gift for my sis if I picked it,” teased Casimir getting up, “So what’s next for the shopping list?”

“Eh, let’s take a break and get something to eat. Been a long day for you carrying all the stuff,” said Morgana with a pitifully small bag.

Whatever, all of these bags are as light as a feather to me, thought a scowling Casimir as he marched behind Morgana. He would be in charge of finding them a table while she went to one of the venues to get Chinese food. He picked a large metal table that had enough space around it for their bags and waited for that glorious food to come. Soon enough Morgana came with their food although Casimir though his portion was quite small even if it would be decent size for normal folk. In the middle of chowing down on the food he noticed Morgana tapping the table with her drink’s straw.

“Ya need something?”

“Not really. Just how’ve ya been?,” asked Morgana pointing her straw at him, “Got in trouble lately or something?”

“No I haven’t,” answered Casimir in between breathing in his food, “Did I tell ya how my girlfriend moved here. That’s pretty sweet.”

Casimir got out his phone and showed a recent photo he and Viviana had taken together at the San Diego pier.

“Oh shit she’s real! Always thought she was a supermodel you photoshopped into your pics,’ gawked Morgana.

“Excuse me?,” snapped Casimir.

“Yeah, it was so sad I even thought of hooking you up with my sister. You’ve met her a few times right? Thought a cute girl would just the cure for that stuff,” snickered Morgana.

“The hell lady? What kinda man do you think I am?” said Casimir slamming his hands on his thighs.

“Relax, kiddo. Can’t a girl make fun of her future brother-in-law?” sneered Morgana leaning towards him mockingly. She got back into her seat and scratched her cheek looking away at some nondescript corner, “Got any stories about friends? ”

Casimir eyed her suspiciously before taking a large sip from his coke.

“Not a lot. Not like I have a problem with it,” mumbled Casimir tilting his chair back with his arms crossed behind his head, “What’s with the sudden interview? You’re usually buggin me for Tekken rematches.”

“Eh, nothing really. Jadwiga mentions you a lot so I thought I’d do some snooping. She just sounds worried a lot for some reason,” said Morgana, “And as her gal I’d thought I’d do my duty to check on her bro from time to time. Besides hardasses like you need some checking in now and then.”

“I see this is turning to some shrink session,” bluntly stated Casimir who got up from his seat with a scowl, “Come on. Jadzia’s favorite plushie store is in the next wing of the mall.”

“Curt,” observed a slightly amused Morgana.

Casimir pretended not to notice her catching up to him on the way to the shop. For some reason he felt as if a slug had been dropped down his shirt. What the hell was with the sudden Q&A? Did Jadwiga set her up or something. I guess I’m getting worked up over something dumb, thought Casimir scowling as if he had taken a step with soggy socks on. It seemed Jadwiga was presumably worried then even though Warwolf wasn’t around anymore. Not just her. When he put some thought into it there quite a few more people he could claim would be for him now then back home. That didn’t feel right.

“Yo Casimir, hurry up! The plushies are 50% off!,” shouted Morgana who had gotten quite far ahead of him.

“Alright alright. Don’t get your panties in a twist,” sighed Casimir as he hurried up to catch her.

Viviana Couture August 8th
Bright and sunny. Sunny and bright as usual in San Diego. The bubbly brunette dressed in a sunflower patterned sundress, sandals, and strawhat sat together with Casimir, who himself was dressed in an ocean wave pattern shirt and had thick sunglasses on. Together they were busying themselves on food from a local barbeque place and a pizza shop under the leisure of one of the shopping plaza’s table umbrellas. Viviana kept making passing glances at Casimir who had his cheek resting on one hand while he fed himself with the other.

“Okay sooo, so you know how you promised you’d try out one thing I suggested this summer?” said Viviana wiping pizza from her lips and fluttering her eyelashes.

“Oh did I? Oh crap,” said Casimir as he fell for her trap.

“So I was thinking how bout we go to the Coronado Island Spa here. Seeing as we’re already in Coronado, it's just down the street, I have money for both of us. Yeah nothing too bad or convenient,” teasingly said Viviana with a wink at the end.

Casimir looked at her as if she had grown an extra head but his sunglasses hid it, “I’m a dude. What would I be doing at a spa? Thats for pansies like Tad or Carter.”

Viviana in a sing songy voice said,“Come on, it'll be fun! You wont know if you don’t try it.”

Viviana tipped her head down and stared intently into Casimir’s eyes as if daring him to object. She remembered quite clearly his promise and bullheaded or not she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The dude couldn’t say no either he quite amusingly saw everything as a challenge which often lead to equally amusing results.

“Nope. I’ll wait in the lobby or something,” said Casimir wolfing down a burger, “I don’t need pampering.”

“Booo,” mouthed Viviana at her loss.

“Let’s go play catch at the park instead,” offered Casimir sitting up straight.

“Oooooh, I’ll make you regret not going to the spa!,” challenged Viviana as she flipped one of her braids over her shoulder, “But no powers! We’ll play like men!”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” confidently answered Casimir.

The two lovebirds would scurry over down the street to Centennial Park and proceed to throw a ball at each other across the greenspace. They came up with the rule that whoever caught the ball the most would have to buy the other whatever they wanted. Within the hour they had their fill of the game and both sat together at a seaside bench on the park’s skyline viewpoint. Viviana leaned against Casimir’s shoulder and looked on at the city across the bay. Her eyes fixated on the general landscape admiring the glass and steel. Her eyes wandered to Casimir who was busy dozing on and off on the bench. She let out a deep yawn and twisted around to lay on her back. The straw hat she wore was tilted to the side obscuring her face like the curtains on a play’s stage. She rested her legs across Casimir’s lap weary from an hour of running back and forth.

“Hey Casi, you still draw?” she lazily asked.

“Sometimes, haven’t had time to,” answered Casimir just as lazily.

Teasingly and yet obliviously Viviana said, “Screw me like one of your french girls.”

“What?” blurted Casimir.

“What” parroted a dumbfounded Viviana.

OhmygoshwhatdidyoujustVivianayoudumbbitch Her cheeks started to flush the same shade as tomatoes as she suddenly sat up and scooted away from Casimir. She waved her hands in front of her in a panic, “Drew! I meant drew! No, I meant draw! I was doing a Titanic reference! So I didn’t do a Freudian slip! Haha...yeah.”

By now Casimir had lost his sleepy demeanor and had now sat up straight with a wide expression with a blush pinker then the color itself, “I mean there was that one time we uhm..so if you wan-”

“Shut up we’re in public!,” exclaimed a panic stricken Viviana.

The furiously pink brunette sent her hand to Casimir’s mouth and warped it to the shape of a clamp to go all around Casimir’s jaw. She couldn’t take any chances! The frightfully embarrassed girl oh so deeply wanted to look away from Casimir’s piercing eyes and equally surprised eyes but whether out of hesitation or fright she kept looking. Naturally this resulted in a very awkward moment of silence for the two. She blinked once and twice before she moved her hand away from his mouth and warped it back to shape. The next few seconds the two simply sat next to each not saying a word as sea gulls flocked behind them in the ocean wind.

“You know I'm pretty glad you came to see me this summer,” said Casimir finally breaking the silence, “Believe or not I actually missed that goofy face of yours.”

“Goofy!?” said an indignant Viviana, “I’ll have you know Momma always said I was too pretty for a punk like you...Momma wasn’t very nice to you.”

“HA! Tell me about it. Anytime she saw me it looked like she wanted to slash and burn my tires,” said Casimir barely holding himself from laughing.

“Psh, that’s nothing compared to what she said behind your back,” said Viviana before she leaned to his cheek to plant a kiss, “You’re lucky I decided against telling Mizu to make your face goofy. Thought ‘bout it for a split second.”

“I’d like to see her try to make my ugly mug even worse,” sarcastically chided Casimir wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“You’d be surprised,” snickered Viviana as she adjusted her straw hat, “You know I could reeeeaaaaly go for some lasagna right now. Dagnabbit your appetite’s infectious!”

The afternoon sun’s strength would continue to beam upon the two teenagers as the rhythmic ocean waves lapped at the rocky outcrop behind them. Viviana found herself intertwining her fingers with the hand on her shoulder. Her attention it seemed would be taken aback by whatever words she exchanged with her boyfriend on their much needed date.

[Tomia]

Marvin Asarin, the Rocket-wielding technopath!
Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!
Wyatt Sutherlund, the youthful Dra’Quinni Elder!

---

Wyatt walked into the main room to see Mars and Mizu, one of the newer girls who joined. It dawned on him that he hadn’t actually met the girl. Since she and Mars seemed to be fixated on what appeared to be some NASL stuff. He had nothing going on, and was a bit more curious about all the NASL since most of the team seemed to love it.

“Hey guys. What’re you watching?”

The Dra’Quinni’s question instantly got cut off by the screeching sound of a vuvuzela shapeshifted out of Mizu’s right hand - both of the teenagers were practically glued to the TV screen, eagerly awaiting the outcome of the intense and seizure-inducing tournament fight. The newest edition of the Bi-Annual Superhero Tournament, organized by the NASL, was rapidly approaching, and to build up hype for the upcoming event, League News Television was showing some of the highlights of its predecessors - and today, it was time for the final match of the Fall tournament of 2012.

The tension is unreal, the stakes have never been higher. A mere year since their founding, the Chicago Windwakers have shaken the North American superhero scene by shockingly managing to push through to the finals of the tournament and facing off against none other than the Los Angeles Stars. For the viewers at the time, it was an event which everyone already knew would make it to the history books - a team of relatively young, not all that individually powerful, but tightly knit and strategically thinking outcasts, standing before the most famous and powerful North American superhero team of them all. Obviously, anyone even faintly acquainted with the history of the NASL would already be aware of how this fight was going to end, but that did not mean the spectacle wasn’t something to gawk one’s eyes over - the constantly shaking and vibrating battlefield, the monstrous force summoned by powerhouses such as Captain Quake and Star Queen, opposed by combination moves from Queen Zetian, Celestus and Laume, the long standing physical standoff between Quake and Perun, and-

“Aaaahhhh!” Mizu exclaimed, witnessing Blue suddenly eliminate both Laume and Zetian from the match with tremendous speed, opening the gap for the entirety of the Stars to unleash their final assault. In less than a minute, all was over. A good attempt at resistance, but merely an attempt nonetheless. One which the Windwakers would struggle to ever repeat again. The purple-haired girl slouched in the sofa, letting out a long sigh, then noticed Wyatt standing in the room.

“Hiii! Whatcha doing?”

“Hey Wyatt,” Mars said, he hadn’t gotten as expressive as Mizu but was clearly more relaxed now that the intense scene was over. He remembered how excited he was when it happened five years ago. “We’re just watching some old NASL fights. You know since the tournament is coming up and all. Wanna join?” He wasn’t sure if Wyatt would say yes, after all it wasn’t like he grew up watching the tournaments like they did so he may not be as interested.

Wyatt flinched a bit when Mizu blew her vuvuzela, and watched silently as the match unfolded to her cheers. “Well, I just kinda came in.” He replied to Mizu. “So nothing really.” Then Mars explained they were watching old NASL fights, even asking him if wanted to join. “Yeah sure. I’ve got nothing going on for the moment. I don’t really know any of these people but I guess there’s no better time to learn.” He said and took a seat right next to them. “This never really grabbed me when I was young, but I guess I’ve got a bit more vested now that I’ve got powers.”

“Really? But it’s super fun!” Mizu spoke after Wyatt explained that he hadn’t been interested in the NASL before. The vuvuzela formed out of her hand turned back to normal, while the TV started showing advertisements. “I guess it’s not for everyone… But I figured that it’s even more important to us now that we’re supposed to be heroes like them, right?”

The purple-haired girl turned towards Mars. “What’s up next?”

“It’s a highlight show, ‘Top NASL Fights of the Decade” Mars said, checking the TV to answer Mizu’s question. As the show started the first fight shown, number 20, was from the year 2014, where the Houston Rattlers were in a fierce preliminary battle with the Philadelphia Flying Squirrels. The two leaders Red Mammoth and Brass Knuckles were locked in a one on one fist fight.

“Oooh, I remember this fight!” Mars exclaimed as they watched.

In the background you could see a series of flashes and blasts of bright light.

“That’s Star Griffin fighting Flash Bang. Star Griffin has solar powers and Flash Bang… well you can guess what his powers are.” He said with a smile.

He had no idea who either of those were, but it was pretty easy to tell them apart based on their costumes. It was also plain to see that Star Griffin wasn’t threatened too much by Flash Bang. “Huh… The fights are fun to watch.” He admitted. He’d been in more than his fair share of fights with other superhumans, they were more entertaining to watch from a safe distance. “I did see some fights, but I had, and still don’t have any, idea who they were. Made it harder to root for a side I suppose.”

“Oh, I haven’t actually seen this one yet! No spoilers!” Mizu suddenly exclaimed, her eyes focused on the lightshow taking place before them and fists clenched, while her mind recalled the 2014 season. “I was forced to study for an... electronic engineering test instead of watching the tournament back then.” The girl punctuated her statement with a groan. She heard horror tales from students her age back on Earth, but she was sure none of them could compare to the highly specialized, exhanced to the maximum Lunarian school curriculum.

When the battle took a short standstill, Mizu took the window of opportunity to turn towards Wyatt. “So, I’ve never gotten the chance to say this before, but… I didn’t know superpowers could manifest in turning you to a dragon. What’s up with that?”

“Mizu… Don’t you think that’s a little personal?” Mars asked, turning away from the screen as well.

“It’s fine Mars.” He replied. “I should probably get used to people asking that. Mizu, I hope I’m saying your name right, I actually look like this. Wyatt’s not actually my real name.” He explained as he watched the fight, Star Griffin pushing back Flash Bang, but the latter managed to pull away with a few friends as back up.

“Ooohhhh...” Mizu muttered, clenching her chin in thought, then turning her focus towards the battle for a few more seconds. As the battle was getting increasingly flashy, the camera started zooming out to show the entire battlefield instead, while a seizure warning showed up underneath the footage.

“So why do you go by that name? It doesn’t sound like a superhero alias or anything… And what do you mean that you were born like this?”

“The funny thing is that my alias is my real name. I go by that usually, but everyone knows me as Wyatt and there’s really no point in trying to change that at this point.” He thought for a moment about what Mizu meant when she asked what he meant about being born that way. “I mean… I was a tiny little version of myself 18 years ago. I’m not human. I’m a completely different species.”

He glanced at the TV to see that the seizure warning wasn’t kidding, the flashes were bright, and that was through a filtered lens. He could only imagine how bad it was to see it point blank.

“Different species?..”

After the massive indecipherable lightshow, the battle suddenly concluded, with Flash Bang laying knocked out underneath Star Griffin’s foot, a sight which was immediately followed by erupting cheers. Cheers which were joined by Mizu, at least for a few seconds, and while the TV screen transitioned from the 20th fight to the 19th, she turned towards Wyatt yet again:

“But you still didn’t explain why everyone calls you Wyatt.”

“That’s the human name I go by. It used to be I used a glamour to make myself look human because we weren’t sure how humans would take it and we didn’t want to risk having anything happen. Now that everything has happened, people just kinda stuck to what they knew me as.” He shrugged.

“The fight looked interesting. Though I guess when you bring a utility power to an offensive power fight, you’re gonna be at a disadvantage.” Wyatt commented.

“You’d be surprised to see how creative people get in the league though.” Mars added, as the next fight started.

“You know, it’s going to be weird going back to school after this.” Mars said thoughtfully. “I feel like things are going to be really different now.”

School. Wyatt hadn’t thought about school in a long time. Too much going on in his life. “Yeah. Definitely. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I’m going to go. Not sure I really have any reason to. Apparently my people get out of school at around the age of 16. On top of that, no reason to go there and pretend to be something I’m not. It just feels wrong to go pretending to be human, and it’s… I don’t know, weird going like this. Just feels like I’d be spending a lot of time being stared at.”

“Hey, we’ll be there for you.” Mars said, putting a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “If anyone stares too much Angelica will freeze them.” Mars joked with a smile.

“And you’re all weirdos out there, right?” Mizu added. “Or, at least, it’s nothing that extraordinary when you look at all the superpowers, magic and aliens down on Earth. If this team has no problem with you being around, then I’m sure your school could get over it in a flash, too!” The question of school did leave the purple-haired girl wondering, however. “I’m not sure how I’ll have to deal with school next year, though. I’ll need to return to Town Luna to continue, but I wanna stay in this team, too...”

Wyatt snickered a bit at Mars’ reply. “I somehow don’t think that’s gonna help me too much. I’ll think about it, but I’m leaning towards no.” Mizu mentioned that she has to go back to… Town Luna? “Luna? Like the moon? Where are you from Mizu?”

“Yu-huh! Guessed right on the first time!” Mizu enthusiastically replied, then pointed her finger to the ceiling, as if the Moon was above them. “I think it’s called the International Moon Base or something on Earth - but that’s a mouthful, so we just call it Town Luna up there! We’ve got a school up there and everything!” Mizu’s enthusiasm soon faded, however, and the purple-haired heroine slouched in her chair, groaning. “It’s really hard, though… They’re preparing specialists there, unlike your schools, so we could keep the base running for the next generation. So I’m really not looking forward to September...”

Well, at least there were people more weird than him. Though he did feel kind of bad that she would have to go back since it was obvious she wasn’t a fan of it. “That sucks, Mizu.” He said, patting her shoulder. “But hey, if you ever get some time off, we’d be more than happy to have you visit!”

“Do you have to go back Mizu?” Mars asked sympathetically. “I’m sure Thompson High would be happy to let you finish school there.”

“I mean...” the purple-haired girl started her reply, tapping her chin. “It’s a bit too late to be switching schools at this point, isn’t it? It’s already August and everything has been set for next year, I imagine...” Lost in thought for a second, Mizu quickly popped back into reality, as upbeat as usual. “Oh! Maybe I could attend lessons, like, with video conferences or something? I’m sure that’s possible!”

She didn’t want to go back to her school? “You could definitely do that. I’m sure the school would accept a transfer. I’ve seen people come in half way through the year. It’s not too late. I don’t know what grade you’d be in, but I doubt there’d be a problem.” He encouraged. Ironic, considering that he was pretty confident that he wasn’t going for his final year. His parents felt that he was adult enough to make his own choices, and the whole superhero and Elder things ate almost all of his time. “What about you Mars? You just gonna drop out? Not like you need school.”

“Well, I don’t know. I kind of like school. Ya its pretty easy for me but it’s fun. Besides, I like being around people my own age. I don’t want to go to college or anything when I’m still just a kid.” Mars said to Wyatt as another fight started.

“Oooh Mizu do you remember this one? It’s when the Kings and the Rattlers fought two years ago. It’s the only fight I’ve ever seen need to go to overtime! Things got so intense fights broke out in the stands.” He chattered on as the fight started on the television.

“Uhm...” Mizu muttered under her breath, struggling a little to formulate a response after getting put on the light of attention by Mars. As soon as the first glimpses of the fight itself arrived, so did her memory of seeing the match on live TV two years ago. “Y-yeah… That’s actually why I didn’t like this match a lot, though. It’s ‘cause those two Texas teams are so mean to each other, you know? Sometimes I feel like they forget that they’re supposed to be on the same side and focus too much on their rivalry.”

“Wait, you actually liked school?” Wyatt asked rather confused. “I guess we’ve just had different experiences, because I hated it and if I’m being honest, still do.” Thankfully, the next highlight started, the two Texan teams going at each other with near equal ferocity. Mizu didn’t like how intense the rivalry was between the teams.

“I don’t know much about the teams, but lots of places do stuff like that for marketing.” Wyatt explained. “People love rivalries. Two teams who always seem to be so close to being the better one pushes people to buy merchandise to support it.” He shrugged. “I uh, took an economics class. It’s just basic marketing. More rivalry, more money. I guess that’s part of the reason I don’t really care for this stuff outside of the action. Too much of people trying to get me to buy stuff for people I don’t even like.”

“Isn’t that a little cynical though?” Mars asked Wyatt. “I mean, a lot of these heroes care a lot both about competing and protecting people. Just because there are people in suits wanting to take advantage of them doesn’t mean the whole thing is just for show.” Mars’ somewhat naive fandom was now showing its face.

“I mean take the Flying Squirrels for example. They do a lot of great stuff for their fans and their community but they’re just as competitive as anybody when the tournament starts. I feel like it's possible to have a balance and care about both.”

Wyatt responded with a shrug. “I did say I don’t know anything about them. I just never really liked the whole NASL thing. Still don’t. Sure, the action’s good. I guess I’ve never looked up to anyone like that to give me that desire to learn more. Part of being that kid I suppose.”

Mizu leaned back, her eyes staring to the ceiling of the room. “I guess everyone has their own hobbies when it comes to this stuff… though it still feels weird that we’re talking to a superhero who’s so… eh on the NASL.” The purple-haired heroine’s eyes turned towards Mars. “Maybe you want to do something else, then? Something which all three of us could enjoy?”

“Sorry for dragging the mood down. There’s two factors to it, one I’d rather not talk about and the other is that my first real NASL interaction is… Well. It was with Quake and the guy’s a massive ass. Didn’t really help.” Thankfully, Mizu suggested that they do something else. “What do you suggest?” Wyatt asked, not really sure as to what they could do.

The purple-haired girl pressed her finger on her chin, lost in thought. Her mind came off with only blank, too. “I don’t know… Well, what do you like? That’d be a good start, I suppose.”

“Well, I guess we could play some video games or something.” He suggested. “Though I don’t know if we have any here.”

“Oh! I do!” Mars said, popping up in excitement. “I brought my PS4 from home when I moved here. I have cool games, too, I even have the newest NASL game. It’s really fun!”
With that three teammates sat around the TV playing video games, laughing and chatting throughout the afternoon.

[The Republic of Atria]

August 8th

It'd been a nice, relaxed few days since WarWolf got the boot from the city and Wyatt couldn't help but ride that high for a bit. They'd even got a few new members of the team, but, much to his protest, Carter opted to take a good long break from the whole superhero thing. Obviously, he didn't want one of his best friends to leave, but he understood. Though he did get one of the newer members put on his squad as a replacement: The guy named Cosmic. Based on the limited interaction that he had with the purple clad newcomer, he seemed pretty friendly and a perfectly good addition to the team. It'd give him plenty to do over the next month

Contributing to the downfall of a morally bankrupt organization that had it's grips on his city, and the many, many nice comments that people were leaving on the internet. He didn't have any social media, but that was before everything that happened. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad of an idea? At least having one for himself couldn't be that bad of an idea. People loved it when superheroes came around and did things with the public, and now he could do that from the comfort of his room. Maybe upload a video or something as proof. A fan meet up at the Tournament maybe? That sounded quite fun, even to him. Give out a few autographs, answer some questions and take some pictures. Hopefully the fans he did have wouldn't be too weird. He knew too much about the internet to be unaware of what his largest fan base was going to be.

The synapses firing in his brain brought up something he'd almost forgotten about: He'd promised to take Sina to N'Toak a week or so ago. He wasn't entirely sure how that would go over and he honestly had no idea what they could actually do. He didn't have any of the money that he'd need. Maybe just go find a nice place and have lunch and talk about stuff? He moaned inwardly when he realized how much like a date this was starting to sound like. His parents would never let him hear the end of it if he told them. So maybe he'd just keep it between him and her. Less embarrassment that way. He pulled his phone out, shooting a text to Sina, dearly hoping that someone on her team reminded her that her phone needed to be charged every couple of days.

Hey Sina, that thing with Warwolf was dealt with and I'm probably free for the next few days. You still want to go to N'Toak?

Now he just had to think of a way to spend the day and keep her eccentric tendencies in check. Hopefully she'd be like Kaban and only acts rowdy around the humans for some reason.

[Finland SSR]

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

August 9th

---

The vast expanse of Quito, the capital of the Republic of Ecuador, stretched to the horizon before Renata's eyes as she stared through the window next to her seat. Snoozing hills and towering mountain peaks surrounded over three million inhabitants, in what has been the political, economic and cultural capital of the region for almost five hundred years. It was an eclectic mix of old and new, rich and poor, modern and antique which Renata was sure could not be found anywhere else on the globe. The old town of the city, counting down to the Spanish colonial era and considered to be the most well preserved historic city centres in the Americas, was hugged by towering skycrapers and office blocks, most of them erected during the Condor period, some of them not even five years old. The southern districts of the city, many of them poor and overcrowded with fresh immigrants from rural areas, neighboured La Floresta, one of the most iconic and picturesque districts of the city, and a well known tourist trap, as well as the Carondelet Palace, the residence of the government of Ecuador, and, more importantly, the Andean Condors.

And all of it was her home. She may have been away in the United States for an entire year, but nothing was going to change that. After passing through the skies of the city, the airplane gently touched down on a runway in the Mariscal Sucre Airport. Renata stood up from her seat, picked up her bags and stepped out of the empty plane into the air of Quito. Despite it, like the rest of the nation, being quite literally on the equator - if the name "Ecuador" did not give it away - the air was actually quite chilly, or at least colder than San Diego. Standing almost three thousand meters above sea level does its work. Renata did not get to wait for long, or even depart to the streets through the airport complex - transport arrived for her straight to the airport, almost to the runway itself.

The drive from Mariscal Sucre to Carondelet took almost an hour, plenty of time for Renata to watch the passing panorama of Quito through the window of the car. Not much had changed during the year she was away. Sure, there were new construction sites here and there, expansions to the suburbs, new billboards... but compared to the 2000s and the early 2010s, this was pretty much nothing. Back then, the city as well as the rest of Ecuador were growing practically overnight. Having gotten over the initial economic slump thanks to a combination of instability and foreign sanctions, it received new life thanks to the lifting of many of its sanctions, a steady stream of immigration, successful economic reforms and shrewd long-term investment of oil revenue. Not only did Ecuador rejuvenate, it managed to cure its Dutch disease and transform what was once a state reliant on oil export into a vibrant modern economy. The years following 2008 were a financial crisis for the rest of the world, but a golden age for Ecuador - because of its history of American sanctions, it was less connected to the American banking sector and thus did not feel the adverse effects of the Wall Street crash, and the financial stability of the country made it a dream come true for foreign investors.

A ten year old Renata would get lost in construction sites and climb up the metal carcassuses of buildings almost every week in those days. The situation was different now. Everything went a lot... slower. Not because Ecuador was getting shackled by an economic crisis of sorts, no - there simply comes a time when a developing nation catches up enough that their growth starts to slow down. Ecuador had become the most advanced economy in South America and was not far away from the average Western democracy already - there were a lot of things you could say against it, but compared to where it had been at the time of the Condor coup, it was hard to deny the tangible advancement.

...

"Just to be clear, I didn't touch anything in your room while you were away, so if something happened over there, don't put the blame on me."

Even while escorting his daughter through the entrance hall of the Carondelet Palace, Sergio Martinez emanated an intimidating aura. Members of the presidential staff and passing by guards alike would straighten and turn tense at the first sight of the Caudillo, politely allowing him to pass through. Some would even go as far as to salute, receiving a brief, curt nod in response. Compared to him, Renata was as different as night and day - she'd always rush forward and thus be forced to stop and catch up with her father's rather slow pace, and her excitable, restless running clashed with his calm, disciplined movement.

"You better not have!.." Renata exclaimed after running into a fancy dining room. Decades ago, it was used by the Presidents of Ecuador for official state visits and dinners, and while it still serves its original purpose every once in a while, for the most part, it's been converted to a dining room for the Martinez family. The good thing about it was that the table was so long that there was no chance of conflicting over space at the table. It was made for fifty and it usually served only two.

"Not that there was much to touch, since you took everything to San Diego."

"Oh, so you apparently know that, hm?"

"Well, I did have to watch all of your bags getting carried one after the other, so..."

Renata playfully leaned on the edge of a chair, while Sergio picked up an apple off the only bowl on the table and took a bite, before speaking again:

"So. Satisfied with what you've seen in the United States, so far?" Renata's answer was simple:

"Well... it's certainly been an adventure. Especially recently."

"I'm sure it was," she received in response, after an another bite at the apple. "I've been keeping up with the news stream from San Diego as much as I can, and, well, I've gotta say..."

Renata's face turned somber for a second, before Sergio continued on:

"You even got the chance to speak at a press conference."

"I know, right?" the pink-haired girl suddenly activated, smiling pridefully and clenching her fist. "In a foreign language, in front of all the news networks in the area, and I didn't stutter even once!"

"You sure didn't..." Sergio built up on his daughter's response, folding his arms. "Me and my team were a lot more jittery in our first press conference, so it's good to see you doing better. Though, to be fair, the whole superhero concept was more fresh back then, so we've got somewhat of an excuse..."

A few seconds of silence set upon the dining room before Sergio spoke again:

"So you're sticking with the Young Bloods then, I suppose?"

"Yeah, I've decided on it for good."

"Really? That's odd. You were adamant that you're going to work alone when you ran off."

"Well..." Renata turned her eyes to the ceiling, losing herself in thoughts. "I thought about it, I ran into some problems while working alone... and, well, now I'm there. I was kinda surprised at that decision myself, but I ended up not regretting it."

Sergio remained silent for a few seconds, but quickly continued. "And it had to be the Young Bloods." For Renata, this was the first red flag. The pink-haired girl's eyes widened and she replied:

"...Where are you going with this?"

"How long has that team been around? A month? And they've already gotten into more scandals than I can count. Already, one of your teammates has gotten incarcerated, and out of those who haven't, one is apparently complicit in her family's criminal business while the other is a violent masked vigilante. And those who aren't actively breaking the law, they get into open battles with organizations such as Warwolf."

"You... you're not actually going to believe everything they say about us?-"

"So far, I have yet to see anything which disproves those facts. I'm sure you're going to say that I'm wrong and they're all not as bad as I make them out to be - but, to be honest, all I'd get from that is that you're getting influenced by the bad crowd you're getting into."

"T-that..."

He's been planning to rant about all this for a while, hasn't he?

"To be honest, I had been worried about what's going to happen to you ever since you left for San Diego. Having an adventure and a good time out there is great and all, but how am I supposed to know whether you're up to something good? You're a teenager, drowning in a cocktail of hormones, you're surrounded by others your age, completely unattended, all of that is just a recipe for disaster."

Renata remained silent.

"And, I'm not going to lie, as enthusiastic as you are about it, you might need to dial down on the superhero business, too. Getting seriously hurt while on a mission is one thing - and I could never forgive myself if you died out there - but... you have to understand that you need to look past simple heroics. Remember, one day, you're going to have to take my place, and when that happens, hero experience won't be enough to run a country. Even I was a professor first and a superhero second. You're going to have to study a lot harder than what your grades are showing, you'll need to be more careful when picking out your friends, and make sure to prepare to return home to complete your studies, because-"

Sergio got cut short, however, by Renata's fist suddenly slamming into the table. The pink-haired hero did not even flinch, but stopped regardless, while his daughter's hand slowly receded, revealing a scorched mark on the mahogany wood.

"...yeah." Renata muttered, her artificially calm and content voice betraying bottled frustration underneath. Sergio's experience in dealing with his daughter told him very well that she was mad. "...yeah, I know that very well. You've given me enough chances to figure out exactly what you want from me. 'You're not satisfied with any of your possible successors and don't think Ecuador is ready for democracy again, so you'd rather groom me to an adequate successor instead of dealing with either'. But do you... know what that feels like?"

Sergio said nothing, watching as his daughter sent a frustrated glare towards him and waiting for her to continue.

"Can you imagine the pressure, the frustration, knowing that anything you do or choose doesn't matter because you've already preordained what my life will have to be? That anything I do is pointless and any friends I make will have to be abandoned... if I can even have any. Back in Ecuador, everyone was too afraid of me to hang out or even have a normal conversation... and in San Diego, I only have a bit of borrowed time..."

The initial outburst receded and got punctuated by a sigh. However, Renata was not yet finished. "You even ordered me to kill people... like that bluehead from earlier... Yesterday, in a fit of rage, I almost killed a teammate of mine. Could you imagine how terrible I felt afterwards?.. And if you have your way, I'd have to do that almost every day..."

Sergio's expression, despite the whole rant he had to listen to, remained stern and unwavering - and it was frustrating Renata more and more. To her, it was like her father didn't even care about anything she said. That her words will go through one of his ears and come out through the other, he'll dismiss it as just a phase or as her acting childish and move on. The bottled frustration erupted in anger.

"Do you ever stop to think about what I feel?! While you were out there crafting your infallible plan how to steer Ecuador after you step down, did you ever consider, even for a second, that I'm human too?! That I don't want to rule a country, or execute people, or... that I don't want to just be seen as your child, and nothing else?! I..."

The pink-haired girl released a defeated sigh. "...I just want to be a hero. And when you were a hero - when you would fight villains, when you would do your best to help people - that's when I would look up to you. But I never, ever wanted to just be a second installment of you."

A silence permeated the room for a few seconds. Renata took a few deep breaths, staring her father straight in the eyes. Despite all odds, her heart was optimistic. Maybe her father would actually understand what she said and have a change of heart, maybe what she said would be able to sway him at least a little... But, alas, much like Sergio knew very well what she was like, the same thing she could say about him. When pressed, he could be even more stubborn and self-assured than her. Renata expected herself to get dismissed, but she didn't expect it to be in the worst way possible.

"...You're just like your mother."

"My... mother?.."

Sergio turned around and was ready to simply depart, only to get himself stopped by Renata's voice calling out to him from behind.

"What do you mean by that?" Her father's brief glance over his shoulder assured Renata that she had a chance of figuring something out today. "You... never mentioned her before. You would always just give me a non-answer if I asked you about her... so what do you mean by that?"

Renata did not receive an answer by words. Instead, her father turned around, grabbed her by the upper arm and started dragging her along, less than comfortably so. Initially, the pink-haired girl resisted, trying to pull her arm out, to no avail, and finally yelled out:

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"We're going to go see your mother."

...Really? For once, Renata chose to calm down a little, hastening her pace to keep up with her father as the two of them moved past corridor after corridor. Her first thought was that he was going to lead them outside, but that had to be thrown out through the window. No, instead, Sergio was leading them deeper and deeper to the depths of the Carondelet Palace, well past the ornate and illustrious halls and deep to the far more modern and utiltarian looking basements. That alone was enough for the girl to conclude that something here was... really not right. Dozens of thoughts and possible answers swirled in her heard, each one more ridiculous than the last. The dictator and his daughter passed by several locked and reinforced doors, descended several floors below the surface, until they finally reached heavy steel and lead blast door in their way

It'd take a tank to visibly dent a door this thick, but for Sergio, it was as simple as touching the wheel lock, turning it liquid and easily spinning it.

What unfolded inside looked like something straight out of science fiction. A clean white panel laboratory, outfitted with the most cutting edge equipment which Ecuador could develop or buy. The crown jewel of it all, however, was a human-sized tube in the center of the room, stretching from the floor to the ceiling, hundreds of wires and smaller tubes attached to it from all sides. It was filled with a greenish, partially clear liquid, so the view inside was hazy, but what Renata could make out looked like an utter, disgusting monstrosity. Whatever it was, it might have once been human, but now its flesh was left ripped apart, bulging and floating, its shape could be described as humanoid only in the most loosest terms... The left side of its "cheek" was still somewhat intact, revealing feminine, bleached facial features, a closed eye, a few strands of white hair here and there...

And what's worse, Renata could swear that she could see it twitch. Whatever was that... it was alive...

"What... what is that?!"

"That? That is your mother," Sergio replied nonchalantly, stepping down a small ramp and making his way towards the tube. "Or rather, what's left of her."

Renata stared in shock for a few seconds, but her mind could not take the sight any longer. Covering up her mouth, the pink-haired girl immediately ran out through the open door.

...

"Renata?" Sergio called out as soon as he opened the door of his daughter's old room. Much as he had expected, the girl was here, lying on her bed and staring to the wall in front of her. She did not respond in any way, so Sergio sighed, stepped into the room and sat down nearby. A few seconds of silence followed.

"Listen, Renata... I'm sorry you got to see that. And... I guess I should be sorry about misjudging you, too. I knew that all this isn't easy for someone as young as you to take in, but... I might not have expected you to act so hostile towards it all."

Renata did not say anything, merely stopped staring at the wall and turned around.

"I... hope you aren't actually thinking that I'm using you as a tool or a replacement or anything, though," Sergio continued, moving on to trying to defend himself. "It's for you above all else. I couldn't even think otherwise - not when... you're probably the last thing I have left."

That... that got Renata to finally bring the question up. "What... happened to Mom?" Instead of responding to the answer outright, however, Sergio sighed. It was still too difficult to upturn that stone for her.

"Remember the first mission you had together with the Andean Condors? The one in the Galapagas, right? When I told you that your biggest fault is that you often rush into action without thinking, as long as you believe that you can win? And remember what you told to me a fe hours ago, that you simply want to be a hero?.. Unfortunately, you got those traits from your mother."

Unfortunately... Before Renata could try to express what that meant, she felt her father's hand pat her on the head, pressing onto her wild, thick pink hair.

"Honestly, though, the two of you would have loved each other. Sometimes, you act like a splitting image of her. Who knows, maybe it's because you share the same name?"

"...Wait, really?"

"Yeah... Yeah... Back then, I thought it was kind of symbolic, or poetic... I lost your mother a few days after your birth, and I thought that, if I can't bring her back, then perhaps you can at least serve as a reminder..."

"...Wait... That's how long she has been dead? You've held her there for eighteen years?!"

"That's how long I have been trying to find a way to revive her, yes."

"W-why?!"

Pause.

Pause...

Sergio finally let out a sigh.

"She was the one who told me, that if I ever find a chance, no matter how miniscule, to achieve something, then I should grab it and never let go. I'm... staying true to her word." Explaining himself, Sergio offered his daughter a second pat. "But you, you didn't even need your Mom to figure that out on your own, didn't you?"

[Tomia]

September 12th

Roy
The morning before the Young Bloods were set to travel to New York City, the hero Nightshade had just finished a training session with his squad and took a shower. The team was buzzing with excitement, since tonight they would learn who they were competing against in the North American Super League Tournament. Roy wasn't nearly the super fan some members of the team were, but he had to admit he was excited. Over the last month or so the team had really started to solidify. As the summer ended they lost a few members who decided the superhero life wasn't for them or that their parents wouldn't accept them working with the team. They also got a bunch of new recruits however, and they were really starting to gel and get along. Some people had moved back in with their parents now that summer was over, while others took up permanent residency on the island, like Roy. Others joined him, like Mars who admitted to his grandparents what he had been up to during the summer and had gotten their permission to live on the island. Angelica on the other hand had decided to go back to living with her mother, who had been doing better in the month following her relapse.

Even with some not living at the tower, they had a spent most of their remaining summer together preparing for their upcoming adventure. The squad leaders met regularly as well as meeting with their individual squads. Roy for his part was all packed for New York and headed upstairs for breakfast. He up earlier than everyone else as usual and decided to start cooking some pancakes and bacon in case anyone else was interested when they woke up. After about 15 minutes or so the kitchen and living room was filled with the scent of grilling batter and cooking meat filled the air.

Mars
Meanwhile Mars was busy tinkering away in Alexis' lab, where he had been spending more and more time as of late. Ever since the news of them joining the NASL tournament, and with Kiris having left for her home planet, Mars had put most of his time and energy into preparing. Working with Wendy, he had established an algorithm to create a digital archive containing hundreds of hours of footage of the current iterations of the NASL teams. It would allow them to scout their opponents with significant ease and even fight specific footage that is sorted using key words.

On a more personal note, Mars had been hard at work to replace Rocket, and for that he was working closely with Alexis. Mars could have just rebuilt Rocket the way he had been fairly easily. However, Mars decided he should take this opportunity to improve on the original design. And about two days before he had finished. Rockets new design was fairly different and very cutting edge. To start, Mars installed an energy cannon that could fluctuate from being able to blow apart steal to delivering a shock to living things. On top of that Rocket was given stronger boosters, the ability to launch grenades such as smoke and flash grenades, and even a new AI interface. However the most impressive accomplishment is infusing nano tech into Rocket's armor that allows parts of the suit to disassemble and reassemble seamlessly. Not only would it make Rocket easy for Mars to dawn the suit it also allowed Mars to switch between which arm held the cannon and even form the different things such as a shield or a blade.

Mars currently had Rocket 2.0 held up on what looked like an operating table, and was deep in thought as he worked on some of the mech's circuitry. Mars had barely slept the night before, far too excited about the upcoming opening ceremony to sleep. It had been his dream since he was six or seven years old to compete in the tournament, and now that dream was coming true. Keeping his mind on his work was the only thing he could do to keep from panicking.

"Hey Alexis, think you could hand me that torch on your right?"

[Absolon-7]

Team Ticking Time Bomb Training, August 9th

Elle had been silent for the whole first round of fighting. It probably was a result of being immersed in an environment that was mostly unknown to her, aside from Cas’ presence. Tadeo apparently hating Renata didn’t particularly help Shadowkill in being more extroverted to her companions.

Mike had the brilliant idea of loudly yelling on the intercom to get out of bed. Thus there she was, Shadowkill, the terror that slips in the night and hits like a bullet, slicing avocados, cutting toasts and generally looking miserably in her cat-eared, hood pajamas.

“If anyone wants more protein tell me, I'll work some beans into this.”

“Sure, I’ll have some, Elle,” yawned an irritable Casimir with his hand over his open mouth.

He ran his hand through his hair as he waited with the rest of the squad for what hair brained scheme Mike had come up with for their squad. The bug hero was dressed in a black tracksuit that made him stand out in the dry grassy field that was the island’s training grounds. It looked like the place still had some reminders from last time as there were a few burn marks where nothing grew. Then again they all stood out in the vast expanse of dry grass.

“Gonna tell us what we’re in for any minute now or are we all just gonna cloud watch, Mike” asked an unamused Casimir.

“I wouldn’t mind watching the clouds. They float by carelessly and remind us of our circumstantial existence.” Tad noted. He had no problem waiting, and was bright and awake despite the early time that Mike had wanted to meet. The only thing on his mind that might bother him as the spider-demon Bael that was scurrying, always in the corner of his vision.

“Clouds are weird,” Mizu offered her insight as well, yawning herself after seeing Casimir do the same. Getting used to Earth’s sleeping rhythm was still a chore to her and getting woken up so early was not helping… though it didn’t mean she was not excited for whatever was about to take place here. “When I had to study about cloud types in school, I had to Google just to check what clouds are...”

“Well” Mike said as he tried not to think too much about Tad’s words and did his best to keep up his leader/teacher voice “I’ve been thinking about our fight with the Ca-*ahem* Icarus. And after putting some time into it, I have to say, we did horrible. Like really, really bad. I mean Casimir definitely would’ve died if Tadeo didn’t save him. So thinking about that, I’ve been talking to Naja a bit annndddd.....” he said with extra emphasis as he pulled out a small tablet and pushed in a command “…we decidedddddd…” he added trying to fill time for his surprise to arrive. Until finally, and only slightly off cue, several large drones descended down and around the field, each carrying a variety of gear and equipment ranging from weapons, shields to even costumes and dummies. “That we should have a training day!” Mike exclaimed with flare “But, um, don’t touch the drones… Those are rentals…”

Tadeo clapped genuinely at the climax of the reveal. Casimir shrugged his shoulders at the gesture. Mizu was about to extend her arm and poke one of the drones, but jumped back as soon as she heard Mike finish his sentence.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Training regiment 1
Engaging a stronger opponent

“So for the first exercise, I figured we’d do something a little topical. Recently there have been a lot of strong villains popping up and to better prepare, I thought we could practice fighting a strong opponent as a group.” Mike said as he reached into one of supply boxes before pulling out a borderline comically proportioned, 90s styled lizard monster costume. “Okay so Casimir, you go change into this and get ready. And no need to thank me, Viv told me how much you’d love the whole monster costume idea. As for the rest of us, we’ll all work to restrain him. We’ll play to our strengths and work together to keep each other safe as we whittle him down before moving in for the capture.”

“You know what? Fine. Imma wear this costume and chase the shit out of all of you,” boasted Casimir as he took the costume.

Casimir’s eyes stared down burning daggers at the suit that looked like a cheap ripoff fusion of Godzilla and Gigan and the thought of wearing was like a complete slap to the face. And what better way to nullify a slap but with a big smug smile. Casimir slipped off his shoes and began stuffing his body into the costume before placing the goofy lizard head as a king would crown himself. He squatted down and raised both of the costume’s floppy arms up threateningly like cobras.

“All four of you have a five second head start. And to simulate combat better let’s say if I touch you three times then you’re dea- I mean unconscious. Deal?” said Casimir.

“That’s the spirit Cas!” Mike said with a big thumbs up after putting on his helmet. ‘I thought he would be the most trouble but he seems really into this training idea, though it is nice to see that deep down he can be a team player’ Mike thought to himself as he got ready. “You heard him, but remember this is training for all of us. If you have an idea, run with it. If you see something here you can use, grab it but above all make sure to communicate effectively. So fighting a big guy, how about we try this, Mizu you try to keep him distracted. Tad do you think you can disorient him or wear him down? Maybe keep teleporting him or blasting him when he gets too close to someone maybe? Elle, um Cas, isn’t bulletproof. I think. Actually never mind, just rubber bullets and anything that can slow him down. I’ll do what I can to keep him focused on me and locked in place. Personally I think that-”

Casimir stood tapping his foot on grass as Mike droned on and on to the rest of the squad. He crossed his arms and counted to five in his head. Although he drew out pronouncing the numbers for as long as he could in his head. Once he counted to the very limit he could extend their syllables in his head Casimir bolted right next the rest of his group and Mike was sent away several feet away with the slightest backhand strike to the back.

“Okay, you know what? Get him!” Mike shouted as he picked himself up and charged towards the suited Casimir.

“On garde!,” stated Lizard Casimir as he stood his ground to face the incoming Mike and was ready to meet him with an outstretched open palm strike.

Suddenly, however, the big mean lizard would see his vision change - he’d get showered by petals and surrounded by the sound of people clapping, as well as the feeling of something tugging onto his arm. If he were to check what it was, he’d witness a moth monster somewhat resembling Mothra, in a bleached white wedding dress, looking at him, smiling, and awaiting a kiss to complete the path towards the two kaijus’ marriage.

At the side of the battlefield, Mizu was sitting and giggling.

Lizard Casimir stood gawking at the sight in front of him momentarily in awe of the absurdity of it. Is this supposed to be Ash? Is this a marriage ceremony? He retracted his attack and backflipped a few meters back to avoid the scenario entirely with the costume’s tail flopping all about in the air. Thankfully his bewildered red face was hidden by the lizard mask. He turned his head to Mizu’s location before running at her at the moon girl at a greyhound’s speed to circle behind her before tapping her shoulder.

“BOO!,” shouted Lizard Casimir behind her.

“AAAH!” Mizu screamed upon the sudden bad touch and the yell, instinctively leaping back and starting to back away from the costumed hero. Lacking little else in her arsenal to respond to Casimir with, the purple-haired girl held out her hands and hissed, while occasionally glancing over her shoulders to see where the rest of her team was.

Tad teleported in towards Mizu, teleporting her away from Casimir’s monstrous persona. Then, he placed his hands to earth once more and those same briars erupted from the ground, gripping Casimir’s arms tightly, trying to restrain him.

“Usually, I’d say we should talk the monster down at this point….” He said, trying to keep Casimir contained.

“Hell no!,” cursed Lizard Casimir, “You can’t stop me! I’m too good!”

Their wooden and dirt scent could be smelled even inside the monster head he was wearing and tugging at them felt like he was flailing through molasses. Tad’s teleportation would prove to be a pain in the ass it seemed. But some flimsy plants would be nothing to him as he twisted one arm under in a circle to get a good heap of them over his forearm. With a swift tug upwards they snapped and with his free arm he grabbed the briars wrapping around his other arm and ripped it away. With a single thought he directed a portion of his swarm to go to their location and hopefully it would come in time for the next step. Shit, I can’t use my webbing in this get up. He ran towards Mizu and Tadeo and right before he got to them he delivered a powerful glancing kick at the ground to bring up a huge cloud of grass, dirt, and pebbles in their direction. Then he lunged forward like a mantis to poke both of their foreheads.

Mike meanwhile, had been trying to figure out how to catch up to someone with super speed and agility without being able to teleport. After a short brainstorm and a failed attempt though, he realized there was a better option. ‘Why go to him when he can come to us’ he figured as he readied his powers. The moment Mizu blinked out of danger, Mike made his move and started running towards her as he charged the ground not too far ahead of her. If Tad couldn’t hold him down, then Mike was willing to bet that she’d be his next target. Sure enough, when Casimir broke his restraints and surged forward, he seemed to play right into Mike’s hands. ‘Come on, just a little bit further…’ he thought to himself as he waited for his shot, before it arrived though, something unexpected happened. Without warning, Casimir kicked the charged ground to make himself some sort of dust screen, feeling his control slip off the now fragmenting clumps of earth though, Mike tried to hold everything together before cursing his luck and being forced to let go.

Unlike most of his attacks though, when he released control and the charged bits of dust and sand went off, they went off in small separate, dense blasts and instead of sending out a single wall of force, they seemed to only let out a brilliant ball of light accompanied by a near ear shattering ‘whomp’ as they shattered apart. Not close enough to be deafened but still not fast enough to look away, Mike found his world turn a blinding white as the cloud of earth turned into a curtain of shining pain. “YOU HAVE SUPER SPEED!! WHY?! WHY WOULD KICK THE GROUND!?!” Mike shouted as he doubled over and cupped his eyes as he tried to blink away the thousand spots occupying his vision.

“MIKE YOU MULLET!,” yelled Lizard Casimir as he reared back to cover his eyes, exposed by a slit in the Lizard monster mouth, and subsequently falling flat on his butt.

“AAAAH!” Mizu released a scream as well, her confused stare into the clash between Mike and Casimir having turned into horror. The purple-haired girl grabbed onto her face and fell to the ground. “You… you… you...” she muttered while her vision slowly started to recover, removing her hands and staring at Mike and Casimir before her. Mizu’s both hands turned into giant hammers, each one well over ten feet long and their heads comically enlarged, and she sent them to bonk both of the supers for their stupidity.

It was at this moment Lizard Casimir looked up to see the huge hammer coming towards him. With a single breath he activated his fly power and jerked his body out of the comical weapon’s way in a green blur. With another breath it was deactivated and then he squatted down to power up a spinning leap towards Mizu. He landed right in front of her and booped her nose with the costume’s big green hand.

“Boom. One more and you’re dead,” snickered Lizard Casimir, “Time for fearless leader’s turn!”

He pivoted in Mike’s direction and began to take a step forward but little did he know that he had stepped on his costume’s tail. This miscalculation made the teen fall over flat on his chest with the tail wrapped around one knee.

“Kurwa!,” snapped Casimir as he fumbled around with the tail with his legs but the costume’s awkward proportions made the process just a fumble on the ground, “I’m feeding this damn costume to my cockroaches after we’re done. I’m sure they’d like some greens for a change.”

Tragically lacking Casimir’s recovery ability, Mike was left dazed and unable to predict, much less avoid, Mizu’s blows.

“Ow! What are?! Ow-Why!? Quit it! Stop-ow-hitting-ow-me!” He managed to say between the ringing of his ears and the repeated bonks to his head. One thing that did catch his attention though was Casimir’s gloating as he scored a point against Mizu ‘There!’ Mike thought to himself as he followed the other boy’s voice ‘I might not be able to see you but that doesn’t mean I can’t still get you!’ He thought to himself as he surged in low and went for a grab in the direction of the voice. ‘Huh… Casimir’s a lot squishier than I expected…’ he figured as his arms locked around a small unsuspecting waist. As he prepared to turn the grab into a tackle though, a familiar voice spoke out from below him and went on about feeding a certain swarm. ‘Wait… If that’s Casimir, who am I holding?’ He began to think before thankfully being interrupted as he lost his footing on an out of place synthetic tail and falling backwards and landing hard on the still prone monster suited costume.

“H-huh?..” Mizu finally managed to mutter out after a few seconds of awkwardness when Mike suddenly grabbed her by the waist, holding her tightly. The girl’s face instantly turned red. What… what is he doing?! She already got hit by Casimir twice, so… maybe Mike is trying to protect her from getting eliminated? No, that can’t be it…

“What are you doing- aaah!” Mizu was about to ask, but instead yelled when the two of them fell upon Casimir.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” barked Lizard Casimir as he felt the much taller boys’ weight fall on top of him.

He placed both palms on the ground and in a powerful push-up he launched himself to stand on two feet again. He spun around quickly to grab Mike from behind.

“That’s two for two Mike. One more and you’re dead,” mocked Lizard Casimir as he let go momentarily before shoving Mike unwittingly right at Mizu's location, "Three strikes and you're out!"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Mizu was panicking. “Wait, Mike, watch out, you’re going to- mmmph...” The faces of the two heroes suddenly met, merging in a mouthful, unexpected kiss. The new sensation instantly shot the girl’s eyes open in fright, a deep red blush formed on her face - however, with the fright gripping her, she couldn’t pull away either, merely giving Mike a deep glare, as if the hero stabbed a baby in front of her.

Tad meanwhile was watching the clouds, considering helping the others. With his powers, the point of the game seemed useless; he could keep everyone away from Casimir at all times. The magician had already decided to just keep himself away from the fight and relax for a bit, eating some of the leftover food that Elle had made earlier.

Slowly realizing what was happening, Mike eventually grabbed Mizu by the shoulders and quickly separated the two of them. “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” He began to say as he felt his brain go blank and finally give up on reality. As his face took another deep shade of red and he locked eyes with the small angry Lunarian. ‘Yup, this is how I die.’ he thought to himself before deciding that getting smacked around by Casimir was far safer than continuing to mindlessly stare at the enraged heroine.

Confused, angry, embarrassed and desperate to escape the situation as fast as possible, he turned away from the girl and her merciless glare to try and find any sort of saving grace. Though what he saw behind him was shocking enough to at least momentarily snap him out of his daze.

“Tad! Wha- Why are you eating?! And where did Elle go!? Why are we the only ones fighting Cas! How are we supposed to hold him down without magic or guns! He’s got super strength!”

Sensing the glare continuing to dig into his back and realizing nearly half the team had abandoned the exercise, some part of the usually stubborn Mike finally gave in to defeat. “…Let’s…. Let’s just get some food, take a break and… pretend this first exercise didn’t happen” he said as he shakily walked off in a random direction hoping that he could find a nice cave to crawl up and disappear into.
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Training regiment 2
Trust walk
“Okay… So that, could’ve gone better.”

It had been a short break since the disaster that was the first training exercise and while embarrassed, bruised and a little disheartened, he wasn’t ready to give up on the training program just yet “But, it also could’ve gone worse! Probably. Somehow. But hey, that’s what all this training is for right?” He said as he gathered his team together once more “So now I’m thinking we address a big part of team building, trust.”

Behind him and now covering the training field was an impromptu maze of metal fences being set up and interlocked by the ever-helpful drones.

“It’s a simple exercise, the drones make a random maze for us to complete in pairs. Though whoever goes through the maze wears a blindfold and these noise cancelling headphones, so all they can hear is their partners directions. If everything goes well, we’ll all get better at communicating and trusting one another. Though for added suspense, the fence will be electrified. Nothing dangerous but they’ll definitely zap anyone who touches one. So who’s first?”

What the hell is with me and getting electrocuted? Ever since I joined this blasted team something always shows up to shock me! Casimir looked on at the impromptu maze and rolled his eyes at it.

“I’ll take the first shot as usual,” said Casimir, “So how do we decide partners?”

“I take Mike!” Mizu suddenly yelled out, instantly stopping and faintly cowering in the awkwardness. “Oh, well, I mean - if we are deciding this by preference, then, I mean, I guess, that would be my first choice...” The girl looked around for a second, looking over all the members of the team. “But there’s five of us. Someone will have to go twice.”

’Yup, she is definitely pissed off at me’ Mike thought to himself, still not entirely over the events of the last mission and definitely not over the last training exercise. Since her injury he’d been feeling a strange mix of emotions towards the Lunarian, on one hand, he knew her injury was his fault and he couldn’t quite shake what must’ve been a good amount of guilt. But on the other hand, he couldn’t stop thinking about her and what she said. Sure, her heart was in the right place but she put herself in danger with barely a thought to her own safety ’and the fact she could smile so brightly about it afterwards! It was bad enough dealing with hot heads but how was he supposed to handle that! It dumb! Beyond dumb! Why would anyone in their right mind run into the middle of -No-no, focus.’ Mike told himself as he let out a fake cough as an excuse to turn away and hide a growing blush. ‘This is all about training. That means it’ll be good to practice where you’re weakest’

“*Ahem* Y-Yeah. So Mizu and I’ll go first. She leads me then I’ll lead her. Afterwards how about Tad and Elle then me and Cas? If we need to we can always do a few more runs or mix it up a bit.”

Trust Walk 1
“So, I just gotta tell you where to go?” Mizu commented as she pulled the headset handed to her onto her ears and tapped on the microphone to see if everything works as intended. “That ain’t gonna be difficult, right?”

“Should be nice and simple.” Mike said back through his headphones as he pulled the blindfold over his eyes. ’Maybe this wasn’t the best of my ideas’ he quietly thought to himself as he tried to forget the surging electric fences around him. “Okay then, where do I go first?”

Slowly stepping into the maze, carefully, to not touch the electrified drones herself, Mizu briefly assessed the situation and began: “Alright, take ten steps forward.” As her teammate started following through with the order, the purple-haired girl immediately realized that her and Mike’s definition of a ‘step’ were different. “Wait! Nine steps, nine steps, NINE STEPS!”

Not quite thinking about how a step’s length could vary between the two of them. Mike proceeded to take 9 long steps without hesitation before a shrill warning streamed across his headphones right as he walked into the electrified fence. “OW! Son-f-a-” He began to say before backing up into another electrified wall “Ow! For crying out- Where? Why? How am I surrounded by walls? And what do you mean nine steps? I took nine steps!” Then breathing out a sigh and shaking a numb arm, Mike recollected his thoughts and did his best to stay calm ‘this is all just training, nothing to get upset about’

“Okay, I’m okay. This is fine. Mizu, where do I go now?”

The purple-haired girl flinched upon witnessing Mike walk straight to walls one after the other and curse under his breath afterwards. Shouting at her didn’t help, although, thankfully, Mike finally calmed down.

“Okay, so, clearly, measuring this by steps isn’t gonna work,” Mizu stated, trying to measure the distance to the next turn with her eye. “Alright, then, turn to the left - I mean, my left, your right - and walk for three meters. Then go down for three meters, then to the right again.” Mike should know how long a meter is, right?

‘Zzaaappp!’

“...That one- *cough* That one was my fault.” A now medium well Mike commented as he walked into another wall. Progress was going well and Mizu’s directions weren’t hard to follow unlike walking forward a meter, Mike hadn’t exactly figured out how to do accurate turns without his eyes and with every corner he made, he drifted a little closer to the wall before the inevitable shock. ’How the hell does Roy fight like this?’ He thought to himself as he remembered their ‘leader’ talking about fighting in near perfect darkness. ‘’Maybe there’s some trick to it… Clear your mind, focus on your senses and make out your surround-

ZZAAPPP

“Son-of-a!”

After a few more turns directions and a fear induced level of caution. Mike eventually cleared out of the maze with organs still functional.

“Well, it took a few tries but I think I got the hang of your directions” He said to Mizu still twitching slightly, “Okay whoever’s next, go whenever you’re ready. I’m gonna find something to ground myself with.”

Trust Walk 2
It went as well as expected from Elle and Tadeo together.

Trust Walk 3
“You call this a maze? This thing is as easy as stealing candy from the Black Apostles,” mocked a blindfolded Casimir as he confidently strode right behind Mike in the drone maze. And little did Mike knew there was a mosquito several meters in the air giving Casi a perfect view of the challenge. “Any reward for a speed run?”

“I mean, we still have some tacos I think… But it’s not about speed, just focus on listening to my directions and following them exactly so you don’t get shocked. Shouldn’t be too hard right?” Oddly enough, Casimir actually seemed excited for once and practically jogged right up to the course ’can’t fault his bravery’ Mike decided to himself as he watched the bug hero calmly move straight to the maze’s entrance. “Okay then, so first take a left then go three paces forward and turn right.”

Alright, Mister Buzzkill thought an unamused Casimir as he took his first step forward. His eyes high in the sky could see the maze perfectly so Mike screwing up with step counts wasn’t a surprise. In fact he just brushed off Mike’s directions after the first few steps and seemed intent on completing the course on his own.

“You call this a maze? I’ve gotten foot cramps more complicated than this,” laughed a grinning Casimir with his hands on his hips.

“Casimir wait! You’re gonna hit the… wall…” Mike began to say as he watched Casimir effortlessly run through the course. ‘That cheating bastard!’ he thought to himself as he realised the other boy had to be using some sort of hidden sense to navigate the track. ‘Okay then, if that’s how you want to play it’ he decided as he reached over and grabbed the drone control tablet. “Oh no, look out Casimir, there’s a wall in front of you, go left.” he said nonchalantly as his worker bots got in position. Once everything was ready, Mike took control of one, waited a second, then dragged one of the electric walls right in front of the fast moving Casimir as quickly as the drone’s motors could carry it.

The maze was a breeze and so much so in fact Casimir had turned off his link to the dragonfly in the sky since he was confident he had memorized the entire maze. Sure Mike would be all butthurt but he’d probably throw a bone by following a step or two. Sometime. Maybe. Probably not but whatever. It would be worth seeing that dolt get all huffy over a dumb obstacle course. Who knows maybe he’d learn a thing or two about him. Wait ...left? The next move was supposed to be a righ-ZAAAAAAP

Casimir’s body flinched back the very moment the all too familiar sensation hit his body. To be fair it was absolutely miniscule compared to Thunderstruck’s powered up horn or that weird trap shock in Icarus’ chest but it had become instinctual to avoid it all the same. It had also become instinctual all the same to hate the feeling of electricity. It had even got to the point where he almost ripped off the kitchen tower one time static shock managed to spark him.

"Every. Damn. Time. I get shocked in this damn city!" yelled Casimir at no one in particular as he staggered back arms ready to tear apart the drones.

He angrily huffed at the maze but decided it wasn't worth it. He figured he must've misremembered a small part of the maze so he resigned himself to keep along the way he memorized. Not like it could go wrong twice?

“I told you to go left. Now, lets try this again, go back 4 paces- annddd you’re ignoring me.” Mike said as he slumped back and watched Casimir continue forward on his own path. Feeling tempted to drag another wall in front of him, Mike had to forcibly stop himself, if Naja found out he was practically playing with the expensive equipment he was beyond dead. ‘Game on douchebag’ he decided as he watched Casimir approach the exit ‘let’s see how confident you are when the world hits back.’

Not willing to let the bug hero waltz over his plans again, he focused on the ground in front of the exit and poured his powers into it. Maybe it was because he knew Casimir could take it or because he was sick of his larger than life attitude, but Mike didn’t even try to hold back. He didn’t have long with Casimir’s pace but he continued to flood the ground with power until it began to release a dim, weak orange glow as it struggled to hold the explosive energy. Satisfied with his work, Mike leaned back and waited “Not that you care, but that’s not the way to go.” he said over the headset as he looked around for a handy snack.

So far so good thought Casimir as he continued on his way in the maze. The piercing Southern California sun was blaring its light and heat ever more so as time had passed in their team training and he hoped whatever came next was something in the shade. With a few more steps accomplished Casimir thought it be best to throw a Mike a bone and follow his orders for the last leg of the trial. With a confident giant step he conveniently stepped over the charged ground Mike had activated but upon hearing that he was going the wrong way he paused.

“Oh crap its not?,” said Casimir as he turned around and with a normal step was about to land his foot on the charged ground, “So gotta go the opposite way rig-” BOOOOM

The ground finally broke apart in a spectacular orange display of light sending Casimir spinning in the air at least twice before he fell face first and buttocks up on the grassy ground. The end of his pants had been burnt, his shoes had pretty much fallen apart, and his mouth was currently occupied by a fistful of dry grass. Needless to say as he pushed himself up he was incredibly pissed. He ripped off the blindfold and earplugs as he charged towards at Mike at superspeed through the maze. Once he was upon him Casimir grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up to shake him vigorously.

“Think you’re wise guy, eh? Looking for a clobbering?” snarled Casimir at Mike spitting out blades of grass but he eventually let Mike down gently. He crossed his arms as he looked away, “Let’s just call it off and go do something else.”

As much as Mike wanted to set off another landmine and settle things. He let out a pent up breath and set the drones to clean up mode. Casimir was right and calling it a day was for the best. As much as he wanted to try more ideas he couldn’t deny that each so far had been far from the successes he had hoped for. And thinking back he was just at fault as everyone else.

“Fine, let’s call it there and get something to eat.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Training regiment break
Hillside Picnic
Casimir sat cross legged munching on a bacon sandwich in one hand. The squad had resigned themselves to just eat their meals in the shade of a tree after the numerous disasters in their training session earlier in the morning. Thankfully his ants had brought over a new pair of shoes after Mike’s “revenge” blew his old ones up. He sighed deeply as weird looking clouds slowly moved in the sky.

“That one looks like clown getting beat with a frying pan,” stated Casimir at one irregular cloud before he called over to Mizu, “Hey Miz, one thought I had would your powers would go great if you learned someone’s greatest fear. You just gotta start small and ask Wendy to help you with the team’s fears. She’d got cameras everywhere so something must be up.”

“Oh?” Mizu spoke up and blinked a few times. “But that ain’t gonna be fun at all! What’s the point in pranking someone if you already know how they’re gonna react?”

The purple-haired girl wrapped her arms around her legs. “Also, I think that cloud didn’t like you calling it a clown.” The cloud in question would suddenly start to move, picking up the “frying pan” as a weapon and looming over the picnic, staring at Casimir in particular.

“You got a point there I’d guess it suck the fun out of like a starving vampire,” reasoned Casimir before he spotted the cloud clown, “HA! Like that fat clown could do anything to me. Looks like the Michelin Man but even lumpier. Hey Mike, maybe you should try fighting it. You can tag me in if it gets too much.”

“And take away your glory? Wouldn’t dream of it.” Mike said as he re-joined the group and passed out a few energy drinks amongst them. “Besides, think of all the views we’d get off the security camera footage. Bug Boy vs Pan Cloud. We might even beat out that whole Iron Chef clip from a while back.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about! Think of all the ad dough we could get if we beat its views,” snickered Casimir before he gave a big wave to Mizu’s cloudma, “Hello Mr. Michellin Man, hope you’re ready for the fight of your short life. Ha!”

Eventually the plucky members of Squad 4 would depart from their picnic to the Tower with mixed feelings. Some were disappointed. Some were content. Others didn’t particularly care. Nevertheless their disastrous day of training had come to a close for better or worse.

[The Republic of Atria]

Sept 12, Wyatt

The next month was actually quite nice from his perspective. Not completely perfect, Kiris wanted to go do some soul searching back home, which he could completely relate to, but it was still sad to see two of his close friends leave. However, he wasn't going to let it get him down. He did have an entire squad of people, including a new girl, that he had to whip into shape and get to know. And so he did. Ensuring that his group managed to practice at least twice a week. Coming up with new training exercises was difficult, so he mostly just did a few bouts of capture the flag and occasional sparring match to make sure that they didn't get rusty when it came to fighting. He made doubly sure that the new girl, Arin, was included as much as possible.

His people had made contact with the humans, and things seemed to get off rather well. Minus that one hiccup, but he didn't want to think about that. It was solved and no one got more than a few bruises. Mostly people that deserved it. Sina... he still felt somewhat mixed about her, and she was one of the few friends he had his own age. Even if she needs to learn to just calm down and not keep throwing herself head first into danger, consequences be damned. For the short time he was with her, it felt exhausting, but it wasn't... Bad. Mixed.

He doubled down on his own practice as well. Calling up Orro as much as he could to keep his martial prowess up, and he was so happy to have finally gotten to the point where he could hold his own. Obviously he still wasn't a master, but having a great deal of knowledge about the basic principles definitely put him above the average person and superhuman. And he certainly didn't slouch when it came to practicing his magic either, being much more precise and comfortable with it's use. He could even walk while using it now, though trying to fly still took too much concentration, but an improvement was an improvement. The day before he left for the tournament, he thought about the last time he felt this happy and content. Not since Christmas had he been in such a good mood.

They weren't just training to keep their skills sharp, Naja had told them that they were going to be going in place of Arizona's team since they dropped out for some reason. The Young Bloods were going to be showing their stuff to the entire nation. He was more than a little nervous about being broadcasted across the entire nation, but it wasn't like he had to bother with a secret identity or anything. Plus it would be good exposure for his own people, while showing off a bit. He
still couldn't believe it, but he was starting to be legitimately antsy about getting into another fight with superhumans. Even if they were heroes and it was purely for sport, he wanted to win. He needed to prove... Something. He wasn't sure what exactly, but he needed to prove it.

The morning of the trip had arrived, and he made his way into the main area of the Tower, attracted to the scent to breakfast meats and pancakes. "Morning everyone!" He spoke in a friendly tone. With Kiris gone, there needed to be someone who was always in a good mood, and he was perfectly fine with filling the role.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Wendy rubbed the last vestiges of sleep out of her eyes as she sat up after another restless night. Despite her attempts to put on a normal appearance for the rest of the team ever since her past was shoved into the spotlight, the past week had not been kind to her. Grabbing her phone off of its charging pad, she scrolled through her social media feed. A resigned sigh escaped her as she read through the seemingly endless (mostly anonymous) calls for her to resign or turn herself in despite multiple government officials clearing her of any charges related to her parents. One even included a video clip of the Pittsburgh Pyros captain, Molten, adding her own two cents to the discussion.

"Listen." The fiery hero told reporters. "As much as no one wants to admit it, especially her own teammates, Wendy... Isabel... or whatever the hell she's calling herself is a wolf in sheep's clothing. For every sappy story about former delinquents overcoming rough neighborhoods and checkered pasts to become heroes, there's ten where they go right back to being criminals... and most of those weren't raised by sociopaths. She's a menace, and if no one else wants to take care of her, we'll gladly come over and do it ourselves."

Closing the video, she forwarded it, along with another death threat she got in her email, to Naja before tossing the phone back on her bed and taking a shower. She couldn't hide this anymore, and while she knew Roy would come to her defense in a heartbeat, neither he nor the team could afford to paint a target on his back right now. Fortunately for her though, she had PR specialist on her squad.
---
"Morning." Wendy smiled as walked into the dinning room to find the rest of her squad. "You two seen Shi around anywhere?"

[Tomia]

Angelica
The last month had been one of the best of Angelica's life. She had moved back in with her mother who got a steady job as a secretary at a law firm, she was finally starting to move past her identity being revealed, and of course, Alexis. She and Alexis had been dating for over a month now, and while it had been a bit awkward at first, the relationship had really helped her come out of her shell. Specifically she grew a close friendship with Viv and Wyatt, and Wendy. She even returned to hanging out with Yoshi who was back to her old self. Having finally unburdened her feelings, and having them returned proved to be a huge relief to Angelica who, while still not the warmest and most open person around, finally felt a little normalcy in her life.

She had decided to head over to the tower that morning once she was all packed, her mother wishing her luck in New York City, and telling her to say hi to Alexis for her. After she waved off her mother Angelica headed over the foot bridge, bags in hand. She made her way to the main building and headed up to the living room. She smelled the scent of cooking food and found Roy making breakfast.

"Hey Angelica, wasn't expecting you here so early. Pancake?" He asked as he flipped the aforementioned breakfast food in the air before it landed back in the pan.

"Sure Roy, thanks, others still asleep?"

"As far as I can tell." The squad leader nodded. "Except your girlfriend of course. " He added coyly.

Angelica gave a small smile at that. Just then Wyatt walked into the room and greeted them with his usual cheeriness.

"Hey Wyatt" Angelica said with a bright smile. She had found the lizard boy to be a very good friend over the last few weeks that they had bonded.

"What's up Wyatt, you ready to head to the big apple today?" Roy asked as he cooked.

[New Neros]

August 6th
Cosmic

Flipping open a communicator, Cosmic pressed a few buttons and waited for his service to connect, calling his supervisor in the Ultra Corps. "Mentor." He stated as a hologram of the Corpsman assembled itself in front of the young hero. The older woman held a look of disdain, one that Cosmic had gotten used to at this point, but it still showed how venomous the squad leader could be. She wore a rugged suit of power armor, and despite the flickering holographic image, looked ready to fight at a moments' notice.

"Speak, Cosmic, you have some nerve calling me on your vacation time." She scolded, Mark hanging his head down in shame a bit.

Taking a breath, he began, "I apologize, but I must ask your permission to join a team of superheroes here on Earth. It's with teenagers my age, some from my school, others I just met." Mentor tilted her head to the side and shook it slightly, Cosmic sucking in his bottom lip as he watched his superior go through a range of emotions. Finally, it seemed, she had reached an answer for the youth. Stating his name officially, Cosmic snapped to attention and straightened his body, his movements rigid like a soldier.

"Do as you please so long as it does not hamper your health and safety, or your commitments to the Corps when your vacation is over. Am I clear?" She asked, Cosmic nodding his head quickly with a smile on his face. "Is that all, Cosmic?"

"Er, could you, um, give me a recommendation to the team supervisor as well?" He said sheepishly, the older woman sighing and placing a finger at the center of her forehead, stressed at the annoyance.

"Sure." She said with a hiss, somehow, Cosmic moving to the side to reveal Naja, the snake-skinned mother hen of the Young Bloods. "Let me first apologize for burdening you with my charge, miss...?"

"Naja, and it's no trouble, Mark here has been well-behaved and mild mannered since he came back."

"Right, Naja, I am Mentor, though that's my Ultra Corps' code name, it's literal in the case with Cosmic. Do you know of the Corps?"

"Vaguely." She replied, giving the hologram a hand wave, "Refresh my memory, please."

"Very well. The Ultra Corps is an interstellar police force that arms it's members with Ultra Force energy, empowering them to conduct justice and enforce order in whatever sections of the cosmos they may come across. Cosmic came into our ranks close to one revolution of your world prior, through strange means. We still took him in, trained him, taught him to use his powers, and what it means to be just, though he had that sense in him already. You are looking at a fine soldier, a man who has faced evil and discord head on and emerged stronger. I am proud of the man he's become, and can't wait to see what man he will eventually become as well."

"I, uh, wow, that's quite the recommendation." Naja said, a bit flustered, casting a glance to Cosmic, seeing the teen tear up and sniffle at the kind words his tough teacher had for him. "I'd love to have him work with the team. I'll get him situated and squared away, thank you."

"Until we meet again." Mentor stated, closing the connection and leaving Cosmic and Naja together in the retired heroines' office. The snake woman gave Cosmic a thumbs up, Cosmic smiling wide and wiping the tears from his eyes and the snot from his nose.

---

September 11th
Darklight and Cosmic

Drinking a tremendous amount of water from a gallon jug he had, Mark Nemo splashed his drink without regard across his sweat-drenched body, tearing his lips away from the sweet nectar and passing it to Ava Waldstein, who gave no regards to sharing an in-direct kiss and chugged from the life-saving liquid as well. The outdoor track was still oppressively hot, and the pair worked relentlessly to keep their bodies in top physical condition. "Superhero training..." Ava gasped, "Is the most demanding thing I have ever done." She said completely, handing the water back to Cosmic, who simply collapsed onto his ass and spilled a little of the water, gasping for air.

"Imagine having to focus on turning your power off to train your normal body." He said, laying flat on his back, nearly hitting his head on the large tractor tires the pair had been using to train with. "Because you're so used to having some freaky star power helping your muscles and shit."

"Boo hoo." Ava retorted, "My power goes out when the sun comes up." She sat down as well, crossing her legs and panting in the moderate heat and oppressive humidity.

"Yeah," Cosmic replied, "But Alexis did make you that bomb ass meteorite ring." Ava looked down and blushed a bit, recalling her embarrassment in asking for help in overcoming one of her abilities' biggest weaknesses, learning from her experience fighting Hex's monster without the Moon to supply her with energy. Even now, it was tucked away in her legging's pocket, the young heroine opting to train her physical body without aid of powers for now, as that would be the next phase of their training.

As Cosmic finally caught his breath, he rose and sat upright, twisting his back to loosen his muscles more. "So," He began, "Ready to fight?"

---

Ava could never bring herself to tell Mark that she hated this part of their regimen the most. Placed across from each other inside in the gym, Cosmic wore a newer outfit, different from his usual Ultra Corps garb, whereas Darklight wore her usual outfit, a slim-fit dark suit, only additions it had were some microfibers for extra protection. The biggest addition to the girls' outfit was a large rock-like ring with a blue circle of energy running along it. It gave a faint glow at all times, and simulated the lunar energy that Darklight could absorb and turn into constructs. Still, despite her apprehension in constantly fighting Cosmic to better themselves, she did find the experience worthwhile, as the opposing teen did seem to have exceptional battle sense despite his aloofness outside of combat.

"You know, Mark," She said loudly so the hero could hear her, "You used to be some skinny little piece of shit boy, five eight nothing, skin and bones. Now you're filled out, muscled up, six foot something, but it's like your mind stayed almost the same."

"It's called puberty, look it up." He threw back, "You look exactly the same with like, a little bit more muscle tone. You look like an overgrown fifth grader."

"Wow, that's fucking rude." She stated, turning on her lunar powers, bathing herself in a faint white glow as she drew power from her ring. "What're we doing first, powered hand to hand or long-distance?"

Cosmic twisted his neck side to side and popped it loudly, squatting down and extending his legs to limber up some. "Let's start with powered hand to hand and switch to freestyle fighting after a few minutes. This is our last session before the trip, you know."

"I know, I know, just start whenever you're ready." Ava said, lowering her body a bit, putting her hands to the side of her face with her palms open, knowing the ins and out of how Cosmic fights, preferring to play defense and counters, finding her niche the only way she could: unrestricted sparring. Cosmic let his deep stellar energy glide across his body naturally, painting the hero in a faint orange glow, tightening his fist as the Ultra Force coursed through his blood and muscles with precision and control. Cosmic had taught Ava to do the same with her own energy, but the gulf in power was sizable still. Without warning, Cosmic launched forward, delivering a harsh punch to where Darklight's head would have been had she not ducked and rolled her body to the side in time.

"Rushes in, full contact, end it as fast as possible, never lets up in the first few moments of the fight." She thought to herself, throwing a hook into Cosmic's side, watching as her energy bounced off harmlessly from the hero's sturdy body. He returned her force tenfold, unleashing a four-piece combo as he stepped forward, threw her guard hands to the side, and slammed his fists into her stomach, chin, cheek, and forehead. Collapsing back, Darklight's personal energy shield showed some cracks, but she herself was only rattled by the attack. Waiting for Cosmic to make his move once more, Ava stepped forward as Cosmic closed the gap between them, sending her knee crashing into the hero's torso.

The blow landed hard and gave the corpsman pause, catching him by surprise and ending his early string of attacks. Darklight reached to the back of his head and grabbed it harshly, forcing her own forehead into his nose, sending the boy stumbling back a bit. Had it not been for his own energy shield, he'd have broken his nose and bloodied the floor, but he had to give respect for the counter-attack Ava successfully launched. Nodding his approval, Darklight reset her fighting stance, but Cosmic had other plans. Opening his palm at her, he rapidly condensed energy in it and fired a single orb of light at her, forcing the heroine to dodge out of the way and avoid the blast.

"Bastard!" She yelled, skidding to a stop some ways away, having already formed another layer of shields a good foot from her body, surrounding her frame with dinner plate-sized shields to protect herself from feeling the full force of Cosmic's blast. Reaching out her hand, the heroine formed a small javelin of hardlight in her palm, summoning six more to float near her, gripping the first and narrowing her eyes at Cosmic, seeing not her friend, but an enemy and obstacle to be overcome. As Cosmic seemed reluctant to take the initiative, Darklight was forced out of her comfort zone and made the opening volley.

She knew closing the distance would give her more power and accuracy as well as reduce Cosmic's reaction time, but at the same time, her own reaction time would be even worse, and Cosmic was much more capable of putting out higher damage in shorter spaces than she was. Still, it made sense to give herself a momentary advantage and take on several disadvantages to get a good hit on Cosmic as an opening into further attacks. The Corpsmen lowered his stance a bit and watched Darklight closely as she ran forward a bit, rearing her hand back and lobbing her hardlight spear at the heroes' chest.

Without thinking, Cosmic reached out and caught the spear with his hand, turning his chest to the side to avoid damage, but was immediately struck in the face by one of the others she had summoned - The heroine timing it just right to stay behind and slightly above the first spear so Cosmic couldn't see it. The weapon exploded violently and caused the hero to jerk his head to the side, the hardlight spear he was clutching also exploding and burning a good portion of his palm, sending him to one knee. Turning to look at Darklight, energetic flames engulfed the side of his face and roared to life in his injured hand, Mark standing up fully and letting more of his energy out into the fight. "Unlike when I fought Hex, I don't need to worry about a pesky leak."

"Tch," Darklight spat through her teeth, "That set up would have worked on literally anybody else, asshole." Cosmic gave the girl a sinister grin in return, Ava narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"You know, you're one-hundred percent right." Mark sucked in the energy that bathed his body entirely, shutting out the Ultra Force and returning to a somewhat normal body. "But you don't get stronger with victories, winning doesn't make you powerful. I learned that the hard way, fighting out in space, every fuckin' alien is superhuman as their baseline. I lost teeth, blood, spit, you name it, all for nothing most of the time, because there's some people you run into that you just can't beat down. Each time I got back up, though, I knew when to duck, when to roll into a punch, when to counter-punch, when to use my fists or use my blasts. A month won't get you close to what a year with the Corps will, but you've come a long way from when we reconnected."

"I, uh, thank you." Ava said, releasing her own energy, looking solemnly at the floor as Mark expanded on the harshness he faced outside of Earth, finding it hard to believe such experiences didn't make his hard and distant, finding it all the more impressive that he kept his same state of mind. "I used to fight petty muggers and save people when I could, I just used what came natural, never took a martial arts class or trained. I only ever started thinking of what to do with my hands and feet when we fought the Cabal. Thanks for helping me get stronger, Mark." Earning a toothy grin from the boy, he gave his friend a thumbs up, Ava chuckling at the cheesiness he wore like a badge of honor.

"Let's cut it short today, I want to chill and hang out before we get shipped out to New York tomorrow."

"Uh, you sure you're not going to go bother Ashy and chicken out before asking her out on a date?"

"Hey, wow, fuck you, I get really nervous when the time comes. She's just so sweet and naive, I don't want to do something weird that she doesn't know about. I'm just happy we're friends at least."

"Yeah, we're friends too, but you need to just go up to her and say," Darklight began, impersonating Cosmic by comically deepening her voice, "Hey there, pretty girl, want to go eat some chicken sandwiches? My treat, for my sweet."

Mark was quiet for a moment. "You've thought about this." He said, shaking his head in disapproval as Ava laughed.

"I often think of the cool stuff I would do if we ever switched bodies. Mainly helicopter it, hahaha. What would you do in my body? Touch bad places and look where you shouldn't?"

"Not if I was that flat." Mark replied, "Maybe you should be eating chicken sandwiches instead."

"I will evaporate you." Ava shot back with faux-seething hatred. "But food does sound good right now. Let's see what the cafeteria has on stock."

---

September 12th
Darklight and Cosmic

The next morning was groggy and hard to face as the soreness from the day before had set in with Darklight and Cosmic, but they were roused from bed by the flurry of activity from their teammates and the delicious smell of breakfast from the main area. As he finished brushing his teeth and throwing on a plain white shirt and a pair of unwashed jeans, Mark Nemo exited his room with a yawn and ass-scratch, barely stomping his way to the cafeteria/living room where his friends and teammates were already either cooking or eating.

"Morning, everyone." He declared half-asleep, never the morning person, always rather up late than up early. He politely refused the cooked breakfast in exchange for a bottle of milk, an apple, banana, and an orange, loving fresh fruit in the morning. Taking his stuff to a large table, Cosmic kicked out the chair with his foot and sat in it, placing his breakfast down and blinking a few times to get the blurriness out of his eyes "Oh!" He exclaimed, seeing he was seated with some his other teammates, "Morning Jason, Morning Ava."

"Morning to you, too." Ava said, cutting into her pancakes that were absolutely drowned with syrup, to the point that they seemed more like the perfect vehicle to shovel sweetness into her mouth. She ate them without regard for their sticky residue, however, as if she had done this many times before. Glancing over at Cosmic slowly munch on an apple, she pointed her fork at him. "Do you want to eat that because you secretly hate Roy's cooking and want to spite him?" She said, trying to stir the pot for a laugh. Mark seemed out of it still, and chewed his apple without answering, Ava lowering her fork and resuming her death by sugar, "He's still asleep." She muttered, looking at Jason.

"You seen Wendy or Shi, yet?" She asked in between bites, syrup starting to stick to her cheeks at this point.

[Finland SSR]

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

August 10th

---

Surrounded by an empty classroom, sitting by his table, illuminated by the warm and bright evening sun above Quito, Rafael Correa was busy working on several papers. Sure, there was still almost a month left before the next school year begins, but teachers such as himself had already been recalled from vacation - especially since his subject, English, was preparation heavy already. Everything had to be back in order by the time the school year starts, the course had to be updated according to new textbooks, and he was expecting a few of his students to come over today for consultations, too, if his email account was to be believed.

However, his work had to be cut off for now, as suddenly, the door of the classroom swung wide open, followed by a greeting which sounded more like a frantic yell:

"Mister Correa!" The surprise startled the teacher, but he calmed down as soon as his mind caught up and realized what he was dealing with. Rafael hadn't expected to hear that energetic voice again, and yet here she stood - Renata Martinez, to most known as the daughter of the hero turned dictator Silver, and to him - as one of his most talented students who suddenly moved to the United States. The pink-haired girl bore a wide smile on her face and stepped into the room, sitting down on the other side of the teacher's table. "It's so good to see you again! I wasn't sure if you were going to be here this late..."

"I'm waiting for a student." Rafael responded calmly. "Good to see you too, Renata - and surprising, too. Aren't you in San Diego now?"

"Well, yeah," the girl replied, her eyes already shifting to look over the rest of the room. Everything seemed to be in order, just as she remembered from last year - a few of the posters were changed for different ones, sure, but the board, the tables, the portrait of her father and the coat of arms of Ecuador hanging above... was the same as before. "But I'm back home for a few days, so I figured I'd visit my school on the way, too."

Renata leaned forward, her hands gripping on the edge of the table and face barely managing to contain the excitement. "You wouldn't believe how much my English skills improved the last year!"

"I'm sure they did. Being surrounded by native speakers helps a lot."

"Like you wouldn't believe! I had to study everything in English, talk to everyone in English, write essays in English..."

"...Obviously."

"And, um, there was one time, when I was in a press conference! Yeah, and I had to answer questions in English too! And didn't stumble even a single bit!"

"Really?"

"I even started to think in English sometimes, not in Spanish!"

"...Okay, that one might be a little too far."

Renata snickered and leaned back, plopping down on her seat. "Hehe, maybe..."

"So how's the United States? You were pretty excited to head there last I recall... so did it fulfill your expectations?"

"Well..." the pink-haired muttered and turned her eyes to the ceiling, thinking for a few seconds on how to formulate the answer. She hadn't thought much on it herself, did she? There were obviously good things - just all the friends she's found in Thomsen High and later the Young Bloods are worth a mention - but on the other hand, it was far, far from a perfect country and many of the assumptions she had held turned out to be just myths... Before she could answer her teacher's question, a raspy voice called out from the door:

"Hey, um, excuse me, Mister Correa, I am here for-" and promptly stopped once they witnessed who was sitting on the other side of the teacher's table. "Renata?" What stood in the entrance to the classroom was a teenager with dark curly hair, a student's bag resting on his shoulders and a surprised expression burned on his face.

"Miguel! Hi!" Renata exclaimed joyfully, leaping off her seat and landing right in front of her former classmate - a sight which got him to make a step backwards. Rafael, on the other hand, merely stated:

"Took you long enough to arrive."

"Sorry, mister, I was busy..." Miguel defended himself while scratching the back of his head, then turned towards Renata directly, looking her over from the bottom up. "What are you doing here though, Renata? I thought you're out there with the Unitedstatesians and all..."

"Oh, you know, just visiting home for a few days..." the pink-haired girl's voice trailed off as she replied. "Good to see you're still around, Miguel. Managed to squeeze through the exams last year somehow, hm? Well, if you're here for Correa, I suppose I shouldn't hold you up, I was only here to say hi, after all..."

Miguel's eyes shifted from the teacher towards the departing Renata, until he mustered the courage to straighten up and say:

"A-actually, I figured that I might come here tomorrow instead... Renata, you don't happen to be busy with anything, right?"

The teacher immediately struck a frown, having realized that he stayed in the school for so long for a dud, while Renata turned around, blinking a few times in confusion before stating:

"Well I've already checked up on everyone I wanted to say hi to, so... not really, I guess? I do need to get back home soon enough, so I was planning to catch the bus there..."

"Oh! Mind if I see you to the bus stop, then? The nearest one is uh... uh..."

"To the left from the main exit, a block or so away. And uh, sure, if you want."

"Right, right. That's great." Having resolved the idea with Renata, Miguel turned his eyes towards his English teacher for a second. "You... don't mind if I come here tomorrow instead, right?"

"Fine, fine... whatever..." Rafael muttered in a somewhat irritated, but nevertheless accepting voice.

...

It took only a few minutes for the two students to make their way out of the school complex and into the street before it - somewhat surprisingly, completely empty aside for the two of them. Perhaps it was because it was a work day? Most people would probably be either working, like Mr. Correa, or resting in their homes... not that this was ever a very active or busy neighbourhood, anyway. Renata walked in the front, each and every one of her strides filled with energy, while Miguel trailed somewhat behind, his hands tightly clenching onto the straps of his school bag.

"So you've lived all by yourself, for the whole year... How is the United States? Is it better than here?" the boy opened up with a conversation.

"Oh, come on. Miguel, how dumb of a question is that? Everyone knows that nowhere is better than here," Renata responded almost immediately, then immersed herself in her thoughts. "Honestly, though, I don't regret making my choice. It was quite intimidating to move out there and live without any supervision, but I think I've managed it. How about you? Did any of you miss me?"

Miguel was starting to remove his bag off his shoulders, but upon seeing Renata turn around and face him directly, he stopped with a jolt. "Oh, well... Well... Well you've already guessed correctly. I managed to pass my exams on the second try, after you had already taken your plane, and... I guess it was just business as usual from there on out, only without you around. As for whether our class missed you, well... how could we not, I guess?.."

"Ah... Sounds fair, then."

The duo moved on, silent for a few seconds, before the dark-haired boy continued again. "And, some of our class have been following you as Stella, too."

"Oh, really? That's- Wait." Renata once again stopped and turned around, yet again forcing Miguel to stop in the middle of taking off his bag. "That was supposed to be a secret."

"It really wasn't that difficult to figure out... You're Laser Girl, after all, and right after you move to the United States, a hero with their exact powers and hair color shows up in San Diego. Ecuador's been following you and all the heroic acts you're doing. Same here."

"Really?.. That's..." the pink-haired girl muttered, her eyes turning to the side. "That's nice of you..."

"I guess... That costume of yours looks really good, by the way. Conveys your... style, I'd say."

Renata blinked, looked down, then turned around. "Thanks, but, um..." and suddenly hastened her pace.

"Something's wrong?" Miguel called out, moving after his former classmate, taking off his school bag and carrying it with his right hand.

"No, no, everything's fine, and thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it, but..." Renata spoke as she finally reached the bus stop - barren and empty, much like the rest of the neighbourhood at this hour. The pink haired girl turned around, about to continue, only to stop when she saw Miguel approach her, fiddling with his bag and reaching for the zipper. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, uh, me?" the dark-haired teenager suddenly stopped and tossed his bag back on his shoulder. "Just checking if the zipper works."

"You... forgot if your bag's zipper works?"

"...yes."

Renata faintly cracked up. "Really now? Looks more like you're hiding something there." Miguel slightly tensed up, turning to the side and placing one of his hands on his hip. "Well, it's been nice seeing you again, buuuut I really have to go."

"Go where? The bus stop's right he-"

"Ciao!" Renata suddenly released twin jet bursts from her hands, leaping to the air and towards the rooftops surrounding the street. The teenager barely managed to yelp out a defeated "Wait!" before the heroine became merely a fading blimp in the city skyline, vanishing further and further with each burst. She was too far away now, that's for sure. Miguel sighed, pulled off his bag and unzipped it for real this time - shoveling through the textbooks and papers inside, he came across a loaded M1911 and a green Anticondorista badge among them. Then promptly kicked and tipped over a nearby trash can out of the frustration.

Everything should have been so damn simple! Watch her get distracted, pull the gun, and just do it! But no, you had to keep hesitating, in and out, as if this wasn't... Silver's daughter! Or just use your powers, even once during the whole walk, you idiot!

Miguel grunted and tossed his bag into the pavement, books and papers spilling out instantly. And now you won't get an another chance...

Breath in. Breath out. The anger was starting to slowly recede. Not just to take her out, but to even see her again... Shuffling the spilled papers and books back into his bag and swiftly zipping it, Miguel pulled it back over his shoulders and walked off.

---

Caudillo Sergio Martinez, the heroic Silver!

August 11th

---

Dozens of heavily armed military helicopters hovered over the battlefield which the forest before their eyes would soon become, supported by forced on land and air alike, already releasing the first salvos of automatic fire and napalm bombardment to start frying the suspected terrorist cells in the area into submission. Forces on the surface were standing their ground, having taken up positions around the major roads and easily defendable hills, on alert for any rebels fleeing on their sight as well as orders to advance forward if necessary. Dressed in a colorful feathery uniform, the badge of the Andean Condors flashing on his chest next to a stylized coat of arms of Ecuador, Sergio Martinez was watching the first stages of the operation unfold.

Recent escalation of Anticondorista activity, their stubborn holdouts not only rejuvenating and replenishing themselves with new recruits after over a decade of nearly going extinct, but also expanding their operations outside of the jungle and into the main cities in the Andes, forced a harsh response from the central government. Compared to earlier anti-terrorist operations, taking place on and off from the beginning of the millennium, which resembled raids and sporadic attacks, this was an unprecedented escalation in scale - here and in several other regions of the Amazonas, almost ten thousand personnel participated in the assault against suspected Anticondorista cells. The show of force might be a less than adequate response, but it was necessary to maintain the stability of the regime, even if they were bound to receive negative press from Western sources before they even fire the last bullet today.

Thankfully, Western interest in Ecuador, and especially forcing a regime change there, has been waning for many years. It was nothing in comparison to how intense the late 90s and early 2000s looked like. Sure, you'd still hear plenty of complaints, usually from news sources less than sympathetic towards superhumans, and Freedom House would consistently rank them as "not free" in their country ratings, but the Western democracies and Eastern dictatorships alike have come to terms with the fact that the Condor regime is not going anywhere soon. And when Ecuador was turning into a lucrative trading partner as well, spurred by their spectacular advancement in modern sciences, research and technology in the last two decades and a strategic position in South America in general, you'd perhaps be willing to look past or at least only half-heartedly point out some of their human rights violations.

The opening salvos dying down informed Sergio that it was about time to head out.

Though the rest of the Andean Condors were also on the mission with him, he was going to be on the battlefield alone, unless you count the Ecuadorian military. Emanuel and Gabriel were both assigned to different hot spots to lead forces and take out enemy superhumans there, Olivia was in the operation headquarters working her skills to provide everyone with the most up to date information on what's happening, while Carolina was not a fighter and thus stayed behind in Quito. If Renata were tagging along, she'd probably be fighting alongside him here, and the thought of recruiting her did cross his mind, but...

As Sergio pulled his method of aerial drop-down of choice onto his back - a wingsuit built from a thin light metal sheath - his mind went through several reasons why he chose against it. First of all, obviously, military operations of this scale require planning at least a few months in advance while Renata only returned to Ecuador a few days ago, including such an asset into the operation could screw up everything. Second... his daughter should be here to have some rest, to reconnect with what she left back home before the new school year begins, to stay out of San Diego while Warwolf is being mopped up for good. Tossing her into danger simply wouldn't fly with him. And finally...

As much as Silver was disappointed with where Renata ended up in San Diego and was detested by what she and the Young Bloods were doing... he did not want to ruin her and all her friends' lives with the scandal which would get whipped up if a Young Blood was somehow caught participating in an Ecuadorian military mission. Stella was already tied with Ecuador, for sure, but at least she had plausible deniability in not being an accomplice in her father's actions.

Leaping out of the helicopter, Sergio flew across the air at blinding speed, joined by several not so superhuman soldiers flying after him, and immersed himself into the burning, shaking canopy of the forest, flying past several heaps of leaves and loose branches before finally slowing down and landing on the forest bed in a somewhat violent roll. The metallic sheath composing his wingsuit instantly melted to liquid and formed a suit of armor on the superhero's body. While the forest managed to survive the aerial raid mostly intact, dozens of trees were broken apart and tipped over, fires caused by napalm were spreading and blocking off numerous exits and paths. Already, sporadic gunfire could be heard here and there. The military was advancing in loose formation, opening fire on any suspected hostiles on their way. The holed up Anticondoristas would retaliate wherever they're able, releasing quick barrages upon advancing unsuspecting soldiers from trees and bushes, but usually just retreated under overwhelming enemy pressure. Escape from the targeted zone was hardly possible even to the most veteran guerrilla fighters, so the absolute majority of them would take to the underground - to shelters and bunkers which survived the bombardment.

Sergio picked up some more metal for his command - several discarded bullets and an AK-47 next to a fresh corpse - before he finally caught the sight of Anticondorista rebels fleeing in the distance. Running past trees, each one with a rifle at hand and frantically searching for the nearest hideout. Not under his watch... Throwing his right arm forward, Sergio turned some of the liquid metal under his command to a thin line, which pierced through a tree trunk in the distance and pulled the superhero forward, straight into the jaw of an unsuspecting rebel.

Remember. If you're going to be killing them, at least don't prolong their suffering.

Slamming the young rebel into the forest floor with both of his feet, Sergio formed the metal coating his boots into protruding spikes, piercing into the man's torso and putting them down. A firefight instantly broke out - out of the seven or so terrorists surrounding the hero, two opened fire to keep his attention, even if all of their bullets would simply splash to his suit of armor and become a part of it, while the others started switching cartridges to rubber rounds. The superhero's response was simple, yet effective - the fresh supply of metal heading his way would form two thin, rapidly extending blades sticking out from his wrists and slashing through rifle barrels and flesh alike. By the time the whirlwind of blades ceased and retracted, several of the insurgents were lying in pools of their own blood while others just barely escaped in the nick of time. They cowered behind trees and bushes, trying to cover their retreat while firing upon the metahuman - a few of their bullets cracked Sergio's metallic armor, but any and all damage they managed to do was quickly covered by the new metal which he kept absorbing. The rifles and cartridges which their fallen comrades dropped, their pocket radios and watches, even the frame of one of the corpse's glasses, all of it was replenishing him.

Soon, the remaining Anticondoristas saw themselves facing a juggernaut with armor thick enough to take high explosive rounds. Charging straight at them. You can excuse them dropping their rifles and choosing to run. However, at that point, it was too late. One of the insurgents saw three hundred pounds of metal slam into his back in the form of two metal feet, smashing the body into a pulp on the mossy forest floor, while one of his comrades received a backhand which sent his skull smashing into the nearest tree. Alright, only a few of them left and...

A faint wind rushed past the battlefield, before a clawed fist suddenly smashed straight into Sergio's lightly protected jaw. The force of the blow was heavy enough to send the hero flying and rolling for several meters before he finally came to a full stop, left his ears ringing and his cheek armor forming a crater in the shape of knuckles. It was obvious from the start that this was the work of something... superhuman.

"Go! Get out of here!" a familiar voice reached Sergio's ears while he pulled himself off the forest floor.

"You..."

What stood before him was a teenager with bright blue hair, unnaturally long, clawed and scaly arms, several crystals protruding from his body in various places, and a tail wagging just above the ground. That damn Hadrian, somehow enrolled in the Anticondorista ranks, either bold or stupid enough to take on him and Renata at once a year ago... Sergio was not expecting him to be here, or even to still be alive, knowing the turnover in the guerrilla warfare business... however, he certainly wasn't going to go and question the chances.

A liquid metal blade protruded out of the superhero's right wrist - Amadeo did not wait for him to strike first, however. The Hadrian suddenly leapt upwards, grabbing onto the nearest tree branch and pulling himself back into the cover of the leaves. Aside from some rustling here and there, rapidly changing locations from one part of the foliage to the other, it was as if he was never here in the first place. Carajo... Sergio stood in place, trying to track the sound of his opponent's movement, on guard for any surprise attacks. Much of the forest was already cleared out, several Ecuadorian soldiers were already rushing towards their leader's position. It wasn't hard for them to catch note that, although the area around Sergio was cleared out and littered with several corpses, the superhero's tense stance indicated that he was not yet done with something.

Seeing allies arrive did relieve him somewhat. One of the armed soldiers lowered his rifle and began speaking:

"Sir, what's the situation like here? We've cleared much of the perimeter and-"

Only for him to get suddenly slammed into the ground by a Hadrian descending from above like a human-sized missile. The other soldiers, several of them in total, instantly raised their weapons, but by then Amadeo was once again gone in the foliage. This time, however, he could still be tracked by the soldiers' thermal vision goggles.

"What... is that thing?" one of them exclaimed. Several salvos were fired in the Hadrian's direction, but none of them hit the target. "That looks like a human, but it's... crawling there like a some sort of animal!"

"That's a Hadrian," Sergio replied, walking up to the body of the soldier whom Amadeo had taken out before leaping away - a superhuman punch across their head must have cracked their skull, because any signs of life were completely gone from the man. The superhero pulled off a set of thermal vision goggles from the corpse for his own use.

"A... a Hadrian?" the soldier blanked out for a second, lowering his weapon and wondering where he had heard that name before. "You mean... those alien guys living in Australia? The hell is one of them doing here?!"

Sergio's mind, however, was on something else. "Don't drop your guard!"

"Wha-"

A soldier nearby suddenly collapsed to the ground screaming, overtaken by a powerful paralyzing shock, and seconds later, two feet slammed straight into his ally's chest, smashing him to the forest floor and dragging the body across the grass, leaves and moss for several meters. Despite the loss of two allies in a mere few seconds, it did give Sergio the opening he needed to finally land something on Amadeo - a tendril of liquid metal suddenly wrapped around the Hadrian's ankle and tossed him aside, sending him flying across the forest for well over a dozen meters before he finally slammed back-first to an old, winded tree.

Before he could pull himself back together and leap out of danger, Amadeo had to duck to the side, narrowly avoiding an extending liquid metal spike. It pierced through the wood behind him like paper, and Sergio himself arrived in tow, using the spike to pull himself towards the Hadrian. The superhero got the first real hit down immediately, a heavy blow, boosted by metal wrapped around his knuckles. straight across Amadeo's face, the pressure of the strike rolling across the tree behind his back and shaking its leaves. In response, however, Sergio received a blow just as powerful as his and recoiled from a solid strike to his gut. Ignoring the stream of blood now running from his cheek, Amadeo followed his attack up with a knee strike, before stepping back and leaping to the tree to start crawling away from immediate danger.

Sergio was left dazed, but quickly recovered from the attacks. Oh no you don't. The blade sticking out from the superhero's wrist extended forward and slashed across the trunk of the tree, leaving a clean cut and coming out through the other side. Instantly, the old behemoth started to tumble down. Amadeo noticed what was going on a little too late, and while he tried leaping away, he got caught in the leaves and vines and eventually hit a thick branch, which slammed him straight to the forest floor. The Hadrian yelped in pain, struggling and yet failing to remove the branch off his body.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! rolled across the young Hadrian's mind. Adrenaline was flooding his veins from the desperation. This man was a juggernaut, he couldn't do anything beyond denting that suit of armor... Help was a distant dream, not that any of his friends could do any better against this monster... Were there... Were there any tunnels anywhere nearby? Maybe... Possibly... But even those weren't a certain escape when this forest was buzzing with government forces...

The branch crushing him suddenly cracked, but not because of Amadeo's efforts - a hand sheathed in liquid metal suddenly grabbed him by the neck and pulled him upwards. Sergio didn't waste more than a seconds staring at his opponent, however, suddenly slamming him into the ground, with enough force to have the Hadrian's back bounce off the forest floor and roll for a couple meters. Amadeo stood back up on his feet just in time to narrowly evade an extending metal blade, the edge cutting through a few of his hairs at the side of his head. Once again, a brawl broke out, but the sides were even less equal than before - although narrowly avoiding the superhero's blows and slashes, Amadeo could not respond with much of the same. His ears were still ringing from the tree crash from before, his body was getting winded, and his defeatist mind was definitely not in the right place.

And, eventually, his luck ran out. Expecting an overhead slash, Amadeo suddenly received a deep bleeding cut across his torso, the Hadrian grunting in pain and stumbling back. Sergio pushed his advantage instantly, first striking his opponent between his ribs with his elbow, then latching onto his neck and slamming him to the ground. No plan to let the kid go this time - he's suffered enough. And, more importantly, he's been a pain enough.

In a fit of desperation, Amadeo's tail wrapped around Sergio's blade to push it back - however, he knew more than anyone that this was a futile attempt at resistance. Hadrian tails were simply not strong enough to be wrestling against blades. He got the wind knocked out of him by the slam and it was difficult to breathe with the hand pressing at his neck. Pain was starting to build up. Pain, adrenaline, anger, frustration - it all started to collapse into itself, until it finally broke out into something.

And that something was a scream. A powerful scream, greater and louder than his air-lacking lungs should have been able to muster. The sheer force of it at point-blank range was enough for Sergio to wince and recoil, lowering his blade and letting go of the Hadrian's neck - however, the real attack had yet to come. The entire forest started to rustle and rumble, as if a massive herd was stampeding somewhere in the distance, before the first jungle animals started leaping out of unseen holes, bushes, corners and hiding spots. Capybaras, armadillos, jaguars, tapirs, all sorts of monkeys, bats and birds, even a few snakes and a small colony of frogs, all stormed forward in the form of an overwhelming horde.

"What the... hell?.." Sergio muttered under his breath, in a mix of shock and surprise, only to get suddenly picked up by the herd - several animals slammed into him, striking and gnawing at his metal armor while pushing him away from the Hadrian. The first of the unsuspecting government soldiers started getting picked up by the horde as well, before they finally retaliated with weapon fire. Amadeo weakly pulled himself off the ground and witnessed himself to be in the middle of a charging band of animals - they passed by him and did not even dare to touch him, so he stuck out like a rock in the middle of a river stream.

Amadeo looked down to his claw, then touched his freed neck. What... what the hell?! How did I?.. He could talk to animals his entire life, much to the surprise and bemusement of others... but that didn't include calling them down as a stampeding horde, right?

As much as he wanted to question what just happened, as much as he wanted to figure out what the hell he just pulled off, there simply was no time to be questioning it. In the end, these still were just animals - as soon as the dictator and his soldiers form a response, they'll be able to disperse them... best escape while he still can. Amadeo weakly stood up and ran - the animals in his path automatically gave him the way, much to his already massive surprise - to the entrance of the nearest rat tunnel. To the government soldiers and to the Caudillo himself, he was never seen again that day.

[Bentus]

The Mystifying Ashen Moth!
Wonder Tower, San Diego

---

When Ash had entered the infirmary to see that Casimir wasn’t there, her first reaction had been a stab of regret for getting lost earlier. Like she’d suspected, she’d missed her chance to help him get better - but it wasn’t a moment before Cosmic and a dark-haired girl who introduced herself as Ava came to the rescue. Almost at once, Ash’s eyes lit up and she hastily returned the girl’s greeting before pushing Mark to lead their impromptu group back to the cafeteria as quickly as possible. If nothing else, she was determined not to miss Casimir for a second time by dawdling. Racing through the hallways once again, the mutant burst into a smile as she saw a familiar figure calmly gorging himself on tacos by the dining table. Undeterred by his injuries and the bandages wrapped around his body, Casimir seemed to be attacking the team’s meal with his characteristic gusto, but he paused as he noticed Ash beaming at him from across the room.

Suddenly remembering that she’d promised to introduce her new friends to the team, Ash’s eyes widened as she quickly scanned the rest of the room. “Oh, um - that is Wyatt.” She spoke, pointing the Dra’quinni out with one of her arms. “Except, I think that is his hero name even though it is actually a real name. His real name is Bael, although nobody really uses it except when they refer to him being a hero…” Furrowing her brow, Ash frowned as she found that the introductions were proving harder than she had expected. “...and people who do not know that he is a hero call him Wyatt. Because his normal name name is part of his disguise, I think. While his real name is actually a secret?” Now she was just confusing herself.

Looking around to try and find an easier target, Ash’s expression lit up as she saw Jason. She had interacted with him more often than most of her other teammates, so felt more confident about giving Mark and Ava a brief introduction. “And that is Jason. His suit is named Sludge and does most of the fighting and hero work for him, although they work well as a team. Sludge can look scary when you first meet him, but he is actually very nice.” Ash paused, hesitating for a moment. “Or he is when he is not hungry.”

“Yo.”

Hearing the new voice, Ash’s face lit up as she turned around to see Casimir waving towards them. Looking over him, she felt a wave of relief to see that he was alright - although she should’ve known that the Great Kabuto wouldn’t have had any trouble. However, the hero’s praise caught her off-guard and Ash felt a flood of colour rushing into her cheeks as he offered her a compliment for her actions. “I heard that you fought brilliantly as well, and I am glad to see that you are healing.” Grinning sheepishly as Casimir patted her head, Ash hastily tried to draw Ava and Mark into the conversation to draw some attention away from her excited nerves. “This is Mark and Ava, they helped us against the Cabal! They are both my new friends. Mark, Ava, this is Kabuto - he and I are best friends.”

[Aidannadia]

August 18th

Pitch: Hey boo ;P
Pitch: wanna go out tonight
Pitch: ive got a hot tip
Pitch: and i think your skill set might come in handy
Pitch: ill explain when you get here
Pitch shared their location.

Read 4:30 PM

The Docks, huh... Renata thought to herself as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, her eyes keeping track of the screen of her phone in her hands. With each jet burst from her feet and each passed street, the two markers on the map were inching closer to each other. And yet Renata still didn’t have a clue what she was getting into tonight.

Well, one thing was easy to figure out. Since it’s by the Docks and Aleta needed her skills tonight, she’s obviously going to need Stella to show up - which is why the pink-haired girl was leaping forth in her flowing, lightly armored costume. The last and, as far as she could recall, the only two times they had teamed up together didn’t say much on what she had to look forward to, though. The first time was a complete accident and the latter had the Young Bloods involved, so…

Could just be an average, run of the mill patrol. No need to overthink it. And it’s been quite a while since the last time the two girls had even spent time together, so why should you overthink it anyway? The two markers on Renata’s map collided and the heroine stopped, looking down from the rooftop of a two-story house. Alright, what do we have here...

The salt soaked waves crashed against the side of the docks, lightly sprinkling the air with its scent. Crates upon crates piled up in an almost maze like pattern. From behind the young hero Stella, Pitch appeared, tapping her on the shoulder.

“You’re positively glowing this evening.” She said dryly. “I found a crate earlier that was opened. Come on.” Pitch motioned for Stella to follow, and the pair made their way to the mazey boxes, Pitch traversing them like the back of her hand until she suddenly opened an empty crate and pulled Stella inside. The inside was lightly lit already, a flashlight still turned on. A laptop and a duffel bag were the only other items in sight.

Pitch turned off the flashlight and let Stella’s power light up the room.

“So, you must be wondering why I asked you here?” She said, hands raised in a dramatic shrug.

The pink-haired heroine looked around the room, then snapped with her fingers for some dramatic tension of her own. On command, her index finger started glowing brightly, illuminating their surroundings far better than the faint glow of her body ever could. “How surprised would you be if I said that I don’t?” Stella offered a quick remark, then folded her arms and continued:

“Of course I do. You didn’t really explain anything when you invited me here.”

Pitch gave a devilish, toothy smile. “I suppose I didn’t.”

She turned to the computer screen. “I’ve set up small cameras around the shipping yard. I have reason to believe an arms deal in going down near these warehouses this evening, and from what I hear, you are uniquely qualified to aid me in stopping it from happening.”

“You see, when Warwolf left, a lot of their supplies got left behind. Many have taken the remaining supplies aggressively, and used it to fund further arms trafficking in San Diego. In particular, one of the weapons that’s hot on the market is energy weapons. Targeted, concentrated, mostly infrared beams hot enough to melt my tar.” She said, pointing to the new added plates of tar on her chest and forearms, which clinked like a stone against the floor of their shared crate. “However, I know someone….” Pitch pointed at Stella, “Who eats lasers like that for breakfast, just like at the bank.”

“However,” Pitch rummaged around in her tote bag for a moment, the contents crinkling loudly. “We have a while before they show up, so let’s snack and talk. We haven’t gotten the opportunity to hang out lately and I feel bad after turning down Naja.” She said, lips feigning a pout.

Stella nodded along to Pitch’s explanation without any protest. All sounded good from her end - she didn’t get to see just how the city went down after Warwolf’s departure while in Ecuador, but, despite how sinister the organization turned out to be, losing such an important facet of San Diego’s law enforcement would certainly lead to plenty of problems. Especially since Warwolf had to depart so suddenly, leaving a power vacuum.

Offered to spend some time talking before the action begins, the pink-haired heroine sat down on the floor and rested her back on one of the walls. “Yeah, honestly… you could have handled it there with a lot more tact. All of us had just returned from a mission and weren’t in the mood for your act, Icarus felt awful after you left as well and...”

Stella let out a sigh. “How did the two of you even ended up teaming up in the first place?”

“I think he would have felt awful either way after the beating he took.” She chuckled a bit to herself, swallowing a mouth full of kettle corn. “It was a spur of the moment decision. I had suspected he was being framed. When I was given the opportunity, I saved him from going down to it. From there, we were partners… or we were supposed to be anyway.” A tinge of resentment in her voice.

“Curse of vigilantism, I guess. We work best alone.”

“And yet we’re here together...” Stella responded with a faint smile, only for it to quickly fade. “It does feel weird, though. If you’re not bluffing or anything, then you figured out he was being framed faster than I would have and-” The pink-haired heroine suddenly shook her head, trying to lose the train of thought. As sweet as you could say the moment when she was told the truth was… just thinking about it made her wash over with a feeling of shame. Best to move the conversation anywhere else, then...

“Okay, okay. You wanted to talk about something, right? What’s on your mind, then?”

Pitch shifted uncomfortably. “I just feel like we’re growing apart. We can talk about anything really, as long as we’re talking. I don’t wanna lose you… idiot.” She pushed Stella playfully, chuckling to herself and popping another piece of popcorn in her mouth.

“I’ve been staying more and more at my old house, the garage, yknow the one?” Pitch said. “It’s quiet, but I feel like I get in my own head too much sometimes out there. Need to cleanse my thoughts every once in a while. I mean, the memes help,” she continued, referring to her official Pitch Capestagram page, “but I need something.”

It was quiet for a moment.

“You really think there’s a Goatman stalking San Diego?” Aleta laughed at the outrageous claim.

Renata stopped for a second when she heard Aleta lament about the distance growing between them. It was… odd to hear something that genuine from her, even if shrouded in her usual attitude. It even made her feel a little bad, that she couldn’t glean that earlier and was as oblivious as always…

Her friend suddenly bringing something else up got her to slightly recoil in confusion. “A… a whatman?” The pink-haired heroine scratched her head and winced. “You… you sure you didn’t stutter somewhere there, Al?”

Aleta laughed heartily. “I suppose I might have stuttered.” Figures began to appear on the cameras, and vans drove up to meet them.

“I guess that’s our mark to get going,” Pitch grunted, standing to prepare for the coming battle. She looked over at her duffel bag and then back at Stella’s glowing finger. Normally, she’d take out the lights and use her flashlights to control the line of sight of the enemy, limiting their ability to fire on her directly. However, with Stella glowing she did, the large overhead lights of the docks, and the truck’s beams, she could hardly control the variables in such a way.

Furthermore, with the laser beams being at play, she could hardly rely on her armor to protect her. For this mission, she removed her chest and back pieces to allow for ease of movement. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Guess we didn’t have the time for chatting in the end...” Stella muttered under her breath, turning off her glowing finger and twisting the shock absorbers on her arms for a last minute check on whether everything was in order.

The pair opened the doors of their crate, Pitch moving over to control a crane nearby and shutting off its power, and Stella making her way over the crates to get closer to the stopped vans. The gang members seemed concerned.

“Who is it this time?”

“Blackout?”

Pitch grimaced, dropping straight into the middle of them. “You wish.”

“Who is this?”

“Another upstart vigilante.”

She spit venom with her words. “My name is Pitch.”

“And not just her, you know!” a voice suddenly called out, drawing the attention of the gangsters surrounding Pitch elsewhere. Stella was sitting on one of the vans which had driven to meet them, her feet dangling off the edge of the rooftop. To further distract them and give her ally the opening she needs, the pink-haired heroine waved, feigning innocence. “Hiii… I’m Stella!”

“She’s got a Young Blood with her.”

“Quick, blast them.”

The vans opened up to reveal laser wielding brutes, aiming straight at both heroines. Pitch launched herself into one of the trucks, ducking below the mouth of the gun and attaching it to the ceiling. In the close quarters of the van, she had a clear advantage with her armor. An elbow to a man’s rib, a knees to another’s teeth, a web of tar covering another. Pretty soon, the driver was the only man left, and he straight up opened the door and ran out.

Stella, on the other hand, cut open a circular hole in the roof of the van underneath her, falling inside and slamming the piece of metal at the skull of the nearest gangster, knocking them out. Immediately, his peers outside opened fire on the heroine, only to witness that the lasers they fired simply vanished upon touching her skin instead of blasting her away or cutting her flesh. Guess Pitch wasn’t bluffing when she explained exactly why she’d be perfect help for the mission.

“What the hell...” one of the gangsters muttered, right before Stella went for a counterattack, blasting two of the gangsters away with a burst of plasma and slamming a jet-accelerated punch into the gut of another.

“Are we clear?” Stella called out as she stepped out of the van.

“Not quite.” Pitch said, looking around to see the other side of the deal pull their guns, this time bullets being the weapon of choice. She pulled Stella over to her as the opened fire, letting the bullet’s lodge themselves in a wall of tar, only a few bruising her back in the process.

“When they reload, blast ‘em.” Pitch said, soon dropping the wall of tar to show the last group of vagrants reloading their weapons. Stella only had a moment to react. Which meant that the opening came with some serious pressure placed on her shoulders - and, especially when she had to fire on such a short notice, the opening left the heroine frantic.

She released a blast of plasma, but miscalculated the intensity and direction, and so her attack ended up hitting the ground between the girls and the gangsters, instead of the gangsters themselves, and whipped up a cloud of dust, smoke and ash, obscuring everyone’s vision of the other side.

“Puta!” Renata yelled out and ducked when the bullets started flying again, although far less directed than before. “...S-sorry...”

“Dammit or…. maldito I guess.” Pitch said, blocking one more time. “Wanna give it another shot or?”

“Stagger the reloads. Don’t let up.”

“Motherfucker.” Pitch raised a solid wall, gripping her fists until her knuckles would have been white if not for her entire tar suit. The wall hardened until the bullets bent and buckled against it, somewhat ricocheting. “Okay, I’ll blast ‘em.” She said, shooting up webs from the wall at regular intervals, trapping two more men to the ground.

Stella gritted her teeth, trying to hold off from lashing out further - especially when it turned out that her failure got the criminals to switch their strategy to not get hit by the same attack again. Her friend was clearly struggling with the constant onslaught, too… The heroine clasped her hands, charging up energy between her palms, and yelled out:

“Pitch, lower the wall, I’ve still got a chance!”

Pitch shook her head, but instead of lowering the wall, she grabbed Stella and launched the pair of them over the wall with the tension in a web, giving her ally a good vantage point while letting them reposition to highground.

“W-Wait, what are you-” Stella barely managed to yelp out before she got thrusted into the air above the battle. The gangsters immediately turned their eyes to the sky, their faces betraying surprise and shock - and though she hadn’t been prepared for getting thrown above, Stella put this moment of surprise to use. She stretched her hands forward, a powerful burst of air and plasma blasting away from them and striking the criminals directly.

Pitch swung around the arm of the giant crane mechanism, and landing back at the scene. Within a few moments, Pitch has tied up the thoroughly beaten thugs, noticing that the sellers had ‘88’ tattoos, while the buyers were more of the condemned typical street gang members. RamsHead is selling this high class of weaponry? They must be making a play for more territory. If you flood downtown with guns, they’ll be so busy using them on each other that they can’t stand up to you. She glanced at Stella. There’s no need to be telling her any of this, of course. She’d likely come to the same conclusion.

“Well, good work Stella, but with all those shots they fired, I’d expect the police to show up soon, so let’s get a good shot of the pair of us for the page.” Pitch lined up the camera and motioned for Stella to come over.

The pink-haired heroine landed on one of the vans after slowing herself down with jet bursts towards the ground, just in time to hear her friend call out to her. Pitch was asking for a picture of them together for the time the law enforcement shows up - ah, nothing too bothersome, then.

“Sure!” Stella exclaimed and hopped down to the ground, moving in position for the photoshoot. “You seemed pretty worried while looking through those gangsters. Something’s wrong?”

I forgot how naive she is…. Pitch snapped a photo of the pair smiling, the wrapped up bad guys in the background.

“Maybe they’re not all bad…” is how the caption on the photo read. Instant buzz. There had been a lot of rumors about her joining the Young Bloods recently. The tabloids were running with it. It wasn’t front page material but it was everywhere online in the message boards. A picture like this would stoke the flames of the rumors even more.

“Oh uh… nothing. Just trying to figure out where these weapons are coming from haha.” Pitch rubbed the back of her head, mask twitching slightly from the movement. Sirens blared in th background. “There’s the heat, so I gotta bail. Cramps my style.” She turned to go but then looked back around to her friend. “Actually, you wanna grab ice cream? I’ve got an old haunt not far from here if you wanna hang out.”

Stella blinked a few times while Pitch tried to explain herself, but did not bother to press the issue any further, and when her friend turned the conversation towards grabbing ice cream and hanging out, the heroine responded with enthusiasm:

“Sure thing - you did say we gotta catch up for all the time we were apart and what better time would be for that than now?” The pink-haired heroine followed her reply up with a faint giggle before wrapping her hands behind her head. “I assume ‘old haunt’ doesn’t mean your aunt’s home here, right?”

“Nah.” Pitch said, pulling Stella along with her. “It’s just where I grew up. Nothing special.” She waved off the idea.

---

After ice cream, the pair continued their walk through the Condemned district, eventually coming upon an old, run-down garage with an old DO NOT TRESPASS sticker on the door that was marked out in black spray paint. Aleta budged open the door, revealing its dusty interior with footsteps in various boots and shoes leading up the steps. “Come on.”

“Watch out, no trespassing.” Renata jokingly stated after seeing the sticker posted on the door, then followed after Aleta. Reluctantly so, however - the Condemned District was already far from a pleasant place to walk across, and this place was somehow even worse. “So… this is where you grew up in?.. It looks like - well, it looks like...” the pink-haired girl tried searching for a word which wouldn’t sound too harsh for her friend’s childhood home.

“A sack of shit? Yeah, it was okay though.” Aleta lit a cigarette, having finished her expresso bean chocolate ice cream very quickly. The stairs creaked slightly, but Aleta gave it no mind. The stairs opened up to an old timey wooden finished house. It was nice for the area, with old pictures, cabinets, and doilies. “That was back when I was living with dad.” She said off-hand, hopping a bit over to the living room and crashing onto the couch, which huffed and heaved with dust as her weight came down on it.

“A sack of shit...” Renata repeated under her breath as she stepped into the house. Not exactly the word she would have went for, but if even Aleta is using it, then guess it works… Renata opted to not hit the dusty couch - who knows, maybe it won’t even be able to hold two people at once and break! - and instead leaned on a nearby wall.

“I suppose, even so early in your life, having a mom is just a dream, right?”

Aleta inhaled deeply after that comment, “I mean, moms die. It happens. Nothing wrong with that. She was just never around. I don’t even remember her.” She said somewhat defensively. “It’s like Dad. Dad was never around either. Always working down in the shop, and I was bedridden for most of my childhood so-” She stopped, as if considering what she was saying, then exhaled towards the yellow stained ceiling.

“Oh...” Renata muttered upon hearing the answer, folding her arms, her body shivering ever so slightly. “Sorry if I opened some unwelcome wounds there, I… was just curious, I guess.” Not that she knew whether Aleta really did feel terrible here. As far as Renata knew, her carefree apathetic attitude extended even to her far from pleasant childhood.

“Hey, at least you’re not on my level. Until a few days ago, I didn’t even know whether I had a mom.” the pink-haired girl opted to try lighten up the mood.

“What you met your mom or something?”

“Uh...” Renata responded, but as soon as her thoughts diverted back to her time in Ecuador, the pink-haired girl instinctively covered her mouth. She was in no actual risk of throwing up, but after what she had seen, the reflex would kick in almost immediately. Taking a few deep breaths, Renata calmed down, removed her hands and continued:

“...Kind of. Not exactly, but… at least I know I didn’t just pop down from the sky or something.”

Aleta considered pressing further, but decided against it. She clearly was hiding something though. “I don’t know. Dad always said… he always said that Mom was the sweetest woman he’d ever met. An angel that lightly touched down upon the earth for a moment to give birth to me and then ascend once more to the heavens. Auntie said she was a frail, somewhat soft-spoken lady with good manners but a weak will. Her and Dad didn’t really ever get along.”

“Maybe you should change your alias to Nephilim, then,” Renata commented lightly. “So, I guess Dad wasn’t really as sweet as Mom, then?”

Aleta shifted uncomfortably. “He did the best he could. He was covering some heavy expenses, so most days I wouldn’t see him until late into the night. Dad wasn’t happy, but he had lost Mom and I was sick all day. It must have weighed on him. Most days he was too tired to even look me in the eye.”

Renata looked down, a somber expression burned on her face, and took a breath. “Yeah, that… That sounds pretty terrible.” Not that this was breaking news to her at all. She had known bits and pieces about Aleta’s life before, and it never struck her as something pleasant. Hell, as far as she knew, Aleta’s life right now is the best it has always been. “I can’t say that my life was as hard as that - but obviously you already know that. I mean, I didn’t have a mom either, but that didn’t make my family all that dysfunctional and Father came off fine.”

The pink-haired girl stopped for a second. “...Well, I thought he was fine, but- well, at least he was fine on the surface.”

Aleta raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard you even suggest your father did anything wrong. What happened? I want the deets.”

Hearing Aleta verbally poke into her past, her curious eyes staring into Renata, got the pink-haired girl to flail her arms. “D-did I suggest that he did something wrong?” She soon calmed down, however, and exhaled a sigh. “No… I meant that I thought he had gotten over it and everything. It was so long ago that I didn’t even know what my mother looks like, so I figured that he had moved on as well. Apparently not.”

Renata’s eyes shifted to the side. “It’s creepy, but I guess I can admire Dad’s stubborness... I-I’m sorry, am I being too cryptic here?..”

“You’re definitely avoiding saying. I can tell this one’s juicy. Spill it.” Aleta put out her cigarette on the table and leaned up in her seat, practically leaning off the edge of the couch.

Renata remained silent for a few seconds, debating inside her mind on whether she should open up or nip the conversation in the bud entirely. Why am I… even conflicted about this? Al’s my friend. If there’s one person I shouldn’t be afraid of opening up to, it’s her.

“Back on Ecuador, after mentioning her to Dad in the heat of an argument, I got to meet my mother - but she’s not… alive in the usual sense of the word. She’s been on the edge for almost two decades, and for all this time, Dad has been trying to find a way to revive her with all of the country’s resources.” the pink-haired girl explained briefly, then scratched the back of her head. “Actually… I’ve been conflicting with Dad a lot recently in general. He’s very dissatisfied with everything I’m doing in San Diego - the Young Bloods and all the danger stemming from there, Icarus… and, if he knew about you, probably you as well. I’m only here because of his goodwill, so, honestly, I’m afraid that I’ll receive a call one day and be forced to leave everything I have here, forever.”

Renata frowned and folded her arms. “Honestly, at this point, it’s not even a question of if, it’s a question of when.”

Aleta pursed her lips as Renata explained. “I thought there would be something juicier like clones or something but that works I guess.”

“Honestly, I wish that was all I could tell you here. Everything would just be so much simpler, funnily enough.” the pink-haired girl responded and giggled a little bit afterwards.

“I’ve never had a very overbearing guardian so I wouldn’t know what to tell you. Auntie leaves me to my devices most of the time. Mom and Dad were never around.” Aleta shrugged. “I mean, it’s your life, and if you wanna be somewhere, that’s where you should be. Do you think I ever put myself in situations I don’t want to be in? No, I’m always exactly where I want to be.”

Aleta stood and took a single bound across the room to a somewhat fancy by comparison to its surroundings cabinet, within which held various assortments of liquor. “You clearly need to let loose with so much pressing on your mind.” Aleta popped a cork and down a chug of a foul smelling liquid, gulping heartily.

Renata looked down to the glass her friend filled up for her and offered to her, holding it up in her hand for a second before pushing it away. “I’m sorry, I… don’t drink alcohol. And even if I did, this wouldn’t really be a good way of coping with my problems anyway. You don’t need to worry about me, Al, I’ll find a way to pull through somehow.”

Aleta shrugged. “I was gonna teach you my trick to beating anyone in a drinking contest.” Al winked them chugged once more. “You see, drugs don’t affect me. Coffee, cigs, coke, alcohol. No side effects. If anything they make me stronger.” A thin layer of pitch appeared on her right hand, the semi-solid substance coursing energetically at the prospect. “I’ve been trying to get a better understanding of my powers, like with that solid wall I made earlier? I didn’t use to be able to do that. I’ve also figured that extreme temperatures are my biggest weaknesses, so these laser weapons are a real drag.” She took another sip, looking at the picture of her father on the banister.

Renata took a listen at Aleta’s explanation of how her powers work, but her face did not show a lot of enthusiasm.

“Yeah, that’s sure helpful for your lifestyle...” she stated as a throwaway response. “No clue how you were thinking of teaching that to me, though.”

“Maybe your powers work the same way!” Aleta said devilishly, swishing a bottle of something brown.

“Uh...” Renata stopped for a second. “Well, they do… but not with drugs or alcohol. Unless you happen to have stumbled across beer made out of light… what would that even taste like? Like a… washed over version of Bud Light?”

Aleta considered the options. “I’d imagine it’d be more of a Corona, but to each their own.” She shrugged. “More for me.”

“Good for you.” Renata nodded. An uneasy silence followed for a few seconds, before she spoke again:

“You, uh… don’t happen to have any non-alcoholic beer, do you?”

“Well, pops didn’t have much of a use for that. He usually had some to unwinds after the day, so most of what we have is hard liquor. However, I know you like fruity drinks. I could mix something up for you that isn’t so… heavy.” Aleta offered, heading over to the kitchen counter and grabbing some juices.

“You sure?.. I mean, there’s gotta be a 24/7 shop somewhere around here, right?” Renata immediately voiced an alternate option. “I’d only take a few minutes, maybe even less, you don’t have to waste anything on me.”

“I have plenty to share. And if you don’t like it I can always finish the rest for you no problem” Aleta said, already mixing the drinks, and nudging her in the arm. A few moments later in what seemed like a cartoonish flurry of bottles and arms, a drink was served in a glass with a lime wedge on the rim of the cup.

“...Thanks.” Renata replied and picked up the drink, not sure if down it out of courtesy or put it away. It looked… drinkable, at least. For now, she simply held it in her hand, lightly spinning the glass out of hesitation.

“...My birthday is going to be in a week or two. I’m still not sure on it, but I feel like I’m going to hold the party in Wonder Tower. That won’t stop you from showing up, right?”

Aleta pokes her cheek with her tongue, thinking. “You’re not gonna have two parties? One for Renata and one for Stella?” Aleta asked somewhat rhetorically. “Well, you know I don’t miss parties unless they’re lame, and while I’m sure a party with a bunch of Yeebs will be lame, you’ll cancel it out.” Aleta shrugged.

“Hehe...” briefly escaped Renata’s lips. “Thanks, Al.”

Aleta shrugged again. “Think nothing of it. You’re my best friend.”

[Finland SSR]

September 12th

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

September 12th

---

It's been over a month since the last mission involving all of the team, San Diego, defying expectations, was starting to stabilize, and the forces of villainy appeared to recede. Despite that, the last month has been perhaps just as impactful and important as the last. So much to mention, so much to think over...

Okay, okay, okay! Just... just think of the team, for no. The Young Bloods are seen as the heroes of the conflict with Warwolf, they were acquitted of their actions and the organization forced to flee. They received an invitation to participate in the annual North American Super League Tournament! In fact, today was the day when they would finally take the plane to New York, where it was going to be held! They've lost a few members and received a few others, too... Renata's squad, more specifically, lost two and received one. Carter chose to take a break from the team, taking Harley in tow, and in their place they received Arin Reagan, a redhead and a fresh face in the superhero business in general.

Speaking of whom...

"Whoop!" Renata exclaimed as she fired a burst of plasma from her hand to the side, ejecting herself to the other side and thus avoiding an another one of Arin's slaps. The red-haired girl fought rather... weird. Despite having no physically empowering powers as far as Renata could tell, she constantly tried to attack at close quarters, throwing attempts to grapple, grab and slap her opponent. Using the superior mobility granted to her by her powers, Renata kept Arin at bay for now, at the cost of not retaliating either.

"So then," the pink-haired heroine continued, ducking underneath an another one of Arin's blows and then releasing a burst of plasma from her feet, accelerating to the air and completing a backflip. "Why aren't you using your powers?"

---

September 12th

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

September 12th

---

This is the day they've been waiting for! This is the moment of truth! Ever since the team had been informed that they have been invited to participate in the NASL Tournament, Mizu knew that she was going to stay and see it happen! Besides, the first mission she had together with the team, the welcoming Squad 4 she had been assigned to, and assuring words from none other than Blue herself all boosted her determination even further. Even if, as it turns out, getting to stay on Earth was going to be more difficult than she initially perceived. As soon as she informed her parents of her decision, they almost had a heart attack from the shock. Her school wasn't going to simply let her get reassigned to Thomsen High, either - the two schools followed completely different curricula, her former school didn't even have classes divided by ages due to the small amount of students, so getting reassigned was not an option.

Eventually, however, she, the principal, her parents and the commanding staff of the International Moon Base managed to iron out a compromise. She was allowed to stay on Earth, but will have to keep up with lessons through video conferences. And, since school on Luna started on September 1st, instead of later like all of her peers on the team... for the last two weeks, the girl was forced to juggle training for the Tournament alongside watching hours of streamed lessons about Lunar engineering, high level Japanese, English and French, advanced calculus...

Not that it lowered her enthusiasm even one bit. And as the day of the Tournament rapidly came closer and closer, a cocktail of fear, worry and excitement brewed in her heart. For now, however... something else was on her mind.

One of the ideas proposed by their dear leader, Mike, on how to improve the squad's trust in each other was to have each of the team members cook the others' food. After all, if you trust that your teammate can cook good enough pasta, you can trust them in the middle of battle, right? So, this morning, Mizu and Mike were lined up by the shelves of the kitchen, chopping up ingredients and preparing sandwiches for each other as well as the rest of the team.

"There, done!" Mizu was the first to call out after placing down the last piece of lettuce on her plate. "Back on Town Luna, we call this one the 'Apollo Special'! It wakes you up from drowsiness in a single bite!" The purple-haired girl picked up one of the sandwiches and raised it towards Mike. "Say ahh~"

Little did he know that on Luna, these seemingly inconspicuous ham and lettuce sandwiches were actually known as the 'Apollo 13 Special'. Hiding beneath the slices of ham were tiny chopped up bits of hot pepper...

---

Voice
Midtown, San Diego

---

Steven Baker.

August

---

Steven regretted acting abrasive and hostile almost as soon as he finished. No matter what way you would cut it, this was still the life of his student on the line, and he can't excuse himself from helping just because he isn't a superhero anymore. Beverly's following rant helped her case, too, even if it really came off as a personal attack on his life and his choice to retire after the Massacre.

"No, no, I'm the one who should be sorry..." Steven replied as soon as Beverly started to apologize for her hostility. The telepathic heroine was quick to deduct that he wasn't doing as well underneath his shell as he could be, and as soon as she confronted him about it, the former hero released a deep sigh. How do I explain this...

"It's just... so much has happened in the past month or so, you know?" Steven finally started to explain himself. "I was on vacation for most of July, and immediately as I returned, I was told that a whole group of my students went and founded a superhero team out of nowhere, and then named themselves after the massacre when all of our friends died. Then, as it turns out, Angie is alive, she is enrolled in Thomsen High under a different name, and doesn't remember me at all..."

Steven threw his hands to the air in defeat. "And now you're here. Telling me that the name those kids chose might soon come to reality."

---

August 8th

The Mad Lass, Sina As'tari!

August 8th

---

Hearing the phone tucked in her loin cloth start to beep, Sina swiftly pulled it out to check who was trying to get her attention while she was busy. Oh, it was just Bael. It took him a while, but he finally brought up N'Toak again, asking her whether she still wants to go there. Right, the entire city of Dra'Quinni somewhere far, far away? The mere idea of it eluded the girl - outside of her family, Bael was the only Dra'Quinni she had seen, and getting to meet even more of them would be awesome!

Alright, I think I know how talking through these symbols works...

I sure waLOAWM,SACLQE2.XEWQFLE.Q

Aah! Aah! Phew...

When you're flying faster than a speeding bullet, above streets and in between buildings, taking away your attention from what's in front of you even for a second can be catastrophic. Sina nearly avoided one such catastrophe, that is, splattering into the wall of a bank building, by making a sharp turn to the side at the last possible second - unfortunately, the phone in her hands nearly slipped out and bounced around her grasp for a few moments before she finally caught it.

The message was now a mess and yet fingers still somehow managed to send it.

No matter, I can still salvage this!

Spreading her wings further apart, Sina suddenly took to the sky, making a wide loop in the San Diego sky and continuing to type upside down.

I sure want to!
Where can I find you?

[Aidannadia]

September 13th

Now was the time. Today was the day. The Young Bloods are out of town.

Now was the time to make Pitch shine brighter than anyone else, a single spotlight for the town to look up to. This solo act was a duet for too long, and now she could burst into the most rapturous of soliloquys.

Pitch had heard of another arms deal between Ramshead and downtown, this time with some of the higher ups taking point. Apparently, they had a run in with a couple of troublemakers a week or so back and didn't want a repeat of their lost revenue. That would explain the heightened security; they had done their research. Laser weapons were aplenty, along with grunts with inhalers on their belts. Pitch shifted uncomfortably, remembering the steroid's effects on its victims. Their strength, speed, and durability increased incredibly, though not nearly as effective as the blood drug, it seemed to not have the unfortunate side effect of killing those that intake the compound. Its street name was Poison.

Another part of their defensive positioning that surprised Pitch; They had people watching the circuit breaker. One of her calling cards had always been to disable the lights in a building and use flashlights to control the angles of vision available to the enemy and herself. To have gone this far, well, Aleta was nearly flattered. And then she remembered that Blackout did something very similar. That damned fool. Where was he nowadays anyway.

Pitch scaled down the shadow of an alleyway, sticking a gagged guard against the way behind a trashcan. She smiled, seeing her way into the compound from here. There were only a few snipers on nearby rooftops. She'd need to disable their energy weapons before she made a move, or else she'd be liable to getting shot on the way out. Each one was neutralized their gun's firing mechanism with a well placed glob of tar.

Her way in was still clear, a door labeled exit with the wires for the alarm having been frayed beyond use. Perhaps years ago, it had been used as a fire escape. Nowadays, it was a good backdoor to the bottom floor.

Pitch scanned the room as she entered, seeing that she had come into a hallway with a variety of doors. She skulked past, listening in each room for anything going on. Most seemed empty, though she heard laughing and clinking from one room. Is that it? She asked herself silently. First, she'd need to do more recon. The heroine looked around for some way to spy on the room without getting caught when she hear footsteps in the hallway. she slinked back into one of the quiet room, noticing a long forgotten boiler room with a few mops and buckets.

Her ear was against the door, and she listened carefully for th footsteps to pass. Just as they did, she opened the door, covered the man's face in Pitch and pulled him into the room. The man struggled against her grip, kicking a bucket as the door closed behind him, but she was strong for her size. The man was attached to the boiler and holes were made for his nose to breath. She sighed relief and continued her descent into the compound, noticing a grate to the ventilation system in the room. She focused, hardening her Pitch into a screwdriver, and removed the grate, sliding into the ventilation system to continue her reconnaissance.

".... and I told Crosby that if he wanted to make a deal, then he should have come himself. And you know what he says? He agrees. What a businessman. His own men can't get something done, but he puts himself into the line of duty despite everyone else getting caught by the Bitch." Aleta had to stifle a laugh at her nickname. Original.

"Well, he's hardly in danger with all these guards here. Plus, I heard the Young Bloods are out of town. It's a safe bet."

"Yeah, and what about Blackout? That guy has been kinda quiet recently..."

Pitch had to keep from punching the grate. She continued on, sure that these men were the ones that had set up the meeting with Ramshead, but who was this Crosby character? She hadn't heard any buzz about the Ramshead boss other than the rumors of the Goatman floating around. Sure, some of those wounds were extreme and brutal, but that didn't mean there was a beast haunting San Diego, even if an anthropomorphic goat wasn't the most far-fetched realization of the last few years. I mean, there was a dragon boy....

Aleta heard a car pull up out front and the doors slam quickly afterward. She shimmied over in her grate to get a vantage point.

A clear skinhead, surrounded by his army of goons totaling 8 stocky men in contrast with his own wimpy features. He was covered in tattoos that gave away his beliefs. She grit her teeth.

The man continued into the abanadoned building, following down the hall and letting Crosby take the lead. Four men entered the room with him, while the other four waited in the hall. Aleta now noticed their knives, cleverly hidden beneath their fine tailored suits. No doubt they also had inhalers. She sighed beneath her armor, hoping her new technique would afford her protection from their attacks.

"So, let's talk business...." Aleta listened as they discussed prices and territory. She didn't understand all of it, but it seemed like the prices were connected to prospective gains in territory from the new weaponry. It all seemed very sophisticated compared to the dramas would see on TV.

"And what of loss prevention? Your weapons didn't stop Stella and the Bitch the other day."

"That was an anomaly, I assure you. However, if you wanted extra insurance in light of recent events, I can throw in an order of Poison." Pitch bit her lip. Poison spreading downtown? I need to stop this now.

"And, as I'm sure you've heard, we have a big gun with us nowadays." The room went silent, and Aleta took the opportunity to drop from the ceiling, bursting open the grate she was perched from and slamming a guard down. Gunshots rang out immediately, lodging themselves in the softer parts of her armor, while the plating seemed to completely squash any form of attack in its path. Aleta moved on to the next grunt, and he pulled out his knives. She parried with her arm plating and then slung him against the wall with a tentacle of tar.

The other two guards inhaled Poison from their suits and suddenly grew about an inch in height. Their suits could barely contain their muscles, and they set in on Pitch. She exhaled slowly, preparing herself for their attacks. A slice through the air was dodged, and a punch was given in return. One man pushed against her with all his weight, slamming her body into the wall and knocking her breath from her. Sharp pain in her side; the knife had gotten her. She cried out in pain, pushing against him with a wave of tar and locking him into the earth. The other man took another hit of Poison and swung again, catching her arm plating.

The armor held, scraping sickeningly against the hard surface.

Crosby spoke over his radio, and just as Pitch was finishing her last opponent, for more hulking behemoths of men came through the door. She closed her side wound with tar, raised her arms in a fighting stance and spit on the ground. "Bring it, fuckers."

Two lashed out both being blocked by her bracers. Another man stabbed at her from the side, the blade firmly lodging itself in her side against. She felt the solid piece of metal shift inside her and pulled away. Blood poured from the wound but she closed it against with her armor. The others didn't let up. One stepped forward, actually stepping on her spit which had been cleverly placed. The tar spit covered his ankle and he fell to the ground with a thud. Pitch stomped his head in and blocked another strike, this time moving her breastplate into the way of the fire instead of getting stabbed in the side.

She punched another of her foes, but he barely flinched, taking the fully brunt with his jaw. A blade swung nearly clipping her neck, but she bent backwards, praising whatever gods may be that she took that yoga class a few months back. She swiped her hands and slung two balls of tar into the faces of her opponents, then launched herself into them by attaching to the wall with webs of black ichor.

The one that fell sliced at her ankle but only barely missed. She turned around and stomped his head one more time, and he went seemed down for the count.

One more opponent, Pitch could feel her second wind coming on. She stared him down and readied herself into a battle stance when she hear the telltale charging of a laser weapon behind her. She jumped, attaching herself to the ceiling and barely dodging the beam as it melted its way into the man's chest.

She turned to see Crosby wielding a weapon that looked state of the art, like a new line made just for this occasion.

The scrawny man smiled. Pitch spit in his face.

He fired randomly catching the edge of her armor, melting clean through. Pitch started after him when suddenly the ground shook. Then, it shook again. She remembered the rumors and for a moment she questioned all the jokes she made, until her sense came back to her. There was no monster in San Diego. There was no Goatman.

And then the wall exploded.

[Galnius]

Lisette
Midtown, San Diego

---

Biting back her desire to wipe that smug smirk from Daniel’s face, Lisette took a deep breath and swallowed her pride. Just stay focused on the goal, you’re not out of trouble here yet. Not while the Outriders are still around. However they’d managed to lose sight of her, Lisette knew that Daniel had played a role. No matter how infuriating he may be, she still needed him. It just sucked that he also seemed to have figured that out, and was now making her squirm for the trouble. Following the wealthy heir - or his clone, she wasn’t quite sure which was which - out into some private garage, she was unphased by the appearance of his chauffeur. She had plenty herself, and a private driver was perhaps the most basic of status symbols in San Diego’s upper class. But the elderly man’s words towards Daniel, and her host’s flustered response, did catch her surprise.

Exchanging a glance between the pair, Lisette couldn’t mask her stunned disbelief. Could there have been a more excruciatingly painful example of stranger danger? She felt like she’d suddenly been transported into one of those intolerable safety videos from school. Silently groaning at the incompetence that was on display, Lisette rolled her eyes as she sighed in frustration exasperation.

“Ergh, fucking creep.” She muttered as she strode past both men and planted herself in the waiting seat. Reaching out to pull the door away from the chauffeur, Lisette shot one final pair of daggers towards Daniel.

“Pervert.”

And with that, she slammed the car door shut behind her.

---

Daniel 1, pre time skip
Daniel shrugged at the younger girl's hostile response. It was not his fault that people liked to follow him home, nor was it his fault that he was willing to oblige them. His activities in that area weren't exactly a secret either, nor was he very good at keeping secrets.

Lisette's anger, however, did not stop the heir from greying in the other side and continuing his previous conversation.
A camera zoomed in momentarily, and a speaker in his ear informed him of a few hairs out of place. "Ah, right", he responded, messing up those too well groomed hairs. Giving a thumbs up or thumbs down choice, he waited for the person seemingly watching to inform him whether or not it was properly rogueish. With an affirmative, he turned to his momentarily awaited guest as the car began to move.

"So, Miss Aveline. About the preposition I spoke of earlier." He stared her in the eyes momentarily, trying to figure out if this was truly a good idea. Whatever he found did not convince him otherwise, however. "I want you..."

Daniel left the pause to stand for a while, hoping to illicit a reaction of any form. However, it was just a few seconds, as he didn't wasn't to scare his perspective accomplice away. "....to be bait!" With the final ending to the bait and switch statement, he began a long rant of why this was clearly the best idea anyone has ever had. "You see, you're rich, you look fragile, you just about scream kidnap me, and you aren't hard on the eyes either, should anyone roll that way." With an excited wave and flurry of his hands, he continued on. "You'll be going to a bad part of town. Your choice. You see, I've been trying to find a way to prove myself to these Outriders, and you seem to be such good bait you may have even summoned The Marionette to my party. Usually I'd congratulate myself for bringing such a marvelous, interesting character to the party, but they've never shown before. No, I believe it may have just been your plain boring self that somehow dragged in one of the finest specimens I've heard of villainy wise. I'm a bit jealous of my other self, really. So..what do you say? I'll be right nearby and I won't let any meanie heads hurt a hair on your pedestrian little scalp."

---

Daniel Alpha, pre-skip

It appeared, sadly, that there was no Marionette at his party. Daniel had to admit he was a little disappointed, and Daniel and Daniel were sure to be when they found out. However, there was quite a bit fun to be had here regardless.

"Because you're talking to a powerful reality warper!"

"If you say anything to confirm what she says, I'm blowing your damn brains out, I swear."

"You! Daniel, is there truth to the xenos' heretical claim?"

They seemed to think the hier could alter reality to his whim, which was a funny yet incredibly strange misunderstanding. However, who was he to deny their dreams that he was, basically, God? "I am sorry to inform you that I can neither confirm nor deny such charges placed upon me", began the increasingly arrogant man. "However, whether or not it is true isn't the issue here. Instead, I have but one question. What's our first mission, team?"

---

Mika, pre skip
When Arin had demonstrated her power, Mika found herself afraid. Such an ability would make it hard to enforce a friendship, as she could easily destroy the girl's camera or phone if she ever found out about the rest of her abilities. Due to this, Mika silently made a vow to never reveal her full powers. It was...unwise to say the least. Instead, she opted to answer the red haired girl's inquiry.

"Well, I'm supposed to have told what I did this summer. However , I uh, I haven't really done anything yet, you see. I was hoping to include some things like water parks, slumber parties, and more, but I'm not sure if I have the time. I haven't had the friends before this to even bother. However, if I can make it look like I did, then all's well that ends well right?"

Pulling up her camera, she continued with her pleas. Truly, it was mostly an excuse to get photos that she could use, but some of those things actually sounded fun if you had someone you could make enjoy it with you. "I was..uh...hoping to start with the slumber party part , as thatwould be the easiest. We don't need to actually have one, but you know, make it look like we did. It'll be fun!"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

August 9th

---

“I’m just saying Naja, I’ll never hear the end of it if I have to face the bluejays.” Roy said, sitting in the chair across from Naja’s desk. The team’s overseer smiled in response.

“Come on, Roy, you’re exaggerating.”

“It’s a lose-lose for me! Either we lose and Kylie teases me for the next decade. Or we win and I’m out of the will.”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was late, so Roy and Naja looked at each other wondering who it could be, until the person on the other side of the door spoke.

“Miss Naja? Are you there?”

The team’s coach immediately recognized her voice. “Yes, come in! The door is open.”

A familiar alien girl opened the door and gingerly stepped into the office, briefly looking at Roy in surprise before turning to Naja. “Am I interruptin’ somethin’ important? Should I come back later?” She asked, making it clear she was nervous about something.

“Don’t worry, you’re not interrupting anything.” The snake woman said gently while motioning to an empty chair. “What did you need?”

Kiris didn’t sit, instead simply walking closer to the desk. Shuffling her feet a little, she looked down for a moment, as if unsure of what to say. “Um, Miss Naja, Roy, I… I think I need to take a little break from the team.”

The news was obviously sudden, and there was a moment of silence as Roy and Naja processed the news, both of them clearly taken aback. Kiris’ lip quivered a bit as she waited for a response, but as none was given, she continued.

“I’m not… I don’t think I’ve been doin’ a great job-”

“What are you saying Kiris?” Roy said as he quickly stood up. He hadn’t realized that one of his squad members felt insecure like that and it made him feel guilty to learn about it now.

“Ya didn’t let me finish, Roy.” The alien girl said, a bit irritated, though for the most part she felt guilty just like him - the team was like a family to her, and she hated having to do this… but she felt it was necessary. “I don’t think I’ve been doin’ a great job at controllin’ myself durin’ missions. First it was just a panic attack in a basement. Then, I almost killed Marionette. Last time I barely avoided burnin’ Beast to death, I set someone’s house on fire and nearly my teammates as well…” It was clearly painful to recount, and the girl clenched her fists as she went on. “...I don’t wanna find out what’s gonna happen next…”

“Kiris we can work on those things together!” Roy insisted, “Everyone has things they have to work on…”

“Roy.” Naja said gently, cutting him off before looking thoughtfully at Kiris. “Is this really what you want Kiris? Where would you go?”

The Hadrian nervously fiddled with her hands as she thought about the question. “I think I’m goin’ back to my world.” She declared. Another wave of surprise washed over Roy and Naja alike - the former wanted to protest again, but a glance from Naja made him think twice before doing so.

“O-only for a while. I love this team, I’d never want to leave forever… but I need help, and I don’t think I can get it here.”

“Someone on your homeworld can help you?” Naja asked.

“Um, I’m not on great terms with my family… but I think my sister can give me a hand, or help me find someone who can. I would try to find help here, but… I-I don’t want to hurt anyone else…” She spoke. It was far from a solid plan, but it was all she had. Getting to her planet, at least, wouldn’t be too hard - it could be done instantaneously, if she traveled to New Adai.

“Are you sure you want to go alone? Someone could accompany you. That might make things easier.” Naja suggested to the young Hadrian girl. In response, she simply shook her head.

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I already feel bad about havin’ to leave, I’d feel even worse if I also took someone else away from the team.” She said with a weak chuckle and a slightly forced smile that quickly died down. “Especially when so many dangerous people are threatenin’ the city every day.” She added more seriously, looking up at Naja. “Honestly it’s pretty scary to go back, but I’ll be fine… it’s the planet I was born after all.”

“Well, if you’re sure it’s what you want, then I wish you luck Kiris.” Naja said, she would have offered her hand to shake if she hadn’t known that was an awkward custom for Hadrians. “Your place on the team will be waiting for you when you return.”

At this, Kiris smiled, more genuinely this time. All of this, it was still difficult for her, but hearing that Naja supported her and that her team - her family - would be waiting for her to come back made it all just a little bit easier. “Thanks Naja. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible, and be a better hero than I was before.” She said with a resolute nod before excusing herself and leaving the room.

As the alien girl stepped outside, Naja rubbed her temples and sighed before glancing at Roy. “You should probably talk to her before she leaves. You’re her squad leader, after all.”

Roy nodded before following Kiris out the door. He reached her in the hallway and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey Kiris, I just want to say, I’m going to miss you. We all will. I think it’s admirable that you’re trying to improve yourself. But you really should talk to Mars about this. He deserves to hear it from you.”

Turning around with a start, Kiris relaxed when she saw it was Roy and listened to his words, smiling at first, though not for long. “Yeah, I should…” She nodded. In truth, she knew that already, but she had been dreading the moment. They had only met a month and a half ago, and had been together for only part of that time, but she already held a profound affection for him… and that made her scared of his reaction. What if he didn’t approve? Or if he wasn’t willing to wait for her?

It didn’t matter. Mars was a caring friend, a loving boyfriend, and a great hero. He deserved to know. It was the least she could do.

“I’ll talk to him.” She told Roy, looking up at him. After a moment, she smiled. “And thank ya for all the kind words, Roy, I’ll miss ya too.” She said sincerely. “I’m sorry I’m leavin’ the squad with one less person… but I’m sure you’ll be able to handle anythin’ that comes your way. You’re a great leader after all.”

Roy smiled at the compliment. “Well thanks Kiris, that means a lot.” He said, before offering a hug goodbye. The alien girl responded in kind and then pulled away after a moment.

“I’ll see ya around.” She said, waving him goodbye before turning around. She didn’t head to her room just yet, though - there was still one more thing for her to do tonight.

Some minutes passed and, in a different part of Wonder Tower, there was a knock on someone’s door. “Hey, Marsy, can we talk about somethin’? It-it’s important.” The alien girl spoke, momentarily smiling as she used the pet name she’d coined for her boyfriend, though there was no hiding the fact that she was still nervous about this.

“Sure, come in!” Mars called through the door. He was looking over designs for Rocket’s replacement, and jotting down notes and ideas at his desk.

“What’s wrong Kiris? You seem upset about something.” He said, looking up at his girlfriend.

Walking inside after noticing that the door was open, Kiris looked at Mars and the anxiety she felt multiplied. She couldn’t exactly back down from this, though, so, taking a deep breath, she looked her boyfriend in the eye and spoke. “I, um… I’m goin’ away for a little while.” She said. Before Mars could say anything, she quickly carried on. “I need to learn to control my emotions and my magic better, so I’m goin’ back to Adai. I’m comin’ back as soon as possible, but I’m not sure when that’ll be.” She explained.

“I wanted to let ya know, because… well, because ya mean a lot to me, Mars.” She concluded, waiting nervously to see how her boyfriend would take the news.

Mars was quiet for a few moments, dropping his pencil as Kiris spoke. She was leaving? She had just been rescued after all, losing her again so soon after that felt like a shock to the young genius. “Well uh… okay,” he said, not sure what else to say in the moment. It seemed unreasonable to try to argue with her, and trying to get her to stay would likely only make her feel worse. But that didn’t make this sting any less.

“If you have to go home, why don’t I go with you?” Mars asked, standing up from his desk and walking towards Kiris. “I know things aren’t great for you on your planet. I can keep you company while you work things out.” He said, desperately trying to find a way for them to stay together.

The silence that prevailed after she’d told Mars everything was painful to bear, and she looked down, biting her lip when he spoke a few shocked words - they made it evident that he was hurt. And it was her fault, and she hated it. She did not, however, expect him to volunteer to come along, and the offer put a smile on her face, albeit one combined with a grimace. She was touched, but she also knew that it could not be.

“I’d love that.” She said genuinely. “I’d love to show ya all the places that I learned to cherish and all the nice things we have there, but… I don’t think it’s a good idea.” She stated, pausing for a moment to think her next words through. “Remember what ya did five days ago? Ya saved hundreds of people, Mars. If that happened again, and ya weren’t here because of me… I’d hate that.”

The alien girl walked up to her boyfriend and put her hands on his shoulders. “I need ya, Mars… but San Diego needs its hero, even more than I do.” She said, offering him an affectionate smile before pulling him into a tight hug.

“...I’m sorry. I know this is all too sudden, and I don’t want to leave ya, but… I need to do this. I can’t- I don’t want to be a danger to the people, to my own teammates, a danger to ya.” She said, burying her face in his shoulder

A tear rolled down Mars cheek at Kiris’ denial of his idea. He realized she was right. It would be selfish of him to leave, since he wouldn’t really be doing it for Kiris but to assuage his own fears of being without her.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” He said, pulling Kiris into a tighter hug. The Hadrian smiled faintly as her boyfriend pulled her closer, and a burning feeling started building up in her chest and crawling up her throat, the urge to speak three special words.

No.

That’ll just hurt him even more… I can’t do that to him.

…When I come back from Adai. I’ll tell him for sure when I’m ba-

“Kiris, I have something I have to say before you leave. I… I love you.” Mars said, looking into her eyes, which immediately went wide from surprise and emotion, tears quickly welling up in them.

“M-Mars?” She blurted out in shock, a twinge of doubt entering her mind, but as she looked into his eyes - completely serious, and full of feeling - she felt her heart soar. “…I love ya too, Mars.” She replied softly, and then kissed him just as softly. “So much…”

Mars smiled in relief when Kiris returned his affection, and kissed her back. When they pulled away, the young hero tried to compose himself.

“I’ll be right here when you come back. I think it’s really brave of you to do this, to want to become a better hero. I’m really proud of you.”

Kiris beamed up at Mars as he spoke, his words of support being all that she needed to feel that she was making the right choice. “I told ya that I’d always try to be your hero, didn’t I?” She said, reminiscing on the moment they’d spent together after defeating Marionette. “I’m doin’ my best to keep that promise.”

The two young heroes in love continued to look at each other for a moment before pulling each other into another kiss, for longer this time.

[The Republic of Atria]

Angelica

"Hey Angi." He greeted. It was nice to finally see the ice queen come out of her shell after so long. Maybe the whole thing with her father and secret identity gave her no reason to maintain her cold personality. "Everything alright on your end?" He replied and heard Roy ask him if he was ready to head out to New York.

"You know it. Which is weird, if you would've told me a month ago that I'd be so willing to perform in front of the entire country, I'd call you a liar and probably laugh. But now that I'm actually doing it... Honestly, it sounds pretty fun. Speaking of the tournament." He thought for moment. "Any teams you two are looking forward to fighting, or are hoping that we don't have to fight? For me, I'm looking and hoping to fight people with relatively straightforward powers. It'll be easier to put on a nicer show if I get to fight someone else with super strength or some kind of elemental powers. Flashy and popular. I don't wanna have to deal with some crazy guy poking around on the inside of my head or making me think everything I see is cabbage." He snickered. "I also don't want to have to fight the Stars. Even if I really wanna hit Quake in the nose... No offense Angi, your dad's kind of an ass. He's actually got a pretty scary power and probably a grudge against us ever since Casimir and Jason called him out.

"I wouldn't mind fighting one of those power armored guys. It's easier to measure them out so I don't have to worry about accidentally squishing someone." He admitted. "I actually wouldn't mind fighting the Jersey Jets. They're got a dragon guy and an earth guy. And I can't resist the urge to try to show them up. What about you guys?" He asked.

Sina

He didn't have to wait too long for a reply, though when he picked his phone to check, he was greeted with an attempt at words, but looked like she might've crashed into something while typing a reply. He was going to text her again to make sure she was okay, but she managed to get her second message out before he did. She was good to go, and just needed a location.

Where they were ultimately headed was that house Kaban and Onu lived in for awhile before they moved back to N'Toak, but Sina didn't have any idea where that was. He thought for a moment as for a good meeting place. What better place than that dingy diner that they first met?

Remember that place where we met with Jason? The diner? Let's meet there.

He thought for a moment as he was about to head out. Maybe he shouldn't go out looking like he usually does. It wasn't often he considered using the device Alexis made for him since he didn't feel the need to hide himself anymore. But now that he and the team gained some notoriety, maybe it was a decent idea to actually use his human form for a little bit. It wouldn't hurt anything, and Sina was probably going to be using her glamour as well. It would look pretty weird if they were hanging out together.

Gonna be using my human form. Meet you out front.

Jason

The next month had been relatively smooth. He and Sludge had been practicing off and on with whoever was willing. Sludge gave him the reflexes and strength, he came up with the better ways to work together. At least that how it operated in theory. It couldn't hurt to have some actual combat knowledge and work that into his fighting style. Throwing proper punches, targeting more vital areas that weren't the face. It all helped a bit.

However, all the combat practice in the word wouldn't help him what was actually bothering him: whether or not he should go back home and give some closure. More for himself than anything else. He'd accomplished quite a bit in the past few weeks and he didn't really need them, but there was some pang of guilt that maybe, just maybe, he should go back and at least say goodbye. He had a good thing going, some spending money for himself and he was going to be fighting professional heroes in New York, but he felt so... Alone, ironically.

He half smiled a bit at the thought. He felt alone despite knowing a good two dozen other people, being good friends with at least 2 or 3 of them.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with you going to talk to them." Sludge interjected. "Worse case scenario: They're mad at you and it give you justification for leaving them and never coming back. Best case, you and them find some closure and leave on acceptable terms with the potential to rebuild the relationship later on when you're ready."

"When the hell did you become my therapist?" Jason asked.

"Ever since I got stuck inside your mopey head. I hate it when you're mopey. I need that dopamine you ass. We've got that tournament coming up, and since the entire country is going to be staring at me, I want them to know that we're badass."

Jason sighed as he left his room. "Alright. Fiiine. I'll go talk to them after we get back from the tournament."

"I'm going to hold you to that. If you don't, I will personally drag you over there."

"Yeah yeah..." He muttered as he entered the kitchen and was immediately greeted by Cosmic. The guy who joined the team after helping them fight the gargoyles against Hex. "Yo, Mark, and hey Ava." Jason waved, grabbed a fistful of breakfast meats and sitting himself across from him, not letting his thoughts show on his face. "So. How're you liking the team so far? you've met pretty much everyone by this point, right?"

"I just got up." He replied to Ava. "We're getting ready for the trip to New York, so they should be here soon. Whatcha need 'em for?"

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

---

The two stood in silence as they waited at the foot of the bridge that led to Wonder Island. While Red had tried to insist that things would be okay, Brianna had refused to cross over into the territory of the superhero team. She was, after all, a part of a group that for better lack of terms were a bunch of criminals. Criminals that did good, but criminals nonetheless. While Red may have at the least sympathized with what they were doing, she was fairly certain that many others on the team would not hold the same opinions as he did.

"So," Red eventually spoke over to Brianna, unable to bare the silence between them any longer. "What was it you needed to tell me?"

He saw a troubled expression form on her face as she bit her bottom lip and furrowed her eyebrows. He noticed something that he never thought he'd ever see from the ancient warrior, that being genuine worry and concern. The expression caused alarm bells to ring inside his head as he waited for a responsive with a growing sense of unease. If it's bad enough to upset her this badly, maybe I don't want to know, he thought quietly to himself.

"It's about...Alexis," Brianna finally spoke, her words soft.

"Alexis? What happened to her now? She get caught by the cops or-"

"Dead!" Brianna interrupted, her voice suddenly a near shout as she stared back at Red. Red's jaw went limp as he stared in shock at Brianna's outburst. A flurry of emotions went through his mind at the time, ranging from grief to rage. His hands balled into fists as he struggled to contemplate the news.

"How...How did this happen?" Red asked, his voice trembling slightly as he looked back to Brianna whose face held an expression of grief on her face. She paused for a few moments before answering.

"We were ambushed. There were so many of them, coming at us from so many sides all at once. We fought bravely, but Alexis..." Her words trailed off as a small tear seemed to trail down from her right eye. She stared down at the ground, a look of what seemed to be frustration and anger filling her. "If I had not been so slow, I could have been there to save her. But it was because of my weakness that her soul now belongs to Óðinn."

Red hesitated to say anything, unsure of what to say to the obviously guilt stricken Valkyrie warrior. He would have thought that someone who had seen countless people die before her would not have became so emotional, but he knew that there was a lot more to this girl that he could ever hope to know given her years. While their previous interactions had been brief, he had been able to tell that the viking girl had respected Alexis dearly.

"Valhalla, huh?" Red said, his voice soft as he glanced his gaze up into the sky. "Well, I can't say she didn't deserve it."

"Well...at least that's where I think she went."

Red's eyes suddenly widened as he looked over to Brianna, who seemed to have collected herself enough to wipe away at the tears that had trailed down her face. "What do you mean 'you think' she's there? Are you trying to tell me she's anywhere else?" Red's voice was filled with a slight amount of concern. I doubt a girl like that would've been having chats with Saint Peter, which could only mean...

"Well," Brianna spoke, interrupting Red's worried thoughts, "I could not feel her soul leaving." Brianna's eyebrows were furrowed as she seemed to be tracing back her memories from the incident. "Normally I can feel such things in mortals, but strangely enough I did not feel hers. I don't know if it was due to the heat of battle or my powers beginning to fade away, but I at first thought she had survived. But I have seen enough of the dead to recognize them, and I am certain that she was no longer with us. It...bothers me greatly."

Red stood there, a puzzled look on his face as he weighed what Brianna had just told him. Sure, he had no doubts in Brianna's ability to know when someone was still kicking and when they were not. But there was something inside him that seemed to churn at the idea that Alexis was dead. Maybe it was his grief over her death that made him wish she were still alive, but the fact of the matter was that something didn't sit right. And he knew the only way to place away these feelings was discovering the truth himself.

Unfortunately, however, he had other things to tend to first.

"Brianna I'm...sorry to hear about this. What have you and the rest of your team been doing since?" Red asked, doing his best to talk in a soft comforting voice to the girl. Brianna's face turned into a look that was both a mixture of sadness and anger as she looked past him towards the horizon.

"We have been...managing as best as we can. While we still fight where needed, Alexis seemed to be the center to our team. Without her, things are...distressing." Turning to gaze back at Red, he was met with the piercing blue eyes of the girl that seemed to stare into his very soul. "I have been busy in search of you. I learned that you had disappeared for some time, unbeknownst to your team members, and thus have been doing everything I could to figure out where you had gone."

Red rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was...busy," he replied, a slight tinge of embarrassment in his tone.

Brianna nodded in response. "Based on our encounter at the airport, I can believe that. Would you mind telling me what occurred?"

Red hesitated to answer, but eventually confided in the girl. With the exception of Casimir and Jan, no one on the team knew of what had become of Yoshiro. The weight of the secret had been bearing down immensely on his shoulders for what seemed to be an eternity, and thus being able to tell someone outside of the team was something that relieved him greatly.

Upon the finishing of his tale, Brianna's eyes went wide in both surprise and concern. "That does sound like a...difficult position for you to be in. For that, you have my sympathies."

Red nodded in a small gesture of gratitude. "Thanks. I'm sorry that you got dragged into this mess with me. The good thing is that these assholes are after me. You and the rest of the team shouldn't have to worry about them, but I'd still keep an eye out just in case. If you happen to run into them, well," he shrugged, "it's not my problem when you deal with them in your own way." The implications were clear as day between the two, something that Red would never admit to the rest of the Young Bloods. While he was past that kind of life, he knew that there were those out there who weren't. While he recognized that as a hero this wasn't the way to be, he also understood that sometimes there were problems not even heroes could permanently solve. The Outriders, however, could most certainly solve these.

Brianna stared at the young redheaded hero for a few moments before closing her eyes and nodding. "I understand, that part at least. One thing, however, still puzzles me," she said before opening her eyes to gaze once more at him, her eyes filled with curiosity. "Why do you refuse to kill? Without a doubt you are a warrior, a capable one at that. Thus, why do you limit yourself so much? Do you not think you could do more good if you fought as we did?"

Red stood in silence for a few moments, his gaze turning towards the Tower which displayed high above the rocky shores across the waters. "I ask myself that question a lot, actually," he replied, his voice soft. "I would be lying if I said I didn't think the world would be a safer place if we got rid of all of these evil bastards that plague us. I always imagine what would have happened if I hadn't just killed Marionette when I had the chance the first time we met. If I had, Yoshiro and a lot of other people out there wouldn't have gotten hurt. All it would've taken would've been a simple pull of a trigger and things could've turned out much better."

He paused, returning his gaze back to Brianna. While she had expected to see some sort of guilt or regret in his eyes, instead she saw something that took her completely by surprise. It was a look of determination and courage, one that seemed to burn like a bright blue flame within his eyes.

"But I also realized that doing that would make me no better than her. If I fell to her level, what kind of person would that make me? Sure, death can be a good thing. But surround yourself with enough of it and you begin to become the kind of monster you sought to destroy in the first place."

Brianna tilted her head, a curious look on her face as she contemplated the boy's words. "And what was it that made you realize that?"

To her amazement, a small smile appeared on Red's face as his voice softened.

"A really special girl."

Brianna stood there silent for a few moments, before eventually nodding her head. "I see. Well, in that case I cannot delay you any further." Reaching out to him, she place her hand onto his shoulder and leaned forward so that her mouth was next to his ear, much to the surprsie of Red.

"Just be careful that your heart does not cloud your mind. Believe me, Red."

And with that, Brianna walked past Red towards the heart of the city. Red reached out his hand, opening his mouth to say something but found himself unable to say anything. Instead, he watched as the girl disappeared into the crowds, no doubt on her way back to her own team. After standing still for a few moments, he finally let out a small sigh as he lowered his arm and turned his gaze back to the Tower.

"Tell me something I don't know."

[Bentus]

Yoshiro/Scarab
August 31st
Beneath the city of San Diego

---

Feeling the ground rumble slightly as a train tore through the subway line nearby, Yoshiro calmly walked through the empty tunnels of San Diego’s sprawling underground. Walking along the gravel flooring of one of the countless unfinished or scarcely used passages, the girl scanned her flashlight back and forth as she went. Apart from a few dim maintenance lights - most of which had burned out or were seemingly near the end of their battery life - the caverns were enveloped in darkness, and she wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere if she hadn’t brought some extra illumination down with her. Even then, the crisscrossing maze of all of the cities abandoned, half-finished, and only somewhat-legitimate underground infrastructure was easy to get lost in, and the city had given up on trying to keep tabs on it all a long time ago. Fortunately, the Scarab knew exactly what she was looking for.

Running her flashlight along the tunnel’s wall, its harsh glare exposed the layers of graffiti that obscured the original concrete. Gang tags and personal pieces mixed together into a mosaic of spray paint and stencils, but Yoshiro assessed all of it with a disinterested gaze until her light paused on one section of wall. Turning her head to view the wall from a slightly different angle, the girl’s eyes scanned the paintings until she finally spied her goal amidst the chaotic patchwork of colours.

Taking a few steps closer to confirm the simple, unobtrusive hieroglyph that was nearly drowned out by the rest of the ‘art’, the Scarab’s mouth curled upwards into a smile. Guiding the beam of her flashlight further down the tunnel towards where the sigil was indicating, the girl managed to make out a door sunken into the wall. As covered in graffiti as its surroundings, the door would have been easily missed by a casual passerby - which only confirmed that it was exactly what she was looking for.

Before she could take another step, the sound of a metal blade slicing through the air stopped her in her tracks. The silence in the tunnel seemed to deepen as Yoshiro glanced down to see the curve khopesh hovering mere inches away from her neck. Raising an eyebrow the girl wasn’t surprised to see the weapon, having felt the other presence following closely behind her for the past few minutes. Shifting her gaze along the blade, to the arm wielding it, and finally to the masked figure crouching beside her, the Scarab raised an amused eyebrow. Although the pair of feminine eyes that glared back from between the cloth head-wrapping that obscured the assailant’s face hardly seemed to share her in her amusement.

“Who are you and how do you know of our language, outsider?” The woman’s voice was slightly muffled by her mask, but the words were clear. When Yoshiro didn’t respond immediately, the blade inched its way closer to her skin. “Choose your words carefully, and you might yet leave this place with your head still attached to your body.”

It is you who should tread lightly, child.

The words echoed within the cultist’s mind, speaking with a sly tone of confident superiority. Her eyes widenning in shock, she immediately released her grip and allowed the blade to clatter onto the floor. Stepping backwards fearfully as she realised who - or rather what - it was that she was speaking to, the Cultist threw herself onto the ground to grovel at the bemused teenager’s feet.

“M-my Master, the True and Eternal Pharaoh who shall lead us to Salvation!” The woman didn’t dare lift her head from the ground, hardly willing to risk raising her gaze even to look at Yoshiro’s feet before her. “Please, forgive my transgression. I did not recognise your body. Had I known it was you then I -”

Having bent down to pick up the dropped khopesh while the woman grovelled at her feet, the Scarab was only half-listening to the rambling praise from her follower. It was a good weapon, carefully maintained and cared for. Grinning, Yoshiro interrupted the cultist’s fearful spiel.

“There are more of you, yes?”

Blinking in surprise, the woman caught her tongue at once. Trying not to shake with either excitement or fear at meeting the subject of her devotion, the Cultist couldn’t help but allow a hint of pride to seep into her voice. “Of course! We have been biding our time and gathering strength, all in preparation for your return. We have defended the sacred sites around the world, just as our ancestors did under your command.”

Peeling her gaze away from the finely crafted blade of the khopesh, Yoshiro met the gaze of the woman prostrating herself at her feet. As she tossed the metal blade onto the ground in front of the cultist, the clanging sound of the impact seemed to nearly make the woman jump out of her skin.

“Good, take me to them. We don’t have much time.”

---

Voice
August
Midtown, San Diego

---

Beverly couldn’t help but sympathise with Steven’s aired frustrations. She couldn’t deny that it had been a crazy month, with everything seemingly happening at once. It almost felt like she’d been jumping from one shocking crisis to another, unable to fully process anything before she had to brace herself for the next bombshell to drop. She also hadn’t considered that the Young Bloods were almost certainly some of Steven students, with that emotional link between teacher and pupil undoubtedly causing the situation to weigh on him even more. She didn’t envy the challenge that he faced come September, when he had to walk into the classroom with the knowledge that some of the kids in his class were embarking on something so stupid in their own time.

However, as much as she had been ready for any kind of reaction from Steven, she had not been prepared at all for the last comment that he almost mentioned in passing. In an instant, all of her earlier anger and frustration evaporated, replaced only by her thoughts grinding to a halt. Her eyes exploded into saucers as her jaw dropped, Beverly appearing nearly to stumble backwards as if the shocking revelation had physically struck her.

Wait, did you just say that Angie was alive? She managed, suddenly concerned that recent events may have affected her old friend worse than she had thought. Angie and Steven had been very close, and he had taken her death particularly hard. With everything happening, she didn’t put it past his brilliant mind recreating something that it had lost. Steven, that’s not possible - she’s been dead for years! We were at her funeral, I’ve seen her grave. How...why do you think that?

---

The Increasingly Irritated Lisette!
August
Midtown, San Diego

---

Ignoring Daniel’s inane self-grooming, Lisette kept her gaze focused out the car’s window. Doing her best to forget about the irritating presence that she had to endure beside her, she nevertheless was unsuccessful in entirely blocking out the heir’s voice. However, even her best efforts were unable to blot out three, simple words that tore through her barriers and slammed into her like a truck.

“I want you…”

Leaning with her elbow on the windowsill, Lisette’s arm slipped in surprise, causing her to flail awkwardly in her seat for a moment as she struggled to regain her composure. What did he just say? She must have misheard, Daniel couldn’t have possibly meant, there was just…

A flush of red began to pour into the girl’s ears as she was about to blurt out a response, but yet again her host beat her to the punch. Except this time he was wearing a cheerful smirk as he revealed his hand, swiftly causing his companion’s look of surprise to shift back into one of irritated frustration.

Rolling her eyes as he babbled on about this plan of his, she felt a stab of annoyance as she silently realised that she’d fallen right into his verbal trap. As Daniel continued to praise his own supposed genius, Lisette couldn’t believe how ignorant and socially inept the other man was. Surely he knew that she had actually been kidnapped when she was younger? The designer eyepatch covering one of her eyes was a constant reminder of the experience. Even if Lisette herself had gotten over it, she imagined that most other socialites with a similar experience wouldn’t have taken kindly to his little ‘plan’.

Supposing that she should have faked some kind of angry response, Lisette suddenly stopped herself. Pausing, she couldn’t help but think over Daniel’s words. Was his plan actually as bad as it first appeared? Sure, helping him make some kind of lame impression for the Outriders was a total waste of time, but what if someone else responded to his little snare? Someone more interesting and who Lisette would just jump at the chance to properly meet?

Hesitating, Lisette eyed Daniel carefully. “You want me to be bait?” She replied. “Even if I considered doing something this crazy, what would be in it for me?”