Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Galnius]

Mika

The Great Floyd Tolson!

September

---

"Merde, that bastard..."

Finding herself under several hundred kilograms of rubber and concrete, the twenty arm woman began pushing them off of herself and rising from the shallow grave which the great Floyd Tolson had so wonderfully dug for her. Her staff was still in her hand - good. And the criminal who had attacked this building did not even try to escape - instead, his eyes were turned towards a nearby rooftop, where a woman in tears was pleading for her life and offering to delete all of her pictures.

He's in the middle of a life and death battle and still has time to threaten innocent civilians... The Crimson Host stumbled forward, her eyes catching a brief glint in the moonlight, next to the broken brunette. His sword... Without it, he's nothing. Carpe diem.

"Watch out!" the multi-armed woman yelled out, making her way to the rooftop in a single bounce and leaping straight towards the unfortunate photographer... Only for Floyd to suddenly catch one of her fists mid-air a few meters before she could grab the embedded weapon, holding her tight and leaving the two of them in a physical clash. For the span of a few seconds, before the woman suddenly received a powerful kick in the chin and was sent rolling off the roof.

"Yeah, uh... all I gotta say is one thing." the swordsman muttered, addressing Mika, as he made his way to his weapon and pulled it out of the wall it got embedded into in a single stroke. He was about to tell her to listen to what she just said and sod off from here, only for the words in his throat to stop when he registered something glowing underneath him. He and Mika were now standing on a complex glowing circle looking like it got ripped straight out of a Satanic ritual - which wasn't even that surprising, Floyd could immediately tell where this was going. Really? Now?! What happened to patience? And she's gonna take the teenager with him, too...

"...Strap in, kid."

The circle grew brighter and brighter, the light eventually overwhelming their vision - anyone watching from afar would see a pillar of light engulf them and leave an empty rooftop. For Floyd and Mika, meanwhile, their vision would distort and then revert into a demonic, hellish landscape, They were standing on a long, narrow bridge over a lake of wailing damned, leading towards an enormous floating fortress.

For Floyd, this was a slight slowly and slowly turning familiar.

---

Angelica Dalin

Steven Baker.

September 12th

---

The locks on the heavy wooden door started popping off one after another, until finally it got pushed aside, Steven's head peeking out through the gap. Really, that was her? From the way how the last time the two of them met had gone, he wouldn't have been surprised if she wanted to never see him again. Hell, she could be already moving to a different school or a different city and he wouldn't have been left shocked by it. And yet, here she was. Asking if she could come in.

If she were to peek through the gap left by the opened door, she would see that the corridor leading towards the exit was a bit of a maze. Several travel bags and suitcases were standing there, one of them with a "New York" sticker slapped on it - the teacher himself got caught in the middle of putting on his coat, too.

"Angie? What is it?" Steven replied, stepping away from the door to give room for the teenage girl to enter.

Mikaela Mynd
It goes without saying that one's first trip to hell is never a positive experience. For Mikaela, who had just finished pleading for her life, it left her in shock. She didn't quite know if she was in hell, never really paying attention when people tried preaching at her, but she had the general idea from games such as Doom and a wide variety of movies. The camera was still, somehow, strapped to her neck that was still attached to the rest of the body, so she didn't think she was dead.

Instinctively, Mika raised that sole possession up and, with a click, captured the area around her. The large structure seemed to be a city all it's own, placed in the middle of a wasteland. It's stone walls looked sturdy enough, though Mika wasn't sure about the bridges such as the one she was standing on. "Well....this is new."

Upon speaking, the photographer finally came into full consciousness. The person who had thrown a sword at her then threatened her was, well, right beside her. On top of that, she was now in hell. "Oh...oh shit. Is this where I die?"

Angelica Dalin
Angelica realized by the sound of locks popping that she was being let in, which surprised her in a way. After all, the last time they had met she nearly burned Steven's classroom down. Straightening her sleeves, she waited for the door to open. And waited. That was....that was a lot of locks. Soon though, Steven peeked through. Is the neighborhood bad or is it because...? Angelica silenced those thoughts. After all, she may very well have done the same thing if she could remember more. Even now she still woke up shaking some nights.

As Steven finally answered and moved, Angelica gave a small look around. It remembered her a bit of his room back at the tower, just with more care. And a fridge. Finding a chair she thought back to the last time she was at one of his places. Okay, let's not think about that. He's like 30.

"Are you uh...heading to New York?" Dalin tried to hide her motives for coming for just a little bit. Even as smart as he was her wouldn't know, but it wasn't hard to guess that the blond was attempting to start of a difficult conversation with small talk. That, and she did wonder why he would go there. Steven didn't seem like the type to watch Superheroes beat the shit out of each other for fun. He had to have different motives.

[Absolon-7]

Kabuto & Lech vs Drakon Part 1

Casimir Herman, the Great Kabuto! & Jan Sorok, the Hero of Poland! August 13th

---

The gates were connected to some large brick walls and upon switching to a bug farther away he could see that it was some private facility around the edge of the city. A large sign at the front said Meier Industries: A Step to Beyond the Future. The building was essentially a glass cube surrounded by a brick and mortar barrier with an underground garage and a warehouse of sorts next to it. Thick bushes aligned the interior of the brick walls with the occasional tree. There were a few parking spots around the sides but it was essentially a weird looking building. Kabuto was perched on a tree cupping his hands in front of his face ls if he was holding binoculars.

“<I say we sneak in by getting under whatever cars pass inside and hold on until we get to the garage. From there I can just mess with the cameras with some ants>,” offered Casimir, “<There’s one now! Unless you got any other ideas follow me!>”

Some sort of delivery truck was passing by the tree and turning towards the facility's gates. Casimir dropped from the tree and rolled under the car before shooting webbing at the rims to get himself steady. The heat was almost unbearable but the ride wasn’t too long until the truck stopped suddenly. From the look of it they stopped right at the warehouse entrance. He waited for the driver to get out and walk off before he dropped and rolled to a nearby bush. He sent some flying ants to the nearby security cameras but something was odd. His swarm couldn’t pick up the minute amount of heat or the scent of electricity from them. Fake cameras? That’s great!

“Now where the hell are you Jan?,” muttered Casimir under his breath trying to pinpoint him.

You know, I didn’t create this telepathic link for no reason. suddenly rang out in his head. Jan was crouching in a bush on the other side of the road from Casimir, having used a psionic construct to latch onto the passing truck and surf across the road with it as the propellant. Covering himself with his dark cloak, the telepath glanced from his ally towards the compound.

What’s next? I imagine just breaking through the nearest wall and storming inside wouldn’t give a good first impression.

Ah right. thought Casimir looking over at Jan. As fun as doing that might be its not. Thankfully the cameras outside are just for show so we can try walking in through the back door. Casimir would dash right ot the building’s side and crouched down like a cat in waiting. He quickly shuffled across the wall and turned the corner. His bugs kept a constant stream of information to him as he sneaked behind the building.
He scuttled along a concrete ramp that lead to the backdoor and once he reached an overhang that casted a large shadow over he stood up. He clenched the door and using his strength forced it to open by breaking the lock. He waved Jan inside and the two would be greeted by an incredibly empty storage area. There weren’t even tools or boxes to put stuff in. Casimir kept on forward before silently opening a door that would open to a dimly lit hallway. In fact the whole building seemed eerily quiet without even background noise of sorts. Can you sense mental energy like Yoshi can? Would be more helpful in finding the guy then randomly searching with my bugs.


Jan did not respond to Casimir's question - instead, the vigilante closed his eyes and placed his hand on the nearest wall, focusing onto his sixth sense and scanning the facility. It didn't take long before he managed to catch a solitary mental signature deep within the complex. Jan pushed himself off the wall and started walking towards the source, with his friend following after him. Even though his eyes were still closed, he had no problem navigating through the corridors of the complex, catching all the sharp turns and crossing paths.

The hallways looked bland and functionalistic, not too different from what one might expect in a, presumably shady, tech company. Jan's pace slowed down after a sharp turn to the left, leading towards a dead end with a few doors at the very end.

He's behind that-

Jan was about to think "door", but his stream of thoughts got cut abruptly when his eyes opened up and he realized that he had just lead the two of them towards the toilets. A flushing sound sool left through the male's toilet door.

Uh… a flush of humiliation rolled over Jan's reddening face. Can't we visit this place another time?..

Sure we’ll visit another time. Kabuto sarcastically crossed his arms and stood stalwart for a few seconds until the faucet could be heard when the man began washing his hands. Look it's another time.

Casimir walked over to the door and kicked down the door flinging it off its hinges and sending it across the bathroom. The man was busy washing his hands and was spooked by the sudden intrusion. He raised his arms to cover his head and quickly babble off in incoherent german before opening his eyes to see a founding member of the Young Bloods before him along with another black haired fellow. He looked up and down at both with a scrunched up expression before he wiped his wet hands on his back.

“Wha..what’s the meaning of this! You think you can just break in here!,” yelled the man at them while shaking like a scared chihuahua, “This place might be closing down today but it’s still private property dammit.”

“Yeah yeah tell it to someone who cares,” sneered Casimir dismissively waving his hand in front of him, “Like that dastardly Drakon, eh? I’m sure he’ll love to break something more than a door down.”

“What..what? How dare you!,” spat the mustachioed man.

“You should count yourself lucky pal,” said Casimir crossing his arms, “Listen, we just want to know your connection to the big grey lizard since it was clear to any preschooler that he was after you and only you. Since this a tech form you wouldn’t have anything to do with that power armor of his?”

The man looked from side to side as if not being able to bear the situation, “Nien! Now get out before I call the police!”

“Maybe you can tell all the police that Drakon injured on his high speed chase of you that your hands are clean,” sneered Kabuto, “After all, it's not like he was bellowing your name in public or anything. No connection at all.”

The mustachioed man simply clasped his hands together before angrily looking at Kabuto, “You wouldn’t understand. Drakon’s been after me since last year in Bavaria. Two twerps like you won’t be able to do anything.”

Casimir groaned and pinched the area beneath his short antenna before turning around to Jan. You want a crack at him before I dunk his head in the toilet for a swirlie?

W-what?.. Jan immediately responded, not sure on what his ally’s thought process was. They’re here to get information from this man, not to beat him up, right? He’s a victim, not a perpetrator, at least as far as they know… No, no, just... don’t do that. At all.

The telepath stepped forward, moving past Casimir to stop in front of the German businessman directly, then struck a faint smile.

“I’m sorry, this didn’t go the way it should have… I am Lech and this is Kabuto, we’re superheroes who tried to stop Drakon while he was chasing after you. We’re not here to hurt you, we just want to find out if you have any-”

<What’s “znajomości” in English?..>

Casimir scratched his head, <Ahh… it’s kind of like “connections”, but not exactly, uh->

“-connections with Drakon so it could help us out.”

Evidently the man sighed and straightened out his clothes. He nervously gulped before beginning to mouth a word before stopping for a while and then he continued on. See, Jan. Good cop bad cop always works. The man looked Jan dead in the eye as he found his voice., “Let’s step outside. It’s a bit weird to talk about something serious in a bathroom, ja?”

The trio stepped aside

“That Drakon...his suit was my creation. I met him many years ago alone and scared in the Bavarian wilderness while in my country house. There were tabloid rumors of some black giant lizard but I thought nothing of it. I took him in, taught him German, and introduced him to human culture. Later on English and from there on we were friends. He never really talked about where he came from and I never asked. If he wanted me to know he’d tell me,” forlornly said the man.

“Okay and?” asked Casimir.

“I was a rising entrepreneur in Germany. I wanted to have my homeland leads the world in robotics but I only had middling success. That Drakon he consoled me as my friend and eventually we had the idea of making him a sponsored superhero,” the man stopped for a few seconds to consider his next words.

“Oooh boy,” commented Casimir.

“The glider was the first and easiest thing to make. Next, I tirelessly spent my time designing and procuring that suit and once it was completed he suggested to put some runes, enchantments, some form of magic on them. I thought it was a great idea. Finally we chose to install some neural network for better coordination but that when things went wrong. He started being irrational, delusional, even violent. Eventually he stole the suit and glider and set out to kill me. Luckily, just like you two, a local superhero stopped him before he gave up. The next year I spent in hiding or constantly running between my estates.”

“Hold on a damn minute. If you’re some German tech wiz what are you doing here all the way in SoCal?” asked a confused Casimir.

“I was getting to that. I thought expanding here could provide new markets. I pretty much doomed my company as we bankrupted ourselves. As you can see there’s only a skeleton crew here. And all my company’s assets were to be auctioned off at my estate in the hills tonight,” relented the man.

“Lucky for you the Spectacular Kabuto is here to help! Along with the Lionhearted Lech,” proudly proclaimed Kabuto pointing at the man, “Sounds like you need some protection and we’re just right for the job.”

“Nonsense! You’re just kids!,” growled the panicking man doubling down on his aggressiveness, “Why did I even tell you so much. You won’t be able to do anything! I only told you so you’d get off my hair. If you want to go deal with Drakon do it yourselves. I’m leaving the country tomorrow so he’ll be your problem now.”

“Oh really then mind explaining why he can’t just show up back in Germany like he did here?,” said Casimir leaning forward with his hand on his hips, “Listen Bub. We just want to help and have you not get hurt along with everyone else at the auction. Is it too much to ask for us to just wait at your estate until Drakon attacks?”

“Yes! It’s none of your business! Now out! I’m only letting this go because you helped me get away but don’t think I’ll be lenient if you come here again!” barked the man now shaking and sweating like a hypothermic chihuahua.

Gaaaah! Can’t you say anything that’ll make this dude come to his senses, Jan? Kabuto facepalmed at the man’s self-destructive attitude to the two heroes wanting to protect him. Jan, on the other hand, simply stood straight and blinked, trying to understand exactly what got Casimir so uppity. The man explained to them what connection he had with Drakon, right? And he might just want some privacy now that he managed to get to his home unscathed, without two teenagers roaming around - even if the defensive attitude which the German put up leave Jan a bit suspicious.

That's no reason not to trust him, right? As such, when Casimir's voice reached him through their mind link, Jan made a step forward and spoke:

"That's fine, mister Meier. If you don't want us to stay, then we can leave. You already explained why that man is after you, so..." Turning around, the telepath started to walk away, waving towards Casimir. "Let's go, Kabuto!"

If you want to wait for Drakon, we can stay in some nearby shop or restaurant for the evening - I can keep an eye on mister Meier's mind from afar, we'll be able to tell when the villain strikes.

Fine, that works perfectly. Let’s go then. I think there’s a coffee shop nearby we can wait at. Casimir shrugged as he lead the way out of the building still frustrated at his futile attempts being unneeded after all. That backstory was quite a wild one to be sure and this Drakon was some Dra’qunni that was somehow in Germany and knew how to add powerful enchantments like metalbending. There was also the question of how in the world he got from Europe to America without some sort of fuss. He pinched his helmet’s chin and looked downwards as he and Jan got out of the building. An unsettling feeling of curiosity nibbled at his mind unsure whether he wanted to know more or not.

The pair had chosen a quiet coffee shop a street away and had chosen to sit by the window next to the door in case Drakon attacked. He was already scrolling through his phone looking at the news at Drakon’s attack earlier. It was mostly people astounded he has shown up in the US and horrified at the damage of his attack despite its brevity. A couple of police officers had been injured chasing him and there was a ton of damage he had caused. What had caught his attention the most was all the headlines about the Great Kabuto attacking the villain. It ranged from reckless carelessness that he was solo, initially at least, with no support from his team to at least a few praising his enterprise. The fact of the matter was, however, he could expect a very angry text or call from Naja at any second.

“Hey look at this,” said Casimir to Jan as he showed his phone to Jan. It looked like a few online news stations recognized Jan as the Polish vigilante Lech and being confused yet thrilled at his team up with Kabuto. Some of these fellas are just making WW2 jokes about a German villain and a Polish hero but there’s some sites giving us the recognition we deserve. Kabuto had ordered a jug of coffee and at least a dozen cinnamon rolls and as the tasty smell of fresh coffee and baked goods being prepared tantalized his sense of smell an awkward question began to form in Casimir’s mind. So, do you think I could’ve handled it back there differently?

"Differently?" Jan repeated Casimir's question out loud. Really, Casimir was asking for his advice? Out of the two of them, he was probably the one more experienced, not to mention self-assured and maybe even arrogant sometimes… The young telepath tapped his feet, nomming on his cinnamon roll and looking to the side. Well, everyone is safe, right? A few police officers were hurt, but even though Drakon rampaged through an entire city, it's amazing that there were so little losses. And since you were the one who stopped him from causing more damage… that's all that matters, right? That you succeeded.

Jan took a sip of his black coffee - the taste was harsh and unbearable, but even though he picked the drink without knowing how it tastes, he was going to finish it no matter what! But you could spend less time boasting in front of the villain and more time actually fighting him…

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just...Nevermind then,” sighed Casimir angry with himself for even daring to ask for advice.

What did he need advice for anyway? He already knew he fought Drakon perfectly even if he kept getting thrown to the side but he kept charging on ahead. He furiously tapped the table with his finger almost shaking it but seeing his coffee almost spilled put a stop to it. He flipped the lower part of his helmet downwards in order to take a few sips of the bitter drink. The question now was how to put down that villain for good. While he took a beating in the first fight he certainly looked like he could take and even dish out it out even more.

“What I do want to talk about is how we can defeat that Drakon. Naturally we will since I’m here but he’s one tough nut. I don’t think I have enough webbing to entrap him. And from the closeup with my horsefly he’s pretty much sealed in that power armor.” explained Casimir taking another sip while trying to see where the horsefly was, “Dammit, I clocked out too long to see where he’s at.”

Jan continued drinking his cup of coffee and watched Casimir struggle to keep up with the draconic villain through his horsefly. Seeing a few beaks of sweat form on his forehead, he opted to not interrupt him.

Casimir clenched his fists in anger at his sloppiness and how absurdly dumb of a move it was after all he should be better then this! The room was metallic and there appeared to be some vault type of door. Casimir directed the horsefly to fly towards it but an invisible laser field sliced it to pieces.

“Dammit, he’s in some sort of lair. How campy. Better yet some defense lazer thing that killed my eye on him,” said Casimir in frustration before he finished the rest of his coffee in a single gulp, “I’m sure you’ve got your own stuff going on. Speaking of which, I’ve been wanting to know about your vigilante time in Poland seeing as both of us got extrajudicial history. Got any cases that’ll you’ll never forget? I sure got some.”

“Um...” The question took Jan rather by surprise. “I… don’t have much to be proud of, certainly not as much as you. I didn’t even know I had fans until you told me that there’s apparently people excited that we are teaming up...” In his long time as a vigilante in Warsaw, he was a phantom, a nameless savior acting as hope for some and a menace to others. Most didn’t even know his name, much less his real identity.

The psionic vigilante took a final sip from his coffee mug, placing it next to him and leaning back. “I’ve never really tried to keep up with specific cases. After I unlocked my powers in the heat of the moment, I was so desperate to find a way to make up for losing everything I had and survive on the streets at the same time that… those four years simply flew by in a blink.”

“Opposite for me pretty much. Past two years for me have felt like four years cause after every villain or goon I knock out another ten come up from a rock. Not that I care. I got a million bugs for every creep out there,” said Casimir now chewing on his own dessert. If anything he looked forward to every new challenge and the stronger the better naturally. At the end of the day they were nothing but scum to be squashed and only good they were for was to be stepping stones for his bright future.

Casimir directed his swarm to begin moving out to Meier’s estate in the hills as a precaution while finishing his third bun in a minute. “If I had a penny for every wound or broken bone I’ve gotten we’d have enough to pay for our food. I wouldn’t say it hasn’t been worth it. Mostly because I have a lot to lose. My sister, my girlfriend, my team, my friends like you...I want to protect it all. It’s weird. The past year I’ve gained a lot more than any the past seventeen.”

“I see...” Jan muttered, once again immersing himself in his own thoughts. While he was motivated by having lost the family and life he had and thus swearing to not let anyone else feel the same, Casimir pushed through his adversities because of the exact opposite - because he had someone to care for. Even though, knowing that Jan could never say the same about himself, left a deep pit in his stomach… he struck a smile regardless.

It was something he could sympathize with.

“You have a girlfriend?” the vigilante asked. “I… haven’t gotten that chance, myself.”

“You haven’t, eh,” muttered Casimir thankful his helmet his reddening skin as he popped the lower section back in place, “Well, I’m no expert on lovey-dovey stuff but she’s definitely a doll to be around.”

Casimir took out his phone and opened up to a picture he had Viviana during a long past trip to a ferris wheel. He showed the picture to Jan careful to hold his other hand over it in case anyone behind him saw the phone’s screen. He held it long enough for Jan to familiarize himself with her face, and blush a little at her curvature, but soon Casimir hid it away as he faux coughed into his clenched hand. Talking about how he felt about Viviana wasn’t exactly a common occurrence but he didn’t really see any reason not to with Jan. The past few weeks he had certainly proved himself to Casimir with his will to stay on the right path.

“It’s kinda funny, before I got to know her the last thing I wanted was to be tied down with responsibilities and crap,” Casimir let his comment hang in the air for a few seconds as a devious snicker emerged from his mouth, “So, Jan my man, you wouldn’t have a type of girl you’d like right? My sis has quite a few friends with younger sisters so if you want a wingman for a meet-and-greet just say the word.”

"Um…" the vigilante muttered, pulling his cap downwards to try to hide his embarrassment. He didn't expect Casimir to act so forward about this - but, then again, he did bring this upon himself by choosing to mention it… "A type of girl I'd like? I've never really thought about it - I never really had the time to worry about those things, just like you, I guess…"

Although… Jan leaned on his hand, longingly staring at the distance through the nearest window. "That alien girl I was in the same prison cell with… She was nice, and sweet. I, um, I feel like I... You two are teammates, right? Maybe you could help me meet her again?"

The target of Jan’s admiration caught Casimir completely unaware like a fly in the headlights of an oncoming car. There were many problems with the situation which was just a shame. Now how would he go about this predicament? Well he wasn’t the type to dance around the issue so head first into the pool it was!

“Well there’s some problems with that pal,” said Casimir in a wary tone, “She’s been off planet for almost two weeks now and I don’t know when she’ll come back. It some sort of self discovery journey or training mission since she felt she hasn’t been good enough. I have to warn you though, she’s already seeing someone but if you just want to talk to her again I promise I’ll tell you when she gets back. You can count on it. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see her cell buddy.”

“Oh...”

Casimir’s words left Jan’s response stuck in his throat. He should have expected something like this, that she already had someone else by her side… And that’s good for her! It can only be good to hear when one of his friends live a happy life - and besides, it’s not like she would be interested in someone like him. Nor anyone would, really.

He’s a poor, homeless vigilante who hasn’t even finished middle school, who throws himself into danger with little care for his life, only so others can have a better day… that’s at the bottom tier for anyone you could ask. And perhaps it’s better that way? His chosen path in life requires him to be willing to give his life if necessary, and could he really muster the same will if he had someone by his side?

Deep in his thoughts, the vigilante nearly missed Casimir’s offer to have him get the two of them to meet regardless.

“Um, thanks, but… I’ll pass on that.”

“Oh come one. Don’t be like that,” countered Casimir tapping the table, “I bet you’ll turn a full one-eighty once you hear she’s back in town. Anyway, my sister still has her friends and I’ve met a few so you got that bridge going for you.”

The two would continue to sit and watch the german entrepreneur's facility for some time while Casimir pretended he wasn’t getting angry voicemails from Mike. The day was still young for the two heroes so accordingly it had much more planned for them. Which most certainly involved the wrath of the metal devil that is Drakon.

[Finland SSR]

Bael

The Mad Lass, Sina As'tari!

August 8th

---

Sina struck the widest smile possible when Bael started to complain that she was enjoying embarrassing him, and leaned back in her chair. "Come on, we're friends, you know I'm just poking fun at ya." Which he, as always, was not able to retaliate to with anything - so instead, Bael asked her on if she is enjoying her stay and whether she was going to stay in the city for longer or head back to San Diego. The vigilante twiddled a knife in her fingers while speaking back:

"I don't know, I guess I'll consider it. But the city's great - I kinda figured it was going to be a culture shock, and that's exactly what it delivered. But then again, I've only been here for about what, an hour? Anything could change and-"

And their food is here.

Sina saw herself faced with a mountain of meat, thickly seasoned and spiced, the aroma of the massive meal filling the air in front of her and immediately leaving her heart pounding faster. She was about to jump straight into it and rip out the closest rib with her bare hands, but she had juuust enough awareness to recognize that maybe this wasn't a good idea knowing where they were.

"Okay - before you say anything, Bael, I know how this works," Sina announced, then picked up the fork and knife placed next to her plate, holding one with each hand. "Mom explained to me that the city dwellers use this cutlery thing when they have their meal - so, I've got to use this and... uh..."

She stared at her meal, then to the utensils in her hands, then back at the meal, then back at the utensils...

"Okay, I can tell this one is for cutting, but why is it so dull?" she complained, observing the knife in her left hand. "And what's this supposed to be? Looks like a trident, so I suppose it's for impaling the food... But you can do that just as easily with the knife, don't you?"

---

Mikaela Mynd

The Great Floyd Tolson!

September

---

Floyd's very first instinct upon materializing atop the brimstone bridge leading to Beelzebub's palace was to pull out a cigarette. As it turns out, he was wrong to think that such mortal pleasures would be banned here - quite the opposite, the Lord of Hell and his subordinates could only encourage you to dabble in such hedonistic desires. The swordsman knelt down and pressed his cigarette on the floor, the tip quickly igniting from the heat and letting out a smoke.

As soon as he stood back up and pushed the cig to his mouth, the girl next to him started speaking. She was, understandably, quite shocked to witness the Christian afterlife before her eyes. Most of her peers have to wait years before they get the chance - and don't even receive the chance to return.

"No, ya knobhead, this is where you go when you die." he spoke and exhaled. "But yes. This is the only place in the Universe where saying 'go to hell' has no meaning."

"Because that's the directions they give to you to get here," a new, feminine voice suddenly rolled across the bridge - immediately on cue, a burst of fire shot upwards from the brimstone tiles in front of them, and then ceased to reveal a scantily clad female demon. "Welcome home, Floyd Tolson-"

Meridiana stopped, her eyes immediately shooting towards the frightened photographer standing next to him. "Who's that twerp? Floyd Tolson, what is it with you and youngsters tagging along with you? You're probably the opposite of a good role model."

"I'd like to let you know that this has only happened to me... thrice. Not counting her." Floyd shot back, then folded his arms and turned towards the girl. "Well, answer the question, wouldya? This is Meridiana, she's kind of a big deal around these parts. What's your name?"

---

Angelica Dalin

Steven Baker.

September 12th

---

Angie, having likely read the stickers plastered on his travel bags, immediately threw the biggest question straight at his face - why's he going to New York of all places? Well, she didn't ask the why, but she certainly implied it.

"Good question." the physics teacher answered her. "The North American Super League Tournament is only a few days away and I'll be attending it live. As for why..."

If Angie hadn't lost her memory, she would have known that, back when he was a Wonder Warrior, he and the rest of his team regularly participated in the Tournament - and she would have also known that... he was no fan of the entire competition. The whole idea of pitting superheroes against each other, even if for friendly tournament matches, simply did not sink well with him - if they're here just to save others and help them in any way they can, then fostering this feeling of animosity with their fellow heroes could only be a bad thing. And then the entire celebrity spirit around the whole competition...

Granted, it was far less pronounced back then - twenty years of development have made the competition almost unrecognizable, both in its sheer size and grandeur, and in all the changes implemented by the NASL - but even back then, Steven simply felt uneasy about the whole thing.

However...

"...well, there are some people out there I would really like to meet. Or, at least, witness in action." Some particular people he knew better by the names written on their student cards and by their marks in his AP Physics course. "But... that's enough about me. Did you need me for something?"

[Absolon-7]

It's Arcade Time!

Icarus

Zoe

Red

Casimir & Viviana September 12th
After the post-ceremony dinner the team had headed to the depths of New York's cityscape for an alternative to the adult heroes' option for a bar which happened to be a quite stocked arcade. Pretty much every type of game you'd think would be in an arcade could be seen somewhere on the floor. The snack bar and laser tag on the upper floor were just awesome bonuses too although Viviana wasn't too sure about eating anything more for the day. Naja suddenly announcing the arrival of two LA Stars members was surprising but Red and Blue were some of the more down to earth members.

"Yo, Casi! This arcade is just like the one back home! Well not exactly. That one's only like half this place's size," commented Viviana.

"I guess. Although this one doesn't look like a haunted Chucky Cheese," said Casimir walking forward.

"Oh come on you loved that rustic look it had," giggled Viviana before scurrying off to the game aisles, "Plus it got a huge renovation when it got sold after you left. Might as well be a mini-this-place."

The brunette had chosen a simulator type game that was some action-racing racecar game with very large screen in front of a mounted fake race car albeit a small one-person type. She hoped right on to the contraption and gripped the steering wheel with a determined glare in her eyes that failed at being intimidating. It was some high tech game by the name of Velocitron 3000 AD and its centered around some post-apocalyptic Earth where the Emperor of Mankind was decided by a worldwide racing track all the while you had to fight off mutants that suspiciously looked like cars. It seemed to be a two person game as there was another race car to the side that Casimir was all to glad to join in. Casimir placed the coins in for his game and was going to for Viv's side until she started screaming bloody murder.

"CASI! I'm gonna die already and I can't do anything cause you can't snap digital necks!," yelled Viviana twisting and turning the steering wheel.

"Vivi, I haven't even put the coins in for your side," said Casimir bringing his hand up to his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"Whaaa but I heard the clink of them going in," Viviana eyes trailed to the screen which was just playing a high energy preview of the game as the monitor's POV moved without her input, "Well now. This is has become unfortunate."

"Only if you let it get to you," said Casimir as he put coins in her game.

The pair would race around a pixellated earth evading all manner of monstrous vehicles and causing all sorts of mayhem. An epic tale of romance, betrayal, and hot blooded action was played out in their heads and occasional yelps with somehow Viv ending up destroying Macedonia with a giant fuel silo. Eventually they both got killed off before the first lap was over leaving both exasperated.

"Gaah This game is stupid," said Viviana tilting her head back, "Let's play it again!"

"Just wait. I won't get run over by bicycle cultists this time," said Casimir teasingly but a certain redhead acting like a loner caught his attention, "Hey, Viv. I'm gonna go see what's up with Red. Feel free die once or twice in the meantime."

Casimir got off his faux racecar and walked over to Red who seemed in desperate need of some alcohol. The bloke was doing his best to act like a depressed drunkard with even the same posture. A mischievous grin crawled up Casimir's face as he sat himself down across from Red. He reached for an untouched tray of nacho chips that Red had ignored in his glum state and after taking a mouthful of them his brow scrunched up at his question.

"Lots of things Red. I want to kick the ass of some big shot NASL hero. I want another trip to the beach cause I'm sure both us wouldn't mind seeing the girls in swimsuits," jokingly said Casimir, "But really just wanted to see what's got you doing a sad fish impression. Although knowing you this whole tourney thing probably isn't your favorite stuff?"

Meanwhile Viviana had gotten fed up with getting killed by human-car hybrid maniacs so she got up from the racecar with a moody pout on her face. She crossed her arms as she walked around looking for the next game she could play but a very tall blond caught her attention. It was Icarus of all people! She'd never really been face to face with the guy although Casi had introduced them through Skype and video calls a few times but dang was he tall. She scurried behind him before poking his shoulder with on extended finger before sidestepping to the opposite side.

"Heyo! How's it going there? I'm just here not on a screen for once looking for a screen to look into ironically."," she greeted waving at him with one hand frantically. There appeared to be a ginger haired girl next to Icarus so she hoped she hadn't interrupted anything, "Hello to you too, uhm, don't think we've met. Yep, no we haven't."

[Aidannadia]

Aleta walked down the street, the asphalt matching her leather jacket perfectly, Her cigarette wafted over to a nearby building, the Demeter Project building just down the street from her destination. The building was modern looking, standing out among the older apartment complexes and restaurants nearby, with its light blue wheat insignia and its stark white walls. Workers inside and on the small lawn, still preparing the final decorations were in seemingly even whiter in contrast with the dark undertones of the city.

Aleta clomped her boots over to the front door of her home, busting open the door confidently and stomping her way inside. "Auntie! Auntie, we need to talk!" Silence, but Aleta pressed on to the garage. She called again, and for a moment she thought about turning back and stomping her way out. Perhaps her Aunt wasn't even home.

Of course she was. Aleta stomped on the ground and called out one more time before she heard the mechanical whirring of the secret door below what had become the home of her late childhood opened up before her. She wiped herself off and entered the belly of the beast with her head held high.

Ad she continued through the laboratory, she found herself staring at a turned chair in front of a plethora of screens, showing the very rooms Aleta had been stomping through just moments ago. So the waiting was just a power move. It's always the same with her. When her Aunt turned, wine glass in hand, sipping smugly, Aleta used every ounce of her self-control not to stomp out immediately.

"So you've come crawling back. Auntie knows best dear; you should know that by now." She sipped her wine once more and placed it idly on the counter nearby. Alcyone stood and clicked her heels over to Aleta. "Have you considered my offer."

"I have. But I have some terms." Auntie raised her eyebrow.

"Well go on."

"I'll take the name Paragon, but it can't be a complete rebrand. We have to show continuity with Pitch as an entity if we want a fanbase to thrive."

"The very point of a rebrand is to break from the original. To Ignore leave Pitch behind would propel you to new heights."

"Pitch was where I got my start. It's my core. It always will be. So the costume has to accept that." Alcyone clicked her tongue before responding.

"I'll consider some redesigns." She slithered over to her chair and began typing away. "Continue. I'm listening."

"I'll join up as a hero, but I always get final say in where and I can and can't go."

"Well, I can't promise that. The authorities-"

"I mean, your own role will be advisory and supportive, rather than administrative nature."

Alcyone smiled, taking another sip of her wine. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Yeah right. "We have to make our first order of business taking down Ramshead. With the Youngbloods gone, they're threatening to throw this city into chaos with the arms trafficking, and I need to show that Goatboy what's coming to him after our last bout."

"Oh, naturally. That could make quite the name for us."

Aleta didn't like the way Auntie said 'us', but went along with it.

"How does this look." A hologram came up showing an offscreen redesign for her a new suit. "When I was working on you, I took the liberty of analyzing some of your 'pitch' as you call it. Part organic, part synthetic, part living, part not. It's truly fascinating. It's almost like an extra organ."

"In any case, it reacts to a special chemical I've develop with interesting results. The suit should withstand the appropriate amount of pressure to survive impact from the Goat, but it will be heavy You won't be able to swing and in this state, you'll hardly be able to fight. Luckily, I've made an appointment at a gym to get you back on your feet. Plus, leaning some new self-defense techniques might be worth your while. Your due there in an hour so you best get ready." Aleta, still dazed by the suit, looked confused when the words finally hit her ears.

"What do you mean 'this state',"

---

Aleta arrived at the gym ten minutes late in a tank top and sneakers, ready to begin her day of training, placing her gym bag down dramtically and looking at what she could only assume could be her personal trainer. "So, what do we have lined up for today?" She said, trying to light a cigarette, but the lighter was feeling uncooperative.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

September 12th

---

---

"Yes, that's me. Surge of the Los Angeles Stars, better known as Armorer's sidekick." He joked as he introduced himself, hoping to lighten up the mood a little - the girl's unease was not lost on him. He extended his hand for a shake. "Really nice to meet you. It's not often that I get to talk to someone my age working in the industry." He said. While it wasn't exactly true that he hadn't met any before - he was, after all friends with a few of the Young Bloods and acquainted with a few others - it was very rare to see any outside of San Diego. Even sidekicks in other teams, NASL and otherwise, seemed to be young adults like Red and Blue at the least.

"Anyways, I'm guessing you've heard what our teams got planned for two days from now? I only found out about it earlier today, myself." He said, clearly referring to the exhibition match that Kylie and Armorer had set them up for on the 14th.

---

---

---

---

Icarus readily took Kylie's offered hand and shook it. "Likewise. It's pretty nice to get to meet you in a friendly manner like this considering the beef between our teams." He told the leader of the Bluejays, before turning his attention to the redhead walking up behind Kylie, none other than his future opponent, Impulse.

"Hey there. Glad to be out of that gaudy ballroom and those stuffy clothes, I take it?" He said, taking a few steps towards her and away from Kylie, leaving her to catch up with Naja. "Yeah, there was just no way Armorer was going to deal with the media scandal of letting an underage hero drink, not that I wanted to go to that bar regardless. I guess Red and Blue decided to take pity on me and dragged me here." He joked, before pointedly looking around and then nodding in approval. "This certainly beats going back to my hotel room early."

Feeling a light poke on his shoulder, the blond boy turned to look over his shoulder, but saw nothing there. Puzzled, he quickly turned to the other side as he heard a vaguely familiar voice greeting him. Now facing Viviana, it took him a moment before he recognized her from when Casimir introduced them through video chat. "Vivi! It's nice to meet you in person at last." He greeted her eagerly, returning the wave with a much less frantic one of his own. He'd heard a lot of good things about her from Casimir and she certainly seemed like a friendly girl. "Oh, this is Impulse, Accelerator's sidekick, from the Carolina Bluejays." He explained.

[The Republic of Atria]

Sina

"Yeah, I know. I guess I just need to get better at it." He admitted just in time for their food to arrive. Once it did, he watched as Sina was about to start tearing into her food, but hesitated and picked up the utensils. As it turned out, she had never really used them before, he recalled that she was literally raised in the woods. Despite that, he couldn't help but snicker a bit as she complained about the utensils and her inability to use them.

Once the laughter was suppressed, though still with a grin on his face, he spoke up. "Okay, the knife is for cutting up the meat, since it's probably really soft, it doesn't need to be nearly as sharp. The-" He hesitated stifling another laugh. "-Trident is as you said, used for... Impaling the food." What an odd, yet accurate way to describe the use of a fork. "After that, you use the, you know what, trident is a much better name than fork. Anyways, you use that to put the food into your mouth. You got ribs, and humans usually ate them with their hands from my understanding. So you don't have to use them if you don't want to. Though I don't know what the accepted practice is here. Though... If you're going to eat with your hands, I highly suggest you wash them first." He said, taking a bite out of the very well made wrap he ordered.

As they ate, Bael noticed a stranger sitting a table away from him and Sina not so discreetly staring at them. She looked like a female, but not one he knew. He put it out of his mind but kept noticing the woman staring at them despite hem not really doing anything out of the ordinary.

She must've noticed because after a minute or so, she stood up and approached the pair. She was dark gray, quite fit, and looked relatively relieved for some strange reason. "Excuse me." She spoke up. "You're, Bael, correct?"

His eyes widened at the sound of a stranger knowing his name. "Yes... Can I help you?"

"I-" She paused, looking over at Sina. "Is she your friend?"

"Yes... Who're you exactly?"

"I'll answer that once we're away from here."

Bael frowned. "Look. I don't know you. I'm just trying to eat with a friend. Either say what you need or leave me alone."

Her expression turned to one of annoyance. Then she had an idea. She spoke again, this time in English thinking Sina wouldn't understand her. "Bael, it's me. Your... Elder mentor." She intentionally left out her name hoping he would catch what she was implying.

Judging from the fact that he swallowed his food, and started to cough as if it had gone down poorly. After a small coughing fit, he looked back at her. "You've got a real bad sense of timing. Anyone ever tell you that?" He muttered. "Been trying to get a hold of you for weeks." He sighed and turned over to Sina. "Hey. I got a surprise for you after we're done here."

[Finland SSR]

Bael

The Mad Lass, Sina As'tari!

August 8th

---

The baffling set of utensils in Sina's hands led to a short lesson in using them from Bael's part. As it turns out, the knife doesn't need to be sharp, since it's meant to cut cooked meat rather than stab people. That... makes sense, she guessed. The trident - well, as it turns out, the real name of that item was "fork", but Bael went with trident regardless - is indeed used to pick up pieces of food and place them in her mouth. She still couldn't tell why you couldn't just use the knife to poke them and put them in your mouth, but oh well...

Then Bael explained that her meal is usually eaten by hand.

"Why didn't you say so from the beginning?!" Sina yelled out, putting her utensils back on the table, ignoring the last part of Bael's sentence where he explained that she would need to wash her hands, and started ripping herself out a rib. While she was munching on it, however, a new, unfamiliar person suddenly approached the two of them, briefly asking about Sina and then focusing on Bael specifically. He didn't recognize her either, at first, but getting pulled in and explained that she was his "elder mentor" quickly changed everything.

Why did she say it in scaleless language, though? Did she try to make it so Sina wouldn't understand her? Well, Sina did... not that it helped her understand the situation by any means.

But she had to ask regardless, so the vigilante tossed the very first idea which came to her mind.

"Is she your mom?"

[Tomia]

Aleta arrived at the gym ten minutes late in a tank top and sneakers, ready to begin her day of training, placing her gym bag down dramtically and looking at what she could only assume could be her personal trainer. "So, what do we have lined up for today?" She said, trying to light a cigarette, but the lighter was feeling uncooperative.

Hannah Jefferies
"There's no smoking in here." Hannah said gruffly to Aleta. Her grandfather's gym was like a safe haven to her in many ways. Knockout's Gym might not have been in it's glory days anymore but her family did their best to keep it up and running. They still had a pretty good regular crowd, however ever since Hannah's controversy regarding her powers they weren't currently training any professionals. Still there were plenty of amateurs who wanted to train in the home gym of the famous vigilante Knockout. Speaking of her controversy, when Hannah was not spending her time working on becoming a vigilante she spent most of her time at the gym. Being a personal trainer was an easy way to make sure she still had some income.

"Shadow boxing, lets go." Hannah said, pointing over the mirror against the nearby wall. "Focus on your form, and practice dodging as you see your own strikes coming back at you." She told her trainee. Hannah found training a bit tedious, especially when she had disrespectful or less than motivated clientele. Still that didn't mean she didn't take the job seriously. She wasn't going to disrespect the sport she loved, even if at this point she felt like it had left her behind.

[The Republic of Atria]

Sina

The first thing Sina said to a stranger approaching them... Was asking if she was his mother. An audible snort and barely contained laughter erupted from Bael for a few seconds before he regained his composure, though the woman looked far less amused. "No! No, Spirits no. And I think I speak for both of us when I say it's better that way." He replied glancing at her for a moment, her still looking annoyed, but otherwise remaining quiet. "My mother doesn't vanish for weeks at a time while being as cryptic and vague while simultaneously being impatient at a lack of progress."

She definitely picked up on the slight against her, and as much as she would have just preferred to leave, she had very no where else to go. While she hadn't seen Bael in a few weeks, she couldn't help but wonder what happened that made him so much more passive aggressive. When she met the boy, he looked afraid of his own shadow and barely spoke a word. Now he had the audacity to actively insult her to her face! "I understand that you have reason to be-" Was all she got out before Bael interrupted her.

"Anyways." He spoke, slightly louder and more authoritative than he needed to, with a hard glance at her. "By the way, she speaks English and knows about my... Thing. You're lucky she's... Not that good at putting two and two together. Sina, let's get get our food to go. Since this is happening now and I'd rather you not somehow find out what's going on and scream it in the middle of public. Let's pack up and we'll head back to my place to discuss this." He motioned for the waitress who near immediately got a box that fit more inside than it looked for their food. A tiny one for Bael and his half eaten wrap and a larger one for Sina's.

"I'm sorry to drop this on you so suddenly Sina. I would've much preferred that this didn't happen, but hey. She's very good at being inconvenient." He said, walking past the glamoured Naligura without a word and taking flight towards his home.

[Aidannadia]

Hannah Jefferies
"There's no smoking in here."

"Shadow boxing, lets go."

Aleta rolled her eyes and put away the cigarette and lighter. She pushed herself off the ground and stood at attention in a loose boxer's pose.

She punched forward, slow at first, trying to focus on where her punch would have landed. She dodged the impact, but she was slow. Another punch. Still slow. She felt the pressure of Hannah's eyes pressing on her back, and she tried harder, punching quicker this time and ducking out of the way. She was quicker this time, but still slow. She growled at the back of her throat at the exercise, punching again and again, losing focus. Her dodges were faster but unfocused and hard to read. The adrenaline was pumping. She could see the Goat staring her down from the mirror. The punches kept coming but he was always a step away from her reach. Always on the other side of the mirror.

[Tomia]

August 8th

---

Angelica hadn’t planned on telling anyone on the team about her birthday. She had never really celebrated it before. Her father had taught her that you should only celebrate accomplishments, and being born wasn’t one of them. When she was very young, her parents had a huge fight when she was a kid when her mom tried to throw her a birthday party. Once her parents were separated, she tried again, but Angelica never wanted one. Secretly she worried no one would come.

Even now that she had friends who she knew would want to celebrate with her she was hesitant to share the information. But one factor kind of forced her hand.

Alexis

She and her tech genius best friend had just confessed their feelings to each other a few days before, and Angelica knew her new girlfriend wouldn’t be happy if she deprived them the chance to celebrate. So once Angelica told her, Alexis immediately went into planning mode and got them reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant.

Angelica spent the next few days worrying about their first date. It wasn’t just her first date with Alexis, it was her first date period, and Angelica felt like there was a lot of pressure to make it special. What if she was awkward and spoiled the whole thing?

She had spent the day at her mother’s apartment, trying to figure out what she should wear. After trying on about a dozen dresses, she finally found the one. Her mother let her borrow a gold necklace as well. Angelica also straightened her hair and put on makeup in preparation for the date. When the time came Angelica was dropped off at the restaurant with her mother, and found herself nervously clutching her purse and checking her phone as she waited for her girlfriend.

Suddenly, Angelica’s phone vibrated as she received a text from Alexis, claiming that she was about to arrive. Just a couple minutes later, a cab pulled up next to the restaurant, and out stepped a petite blonde girl dressed in a frilly yellow blouse and a flared orange skirt. Her normally messy hair was neatly combed and held back by a red headband, and she wore her characteristic red glasses as well.

As soon as she left the cab, Alexis began looking around for her girlfriend, quickly spotting her near the entrance to the restaurant and suddenly feeling rather self-conscious - seeing the other girl wearing a fancy dress and jewelry made her start to second guess her outfit choices. ...Oh well, too late to worry about that now. She thought, before pushing her way to Angelica.

“Hey, Angie!” The young heroine greeted cheerfully. “Wow, you really went all out today, huh? You look great.” She said with a grin.
“Thanks Alexis… You look great too. Yellow looks really good on you.” She complimented, blushing brightly. Her mind was currently spinning like a hamster wheel. Am I too dressy? Fuck, I knew this was too much. I really don’t want to make a fool of myself on my first date.. She thought self consciously.

For a moment the couple just looked at each other awkwardly. The pair had never really lacked for words in the past, but over the last few days conversation seemed harder to come by.

“So…” Angelica said before the quiet got unbearable. “I guess we should go in right?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, of course! We should head in, no point in coming all the way here if we don’t, right?” The shorter girl said with a bit of an awkward chuckle - it was as if her girlfriend’s words jolted her into action, and her hasty speech was a dead giveaway of how nervous she felt about all of this. Still, she was the one who had planned all of this, so she had no intention of backing down now. With this in mind, she took Angelica by the hand and began leading her into the restaurant.

“Let’s get going. I’m sure you’ll love the place - the food here is great!” She assured as they walked into the reception, where they were greeted by an older gentleman.

“Alexis Callaghan, I have a reservation.” She stated. The man quickly looked for her name on the list in front of him and then nodded.

“Of course. Welcome, miss Callaghan.” He replied, before turning to a young woman standing next to him and gesturing with his head. She asked the two girls to follow her and led them to their table, leaving them a couple menus and stating that their waiter would arrive shortly before heading back to the reception. Now seated, the two girls were left on their own once more.

“So, how do you like the place?” Alexis asked, neglecting to take a look at the menu - she already had an idea of what she wanted to order, anyways. “It’s nice, right? My parents have taken me here a couple times on my birthday too. It’s not the most romantic place, but…” The genius girl trailed off, looking at her girlfriend expectantly.

“Don’t worry, it's really nice.” Angelica assured her. “I’m happy to go someplace where you have happy memories.” Angelica said, she wasn’t a particular fan of super fancy restaurants anyway. Her father had always dragged her to them in order to teach her about high society. She took a look at the menu, not sure what to get. She didn’t want to get anything too expensive but she also didn’t want to get something that seemed childish or trashy. Why am I overthinking this so much?

“So… what are you going to get?” She asked, after giving up on the futility that seemed to be looking at the menu.

Hearing her response, Alexis simply smiled and rested her head on her hands, looking at Angelica as she browsed the menu. I’m a really lucky girl, huh? She thought. A bit distracted, it took her a moment to react to the question, but afterwards she picked up her own menu and flipped through it with practiced ease. “Oh, I was thinking of the chicken caesar salad and a lasagna. And I guess… a lemonade or something?” She said with a chuckle. They were well below drinking age still, so unlike in the movies, that wasn’t an option.

“We can get some appetizers too if you want. Since it’s your birthday I’m paying, so no need to worry about the prices.”

“Oh are you sure?” Angelica said, suddenly feeling a bit self conscious. Despite having a very rich father, Angelica refused to take anymore from him than she needed for basic things so she didn’t have much money herself. She didn’t like charity, but it would be rude to argue when Alexis was trying to do something nice like this.

“Well, thanks, that’s really sweet of you.”

“Yup!” The shorter girl replied with a nod, face resting on her hands again. “It’s not everyday I get to take my girlfriend somewhere nice after all.” She said, a grin slowly appearing on her face. Suddenly, she looked up, noticing that a waitress approached their table, a woman who appeared in her mid forties or so. She had a kind smile as she poured water into both of their glasses.

“Hello there, so is it date night?” She asked sweetly, having overheard Alexis’ comment as she approached.

Angelica blushed at that question. She didn’t know why it was so embarrassing for her. She was very happy to be dating Alexis, but it was still a scary and uncomfortable experience. She felt vulnerable and awkward.

“Uh… kind of I guess.” She told the waitress, who nodded, not intending to embarrass the girls after all.

“So what can I get you two then?”

“Oh, I’d like a chicken caesar salad and a lasagna, please, along with a glass of lemonade. Oh, and could you bring some tomato crostinis as well?” Alexis quickly ordered, before turning to look at Angelica, a mischievous smile appearing on her face. “How about you, honey?” She said playfully.

Angelica blushed deeply at the question. She still wasn’t totally used to being flirted with, especially not in public. She didn’t know what to say back, and didn’t want to come off sounding stupid.
“I’ll have… the eggplant parmesan, with the garlic bread and an ice tea.” She said, trying not to look too nervous. The waitress smiled and nodded before heading out to fulfill the orders.

After she left, the birthday girl was quiet for a few minutes. She looked, pensive, and a little uncomfortable, twirling her napkin with her fingers. Alexis obviously noticed, and her festive, playful smile slowly faded away as she realized that anxiety wasn’t going anywhere. Should I ask her what’s wrong? No, that would be a dumb question, and it might just backfire anyway… maybe...

“So!” The lively blonde spoke up after several moments of awkward silence, hoping that a little small talk would help Angelica relax. “How has everything been since you moved back in with your mom?”

“Oh it’s fine. My mom’s happy about it. She’s even thinking about getting a job again.” She said, scrambling her brain to continue the small talk. “You know she’s talked about you a lot since you met.”

“Really now? Since we met?” Alexis asked, leaning forward a little while resting her arms on the table. She was going to comment on the fact that her mother getting a job was a great step forward after what she’d been through, but her ego took over quickly. “What’s she said about me?”

“Well she…” Angelica paused. If she was being honest, most of it was either her mother subtly or not so subtly hinting that she should ask Alexis out on a date. “She likes you a lot. She thought you were really friendly.”

“Huh, really?” The other girl continued. It was a bit odd that her mother had said so little when she’d supposedly talked a lot about her, but she opted not to press the issue. “Well, that’s nice to hear.” She added with a smile. However, despite her best effort, another awkward silence ensued, only to be broken as the waitress returned with the girls’ appetizers, which consisted of small slices of bread with roasted tomato slices on top along with other ingredients. Alexis grabbed one and then leaned back on her seat. Maybe I should let her pick a topic instead?

Angelica was sitting quietly as well. Internally she was racking her brain trying to come up with something to talk about. Small talk was far from her strong suit and she didn’t want to say something stupid or awkward.

What is wrong with me? Why can’t I imagine a simple conversation? She chided herself, noting that this had been a lot easier before they had confessed their feelings to each other.

“So… how do you like the…” She said, stopping mid sentence. She was going to ask about the appetizer but that just sounded silly in her head. She paused for a moment, before taking a deep breath.
“Alexis… this dinner was such a sweet idea, but I’m not sure I can do this.” Angelica said, looking upset. “I’m sorry, I’m just not sure I’m cut out for romantic stuff like this. I feel like I’m going to embarrass myself. Maybe we should just…. Go home.” Hanging her head down as she finished speaking, unable to look Alexis in the eyes.

The genius girl frowned at this, unable to shake off the feeling that this was her fault, at least in part. She’d only wanted to do something nice for the frosty heroine’s birthday, yet she was nervous and uncomfortable in her seat. Was she putting too much pressure on her girlfriend by inviting her here?

Struggling to think of the right words to say, Alexis reached across the table and placed her hand on top of Angelica’s. “You don’t need to be afraid of embarrassing yourself, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk.” She said in an attempt to comfort the other girl. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. It’s your birthday after all. I just wanted to spend the day with you, so I’m sorry if I made you feel nervous by bringing you here.”

“No Alexis don’t apologize.” The other blonde said, squeezing her hand in response. “Really, this was so nice of you. No one has ever done anything like this for me. I’m just nervous because… Well I really like you, and I’ve never been on a date before. I’m just really out of my comfort zone.”

“Well how much experience do you think I have taking girls to dinner?” Alexis joked. “I’m not Roy, I’m just me. I’m nervous too you know?” She admitted. “Now, we can ask for our stuff to go and just leave, or we can enjoy being awkward together. It’s up to you.”

“Awkward together…” Angelica repeated softly, a small smile growing on her face. “I like that.” She said, feeling better knowing this wasn’t particularly easy for her girlfriend either. “I guess I just really got myself worked up you know? You should have seen how long mom and I spent trying to find the right outfit for tonight.”

“And I appreciate it! It makes me happy that you wanted to look good because you were going out with me. If anything that’s better than me, I just put together the first outfit that came to mind.” The shorter blonde admitted sheepishly. “Plus, it’s always nice to hear a cute girl’s getting worked up over me.” She added afterwards, punctuating her words with a playful wink.

Before Angelica could respond, Alexis looked up. “Oh, food’s here.” She said. Indeed, their waitress had returned with the rest of the food they had ordered, drinks included. Thanking her, the two girls eagerly dug into their meal, accompanying it with sporadic conversation and enjoying each other’s company.

Her past nervousness gradually fading away, by the time dinner ended Angelica was feeling a lot better and the two were now joking and smiling openly. As they finished eating and the meal wound down, she looked over at Alexis with sparkling eyes.
“This was really great Alexis… Thanks. For setting this all up and not giving up on it in the beginning. This… Well this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

Alexis had a bright grin on her face as she looked into the taller girl’s eyes and listened to her words. “And we’re just getting started. You signed up for the Alexis Callaghan experience, girl, you better be ready.” She cautioned playfully, before adopting a slightly more serious tone, though no less cheerful. “I’m really happy you had a good time, strawberry ice cream..”

It wasn’t long until the waitress dropped by again with their tab, and after paying it and tipping the woman, the two girls prepared to leave. Before standing up, though, the tech wizard looked at her girlfriend across the table. “Hey, Angie, is there anything else you want to do?”

Angelica paused as she thought about the question. She obviously hadn’t planned any ideas, having assumed that Alexis would have an itinerary to follow.

“Well… We could go for dessert? There’s a really nice ice cream place on the pier, and the view by the beach is really nice.”

“Great idea! Let’s get going then.” The other girl replied as she quickly stood up from her seat and then walked over to Angelica, pulling her chair so that she could stand up comfortably and then offering the taller girl her arm.

Smiling genuinely while taking her girlfriend’s arm, the frost hero walked out feeling much more at home than before. It was about a ten minute walk from the restaurant to the pier and once again she wasn’t talking much. This time it wasn’t because of nervousness however, she just felt a lot more comfortable than before and didn’t feel the need to fill the air with small talk.

As they reached the pier she pointed out a building towards the end. It was a white building with a large sign out front in the shape of an ice cream cone hanging prominently over the top of the establishment. There were benches out front some of which were occupied by a few groups that were currently enjoying their ice cream.

“Well, here we are, what kind of ice cream do you want?” Angelica asked, tilting her neck down towards her girlfriend.

“I’ll get one of whatever you’re getting.” The shorter girl replied with a smile.

“Alright well I’ll be right back then.” The birthday girl said, leaving her girlfriend at one of the tables while she went off to get the ice cream. A few minutes later she returned with two cones, both were cookie dough ice cream in waffle cones, one had caramel and whip cream while the other had sprinkles, whip cream and chocolate sauce.

“I know you said getting whatever I got, but I figured I’d try to guess what you’d want.” Angelica said, handing her the cone with chocolate sauce and hoping she liked it.

“Ooh, sprinkles!” The shorter girl exclaimed cheerfully as she took the ice cream cone from Angelica’s hand. Before the other girl could sit down at the table, Alexis shot up and kissed her on the cheek. “You know me so well, don’t you?” She said playfully, before dragging her back out of the ice cream shop and onto the pier, preferring to go for a walk instead of just sitting there with her treat.

Angelica walked along the pier hand in hand with her girlfriend as the sun was slowly setting around them. Soon they reached a set of stairs that led to the beach and the frost hero led the two down on to the sandy surface. She had an idea.

“Come on, I want to try something, she said, leading her friend to the water. Once they reached the softly flowing water, Angelica reached down and touched it with her fingers. Soon the water started to freeze in her hand and stretch out around her until there was a large rectangle ice in front of the couple. She then turned back to Alexis, her hand outstretched.

“Dance with me?”

Needless to say, the young inventor was surprised by how forward the taller blonde was, especially when compared to how she had behaved during the rest of their dinner date. However, she was far from displeased with it, and grinned happily as she stepped onto the ice alongside her girlfriend, having finished her cone already. As she reached out to grab Angelica’s hand, however, she slipped on the ice and fell on her butt.

“Are you alright?!” The icy heroine asked right away, concerned, but Alexis simply laughed the gaffe away and grabbed Angelica’s offered hand to help herself up. The two girls began dancing slowly on the ice by the pier, laughing all the while.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

September 12th

---

---

"Fiiine, I'll check it out after a round or two, 'kay?" Alexis said to the frosty heroine while looking at the game screen. And with that, she dove right into the game, adjusting seamlessly to the on-rails shooter experience until the defeat of her blonde, tattooed avatar was brought about by a jerk in flamboyant clothes who fired missiles out of his leg - the game was nothing if not over-the-top, just the way she remembered it.

With that done, she went alongside Angelica to try out the so-called classic, and much to her surprise it was quite fun despite the extremely simple gameplay (which was to be expected, considering its date of release). After several rounds, however, she tired of the game and decided to move on. The two girls parted ways there and Alexis looked around for some other game to keep her occupied, when she noticed one of her friends on a machine by himself. She wasn't tall enough to look over his shoulder, so instead she simply walked up to him.

"Hey, Rocket-boy. Whatcha playing?" She asked. "Ooh, space invaders, another classic right? But wait, I thought you were all about welcoming aliens with open arms?" She remarked afterwards, a mischievous grin on her face.

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

---

Red couldn't help but scoff slightly at Casimir's response. I guess that part of him never changes, Red thought in a somewhat amused reaction before he suddenly picked up Casimir's tone of voice change. Red's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to think of how he could even respond to the question. Casimir didn't know the actual cause of death of Jan, along with practically everyone besides Naja and Yoshiro. And apparently Quick Shot, Red thought as he briefly recalled the conversation he had had with the man several hours prior. Thus, he couldn't blame Casimir for not feeling the same amount of guilt on his shoulders that Red was currently feeling. Red chided himself for allowing his emotions to get the better of him, and decided to brush off Casimir's question.

"I can definitely think of better uses of my time. Many of which involve what's going on at the," Red raised his fingers and mockingly bent them with the next words, "Adult Party." Shaking his head, he reached over to the plate of nachos Casimir had seized from him. He had forgotten they were even there, truth be told, and Casimir snapping him out of his thoughts had reminded his body that it needed nourishment from time to time.

Glancing over at the arcade floor, Red saw how the rest of the team seemed to be enjoying themselves. Red was glad for that much at least, but he couldn't help but notice Yoshiro was no where to be seen. He didn't know if this was coincidental or was purposefully done on her part. If it was the latter he really couldn't blame her. Turning his attention back to Casimir, Red decided it would be best to move the conversation elsewhere.

"So you take Viv out around the city yet? I know a few good places you can have a good time that won't have Naja screaming at you for going to." He paused, considering what he had said. "Well, most of them at least."

Casimir nodded in response. "Already on top of it, man. But hey, I've always been meaning to ask you this: Are you from here?"

Red raised an eyebrow at the question. "What makes you ask that?"

Casimir shrugged. "When you're pissed off you seem to take on the local accent a bit. Which is...well, a lot."

Red rolled his eyes slightly at Casimir's reasoning. While he certainly wasn't going to tell him much, admitting to being from the city wasn't something Red was all that concerned about. "Yeah, I grew up around here. Haven't been back in a long time though, but it seems like the place is just as crazy as it was when I left it."

Red's mind wandered back in time to when he was running around the streets and alleys late at night, getting into enough trouble that would make Naja glad to be dealing with his current self if she knew. Good memories were far and few between for him, but he couldn't say they were all bad. In fact, his fondest of memories were those in which he had gone to baseball games over at Yankee Stadium. They may have been small spots of light in the darkness, but for him they shone brightly enough for him to not completely hate the place he grew up in.

Retreating back from these memories, Red glanced over at the arcade floor where the remainder of the team was. He knew he should be with them, that he couldn't allow things that couldn't be changed to affect him. If it was enough for Casimir to notice, he had no doubts the others had as well. There was no need to damper the mood of the team, especially considering what they were about to do.

Getting up from the bench, Red gave Casimir a small grin. "Enough chatting about boring stuff though. How about I go kick your ass in some games?" he challenged, his tone a mixture of sarcasm and competitiveness.

[The Templar High Council]

Icarus

Zoe took Surge's hand while he continued talking, conflicted as to whether this character was her friend or her enemy (based on the future fight that was planned between the two of them). "Yeah same," she replied casually, "I haven't met anyone else around our age either. Though I've heard of a school in California that had a bunch of students form a real hero team, sounds like an interesting final project.

"I heard about it on the plane to New York, actually. Just this morning. I'm not gonna lie, I'm more than a little nervous about it. I haven't had any practical hero experience yet, and I haven't sparred with anyone from outside the Bluejays. And I heard you're something of a rising star... but at least you're not stuck-up about it. Or at least not yet, this is the first time we've spoken." Zoe rambles on for a bit, nearly forgetting about the food she was holding as she gestured around with her one free hand.

---

Viv

Icarus

"Unbelievably glad." Zoe relaxed her shoulders, clearly more at home in jeans and a t-shirt than any sort of formal wear. "Not that I wouldn't mind hanging out at a fancy hotel, but it'd be a lot more fun to get out and see the town. I haven't been to New York before, but they weren't kidding when they said how big and crowded it was."

Taking a moment to let her eyes wander around the room, Zoe looked back to see that Icarus had attracted someone else their age. After he introduced Zoe, she stuck her hand out at the new girl and smiled. "No, we haven't met. You can just call me Zoe though, I doubt many people know me in my costume yet."

[Galnius]

Mikaela Mynd

The Great Floyd Tolson!

September

---

Floyd's very first instinct upon materializing atop the brimstone bridge leading to Beelzebub's palace was to pull out a cigarette. As it turns out, he was wrong to think that such mortal pleasures would be banned here - quite the opposite, the Lord of Hell and his subordinates could only encourage you to dabble in such hedonistic desires. The swordsman knelt down and pressed his cigarette on the floor, the tip quickly igniting from the heat and letting out a smoke.

As soon as he stood back up and pushed the cig to his mouth, the girl next to him started speaking. She was, understandably, quite shocked to witness the Christian afterlife before her eyes. Most of her peers have to wait years before they get the chance - and don't even receive the chance to return.

"No, ya knobhead, this is where you go when you die." he spoke and exhaled. "But yes. This is the only place in the Universe where saying 'go to hell' has no meaning."

"Because that's the directions they give to you to get here," a new, feminine voice suddenly rolled across the bridge - immediately on cue, a burst of fire shot upwards from the brimstone tiles in front of them, and then ceased to reveal a scantily clad female demon. "Welcome home, Floyd Tolson-"

Meridiana stopped, her eyes immediately shooting towards the frightened photographer standing next to him. "Who's that twerp? Floyd Tolson, what is it with you and youngsters tagging along with you? You're probably the opposite of a good role model."

"I'd like to let you know that this has only happened to me... thrice. Not counting her." Floyd shot back, then folded his arms and turned towards the girl. "Well, answer the question, wouldya? This is Meridiana, she's kind of a big deal around these parts. What's your name?"

Mikaela Mynd
Perhaps it was the wording or the situation, but the way the man said 'when you die' was not even remotel comforting. Perhaps it meant he was planning to kill her here? It would certainly work. After all, the only people who would find her body; should there be one, would be people already in hell. It may very well be the perfect crime.

Then, a demon woman appeared what Mikaela could only say looked more scandalous than the dresses her mother wore when trying to get a rich man. However, this was hell, so she supposed there wasn't much of a dress code. That, or she was a, what do you call it, sex demon? At least she had a name for the she-devil that might be taking her life today. Meridiana. Not exactly what she expected. Nor did she expect the next question. She...wanted to know her name?

"I'm uh...Mikaela Mynd. I would very much like not dying today if at all possible. Um...demons take trades right? My mother is a soul just ripe for the picking. Veronica Mynd. Do you...need an address?"

Angelica Dalin

Steven Baker.

September 12th

---

Angie, having likely read the stickers plastered on his travel bags, immediately threw the biggest question straight at his face - why's he going to New York of all places? Well, she didn't ask the why, but she certainly implied it.

"Good question." the physics teacher answered her. "The North American Super League Tournament is only a few days away and I'll be attending it live. As for why..."

If Angie hadn't lost her memory, she would have known that, back when he was a Wonder Warrior, he and the rest of his team regularly participated in the Tournament - and she would have also known that... he was no fan of the entire competition. The whole idea of pitting superheroes against each other, even if for friendly tournament matches, simply did not sink well with him - if they're here just to save others and help them in any way they can, then fostering this feeling of animosity with their fellow heroes could only be a bad thing. And then the entire celebrity spirit around the whole competition...

Granted, it was far less pronounced back then - twenty years of development have made the competition almost unrecognizable, both in its sheer size and grandeur, and in all the changes implemented by the NASL - but even back then, Steven simply felt uneasy about the whole thing.

However...

"...well, there are some people out there I would really like to meet. Or, at least, witness in action." Some particular people he knew better by the names written on their student cards and by their marks in his AP Physics course. "But... that's enough about me. Did you need me for something?"

Angelica Dalin
Angelica was a bit confused as to what Steven meant, but she figured it was his business and his business alone. Besides, it's not like she could process much right now anyway. Not with what was on her mind. It occurred to her that she didn't really know this teacher. Well, she used to. If that was really her anyway. That much was still confusing to her.

Angelica massaged her earlobe in her nervousness. According to her mother it was supposed to release endorphins. The technique never really seemed to work much, but it had become something of a nervous habit over the summer. She had good reason to be, as well. Steven had finally asked what she needed. The blond haired girl knew exactly what she wished to say. It was simple, really, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. Finally, she bit her bottom lip and exhaled. She decided that if she came all the way out here to ask a question, struggling to do so was just stupid. "I need help. Well, I need help helping people. I figured you had experience. I mean you were on a team after all....what I'm trying to say is, how do I become a better hero?"

Lisette Aveline - The Nefarious Marionette!
August 5th
Freedom’s Nest, New York

---

Despite the long hours and the constant threat of Daniel being his infuriating self, Lisette spent the whole trip to New York practically bursting with excitement. She couldn’t sleep a wink despite the luxurious first class seating arrangements, and instead spent the time devouring all the latest gossip, rumours and news on the upcoming tournament. She scoured the internet on her phone while adding her own thoughts to the bustling forums that were already considering each team’s chances on overdrive. A part of her was sad that she’d missed some of the exhibition matches already, but it couldn’t be helped - and she was at least able to watch the replays online easily enough. It had been busy work trawling through all the nonsense and uninteresting commentary to pick out the details that were actually useful, but now that she sat in the Stars’ booth waiting for the teams to make their grand debut, Lisette knew that it had all been worth the effort.

Flicking through her carefully looked after and maintained notebook, the heiress’ eyes scanned the meticulously bookmarked pages. Each section on the different teams and heroes had clearly been crafted with an idolising care: notes were underlined or colour-coded according to some unknown methodology, while images had been diligently taped into place wherever necessary. The notebook was Lisette’s private cheatsheet, and she’d poured her heart-and-soul into making sure that it met the most exacting standards; after all, how could she be the villain that her heroes deserved unless she put in the effort to study and learn? But now, as she sat in her LA Stars branded t-shirt and jeans, the notes served another purpose: they gave her an excuse to keep her eyes lowered to the page as she tried to keep her overwhelming excitement from bursting to the fore.

She could feel the presence of Jackrabbit and the LA Stars’ other sidekicks and aids around her, even if she concentrated on not looking over towards them, lest she wake up and realise that it was all a dream. Her heart fluttered in her chest when she heard the heros’ voices as they casually spoke with one another mere metres from where she sat, and she could’ve sworn that the butterflies in her stomach were on the verge of carrying her up into the sky. But as incredible as the experience of being so close to some of the world’s greatest heroes was, Lisette couldn’t entirely put off the connected, nagging concern in the back of her head.

She’d put off asking Weatherman whether he was fine with her trip, frightened that he would say no and criticise her lack of dedication to their villainous scheme. Deep down, Lisette knew that she should have been willing to put aside her own personal desires if she really wanted to be a great villain, but oh she really, really, really, wanted to go to the tournament this year! She’d tried to come up with a multi-step plan to convince her mentor that the trip would be a great learning experience, and that it would help teach her how to fight heroes properly, but it had all proven to be unnecessary. Weatherman’s eyes had lit up at the proposal, agreeing and granting her permission with an eagerness that had caught her by surprise.
Lisette’s eyes narrowed slightly as she thought back to the exchange, her initial surprise stopping her from questioning why the man had seemed to excited at having her out of the city. Maybe he really did think that her trip would be a good chance for her to learn more about villainy, but something about it didn’t quite sit right. She was certain that he was hiding something from her, for whatever reason, and while she was fine with that - she was only a sidekick after all - she hoped that she hadn’t accidentally let Weatherman down somehow.

Before she could dwell on the thought anymore, the announcer’s voice cut through the haze of Lisette’s mind as the crowd suddenly erupted into a torrential outpouring of cheers and shouts. The girl’s head immediately shot up, her eyes wide as she realised that she’d become so distracted that she’d lost track of time and was about to miss the first team to walk onto the stage. As the Anchorage Avengers walked onto the field with beaming smiles and friendly waves, Daniel made some snide remark that Lisette promptly filtered out and ignored. Jumping out of her seat, she raced towards the tinted window that surrounded the viewing box in an effort to try and get as good a view as she could. Team after team was announced and she quickly added her own voice to the excited shouts and cheers, cheering louder for the LA Stars, of course. But she made sure to save some of her voice for the last - and her personal favourite - team to be called.

"Now, ladies and gentleman, give a warm welcome to the newest member of the NASL family, the San Diego Young Bloods!"

Immediately, Lisette screamed at the top of her lungs - doing her best to add her voice to the cheers that competed loudly against the boos that accompanied the controversial team’s arrival. She’d made no attempt to mask her support for her hometown’s team, and she proudly wore a Young Blood’s cap over her blonde hair as she jumped up and down out of her seat. She was wearing a wide grin on her face as she watched each of the teens walk out onto the field, her eyes glued to the field as she eagerly recalled her past encounters with the rising heroes. It was a real shame that Kiris hadn’t come to the tournament, and she felt that it probably really weakened the team’s chances, but she knew that they would still be able to succeed with their determination and unfailing belief in one another.

Of course, Dan had to step in and try to spoil the exciting moment. She was about to scold him for underestimating her new favourite team, but instead giggled as Jackrabbit delivered a quick one-two to the pretentious snob’s face. Sheepishly, but with confidence, Lisette came to the defence of the Young Bloods.

“I wouldn’t underestimate them, you know.” She declared. “They’re young, but they’re determined to succeed and are learning quickly. I was a fan of theirs from the very beginning and they’ve improved probably more quickly than any other NASL team I’ve seen. They rely and trust each other completely, and are determined to be real heroes one day - I just know that they’re going to be an awesome underdog tale this year!”

Daniel McHarris: The Dinner Party
Daniel was in a good mood. Well, he almost always was, but now he was in an even better one. Sure the food wasn't quite what he was accustomed to, but the company more than made up for it. The Stars treated their guests rather well it seemed, and the ballroom was amazing. He did take note of the most recent rookie walking off with one of the Bluejays, and remembered the rumors he had heard earlier about Surge. Was the boy looking for his first scandal to solidify his position in the Stars? Giving Impulse a simple look over, Daniel decided that Surge could definitely do worse.

Speaking of worse, Daniel turned his eyes to his guest with a simple smile. "So, Miss Aveline, have you given any thought to the bargain? Or are have you been distracted by the sights? Just remember, you can look, but not touch." Under his breathe, the moderately touched heir continued. "At least, that's what Eden told me last time. I'm not sure if the poison oak was necessary to prove a point, but you know...

[Finland SSR]

Bael

The Mad Lass, Sina As'tari!

August 8th

---

Okay, so... Well, the simplest thing to understand was that this woman wasn't Bael's mother. The two of them were clearly familiar, but she was clearly more of a mentor than a family member type. Aside for that, Bael actively tried to leave Sina with as little information as possible, keeping her in the dark for his own reasons, then got her food packed in a large box and it placed in the vigilante's hands.

"Okay, first of all, you don't get to say I'm bad at putting two and two together when you're making sure I know nothing about what's happening..." It was even getting a little infuriating - but, thankfully, Bael finally got the two of them to take off from the mysterious woman, at which point he started complaining that he was dropping all this information on her so suddenly.

"Don't worry about it." Sina replied almost instantly. "After all, so far you have told me jack about it all. Speaking of which... what is it all about?"

---

Mikaela Mynd

The Great Floyd Tolson!

September

---

Mikaela's sudden outburst, throwing her mother under the bus and offering her soul so she might live, sparked an another outburst - that is, Floyd's laughing fit.

"Hey, hey Meri, I think she is matching you up for a date!" he exclaimed in the midst of laughter. Indeed, much like other succubi, Meridiana's job was to get foolish mortals to write away their chance at a fulfilling afterlife through seduction - which is to say, it did not work like Mikaela assumed it to work at all. Nor was Meridiana amused by the idea at all.

"Don't you fucking call me that." she suddenly gushed out at Floyd after being called Meri, then turned towards Mika. "I don't need your mother's soul and I'm not here to kill you. You're not a kidnapping victim, you're stowaway." Suddenly, however, Meridiana stopped, turned towards Floyd, and a faint smile struck her face. "Aaaactually~ Since you, Mikaela Mynd, were so unkind as to get stowed away and thus witness Hell when only those from the afterlife and their agents are allowed to do so, and you, Floyd Tolson, just called me "Meri"... you'll have to suffer both."

Ohh no, this can't be good.

Meridiana folded her arms behind her back, letting her large chest puff out a little, and continued. "I brought Floyd Tolson here because there was a sighting of an angel escorting a soul through Beelzebub's doman - and now, you two shall have to make a tag-team and eliminate this pest together."

Floyd froze for a second, sighed, then immediately whispered to Mika:

"Tell me you have any powers, right now, or else I'm throwing you off this bridge instantly."

---

Angelica Dalin

Steven Baker.

September 12th

---

Maybe he shouldn't have pressed the question out of Angie after all. The teenage girl struggled for a bit before finally forcing out exactly what she came here for - she wanted to become a better hero and opted to approach him. Because he had experience, because he was a member of a team of superheroes before...

And here he was trying to escape that unwelcome past. No, that past was going to suddenly start punching him in the gut after twenty years regardless.

"Asking me for help..." Steven replied and let out a heavy sigh. If he were to give any one piece of advice to any aspiring teenage hero, it would be to put down their cape and try to apply their powers somewhere else, just like what he did two decades ago. To be a superhero is a dangerous game, with a real chance of death, and rewards which are difficult to quantify. But no, he couldn't say that, not in Angie's face. Unlike him, she had the luck of still being her young, naive self.

"The last time I was a superhero, it was twenty years ago, and I put an end to it when... well, you know what happened." the teacher calmly explained. "I'm not a model for a superhero. You should probably look for someone else. ...Even Voice would be a better option."

[Tomia]

Mars

"Hey, Rocket-boy. Whatcha playing?" She asked. "Ooh, space invaders, another classic right? But wait, I thought you were all about welcoming aliens with open arms?"

"Real aliens yes, 2-D pixel are fair game." Mars said with a smile. "And it is indeed a classic. I've been playing this game since I was a kid. What do you say Alexis, up for a little friendly competition? Me vs you in space invaders?" Mars was pretty confident in his abilities, and bragging rights over Alexis could never hurt.

Angelica was still shocked at Alexis' surprising ignorance regarding pac-man, but was happy to see she was having fun when she started playing. After that they had separated for a bit but Angelica returned to hear Mars' challenge. "I'll be rooting for you Alexis." She said with a smile, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek for good luck.

Hannah
Hannah watched Aleta diligently as she practiced. There was clearly talent there, her punches had power behind them and clearly showed experience. Still, there seemed to be a lingering hesitance in her right handed strikes. Her form was also a bit off and Aleta seemed to be frustrated with her results.

"Here, balance your stance a bit. You're shifting too much with your strikes." She said, touching Aleta's shoulders as she shifted her stance.

"Keep striking, your reflexes will catch up. And if you don't mind me asking, what happened with your right arm there?"

[The Republic of Atria]

Sina

"I know, but this is a very private thing and I'd rather not talk about it in public." He explained, just now realizing he did more or less insult her offhandedly. "I'm sorry for that... Really. I'm just a bit frustrated with her right now and it slipped out." Maybe he should've just considered it to be messing with her like she did with him. "Anyways, part of the reason is because I very much expect you to raise your voice and I'd rather that very sensitive information not be shouted in the middle of public."

It wasn't the best explanation, but it would have to do for the moment. A few minutes of awkward and slightly irritated flying later, they landed at his home. As they entered, it turned out that he was right and his parents were either at work or out and about doing whatever. "Well. No sense hiding it."

"Bael, I don't think that we should tell her."

"Like I said. She already knows about me. Might as well tell her the full thing now because she's gonna pester me about it until I do tell her. You can do it or I can. Your choice." He said, taking a seat and bracing for what was going to happen next.

Naligura dropped the glamour she had going. "You and I are going to talk about this later." She said towards Bael. He replied with a shrug as she turned to Sina. "I am Naligura." She spoke. Though her voice wasn't as intimidating, and her stance lacked her old confidence and aura of invincibility that she once held.

[Absolon-7]

Icarus

Zoe

Viviana Couture September 12th
"Good to see ya in the flesh too," said Viviana to Icarus as she placed both hands behind her back.

The pretty redhead next to him was a girl from the Carolina Bluejays whose alias was Impulse but she her introduced herself as Zoe. Viviana returned the handshake she was offered and then returned it behind her back. Unfortunately, she in fact didn't recognize what Zoe's costume would be so she had to pay close attention to any mention of Impulse in the tournament. She began wondering if her persona as Chicle had any sort of fanbase. The team was rather hefty so she wondered if she'd done enough to stood out to folk. Well if she did or didn't wouldn't matter much as right now she was just taking her first steps in hero stuff. She wasn't like Roy or Casi himself who had some years of action as a cushion. Nevertheless, she just forget it all tonight and have some good old fashion fun.

"Ooooh, how bout us three play some hair hockey! I got a pretty mean arm when it comes to it. I wonder if this joint has three-person air hockey," offered Viviana to the two as she pinched her cheek for ideas, "Or you two like something competitive or more relaxed and all. Like make you melt to a puddle relaxed."

Red

Casimir Herman September 12th
Good news was that Red pulled himself out of that loner slump. Bad news was he thought he could actually beat Casimir at arcade games. Worse news was he remembered the nachos that he had rightfully appropriated. That sly ginger dog. Well he finally learned for sure that Red was a new Yorker and what better way to have fun the showing him up in his own home town. He also could sympathize at Red's desire for wanting to go to the so called 'Adult Party' but really he could care less. This arcade was proving much more worth having fun in then just getting blasted for a night you'll just forget anyways. Maybe Red had something he wanted to forget for a night then? Although he wasn't convinced Red wasn't hiding something but he figured if he wanted to talk he would've and at least he'll pretend to have fun.

"Let's go with some classic Mortal Kombat. Been playing that since I was ten so I'm pretty confident I kick your ass in it," boasted Casimir rising up from the bench as well. He lead Red to a machine that was hosting the game and he took the right side of the controllers. Searching through the characters a dumb smirk filled his face as he turned to Red, "Usually I'd avoid ever going to a convention but think it'd be worth it to see some of the girls in these costumes? I'm sure Renata would go great as Mileena. You got any other ideas?"

[The Republic of Atria]

Vince and Zayda

There was a brief moment of silence while the now superpowered gangster oriented himself, moving his neck side to side, complete with loud popping noises. The man bolted with inhuman speed at Vince, who had little time to react before the man grabbed him. Vince quickly tried to activate the sound bomb again, but before he could, the massive gangster ripped the bomb out of his hand. "Little noise maker?" The gangster crushed it with what looked to be no effort whatsoever. "Ain't dealing with that shit again. It's also what I'm going to do to your head." The man placed his hand over Vince's head, ready to pop it, when several quick, powerful strikes hit him in the back. With his free hand he swung back, trying to hit the ghostly figure.

Though he was much to slow. Especially with Vince still being held. So he tossed Vince aside. He smacked into the ground and rolled several times before stopping. His entire body ached as he gasped for breath and tried to make his way back to his feet, with poor results.

"Don't worry One Armed Willie, once I turn this walking lizard into a new belt, you'll get yours." He looked to who he would have to deal with. The woman was a good distance away, probably halfway across the warehouse. He was about to charge at her when the ghost reappeared and the pair grappled. It didn't take long for the gangster to start pushing the ghost dragon back and then down. The concrete below them shattering as he pressed down harder and harder. Not only that, small, but visible, cracks were made visible on the ghost. "Looks... Like..." He strained as he redoubled his efforts. "It ain't... Unbreakable." The cracks started to become more and more visible. "Shatter... this thing... like glass!"

Vince and finally managed to climb and stagger-walk to his dropped grenade launcher. It had two shots left, and they were both his quick dry cement bombs. Better than nothing. Best case, they were strong enough to hold him down. Worst, they slowed him down. Hands still shaking with adrenaline, he took aim and shot. The first shot missing thanks to the damaged sight on the launcher. The bomb smacked into a wall and covered it in the quick drying gunk. He fired the second shot, this time it looked much more on point.

The gangster had taken notice of Vince looking to shoot at him, but his focus was still very much on the ghost. When he saw the first shot missed, he knew the second wouldn't. Instead he acted quickly, and as soon as he saw the grenade leave the barrel, he flung his arm out to swat away the grenade. It shattered on his hand. The gunk covering it and most of his forearm, but leaving the rest of his body perfectly fine.

The ghost had begun to take advantage of the situation, throwing his good arm aside, striking him several times with brutal speed and strength. The blows sounding not unlike rapid strikes with a hammer and sending the man sliding and onto his back. Without skipping a beat, the ghost chased and tried to strike again, only for the gangster to use the gunk covered arm as a shield while his good one reached for something. Finding nothing within arm's reach, he dug his fingers into the cement, grabbing a chunk about the size of a basketball and heaving it at Zayda.

It missed, but not by much. But enough that she recalled the ghost, having it take a closer ranged position to better defend her. "Huh... I get it. Ghost lizard can only be at one place at one time. Lady lizard's as squishy as anyone." He glanced over at Vince who looked distressed enough that he felt like he didn't have to worry. If he had a bomb that could take him out, it'd likely take the dragon lady with him.

Vince was frantically searching for a bomb that would be useful. He had two, but both had large blast areas and would almost definitely take Zayda out if she were too close. She'd just have to make some space. Him too for that matter. He crept away from the fight, getting into a corner where he could do some quick repairs on his launcher so he didn't miss the shot.

Zayba backed away, her magic ghost still maintaining the distance between her and the massive brute. She saw Vincent making more distance between her and the brute while fiddling with his launcher. She glanced up for a moment, wondering if she could actually fly in the warehouse. The ceilings looked high enough, but there were the lights and struts holding it all together.

"So I'm wondering. What's your plan here? You two clearly aren't a team. So I don't think you've got some sort of master plan in mind. Looks like Mad Bomber over there is trying to run away. Can't blame him. Have to say that leaving you to die is kinda sad, but hey, at least he'll probably get away instead of you both dying." He mused as he took more steps forward, the ghost stepping back in tandem with Zayda. "Cause your ghost friend looks like he's seen better days." He motioned. The ghost was indeed still visibly cracked from earlier.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, the human was right. Her guardian was heavily damaged. It would need at least a good half an hour to fully recover from all the damage. She'd have to come up with something to put some distance between her and the brute. His left arm was still covered in Vince's cement. Something she had to work with.

Suddenly, the ghost retreated until it was less than arm's length away from her. Then they both charged at the brute as fast as they could go. "Ha. Really? Alright then! Come get it!" He hissed, bracing for impact. The ghost shot forward, pulling the man into a bear hug and lifting him off the ground a few inches. "Too late for that sweet heart. Plus, I don't do cold lizard pussy." With what little freedom he had in his right arm, he latched onto the ghost's arm that was constricting him and squeezed. The cracks grew larger and larger until the construct just shattered. "Easy." He turned around to see that the few second that the ghost had bought Zayda were worth it.

He just barely saw Vince in the corner aiming at him, and then the THUNK of his launcher. His amplified reflexes kicked in again, and he caught the grenade. "Shoulda ran away while you still had the chance!" He shouted, about to throw the bomb back at him when he felt a surge of heat in his hand. Reflexively dropping the device as it glowed brighter and brighter until it exploded in a white hot orb that was like staring at the sun. Zayda had already ducked behind some crates and Vince was huddled in the corner, shielding his eyes.

The orb swallowed the now screaming gangster, filling the warehouse with an intense heat. In a few seconds, the min-sun created by Vince's grenade popped out of existence. Several crates had been incinerated, as well as most of the thugs that were nearby.

The brute himself was little more than a large, charred skeleton that had quickly crumpled into a pile of ash.

Vince opened his eyes and stood up. Zayda popped up from behind the crates. The warehouse's internal temperate was easily over a hundred degrees. Vince had already started sweating, but Zayda seemed perfectly fine with the heat. The apir approached the group of incinerated corpses until Zayda broke the ice. "...Thank you for waiting until I was no longer in the blast radius of your weapon."

"Yeah... Yeah, no problem." He said letting out a loud sigh. "Kinda fucked it up, though. Didn't get any information on where to hit next." He muttered. "Not your fault. Talking to myself."

"You shouldn't do that." She replied. "It's bad for your mind's health."

"Pretty sure my thinker box wasn't ever really all that healthy to begin with." He replied as a half joke, small smile on his face. "Thanks for the back up. Really helped. So uh... You wanna do a team up? We worked pretty well together for barely knowing one another."

[Bentus]

Cash Fan Meetup Part 1

The Great Kabuto and the Mystifying Ashen Moth!
September 13

---

Thankfully the stadium had a few rooms set aside for press conferences and that reporter had managed to snag a modest one. The room was decently sized and spacious enough to hold a row or two of chairs along with a podium. Although it was less a room and more of a rectangular indentation that anyone could walk into. Casimir stood in full costume behind the podium tapping on the acrylic structure. There was no microphone since it was just one network guy and some of his pals. Just wait until they see he and Ash came here before them like champs. He looked over to Ash and signaled her over.

“How ya doing with those flashcards I made?,” he asked thoughtfully, “Remember the press can be as deadly as a swarm of driver ants if you slip up so staying on top of your game is crucial.”

Tearing her eyes away from the still mostly empty seats, Ash offered Casimir a half-nervous-half-excited grin. Nodding firmly as a glimmer in her eyes gave away her excitement and determination towards the coming interview, she waved the flashcards in one of her hands towards her friend. “I have been practicing them like you said, Kabuto.” She stated proudly. “And I still remember the other advice from yesterday too: act like I always know everything even when I do not, and always end with a big smile for the fans.”

One of the mutant’s antennae bobbed up-and-down, and she turned to see a group of teenagers eagerly talking among themselves as they entered the room. Feeling her heart skip as the first of the audience began to trickle in, Ash tried to pinpoint the fluttery feeling that was racing around in her stomach. It was similar to when she’d first met her fans the day before, but back then she had felt mostly frightened and nervous, doubt riddling her confidence with holes. But now, she knew that she could do this, she just couldn’t wait to get started. Glancing back towards Casimir, the mutant rubbed two of her hands together sheepishly. Her tone was slightly nervous, and a hint of colour touched her cheeks as she spoke with genuine emotion in her voice. “Thank you very much for organising this, Kabuto. I would not be able to be a hero without your help.”

Casimir was almost taken aback by the sudden show of emotion especially at how sudden it was given. Almost. On one hand he wasn’t surprised that she was grateful after how much he’s helped her but on the other hand how abrupt this was confused him. Usually when people thanked him it was right after he saved their lives or something. Casimir stared at her for a few seconds before he rubbed the back of his neck while giving her a thumbs up.

“No problem,” he said, “All in a day’s work for this here hero extraordinaire.”

With the last word the journalist and some of his co-workers would then begin to stream in surprised that the two heroes had arrived before them.The reporter they had met yesterday didn’t hesitate to step up and onto the stage, while the rest of his small group dispersed themselves. Casimir straightened out his motorist’s scarf and smoothed over the short antenna on his helmet to make sure they were nice and even. Looks like it was showtime.

Reaching out a hand towards Kabuto, the journalist’s face was dominated by a wide grin that easily betrayed his excitement at the coming interview. Pumping first Casimir’s, and then Ash’s, hands, he greeted them enthusiastically. “Kabuto, Ashen Moth - I hope you’re both as excited for this as I am. James and the crew should be letting in the rest of the audience and press gallery now.”

Sure enough, a din of whispered voices began to trickle into the room as a surprisingly sizable crowd began to surge in through the main doors. Ash’s eyes widened slightly as she saw that there might not have even been enough seats for all those who had jumped at the chance to see one of the first public appearances from members of the Young Bloods. Reaching into his pocket, the reporter pulled out a pair of small microphones and gestured for both of the heroes to pin them to their shirts.

“We would never turn down a chance to reach out to the fans, Bart.” Casimir replied proudly, attaching his microphone with a practiced ease as Ash carefully tried to replicate the action beside him. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

Beaming at the teenager’s enthusiasm, Bart could practically hear the bonus for landing this gig like cash registers in the back of his head. Scanning the room to make sure that all of the seats had been filled and the overflow audience were settling into whatever standing room they could find, he offered his cameraman - who was set up just in front of the stage - a curt nod. Immediately, his crew ushered for the audience to wrap up their conversations as the cameraman began to count down each finger on his left hand until eventually it was three, two, one.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to thank you all for joining me - Bart Sullivan - here at Freedom’s Nest in the Big Apple. So far we’ve been working around the clock to get you up to speed on all the latest news, stats and predictions for this year’s NASL tournament and you’re joining us as the whole city waits in suspense for the opening. It’s been a wild year in the League, but no team has courted controversy quite like San Diego’s up-and-coming Young Bloods. Granted a last-minute spot following their widely praised efforts against Warwolf in their hometown, this determined group of teenaged heroes have surprised us all, and captured America’s heart.” Turning towards his two guests, the camera’s view snapped from a close-up of Bart’s face to show that he wasn’t alone on the stage. “And I am proud to say that we have two of them joining me here today. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for the Great Kabuto and the lovely Ashen Moth!”

A raucous applause immediately rippled through the crowd, as Ash felt a rush of colour flooding her cheeks. Cheers and shouted praises - including a few excited screams from some of Kabuto’s fans - accompanied the claps, and Bart had to gesture for the audience to quiet down so that he could continue.

“Landing here in New York just yesterday, these two bright heroes have agreed to give us an exclusive interview and to answer a selection of questions from lucky fans in the audience. So, Kabuto - since I know this isn’t your first rodeo, is there anything you’d like to say to our viewers?”

“The spectacular Kabuto salutes all you fine men and women for showing up,” exclaimed Casimir, “We might as well start to take questions now.”

Bart continued to smile as he glanced towards a clipboard in his hands. "Well, I bet everyone can’t wait to open this up to audience questions. But seeing as I’m the host, I’m going to indulge myself in a little bit of selfishness and ask a question that’s been asked repeatedly on our forums: Kabuto, what's your workout routine?"

“Go to Dunkmaster’s Gym every weekday in the afternoon. Every day switching a muscle group. For the record I reached a personal record of benching 3.7 tons the other day.” Casimir replied simply, wearing a smug smirk as there were a few appreciative whistles at his record.

"And let nobody ever accuse you of skipping out on leg day.” That evoked a few forced chuckles from the crowd, though Bart didn’t waste any time before moving onto the next question on his list. “How do you balance hero work with being a teenager?"

“Easy. I kick villain butt as fast as I can. Sets up a challenge to see how fast I can clean up a mess and to mitigate any damage my enemies cause.”

“Right, but it has to be scary sometimes? Especially since you’re going up against villains and criminals who are older and have years more experience than you."

“Of course not.” Casimir replied, scoffing at the implication. “The amazing Kabuto knows no fear. If anything whenever I feel should feel fear I feel my blood boiling in righteous anger.”

Bart raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised at the seemingly endless reservoir of self-confidence that the hero seemed to possess. "But do you ever want to do something different than being a hero?"

Kabuto answered without even a moment’s hesitation. “As far as I’m concerned, no. My power would be wasted not beating down evil. There’s too many people who need my help, too many criminal scum looking for a beating and a half, and too little time to waste it on something else.”

“A noble sentiment from a born hero, if I may say so myself.” Bart replied before turning towards the crowd where one of his crew was looking to pass a microphone around. “Now, seeing as I’ve already taken up so much of your time for my own selfish curiosity - how about we turn things over to our first round of audience-sourced questions?” As the reporter spoke, a girl sheepishly stood up from her seat. She was wearing an LA Stars shirt and had a temporary tattoo inked onto her cheek as she seemed to be nervous speaking in front of such a crowd. "H-hi, Kabuto - I’m a huge fan of yours. So, me and my friends were wondering: what do you see in your dream girl?"

The girl had turned beetroot red during her question, forcing herself to blurt out the question as a few chuckles spread throughout the crowd, accompanied by encouraging cheers from her friends sitting around her. Grinning, she sat back down as everyone awaited Kabuto’s response.

Casimir actually paused for a second thinking over the question with a memory of Viviana flashing through his mind. This would have to be a neglected question, “Someone who's not a nag for starters but really my dream girl would just be someone’s who’s got the looks. Curves and all that.”

The next question was from a boy who looked to be about Casimir’s age. "What's it like coming from a small town and now playing in the big leagues?"

“Never gotten this much attention back north. If anything I was foolishly labeled a menace. I feel its well deserved after everything I’ve had to put up with or had to do. I just know I’m gonna shoot up and up like a lightning bolt in the so called big leagues.”

"Any tips for people who want to be superheroes like you?" This time it was a younger kid, probably still in middle school if Casimir had to guess.

“Any tips? Yeah I got just one. Be strong. If you’re weak being kind is dangerous. If you want to do good in a way that lasts and changes things for the better before anything else first you must make yourself strong.”

They had certainly jumped on immediately like Jack jumper ants with all sorts of questions. Casimir felt the crowd had had their fill for him as the hands for the microphone dwindled and Bart shuffled his notes. He confidently crossed his arms with his chest puffed out and head tilted up. It looked like their attention would migrate to Ash now so he silently hoped she had the strength to face it.

“Now, Ashen Moth - is it alright if I call you Ash?” Bart knew that the girl was far less prepared for this than her partner, and his tone was immediately gentler as he tried to guide her easily into the public eye. Ash smiled as she was addressed, nodding in response.

“Oh, yes it is alright if you would like.” The mutant paused for a moment as she seemed to consider something. “Although it is my non-hero name.”
Bart appeared to be taken aback by the response, blinking in surprise. “I’m sorry, you’re saying that Ash is your actual name?”

Ash smiled as she felt like she got into the swing of the interview. “That is right. I did not have a name before, until Kabuto gave one to me when we first met. He also came up with my hero name.”

“Wow, sounds like that must have been an incredible first meeting. It seems like you two are rather close?”

The mutant eagerly nodded in response. “Very much so, yes. Kabuto and I are best friends.”

A sly smirk inched onto Bart’s features. “I see. Some of our audience members might be a little bit disappointed to hear that's all it is - though there’s no denying that you two have become one of the most popular heroic duos in your team. I suppose that it’s pretty easy to see that you two have a fair bit of chemistry out there, huh?”

A look of confusion flashed across Ash’s features as she tried to understand what the reporter meant by ‘chemistry’ given the context, but she quickly remembered Casimir’s earlier advice about making sure that she looked like she knew everything. “We do have a lot of chemistry, and we enjoy hanging out all the time.” There were a few muted aww’s from the audience, which Ash took to mean that she must have said the right thing. She spoke proudly, shooting Casimir a grin as she began to enjoy herself.

Bart allowed the crowd to have its moment before he continued. “Well, Ash - if you feel up to it, would you be ready to answer some questions from our audience?”

The mutant didn’t hesitate to nod eagerly, which caused the reporter’s smile to broaden. Oh man, this girl is just born for the camera.

Another teenager from the crowd stood up to take the microphone, smiling as he read from a card he’d prepared beforehand. He hesitated for a moment before speaking, keeping his eyes nervously on his notes rather than looking up towards the sea of faces that were turned towards him.

“What do you have to say about people who might look different to normal or have trouble fitting in, and do you have any words of encouragement?"

“Um, I do not know.” Ash answered, momentarily caught off guard by the question. “It is not nice to have trouble fitting in, I think.” She admitted, shifting slightly in her chair as she tried to come up with something to say. Always speak like you know what you are talking about! Clearing her throat, Ash furrowed her brow as she seemed to concentrate on her answer. “At first I did not know where I could fit in either, but then Kabuto showed me that I could be a hero - like him. Anyone can be a hero no matter what they look like, as long as they always make sure to do good and act like one.” The girl offered the boy a sheepish smile.

“Hey, can I ask a question next?”

A voice from the crowd broke the brief pause, and a single hand shot up to try and catch everyone’s attention. Heads all turned towards it, and Bart’s eyes narrowed on the figure that was quickly pushing himself to his feet. He held his phone in one hand, along with a notebook in the other, and a press badge dangled around his neck atop the casual suit jacket that he wore. Immediately, a sick feeling of recognition dawned in the interviewer’s eyes.

Trying to smile he attempted to brush aside the man’s question. “I’m sorry, but even Channel Two will have to wait its turn. Maybe -”

“No, no - I can just raise my voice, don’t worry about bringing over the microphone.” The man glanced down at his notes briefly as he continued before Bart could interrupt him. “I’m here on behalf of someone who wasn’t able to make it here today himself.” Lifting his gaze to stare straight towards Ash, the reporter took a breath to make sure that his words would be picked up by all the cameras that were recording the exchange. “You see, he lost his finger during Warwolf’s occupation of San Diego when Ashen Moth bit it off in a reckless abuse of power.”

There was a gasp from the audience and a look of confusion flashed across Ash’s face as whispered conversations began to ripple through the crowd. A sense of panic suddenly gripped at Bart’s chest as he raised his hands to try and calm the reaction. “Now, that’s a particularly loaded -”

The reporter was undeterred as he continued to speak. “Ashen Moth, do you have anything to say to the young victims whom you brutalised that night? Leaving innocent school children with life-long disabilities for being at the wrong place at the wrong time hardly strikes me as the actions of a hero.”

Ash’s smile had evaporated from her features, with the words and tone of this man’s question not being like the others. It didn’t make her feel that warm and fuzzy feeling anymore, far from it in fact. “I - Heroes are supposed to fight criminals, yes?” Her voice wavered as she responded, uncertainty creeping into her tone as she glanced towards Kabuto for some kind of help.

Sensing that he had his target on the backfoot, the reporter continued his assault. “Even if they were breaking the law, they were just children - and would you not say that your response was incredibly disproportionate and aggressive? In fact, I have saved on my phone never-before-aired footage from a security camera that captured the incident.”

“Look Steve, this is my interview so how about you -”

“Aha, here it is!” Ignoring Bart’s plea, the reporter lifted his phone up so that some of the closer audience members and cameras could see the screen. On it was footage of Ash’s fight with the teenaged rioters, with the grisly scene of her biting into the boy’s hand causing some people to flinch away. As the clip continued, someone gasped as a feral-looking Ash seemed to lash out at her opponents even when they were already down.

Looking around the crowd, Ash recoiled into her chair as the glances that she was getting seemed to be totally different to those at the beginning of the event. They all looked...scared.

Clearing his throat, Steve stopped the clip. “Kabuto, how do you justify the presence on your team of what some might justifiably call a monster? Surely heroes must be held to certain standards by society?”

By this point, Ash was frantically scanning the audience. She wasn’t even listening to the questions anymore as she felt like her heart wanted to explode from her chest. Turning her head back and forth, she couldn’t get over the way that everyone was looking at her. Even the boy whose question she had answered seemed to flinch when her gaze met his. Before Casimir could respond to the reporter’s hostile tone, Ash suddenly burst onto her feet.

“No, be quiet!” She screamed, causing the room to fall silent. “I am a Young Blood!” Ash spoke passionately, shouting at the reporter in an effort to defend herself. “I am a...a…”

The mutant’s voice slowly trailed off, her eyes moving between each of her fans’ faces. Hero, is what she wanted to say - but the word froze on the end of her tongue. Instead, she turned to look towards Casimir, with the start of tears beginning to build up in her eyes, before she turned to race from the stage.

Casimir’s gaze was sorely locked onto the new reporter with nothing but bloodlusted hatred. He had to restrain himself with his full willpower not to break the podium with his grip in retaliation at that reporter's predatory tactic. He stepped forward towards Bart and from their mutual look they knew to call it quits. Bart began to usher everyone up and get ready to leave. Casimir on the other hand stepped towards the inflammatory reporter and walked up close to him.

"What's your name?" angrily asked Casimir.

“Steve Short. Now hold on. Maybe you can answer for your own spotless record. Here I have a collection of over two hundred assaul-” said the reporter before being interrupted by Casimir.

“No your name is jackass now,” shot out Kabuto before walking past him to catch Ash.

Bart came over and tried his best to keep with Casimir’s increasing pace and rubbing his hands apologetically “Listen Kabuto, I’m sorry this happened. I thought he’d know better. But you know…”

“Don’t worry about it. I got better things to do then deal with water fleas like him,” muttered Casimir.

---

Now where would Ash be? Casimir sent out a small portion of his swarm along the ceiling and corners of the hallway using them like thousands of little appendages to feel up the location. This had gone horribly and all because of that bottom feeding leech of a reporter. ‘Just a kid’ his ass. Bloke must’ve forgotten how fucked up teenagers could be and that bastard criminal made his choice and he has to live with it. Then again he doesn’t recall any of the initial news reports mentioning about a finger being chewed off. Bit yes but not severed.

Casimir made his choice when he searched all night to save Ash from a life as a homeless feral and he was going to have to live with that she Kabuto walked along like a hound following the trail going wherever Ash’s scent was strongest and eventually he would find her cowering in room. He went straight to her location but spotted a vending machine along the way. A little peace offering wouldn’t go amiss. Casimir used up whatever coins he had to get a handful of beef jerky sticks before he rushed towards Ash’s chosen weeping spot. He finally got to her and knocked on the door a few times.

“Hey there Ash,” sympathetically said Casimir rubbing the back of his neck, “How are ya feeling? That jackass had no right ruining your moment.”

The sound of muffled sobs made their way through the closed door, although they seemed to quieten down slightly at Casimir’s voice - as if Ash were trying to hold them in now that she knew she had company. For a few seconds there was silence, followed by a sniffle as Ash wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

“Ash is not here right now, you should check somewhere else. Please do go away.” She replied from the otherside of the door, her voice hoarse and dry from crying.

“Well if Ash isn’t here can you tell her that Kabuto brought her food?,” sarcastically offered Casimir leaning on the door so his voice could go through, “He was sure it would make her feel better.”

He ripped open the beef jerky’s packaging and waved it around the air so she’d be able to smell it. This wasn’t some state he could leave her in especially with those comments about being called a monster. He’d have to be as careful about this as a water strider walking on water with a huge old trout underneath.

After another brief pause, during which Casimir could practically picture Ash biting her lip as she tried to resist the promise of a snack, the sound of cautious footsteps could be heard approaching the door. Taking a step back, the hero waited as a lock was unlatched and the door slowly began to be pulled open by the room’s sole inhabitant. Peering around it was Ash, with her eyes already visibly red from her earlier bawling. Looking over Casimir, her gaze inevitably drited down towards the open packet of jerky as one of her antennae nodded towards it greedily.

“For me?” She asked tentatively through another sniffle as it seemed like Casimir had temporarily distracted her from her weeping.

“Yeah for you. Food always puts me in a better mood so why not see if it does the same to a friend of mine,” said Casimir reaching out to hand her a few beef jerky sticks.

An unease filled Casimir’s mind as he tried to think of his next step. He hadn’t really done a good job in consoling people before as seen with his lackluster advice to Alexis back during the zoo mission and his attempt at a joking jab at Scott going horribly horribly wrong but whatever he was the god damn Kabuto and he was going to own it! Now to see if she was willing to talk.

“Thought I’d come to see how you were feeling. I wouldn’t be much of a mentor if I didn’t,” relinquished Casimir.

Extending one of her arms, Ash didn’t hesitate before grabbing the offered sticks. Biting down on them and savouring the sweet, meaty flavour, the mutant’s mouth seemed to twist upwards into a smile as she chewed. “Mmm.” She stated happily through closed lips, wasting no time in gorging herself on the food. She’d loved jerky from the moment that Casimir had introduced her to it, with the small, dry meal appealing for both its taste and its portability - although Ash usually couldn’t stop herself from eating any that she tried to save for later. Looking up towards the hero, Ash swallowed her first mouthful of jerky and was about to bite down on what was left when she paused.

Memories began to creep into her mind, memories of being cold and frightened as she searched for food in a market after a night spent hungry. Ash remembered scrounging around for food, desperately trying to eat a piece of frozen meat when Casimir’s voice had caused her to jump in fright. But instead of yelling at her, or attacking her, he simply smiled and offered her something to eat.

Almost immediately, the smile fell from Ash’s features as tears seemed to well up in her eyes once more. Beginning to cry again, the mutant’s body shook with the first sob despite her best efforts to hold back the waterworks. Covering her eyes, Ash turned to race back to her bead, falling onto it and burying her face in a pillow. Turning her head slightly the side, her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke to Casimir.

“I am very sorry. You set up the interview, and I ruined your chance to be a hero with your fans.” Another sob shook the mutant as she struggled to try and get out her apology before Kabuto got too angry at her. “I got upset, and I did not know what to do when he started asking questions and I just...I know what you told me, but...I am sorry, Kabuto, I completely forgot to smile at the end.” As she finished, a fresh wave of tears seemed to strike Ash as she now cried freely into her pillow.

Casimir stepped into her room and walked over to sit on the edge of her bed with burning determination in his mind. Nothing but thoughts of cheering her up filled his mind as he scrambled to think of his next steps. He wasn’t going to let her down like he let Jan down. He was never going to make the same mistake twice. He was going to be a shining star for everyone including Ash. Hearing the bug girl so distraught over that mess was calling his innate sense of justice of righting her grievances. His hands clenched the bed’s covers as his wrath began to seethe remembering that tabloid so-called journalist.

“It’s fine Ash. You weren’t prepared for that type of scoundrel attacking. All your prepwork was just based on fans not critics anyways. But on the first part you nailed down great! Don’t ya remember them loving your answer?,” said Casimir looking over to the weeping moth. “But a part of being a hero is getting your heroic second wind and rising to the challenge again. You can’t let people define who you are. Only you and your own actions can do that. And what better way to show you’re not a monster then getting back up. How’s that sound?”

Feeling the bed shift as Casimir sat down, Ash’s sobbing subsided as he tried to comfort her. But that didn’t mean that she was feeling any better on the inside. He was right about the first question being fun, and Ash thought that she had really been doing a good job connecting with her fans like a real hero, but in the end none of that had mattered. Pushing herself up into a seated position, the mutant shifted herself to sit on the side of the bed beside Casimir as she stared glumly at her feet. She tried to sort her thoughts for a few seconds and took a breath before she finally responded.

“I am not a hero, Casimir.” She stated, the pain at the admission stabbing her in the chest despite her preparation. Before her friend had a chance to contest the statement, Ash tried to explain. “I could not connect to my fans. They were all scared of me after they saw the video.” Turning, the girl offered Casimir a pained expression. “I did not mean to hurt the rioters, and I know that what I did was wrong. But...it felt strange. When I fought them, I knew what I was doing. I wanted to hurt them so badly that they could not get up again. The man was right, I am a bad hero. Maybe I do not belong with the rest of you.”

Casimir stared at her in disbelief at how much she was putting herself down. Granted he didn’t give a single shit about the rioters as they were weakling pretending they could achieve their goals but overall it was a minor crime so he could understand her regret over how vicious she was over the damage. The gordian knot in Casimir’s head just seemed to twist itself over and over again each time he thought he could fix it knotted mess.

“You are a hero Ash!,” proudly stated Casimir, “You think someone who's not a hero could’ve beaten a villain like you did with the Cabal? While the rioters wanted to get rid of Warwolf like a bunch of lemmings you did more to protect the city that single night than any of those uppity pissants are going to their entire lives. I know a bad hero when I see one, Ash. Our whole culture and country’s full of them but you’re not one of them. You want to know why? Cause I chose you to be a hero. I know I made the right call since I made the right call in making myself a hero,” said Casimir as he took off his helmet, “Back before I moved to San Diego and before I got powers no one thought anything of me. I was just some punk kid that got into fights he always lost and shoved his nose where he wanted. Yeah sometimes I did bad stuff and went overboard like you did. And even after I became a hero I was still a threat to society, they said.” Casimir paused for a second hoping to let what he said sink in but perhaps also to realize what he was saying. “But you know what I did? I kept going at it. It didn’t matter what they said. I didn’t stay still either. Whenever I messed up I always fought like hell to improve myself cause I’m goddamn Kabuto. And look at me now. Here at the NASL tournament in a team that’s rising like a comet. Now with me helping you, imagine how great you’ll become. You’ll be so great you can shove it in the face of anyone who’ll call you a monster or bad hero.”

“Y-yeah, maybe you are right.” Wiping her eyes, Ash couldn’t stop a smile from appearing on her face as Casimir passionately leapt to her defence. He told her about the challenges he faced when first becoming a hero, and she had to admit that it was inspiring to hear that it wasn’t easy for him either. Kabuto was the greatest hero in the world - of that much she was certain - and with him on her side, maybe Ash really could ‘keep going at it’. But her smile wavered slightly as her friend finished his motivational speech. Fiddling with a pair of her hands, a nervous look seemed to flash across the girl’s features.

“Kabuto…” She began, hesitating as if not sure whether she should continue, “...what if I am a monster, though?” Ash spoke the question cautiously, as if bracing herself for the response. “I know that I am not the only one of us who does not look like everyone else, but Wyatt and Kiris both have their people, yes?” The girl paused, her gaze falling. “But I do not have a people, do I?”

“Well I don’t think you do. I’ve never heard of any moth people before and I think that’s just something you’re going to have to accept. And with that people like Renata and that reporter won’t look beyond your face and into your character,” said Casimir forlornly, “But from what memories you still have before you ended up at Wonder Foundation we can tell that you were a normal human once. So you must’ve had a family that cared about you. They gotta be out there somewhere.”

He stopped for a moment to rub his temple brushing away his usually messy hair. When he affected her mind and locked her movements to stop Renata’s death there was something eerily familiar from Ash’s mind. A feeling he hadn’t sensed since he fought a certain mutant that could override his swarm control and even affect his own mind. And that mind itself had an ominous signature from him. What didn’t make sense was that he was sure he killed every mutant that was sent after him.

“Say why don’t we try finding them? Like after the tournament,” said Casimir to the mothgirl, “Well after the tournament since that’s gonna keep us busy. I think I have an idea of where to look but I need to double check.”

Casimir’s words initially caused Ash to wince, and her face fell as his immediate response bluntly agreed with her feeling of isolation. But, whether because he noticed the impact of his words or not, the hero hastily brought up the mutant’s past. Blinking in surprise, Ash looked up towards her friend as she thought about his idea. She had definitely been normal before, she was sure of it! She couldn’t say how she knew, but she was certain of it to her very core - even if her memory was blank on what her life had been like. The more she thought about it, the more that a smile began to spread across Ash’s features. Casimir was right - if she had been human before, then she must have a family too!

“My family?” Trying out the sound of it on her tongue, Ash was silent for a few moments as she pondered the thought. I...do have a family, don't I? Slowly, her smile began to creep upwards. She couldn’t help but grin sheepishly as her mind started picturing what her family might be like. “Yes - they must be out there somewhere!” Ash declared, her tears having vanished only to be replaced by a sense of eager excitement. “If we find them, then they can tell me all about my past, and they can show everyone that I am not a monster, yes?” Practically jumping in excitement, Ash leapt forward to wrap her four arms around Casimir, squeezing him tight as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for helping me, Kabuto. You are right - I am going to be a great hero, and I am going to find my family!”

Feeling a sense of relief as he saw that his words radically improved the girl’s mood, Casimir was about to reply when Ash leapt at him and ensnared him in a four-armed embrace. Blinking in surprise, he remained frozen for a few seconds. Wincing as he felt the air being squeezed slightly from his lungs by the tight hug, Casimir’s smile briefly fell now that he was outside of the girl’s eyesight. Trying to mask his momentary unease, the hero returned the hug and patted his protegee on the back.

“Definitely. After all, the Great Kabuto is on the case.” Kurwa, what have I gotten myself into…

[Zarkenis Ultima]

September 9th

---

Next part

A month and five days. That was how long had passed since their defeat at the hands of the Young Bloods and the capture of their leader. And as much as she wanted to, she couldn't free him, even though she knew exactly where he was being held. How was she, a lone girl whose abilities revolved around hiding and jumping, to stand up to the might of a modern fortress, with watchtowers full of armed guards and machines that could render those like her helpless, with walls too tall to scale and too thick to break down, with the constant threat of superheroes showing up again? Even with the aid of her lover, she knew they would not breach those walls alone. There was, perhaps, a way - her friend would undoubtedly find one, make one, but his intellect and his secrets were unavailable. It was precisely him who sat behind bars at that very moment.

It was all she could do to browse through the artifacts in his room like she had been doing every few days since his capture, in hopes of finding something that could help. She knew for a fact that there were powerful things hidden away in the sorcerer's vault, buried deep beneath the abandoned mansion in a sense that was not physical, things that could likely make the entire prison crumble and be blown away, but she had neither the means to access it nor the courage to venture inside alone even if she could. And in the end, it was unlikely that she would be able to use those powerful objects, as she had neither her friend's knowledge nor his uncanny ability to make things work.

In comparison with the vault, his room was fairly mundane. Astrid had spent quite a bit of time looking at the various band posters on the wall looking for some sort of sigil, word or clue that might help, before giving up on the 'normal' half of the room and moving on to the various arcane journals laid out on the desk opposite to the wizard's bed. They were quite numerous and she had been perusing them for a while now, though she could make little sense of them. She had also learned to be wary of them: while most didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary aside from the subject matter, a few had made her head hurt, others had made the world spin, and on one occasion, a flip of a page had resulted in her falling unconscious for who knows how long.

Still, she continued to pry and investigate, not deterred, perhaps even emboldened by that previous experience. It already happened again, she thought, surely it won't happen again.

She realized her mistake an indeterminate amount of time later, as she opened her eyes only to be greeted by the dusty floor of the empty room. What the hell are you writing down in these, mon ami? She wondered as she stood up. Unlike the previous time, she had not been on the desk, merely slumping forward as her consciousness faded; this time she had been standing, and it was through sheer luck that she hadn't hurt herself seriously as a result of her fall, though she had knocked a number of books off the desk, leaving them sprawled on the ground. Quickly closing her eyes again, Astrid groaned as she pushed herself off the ground and then attempted to close all the books while blind, eventually succeeding. As she opened her eyes again, however, she noticed something that hadn't been there before, a small note.

Did this slip from one of those books?

Picking up the note, she saw only a message that read 'Live well, laugh often, we're here for you!' and a phone number. Surprised, she wondered who might have left it behind. Adrian did not often talk of his past and she had never seen the need to pry, so she had no idea of who it could have been. Old friends of his?

Perhaps they could help him?

Without being fully certain of what it might entail, Astrid pulled out her cellphone, thankfully unharmed by her fall, and called the number in the note.

---

Forced to close temporarily after an incident that took place shortly before the Warwolf occupation reached its climax, the clandestine blood sport scene had reemerged a few weeks after they had gone away, stronger than ever. With a large supply of criminals whose gangs had been dismantled by the PMC looking for an easy way to earn coin, there was no shortage of participants, fueling the underground entertainment industry with fresh meat for the grinder.

Today was no exception, and at the fall of dusk a lone participant had joined in on the fighting, easily subduing the first few opponents. The crowd roared and cheered at the mysterious participant - even if he didn't seem to care much for finishing off his opponents once they were down for the count, he was still giving the crowd exactly what they had paid for: flashy, brutal combat. It was not the first night he had been here, and by now things were getting to what was usually considered the climax of his intervention: a match against five superhumans, powerful in their own right, working in tandem, in which the winning party would take away several grand.

The young man stood by himself on one side of the large underground arena, dressed all in black and with a simple domino mask concealing who he was, not that the viewers cared to find out in the slightest. He had never given a name, so instead, they called him Typhon. The Monster. Opposite to him stood five fighters: one was a man with his body sheathed in concrete, another was a monstrous half human, half bear creature, and a third was wreathed in crackling fire. That one's going to cause me trouble The lone fighter thought, scowling. The other two fighters did not seem like much, just a scrawny man and a woman with the look of an amazon, but no indication of possessing powers. But there's always more than meets the eye, isn't there?

The battle began, but rather than do anything, he simply stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for his opponents to make the first move. Sure enough, the harmless-looking man rushed ahead of the others, breaking into a full sprint before suddenly transforming into a speeding van, much to everyone's surprise.

You could make a killing with that power, why are you trying to get killed in here? The fighter wondered as he braced for impact. As much as he would've liked to use the dark breath to just flatten the car, he refused to do that in here. It was just him, his instincts and his might, as it should have always been. The van reached him, but instead of simply running him over he stood his ground, hands pushing against the front of the car and leaving it bent and sundered. A disembodied voice groaned in pain, but he paid it no mind and instead, once the car had lost all of its inertia, he lifted it off and tossed it to the side of the arena, where it bounced on the ground once before turning back into a human form, one that looked worse for wear now.

However, the others had taken advantage of their teammate's recklessness to close the distance without being noticed. Suddenly his instincts flared up and he dropped low just in time to avoid being hit by a flying kick from the concrete man. What is this, a Jackie Chan movie? He scoffed, before rolling out of the way of several bolts of fire hurled at him in quick succession. While two of the fighters stayed back, one of them taking shots at him from a distance while the other seemingly waited for an opening, the woman did not hesitate to approach, running up to him and throwing two punches to his face, one right after the other. She's fast. He noted as he dodged both punches and then opening with a feint, using the distraction to drive his fist hard into the woman's stomach, staggering her. He attempted to sweep her feet out from under her, but she recovered unnaturally fast and jumped over his leg, moving forward and hitting him with her knee as he was rising, and then giving him the old one two three for good measure.

She's pretty good, too. He admitted as the audience cheered for her all around the arena. Another punch was sent his way, but this time he quickly sidestepped and then bared his teeth, sinking them into the woman's arm as her fist moved forward, resulting in a good part of her forearm's skin being split open, red blood flowing out of the wound. The woman screamed and a few gasps among the audience echoed the sentiment. Shock never failed him when things got rough, and now that he had an advantage, he kicked the woman hard on the side of the knee, a loud crack echoing through the arena. Then, to finish up, he grabbed her and tossed her to the far wall with all of his strength, the impact leaving a dent on the wall. That should settle that. Now-

Out of nowhere, a pair of stone arms grabbed him from behind, restricting his arms. "Shit!" He growled as he struggled against the concrete man. Perhaps it was no surprise, but the man's body was hard as a statue when he was still. Some distance away, the werebear had decided to take advantage of this and rushed towards him on all fours. Before Typhon was able to break free, the bear was upon him, throwing a paw against his cheek and tearing off most of the flesh on it, leaving part of his skull exposed - it was a miracle that his mask stayed on after that. The audience broke into equal parts horror and cheer as they saw exactly what they had paid for, gratuitous bloodshed.

"...Ugly cunt..." He growled, the bear-man wincing as he saw his bloodied jaw's movement directly, and even more so as he noticed that his blood was black and strands of flesh were already mending the wound. Nonetheless, he reared back his paw for another blow to end the match. Instead of simply lying there and taking it, however, the fighter hopped off the ground and then placed his legs against the werebear before kicking off, sending both himself and the concrete man sprawling into the ground. Bouncing right back up, he shot towards the staggered hybrid like a bullet and smashed his shoulder into its torso with the force of a speeding car. That by itself would have been devastating, even to a large creature like that, but the man called Typhon did not stop there. He continued on, even as the werebear pawed at his back and tore off cloth and bits of skin, until the beast was slammed into the wall of the arena.

He backed away and the bear-man fell to the ground, down for the count.

That's two down. How many to go?

Suddenly, he noticed the arena getting brighter and brighter, and rolled to the side just in time to avoid being incinerated by a massive beam of flame that crossed nearly the entire arena before dissipating. Well, that explains why that guy hadn't been blasting me all along... I better not let any of that hit me.

He continued dodging blast after deadly blast of fire, realizing with a grimace that he'd given the pyromancer plenty of time to gather his energy and become a much greater threat than he had been initially. He needed to take him out quickly, and suddenly changed direction to charge straight at him, preparing to jump as soon as another burst of flame was fired. The elementalist took aim at him, but something made him hesitate.

Just before contact, a pickup truck ran into the fighter, sending him flying off to the side. The pyromancer grinned and took aim, firing off another conflagration. Standing up despite the pain shooting through his entire body, the fighter felt a stony hand slipping under his shoulder once again. "Not this time you rocky wanker!" He growled at the concrete man before grabbing his arm and pulling hard on it, slamming his open palm into the elbow with all of his strength. The arm snapped and its former owner seemed to grimace and howl in pain, though no sound came out. Then, before the wall of fire hit, he turned around and grabbed the concrete man, using his body to shield himself from the flames.

The pyromancer kept up his attack, hoping that the money would be split among four instead of five people once he won. But his foe suddenly jumped out of the stream of fire, holding a maimed stone body by the right leg. Shocked, the elementalist jumped back just in time to avoid being crushed by a human bludgeon. He fired off a small bolt to try and drive off his attacker, but the fighter pressed on, swinging the concrete man in a wide arc to swat aside the fire and following up with an overhead smash that threw him off-balance.

"A little help here!" He said, panicked, one of the very few signs of coordination that the five combatants had shown since the start of the match - not that this was at all surprising, as they had been picked at random for the big fight.

Typhon looked to the side and noticed a sports car racing towards him. With a roar, he hurled the stone man at the pyromancer, who was hit square in the face, and then turned to confront the oncoming machine, running towards it nearly as fast as it moved and smashing his fists down onto the hood at the last second, stopping it in its tracks and deforming it completely. The vehicle soon turned back into a human, but instead of tossing it aside, this time he lifted the man off the ground and slammed his fist into his foe's gut. Coughing out blood was all he could do before falling to the ground.

Looking over to where he'd last seen the concrete man and the pyromancer, he noticed that they too were down for the count, meaning that the battle, as far as he could tell, was over. He breathed a sigh of relief - this had been one of the few battles he'd faced in there that had truly tested him to some degree, but he prevailed in the end. Raising his arms in triumph, he awaited the wave of cheering that was sure to come.

Except it never did.

"Don't count yer chickens before they've hatched." A woman's voice spoke behind him, and the man turned around just in time to see an enormous snake head lash out and bite into his arm. Grunting, he grabbed it with his other hand and pulled on it, tearing the head from its body and sending blood spraying everywhere. He was shocked to notice that the serpent was coming out of the wound in the woman's arm, and a strange tendril coming out of her broken leg, allowing her to walk upright despite her injury. The mutilated snake body suddenly ceased squirming and from it sprouted not one, but two heads that glared at him menacingly.

"What the-" He muttered, backing off, but a sudden pull on his leg made him realize that a tendril had emerged from the ground where the snake's blood fell. He broke free with a tug just as the woman charged at him, monstrous snakes reaching out to tear his flesh open once more. He managed to grab them, but instead of tearing them off like before, he simply held them both as he reared up and slammed his fist into the woman's stomach before delivering a vicious headbutt. The woman was staggered by the blow and the man used this window to think of his next move. I can't just keep hitting her, she grows stronger the more I hurt her... I'm not sure I could even kill her if I tried...

As if to demonstrate, one of the snake heads coming out of her arm suddenly tore into her stomach, causing blood to spill on the ground and breed more monstrosities. Instead of her guts spilling out, however, a strange beast's head emerged there, like a hungry wolf, sharp fangs ready to tear and rend. "Try that again, why don't you?" She laughed before walking towards him, confident in her victory. The snakes tore into her other arm and her back as well, causing a myriad of snakes, lampreys and bladed tendrils to emerge from the open wounds, threatening to tear him apart if he came close.

So my last opponent is some sort of mutant hydra. Great. There was only one way he could see things turning out in his favor, and it wasn't a sure shot. Still, it was the best he had. Here goes nothing.

He charged straight at the woman, who waited for him with the confidence of a predator closing in on a cornered animal. However, rather than run straight into her, he vaulted over her at the last moment and quickly turned around, using his bare hands to tear off as many heads and tendrils as possible in one go and then grabbing the woman from behind before she could turn around. With a pained grimace on his face he put her in a chokehold and kept her there even as her monsters lashed out at his arms, back and chest. Yet, they seemed to be slowing down, and eventually stopped altogether as the woman finally fell unconscious due to a lack of blood flowing to her head.

At last, all five of his opponents were out of combat, and though countless wounds now adorned his body he had been victorious. More than that, he'd been given exactly what he wanted. A challenge to push him to the limit. A challenge for him to overcome and prove himself.

A triumphal roar heralded a wave of cheering and applause before the fighter turned and walked away from the arena. Strands of flesh and blood slowly weaved themselves over his wounds, healing them. It wasn't long until he collected his pay and made his way out of the underground arena, largely patched up thanks to his powers. Of course, his outfit was not mended the same way, but he'd had the good sense of changing into an undamaged set of clothes and ditching the mask before heading out onto the streets, so as to avoid looking suspicious.

"You had me worried for a moment back there, mon chéri." A soft, feminine voice spoke from behind him. He turned on his heel, surprised, only to see Astrid standing right there despite the fact that he'd been completely alone the previous moment. He was far more used to her habit of appearing out of nowhere than he had been when he first met her, but finding out that she had followed him into a place as dangerous as this came as a shock regardless.

"I'm a tough cracker, you don't have to worry about me." He told her. "I'm more worried about you, a place like this isn't safe." Of course, seeing as he was strolling around the place like it was no big deal even after facing a human hydra, what he really meant was that a place like that wasn't safe for someone fragile like her. He didn't want to tell her that, though. And she already knew it regardless.

"Lucas, you didn't look so tough when that girl nearly killed you." The black-haired teen replied. Lucas clicked his tongue as he recalled their second encounter with the Young Bloods, where he nearly succumbed to arcane fire.

"I bet she didn't even do that knowingly, she was just lucky that fire hurts me like that." He said, clearly still upset at their defeat. "The first time, too, they didn't do a damn, it was Warwolf that got me good. They just get lucky that we go easy on them, that's all it is."

"I know." Astrid replied, moving closer to him and kissing him on the cheek. He shivered lightly, freshly mended skin was always so sensitive. "You don't have to worry about me either. You know nobody will see me unless I want them to." She said. The corner of her mouth curled ever so slightly.

"True enough." He smiled at her, until his thoughts moved on. She normally only went to the Condemned to hang out at the hideout, he knew she didn't like spending her time there otherwise. "You didn't come here just to see me fight, did you?" He asked. The girl shook her head.

"There was something I wanted to ask you." She said as she stepped even closer to him and wrapped his arm around herself as though it was a barrier.

"Anything for you." Lucas replied while holding her close.

"I want you to come to Reno with me."

"Oh, sure, I'll come with you to- wait, what?" The boy questioned as the meaning of the words Astrid said actually registered. "...Reno? Why? What for? And isn't your dad going to notice if you leave just like that?" He asked. At the last question, she looked down.

"I'm still on break. I'll just tell him I'm staying at a friend's house, it's not like he needs to know." She said with some irritation, the discreet glare she shot at Lucas making him realize that bringing up her lack of school friends was a bad idea. "As for why... I found a note in one of Hex's books-"

"I told you to stop looking at those." He pointed out with a scowl.

"Yeah, and I've never been good at listening." She shot back, much to his annoyance. "It looked like it was from a friend of his, so I tried calling the number there and someone answered. They said they could help him, and to meet them there." She explained, looking up at him. Her expression seemed both hopeful and nervous. "I, we have to do something. We've been twiddling our thumbs for a whole month while he's stuck in there."

"...Right." He nodded along. "And you're sure it's a good idea? It could be dangerous. Maybe the person you talked to wasn't Hex's friend."

"That's why I'm asking you to come with me, silly. The beast has to protect the beauty, right?" She said with a smile. "If you beat those five guys all by yourself I don't want to know what's going to happen in Reno if they try to double cross us." The answer stroked Lucas' ego and put a smile on his face.

"So how do you plan to get there?" He asked afterwards.

"Do you really think it would be hard for me to get a car?" She responded, amused. He rolled his eyes.

"Right, and if we get pulled over? As much as I wouldn't mind pulling a GTA, I know that's not your style." He pointed out, earning a chuckle from her.

"As funny as that would be, you're right. But I still have this dumb paper Hex gave me." She said, tapping her skirt's pockets and shaking her head, then digging into one of her black hoodie's pockets and smiling as she pulled something out. Lucas knew the trick, so to him it appeared as nothing more than a blank piece of paper.

"That thing really works?" He asked.

"I've used it before." She shrugged. "For an idea he got from some silly British show, it sure does its job well." She added, tugging on his arm, having decided that she didn't want to be in the Condemned any longer. He noticed her intent and began walking down the street with his arm still wrapped around her.

"Hey, it isn't silly. It's a classic of science fiction and TV series in general." The boy retorted. Astrid laughed at this.

"Lucas, the bad guys are metallic salt shakers with plungers for hands. I don't care if it's a classic, it's still silly."

He grumbled at the girl's response, but said nothing more on the subject. The two continued walking away from the clandestine arena and the dreary district it was located in, chatting all the while.

---

September 10th

---

"What are you drawing?"

The trip to Reno had been rather uneventful so far. After Astrid 'acquired' a ride from an unsuspecting businessman, she and Lucas had begun their journey, heading north and eventually reaching a route that ran along the Sierra Nevada, one that would deliver them straight to their destination. The two had spent most of the previous night on the highway, with only a brief stop to rest before going on the move again.

"I'm just practicing faces. The eyes keep coming out weird." Lucas replied, scrunching his brow as he doodled a woman's face on a notepad. His scowl was not caused by frustration or exasperation at his hobby - after all, it kept him occupied and he was grateful for that. But even though the car's tinted windows blocked out enough sunlight to make the interior safe for him, what little made it through still made it a very uncomfortable ride. It was fortunate, then, that he was no stranger to discomfort and bore with it quietly. They had traversed most of the road to their destination the previous night, after all. Surely there was only a small distance still left to cover?

"So whose face are you trying to draw?" Astrid inquired. "Mine?" She added, mouth slightly curving upwards.

"My mom actually." The young man replied. "It's a little tough, since I haven't seen her in a while."

"Oh..." Astrid muttered, hoping she hadn't touched a sore spot there. Her eyes briefly left the road to look at him, but he didn't seem bothered.

"I wouldn't try to draw you while I still blow at this, you know. I'm not that cruel, ma chère." He joked, doing his best attempt at French. Astrid smiled with relief and the two laughed heartily.

"Better keep practicing." The girl said after a moment, neglecting to clarify whether she meant his art or his pronunciation. The journey continued and before long the landscape was dominated by buildings large and small instead of the wetlands that surrounded the city. Lucas was relieved - buildings meant shade, and shade meant that a stolen car's rooftop was no longer the only thing standing between him and the fiery ball of death that was the bane of his existence. Putting away his pencil and notepad, he turned to look out the window, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. He didn't know what he and Astrid were getting into, and since this meeting was to take place during the day, he would be at a disadvantage should he need to protect her.

The girl eventually ducked into a well-shaded side street and parked the car there before getting out alongside Lucas, leaving the keys inside - she wouldn't be needing them anymore. They walked a short distance to a rather secluded alley, which was the designated meeting place.

"What now?" The vampire asked as he turned to look at Astrid.

"Now we wait. They said they'd find us when we arrived." She replied. Frowning, Lucas leaned against the wall, eyes constantly drifting back and forth in search of threats or any sort of movement, though the alley was awfully quiet. He didn't like the sound of that, and he didn't trust whoever these people were, but he knew Astrid would come even if he didn't, and he did hold some hope that this could help their captive friend.

"This better be worth it. I wasn't planning on spending my birthday in Reno of all places, you know." He remarked. In response, Astrid turned to look at him and approached, leaning close to his ear.

"I'll make it worth your time, mon chéri." She whispered, before backing away, now with a wide smile on her face.

Before either Lucas or Astrid had the chance to say anything else, a flock of pigeons nearby suddenly took off and briefly obscured the sky, and a bright neon light flooded the dark alley, coming not from above or from the sides, but from directly in front of the two. Then, in the wall before them, a majestic castle gate appeared in front of them. As the doors opened, two figures stepped out: a handsome young man with the right half of his face covered by a mask, and an older man in a dapper suit and a top hat.

"Good afternoon!" The older man spoke cheerfully, smiling wide at the two teenagers in front of him. "You must be Adrian's friends, yes?"

[Finland SSR]

Bael

The Mad Lass, Sina As'tari!

August 8th

---

The secret which Bael and the old lady wanted to keep from her, upon revealed, exceeded all of her expectations instantly. Sina gasped, her eyes widening and heart starting to beat a little bit faster.

"You're Naligura?!" she yelled out. Apparently! The exact same as the Elder from their species' history. "Dad would talk about you all the time! He said he shook hands with you when he was in your army, and he always remembered that honor, and he could never stop talking about it whenever possible, and, well..."

Sina calmed down, scratching the back of her head. "I guess I just proved Bael's point, didn't I..." He said that she would shout in the middle of the public if presented with this bombshell, and she did exactly that... In her brief moment of clearer thought, however, she suddenly stumbled across a hole in this story.

"...Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?"

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

---

Red raised an eyebrow at Casimir michevious question as he tried to figure out which character to choose. While he played video games in what little free time he had, he wasn't as familiar with these kinds of games at all. He of course had heard of Mortal Kombat and could recognize most of the characters, but as to answering Casimir's question he wasn't certain on how to answer. However as he glanced over the character his opponent had referrenced, he couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"I can't say I wouldn't mind. Even though I'm pretty sure this chick has some seriously sharp teeth underneath that mask, right? Wouldn't that fit Kiris better?" Red paused for a few moments, the image in his head being almost too much for him to handle. Glancing over to Casimir, he gave him a small ornery grin as he spoke in a low voice. "Maybe we can convnice her later. I'm sure ol' geek boy wouldn't matter too much." Red gave Casimir a prodding poke with his elbow, as the two boys nodded in approval at the suggestion.

With their conversation that would have certainly gotten them thrown through the nearest table should the subjects in question have overheard it completed, the two finally selected their characters. Red rolled his eyes when he saw that Casimir had selected the Mileena character he had referred to earlier, shaking his head at the one track mind the boy seemed to have at times. As for himself, Red choose Scorpion. He didn't pick the character due to any kind of strategic reasons. No, instead Red just thought the character looked cool.

As the round started, Red's eyes narrowed as he tried to do his best not to get absolutely crushed by Casimir. He had no idea on what buttons to press in order to do some of the more complicated actions, so instead he tried to make do with simple attacks and blocks. This seemed to do him little good, however, as Casimir seemed more than eager to show off his previously bragged about experience against his novice opponent.

Red couldn't help but swear as he watched nearly all his attacks utterly fail to land on the female avatar, watching instead as his yellow suited avatar was mercilessly assaulted with a blur of combination attacks and throws that made his health bar dive faster than a speeding bullet. It took only a few moments for his avatar to slump towards the ground in defeat, much to Red's frustration which led to him screaming at the screen.

"This game is such bullshit. Like, this isn't even real martial arts!"