Young Bloods(IC, Reboot Open)

[Galnius]

Keone, simultaneous with the bank robbery

"Hey! Get off of me!"

"Not until I get what I came for lady. I need to get into your place of work, see, and you would probably like your head attached to your neck."

A masked man moved towards the sounds of the gruff voice with practiced efficiency. He'd taken the time to memorize the alleyways of this particular area, and moved out the moment he heard of some heroes stopping a robbery. It was due to luck, then, that he heard this commotion.

It was caused by a beast looking man accosting some woman. The masked man didn't care about the details. Instead, he time jumped right behind the man. With a meticulous precision, his neck was slit. "Alright, that's taken care of." Keone looked at the body, happy at least that his voice changer was working. He currently sounded like some girl, regardless of his appearance. After some time, his eyes returned to the woman. "Well?!"

"Well, uh, what?" The woman seemed confused. She had been saved, albeit gruesomely, but this man seemed to want something from her. Tentatively, she reached for her purse. "Is it money? Umm..let me see if I brought any cash..."

"Oh for the love of-" Keone raised his blade to the woman's neck, slightly irritated. "I just killed a man. I could kill you. I can promise you I won't be leaving any DNA, as I've been doing this a while. What do you do in a situation where the cops might not help?" He was not going to actually kill her, as she had nothing to do with his plans. However, the threat seemed to work as she screamed, crying for someone to help her. "Good girl."

"I don't know if not leaving DNA is going to help you much buddy." Spoke a voice from above. If Keone were to look upwards, he would see a young woman leaning on the railing of a nearby steel balcony. She quickly did a hop over the railing and landed on the ground, standing more than ten feet away from the bladed man and his hostage. The woman had what seemed like an orange athletic suit, and her hair was tied in a knot at the top of her head. Her hair had a twinge of purple to it, the mystical energies of her Ninja training having given it that strange hue rather than any dye. "I'm pretty sure I could testify in court."

She frowned slightly as she looked at the woman. She gave a slight nod. "You're going to be okay Ma'am."

Makenzie then turned to her opponent, sizing them up. It was just her luck that a stroll through the city had led her to this. She knew that some of her teammates, as weird as it was to call them that, were dealing with a bank robbery nearby, so she felt confident she could deal with whoever this was. But still, something about him bugged her. He didn't seem like a simple mugger, his blades could attest to that. But if he were a supervillain, then what was there to gain by his actions. If he wanted to kidnap the lady, he would have made off with her by now. Was he trained, like her? Was he a meta or just a normal guy with some fancy knives?

"If you really wanted a superhero, you really should just call them or... I don't know, send a tweet. We have websites and shit." Makenzie remarked. "You've got what you wanted. Let the woman go, or your hospital stay will be considerably longer."

Keone sized up the person he knew to at least claim to be a hero. Unless they were a very convincing cosplay, this was the ninja girl from the young bloods who had fought in the abomination known as a hero tournament. He had watched, of course, just in case one of them were to come after him. However, the ninja girl was... "Disappointing."

Inhaling, Keone turned away from the hero and back to the woman before. His voice changer was still set in the same fake female tone. "Alright, you can get out of here. I have to do something." He returned his gaze to the ninja, eyeing her and sizing her up. "I was hoping I could get far enough in what I was doing that your team would just stop heroing, but fate seems to be against me here. Oh well."

Keone readied himself for a fight; his stance preparing for both defense and to chase. "Before we do this miss, I must know. Why are you a hero?"

---

Daniel McHarris
Superheroes of both the big time and local celebrities had a swarm of fans, and at times those fans would create online fan clubs to share their love for the hero. Perhaps, then, it wouldn't be surprising for the Spectre to have one, spectreservantsuckers.org. What would be shocking for those who didn't know Daniel would be that the 5 most active members, including the founder, was Daniel himself.

#1DanFan: Did you hear? Spectre was at the tournament. Saved a few people by hiding them with his power!

Spectreswaifu: Really?! I was there too, but I must've missed him!

Daniel couldn't quite figure out who this account was, but they seemed to think of him as some brooding rich paragon of justice, not that he minded. However, it seemed another of his accounts had logged on.

Thebestboi: Of course you did. He's invisible. Anyway,check this out. I just finished editing. Added was a link to a video. It appeared to be a remix of "We will rock you", with all the greatest hits from the tournament. This included Cosmic strinking his own teammate, Trickshot sniping a hero with a frying pan arrow (apparently trying to get some good publicity out of the joker he had become), and someone being uppercutted in the nuts.

#1DanFan: Yup, that one is going on the hall of fame for sure. Dan Prime finally logged off and reflected on his idea for tonight. "I wonder what trouble we'll get into this time." With a wickedly impish grin, he grabbed his cane, heading out for the night...

Mika
Mikaela Mynd found herself more than a little surprised when she was suddenly hoisted off the ground and into the air. "O-okay. We're flying then. That's cool. Please don't drop me."

Jan soon went off on what Mika considered quite a tangent. The young bloods protecting her and their current status. "I don't really know how they're doing. Not really in the inner circle, you know? Why, you a fan? I can probably get some pics...for a price."

Eventually however, her house came into view. "Alright, Mom's car is still here. That sucks. Was hoping my little escapade would take long enough for her to leave. Do you, uh...mind dropping me off through the window? Second floor, farthest to the right. I have leftover chinese food in case you angel types get the munchies."

[Finland SSR]

Bael

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

October 2nd

---

While Renata was busying holding off the flailing fresh superhuman, Wyatt had been helping the hostages evacuate from danger - and he ran to help her out so frantically that he even forgot to refer to her as "Stella" in the heat of it. A barrage of icicles and a freezing wind heading her way got suddenly stopped by a wall of granite rising between them, allowing the girl to release an easier breath.

"Thanks."

Wyatt gushed out just how much he hates the cold and that he doesn't have a long time before his body yields to the pressure - which pretty much answered the Renata's unspoken question from the get-go. And it was not the answer Renata wanted to hear, but it was what she had to work with. A simple plan quickly crafted itself in the Dra'Quinni's mind which he informed her of and immediately began enacting it, before she could even give her input.

"R-right!" Renata simply yelled, clenched her fists and awaited the granite barricade to go down. It shot forward in a massive barrage, drawing the villain's attention and giving her the opening she needed. And if she had to get a good shot on that bloke... then, god damn it, she was going to give her best one yet.

She drew both of her hands back, grasping air within her palms to turn into plasma and gathering as much of her stored radiation within her fingertips as she could, before drawing her hands forward and ramming the bottom of her palms together. Blinding light filtered from between her fingertips, overwhelming the entire corridor, before the attack manifested itself as a powerful beam of plasma and overcharged radiation merged into one.

For a few seconds, the frozen corridor turned as hot as a sauna, before Renata's energy beam completed its journey and the cold set in once again. An uneasy silence set in - Renata tried aiming as best as he could when her whole vision was overtaken by light... but she couldn't be sure.

"Did I get him?"

---

Mika

Jan Sorok, the Champion of Heaven!

September

---

Ah, he was a little too optimistic thinking that Mika would know much about the Young Bloods... she just happened to know they exist, and not much beyond that. At least she hasn't mentioned anything about them splitting up or dying when asked... Instead, Mika turned the question around at Jan, asking if he's a fan of them and even offering to get pictures of them for a price.

"No, don't worry about it..." It's not like he could pay Mika in any way, anyway. Heaven had no need for money. "I can't say I'm a 'fan', but I guess you could call me that... Really, I just knew a couple of them personally."

Hearing Mika's orders on where to leave her be, Jan simply nodded and began to descend. Carefully, he reached Mika's window and, since both of his arms were tied up, he used his telekinetic powers to bolt it open. Even more carefully, he lowered the girl to let her hop inside through the window. She invited him for some Chinese food, sure... but, alas, he really couldn't waste his time.

"I, uh..." the Virgil muttered, thinking on what to say for a few seconds. "I... hope this wasn't too scarring of an experience for you. I know some people can change forever after getting even a single glimpse of the after-life and thus realizing what awaits them... But don't worry about it. Trust me, you will never witness Hell again."

Offering a final brief wave and a faint smile, the Virgil finally departed - but the thoughts and memories of what happened in the last hour or so continued to linger in his mind. What Mika said was right - there's really no telling when and how this agent of Beelzebub will arise from the after-life to go after her again. Jan landed on the rooftop of a building a block away to recollect his thoughts.

An idea popped up to his head to reach out to his friends on the mortal realm himself. Surely, they must not have forgotten him yet. Especially not Casimir - him and his team would surely agree to help him. And yet... He couldn't just go out and dish out divine justice on his own accord. Neither could he draw third parties to this conflict without the ordinance necessary. It might not be what Jan's instincts called for, but...

I have to consult the Choir of Virgils.

With that thought, he gated back to Heaven, leaving the rooftop completely empty.

---

Steven Baker.

October 2nd

---

After a rather tense summer, Thomsen High arrived to autumn with a surprisingly leisurely pace. The initial ceremonies proceeded with no incident and the students swiftly re-adapted to the pace of new education. Alongside his usual duty of giving lessons to third years and fourth years, Steven also had new classes of freshmen to deal with and teach physics to. While that was quite a lot of additional work, the former hero didn't take long to adapt to the faster pace and begin to analyze his new students.

And yet, a thought continued to nag onto his mind. After one more of his lessons was completed, this particular one on optics, Steven finally decided to act upon it. While the students in the class were packing up, he sat down by his desk and called up:

"Marvin Asarin, please stay in the class."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 2nd

---

It was done. The teams had been chosen, and six balls had been placed along the center line. Both teams stood behind their respective edge of the field as they awaited the call to arms, and among them stood a particular blonde girl, small yet proud, locking eyes with the opposition. This was a perfect chance to remind everyone at school that she wasn't defined solely by her looks or height, and she fully intended to take advantage of it.

Let's see you pick me last next time, suckers!

As the players' expectation made the tension in the air grow, a shrill whistle pierced the silence of the court, releasing a flurry of movement and a wave of youthful enthusiasm. As the two designated captains shouted instructions at their classmates, Alexis darted straight towards the middle of the court, dashing ahead of her peers and leaving them in the dust as she spearheaded her team during the opening rush. Members of the enemy team glared at her as she approached faster than they could manage - some of them undoubtedly had powers that could aid them in moving faster, and resented the fact that they couldn't use them - but she simply kept her eyes looking forward, a confident smile on her face.

"First!" She shouted as she reached the center line and grabbed a ball, raising it above her head in triumph. She then quickly backed away as members of her team arrived and took two others, though no more - the opposing team arrived as well and took their half as well. No matter how much she would've liked to clobber Brent's ugly face with her ball, though, Alexis knew the rules, so instead of looking for a target in the enemy files, she glanced back at the rest of her team, which had stayed behind to wait for passes. Spotting a familiar face, she grinned mischievously. Trying to lay low are we? That's too bad!

"Hey Matthews! Catch!" She shouted, lightly tossing him the ball. "Don't let the team down now, you hear?"

[Charmera]

Keone sized up the person he knew to at least claim to be a hero. Unless they were a very convincing cosplay, this was the ninja girl from the young bloods who had fought in the abomination known as a hero tournament. He had watched, of course, just in case one of them were to come after him. However, the ninja girl was... "Disappointing."

Inhaling, Keone turned away from the hero and back to the woman before. His voice changer was still set in the same fake female tone. "Alright, you can get out of here. I have to do something." He returned his gaze to the ninja, eyeing her and sizing her up. "I was hoping I could get far enough in what I was doing that your team would just stop heroing, but fate seems to be against me here. Oh well."

Keone readied himself for a fight; his stance preparing for both defense and to chase. "Before we do this miss, I must know. Why are you a hero?"

Makenzie raised her eyebrow at being called disappointing. She had at least hoped that hanging around with a Hero team would increase her clout, but it would seem she wasn't quite important enough to not be 'disappointing' to blade-wielding criminals. "Everyone's a critic..." She snarked back. "I may not be able to bench cars, but I have a mean right hook and various frustrations to work out."

Despite her snarking confident words, Makenzie was in a guarded fighting stance. She employed "Hé tài" or River Stance, which guarded her center, favoring redirecting blocks that can redirect a dangerous strike away from her face or vitals. She took this form, however, partially to deceive her opponent. Rarely did she actually enter a fight in "Hé tài", but instead she would swap quickly to another form to begin aggressive attacks before an enemy could attack her. Makenzie was finally getting to practice, which meant that some of the skills which had begun to atrophy were now coming back to her.

Annoyingly, she couldn't get an immediate read on her opponent's battle strategy. She could tell from his movements that he was trained or experienced, but she couldn't tell in what. He had weapons, but whether he was going to fight defensively, aggressively or pull some sort of wildcard out. Makenzie didn't even know if this was a man or woman. Her best bet, based on build, was that he was a man, even despite his voice. She wasn't entirely sure though.

"Well I was reluctant at first. But It's between this and Starbucks really." Replied Makenzie frankly. "Young Blood offers free room and board and a bunch of other bonuses. There are worse groups who offer a lot less, so I thought 'fuck it' and joined. Oh and the chance to play in the NASL was a pretty great perk too. The LA Stars are all delightfully shitty and The Ranger let me hold his gun." The latter was a lie, but Makenzie guessed it was unlikely that he would call her on that.

Somethings odd about this guy. She thought as she finished. Makenzie would have expected this guy to attack first and ask questions later. She didn't like that he was potentially letting her make the first move. She decided to play for time a little longer, see if she couldn't bait him to show a bit of his hand. "What about you? What brought you to slitting throats and threatening women on the street?" She quipped.

Sigil Sevens
Wonder Tower
October 2nd

‘Fascinating…’ The robot thought to itself as he watched the other local android work about the tower. Unlike itself, she was made to look and move in ways similar to a human and from what he could tell, she was able to interact with the organics near flawlessly. If the one called Naja hadn’t explained it to him, then there was a good chance he wouldn’t have even noticed she was robotic like him.

‘Interesting’ Sigil thought to himself as he tried to register the emotions he was feeling ‘there is definitely curiosity, but something else mixed in. Awe, admiration, envy perhaps? It is a strange but not unpleasant combination’ It deiced as it rubbed where it's chin would be and displayed a question mark on its monitor to better confirm its state of uncertainty. Whatever he was feeling, he knew exactly what to do.
He wanted to know more about this CASSANDRA but not knowing how to begin communications nor wanting to interrupt her work, he had instead chosen to quietly follow her around the tower to better learn her routine and observe her situational reactions. Several days in and now confident of his understanding regarding her cleaning methods, he decided to make a move and left his hiding spot behind a small potted plant in favour of making his way to the upper floors.

From what he had seen, the Cassandra would clean rooms in a set, ordered, pattern to maximise efficiency. Wanting to help as best he could, Sigil would need to do the same in reverse order. Grabbing supplies as he went, Sigil started going through the rooms and tidying them as he had seen the other android do before him. With the frequency of her cleaning and the current absence of most team members though, the task proved to be relatively straightforward and simple beyond expectation with each room’s cleaning being completed well ahead of schedule. Thinking of what to do with his extra time, Sigil decided to take his cleaning to the next level to make a better impression. Carefully disassembling furniture and electronics to better brush and clean their interiors before wrapping them up in more space efficient packages before finally neatly stacking them in specially organised piles.
‘Perfection!’ Sigil thought to itself as it surveyed its work. The rooms were now completely free of dust and as a bonus, wouldn’t require cleaning for an extended period of time while having a net 83% more space made available for additional team members.

Now there was only one thing left to do. Remembering how the Cass would operate after cleaning, Sigil went to the kitchen ready to prepare ‘the perfect cup of tea’ as documented through several different web searches. Once ready, the robot snatched a dark coloured apron from next to the stove, tied it around its frame, then moved to the room it predicted the Cass would next visit, tea still in hand.
After what felt like a short eternity of waiting later, the door began to open.

“Greetings! The remaining rooms have been successfully sterilized with local dust populations falling bellow 4 percent. Would you like a cup of heated water and leaf essence?”

Cassandra paused, looking at the cup before her. She was made aware of the new team member in the form of Sigil. As with all things, she neither had a positive or negative opinion on this new development, but she did note with some concern when Naja informed her that the new robot would be 'different' from her. Cassandra had found that descriptor unhelpfully vague, but now her internal logic and puzzle-solving systems were constructing a theory on what exactly this difference might represent.

"Apologies. I do not drink." Responded Cass in the same monotone, so close to the sound human speech yet just slightly off. Generally, humans were perceptive enough to be able to know fairly quickly that she was different from them. It was strangely novel for her humanity to be overestimated. She took the cup anyway. The tea was almost certainly well made and Cass almost felt regret that it would not give her strength for what would come next.

"SIG-L7-772, I need..." She paused, her computer mind going through the possibilities of what to say in this situation. She opted to adopt a blunt strategy. This was a fellow synthetic and as such it might well value truth and directness. "I have observed the results of your cleaning efforts. You have breached acceptable parameters for room cleanliness."

"The disposal of dust and relevant detritus was performed adequately, however the rooms themselves are no longer functional." She explained. "The items you disassembled are required for those rooms to perform their functions and the addition of boxes was unnecessary, increasing the clutter index of the rooms by an unacceptable 83 percent. Some items may even need to be replaced entirely."

[Tomia]

Roy
Casimir had manage to more or less incapacitate the suddenly powered criminal, but somehow the man was still standing. As Roy approached him to apprehend him, he noticed his muscles were shifting erratically. Something strange was happening with his body as the man started to fall to the ground. Roy rushed over to him, managing to catch his bulbous body before it hit the ground. Nightshade laid him down as gently as he could onto the ground. He then headed back inside where the others were hopefully taking care of the hostages. However it seemed like they were dealing with some trouble as well. Shards of ice filled the bank and as Roy rushed toward the vault he realized that another thug had gained powers but luckily his teammates had dealt with him. "Well, this ended up being more complicated than I expected. Come on let's end this so that the cops can take over. I'll take point, take them out while I have their attention." He said to Wyatt, Reneta, Casimir as he charged the robbers trying to escape. He was intending to draw their fire and distract them while his teammates attacked. So far it was working, as he took cover behind a flipped over desk to avoid the upcoming bullets.

Mars
Mars was as you could expect somewhat of a perfect student. Teachers loved him, and he had never gotten as much as a warning from a teacher before. So needless to say when Mr. Baker asked him to stay after class, Mars was terrified. His mind was racing as to what it could be about. It might seem silly for a super hero to be worried about getting in trouble in school, but for Mars there wasn't much worse of a nightmare scenario. As he packed up his stuff, Mars slowly walked up to the teacher's desk.

"Uh... Is something wrong?" He asked sheepishly.

Angelica
Meanwhile the dodge-ball game had started and Angelica was mostly staying in the back, not being too interested in being the star of the show. Still she was nimbly dodging balls and caught one to get someone out. Then she saw Alexis and Mike standing together and decided she might as well make things a little interesting. She grabbed a nearby ball from the ground and wound back her arm. She hurled the ball towards the two of them. She threw it hard but not excessively so.

[The Republic of Atria]

Renata

Renata blasted at the man, the heat intense enough to give him a few brief moments of nice warmth before the cold set back in. The steam from the instantly boiled ice dissipated and Wyatt took a step forward. "I'll c-check." He spoke and took a few steps forward towards the seemingly unconscious man. Just as he was about to grab the man he snapped awake and blasted Bael point blank with more ice, encasing the Dra'Qunni's legs in solid ice. The man hissed and grabbed his leg where Renata shot him and then turned back to her/

Bael gasped in pain and then thrust his arm at the downed man. His speed was slowed enough that the man rolled away before the blow connected. Despite the decreased speed, the blow shatter a huge hunk of ice around one of his legs and freed him. If only just for him to fall on his chest. He already began to feel faint and weak. He glared up at the robber who was blasting a few ice shards at Renata. With what little strength and consciousness he had left, he flung a few of the larger chunks from his shatter granite barrier at the thief.

IT wasn't much. Enough to stagger the man with a in hopes that his teammate could get off one more good shot, take him out, and... Save him.

[Absolon-7]

Viviana Couture October 2nd
Viviana leaned against the shaded part of a tree with cellphone in one hand and a croissant in the other. She had just gotten off her shift at a new waitress job and was waiting for Jadwiga to pick her up. It was a lore more hectic then she first thought but the manager and everyone else were super nice and the schedule was pretty flexible so she could make sure it wouldn't conflict with missions. Or at least some missions. nevertheless she thought it would make good use of her time. Plus it would give her some pocket money for anything she wanted to buy. The low hum just outside her field of vision signaled the arrival of Casimir's sister. A luxurious orange and black car had arrived with the driver's window rolled down to reveal its raven haired driver.

"Oh hiya Jadwiga! Thanks for the ride back!," joyfully expressed Viviana as she swung the passenger door open to hop in.

"Climb on in Vivi. Your taxi isn't going to wait forever," said Jadwiga smirking as she u-turned to get into traffic, "You're lucky I enjoy talking to you or else I'd be charging by the second."

"Oh come on. Its not that far of a drive to Wonder Island," said Viviana rolling her eyes.

"Fine. Fine," said Jadwiga as a more cautious expression flowered on her face, "So how have you been? That Legion of Darkness attack was everywhere on the news and well since you were there..."

"Oh I'm fine nothing to worry bout. Well I got a scratch. A pretty big scratch right here," merrily said Viviana tilting her beanie upwards to reveal the bandage, "Although really I guess I'm disappointed with myself a bit. I just keep not meeting my expectations for myself in this."

"Well you can't be any worse at holding unrealistic standards for yourself then my little brother," said Jadwiga, "But why do you say that? I think you did pretty well for a novice at the whole hero gig."

"I know its just that this isn't really like being in my basketball team back home. There I was one of the top players my the school but here I just sorta feel like a big fish in a huge ol swamp!" lamented Viviana exaggerating the tone before having her cheeked pinched which gave away like putty.

"No shit," said a smirking Jadwiga, "Shooting balls into a hoop is one thing but fighting villains and rescuing people's is a different league. But I'm guessing that's the point you're trying to make."

"Yeaaah," said Viviana in an exasperated tone before staring wide eyed at a notification from her phone, "Oh dang. Looks like there's some bank robbery going on. Some of the YBs are there already it seems. Even Casi!"

"Better stay clear of that then. I don't suppose you want to stop by?" said Jadwiga, "Maybe Casimir's a damsel in distress there."

"Nah. Looks like they got it. A sudden appearance from someone else would ruin their plan. Plus I left my costume back at the Tower," said Viviana shaking her head.

"If you say so," responded Jadwiga as she took a sharp turn to avoid the downtown area.

Soon enough they were at the bridge to the island where Jadwiga had stopped the car with the engine growled in preparation for a departure. Viviana leaned over to give a side hug to Jadwiga before hopping out to wave good bye as she turned the car around. It was a somber walk up the road to the Tower's main building but she liked the views around the place. The arrival to her room went by pretty quick as she plopped herself down onto her bed. Now she could do her homework right now but really she felt like moving out and about. Viviana heaved herself out of bed before finding her way to the Tower's gym to find a certain section of it. As it were there appeared to be a single basketball court at the very edge of the large room. She took a basketball out from a basket filled with them and planted it in the center of the court. With a confident smile and hands on her hips she whipped out her phone to text a certain friend.

Mizu! Come to the gym its an emergency! D:

[Finland SSR]

Bael

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

October 2nd

---

Renata took a deep, chilling breath, and lowered her arms. The sheer force of her blast left her arms sore, and she was convinced that she had wasted most of her stored radiation on that single hail mary. Heeding Renata's question, Bael walked forward to check on the downed supervillain - and, unknowingly, he let her down a second time. Because, as it turns out, the ice wielder was not yet down - scorched, wounded, but still in one piece and still ready for more. With a burst of ice, he effectively incapacitated Bael, and as much as the Dra'Quinni resisted, throwing punches, breaking his shell of ice and tossing blocks of granite his way, it was left on Renata's shoulders to put an end to the battle.

The pink-haired heroine wiped a flake of snow off her cheek, her eyes glaring towards the villain and plasma crackling around her fingers. Unfortunately... she didn't know how good her chances were. The criminal was hurt and exhausted, surely, but Bael was pretty much out and she just wasted a good portion of her stored radiation with a blast she thought was going to take their opponent out, and yet did not.

Shards of ice blasted themselves Renata's way, in response to which the girl lunged forward, propelling herself with jets of heated air across the air. The robber might have expected her to dodge or counter the shards, which would have given him enough time to get away - but did he expect her to charge straight at them?

They painfully dug into Renata's skin, but left the villain completely defenseless and caught off-guard. Moments later, the girl's hands rammed into the man's torso and released a powerful burst, slamming him into the ground and knocking him out for good. Renata fell, rolling across the ice for a good few meters. The corridor fell silent, this time for good. She was down, Bael was down, and the villain was down, only the occasional gunfire in Roy's clash with the escaping robbers broke apart the silence.

Renata pulled herself off the ground and weakly walked up to Bael, while pulling out the shards embedded in her skin and throwing them back the ground, smearing the frozen floor with specks of blood.

"Alright, don't die on me just yet, I'm not ready for one of you to pile up on my conscience..." she muttered under her breath, knelt down and placed her hand on Wyatt's shoulder, through which she started channeling heat to the Dra'Quinni's body. He was far too bulky for her to carry him alone, though... "Anyone free over there? Bael really needs some help!"

---

Viviana Couture October 2nd

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

October 2nd

---

Alright, fun with Renata is over, back to work it is - and just because Mizu spent her entire day at Wonder Tower didn't mean that she could afford to be lazy. While everyone else was either at school, training or on missions, she seized the living room for her own studying, catching up on hours of video-conference lessons on the flatscreen TV and furiously taking notes. Her study course was giving her no break - as soon as the school year began, they were back at harder and harder concepts in physics, chemistry, electronics, they're going to start up on advanced level laser and rocket science next semester...

Alright, I'll need to start planning my time somehow, or else this workload is gonna eat me up... It just kinda sucks that I can't predict when our patrols and missions are gonna be...

Mizu's phone came to life with a pop. A message.

"Eh?"

She pulled it up to herself and checked, only to see that it was Viv, calling out for help in the gym. E-eh?.. Something bad's happened over there? Makes sense that she would message Mizu about it, then, she was one of the few members of the team who could be expected to be in the Tower at any given time... The purple-haired girl immediately turned off the TV and hopped towards the nearest corridor, making her way through the complex and storming into the gym.

She didn't see a fire or an evil villain twirling their moustache, no. Actually... the gym looked exactly the same as she last saw it, except for Viv standing in the middle of the basketball court.

"Viv! What is it?" Mizu yelled, running towards her friend. She didn't appear hurt or frightened, either... something was fishy here.

---

Mars

Steven Baker.

October 2nd

---

Years of experience instantly dictated Steven that Mars did not take being called up after class well. His calculative powers soon explained that the teen was likely worried about something he had no business worrying about. Mars was, is, and, barring a complete loss of talent, will remain a perfect student - but that did not prevent him from taking this with worry, fear that he's done something wrong and is about to get reprimanded.

"Not in the way you imagine it, no." the teacher calmly replied. He couldn't go as far as to lie that nothing was wrong - because it certainly was. But Mars's grades or actions had nothing to do with this. "Please, take a seat."

Steven folded his arms and leaned back in his seat ever so slightly.

"Before I explain what I kept you here for... I have to ask - how much contact do you have with the Young Bloods?" There was no point in asking whether he knew of them or not. That'd just be a waste of precious time. "I know that you're... friends with one of their members, but I obviously don't know whether you're close with the team itself."

[Galnius]

Keone

Keone sized up the person he knew to at least claim to be a hero. Unless they were a very convincing cosplay, this was the ninja girl from the young bloods who had fought in the abomination known as a hero tournament. He had watched, of course, just in case one of them were to come after him. However, the ninja girl was... "Disappointing."

Inhaling, Keone turned away from the hero and back to the woman before. His voice changer was still set in the same fake female tone. "Alright, you can get out of here. I have to do something." He returned his gaze to the ninja, eyeing her and sizing her up. "I was hoping I could get far enough in what I was doing that your team would just stop heroing, but fate seems to be against me here. Oh well."

Keone readied himself for a fight; his stance preparing for both defense and to chase. "Before we do this miss, I must know. Why are you a hero?"

Makenzie raised her eyebrow at being called disappointing. She had at least hoped that hanging around with a Hero team would increase her clout, but it would seem she wasn't quite important enough to not be 'disappointing' to blade-wielding criminals. "Everyone's a critic..." She snarked back. "I may not be able to bench cars, but I have a mean right hook and various frustrations to work out."

Despite her snarking confident words, Makenzie was in a guarded fighting stance. She employed "Hé tài" or River Stance, which guarded her center, favoring redirecting blocks that can redirect a dangerous strike away from her face or vitals. She took this form, however, partially to deceive her opponent. Rarely did she actually enter a fight in "Hé tài", but instead she would swap quickly to another form to begin aggressive attacks before an enemy could attack her. Makenzie was finally getting to practice, which meant that some of the skills which had begun to atrophy were now coming back to her.

Annoyingly, she couldn't get an immediate read on her opponent's battle strategy. She could tell from his movements that he was trained or experienced, but she couldn't tell in what. He had weapons, but whether he was going to fight defensively, aggressively or pull some sort of wildcard out. Makenzie didn't even know if this was a man or woman. Her best bet, based on build, was that he was a man, even despite his voice. She wasn't entirely sure though.

"Well I was reluctant at first. But It's between this and Starbucks really." Replied Makenzie frankly. "Young Blood offers free room and board and a bunch of other bonuses. There are worse groups who offer a lot less, so I thought 'fuck it' and joined. Oh and the chance to play in the NASL was a pretty great perk too. The LA Stars are all delightfully shitty and The Ranger let me hold his gun." The latter was a lie, but Makenzie guessed it was unlikely that he would call her on that.

Somethings odd about this guy. She thought as she finished. Makenzie would have expected this guy to attack first and ask questions later. She didn't like that he was potentially letting her make the first move. She decided to play for time a little longer, see if she couldn't bait him to show a bit of his hand. "What about you? What brought you to slitting throats and threatening women on the street?" She quipped.

Keone hesitated to begin the fight. He didn't yet know if this girl could be useful, and she was new enough to the superhero culture that she may be able to be convinced to leave. It seemed, however, that she was not unaccustomed to fighting. Unlike most heroes that relied on their powers, she seemed skill focused. However, she took a defensive stance. Like most heroes, she did not seem ready to kill. Usually such a thing was an advantage for Keone, but instead they found themselves on equal ground.

It was then that she explained her reasoning. It appeared the very draw of fortune was superior in her eyes to a normal life. He dropped his stance to a more casual one. "Really? You, a trained martial artist, couldn't find something just as good as hero work? Like, I don't know, teaching others or competitions?"

For just a moment he rolled his eyes. Then, crouching low, he entered an offensive stance. He flashed forward, just behind her and to her right. One blade was raised to parry a downward strike. The other aimed to cut the knee and dehabilitate the leg. "You really are a disappointment!" If this is what drew people to the young bloods, then perhaps the whole lot of them could fall on his quest.

---

Mika, pre-skip
After Jan had left, Mika flopped onto her bed. She checked her phone for the time, and noticed how only a few minutes had passed. "You're...You're kidding me right?" Letting out a long sigh, she glanced towards her computer. She was tired, sure, but that hadn't stopped her before. Still, she had to get up...

Her mental debate ended, however, when a woman's voice called out for her. "Mika? Was that a boy I heard? Finally found someone who would fall for your childlike charm eh? Oh, whoops, did he hear me?"

The sneer on her mother's face was almost visible through her words, and Mika thought for a moment to snap back as she had done up until a few months ago. However, she instead got up, went to her photo collection, and dropped one into a shredder. Putting on her head phones, she drowned out her mother's pain with the start up computer, a sneer of her own painted across her face.

---

Angelica Dalin and Mika, Dodgeball game

The match started with a small technicolor blond haired blur charging for the middle. Angelica had stopped her own unsure run upon seeing this, and the match erupted into chaos quickly. The blonde danced around balls thrown at her, and was building confidence when she managed to evade getting hit. Soon, a ball found it's way near her, and the one who started the show seemed unaware if her. So with all her might, she threw the ball.

For what's it is worth, the ball did go quite high. More than a little over her target as well, in an arc shape. And then, suddenly, it began to descend. One person had judged it's angle and stood waiting. For what seemed like an eternity, the ball fell, and fell, and fell, until....

"Dalin, you're out!" The ball was deftly caught. The first ball Angelica had thrown resulted not only in her out, but an opponent going back in. On her way to the stands, she heard a small, pixie like laugh.

"Smooth move Dalin. I think the captains should've picked you last instead of the short kid." Mika sat there wearing a lazy grin with her camera, snapping pictures left and right. Most are focused on Angelica Simmons, Alexis, and, with Alexis seeming friendly towards one of the boys, Mark. For the most part her photos would be submitted to the school paper, but a good few would be saved for her own uses.

Angelica Dalin, however, was not having Mika make fun of her. "At least I'm trying", she snapped back. "If anything, you'd probably have been the first one out."

"That's fine with me." Mika lowered her camera, accepting this new challenge. "Besides, I've got a doctor's note. Maybe you should get one too, so that you don't keep making a fucking idiot of yourself."

Angelica's eyes went wide, and tears began to collect. "What did I ever do to you?! Why do you have to...ugh!" Her emotions got the best of her as she shoved the smaller girl. This quickly devolved into a shoving match that drew the attention of the teacher.

"Dalin, Mynd, that's enough!" The fight broke up with both retreating at the harsh voice.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Whatever."

"We'll talk about it after class. For now, go cool your heads with the vice principal. Honestly, it's the first day."

Dalin just about ran out, both to hide her shame and to avoid anyone's eyes. Mikaela, however, walked out just as lazily as she had sat. As she left, she raised a single finger.

"And Mynd, if you can't behave in my class, you can forget your doctor's note and club privileges!"

Mika's eyes darkened as her grin fell. She had thought herself untouchable, in truth, considering detention meant not having to go home and her mom was now almost fully subservient. Yet the teacher had still made the threat. "Oh no, that won't fly", she said under her breath. "I think she needs a vacation..."

[Charmera]

Keone

Makenzie raised her eyebrow at being called disappointing. She had at least hoped that hanging around with a Hero team would increase her clout, but it would seem she wasn't quite important enough to not be 'disappointing' to blade-wielding criminals. "Everyone's a critic..." She snarked back. "I may not be able to bench cars, but I have a mean right hook and various frustrations to work out."

Despite her snarking confident words, Makenzie was in a guarded fighting stance. She employed "Hé tài" or River Stance, which guarded her center, favoring redirecting blocks that can redirect a dangerous strike away from her face or vitals. She took this form, however, partially to deceive her opponent. Rarely did she actually enter a fight in "Hé tài", but instead she would swap quickly to another form to begin aggressive attacks before an enemy could attack her. Makenzie was finally getting to practice, which meant that some of the skills which had begun to atrophy were now coming back to her.

Annoyingly, she couldn't get an immediate read on her opponent's battle strategy. She could tell from his movements that he was trained or experienced, but she couldn't tell in what. He had weapons, but whether he was going to fight defensively, aggressively or pull some sort of wildcard out. Makenzie didn't even know if this was a man or woman. Her best bet, based on build, was that he was a man, even despite his voice. She wasn't entirely sure though.

"Well I was reluctant at first. But It's between this and Starbucks really." Replied Makenzie frankly. "Young Blood offers free room and board and a bunch of other bonuses. There are worse groups who offer a lot less, so I thought 'fuck it' and joined. Oh and the chance to play in the NASL was a pretty great perk too. The LA Stars are all delightfully shitty and The Ranger let me hold his gun." The latter was a lie, but Makenzie guessed it was unlikely that he would call her on that.

Somethings odd about this guy. She thought as she finished. Makenzie would have expected this guy to attack first and ask questions later. She didn't like that he was potentially letting her make the first move. She decided to play for time a little longer, see if she couldn't bait him to show a bit of his hand. "What about you? What brought you to slitting throats and threatening women on the street?" She quipped.

Keone hesitated to begin the fight. He didn't yet know if this girl could be useful, and she was new enough to the superhero culture that she may be able to be convinced to leave. It seemed, however, that she was not unaccustomed to fighting. Unlike most heroes that relied on their powers, she seemed skill focused. However, she took a defensive stance. Like most heroes, she did not seem ready to kill. Usually such a thing was an advantage for Keone, but instead they found themselves on equal ground.

It was then that she explained her reasoning. It appeared the very draw of fortune was superior in her eyes to a normal life. He dropped his stance to a more casual one. "Really? You, a trained martial artist, couldn't find something just as good as hero work? Like, I don't know, teaching others or competitions?"

For just a moment he rolled his eyes. Then, crouching low, he entered an offensive stance. He flashed forward, just behind her and to her right. One blade was raised to parry a downward strike. The other aimed to cut the knee and dehabilitate the leg. "You really are a disappointment!" If this is what drew people to the young bloods, then perhaps the whole lot of them could fall on his quest.

Keone would have felt his knife push forward into his opponent's leg, but his strike would not be rewarded with a spray of blood. Instead, the leg itself crumbled into ash, followed quickly by the rest of what had a moment ago seemed like Makenzie. A moment later a sharp kick would send itself through the haze of ash, aiming itself at Keone's stomach before retracting backward.

"You really shouldn't call people disappointments. It sets you up for ironic beatdowns." Makenzie replied. Her form had shifted, more centered that River Stance and less low to the ground. She sacrificed some of the stability of river form for more mobility, in "Hebi no shisei" or Snake Stance.

Jokes aside, this guy is fast. Really fast. In order to dodge that strike, Makenzie had quickly created an ash clone of herself and then rolled forward, swinging around and kicking out. She had managed to dodge, but just barely. One good hit with those blades and I'm done. The risk of getting knocked down would just have to suffice for the extra mobility.

She needed to make sure he couldn't keep doing that. She decided to follow up with a few attacks, keep him from planning any further moves. Instead of her typical strategy of overwhelming her opponent, she opted for a series of probing strikes. She made long-range kicks and jabs in order to test her foe's defenses. If she could find a weakness in his stance, she might be able to exploit it to paralyze one of his limbs. She made sure to retreat back after every strike, preserving stamina and, hopefully, her life.

"Teaching pays less than Starbucks and I'm very bad with kids." She remarked nonchalantly. "You have to win competitions to make money, and that isn't really a stable way to make money. Meanwhile, there are always villains and you get paid on the regular."

[Auropa]

2nd October
Mike Mathews
School Gym

‘If I just stay far enough back and don't move, then I could probably avoid everyone long enough to get myself eliminated’ Mike thought hopefully as he did his best to slink away from any action. When the whistle signalled the start of the game, he took a few slow steps forward and stood patiently in the mid field, calmly waiting for the inevitable impact that would signal his freedom. As the first few seconds passed, his plan suddenly fell apart from the actions of a certain nearby teammate.

"Hey Matthews! Catch!" Alexis shouted, lightly tossing him the ball. "Don't let the team down now, you hear?"

...That stung a bit. He figured Alexis must have noticed what he was up to and being her, had moved in to help him. Despite her bouncy attitude, he couldn’t deny feeling a slight chill at her choice of words. But maybe this was just what he needed, sure he had some explaining to do and was probably wasn’t going to be all that popular for a while, but that didn’t have to be the end of things. If he could help everyone, show his capabilities, then bit by bit he could earn back the team’s trust. 'And besides, if escape isn’t an option. Might as well start swinging’ Mike thought to himself as he considered the ball in his hands. Before getting the chance toss it away however, he noticed another one heading straight towards him and Alexis.

Reflexes kicking in, Mike swung his newly acquired ball in an arc, swatting the oncoming projectile harmlessly to the ground.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He replied back to Alexis as he passed back the ball and grabbed the one at his feet. 'And now to ruin someone’s day’ he thought as his eyes locked onto a target and he moved to toss the ball towards the unsuspecting victim. 'Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sigil Sevens
Wonder Tower

"SIG-L7-772, I need..." She paused, her computer mind going through the possibilities of what to say in this situation. She opted to adopt a blunt strategy. This was a fellow synthetic and as such it might well value truth and directness. "I have observed the results of your cleaning efforts. You have breached acceptable parameters for room cleanliness."

"The disposal of dust and relevant detritus was performed adequately, however the rooms themselves are no longer functional." She explained. "The items you disassembled are required for those rooms to perform their functions and the addition of boxes was unnecessary, increasing the clutter index of the rooms by an unacceptable 83 percent. Some items may even need to be replaced entirely."

“Hmmm” as Sigil looked across the room, there was no denying it. The Cass was correct. The rooms, while clean, looked empty and hollow. Whatever they were originally meant to do, there was very little chance they would be able to now. Snapping his fingers to emit a solid, metallic click noise, Sigil came to a decision.

“You are most certainly correct.” He said nodding his head thoughtfully. “We should redecorate! Perhaps we should move the medical equipment to the more aptly named living room? No! We should colour the Austin’s room to red as per his elected byname! Then we could simulate a more serpentine environment within the Naja’s office- Wait!” Sigil shouted with genuine shock “We could surprise the entire team! Develop their rooms to better suit their own set of unique functions! Cass you truly are wise beyond words but to do so we start immediately!” He added as he tossed the cup and saucer back over his head and in an inhumanely perfect arc towards the sink.

‘Truly this Cass is a master of life’s secrets’ He decided as the objects shattered upon their landing ‘with enough time, perhaps I could learn from her. Though first, I should cement the friendship with a proper introduction’
“Also. Hello! I am Sigil!” He added chirpily as his main lens whirled and clicked as it shifted to better view the android before him, somehow mimicking the mixture of joy and anticipation he now felt. “I am happy to have met you!”

[Aidannadia]

Just as lab was starting, Aleta swung through the doorway to Chemistry and plopped herself down at the nearest available seat, flipping through her phone and ignoring whoever was next to her.

“Well, class, the person next to you will be your lab partner for the rest of the semester, so take this time to get to know them.” The teacher spoke briefly, then went back to her notes.

Aleta turned to the person beside her and managed a canned response. “Hey, you can call me..” It was then that she noticed whom she had sat beside; none other than Yoshiro Nakama, teacher’s pet and resident faker. She was just the kind of person that Aleta couldn’t stand. “Al.” She rolled her eyes and went back to her phone. The teacher looked over to say something, then paused and shook her head, going back to her notes, marking a few points off for the teenage punk.

With her mind still lingering on her earlier exchange with Ash, Yoshiro didn’t react at the sound of the chair beside her being scraped along the ground. She offered the person beside her a half-hearted smile, but she didn’t look at them long enough to put a name to the face. Maybe she should talk to Casimir after school? Ash looked up to him, and he’d probably be better at explaining why she had to keep a low profile outside of the Tower. Yoshiro forced herself to take a breath. Or maybe I’m overreacting. It’s her first day of school, and she apologised as soon as I brought it up. I’m sure she’s still just finding her feet. It was then that the teacher cleared her throat and addressed the class.

Putting aside her immediate thoughts, Yoshiro settled into her seat as she forced herself to focus on the lesson. But she was surprised to hear that they were going to be split into pairs for the entire semester. It was definitely sudden, and a part of Yoshiro wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea. Surely that wasn’t the fairest way to do things? What if the groups ended up being unbalanced or someone ended up dropping the class? Pushing aside the concerns, the teen supposed that they weren’t things that she’d have to worry about when her partner made to introduce herself.

Turning at the sound of the voice, Yoshiro made to offer the other girl a friendly smile. Reaching out with a hand, she’d already begun replying before the identity of her semester-long partner had entirely clicked. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m…” Yoshiro’s voice trailed off as she realised that Aleta’s attention had entirely returned to her phone. “...Yoshi.” She finished, her smile wavering as she recognised the other student. Aleta had a reputation for getting herself into trouble, and even though Yoshi had never really spoken to her, she’d seen her get pulled out of class for disciplinary action plenty of times. But more than that, Yoshiro had seen the other girl’s face plastered on the news. The recent revelation of her identity as the vigilante-turned-hero Pitch had dominated the local news, along with some national headlines when the wall-to-wall coverage of the attack in New York needed a break. Having put in the effort to say a few mandatory words, Aleta seemed to be entirely uninterested in continuing their conversation any further.

Hey, she’s probably just shy. It’s a new class, right? Trying to think of something to say, Yoshiro coughed gently into her fist in an attempt to regain Aleta’s attention. “Well Al, I - uh - what made you want to take Chem?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Yoshiro regretted how stale they sounded. Could she have said anything more forced?

Aleta was quickly swiping through Capestagram, liking a bunch of Young Blood posts as she continued to ignore Yoshiro for a moment. “Huh? Oh, it’s my last science; I was trying to avoid it for the last few years but I’m not taking Physics if I can help it, so here I am.” Aleta shrugged. “Not a huge deal but you got me covered for this semester right?” Aleta’s eyebrows raised at the end of her question, as suddenly her phone was put away, Yoshiro again receiving at least most of Aleta’s attention.

Yoshiro blinked in surprise at the other girl’s request. Immediately, her smile wavered slightly as her mind tried to process the words and the implication for what it meant for the group’s work ethic for the next few months. Don’t freak out. There’s no harm in her asking. Just explain that you don’t have the time to do everything and either and that it would be better to spread the work between -

Aleta’s words continued without missing a beat, not allowing Yoshi so much a second thought as to how to respond to that sentence. “I love your hair!” Aleta smiled and poked Yoshiro a little too hard in the shoulder. “How do you get it so shiny? I mean, I just chop mine off because who wants to deal, right? But I can tell some work goes into this.” Aleta ran her hand through Yoshi’s hair.

Cut off before she could even manage a response, Yoshiro found herself being dragged along helplessly by what came next. Jabbed harshly in the side, before finding her hair suddenly being roughly messed with without her consent, the Japanese girl nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise. Unable to react quickly enough to Aleta’s quick actions, Yoshiro winced as she felt the girl’s ever-so-slightly greasy hand slide through her carefully maintained hair. She’d always made sure to get it looking fit and proper for school, but that was only to be expected - and having it get so suddenly called out made her feel defensive.

Pulling away, Yoshiro still tried to maintain her weakening smile as she pushed aside Aleta’s hand. “Thanks, I think. Your hair is…” Yoshiro stole a quick glance at the delinquent’s roughshod, wild mane. “...nice, too. I don’t do anything special, really.” Maybe this is something we can connect on? Tentatively, the girl reached out with a verbal olive branch. “But I could totally give you some recommendations for shampoos and conditioners if you want? My hairdresser is also really good.”

Aleta analysed Yoshiro closely as she spoke, putting her detective skills to work. She was taken aback, so it was good that I moved on quickly. If I just keep on deflecting and moving on for the rest of the semester, she should get the message eventually. “You know, I don’t really go to hairdressers. They talk too much shit without being able to deal with it themselves.” Aleta smiled matter-of-factly. “But thanks, I guess.”

Aleta popped a bit of licorice gum into her mouth and offered a piece to Yoshiro as she popped a black bubble inflating from her mouth, but instead of gum, a strange tarry substance landed quite inconveniently in Yoshiro’s hair. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry about that.” Aleta feigned regret in a slightly convincing manner, hand to her mouth in surprise conveniently hiding her smile as she got her composure back before raising her hand to the teacher and blurting out. “Yeah, Ms. Green, can we head to the bathroom real quick?”

The teacher waved her hand dismissively and Aleta dragged Yoshi along with her towards the bathrooms a little too roughly. The moment they were inside, Aleta grabbed the tar and it flowed effortlessly out of Yoshiro’s hair without leaving so much as a stain in its wake. The moment it was done, she grabbed a cigarette and lit it, leaning on the sink and fixing herself in the mirror. “Well that was easy. You wanna head out now? That class was gonna be over soon anyway.”

It wasn’t the best response, but at least it was something. Yoshiro offered Aleta a friendly shrug, though she made to turn her attention back towards the teacher as the lesson was about to continue. However, just before she could put a relieved pin in the strained conversation, Yoshiro saw Aleta calmly plop a stick of gum into her mouth. Frowning slightly, Yoshiro awkwardly waved away her partner’s offer. Nervous, she glanced back to the front of the room to see that the teacher hadn’t reacted at all to the blatant violation of school policy. Yoshiro was almost relieved, the last thing she wanted was for more attention to be pulled towards her and her less-than-ideal new lab partner. But her relief quickly turned into horror when Aleta started to blow a thick, black bubble from between her lips. And then, in the blink of an eye and a sudden pop, Yoshiro suddenly found the sticky, tar-like substance exploding into her face and hair.

Immediately, she let out a scream of surprise. Every pair of eyes in the class turned towards the commotion. Aleta immediately began to blurt out a sincere apology, but Yoshiro’s attention was too focused on trying to carefully deal with the damage to notice the corners of a smile behind the other girl’s hands. As Yoshiro struggled with the mess that had enveloped her hair, Aleta reacted swiftly and asked their teacher to be excused. Sighing as if exasperated at yet more of the troublesome teen’s antics, the woman waved them away and Yoshiro felt herself quickly pulled from her chair towards the bathroom.

Allowing herself to be led towards the sink, Yoshiro offered the mirror a bemoaned expression as she saw how hopelessly the gum had worked its way in. How was she ever going to be able to get this out? She wanted to groan - she had more than enough to deal with already! Feeling a sense of defeat as she realised that she might even have to cut away some of her hair, Yoshiro suddenly felt Aleta’s hand once again plant itself on her head. Before she could react, the tar began to slide effortlessly up the girl’s fingers. Blinking in surprise as she suddenly found herself free of the worst hair day of her life, Yoshiro’s jaw dropped as she met her gaze in the mirror. She stood motionless, until the click of a lighter and a voice pulled her back to the present.

Stunned by the girl’s calm attitude, Yoshiro shook her head as she struggled to keep her calm. “Head out? Ms. Green hadn’t given out the handouts yet!” She replied, running her fingers through her hair to confirm that there was no residue at all. “You - you did that just to get out of class a few minutes early? Are you serious?” Yoshiro felt an anger rising in her chest as she glanced towards her watch. Taking a breath, she nearly coughed as she accidentally inhaled smoke from the girl’s cigarette. “You know what, you’re right. I’ll go get notes for whatever we missed from Ms. Green and I’ll give them to you later. Just...go do whatever.” Still trying to contain herself from lashing out, Yoshiro stormed out of the bathroom, muttering something in Japanese under her breath as she went.

Jeez you do someone a favor and they flip out on you. Aleta thought to herself. “Yeah, whatever,” She called back to Yoshiro as she stomped her way through the hallway. Man I was hungry. This really hit the spot. She popped the cigarette butt into her gullet and hung out in the bathroom until the bell rang.

“Now time to make the news.” She said as she melded into the crowded halls of people rushing to their cars at the end of the day.

For her part, Yoshiro had headed straight back to class. Silently, she continued to fume. What was Aleta’s problem? Even if she thought it was fine to go ahead and brush off class like it was nothing, there was no reason to go and drag her along like that. Reaching the classroom to see the last of the other students already leaving, Yoshiro made her way straight towards the teacher. Looking up, the woman smiled as she saw the teenager approaching.

“Yoshiro, looks like you managed to avert a crisis. I left some notes on your desk already - the homework isn’t difficult this week, just something to help you get acquainted with your partner.”

Coming to a stop in front of the teacher’s desk, Yoshiro blurted out her words before she could second-guess herself. “Ms. Green, I’d like to ask for a new partner.”

Blinking at the star pupil’s forthright comment, the teacher raised an eyebrow. That...was much faster than I thought. For a moment, she remained silent as she studied Yoshiro’s expression. Eventually, she sighed as she turned to address the girl fully. “Yoshi, I understand that random partners aren’t always ideal - but you haven’t even been with Aleta for a week and -”

“And I’m already smelling like tobacco and had whatever-that-was all over my hair!” Yoshiro exclaimed, pleading with the science teacher. “Ms. Green, I’m seriously busy this semester already. I don’t want to cause you any trouble, but there’s college applications and I have a lot of classes I have to manage and I have to help organise events with the student council for the near year and -” And I have to be a superhero. Yoshiro wanted to say, but instead she allowed her voice to trail off.

Ms. Green offered the girl a sympathetic smile. “Yoshiro, I know that this might not seem fair but everyone else is already in groups too. I can’t split another pair up just so -”

“I’ll just work on my own, then.” Yoshiro declared, interrupting the teacher. “You know I can handle it, and I’ll be doing everything anyway with her. Plus, I know that she’s just going to make things even more difficult than they need to be.”

Raising an eyebrow, Ms. Green planted a hand on her hip as she offered the girl an amused smile. “Yoshiro Namaka, after all the years I’ve taught you, I never would have thought that you’d be so quick to throw your partner under a bus.”

Blinking in surprise, Yoshiro gritted her teeth as the situation was suddenly twisted on her. “Wait, that’s not what I meant - it’s just…”

“Come on, Yoshi. Give her a chance. I know that Aleta might not seem like it at first, but she’s a good kid.” Even if she chooses to hardly ever show it. Folding her arms across her chest, the teacher continued. “Just see how it goes and we’ll talk about it later if it’s really not working out. But I think this will be good for you both. Being able to work with people you might disagree with is part of life, and heaven knows that Aleta could use at least one good influence.” Yoshiro seemed to remain unconvinced. Thinking for a moment, the teacher continued. “How about this. I’m on the faculty committee for the senior awards this year. You’ve already got a glowing record, but helping out a struggling fellow student could be the icing on the cake. And I could definitely lean a bit to get your name brought up more often in our meetings.”

Yoshiro was about to offer a retort, to double-down and call out how unfair it was that she was expected to help pull up the grades of someone who hadn’t even cared their whole life. But she bit her tongue instead, thinking hard about the teacher’s offer. It was totally blackmail, but...scholarships loved those awards - and a teacher’s recommendation could go a long way.

Frowning, Yoshiro realised that Ms. Green wasn’t going to budge - and a part of her realised that maybe she was being a little bit harsh. It’s just...why now, of all the semesters, why now? Sighing, Yoshiro made to grab the handouts from the lesson. “Ok, Ms. Green. It’s a deal. But I’m just going to help her with chem, and that’s it.”

[Absolon-7]

Roy

Wyatt

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Casimir Herman October 2nd
Casimir grumbled under breath as he picked himself up from the ground to lean on the armored car blocking the entrance to the bank. Looking at the scenario these guys seemed to be pretty desperate and there seemed to be quite a bit of them. Well whatever, ruminating on the motives could come later as for now it was time for action. Casimir dashed forward to where the rest of his teammates where and it he stood blinking at the ice covered corridor to the vault's entrance. Well he didn't see anyone use ice powers here before. Roy appeared to have taken the lead and was distracting the gunmen who took turns shooting at their direction. Now as to where the other two where...

"Anyone free over there? Bael really needs some help!"

"I'll take him off your hands," commented Casimir as he suddenly showed up in front of Renata, "But you don't looks so good yourself either."

Casimir knelt down next to her and quickly went to work to wrap webbing around her wounds with his arms moving in circular blurs. Soon enough all the open punctures on Renata were tightly wrapped in Casimir's webbing with barely a tint of red seeping through the impromptu medical treatment. Ongoing gunfire prompted Casimir's attention to the last five robbers as such Casimir's fly zoomed in to their area. It looked like they had set up some sort of bomb on the wall at the end of the corridor to escape but Roy had managed to distract them before they finished setting it up. With a grunt Casimir single handedly picked up Wyatt by the waist and heaved him onto his shoulders as he stood up.

"I'll go put the big oaf somewhere safe since it looks like he's pretty out of it," said Casimir with a thumbs up but he stood still to analyze his flies information, "It looks like these mooks set up some bomb but didn't finish it. Hmmmm. Me and Roy can take out the rest of them if you pew pew at them or something to cover us. Or maybe melting their only escape route will see them give up and roll over."

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

Viviana Couture October 2nd
At last the target of plea for help had arrived just in time in a burst of frantic speed. Viviana stood at the center of the basketball court with a sly smirk on her face while she bounced a basketball up and down next to her. At last it had all come down to this or well she just felt in the mood to play a game. And what better way to blow off steam then one of the best ways she knew how to. Working on her homework would probably be a better idea right now but just a single game couldn't hurt especially if Mizu would be up for her idea to make it even more fun.

"You got bamboozled! Okay so the emergency was that I need one more person to play basketball with. Not the most earth destroying crisis but a smidge of exaggeration doesn't hurt," said Viviana with a cheeky smile. Viviana hopped over to a boombox she had "borrowed" from Casimir's room and proceeded to put on some tunes to play to. She finally turned to Mizu and held the ball to her waist as she said, "I challenge you to a game of Power Basketball. Winner buys the loser whatever food they want for the rest of the day."

[Tomia]

Roy
"Kabuto, keep Bael safe. We can't risk him getting caught in the cross fire. Stella are you good to fight? If you can give me cover I can clear these guys out." Roy said from behind a turned over desk. He decided he didn't have time to wait for confirmation and he needed to go in. And so, Nightshade took a deep breath to organize his senses before rushing out from behind the desk. Immediately as he left the cover, he threw his staff like a boomerang towards the nearest criminal. It slammed into the man's chest as Roy dove behind a nearby pillar as a wave of bullets shot towards him. He saw another shooter go flying back and could tell it was Renata's doing. She was starting to draw some of their fire and Roy couldn't let them put her in danger. He had his opportunity and needed to act on it and so he rolled forward past the pillar and towards the nearest foe who was currently firing at Roy's teammate. Nightshade leaped towards him and tackled him to the ground, striking him in the face and knocking him unconscious for good measure. With only two left they both had their guns trained on Roy and he had left himself exposed. Before they could fire however, Renata was able to take out the one on the right and Roy drew from his stored shadow power and shot forward at incredible speed, slamming his fist into the stomach of the final robber.

With all of their foes defeated, the team regrouped around the unconscious Wyatt. "Alright, we need to get him out of here and let the police take over. But first, we should search those two that injected themselves. If we can find a sample of the drug we can figure out what exactly it is. With that the three of them worked to move their very large friend back to the nearby van. When they had safely gotten him inside Roy was about to start the engine when they were approached a woman in black suit who turned to Roy through the driver side window.

"Nice work here, but there''s something a lot bigger going on." She said, handing Roy what looked like a business card. "Fiona Dawset wants a meeting. We'll expect your call." She said before walking away as police were swarming the bank.

Roy was a bit shocked, Fiona Dawset was a member of the United Champions after all. But he couldn't worry about that for now, they needed to get home first. And so he drove away towards Wonder Island.

Mars
Mars was shocked by the question he had got from his teacher. Sure he was used to getting questions about Roy, however he didn't expect to get asked about his involvement with the Young Bloods. "Uh well... I'm friends with Roy, but you know that already. I've met some of them, but I wouldn't say I really know them if that makes sense." Mars said, trying to make his answer sound as credible as possible.

[Galnius]

Keone


Keone hesitated to begin the fight. He didn't yet know if this girl could be useful, and she was new enough to the superhero culture that she may be able to be convinced to leave. It seemed, however, that she was not unaccustomed to fighting. Unlike most heroes that relied on their powers, she seemed skill focused. However, she took a defensive stance. Like most heroes, she did not seem ready to kill. Usually such a thing was an advantage for Keone, but instead they found themselves on equal ground.

It was then that she explained her reasoning. It appeared the very draw of fortune was superior in her eyes to a normal life. He dropped his stance to a more casual one. "Really? You, a trained martial artist, couldn't find something just as good as hero work? Like, I don't know, teaching others or competitions?"

For just a moment he rolled his eyes. Then, crouching low, he entered an offensive stance. He flashed forward, just behind her and to her right. One blade was raised to parry a downward strike. The other aimed to cut the knee and dehabilitate the leg. "You really are a disappointment!" If this is what drew people to the young bloods, then perhaps the whole lot of them could fall on his quest.

Keone would have felt his knife push forward into his opponent's leg, but his strike would not be rewarded with a spray of blood. Instead, the leg itself crumbled into ash, followed quickly by the rest of what had a moment ago seemed like Makenzie. A moment later a sharp kick would send itself through the haze of ash, aiming itself at Keone's stomach before retracting backward.

"You really shouldn't call people disappointments. It sets you up for ironic beatdowns." Makenzie replied. Her form had shifted, more centered that River Stance and less low to the ground. She sacrificed some of the stability of river form for more mobility, in "Hebi no shisei" or Snake Stance.

Jokes aside, this guy is fast. Really fast. In order to dodge that strike, Makenzie had quickly created an ash clone of herself and then rolled forward, swinging around and kicking out. She had managed to dodge, but just barely. One good hit with those blades and I'm done. The risk of getting knocked down would just have to suffice for the extra mobility.

She needed to make sure he couldn't keep doing that. She decided to follow up with a few attacks, keep him from planning any further moves. Instead of her typical strategy of overwhelming her opponent, she opted for a series of probing strikes. She made long-range kicks and jabs in order to test her foe's defenses. If she could find a weakness in his stance, she might be able to exploit it to paralyze one of his limbs. She made sure to retreat back after every strike, preserving stamina and, hopefully, her life.

"Teaching pays less than Starbucks and I'm very bad with kids." She remarked nonchalantly. "You have to win competitions to make money, and that isn't really a stable way to make money. Meanwhile, there are always villains and you get paid on the regular."

Keone

When the blow came through the ash, Keone barely responded to it by blocking it with the back of his blade. From there, he continued blocking, as she seemed adamant to pressure him. And honestly, it was getting annoying. Keone looked for a split second reprieve, watching her movements and her timing. Luckily, she seemed to be staying at a reach. Good, let's make it a bit more of a stretch then."

Keone turned quickly, and flashed about 20 feet away. Turning once more, he entered a lazy stance, making sure to back up and keep a distance if she were to pursue. "So you're just in it for the money, then. Figures. It's all I ever hear. Tell me...Asp, was it? Have you ever thought what it would be like without this hero-villain culture? Personally, I think there'd be less deaths. Imagine for a second. No powers, enhanced tech going to bettering the world instead of fighting, doesn't that sound nice? I do what I do to work towards that. No one will listen if they could lose their ability to idolize people like you like you're gods. But don't worry, I only planned on slitting one neck today."

One hand went to the outside of Keone's pocket, almost as if for reassurance. The other focused on defense with the blade. Perhaps mother knows what to do here. She has the experience.

---

Andrew

It had taken a little over an hour, but Andrew Donovan had finally arrived in San Diego. The trip had been tiring, and he had to clean off his goggles more than once as a bug splattered against them. Still, this was the home city of the young bloods, and with any luck he would soon be inside Wonder Tower.

It took some time actually finding the pace in the unfamiliar streets. Accustomed to the chaos and disorganization of LA's infrastructure, the more orderly blocks of San Diego actually tripped Andrew up. Then There was the delay with someone trying to mug him, but that didn't take too much time. Hopefully, though, Naja had gotten the letter on time. Nonetheless, he finally crossed the bridge and called out. "Umm...hello?! I sent a message a little while ago, but I'm not sure if you guys got it. Do I just come in through the front door or is that frowned upon?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 2nd

---

Summer had come and gone, and now autumn had taken its place, heralding the return of the students of Thomsen High to the prestigious institution for another year of school. For most, while it signaled the end of a period of leisure that many were quick to grow attached to, it was ultimately something to look forward to - whether it was due to a desire to catch up with friends not seen since the beginning of summer, a hope for a new beginning or simply the drive to learn new things, those students faced their first day of class with no shortage of youthful enthusiasm. Limited as they might have been, however, there were exceptions to this, even in a place as prestigious as Thomsen. The unlucky few regarded this return not with excitement but dread, and with good reason. Teenagers could be very cruel to each other, and a place practically drenched in superhero culture had a host of problem of its own.

One such less than enthusiastic student made her way towards the school shortly after the masses of arriving students had dispersed thanks to the efforts of a certain young genius. Silently thanking her luck, she walked up to the front door and hesitated for a few moments before heading inside. Her inconspicuous clothes and demeanor helped her get around largely unnoticed as long as no one was looking for her, but even so she preferred to risk an unwelcome encounter in the hallways, tardiness be damned. What was my first period again...? Ah, right. The black-haired girl made her way through the campus and slipped into the classroom right behind another student. With a little help from her powers, her arrival went unnoticed, and she settled into her desk just in time for the roll call.

"...O'Donell, Parsons... Tremblay."

The lack of a familiar name before hers threw her off for a moment, enough that the silence was noticeable and several pairs of eyes focused on her. She had heard the news of course, long enough ago that it wasn't a surprise to her, but even then she found it difficult to adjust to the fact that her best - and perhaps only - friend at Thomsen High was no longer there. Feeling so many stares directed at her pried her away from her thoughts, however, and she hastily acknowledged the professor's prompt, the man swiftly moving on afterwards. Not far from her, two boys made a rude joke about her in a hushed voice, just loud enough for her to hear. Holding back a sigh, Astrid sank into her seat as the lesson began. I'm in for a rough year...

As the day went on and the classes succeeded one another, she found herself surprised to see that she was the target of far less insults and hostilities than she had been in the past. The daughter of White Noise - the spawn of a villain - was never meant to find many friends in that place, but it seemed those who hated her simply for her blood ties were relenting, and as hard as it was for her to believe it, it was all thanks to the Young Bloods. Whether they were fawning over their heroic fellow students or taking out their aggression on the less popular of the lot, they monopolized the attention that would normally be directed at those like her, and she was grateful for it. She even pitied those who were outed by Warwolf - they might have been her enemies, but she knew very well what it was like to be marked by the deeds of one's parents - though there was hardly anything she could do about it.

Waiting until the classroom had emptied before heading outside, Astrid noticed that it was time for lunch and a grimace appeared on her face. It had never been the most pleasant of times but it was mostly bearable thanks to Icarus. Now that he was gone, she was not looking forward to sitting by herself. This wouldn't be so bad if my Lucas was here too... With a sigh, she made her way to the cafeteria and loaded a tray with some food - bland, but not excessively so, as Thomsen High had enough of a budget to afford decent meals - before finding a lone table for herself. Slowly picking at her food, the raven-haired teen kept her focus on her surroundings, watchful eyes remaining alert in case someone approached with less than friendly intentions, a habit she had developed over her past two years at Thomsen High.

Suddenly, something distracted her from her routine. A vibration coming from her pocket. The girl picked up her phone and looked at the new notification, a rare smile flashing across her face. She quickly texted back, forgetting about her meal for the time being.

---

---

---

Bingo! You can't wuss out now.

Alexis' thoughts of victory as she saw Mike take the ball were swiftly interrupted when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Surprised, she quickly jumped away from the approaching ball's trajectory, though it soon turned out it hadn't been necessary at all, with her teammate quickly taking care of it and then passing her back the one she'd taken from the center line.

"Show off." The blonde teen said with a smirk as she turned her attention away from the boy and towards the enemy team, spotting the person that had attempted to take her out of the game - and noticing that it was none other than her girlfriend. So that's how we're doing this, huh, Frosty?

With the ball still in her power, the genius girl waited a few seconds to make sure that Angelica was distracted and then enacted her plan. With a small running start, she jumped forward and then somersaulted over an incoming projectile before tossing her own straight at the frosty heroine. Though the throw only barely matched Angelica's own, the stunt Alexis pulled left most players in awe.

You're mine, girl.

[Finland SSR]

Casimir Herman October 2nd

Roy

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

October 2nd

---

Casimir suddenly barged in to the scene with the subtlety of a bulldozer - and while Renata could appreciate him picking up the unconscious Wyatt off her hands, she couldn't... whatever the hell he did afterwards. She knew that Casimir was equipped with a whole slew of insect based abilities useful in and out of battle, alongside being about as durable as his brain was dense - but that didn't make it any less disgusting to watch a thick layer of webbing coat her arms and legs. It looked disgusting, its texture was disgusting, and Renata was sure that she was going to get a some sort of disease from touching it - and she didn't even hate spiders all that much.

"Uh..."

Before she could scold Casimir for what he's done without her approval, duty called her to battle yet again - Roy yelled for help while behind cover. They still had to clear out the remaining robbers in the bank, after all.

"Hey, uh, could you gimme a second? I barely have enough energy stored to-"

Oh. Roy didn't even wait, or refused to listen to Renata, and leapt over a tipped over desk to charge at the robbers head-on. Before she had gotten a clear trajectory on any one of their opponents, much less ran close enough to blast any of them. They were starting to notice her, too, aiming their weapons at the pink-haired heroine as well as the shadow stalker tearing through their ranks.

"GOD DAMN IT, NIGHTSHADE!"

Fueled by a burst of fury, Renata lunged forward, smashing a plasma-infused fist at the face of the first unlucky robber who got in her way and detonating the energy she built up, flinging the man away like a ragdoll. Her eyes glared at the rest of the criminal crew and they glared back at her, aiming their rifles, at leats before Roy slammed straight at them and knocked an another poor bastard out - drawing their attention away from her for now.

...that changes nothing.

She let Roy enjoy the darkness for a few more seconds, before he took care of the second to last member of the crew, and then enveloped the entire room in a flash of light. A burst of pure infrared radiation struck the last guy at full force and threw him across the room. Victory. Somewhat more pyrrhic than she might have wanted, but victory nonetheless. Police were storming the scene, the Young Bloods picked up Wyatt, made their way to their van and rolled out. Not before Roy got into a little chit-chat with someone over the window, who informed her that "Fiona Dawset" wants to make a meeting with him.

"Who's Fiona? And should I tell Wendy about her?" Renata blurbed out a question immediately.

---

Viviana Couture October 2nd

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

October 2nd

---

You got bamboozled!

That's the last thing Mizu wanted to hear. Eye twitching and lips formed to a pout, she picked up the bouncing basketball from Vivi's hands and bonked the rubber manipulator over her head with it.

"I was in the middle of studying, you know..." Mizu muttered, her voice somewhat bitter. "It was on rocket physics and why detachable fuel tanks are necessary for interplanetary travel..." Hey, at least she recalled what the topic was about! In truth, Mizu didn't worry all that much about procrastinating on her video-conference lessons - but getting pranked herself... now that was on a whole other category of frustrating. The purple-haired girl released a sigh and continued:

"Alright, so... how do we play?"

---

Mars

Steven Baker.

October 2nd

---

Mars was trying his hardest to avoid the question, speaking in overgeneralizations and steering clear of mentioning any names besides Roy. The longer this went, the more a new theory on Mars's relationship with the Young Bloods began to rise in likelihood in his mind... but Steven chose to keep it stashed for now. Give the kid the benefit of the doubt, maybe he really is just an outsider.

"I see." the teacher stated calmly and nodded.

How do I formulate this...

"Would you be able to make contact with them, somehow? Be it through Roy, or Kirisvala, or anyone else... I just hope you'd tell them something from me." Steven continued to explain. "Just... Don't. Don't repeat the mistake you're named after. Superheroing is no place for children, and I lose sleep knowing that my own students are there in the crossfire, and..."

The teacher, his eyes lost in the glimpse outside the window, released a sigh.

"...sorry, Marvin. It's just that, when I first heard of them, I got very emotional, and I don't have a lot of people to share my thoughts with."

[Absolon-7]

Roy

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Casimir Herman October 2nd
His plan to help Roy with the last robbers would be dashed by the man himself as Casimir was ordered to watch over Wyatt so he wouldn't get in the crossfire. Casimir scoffed at the order for how ridiculous it seemed as what could bullets even do to Wyatt? Weren't they like crumpled up paper to him anyways. At least the disgusted look on Renata's face from his impromptu bandages was amusing though he didn't get to see her for too long before she was called over by Roy. As the duo finished off the last robbers Casimir slowly moved Wyatt further into the lobby where the sun was shining strongest through the windows. He remembered this worked pretty good on lizards so maybe it help the big guy too.

Once they were dealt with and the police started flowing into the bank to round up the criminals the three set to move Wyatt into the van. Before they left however Casimir's flied were enthralled by the minute traces of blood from the injection site of one of the robbers. This sensation from them prompted him to quickly head over to the iceman to accost the unconscious man's pockets. And there was just what Roy wanted: a full vial of that thing they injected themselves with. He was heading back to the van where there was some woman in black handing a card to Roy and saying something about a "Fiona Dawset".

Casimir quickly got into the van before it could speed off to Wonder Island. Casimir leaned back into his seat feeling the onset of hunger. Maybe he had some roasted sausages left over back in the kitchen? Well whatever Casimir reached up to open the van's sunroof to let in light to heat up Wyatt. Maybe he'd be up and flapping his wings before they got home. Casimir noticed Renata interrogating Roy over the name of that woman which prompted him to quickly search it on his phone.

"Looks like she's a member of that United Champions hero group. Goes by Incognito. Unfortunately not one of Roy's side chicks, Renata," snickered Casimir as he popped off his helmet shaking his head, "Bleeding stopped right? Jacob gave it his seal of approval so you should be all good."

He then quickly moved one hand to his belt to retrieve the vial of the mysterious substance, "Oh Roy. I got some of that stuff they were using. We're all set on having the getting a sample front."

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

Viviana Couture October 2nd
"Eeeep," squeaked Viviana as she flinched from the bonking, "Sorry didn't know you were doing that..."

Viviana felt some slight guilt over distracting her friend from studying but she seemed to be annoyed with being the bamboozled which was perfect. Such a feeling of indignation would mean she'd go all out when playing the game. Viviana stared at Mizu once the purple haired girl asked about how to play. She hadn't exactly thought of specific rules and was just hoping she would have thought of something on the spot. Viviana ran her finger through her shoulder resting braids before metaphorical flashbulb went off.

"Okay its simple. We just play basketball like normal and just meet at the center before passing starting the actual game. Person who gets the most scores wins. Catch is we can use our powers however we want to win," nodded Viviana triumphantly, "Er...since you were busy we'll just play one round. 'Kay? Follow me!"

Viviana led Mizu to the center of the court and proceeded to begin the start of passing the ball back and forth. As the first song on the boombox began to wane Viviana lowered her stance to get ready to swipe the ball away with her hands expanding to tennis racket shapes.

"Ready, set. Go!" announced Viviana as she swiped her hand in front of Mizu to get at the ball. Her expanded hand suddenly shot out to slap the ball out of Mizu's hands.

[New Neros]

"You're always welcome here, Wendy." Ava said in a low voice, concerned for her former squad leader, scooting herself as much as possible to make room for her. "Even if we did just join Shi and her friends." She flashed her current squad leader a quick glance, along with the bubbly April and her less than talkative friend Olivia as they chatted with Aleta and her posse. She felt a bit of anger as the girl ignored the rest of the cast to talk to Shi, knowing the two other popular girls from rumor rather than previous confrontation. The young teen could only imagine the insults the trio thought of while they stood looking over the mismatched table.

As Aleta stayed, Mark would chat with Jason and absolutely devour his food in the same sitting. "Fuck those guys, man." Mark declared, stuffing an entire roll in his mouth and swallowing it down, looking around the cafeteria as the dull roar of chatter started to take over his ears. Tracing his eyes back to Jason, he saw his friend eyeing some other kids in the courtyard. Mark's first guess with someone Jason had beef with, but upon closer inspection, Jason looked at them with concerned curiosity, like, what were they exactly up to? "Not something you see everyday, huh?" He asked, looking at Ava for a moment, the girl having already spotted the trio.

"Mr. Nemo," A thunderous voice suddenly announced.

"Shit." Mark muttered as he stood up, a heavy-set older man with a hefty set of glasses clasping a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's both head to my office and talk about your incidents earlier this morning." As he spoke, Mark looked over at the exit, and saw two burly police officers eyeing him and the assistant principal as well.

"Man..." Mark said with a sigh, "You make it sound like I have a choice in the matter, but I don't really have one, do I?"

"Afraid not. Come on, son." The principal led Mark out of the cafeteria, the young hero giving a rushed farewell to his friends as the two cops followed the pair out of the chow hall. It was a decent walk to get to the vice-principal's office, and Mark considered breaking free and making a run for it - But thought going back to the Tower would just land him in even more trouble. Mr. Reeves instructed Mark to sit, and he did so, the two cops standing on either side of him as the vice-principal took a seat behind his desk. "We'll not beat around the bush too much, Mark, we know what you did, we have cameras in the hall, we have a punishment lined up for you, but I personally want to know." He said, staring Mark directly in the eye, the young hero staring back, unmoved by the situation.

"Why did you do it?" Mr. Reeves leaned back in his chair, "Well?" He said firmer, Mark blinking for a moment.

"Three years ago, I was in here with Matthew Simmons and you asked why he would accidentally pull my pants up while I was taking a piss." Mark began, "You sent both of us back to class and told to get along. He made my life a living hell and the teachers did nothing to help, every time I asked for help, I got told to suck it up by your administration." He explained, "That was when I was five foot nothing and weighed a buck fifty. I got taller, filled out, fought villains on Earth and in space, and now I decided I wasn't going to take anyones' shit again."

"Do you have any proof of this bullying? Or of you telling teachers and faculty members?" Mr. Reeves asked, tapping a pen on his desk.

"No, it was all verbal and Matthew would get me after school or away from cameras." Mark replied, knowing that would get him nowhere.

"Going by just the evidence alone, Mark, you're facing three counts of battery, one of which could be elevated to felony battery given the circumstances." Mark was unphased by the words, "How would this look for an aspiring young hero like yourself? How would this look for the Young Bloods?" He asked, Mark just returning his questions with a shrug. "You have nothing to say in your defense, Mr. Nemo? I find that hard to believe. I could reasonably expel you for this."

Mark sighed, "I came back and beat the bullies that made my life a living hell. The same bullies sheltered and defended by people like you. Apparently, you're supposed to be better than them, take the high road, don't stoop to their level and all of that. I did. For years, I did, and it got me nowhere. It got me tormented and ragged on, chased up and down streets, beat the fuck up at every turn and I never once got a break. I didn't even use my powers on them, it was just me."

"That doesn't matter, Mark, it's still battery on several counts. I'm hearing excuses and cursing, neither of which I want to hear. What I want to hear is your sincere apology over what you did to these fine young gentlemen."

Mark's jaw dropped - He had to be sorry for standing up for himself and taking down his tormentors. "You know what?" Mark said, standing up suddenly, the two cops reacting quickly and grabbing each of his arms, holding him in place and trying to move him back to his seat, shouting at him to do so. It felt easy, like Mark could easily toss both cops and ring the neck of Mr. Reeves, but Mark started to think. He thought long and hard about his situation, and what it might do if he lost it at this exact moment. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming down and sitting back in his seat, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry." He said, feigning sincerity and hoping it would be taken as genuine. "I lost control of myself and took things into my own hands, when I should have let the faculty handle it." He continued, paining himself on the last part because they had done nothing previously.

"That's right." Mr. Reeves said with a nod, "Now, with that in mind, your punishment is suspension for the rest of the week. Our two resource officers will issue you a fine for each student, five hundred dollars apiece. In your suspension, you'll be attending an anger management course for at-risk teens at our community center. Finally, if any of the student's families' decide to press charges, that's all on you, we will not assist you in any way. If they want to have a restraining order on you, you will be expelled to satisfy that order as well."

Mark raised his head out of his hands. "Sounds reasonable." He lied, "Is that everything, Mr. Reeves?" He asked, the vice-principal nodded.

"You're dismissed. If anything like this happens again, you will be expelled without any qualms. Do i make myself clear, Mr. Nemo?"

"Crystal clear." He finished, standing up from his chair, and exiting the office with the two officers leading him off campus.

[The Republic of Atria]

Bael

He wasn't sure how long passed after he blacked out. To him it was like going to sleep except it was near painfully cold. Then he snapped awake inside of the van, almost puncturing the side with his horns before his mind caught up with the rest of him. The tension left his body and he just sat groggily in the van. "...Thanks Renata. Really." He murmured. "Everyone make it out okay? No one's hurt? None of the civilians got hurt either?" He wasn't sure who confirmed that no one other than the criminals, himself and Renata got some minor injuries.

With a relatively loud sigh of relief, he slumped back over, trying to absorb more of the warmth of the side of the van. "That could've gone better. Hope the owner isn't too mad about me tearing up the concrete. If he doesn't like it, he can ask the hostages if they thought it was worth it... It's a bank, he's gotta have insurance, right?" He mumbled some more and then went back to relaxing for the remainder of the ride home. Only now did it hit him that the best form of transport that the team had for getting around the city was... A van. They had the jet for longer distances, but going from one to the other was so silly that it made him grin a bit.

The van pulled back into the Tower and everyone climbed out. Though Bael hung back to speak with the team's leader. "Hey Roy... About earlier and and just now. Can we talk? I really need some assurances and advice."

[Tomia]

Roy
Nightshade threw a sharp glare at Renata. "Do you think before you ask questions?" He asked sharply as Casimir chimed in with the answer. "Yes, she is America's representative in the United Champions. But I don't know why she is contacting me. We haven't ever spoken before. It must be serious if she is reaching out..." Roy trailed off in thought as he continued to drive. Then he heard Casimir share that he managed to gather a sample. "Excellent Cas, good work. We can use that to figure out what is going on with this chemical and how to stop it." After a few more minutes they crossed the bridge onto Wonder Island. Wyatt had woken up in the process, seemingly mostly recovered from his injuries. "Relax Wyatt, we're all okay. You did good work today." He told him as Roy parked into the garage and stepped out of the vehicle. When he did Wyatt approached him, looking a bit distressed and wanting to talk.

"Sure thing Wyatt" Roy said, looking up at his dragon like friend. "What can I help you with?"

Mars
Mars went a bit wide eye'd at his teacher's message. Mr. Baker seemed seriously upset by the existence of the Young Bloods. It almost seemed like it was personal for him...

"Well Mr. Baker I can tell them... I mean the ones I know you know. Its not like I can exactly call an incidence with them... I'm sorry I can't help but ask, is this personal to you? I didn't expect you to be so upset about the team existing. I know a lot of people don't necessarily like it but this seems different."

Angelica
The Frost hero had been dodging and blocking a few different balls when suddenly in the corner of her eye she saw Alexis flying through the air. She couldn't but hold a quick smile. Her girlfriend was nothing if not a show-woman. However her throw was no act, it moved at Angelica at high speeds and her instincts kicked in. She combat rolled to the side, just barely dodging the ball.

"Hey, this isn't a street fight super girl relax!" One of her nearby teammates jeered at her. Angelica scowled but ignored them as she picked up another ball and threw it hard at nearby opponent.

[Finland SSR]

Roy

Bael

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

October 2nd

---

Of course, the way Renata brought up the issue was not the most pleasant way in the world, but the way Roy suddenly shot back at her was, to the girl, completely unwarranted. AND needlessly hostile. Sure, Renata had made it very clear that she didn't view him in the best possible light, the resentment from back in early August was lingering on as always... but she hardly considered that the feeling was mutual. Then Casimir just had to butt in, detracting from the conversation with all the info he pulled out of the web...

Tiny cracks of light began to pop in and out of existence around Renata's body, only calmed when Wyatt began to speak and addressed the girl himself.

"...yeah, don't worry about it." she replied and sighed. "Getting yourself in danger so others don't have to and stuff." She turned to Roy for a brief second again. "Well, I guess the way you act is proof enough that Wendy really does need to hear about this, isn't it?"

That one was non-serious, at least. He's asserted enough that he never met this woman before. No matter what it was about, though, if the message came from a member of the United Champions herself, it was bound to be important. Renata could bet that they'll be having a team meeting on it within the following days, if not this evening - until that happens, though...

"See ya!" she exclaimed and waved as she hopped out of the van and ran off straight to the Tower. First thing's first, rip off this stupid webbing before it starts to rot or something...

---

Viviana Couture October 2nd

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

October 2nd

---

So Viv just wanted to play basketball, with the catch that they would only play for one round and get to use their abilities however they want.

"However I want... Alright!" the purple-haired girl declared in excitement, only to take that excitement taken away when Viv just slapped across her hands to grab the basketball out of her grip, before she even mentally prepared herself for the bout. Quick! Her mind knew she didn't have much time before her friend rushes past her and never stops, so she immediately acted.

With a snap, she cast an illusion to replace Viv's vision with a neverending blur of flashy lights, from which an aging, grey-haired teacher would step out and begin questioning the girl about quantum mechanics and rocket science. While the illusion was active, Mizu would aim to snatch the ball right back and begin to shapeshift, turning into a human-sized trebuchet and tossing the basketball towards the hoop.

---

Mars

Steven Baker.

October 2nd

---

"Personal."

Steven folded his hands together and took a stare through the window. The kid was smart enough to tell that there was more than just care for his students in the way. Still, initially, the teacher spoke back. "Does it really sound personal? It is personal in the way that you're all my students and I don't want to see any of you in the thick of battle, I suppose... You'd probably think the same if we switched places and you got to experience my story."

He leaned back and opened a drawer at the side of his desk, taking out an old framed picture, placing it on the table and pushing it towards Mars. If the teen was as immersed in hero culture as Steven knew he was, he probably wouldn't take long to recognize one of the few known survivors of the Young Bloods Massacre, the hero Calculator, in the picture. Next to him, in a side hug, stood a shorter, bright and excited blonde girl.

"That villain who attacked the Tournament a week or so ago... well, they were one of the people who took away her. And everyone else, that day."

[Absolon-7]

Bael

Roy

Renata Martinez, the heroic Stella!

Andrew

Casimir Herman October 2nd
Casimir snickered underneath as Roy was quick to retort Renata's question and it wasn't long until Wyatt finally woke up certainly thanks to his genius idea of shining some sun on him on the way back. Naturally Roy was grateful for his efforts in getting the weird chemical vial which meant he'd have to leave it somewhere. Maybe he could leave it the infirmary? That place was sorta science oriented. By the time they had arrived in the team's garage it occurred to him Renata had ignored every effort for him to check up on her. As he exited the van he saw her burst out of the vehicle and run back to the Tower. Casimir shrugged his shoulders as he calmly walked out of the garage. If she was uptight enough about his first aid to her to give him the silent treatment he could care less.

"I wonder what Vivi's up to," muttered Casimir as he ambled along the path to the Tower.

His thoughts suddenly realized the van had driven right past someone on the bridge. He didn't think much of it then but he might as well check what their deal was. Casimir popped his helmet back onto his head as he scurried across the island to the bridge. He did however check on the man first through some local beetles that lived in the patches of grass on the island's exterior. One lone beetle munching on the tip of a grass swiftly stopped its lunchtime and flew around the mystery person in a downward spiral. Didn't look like he had any weapons. Casimir eventually arrived on the bridge entrance in no time as abruptly as he could and he was startled to see who it was.

"Looks like Wonder Island's got a visitor. And it is I the Spectacular Kabuto who shall meet you....Hey, you're Captain Drunkard's sidekick. The hell are you doing here?" asked Casimir as he suddenly stopped running a few feet in front of Andrew. Casimir stopped to observe the much taller superhuman as he crossed his arms together, "If Captain Drunkard's wants to tell us to get killed again tell him to shove it where the sun don't shine. Maybe he'll find his dignity there."

Mizuma Ishiwara, the trickstery Selene!

Viviana Couture October 2nd
Viviana began to dribble the ball to the opposite court as soon after she had snatched the ball away. Maybe she could have given a Mizu a chance to prepare but there's no time like the present to play ball! However the brunette didn't get far as she suddenly stopped to rub her eyes while trying to keep the ball dribbling with the other. Bright flourecent lights started to fill her vision but they stayed even when she closed her eyes of all things. As she suddenly opened her eyes an old grouch of a woman manifested from the lights to badger her on topics she had no clue about.

"Wha....wha.what? The hell is a single-input and single-output system design? I don't know what a 1-dimensional potential energy box is lady!" exclaimed Viv right as the basketball was stolen from her hand, "Hey!"

Trebuchet-Mizu almost got the better of her until she coiled up her knees and then released their pressure to be propelled right below the basket hoop. Viviana expanded her hand to a foamfinger shape and size waited to slap the ball as it circled round the hoop before falling through to give Mizu a point. It had occurred to her that she couldn't exactly use her powers to just gain victory as winning meant dribbling the ball thus she couldn't just grab the ball, stretch her arm, and dunk it. No, she had to be creative. Or try and fail to be....

"Let's see how you can deal with the Chicle method!," proclaimed Viviana.

Her arm shot out at the ball as it bounced back onto the floor and formed into a drum shape. The back end of the drum collapsed in on itself forcing the front to bulge out and smack the ball right towards the middle of the court. She coiled her knees once again to hop right where the ball would land and her hands ensnared the ball as it flew right to her. Viviana rolled the ball into her hand aimed it high right before she was about to throw it.

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

---

Red glanced over at Isabella, who's focus was set on the busy streets in front of them as she maneuvered the small van they were in through the bustling night-time traffic of San Diego. He noted the soft-expression that she normally wore on her face was completely absent, replaced instead with that of stone-cold determination that developed whenever the situation turned into that of a serious manner. Her hair, which usually hung loosely down her shoulders was instead tied up in a tight knot in a way that wouldn't impede her vision. She wore a long sleeve black nylon tactical shirt that fit tightly around her form as well as black tactical pants and boots, all of which were as black as night. Several small black pouches hung from her waist, containing a variety of devices and tools that held a wide variety of uses.

Red wore a similar outfit himself, not having the option to wear anything that would connect him to the Young Bloods in any manner. To further ensure this, a pair of black nylon balaclavas rested on the center console positioned between them. Should a law enforcement officer have happened to pull them over, it certainly would have been a suspicious sight, but Isabella was careful to abide by the various traffic laws to not draw any sort of attention. As an extra precaution, however, a small tablet had been mounted on the center dash, displaying the locations of every police officer on patrol within the a two mile radius. This was certainly illegal, but for what kind of work Isabella did, it was a necessity. Red himself had a similar device on his motorcycle installed, one that he had used more than once in the past.

"We're here," Isabella said with a low voice, her hands momentarily gripping tightly onto the steering wheel before releasing her grip to reach down to place on her balaclava. Red paused for second before following suit, the fabric fitting tightly around his facial features yet not becoming uncomfortable or restricting his vision. The two hopped out of the van and headed towards the back doors, which when opened revealed an assortment of devices and equipment.

While nowhere near the standards of Alexis's craftsmanship that Red had become accustomed to, what was presented to him was more than enough to make his eyes widen slightly. Flashbang grenades, smoke cannisters, tasers, handheld blowtorches, night-vision goggles, anything and everything one could need was all available to them. The two wasted no time in collecting their assortment of goodies, placing them in the various spots made readily available for storage on the belts that ran across their waists.

As Red fiddled around with placing the night-vision goggles onto his forehead, he suddenly frozen as the familiar sound of the action of a firearm slid forwards into place. Turning his attention over to Isabella, he saw that she was holding a compact nine millimeter handgun in her hand, which she effortlessly spun in her hands so that the handle was presented towards him. Red's eyes narrowed as he stared at the weapon in her hands before his gazed returned to hers.

"I thought we said no killing," he replied, his voice carrying a small amount of anger in it. Isabella responded by staring back at him, her eyes like daggers as she replied in a cold voice.

"I never said I would take needless risks, Red. And right now, we don't know what it is we're getting in to. Take it, or else I don't take mine. You might think you can last out there without one, but can you say the same about me?"

The two remained motionless for a few moments as both of them waited for the other to respond. Finally, Red became the one to break, as he reached forwards and took the weapon from her. He paused for a few moments as he felt the weight of the weapon in his hands, a sensation that now felt foreign to him. Reaching down with his left hand, he pulled back on the slide and looked down to see a fresh bullet waiting in the chamber within. The sight was so familiar to him, yet at the same time it made a small sensation that could only be described as a raging storm churn within him. Unable to deal with this sensation any further, he slid the slide forwards and placed it into one of the holsters located on his belt, ensuring the safety was locked forwards as he did.

Seeing this, Isabella let out a silent sigh of relief as she reached down to grab her own weapon, identical to what Red now possessed. Reaching into the metal container that she had retrieved the weapons from, she retrieved several magazines and placed them in one of her pouches. She was about to grab more for Red, when a hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her from doing such.

"I won't need them," Red said in a low voice, which caused Isabella to glare slightly at him before eventually letting out a frustrated sigh as she pulled her hand away from the container. Closing the door to the van, the two walked over to the side of the van, where they both stared at the daunting task awaiting them.

Their objective was to infiltrate what was believed to be a major drug processing and shipping facility that was ran by a local drug ring that held ties to the infamous Sinaloa Cartel. While the name of this local drug ring would often change due to frequent leadership shifts, either via from arrests or inner turmoil, the group was informally known as the Santos de San Diego. The name was of course ironic in the most extreme of terms, as the group was responsible for a large portion of the illicit drug trade in the city as well as countless other crimes such as murders and human trafficking.

This wasn't Red's first time in dealing with the organization, but never had he gone after the head of the snake like they were about to. According to Isabella's information, the current head of the organization as well as several other prominent lieutenants were having a meeting in the top floor of the building which was reserved for such occasions. If they could be taken down in one fell swoop, the entire drug ring could potentially collapse from within, at least for a short time until the Sinaloa Cartel found someone new to replace them.

Doing that was going to be far from easy, however. The group used their illicit money to hire a plethora of guards to protect not only the facility but the higher ups as well. They were armed with military-grade weapons and equipment, as well as a state of the art security system that could spot a mouse scrambling in between the shadows of the parking lot. It was an impregnable fortress, yet this wasn't about to stop either Isabella or Red from getting in.

"You're sure that virus is going to work? If they spot us before we're in, there's no way we're even going to get into the building, let alone the third floor," Red spoke over to Isabella, pulling back the sleeve on his left arm to glance down at the electronic watch positioned there.

"If it was done by anyone but Frank, I'd doubt it too," Isabella replied, glancing down at her own watch as well. "But given that we've dealt with a lot worse before, I'll trust him here." While her facial features were masked by the balaclava she wore, Red could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn't bluffing in her response. He could understand this, as Frank had always been their team's expert in hacking into electronic systems. Until Red had met Wendy, he had thought that there was no one who could even come close to matching his skill, and even now Red still was hesitant on that matter.

"Alright, it's almost time. You still remember the plan?" Isabella asked, which Red promptly nodded to in response.

"As soon as it hits 2030 hours, the loop plays on the security feed and the electronic warning sensors are deactivated. We move in via the trash shoot and make our way to the second floor towards the security control center. Take out the guards there, and then move in to the ventilation system. Shimmy our way up to the third floor until we're right above the meeting room, grab the head boss, have a fun chat, tie him and everyone else up, and then make our way out while leaving a tip for the local police." Red's eyes rolled slightly as he shook his head. "So simple and easy a child could do it."

Hidden underneath her balaclava, Isabella smiled slightly. "Glad to see your enthusiasm hasn't gone away yet." Glancing down at her watch, Red noticed her eyebrows furrow as the display read the hours at 2030. Looking back up, she gave Red a small nod.

"Let's go."

---

Leaning up against the stone wall of the building behind him, a man dressed in military fatigues and armed with AK-74u reached into his pocket for a cigarette. He was only halfway through his shift, but given that this had been yet another boring night of wandering around on patrol he decided to take a small break to help fend off the growing headache he had been feeling for the last half an hour. He couldn't complain though, given how comfy of a job this was. He had been practically been thrown money at to just stand around with a machine-gun and look menacing enough to discourage any wandering eyes from glancing too closely at what went on here. He didn't even have to worry about any kind of police officer rolling by him, as they all knew better than to try it.

Placing the cigarette in his mouth, the man was about to light up when suddenly the light post in front of him began to flicker. With the cigarette clamped tightly within his mouth, the man cocked his head slightly as he watched as the light pulse on and off erratically. Taking a few cautious steps forwards, he looked up to see if there was some sort of loose wiring or something near the top of the post that would explain what was going on. As he got closer, he spotted something small and metallic stuck to the side of the electrical box, an object he was certain he hadn't ever seen on one of these posts before.

"What the-"

Before he could finish, the light suddenly shut off, leaving him standing alone in the darkness. Stumbling backwards from the sudden disappearance of the light source, the man was stopped in his tracks as he back bumped into something. Turning around in the darkness, the only thing he could see was a pair of glowing circles staring back at him. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he tried to raise his weapon, but he never even got the chance as a fist impacted straight into the man's windpipe, sending him sprawling towards the ground. Unable to even breath, let alone speak, he tried to weakly reach for his rifle he had dropped, but a glowing heap of pain was soon felt as his hand was crushed underneath a boot. A small horse groan of pain escaped his lips, but they were soon silenced as another boot suddenly flew through the air, impacting on the side of his head and knocking him out cold.

A moment later the lights flickered back on, and when they did the man's body was no where to be seen. Coming into the newly reintroduced light came another figure, dressed in all black with only their bright blue eyes visible through the slit of their mask. The figure glanced down a watch placed on their left wrist before turning their attention to the other similarly dressed individual, who was in the process of ensuring the trash can where the unconscious guard was hidden within was securely shut.

"Nice work, Red. Now let's keep moving. We've only got another ten minutes until the next radio check comes in," Isabella said in a hushed tone of voice. Red gave her a small nod in response, and quickly went to work on opening the lid to the trash shoot located on the wall next to them. It was surprisingly not as putrid smelling as he had expected, but he still couldn't help but scrunch his nose underneath his balaclava as he briefly looked inside.

"This is going to be a bitch to climb up, you realize that right?" Red said in a somewhat annoyed tone, shaking his head as he poked his head back out to look over at Isabella. The girl simply shrugged in response, pushing Red aside as she squeezed her body inside.

"We've had worse," she replied before maneuvering her body in a way that allowed her to press up against the sides of the metal shoot enough to gain traction. Once she felt secure enough, she began to shimmy her body upwards with the grace and strength of a gymnast. Red could only let out a small sigh, shaking his head as he too positioned himself so that he could shimmy in behind her.

As the two made their way upwards, the air immediately began to feel hot and heavy within as the shoot lacked any sense of insulation within. A pool of sweat quickly began to develop underneath Red's balaclava as he focused on shimmying one part of his body after the other. He was less than a foot away from Isabella, so close the he could hear her heavy breathing as they struggled to keep their bodies from falling down to the ground below them. If she would happen to slip for even a second she would bring Red crashing down with her, meaning that he had to have complete and utter faith in her abilities so that wouldn't happen. It was a bit nerve racking to say the least for him, but he knew very well that if there was anyone he could trust to do such an acrobatic act, it was her. After all, she had been the most graceful in terms of athletics of anyone on the team, something she often liked to tease Red about as someone who often found more difficulty than others in doing such challenging feats of athleticism.

Small slivers of light began to beam down on the side of the metal shoot above them, indicating they had finally arrived to the second floor. To the extent that she could Isabella glanced down towards Red, who replied with a small grunt as he stopped where he was and further braced himself against the metal sides of the shoot. Isabella then proceeded to use Red's braced frame to turn around in the metal shoot and slowly open up the hatch to see what was outside. After a few moments, she fully opened the hatch and crawled out to the floor inside, rolling onto her feet as she did. Reaching back down with both hands, the two let out small grunts as she pulled Red into the trash room with her.

With both of their feet now on stable ground, the two gave themselves a few moments to recover as they wiped away the sweat that had collected on their foreheads. While this was certainly not the most difficult part of the plan, it had certainly been one that they were glad to have overcame without any difficulties. Glancing down at their watches, they were also content to see that they were still running on schedule. Should they have fallen or otherwise gotten held up in the metal shoot, they would've risked running out of time before the next radio check would have gone through. Had that happened, the difficulty of getting where they needed in time would have skyrocketed immensely.

Reaching into one of the pouches on her hips, Isabella retrieved a long flexible metal rod, a camera placed on one end and a small display screen placed on the other. Sliding the end with the camera on it underneath the metal door that separated the trash room from the remainder of the building, she quickly scanned the connecting hallways to see if anyone was around. Seeing no one, Isabella quickly pulled the metal rod back into the room, folding it back up and placing it back into its pouch.

Giving Red a small nod, the two quietly opened the door, closing it behind them as they made their way down the hallway. Several closed doors were located in staggered positions down the corridor, dim strips of lights above providing enough vision so that their night vision goggles would no longer be needed. The floors below were somewhat dirty, obviously having not been properly cared for by those who owned the building. Given that this floor mostly dealt with those processing whatever contraband that went in and out of this building, this didn't come as much of a surprise for either Red or Isabella.

Making their way further down the hallway, the two stopped at a door labeled "SECURITY". Isabella once more retrieved the flexible camera rod and began to scan within as Red kept an ear out for any approaching footsteps. After a few moments, Isabella gave Red a small tap on the shoulder, holding two fingers up before placing her hand in front of her eyes. The hand gesture indicated that there were two guards within, but they were either asleep or otherwise distracted. Nodding, Red gently pushed open the door, staying as silent as possible.

As they entered the room, the sound of a soccer announcer speaking in rapid-fire Spanish could be heard as the two guards within had their feet propped up in their chairs facing a television screen. Several empty cans of beer could be seen laying on the ground next to them as the two men's attention was prompted solely on the game. The wall besides them was filled with security camera footage which displayed the running loop of video that had previously been hijacked into the system earlier. Another display showing various electronic security systems also showed no signs of Red and Isabella's entrance, which was probably the only thing these guards actually relied on based on their current actions.

Creeping up behind them, the two guards had no warning as suddenly both felt an iron-like grip wrap around their necks from behind. The two guards immediately kicked out the chairs below them as they tried to wriggle out of the chokes, but they found no sort of relief as the grips around their necks simply tightened further until eventually their struggles ceased.

Letting the bodies of the now unconscious guards fall onto the ground below, Red quickly went to work on securing their wrists and ankles with the military-grade zip ties he had in one of his pouches. They would be out of it for some time, but he wasn't going to take any chances in case they came to sooner than expected. As he was doing this, Isabella went over towards the radio communication controls, shutting off the device so that further communications would cease. Eventually this would cause suspicion, but by the time anyone realized what was happening it would be far too late.

With the second part of their plan done, the two made their way back towards the hallway towards the utility room where they could access the ventilation shaft network. Once inside, Red quickly went into action by disabling the spinning fans within, essentially clearing the path ahead for them as the once again began to shimmy through the cramped metal space inside. In addition to this, Isabella stuck a small metallic object onto the side of the light controls, the same device that they had used earlier on the individual light post outside earlier. It was capable of disrupting the flow of electricity to anything it was in direct contact with, something that was planned on being used in the near future.

The air was hot and stale inside the ventilation shafts as the two made their way up towards the third and final floor of the building. Periodically they had to halt their progress as roving patrols of guards and other staff walked down the hallways below them. Every time they did Red and Isabella both held their breath in concern that the metal shafts supporting their weight would collapse, but although an occasional groan in the metal could be heard their fears turned out to be for nothing as they continued to make their way to where they needed to be.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two finally arrived to the spot where they needed to be. Staring down between the vents underneath them, Red and Isabella watched as a half dozen men sat around a luxurious wooden table, each man eyeing the others warily as they seemed to be waiting for something. It didn't take a hard look to see that these men were clearly hardened criminals, from the tattoos that seemed to cover every square inch of available skin to the firearms visibly protruding from their waists. Given the constant infighting the group reportedly went, it was no surprise to see this.

While their view of the scene was partially obscured, Red watched as the men's gazes suddenly shifted from one another towards the end of the room. The men immediately pushed their chairs back and stood up, nervous beads of sweat already visible on some of their foreheads as they stared intently at whomever was approaching. The sound of dress shoes pounding on the wooden floors below was audible, followed by the unmistakable sound of boots.

"It's him," Isabella said in a hushed voice, careful as to not speak too loudly. Red momentarily shifted his gaze over to look at her face, the rays of light that made their way through the vents revealing an expression of pure contempt that was visible even with her face obscured. Given that this man was responsible for the death of Frank, he suppose he couldn't blame her for the waves of emotions that were likely flooding over her.

"Caballeros, please, sit down," a voice suddenly rang out below them, causing Red's attention to snap back towards the scene underneath. At this time he was able to finally get a solid look at the man he and Isabella were after, Julio Garza, or as his nickname went, "The Butcher". From what Red had already knew as well as the further information Isabella had provided to him, the man was ruthless and unforgiving, not only to those he preyed upon but even towards those who followed him. He had gotten his nickname during the period of time when he had risen to power after another power struggle played out within the drug ring, with him having killed not only those who had stood in his way but their entire families. For over a month, local authorities had been finding the remnants of his killings across San Diego, cut up and placed in bags across town. Given that there were many known criminals who had belonged to the drug ring that to this day still remained missing, it was likely that the actual amount of deaths caused by that man was significantly higher, but estimates ranged up to over two dozen individuals. The police were never able to tie the man to the crimes, however, which meant that to this day he remained unmolested by the authorities, albeit under careful watch.

At his behest, the lieutenants returned to their seats, not a single man making a sound as they waited nervously for their boss to sit down. It was clear that the actions that had earned Garza his nickname was keeping them in check, something that had allowed for the drug ring to remain relatively stable over the last several months. Whether it was out of fear or out of respect was hard to tell, but every man there sat in attention as Garza eventually sat down at the head of the table, two of his armed guards standing with their weapons drawn next to him. Staring at the men sitting before him, Garza waited for a few tense moments before finally speaking.

"So, my trusted lieutenants, I can imagine you are all wondering why I decided to stay in San Diego to speak with you instead of enjoying my time back in Cancun." Garza glared at the men, a visible scorn on his face as he did that caused many of the lieutenants to involuntarily let out a collective gulp. "Well, this is because I have been informed that there have been...complications in the current distribution of some our new product. To be specific, a shipment that recently landed in the hands of the police that was worth over five-hundred thousand dollars." Garza's fingers began to rapidly tap on the table below him as the scorn on his face deepened. "Now, can anyone explain this situation to me as to how this happened?"

The men sitting at the table around him began to look around at each other for some time, before eventually one of the men nervously cleared his throat.

"Jefe, it wasn't our fault! It's those fucking Young Bloods! Ever since we started moving things around the city, they've been on our asses even more than before! Especially El Demonio!"

Garza's eyebrows furrowed as the lieutenant's excuses were thrown at him. "Ah, El Demonio. 'The demon who stalks you night, his eyes glowing blue with a hellish flame, and who appears from the shadows.' I've heard of this person. He is a hero, after all, so that should be expected. But-" Garza suddenly halted in his sentence, holding a finger in the air. "He does not even have powers, no? The Mask, your so-called demon, is no more of a man than you or I. Killing him should be no more difficult than killing any other man. See, let me show you."

Before anyone could react, Garza suddenly reached towards the pocket of his coat and retrieved a revolver from within. Aiming it directly at the lieutenant who had spoken up, Garza pulled the trigger. In a flash, the man he was aiming at was sent sprawling to the ground, a large gaping wound staining the lieutenants' shirt with blood as he lay on the ground unmoving. Garza, holding a look of annoyance on his face, returned the weapon back into the pocket of his coat before clearing his throat.

"So, now that that lesson has been learned, I hope the rest of you understand what I am asking for here. I don't want to hear any more rumors about 'Demons', I don't want to hear any more excuses, and I don't want to hear about any more shipments being lost. Do I make myself clear?"

The men around the table wasted no time in nodding their heads, their eyes wandering over towards the limp body laying on the floor besides them in a pool of blood. Seeing this, their boss seemed to be content enough with himself as his posture relaxed ever so slightly.

"Good. Now, moving on to the next bit of information I need to discuss. I've been told that the little rat that had been scurrying around our facility was caught and dealt with?" he asked to confirm, which was answered with a small nod by one of his lieutenants. A small look of relief seemed to spread over the boss's face as he leaned back in his chair. "Excellent. I was told that the little cizañero didn't even know what hit him. I just wish I could have been there to see it, but I suppose I'll just have to imagine the sight of him pissing himself."

As the man finished saying this, Red suddenly noticed a small flicker of movement next to him. Looking over to the source, he saw that Isabella's eyes were wide open in fury as she reached for the pistol at her hip. Realizing what was about to happen, Red reached his own hand downwards to stop her from grabbing it. His hand clasped down on hers, and at first she struggled to break free from his grip. However Red refused to let go, and instead maintained his hold until eventually he felt her stop resisting. He saw her shake her head briefly in an apparent effort to calm her mind, and soon she seemed to be back in control of herself.

"Isabella, don't get distracted. We'll get this guy, but we have to do this by the book," Red whispered to her, locking eyes with the girl for a few tense moments before she seemed to reluctantly nod back to him. While she had momentarily been overcome with the anger she had felt, she wasn't blind to the fact that if they didn't do this as planned, the odds of them surviving were next to none, let alone getting what they came her for. Isabella closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them once more.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Red gave her hand one final small reassuring squeeze before pulling hand back towards his pouch to retrieve what he needed. In addition to this, he pulled his night vision goggles over his eyes, their function disabled for the moment. Pulling back the pins of several flashbang grenades, he held on tightly with both hands on the release handles so that they were primed and ready to go the moment he released his grip. Turning over to Isabella, she was holding onto a small trigger device with one hand while holding up three fingers with her other. After making eye contact, she began to slowly count down with her fingers, until eventually she made a fist.

In a split second, a flurry of actions took place as Red slammed his steel-toed boots against the metal vent that had been previous separating them from the room below. The men below, hearing the noise, looked up to the ceiling above them, only for a blinding flash of light proceeded by an ear-splitting eruption of sound went off right above their heads. Everyone within the room immediately let out cries of pain as both their vision and their hearing were taken from them momentarily, with many of them stumbling over their chairs or one another. Even for those who hadn't caught the full effect, their vision was further robbed from them as suddenly the lights from within the room went out, leaving the room pitch black outside of the sliver of light that escaped from beneath the window curtains nearby.

Dropping from the ventilation shaft above and rolling forwards to negate the impact, Red and Isabella showed no mercy as they delivered a flurry of punches, kicks, throws, and all other assortments of blows to quickly dispatch everyone within the room. One of the men, who had recovered enough to at least be able to draw his sidearm tucked in his waist line, attempted to point his weapon at Isabella, but the sensation of searing pain caused him to drop the weapon as a knife thrown by Red sliced at the top of his hand. Isabella wasted no time in delivering a sharp kick to the man's liver, causing him to kneel over in agonizing pain before he was sent sprawling limp on the floor as an elbow drove into the back of his neck.

Stumbling down onto his face, Garza attempted to crawl towards the exit but was stopped in his tracks as a pair of hands gripped tightly onto his shoulders. Before the man knew what was happening next, he suddenly felt the strong grip holding him practically toss him up into the air, only to feel the air in his lungs completely escape him as he was slammed onto his back onto the floor below. Dazed, the drug ring boss attempted to see even what it was that had attacked him, but he suddenly froze as he heard the sound of a gun cocking right next to his temple.

"Start talking right now, or I blow your fucking brains out right here on the goddamn floor," Isabella said in a commanding tone of voice, anger seeping through her tone as she pointed the gun to the side of the man's head. On top of him pinning him to the floor was Red, who's gaze locked on to the firearm in her hand. Underneath his balaclava, Red bit at his lower lip as he watched in nervous anticipation. He was hoping that she was merely using the weapon as a means of intimidation, but given what he had seen only moments ago, he was unsure whether or not this was the case.

Garza, meanwhile, looked up at what he could barely even see as shadows glaring down at him. The man knew he had been caught, but as he heard Isabella's demands, he merely snarled back at the figure holding the weapon at his head with a look of pure contempt in his eyes. "Fuck you," he replied, defiance in his voice as he stared down the barrel of the gun.

Through his night-vision goggles, Red saw as Isabella's finger slightly tensed up against the trigger, forcing Red to put matters into his own hands as he suddenly hefted the man onto his feet. Holding onto the man's hair with one hand, he pulled back the other and delivered a sharp crack to the man's lower abdomen with his fist. The man let out a muffled cry of pain as whatever little air had returned to his lungs was once more forcefully expelled form him. The onslaught wasn't over, however, as shortly after this Red reached down with both hands to send the man's head falling downwards, only to snap back violently as Red's knee smashed into his nose. Blood poured door the man's face as his nose broke from the impact, sending the man into a fit of involuntary coughs that pained him with every motion.

Holding onto the man's hair still, Red cocked back yet another fist so that the man could see what he was about to do. He paused, however, as he looked at the man with disgust in his eyes. "That's not the answer we're looking for, asshole." Sending his fist forwards once more, he delivered another blow to the man's lower abdomen, sending a small amount of blood splattering across the floor below as his broken nose continued to bleed profusely. The third impact seemed to nearly send the man into unconsciousness as his body went limp and the only thing keeping him upright being Red's grip of his course black hair.

The man tried to lift his head up to stare at the two black-clad figures. His face was immensely swollen up, and several teeth were visibly gone from his mouth, no doubt thanks to the knee he had received just moments ago. He seemed to be holding back tears as he attempted to bring his state of mind back to that of defiance, but once he saw Red preparing another blow, his composure immediately crumbled as he began to loudly sob.

"What...do...you want from me?" he pleaded, sobs interrupting his words as he seemed to barely float on the verge of consciousness. Red looked over to Isabella, who still held her pistol in her hand, albeit now off hanging loosely by her hip.

"This 'Rat' you mentioned. He was a friend of mine, a friend that your men ambushed in what should have been a secure location. I want to know how you found him, and anyone who helped you do it." Isabella's words came out like venom as she stared down at the man, who at this point could barely even see as his blackened eyes began to swell with the rest of his face.

"We...we got a tip. Told me about the kid, and...what he was trying to do. My men, th-they were told that he'd be...at some apartment building so I sent a few and...and..."

As the man's words trailed off, Isabella's grip on her pistol tightened before she swung the butt of it across the man's face, causing yet more blood to splatter across the wooden floors below.

"WHO?!"

Red gave her yet another nervous glance, this time in concern that she was going to end up knocking out the man before they could get the answers she needed. By some miracle, the man remained awake, although the swaying back and forth his head did made it clear he wasn't going to hold on for much longer.

"Some...cabrón...said he worked with the kid...asked for money in exchange, so we paid him. Too damn much, if you...ask me."

Although both of their eyes were covered by the night-vision goggles they wore, both Isabella and Red's eyes went wide as they stared up at one another. Isabella seemed especially shocked at hearing this, freezing for a few moments as she seemed to process what she had just heard. "Is he saying that there's a mole in the Five? Or at least Lycan?" she asked, disbelief in her voice as she asked Red. He too was fairly stunned at the revelation, as he couldn't imagine either group having a mole within their ranks, especially the former.

Pushing Red aside, Isabella grabbed the limp man by his shoulders, shaking him awake as she desperately tried to continue asking questions. "What was his name?!" she yelled at the man, who's head now barely remained upright as his eyes began to gloss over. "TELL ME!" Isabella screamed even louder, shaking the man even harder until he seemed to wake up just enough to bring him back to his senses.

"His...name...was-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Red's eyes caught a small flash out of the corner of his vision. A split second later, the sound of shattered glass followed erupted from the window next to him, the unmistakable sound of a rifle going off in the distance following shortly. Out of instinct, both he and Isabella dived to the ground towards cover as several more bullets tore through the windows besides them, completely blowing to pieces any bits of furniture they impacted into as well as large chunks of the wall behind them.

Cursing, Red glanced over to see if Isabella was still okay. His heart momentarily leapt out of his chest when he saw her stained in blood, but as he saw her stare back at him seemingly unharmed, Red suddenly realized what had happened. Turning his head over to where they had been standing only moments ago, he saw the sprawled out body of Garza laying on the floor. His head was practically non-existent, as it was clear the first bullet had been directed at him. Red doubted the man had even felt it when he got hit, which was probably the only positive thing out of the now chaotic situation they found themselves in.

"A fucking sniper?!" Red yelled out to Isabella in disbelief as several more rounds punched through not only the windows but the walls besides them. Whatever their attacker was using, it was big, most likely a .50 caliber rifle. His guess was that it was likely an M82, based on the sheer power its rounds were delivering as well as the rate of fire the sniper was producing. With such a weapon in their hands and an obvious display of talent in using it, Red knew that he and Isabella couldn't stay where they were for much longer. Even if the sniper didn't manage to get them, he could already hear the sounds of shouts approaching the doorways. It would be a matter of seconds before dozens of armed men stormed inside, and with enough of them Red knew that not even he or Isabella could fight them off.

With little time left to act, Red reached towards one of the broken shards of glass laying next to him. Holding it up so that it barely peaked above the window, he waited for the sniper to fire once more. Sure enough, not even a second later the shard of glass in his hand exploded as another bullet ripped through, causing small bits of glass to cut at Red face and arms. His clothing seemed to do enough to stop any serious injuries, but Red could feel the sharp stinging pain of the smaller cuts that accrued from the exploding glass. Still, it had been enough for Red to get a decent gauge at where whoever was firing at them was at, and that was enough for him to go forward with his next plan of action.

"Isabella, how lucky are you feeling right now?" Red shouted over to his partner, who looked over at him with a look of confusion that was hidden her balaclava.

"Lucky? How the hell is this even remotely lucky, and why the hell are you asking?!" she shouted back at him.

Underneath his own balaclava, a morbid grin spread across Red's expression. "Because if he's using an M82, those things can only hold ten rounds. And I can't remember if he's shot off nine or eight. So I got to know, how lucky do you feel right now?!"

Isabella stared at Red in disbelief for a few moments, before she suddenly erupted in what was the funniest yet hopeless fit of laughter one could ever hear. "Pretty damn unlucky, if you ask me."

Red couldn't help but let out a small pathetic chuckle as well. "That's what I thought. Well, then if we can't rely on your luck, you'll just have to rely on mine."

Before Isabella could respond any further, Red suddenly unbuckled the belt around his waist and tossed it into the opening of the window in direct view of the sniper. The motion immediately resulted in another round erupting, splitting the leather belt in half and sending several of the devices within scattering across the ground below. Reaching towards Isabella, Red heard a small surprised yelp erupt from the girl before he pulled her out of the window with him, the two spiraling down towards the ground below. There wasn't even enough time for either to let out a scream, as a moment later the two smashed against the metal frame of a cargo box attached to a semi-truck below.

The two let out a collective grunt of pain as their bodies smashed a huge dent into the metal frame, only for them to roll of several more feet onto the concrete below. Sprawled out on the ground beside him, Isabella let out a stunned groan as she struggled to keep herself from blacking out from the impact. Before she could, however, she suddenly felt a pair of hands lift her up from the ground and hold onto her upper and lower body. Glancing upwards, she could barely see the outline of Red's frame as he let out pained grunts while pumping his legs forwards as fast as they could go. The sound of blaring sirens could be heard in the distance as police officers began to swarm towards the area, no doubt having heard the barrage of gunshots moments earlier.

For several minutes, Isabella teetered on the verge of consciousness, her vision fading in and out as she struggled to stay awake. The only thing that likely allowed her to do this was the sound of Red's heavy breathing, her head slowly being tilted back and forth as he chest rapidly sunk in and out with every breath. Every inch of her was in pain, but still as she felt herself getting carried away, she couldn't help but shakily reach up with her right hand and gently tug on the tight fitting fabric that was over his chest. Placing her head up near where her hand was, Isabella felt herself slipping away, the sound of Red's panicked voice filling her ears but being unable to discern what was being said.



The soft creeping rays of light shone warmly on Isabella's face, causing the girl to stir from her sleep. A familiar smell filled her nose, the scent seemingly reminding her of something yet she couldn't quite tell what it was, only that it somehow made her feel at ease. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the blurry outlines of what seemed to be a tangled mess of orange strands of hair, followed by the sounds of slow breathing coming from the heap of hair. After a few moments that it took for her eyes to fully adjust, Isabella's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what she was looking at. Mere inches away from her nose laid the top of Red's head, resting on top of his arms that were used as a seemingly makeshift pillow. He was laying perpendicular to the bed, with only his upper torso actually resting on it while the remainder was sprawled out on the floor below.

Out of pure reflex, Isabella immediately let out a startled yelp as she pushed herself up onto her elbows away from where she had been laying, smacking Red in the face by accident with her elbow in the process. The redhead too let out a startled yelp, followed by a string of curses as he reached up with his hand to rub the side of his left cheek where the elbow had impacted. Still drowsy and unsure of what was actually going on, Red suddenly reached towards the nightstand next to him and grabbed a hold of the pistol he had been carrying earlier.

Breathing heavily, Red's eyes finally adjusted to the light as his conscious began to fully become aware of what had happened. Glancing over to where Isabella was propped up against the adjacent wall, the two locked eyes for a few moments as they both seemed to need a few moments to collect themselves. After some time, Red eventually lowered his pistol, muttering curses under his breath as he placed the weapon back to where it had been resting. Meanwhile, Isabella's eyes went wide as she realized what she had just done, a feeling of both guilt and confusion washing over her as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Red? What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, which caused Red to raise one of his eyebrows in surprise at the question.

"Do you not remember what happened last night?" he responded with, a small hint of concern filling his voice.

Isabella paused for a few moments, her eyebrows furrowing as she struggled to recall what he was referencing. Finally her eyes went wide once more, as everything suddenly reentered her memory like a tidal wave. "Red, the sniper! How did you-"

Red interrupted her with a small sigh of relief, which caused Isabella to cock her head to the side in confusion. Little did she know, Red had been worried that she had suffered serious head trauma when they had fallen. If she could still remember that much, that was a good sign. Getting up from the floor he had previously sprawled down upon, Red scratched at the back of head for a brief moment before explaining further.

"I knew that there was a cargo box on a truck just below our window. I counted on the sniper, whoever it was, to have to need to reload after he fired that last shot. Turns out my guess was right, but falling twenty feet isn't exactly painless. I managed to carry you after you passed out back to the van before the police could intercept us, and I drove us back to your place." Pointing at her, Isabella looked down at her body, where she suddenly realized she was wearing a seemingly random assortment of bandages around her body. One of her shirts was placed over torso, as well as a pair of sweatpants. "I had to check for any serious injuries, and while you certainly got banged up, there didn't appear to be anything too serious besides a few bad cuts and bruises. My guess is you probably have a concussion as well, but given that you can remember what happened, it's probably not that severe."

Isabella paused for a few seconds as she tried to comprehend what Red had just told her. After some time of deliberation, a small scowl appeared on her face as she stared daggers back at Red. "Are you trying to tell me you stripped me of my clothes? You damn pervert!" Cocking back a fist, she delivered a sharp punch into Red's shoulder, an action that caused both of them to wince in pain. Before she could ready yet another one, however, Red held up his hands in a mock surrender gesture as a pleading expression appeared on his face.

"Only what I had to in order to bandage your wounds, I swear! Jesus, what kind of sick monster do you think I am?" he said in defense of himself, pausing as he cocked he head to the side in remembrance of something else. "Besides," he said as he suddenly turned to stare daggers at Isabella in return, "you did the same damn thing to me yesterday, so why the hell are you acting upset about it?!"

In response to this, Isabella's cheeks suddenly turned a bright shade of red as she was unable to make eye contact with Red. "It's...it's not the same, idiot!" she yelled at him, throwing the pillow next to her at his head, which he barely managed to avoid. Curling up into a ball, Isabella buried her head between her knees, unwilling to look at Red who could only stand there in confusion. Finally after some time of Isabella not saying anything else, Red finally let out a frustrated sigh as he spoke up once more.

"Look, that stuff isn't important anyways, Isabella. What matters right now is that you have a mole within either the Five or Lycan, and that mole tried to kill both of us last night."

Upon hearing this, Isabella's pouting suddenly ceased, as her gaze went up to meet Red's, who wore a serious look of concern on his face as he waited for a response. Isabella sat there quietly for a few moments as she thought about what he had said, before finally speaking up, her voice now calm and level.

"And whoever it is, they were the reason Frank was killed."

Red nodded his head in response, his eyes subconsciously glancing over to the curtains of the window nearby. "I stayed up all night waiting for whoever it was to try and come for us again, but they never came. I thought of getting my team involved, but this is too messy for me to get them tangled in with right now." Red's tone softened slightly as a thought appeared in his mind. "Besides, if I told them you were with the same organization that damn near killed half of us, I doubt we would've gotten any help regardless."

Isabella bit at the corner of her lip, her eyes unable to meet Red's as she knew what he was saying was true. It had probably been for that reason alone Red had brought her back to her residence, as there was no other logical place for them to go. The Tower in which he lived in was home to a team that would have absolutely rejected her, and going to a hospital would only raise questions they couldn't answer. Glancing over at the nightstand next to her bed, her eyes caught the sight of the pistol Red had sitting on top of it. It was likely that Red had sat next to it all night while looking over her, probably only stopping when he eventually ran out of energy.

Groaning Isabella rubbed at the sides of her temples, a headache having began to develop now that she was fully awake. Red's prediction on her sustaining a concussion was likely true, which meant that she would need to take it easy for some time. She didn't even want to imagine how Red was feeling, given the damage he had sustained even before they had gone on this last mission together. A ping of guilt filled her gut as she realized how much danger she had placed him in, both in terms of his physical safety and his role as a member of the Young Bloods. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Isabella finally responded.

"Thanks, Red. I'm serious when I say this, if you hadn't been there tonight, I would've been dead. The fact that you've stuck your neck out for someone you have all the reason in the world to hate, well, it says a lot. However," Isabella paused as she began to choose her next words carefully, "I'm going to have to ask you to step away from now on."

Upon hearing this, a confused expression filled Red's face. "Step away? What the hell do you mean by that? You can't expect me to just-"

Isabella shook her head as she interrupted Red. "No Red, I expect just that. You're a hero now, while I'm a part of an international organization that does fucked up shit all the time for the greater good. I can't involve you in anything more than what you've already done. I'll find whoever this mole was, and I'll kick his goddamn teeth in before dragging his sorry ass to the higher ups. And you, Red, are not going to be a part of that."

Red's eyes went wide as his mouth opened in preparation to argue, but just as he felt the words about to come out, he realized he didn't have an argument against what Isabella was saying. She was right, no matter how you looked at it. Isabella was someone who could never be accepted by the hero world, and Red was not someone who could be accepted by those in higher positions of Lycan. Should they try to do anything further together, it would only cause the odds of either, if not both, groups casting them aside. For Red, this would likely mean going to jail for the remainder of his life. For Isabella, this could mean the end of her very life. Both Red and Isabella knew this very well, which is how Red was able to finally relent.

"...Fine. I'll keep my hands off this, from now on," Red finally replied, his voice soft and reluctant.

"You promise?" Isabella asked, uncertainty in her voice as she did.

Red hesitated to reply, but eventually he nodded in response. "Yeah, I promise. As long as this doesn't come into the territory of my team, I'll let you deal with things your own way." Pausing, Red lifted one of his fingers. "But if it does become something the Young Bloods are involved in, I'm going to also promise you this: I'll be there. And if that means I have to place you in cuffs, Isabella, well..."

Red's words trailed off as he struggled to finish his statement. Instead of being concerned, however, Isabella only let a small smile creep on her face as she leaned forwards. Before Red could react, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him in a small embrace.

"I know, Red. I know."

Paralyzed, Red held his hands in the air for a few moments, unsure of how to react to the sudden embrace from Isabella. A flood of thoughts, emotions, and memories suddenly washed over him as he tried to figure out what to do. After what seemed like an eternity of this, Red's arms finally reached around to return the embrace, where he felt the soft body of Isabella sink into.

"Yeah, I know you do."

[New Finnish Republic]

Red

---

The Next Day...

Sweat dripped down Red's face as he delivered a mixture of kicks, elbows, and punches towards the bright blue heavy bag that sat dangling in the padded section of the workout area of the Tower. The heavy blows he delivered to the bag were muffled by the heavy chorus of drums and guitar riffs accompanied with the harsh vocals of the rock music that blared out from the speakers around him, the fast paced tempo providing the encouragement to continue on with his workout even as his body ached from the effort. Timing his breathing so that it coincided with every time he struck at the bag, his bare chest rose up and down in large but steady inhales and exhales as his lungs struggled to deliver enough oxygen to his fatigued muscles. He was on the tail end of a short yet intense workout, and the strain on his body from the day before was taking its toll on him far more than it usually did.

Finally, a loud blaring horn erupted from the speakers, indicating to Red that the final round of his drills was completed. Red let out a exhale as he bent over, placing his hands on the top of his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. After some time he finally seemed to calm his heart rate down enough that he could stand up straight, still placing his hands up at the back of his head as he walked over to where his gym bag was. Reaching down into the bag, he retrieved his phone and paused the music that had been previously blaring, leaving the workout area eerily silent save for the creaking sounds of chains as the heavy bag continued to swing back and forth.

Tossing his phone down and grabbing his water bottle, he sprayed some of the cold liquid onto his face in an effort to cool himself off before taking a large chug from the container, drinking until his thirst was finally satisfied. Letting out another deep exhale, Red returned the water bottle back to his bag and proceeded to throw on the shirt he had worn on the way in. While he wasn't exactly shy about showing off skin, he knew others within the Tower were less comfortable with seeing each other in such manners outside of the times they spent on the beach. He couldn't exactly blame them, and considering the fact that they were all still teenagers living together, he tried to be as modest as possible when around others. At least, to the extent that he was possible of.

As he was in the process of gathering his things, Red's ears picked up on the sound of approaching footsteps. Turning his head over in their direction, Red saw one of the newer faces of the team coming towards where he was. Given the fact that he had been spending little time around the Tower as of late and hardly interacted with anyone else besides Casimir in his free time, Red wasn't as familiar with her as he was with others, but he at least knew her name.

"Makenzie, right? I'm just getting done here," Red called out to her, pointing with his thumb towards the heavy bag that was still gently swaying back and forth. "I think I've abused that poor thing enough today. Feel free to have the place to yourself."